PUBLIC HEARING: Consider a Conditional Use Permit, Site Plan, and Variance for a Drive-Through Lane in the Front Yard in the COR-2b Zoning District for Taco Bell at 14751 Armstrong Blvd NW

Border Foods (the "Applicant"), doing business as Taco Bell, has submitted a Land Use Application for the development of 1.32-acre lot described as Lot 1, Block 1, Bunker Lake Crossing, which will be addressed as 14751 Armstrong Blvd NW (the "Subject Property"). The project will consist of a 2,867 square foot quick-service restaurant building for Taco Bell, 23 parking stalls, and a drive-through lane that wraps around the north, west, and south sides of the building. To accommodate the drive-through lane in the COR-2b zoning district, the Applicant is seeking a Conditional Use Permit, which by default includes a formal Site Plan Review, as required for all development in the COR. Additionally, due to the location of the drive-through lane in the front yard of the Subject Property, the Applicant is seeking a Variance to Drive-Through Placement.

Staff attempted to notify property owners within 350 feet of the Subject Property, as reflected in the Anoka County Property Records, of the request and the Public Hearing. A notice of the Public Hearing will be published in the Anoka County Union Herald, the City's official newspaper. A "proposed development" sign was placed on the property.

Subject Property
The Subject Property is the northernmost lot within the Bunker Lake Crossing development, measuring approximately 1.32 acres in area. The Subject Property is bounded by Armstrong Boulevard to the west, Bunker Lake Boulevard to the north (via a small strip of land to access a multi-tenant development sign proposed with the Bunker Lake Crossing preliminary plat), the Waterfront Village residential development and wetland to the east, and the proposed private access road for Bunker Lake Crossing to the south. The Subject Property is zoned COR-2b, Commercial Subdistrict, which is the same zoning designation of other parcels on the west side of the COR, including Aldi, Take 5, and Home2 Suites. As is the case with all non-park properties in the COR, the Subject Property is guided Mixed Use in the City's 2040 Comprehensive Plan.

Site Plan
The proposed building has a footprint of 2,867 square feet, and is rectangular-shaped with the longer end stretching north-to-south, paralleling Armstrong Boulevard. Due to the lot dimensions, drive-through placement, and location of existing utilities, the building is set back 36.75 feet from the west (front) property line. The COR Design Framework typically requires a front yard build-to line of 30 feet along arterial streets, with at least 40 percent of the front facade within the build-to area. However, there is a footnote stating that "the City may approve up to a 60-foot setback if it finds that topography or other factors require that a building be set back further to achieve acceptable grades or buffer between the street, the site entrance and the building." With the proposed setback of 36.75 feet, 100 percent of the building facade is within the 60-foot build-to area along Armstrong Boulevard, which satisfies the 40 percent requirement as stated in the COR Framework. To further reinforce the physical build-to line, the Applicant is proposing a 3.5-foot-tall ornamental wrought iron fence along the length of the paved area, providing a buffer between the drive-through lane and the trail along Armstrong Boulevard. The proposed development has 5 percent building coverage and 42.1 percent hard surfacing coverage (including the parking lot, drive-through lane, and sidewalks) on the lot, resulting in 47.1 percent impervious surfacing coverage on the lot. This impervious surfacing percentage is lower than typical developments in the COR, aligning more similarly to a suburban development pattern, due to the unique dimensions and location of the lot, as well as the proximity of wetlands to the east and north of the building site. 

The building is designed to have the main entrance along the east side, facing the parking lot. A sidewalk will connect the front entrance to the parking lot and to Armstrong Boulevard near the southwest corner of the lot, providing multi-modal access to the building. The Applicant is also proposing to install a bike rack at the southeast corner of the building for folks looking to bike to the site. Vehicular access to the site will come from a driveway at the south end of the site, tying into a private access road to serve the entire Bunker Lake Crossing development. This access road will allow vehicles to access Taco Bell from two directions: a right-in-only access along northbound Armstrong Boulevard, and a full access along the roundabout at Sunwood Drive and Ramsey Parkway. Traffic exiting Taco Bell will have to turn left (southeast) onto the full access road and exit the development via the roundabout. For example, the vehicular traffic pattern is similar to that of the Taco Bell located near the intersection of Bunker Lake Boulevard and Anoka County Road 7 (7th Avenue) in Andover, which was also recently developed by the Applicant. The drive-through lane is oriented counter-clockwise around the building to allow at least 11 stacking spaces for vehicles, as measured from the pick-up window along the west side of the building. This drive-through lane includes a bypass lane for most of its length, as is required by Section 106-525(6) of Ramsey City Code, with a taper down to one lane beyond the pick-up window to allow for a safer pedestrian crossing with traffic exiting the drive-through lane. More information on the Variance for the drive-through placement can be found below.

