CorTrust Bank - Rezoning, Plat, and Site Plan Review at the northeast corner of Sunwood Drive and Zeolite Street NW.

The applicant, CorTrust Bank, has been working with the City's Economic Development staff on the purchase of a 1.24-acre site at the northeast corner of Sunwood Drive and Zeolite Street NW for the construction of a new bank branch.  The site will be subdivided from the existing 11.72-acre parcel.  The site is zoned COR-2a.  The proposed bank will have two drive-thru lanes.  The COR-2a district limits uses to one drive-thru lane, so a re-zoning to the COR-2b district, where two drive-thru lanes are allowed, is proposed.  A Site Plan Review is required for the site. 

The Planning Commission unanimously recommended approval of the project at its meeting on May 25.  The City Council will consider this project over three meetings--the first was the preliminary plat and the introduction of the rezoning ordinance on June 13.  The second meeting, tonight, consists of the adoption of the rezoning ordinance, final plat, the site plan review, and the cross-access and maintenance agreement.  The development agreement will be placed on a future agenda once the cost estimates for site improvements are provided. 

Properties within 700 feet of the existing parcel were mailed public hearing notices.  A public hearing notice was published in the May 12, 2023, Anoka Union Herald Newspaper.  A notice of land use application sign was placed at the northeast corner of Sunwood Drive and Zeolite Street.  

Building Design
The one-story brick building will have several large windows on the prominent entryway at the southeast corner of the building.  Several other windows will be located on the south, east, and west sides of the building.  A drive-thru canopy is located on the north side of the building.  The canopy is integrated into the hip roof of the building.  The entryway in the southeast portion of the building will have architectural metal panels, brick, and glass with the upper portion being spandrel glass.   

COR-2 has a requirement that the building has at least 40 percent of the lot frontage.  The lot has 173.50 feet of frontage along Sunwood Drive.  The building will have 60 feet of frontage (34.6 percent).  A decorative screen wall, similar to other walls along Sunwood Drive, will be 28 feet in width screening the parking lot drive aisle.  Between the building and the screen wall, 50.7 percent of the lot will have a hardscape frontage.   

A discrepancy in the plans was discovered late in the previous review cycle before the Planning Commission meeting.  The architectural plans and the civil plans have been updated to show only two drive-thru lanes with a bypass lane.  

Access and Parking
Vehicular access to the site, initially, will be from Zeolite Street along the north side of the site via a shared access drive directly across from the approved location for the Home2Sutes driveway.  This access drive is being set up to be extended eastward to provide shared access to the sites to the east and north.  This shared private roadway is likely to have a connection to Sunwood Drive midway between Yolite Street and Zeolite Street and possibly to Yolite Street and/or future Ramsey Parkway.  A cross-access and maintenance agreement is required, will be prepared by the City Attorney, and recorded with the plat. 

For a building this size, 17 parking spaces are required at the rate of one space per 300 square feet of building area.  Twenty spaces are provided in the lot which is adequate for the bank's needs based on the bank's other locations.  It is anticipated that staff and some customers will use the parking lot while many customers will find the on-street parking available on Sunwood Drive very convenient.  About six parallel parking spaces are adjacent to the site.  The Fire Department has requested a "no parking here to corner" sign be placed near the intersection to provide adequate sight lines and turning radius for the fire trucks.    

The drive-thru lanes on the immediate north side of the building will have an exit-only driveway to Zeolite Street.  

Zeolite Street
Zeolite Street is currently constructed as a temporary roadway.  It will be reconstructed in 2024 to urban standards with sidewalks, curbing, and boulevard trees.  The design of the roadway is not completed, though it is anticipated that the roadway will be raised slightly to accommodate storm water drainage.  The placement of the driveways will accommodate changes in elevation easily.  In the meantime, the Engineering Department noted that temporary culverts may be necessary under both driveways.  

Pedestrian Connections
The building is being constructed with a front door in a corner vestibule onto Sunwood Drive.  The vestibule will also have a door facing east to the parking lot.  A direct sidewalk connection is provided to the sidewalk along Sunwood Drive.  The applicant will construct its portion of the Sunwood Drive sidewalk and streetscape with construction of the building.  Due to the building having its elevation 1.5 feet above the street elevation, a couple steps are needed.  An ADA-compliant ramp will be located just to the east, closer to the parking lot.  The landscaped planting beds along Sunwood Drive are being designed to line up with the building's walkways.  

