DEVELOPMENT BUSINESS - Bryan K. Schafer, Planning and Community Development Director
Title
GRANTING A CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT TO ALLOW FOR MULTIPLE BUILDINGS ON ONE LOT, CONTRACTOR YARD WITH OUTSIDE STORAGE OF MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT, PERIODIC CRUSHING OF CONCRETE DEMOLITION MATERIALS, AND SPECIAL PURPOSE FENCING 10201 XYLITE STREET NE. PARK CONSTRUCTION COMPANY. (CASE FILE NO. 17-0058/BKS)
Schedule of Actions
|
Planning Commission (Public Hearing) |
04/11/18 |
|
City Council (Conditional Use Permit) |
05/17/18 (Tabled to June 7) |
|
City Council (CUP/Plat) |
06/07/18 |
|
Action Deadline (Extended by City) |
06/29/18 |
Planning Commission
The Planning Commission voted unanimously to deny the preliminary plat and Conditional Use Permit. Public comment included concerns for decreased property values, increased noise and traffic, light pollution, drainage, buffering, and impacts to health and safety.
Background
NOTE: Since the April 11th Planning Commission meeting the applicant has made a number of changes to their applications and site design. The purpose of the changes is in response to the comments raised by residents during this review process and an effort to improve the plan from the neighborhood’s perspective. The changes that are proposed are summarized as follows:
• A line of site study was performed by the applicant based on building elevations provided by the City from surveys when the adjacent homes to the north were built. The purpose of the study was to determine at what height would a fence or building need to be to effectively screen the view of the yard from the 1st (main) floor of the homes. The study indicated that a wall placed on the south side of the pond (at the north edge of the yard area) would need to be 16-feet in height in order to hide an 8-foot piece of equipment parked at the south end of the yard.
• The site plan has been modified to show a line of buildings and wall that stretches along the north side of the yard. The metal building edges and wall sections would be a minimum of 18-feet in height with roof sections being taller. The construction of these buildings and connecting walls would effectively seal off the yard from any view for seven or eight of the residential lots and would also dramatically reduce (block) noise generated by equipment moving in the yard.
• The 10’ wooden fence along the north property line has been eliminated as it is no longer needed. The 8’ wooden fence will begin from the furthest east lean to building and continue towards the rear of the yard as before.
• Trees will remain being planted along the north property line as originally planned.
• All the parking for the truck drivers that arrive early each day to get into their dumptrucks/sidedumps have been moved to the SW corner of the property in order to help lower the noise for their early morning departures to jobsites by getting them farther away from the north property.
• The southern driveway entrance has moved slightly north to help with flow through the property.
• The yard lights will be shortened to 20-feet in height so they have been removed from the CUP. Blaine Code requires them to be downward facing regardless of height.
• The applicant still wishes to do aggregate crushing similar to how they operate at their Fridley site. They indicate modern crushing equipment does not create any dust as the shaker is constantly having water sprayed on the material. The closest house to the crushing operation would be over 400 feet. The attached resolution does not approve the crushing component.
• The applicant still wants to be able to have material piles 15’ high. The attached resolution limits the height of storage to not more than 10-feet.
Modified from previous report:
Park Construction Company, a heavy road and utility contractor, has reached an agreement to purchase the undeveloped industrial site at 10201 Xylite Street NE. The site is zoned I-2 (Heavy Industrial) and allows the uses that are part of the application by Conditional Use Permit (CUP). The CUP review and process therefore applies to:
• Multiple buildings on one parcel (there are six buildings proposed)
• Contractor yard with outside storage of equipment used in the business as well as materials
• Special purpose fencing which would permit the taller privacy wall of 8-feet and18-feet at certain locations along the borders
• Periodic aggregate crushing (per code limited to not more than 45 days every 24 months) for use in road base
The site plan shows a primary building used for company offices, repair bays for maintaining equipment and wash bays. The office component is two story. The total square footage of the primary building is 35,000 square feet. The smaller warehouse building (6,000 square feet) is for cold storage of smaller items and equipment that they do not want to have stored outside. The final buildings located along the north edge of the yard are smaller storage buildings of between 1,200-1,800 square feet.
The site will also have a fueling station for fueling their fleet of vehicles and equipment. This will be for internal use only.
The balance of the site will contain parking areas for employees, paved storage areas for rubber wheeled vehicles and equipment and a large gravel area at the rear of the site for tracked equipment (bulldozers) and materials storage. This rear area is also where the crushing would be proposed.
The site plan utilizes most of the available upland on site and also proposes to fill a little less than 2.5 acres of wetland which will require off-site mitigation. The Rice Creek Watershed District as well as the US Army Corp have been reviewing the wetland impacts and storm drainage impacts concurrently with the City.
The site plan proposes two driveway locations onto Xylite Street which have been reviewed and meet the requirements of the City.
The site also has significant storm ponding improvements needed and proposed along the west, north and east sides of the site. Building and paving setbacks have been addressed not only to meet zoning requirements but also provide buffer areas from wetlands/ponds as well as sections that can be planted to meet the landscaping and screening requirements.
Because the site is immediately adjacent to the Sanctuary residential area the screening plan that is envisioned along the site’s north and east edges include:
• 44 -Black Hills Spruce trees (six foot minimum) planted along the site’s north border and just to the rear of the Sanctuary lots
• Buildings and screen wall along the north side of the yard a shown by the new site plan.
• 29- Black Hills Spruce (six foot minimum) along the east side of the storage lot
• 8-foot tall privacy fence (treated wood) along the east side of the storage lot
• The equipment storage lot is setback 100-feet from the north property line, meeting all setback requirements, and over 200 feet to the rear of the closest house.
