Request for Site Plan and Conditional Use Permit Approval for Motor Fuel Sales and Car Wash for a Super America Located in the COR TWO Subdivision; Case of West Real Estate and Management Inc.

The City has received applications for site plan approval and a conditional use permit for a proposed retail convenience store with motor fuel sales and an accessory, commercial car wash. The subject property is zoned COR-2b in which retail uses are permitted and motor fuel sales and accessory car washes are conditional uses.

A public hearing is not required for the site plan review. However, in accordance with State Statute and City Code, Staff attempted to notify all property owners within 350 of the Subject Property of the Public Hearing for the conditional use permit via Standard US Mail. A Notice of Public Hearing was also published in the Anoka County Union.

The site is approximately 1.25 acres and is located at the southwest corner of where Sunwood Dr turns from east/west to north/south (near the roundabout). The proposal includes four (4) motor fuel islands with a total of eight (8) individual fuel dispensers. The fueling area will be located underneath an overhead canopy that, per City Code, cannot exceed twenty (20) feet in height.  The Applicant has requested that the operation be permitted twenty-four (24) hours per day, seven (7) days a week.

The Design Framework for The COR states that buildings should front the street to create a more urban feel. However, the COR-2b Sub-District is more auto-oriented and this standard creates some difficulty in site layout. The proposed building fronts the interior of the lot, as will the future buildings on Lots 3 & 4 and potentially the existing buildings south of the site (due to the realigned Sunwood Dr). Conceptually, Lots 3-5 Block 1 will act as one site even though they are comprised of individual lots. Each of the lots face the interior, creating more of a campus type of layout. While the accesses are all private, they will function much like public roads do and in that sense, the building faces a street. The private accesses will be encumbered by shared access easements.

The Applicant has submitted revised elevations that strive to enhance the street presence on the rear of the building (facing Sunwood Dr) by incorporating additional windows to meet the intent of the Design Framework.

At least forty percent (40%) of the building facade is required to be within the build-to line (thirty [30] feet along the east/west stretch of Sunwood Dr or fifteen [15] feet along the north/south stretch of Sunwood Dr based on the street hierarchy designations). However, the Design Framework allows for landscaping, decorative fencing and other certain features to be used in conjunction with the building facade to meet this standard. The Applicant has submitted additional detail regarding the decorative fencing and shrubbery and has also provided calculations that verify the combination of building facade, decorative fencing and landscaping exceed the forty percent (40%) threshold.

The exterior finish of the building is proposed to consist of face brick, brick accent bands, clear tempered glass and dark bronze metal panels. The columns of the overhead canopy for the fueling station are proposed to also be face brick with brick accent bands. The waste enclosure appears to consist of these same materials but will have a gate that consists of a wood composite material.  The revised plans also indicate red LED accent lighting outlining the base of the roof as well as the overhead canopy.

There are twelve (12) proposed parking stalls shown on the site plan, which complies with the minimum and maximum standards outlined in the Design Framework (for retail, a minimum of 2 stalls per 1,000 square feet of building and a maximum of 4 stalls per 1,000 square feet of building space).  The Applicant has stated that they do not intend to participate in any shared parking arrangements between Lots 2-4 Block 1 COR TWO.
 
Maneuverability for passenger vehicles appears to sufficient. A truck maneuvering exhibit has been submitted. Staff noted some concern about the maneuverability of fuel trucks and potential conflicts with passenger vehicles when the fuel truck would back up within the site and has requested feedback from the Applicant regarding site layout and truck maneuverability.  The Applicant has since stated that the truck route would be altered so that fuel trucks would enter through the secondary access (the north entrance) and exit through the southeast access.  This route would eliminate the need for a fuel truck to back up within the site, which reduces the potential conflict between truck traffic and passenger vehicles.

The grading/drainage and landscaping plans are generally acceptable with requested revisions outlined in the Staff Review File dated October 12, 2012.

The Planning Commission held a public hearing concerning the conditional use permit request for motor fuel sales and an accessory, commercial car wash on October 4, 2012.  There were no written or verbal comments submitted regarding this request.

Based on the revised elevations and renderings, the Planning Commission has recommended approving the site plan and the conditional use permit for motor fuel sales and an accessory, commercial car wash contingent upon compliance with the Staff Review File.  However, the Planning Commission requested two (2) additions to the Findings of Fact and one (1) amendment to the conditional use permit, based on a request from the Applicant. 

The Planning Commission recommended that the Findings of Fact be revised to include the following:

• That the proposed use and layout are acceptable due to the unique design constraints of the lot, the location within The COR, the street designations, and the orientation of the building; and
• That the proposed car wash is acceptable due to recent zoning amendments that identify this area as being more auto-oriented.

The Planning Commission recommended that the Conditional Use Permit be revised to permit a twenty-four (24) hours per day operation, seven (7) days per week.
 
The first finding and the revision to the Conditional Use Permit have been incorporated into the documents for consideration this evening.  The second finding was requested by the Planning Commission to address their concern of recommending approval for this car wash while a previous request (in 2004) for an accessory car wash for the Coborn's site did not receive a favorable recommendation by the Planning Commission.  However, after Staff reviewed the 2004 case, it was apparent that the Planning Commission had, in fact, recommended approval of the conditional use permit and that the City Council  had approved the conditional use permit; the applicant, for unspecified reasons, had subsequently withdrawn their request for a conditional  use permit.  Therefore, this finding was not incorporated into the Findings of Fact for consideration this evening.

All cost associated with processing the application are the responsibility of the Applicant.

Motion to adopt Findings of Fact favorable to the applicant and to approve the request for a Conditional Use Permit for motor fuel sales and an accessory car wash, contingent upon the completion of certain updates to the Design Framework and compliance with the Staff Review File dated September 28, 2012, revised October 12, 2012.

-and-

Motion to approve the proposed site plan, contingent upon the completion of certain updates to the Design Framework and compliance with the Staff Review File dated September 28, 2012, revised October 12, 2012.