Landscaping and Screening
The applicant provided a landscape plan that generally meets the landscape requirements.  The Environmental Policy Board (EPB) reviewed the plans at its meeting on May 15.  The plans do include a tree inventory.  There are 27 trees on the roughly 1.25 acres that the bank would be constructed.  There are two red cedars, one box elder, and the rest are Siberian elms, which are an invasive species.  All trees within this 1.24-acre site are proposed to be removed.  As the vast majority of them are invasive, they would be excluded from the removal threshold.  Thus, based on the proposed landscaping, the project will satisfy the tree preservation standards via reforestation on site.  Staff has requested a bit more information regarding the tree inventory and preservation plan, but nothing of any great significance.

The Landscape Plan is generally acceptable with the corrections noted on the plan sheets.  Staff is working with the Applicant to lengthen the eastern most planter bed along Sunwood Drive so it matches the beds east of Zeolite Street (south side of Sunwood Drive).  Additionally, Zeolite Street will be reconstructed (a City project) in 2024, so it does not make sense to have boulevard trees installed until after the road project is complete.  Based on the linear footage along Zeolite Street (about 270 feet), eight boulevard trees would be required (spaced at 35 feet on center).  Similar to the hotel project, which is just across Zeolite Street from the Subject Property, Staff is recommending collecting a boulevard tree fee through the Development Agreement that can be used to purchase and install these trees in accordance with the COR Design Framework as part of the City's road construction project.  There are other minor corrections needed on the Landscape Plan as noted on the attached plan sheets.
 
Lighting
The applicant provided a lighting plan with photometrics showing adequate amounts of light over the parking lot and pedestrian areas.  The plan shows 25-foot poles.  It is recommended that the poles be reduced to 15- to 20-feet in height to be in line with the proposed lighting standards of the Zoning Code update and to be more proportional with the 28-foot building height.  The lights under the drive-thru canopy appear to have a dropped lens.  Current Code prohibits off-site views of light sources therefore a side shield may be necessary.    

Utilities
Municipal water and sanitary sewer are available to the site.  Storm water management is provided through a regional basin in the southeast corner of the COR.  The applicant will contribute the equivalent cost of constructing its own basin to the regional basin.  

Waste Management
The bank does not anticipate creating a lot of waste.  Trash receptacles will be placed within the mechanical enclosure along the east side of the building or within the building.  

Rezoning
The site is Zoned COR-2a which allows for this use and only one drive-thru lane.  COR-2b is located across the street to the west (the Home2Suites site) where two drive-thru lanes are allowed.  The applicant is requesting that the boundary between the two subdistricts be shifted to accommodate this site design.  

Plat
The proposed plat of Affinity at the COR 2nd Addition creates one buildable parcel for the bank and the balance of the site as an outlots reserved for future re-platting as other developments are identified.  Standard development fees and park dedication are required on the new lot.  

Future Use Potential
At the City Council meeting on June 13, concerns were raised about the large green space between the two driveways to Zeolite Street.  Staff and the applicant's engineer looked at the space and estimated a small office or retail building of up to 3,200 square feet could be placed in that area, fronting Zeolite Street, with a small parking lot behind it to the east.  A concept plan is attached to this report.  The applicant has stated that they are not interested in pursuing another use at that site at this time, though the potential remains for it to happen.  

Alternatives
1.  Approve the proposal as recommended by staff and the Planning Commission.
2.  Approve the proposal with any modifications that the City Council sees appropriate.
3.  Deny the proposal based on certain findings.  
 

All costs associated with this project are the responsibility of the applicant.  Standard park dedication and development fees will be collected with the plat. 

The Planning Commission recommended approval of the project as recommended by staff.  

Three separate actions are required:

1. Motion to waive the Charter requirement to read the ordinance aloud and adopt Ordinance #23-12

Roll Call Vote:

Councilmember Olson
Councilmember Woestehoff
Councilmember Specht
Councilmember Musgrove
Councilmember Howell
Councilmember Riley
Mayor Kuzma

-and-

2. Motion to adopt Resolution #23-151 Approving Final Plat and Reciprocal Ingress/Egress Easement for "Affinity at the COR 2nd Addition;"

-and-

3. Motion to adopt Resolution #23-152A approving Site Plan Review for a bank at 7849 Sunwood Drive NW.