Minutes - Planning Commission - 07/11/2007

Home

Chairperson Nixt asked if it is the intent to repave the egress and take out the chain. Ms. Lublin replied not at the present time. She believes they are being asked to put in 48 parking spaces, and she does not know how far back that goes on their parking lot. They have' only refinished the part of the parking lot that they are using. Mr. Jerry Petrow, 6140 157th Lane NE, stated when Lord of Life sold this property they were hoping to find another church that wanted it, and they were then given a conditional use permit for the secretarial service. They were okay with that; it was not a significantly different traffic pattern or use, and it actually lessened the traffic on Sunday morning. He is a little concerned that it is turning into a secretarial service, and in addition to that, 91 kids at the daycare. This will be between 70 and 90 vehicles in the morning and afternoon, and that does not count the traffic with the deli. This is starting to sound a lot like a strip mall with a deli, daycare, and office service. In the past there was a bakery discussed with occasional bakery trucks coming and going; bakeries usually occur early in the morning. Mr. Petrow asked if a development like this is appropriate in a residential area. He stated this is a residential area that had a conditional use to go to a secretarial service, not really all the way to a strip mall. He stated another question is whether with the additional traffic and additional people, if the existing utilities will be adequate, or if they will need sewer and water to handle the extra demands. Mr. Petrow stated his prime concern is the traffic going by his house. With the 42 townhomes, 50% of them will come by his house, and with the additional development put in to the east six to eight years ago, now his guess is that there will be 200 to 300 vehicle trips in the morning and the afternoon going past his house. He is a little concerned about how this will affect his neighborhood. Chairperson Nixt stated he understands Mr. Petrow's observations and living in the same community he shares many of them. As he understands, the issue before the Commission tonight is really regarding the deli. If they deny the deli the daycare can still come in, and logically the daycare needs the service of the kitchen. If the intent is for the deli to be an ancillary service to the daycare it concerns him less than something that will generate additional traffic for the area. This collector street cannot handle much more traffic load than it already has. It is a challenge to get onto County Road 5 heading south in the morning between 6:30 and 7:30. He requested staff to comment on what is appropriate for a traffic generation analysis and to evaluate this additional retail traffic. There are safety concerns that have not been considered. Thought needs to be given to whether they need to expand 157th Lane, at least as far as Radium Street, for traffic to be balanced to come and go safely. City Engineer Jankowski indicated there are not currently traffic counts on 157th Lane. It would be reasonable to require a traffic generation analysis to accompany this request. Chairperson Nixt stated he likes the benefit of a cafe type of environment in the community that he could walk to in the morning. He understands the concern about the traffic flow and he shares that concern. He thinks more data is needed with thought given to what improvements need to be done to allow for that traffic flow. When Lord of Life was in this location there was not Apple Ridge, Shade Tree Cottages, and the increased traffic from development north of them. He does not think 157th Lane is prepared to accommodate that additional traffic, even for the Planning Commission/ July 11, 2007 Page 6 of 21