The site operates as the base for all equipment repair and long term storage. Most of the equipment will be off-site for the summer construction period with the lot filling up in the late fall as projects shut down for winter. Most employee (equipment operators) traffic will be to the specific job sites with site traffic generally included the full time office staff and equipment maintenance staff. Some equipment will be moved on and off the site during the summer as needed for repair or off-site short term use. Winter traffic will be much more limited.
Xylite Street is a city street that connects at a 2-way stop on Radisson Road (CSAH 52) which is part of the Anoka County Highway Department system. City staff and the county continue to monitor and discuss a potential traffic signal at that intersection to improve access as well as safety. The City is reviewing the status of this intersection as part of a larger discussion of traffic signals within the City.
Aggregate Crushing
The I-2 zoning text does allow aggregate (concrete) crushing under the following standards:
31.196 STANDARDS FOR CRUSHING OF CONCRETE DEMOLITION MATERIALS (Added 4-15-93 Ord. 93-1327, Amended 1-18-96. Ord. No. 96-1588)
(a) Minimum lot size of ten acres.
(b) Crushing and storage located in rear yard only.
(c) Storage of demolition materials to meet the following setbacks:
1. 10 feet against I-2 zoned uses.
2. 50 feet against I-1 zoned uses.
3. 100 feet against all other zoning districts.
(d) Recycling (crushing) of concrete demolition materials to meet the following setbacks:
1. 50 feet against I-2 zoned uses.
2. 100 feet against all other zoning districts.
(e) Storage bunkered on three sides.
(f) Maximum storage height of fifteen (15) feet.
(g) Maximum storage volume of 20,000 cubic yards.
(h) Crushing activity limited to no more than 45 days in 24 month period.
(i) Conditional use permits issued under Section 31.14(u) automatically expire after three (3) years. The holder of such a permit must submit a written request to the City Council if they wish to have the permit renewed for an additional three (3) year period. The City Council reserves the right to modify conditions of the permit if conditions warrant. All concrete demolition storage must be removed within 60 days after a conditional use permit expires. (Amended 03-16-06. Ord. 06-2079)
Given this site’s adjacent location to the Sanctuary neighborhood it is recommended that the Planning Commission not recommend approval of the crushing component at this time. The distance between the crushing and homes on 103rd Court is approximately 400-feet. The applicant would have the ability to approach the City at some point in the future if they wished to have a crushing operation reconsidered for their site.
Recommendation
By motion, approve the Resolution.
Attachments
Location Map
Site Plan
Landscape Plan
Building Elevations
Preliminary Plat
Business Highlights
Public Comment
Petition
Draft Planning Commission Minutes
Body
WHEREAS, an application has been filed by Park Construction Company as Conditional Use Permit Case File No.17-0058; and
WHEREAS, a public hearing has been held by the Blaine Planning Commission on April 11, 2018; and
WHEREAS, the Blaine Planning Commission recommends said Conditional Use Permit be denied; and
WHEREAS, the Blaine City Council has reviewed said case on May 17 and June 7, 2018.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Blaine that a Conditional Use Permit is hereby approved per Section 31.10 of the Zoning Ordinance to allow for multiple buildings on one parcel, contractor yard with outside storage of equipment and materials, and special purpose fencing which would permit the privacy fence of up to 18-feet in height at certain locations along the borders at 10201 Xylite Street NE, based on the following conditions:
1. Fueling station to be for internal use only and is subject to separate review and permitting through the Fire Inspections Division.
2. The 6,000 warehouse building, garage and other cold storage buildings to meet the intent of the I-2 exterior building materials by utilizing a mixture of 30% masonry with approved metal on all sides of the buildings. Placing the masonry in vertical sections along the north building walls would help break up the long wall sections. All buildings materials to be reviewed as part of formal Site Plan Approval and building permit review.
3. No parking or storage to be permitted between the cold storage buildings.
4. All site and building lighting to be down-lit and directed away from residential and Xylite Street to reduce glare. Pole heights shall not exceed 20-feet.
5. All storage of bulk materials limited to not more than 10-feet in height.
6. Details of containment for bulk materials to be outlined and reviewed as part of formal Site Plan Approval.
7. All equipment and materials to be stored in the rear yard areas.
8. Only tracked equipment and materials can be stored on the gravel surfaced area.
9. All parked equipment (loaders and attachments) shall be stored with buckets and attachments on the ground and not extended into the air to minimize view from adjacent residential areas.
10. Equipment brought in on trailers shall be unloaded and not stored on the trailers.
11. Graveled/rock area to be treated to minimize dust.
12. No material movement (loading/unloading) outside of the City’s general construction hours of 7:00 AM to 10:00 PM.
13. No dirt or gravel is to be brought out onto the paved roadway surface (Xylite Street). Applicant to sweep and clean surface of the roadway as needed or requested by the City.
14. SAC (Sewer Access Charge) will be calculated based on 13.68 acres and will be due as part of building permit.
15. All front yard landscaping to receive underground irrigation.
16. Yard communication to be by radio or phone rather than PA loudspeaker system.
17. Employee and business traffic to use the south street access at Xylite and Radisson/101st and not through the residential neighborhood to the north.
18. The issuance of this CUP does not constitute Site Plan Approval nor does it guarantee issuance of a building permit. Formal Site Plan Approval and full building plan review is required prior to any site work or issuance of any building permits.
19. The issuance of this CUP does not allow the ability to crush concrete under Section 31.196 based on the site’s immediate adjacency to the Sanctuary residential neighborhood.
PASSED by the City Council of the City of Blaine this 7th day of June, 2018.