Minutes - Council - 08/25/1998 - Laserfiche WebLink

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requires an all natural or prefabricated stone surface on the exterior walls; any other material requires the approval of the Planning Commission and City Council. Ms. Frolik explained that the building is proposed to be faced with a combination of vinyl siding and brick and noted that the Ham Lake and Centerville senior facilities are faced with vinyl siding and brick trim. Ramsey's existing apartment building is faced with vinyl siding and brick accents. The building does exceed the 35-foot height restriction and a variance will have to be processed. The Parks/Utilities Supervisor has suggested that consideration be given to including a walking trail connection from the site to the Flintwood Terrace trail on the other side of Dysprosium Street. During the Planning Commission review, several residents from the neighborhood to the south of the senior housing site expressed concern for loss of tree cover along the common property line, the proximity of the driveway and garage entrance to the common property line with a suggestion that the building design be reversed on the site to get the longer wing of the facility with the underground garage entrance on the opposite side of the property from the adjacent single family residences, adding two more high-traffic driveways onto Dysprosium rather than County Road #5, and the visual impact of a three-story apartment building on a hill adjacent to single family homes. Ms. Frolik continued that in a subsequent meeting with Dunbar Development Corporation, it has been determined that as many trees as possible along the common property line with Flintwood will be preserved and conifer trees will be added to the landscape plan to provide year around screening. The City Engineer has stated that he would not support a proposal that would put another access onto County Road #5 as it is not consistent with the County transportation plan that the City supports. Ms. Frolik pointed out that the base grade of the underground garages is 868'; the grade elevation of Flintwood is 877'. Therefore, the residents of Flintwood are at a higher elevation than the underground garages and they will not be looking directly into the garages. In addition, there is a substantial amount of existing tree cover and a proposed retaining wall that will provide visual screening and sound barrier between the two uses. Reversing the building design would require more extensive grading and site preparation in addition to significantly impacting a grove of trees on the comer of Dysprosium and County Road #5. The additional grading and site preparation drive up the cost of the project and force rental prices above market rate. Ms. Frolik reported that the Planning Commission recommended site plan approval contingent upon compliance with the City Staff Review Letter dated July 30, 1998, an exterior finish of vinyl siding and brick, reversing the building layout with the longer wing and garage entrance oriented toward County Road #5 versus the single family homes to the south, and utilizing the City's light fixture choice at priority intersections to light the two driveway intersections with Dysprosium. City staff recommends approval of the site plan as proposed contingent upon obtaining a variance to the building height - the proposal is 44.2 feet in height and the City's restriction is 35 feet. The variance request will be going to the Board of Adjustment on September 1, 1998. Councilmember Haas Steffen stated she watched the Planning Commission meeting and she heard a question about whether or not our ordinance relating to building height had changed. She asked if it had. City Council/August 25, 1998 Page 9 of 26