Adopt Resolution #24-201, Approving a Preliminary Plat, Final Plat, Site Plan, and Assessment Agreement from Voice of Hope Church at 15620 Armstrong Blvd NW

The City has received an application from Roman Andriychuk (the "Applicant"), on behalf of Voice of Hope Church, for a Preliminary Plat, Final Plat, and Site Plan on the property at 15620 Armstrong Blvd NW, generally located along the west side of Armstrong Boulevard, between 156th and 157th Avenues NW. 

Staff attempted to notify property owners within 700 feet of the Subject Property, as reflected in the Anoka County Property Records, of the request and the Public Hearing held by the Planning Commission on July 25th. A notice of the Public Hearing was published in the Anoka County UnionHerald, the City's official newspaper. A proposed development sign was placed on the property.

Subject Property
The Subject Property is located along the west side of Armstrong Boulevard, between 156th and 157th Avenues NW. It is zoned PI, Public/Institutional District, and is guided for rural developing land uses in the City's 2040 Comprehensive Plan. Surrounding properties are zoned RR, Rural Residential, but they have the same land use guidance in the Comprehensive Plan. It is approximately 9.61 acres in size; however, when factoring in the road right-of-way of Armstrong Boulevard that will officially be platted with this Final Plat, the total Subject Property is 10.48 acres in size. Access to the lot currently comes from Armstrong Boulevard, and the initial site improvements will maintain a vehicular and pedestrian connection directly to Armstrong Boulevard. However, once 157th Avenue NW is extended along the north side of the lot for the church, the Applicant will have to construct a new primary driveway to 157th Avenue NW to improve vehicular safety. At that time, the driveway onto Armstrong Boulevard would be subject to restricted access, per Anoka County Highway Department's standards for access spacing on county highways.

Site Plan
The proposed building is 18,547 square feet, and designed to have the main entrance facing south. The building is proposed to be 85 feet from the east property line (along Armstrong Boulevard), 79.4 feet from the north property line (along future 157th Avenue NW), and more than 100 feet from the west and south property lines. The Applicant is also proposing a trash enclosure northwest of the proposed building, with the gates facing eastward into the parking lot. The Applicant intends to have the trash enclosure match the proposed building in appearance and color.

Access to the building and parking lot will come from a driveway onto Armstrong Boulevard NW, which lines up roughly equidistant between 156th and 157th Avenues NW on the east side of Armstrong Boulevard. This driveway will enter the parking lot at its southern edge, just south of the proposed building. To accommodate the driveway and facilitate safer traffic maneuvers into the site, the Applicant has submitted a plan to restripe the existing southbound bypass lane to instead serve as a southbound right-turn lane into the property. No excavation or pavement reconstruction will be needed, as there is sufficient pavement width to accommodate the new turn lane.  The Applicant has been working with Anoka County on the restriping design. This direct access to Armstrong Boulevard will only exist until the eventual extension of 157th Avenue NW at the northeast corner of the site. At that time, Anoka County and the City will require the Applicant to construct a new driveway onto 157th Avenue NW and vacate the previous driveway onto Armstrong Boulevard. More information on Anoka County's review can be found in the review letter attached to this case.

Minimum parking requirements for assembly uses, including religious institutions, are one space for each three seats of design capacity. The building's main assembly space is designed for 500 occupants, which results in a minimum parking requirement of 167 stalls. The Applicant is proposing to construct 261 stalls, which exceeds the minimum requirement by 56.29 percent (94 stalls) and exceeds the maximum allowable parking supply by 41.85 percent (77 stalls), but the Applicant stated the need for additional stalls to meet the parking demand of the proposed building, based on their current operations in Ham Lake. In addition to the 261 parking stalls, the Applicant is proposing a drop-off area in front of the main entrance.  There are no on-street overflow parking opportunities.  

Pedestrian access to the site will come from a shared-use trail along the west side of Armstrong Boulevard. A new walkway will be built to connect the building's main entrance to this shared-use trail. Other walkways will encircle most of the building to provide access from the parking lot to each of the building's entrances, as required by the Minnesota State Building Code.

Landscape Plan
As noted in the Environmental Policy Board's (EPB) staff report from July 15th, the Landscape Plan is generally acceptable. However, Staff did note various minor corrections that are needed (see attached Landscape Plan).  Staff has suggested adding some taller growing evergreen shrubs in between the deciduous trees along the north side of the parking lot.  These additional plantings will aid with shielding headlight glare into the abutting residential property.  Staff has also requested a 3-5 year maintenance plan for the area proposed to be established with a native seed mix.  Having a maintenance plan will be beneficial for the property owner in ensuring that the seed mix not only gets established but in preventing unwanted vegetation (weeds) from taking over the area. 