For future enhancements to the site, the Applicant has sketched a potential future second lane for ordering, as has been incorporated into the designs of other nearby locations, in case of future demand. This second lane would allow drive-through traffic to diverge, place orders, and re-merge along the north side of the building, thus allowing for quicker service. The Applicant has also sketched a potential pay window ahead of the pick-up window, as has been built at nearby locations, in the event that Taco Bell transitions a two-stop service model.

Minimum parking requirements for the building are one stall per three seats of design capacity, as stated in Section 106-560 of Ramsey City Code. Maximum parking requirements shall not exceed 20 percent of the required minimum, without submission of a parking justification report. The code sheet submitted by the Applicant states a maximum occupancy in the dining room and customer areas of 51 occupants, resulting in a minimum parking requirement of 17 parking stalls and a maximum of 20.4 parking stalls. The Applicant is supplying 23 parking stalls, 2 of which are ADA accessible, as is standard for their other locations in the north metro and across the region. Staff is supportive of this small over-supply of parking because it will limit the number of vehicles attempting to park along the private access road and/or along Armstrong Boulevard, both of which do not allow on-street parking.

Architecture and Building Materials
The building will be 19 feet tall, as measured from the finished grade to the top of the parapet cap. An entry tower above the main entrance will extend up to 21 feet (2 feet taller than the parapet), and a corner tower at the southwest corner of the building will extend up to 23 feet (4 feet taller than the parapet). Both towers provide visual interest to the building's most visible areas while providing screening of the rooftop equipment. The building materials will consist of Hardie plank lap siding and trim, Nichiha panels, and Western State architectural metal panels, on all four sides of the building. Additionally, there will be storefront glazing along the south and east sides of the building to highlight the dining area, with black awnings and "eyebrow" metal trim. The west and east sides of the building will also have "expression panels", which essentially function as semi-permanent banners to accent the building's color scheme. The plans also show a garage door near the northeast corner of the building to provide access to the indoor dumpster enclosure. A dedicated loading space is marked in the parking lot to ensure vehicles do not block access to this garage door. The north side of the building will have a service ladder to access the roof, and a co-location of utility services mounted to the wall. The ladder and service panel are designed to blend in with the building materials, and the drive-through stacking and menu board will provide visual screening of this back-of-house area from Armstrong and Bunker Lake Boulevards. The Applicant is also proposing to install bollards along the drive-through lane to insulate any potential impact between vehicles and the building; this is standard practice for drive-through restaurants.

Signage
The Applicant is proposing three wall signs, each with the "Taco Bell" text and bell logo. One of these wall signs will be on the east side of the building, attached to the entry tower above the main entrance vestibule. The other two wall signs will be attached to the southwest corner tower, with one facing west and the other facing south. In addition to the wall signs, two freestanding signs are proposed on the Subject Property. A single-tenant pylon sign will be placed at the southwest corner of the lot to direct traffic along Armstrong Boulevard to Taco Bell's location. Additionally, as noted in the Staff Report for Bunker Lake Crossing's Preliminary Plat, a multi-tenant pylon sign will be placed at the northwest corner of the lot to direct traffic along Bunker Lake Boulevard to the overall development, with sign panels representing Taco Bell, Chipotle, and a future third tenant. Staff is working with the Applicant to properly locate all freestanding signage to avoid conflicts with easements and utilities. All signage has been reviewed in accordance with the newly-created Chapter 108 of Ramsey City Code. The Applicant is aware of the need for separate sign permits that are reviewed and approved administratively. 

Landscape Plan
Per the Staff Report from the Environmental Policy Board's (EPB) meeting on May 19th, the Landscape Plan includes a combination of evergreen and deciduous trees, along with some ornamental trees, shrubs, and perennials.  All proposed species and sizes are acceptable.  There is sufficient diversity among the proposed species.  A combination of sod and seeding is proposed to establish permanent ground cover.  Sod will be installed along Armstrong Boulevard and wrapping around the southern portion of the property.  Sod will also be installed along the back of curb adjacent to the parking stalls and along the drive-thru lane with seeding beyond that.  An ornamental wrought-iron fence is proposed behind the curb of the drive-thru lane on the west side of the building.  Staff will continue to work with the lots to the south to try and ensure a consistent style of fence across all three lots being created by the Bunker Lake Crossing plat.  The Landscape Plan does comply with the minimum requirements.