Irrigation is not proposed (nor is it required).  However, turf establishment is proposed to be accomplished through seeding.  Staff has requested more information on how the areas seeded will be watered to ensure germination and establishment of turf.

Utilities
The building will be connected to municipal water through a service line that will connect to an existing valve at the northeast corner of the site. Connecting to the City's watermain will be more cost-effective for the building's fire protection needs than a well's tank and pump system.  Since sanitary sewer is unavailable to the site, as it is outside the MUSA, the building will use a septic system to handle sewer needs.

Storm Water Management
There will be an on-site storm water management basin constructed southwest of the parking lot to handle runoff from the entire site.  The stormwater plan will require Lower Rum River WMO review.  

Preliminary Plat
The Subject Property is currently unplatted. To accommodate the proposed development, a preliminary plat is needed to ensure the proposed site improvements will fit within the proposed lot. The proposed subdivision would create two parcels: an 8.93-acre parcel (Lot 1, Block 1) to accommodate the proposed church development, and a 0.47-acre outlot to be deeded to the City for future trail development along the Lake Itasca corridor, satisfying a portion of the park dedication requirements. Additionally, there would be right-of-way dedication for the south half of future 157th Avenue NW at the northeast corner of the subdivision. By dedicating the 33-foot-wide section for 157th Avenue NW now, the right-of-way is preserved for its eventual connection to Eland Street to the north. The Nordvik Addition, which directly abuts the Subject Property to the north, planned for the eventual replatting of property within it, which would then require the Eland Street right-of-way to extend south through the site to serve all newly-created lots. The 157th Avenue extension would then serve as the southern connection of Eland Street to provide neighborhood connectivity, which would improve public safety and street maintenance routes.

Due to the specialized nature of each of the uses and buildings within the P/I zoning district, no bulk standards exist, as noted in Section 106-830 of City Code. That being said, the proposed development seems to be in general alignment with other recently-approved projects in the P/I zoning district (including St. Katharine Drexel and PACT Charter High School) and respects surrounding uses. The Preliminary Plat appears to conform with all City Code requirements.

Final Plat
Alongside the Preliminary Plat, the Subject Property also needs a Final Plat to be approved and recorded before development can occur. The Final Plat aligns with the proposed lot layout in the Preliminary Plat. Lot 1, Block 1, would be completely surrounded by drainage and utility easements (20 feet along the north property line, 10 feet along the west, south, and east property lines, and an additional 101' x 108' area in the southwest corner of the lot to protect an existing wetland on site). Additionally, the Final Plat shows the right of access dedicated to Anoka County along the entire east property line, except where the proposed driveway will be constructed. The Final Plat appears to conform with all City Code requirements.

Assessment Agreement
To accommodate and plan for the future extension of 157th Avenue NW west of Armstrong Boulevard, the applicant is platting a 33-foot-wide strip of right-of-way at the northeast corner of this plat to serve as the south half of the required right-of-way. To plan for the eventual construction of 157th Avenue NW, Staff drafted an Assessment Agreement for the Applicant's share of the costs of construction of the roadway and utilities. This Assessment Agreement is in lieu of constructing the street at this time or collecting any money from the Applicant. These agreements run with the land, and any future owners of the properties will be required to contribute to half of the total construction costs (the property to the north would be responsible for the other half at the time of subdivision, when the street extension would be both possible and necessary).  A similar agreement was required with the Gile Addition in 2023.  

Alternatives
Alternative 1: Approve the Preliminary Plat, Final Plat, Site Plan, and Assessment Agreement, as recommended by the Planning Commission and Staff.
Alternative 2: Approve the Preliminary Plat, Final Plat, Site Plan, and Assessment Agreement with modifications based on discussion and supporting findings of fact.
Alternative 3: Deny the Preliminary Plat, Final Plat, Site Plan, and Assessment Agreement, based on supporting findings of fact.

All costs associated with this request are the Applicant's responsibility.

At their meeting on July 25th, 2024, the Planning Commission voted 6-0 to recommend approval of the proposal, contingent upon the Applicant addressing all outstanding review comments, as recommended by Staff.

Motion to adopt Resolution #24-201, Approving a Preliminary Plat, Final Plat, Site Plan, and Assessment Agreement for Voice of Hope Church at 15620 Armstrong Blvd NW.