Lighting Plan
Section 106-310 of City Code provides lighting regulations for all developments in the City. All photometric readings will measure less than 0.5 footcandles at the property line and will measure at least 1.0 footcandle throughout the parking lot in compliance with City Code.  All lighting must be downcast and shielded. Staff is working with the Applicant to ensure all photometric regulations are met.

Utilities
The site will be served by municipal water and sanitary sewer. The water main connection will come from a shared main near the southeast corner of the parking lot, adjacent to the driveway to the private access road. The sanitary sewer connection will come from a line northwest of the building, which then connects under Armstrong Boulevard to a sewer main on the west side of the street.

Stormwater Management
The site's stormwater will be collected and directed to the large pond in Waterfront Park, roughly a quarter-mile east-southeast of the site. The Applicant has designed the parking lot and drive-through lane to drain into five interconnected catch basins, which then feed into a storm sewer main at the southwest corner of the site.

Variance
As noted above, the Applicant is proposing to construct a drive-through lane that wraps counter-clockwise around the Taco Bell building. This results in a significant portion of the drive-through lane being placed in the front yard of the property along Armstrong Boulevard. Section 106-625(5) of Ramsey City Code states that "drive-through lanes are not permitted in the front yard or within the front build-to line." The Applicant has stated the need for a Variance to this standard because of the lot dimensions and wetland constraints.

City Code Section 106-220 discusses the practical difficulties that are allowed to be used for justifying variances (below in italics). Among them, the Applicant has identified the following practical difficulties and associated justifications for the variance:

• That the property owner proposes to use the property in a reasonable manner not permitted by the zoning code. The Applicant requests a variance to allow a drive-through in the front yard to allow for maximum stacking space on the property, limiting the potential for overflow traffic backing up into the private access road and/or Armstrong Boulevard. Additionally, by placing the drive-through in the front yard, it will reduce the number of conflicts between vehicular and pedestrian traffic. Without a variance, the Applicant would need to shift the drive-through lane to the east side of the building, thus creating a sharper U-turn pattern for vehicles using the drive-through and also forcing dine-in customers to walk across the drive-through lane to enter the building.
• The plight of the landowner is due to circumstances unique to the property not created by the landowner. At the time of writing this case, the Subject Property is City-owned. It should be noted that the Centra Homes team, which platted and is currently developing the Waterfront Village neighborhood east of the Subject Property, had to design their Preliminary Plat to account for the wetland as it abuts the west edge of their development. Centra Homes platted the Subject Property as Outlot D, Waterfront Village, in coordination with the City of Ramsey to facilitate commercial development by another entity in the future. Capital Real Estate, the entity purchasing Outlot D for the Bunker Lake Crossing development, is selling the Subject Property (Lot 1, Block 1, Bunker Lake Crossing) to Border Foods for the development. In working with the folks at both Centra Homes and Capital Real Estate, Staff have attempted to find a solution that allows for commercial development oriented along Armstrong Boulevard that lessens or eliminates impact to the existing wetland. This includes limiting the overall width of the Taco Bell site to fit within the buildable area along Armstrong Boulevard. By looping the drive-through lane around the building, the Applicant has achieved a more compact and efficient site plan that minimizes impervious surfacing, avoids the wetland area, and allows for a wider wetland buffer.
• The variance, if granted, will not alter the essential character of the locality. As noted previously, the site plan has a layout and impervious surfacing percentage that is more typical of a suburban commercial development than that of a downtown mixed-use area. It should be noted that the COR-2b zoning district was created to focus on "a contemporary and innovative strategy that responds to overall objectives for the COR" while accommodating more auto-oriented suburban land uses. The proposed site plan allows for a blend of urban and suburban design elements to foster economic development by bringing another highly-requested restaurant to Ramsey while maintaining multi-modal connectivity, an urban streetscape, and a higher design standard. 

Alternatives

1. Approve the Variance and recommend approval of the Conditional Use Permit and Site Plan as presented.
2. Approve the Variance and recommend approval of the Conditional Use Permit and Site Plan with modifications, based on discussion and supporting findings of fact.
3. Deny the Variance and recommend denial of the Conditional Use Permit and Site Plan, based on supporting findings of fact.

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

Staff recommends approval of the Conditional Use Permit, Site Plan, and Variance.

2 motions:
Motion to approve Resolution #25-110, Granting a Variance for a Drive-Through Lane in the Front Yard for Taco Bell at 14751 Armstrong Blvd NW.
- and -
Motion to recommend the City Council approve Resolution #25-109, Approving a Conditional Use Permit for a Drive-Through Lane, and a Site Plan Review for Taco Bell at 14751 Armstrong Blvd NW.