e e e e e e e e e e e good evening and welcome to the Planning Commission regular meeting for February 24th 2025 this time we'll move to roll call commissioner aspon commissioner bot here commissioner Brittain here commissioner fiser here chair Frasier here commissioner Canal not present commissioner rasmuson here commissioner Stevens here thank you thank you item three is approval of the agenda unless there's a motion to amend I look for approval motion approve motion to approve from commissioner Britton do have a second second second from commissioner raspon all those in favor say I I post say no motion carries 60 item four on the agenda is open Forum this is a chance for anyone who's in the audience here tonight to speak on something that is not on tonight's agenda so uh we are going to have open open hearings on Northpoint and quick trip if there's something you'd like to speak to the uh commission about that is not one of those items please step to the podium and state your name and address for the record all right seeing none we will close open Forum five is chair's explanation of the hearing process the Planning Commission is a volunteer Advisory Group to the city council one of the commission's functions is to hold public hearings and make recommendations on land use and Zoning matters the purpose of these public hearings is to provide an opportunity for each applicant and citizens to present M information ask questions and express opinions since these proceedings are televised and recorded for the public record anyone wishing to speak must step up to the podium and give their name and address before addressing the the commission staff reports are prepared and provided to the applicant and Planning Commission in advance of the meeting the first step in the hearing will be for staff to present a summary of the report the applicant will then have an opportunity to briefly explain the proposal and provide additional information or comment anyone wanting to speak in favor or against the proposal will then be heard upon completion of the testimony the hearing will be closed to public comment the Planning Commission will then discuss and act on the matter two complete agenda packets are available for viewing on the back table please do not remove those items the city council will act on these items at their meeting on Wednesday February 19th 2025 which starts at 7 p.m. with that we'll move to item six 6A is North Point Lumberman's outdoor storagea case cup 20 25-7 with Max Erikson presenting good evening Mr chair members of the commission my name is Max Ericson I happy be presenting at my first plan commission meeting and uh hope to remain and present more projects in the future with that start with North Point uh of Cottage Grove Logistics park has applied for a cup uh for outdoor storage um the site location is within the Cottage Grove Logistics park at 7701 100 Street South the site is located within the master plan for the Cottage Grove Logistics Park which was approved uh in 2021 by Council uh phase one of development was approved in 2022 uh as of today there are two buildings uh constructed for the use of manufacturing warehouse distribution and Office Space uh the tenant Lumberman's Inc is a building materials distributor which currently occupies a space in 7601 Hunter streets South um in 2023 lumberman obtained a cup to utilize a portion of the Southern trailer parking area of 7601 an administrative cup was later obtained for them to expand that storage area um the extension also had uh with the same conditions as the original approval uh the extension had also increase the fence height from 6t to 10 ft for this proposal lumbermans is working with North Point on moving to 7701 for continued growth in their business the newly proposed storage area will act as a staging area for materials these include Lumber shingles PVC and other building materials um North Point plans to install fencing around the entirety of the trailer parking on the west side of 771 the property is zoned i1 which is consistent with the 2040 comp plan outdoor storage is allowed for i1 zoning but requires a conditional use permit um when it exceeds 5,000 squ ft the approximate sto proposed storage area will be around 54,500 sare Ft uh photo on the left uh is the existing outdoor storage um this photo was taken a few weeks ago um it fully screens materials they have in there right now um the photo on the right is the proposed Site Area from the public path both of these are from the public path on Hadley um there is an existing 8ft sound wall that exists as a buffer between Hadley and the interior of the site as you can see in both photos Title 11 chapter 3 subsection 7e states that all outdoor storage areas must be completely screened with a combination of fences walls Earth and BMS and or Landscaping the applicant plans on building a 10-ft cedar fence which is the maximum height allowed in industrial districts there will be two accesses to the storage area one sliding gate at the North and one swing gate at the South the site has a pre-installed approved Landscaping per master plan um at Phase One development uh the fence design will be consistent with prior outdoor storage approvals for for this development um the photo on screen uh is a rendering of what it will look like um if approved um the smaller uh uh picture on the bottom is where the red line is is kind of the sight line of where that uh rendering is taken from Hadley fence posts will be constructed to avoid obstructing storm water features posts will be lengthened have lengthened intervals to avoid culverts and storm water pipe um that run underneath the paved area and let's see I can highlight this so right here and here kind of all along um there's a there's a culvert that runs that captures the building runoff that runs underneath the pavement and so uh all along here and those fence posts will be um lengthen intervals to avoid um interfering with those the storage site will utilize trailer parking uh space and not um uh required vehicle stalls the master plan was approved for parking of mounts based on the principal use uh which was manufacturing and storage um the subject building requires 244 stalls for the proposed built space um and 256 were actualized the tenant lumbermans will occupy the West half of this building and will be given 128 stalls which does not include this the trailer parking uh and with that I'll leave the recommendation before the commission and if you have questions for me or Charlie Canon with North Point um Mark vanderbent and Tom heung with lumbermans are also available all right thank you any questions for staff all right if the applicant would like to approach and add anything additional hi commission I'm Charlie Canon with North Point development just wanted to say thank you again for your time tonight and Max thanks for all your hard work with this being your first one um so we appreciate it and Mark and Tom thanks for your continued partnership here uh just one thing I'd like to add with the existing outdoor storage at building one that fencing will be removed um and in fact some of it's going to be used for building too um so you know that'll transition over to building 2 and then whatever other materials aren't used will be discarded of properly and the asphalt will be repaired and replaced at building one and there is no longer a need for outdoor storage there and that's all thank you thank you any questions for the applicant commissioner Bren so you mentioned some of it would be removed but then you said that is it all going to be removed I'm sorry yes all of it will be removed um some of the sections will be reused at building 2 but from building one all of it will be removed yeah thank you any further questions commissioner B so why do you need this additional outdoor storage uh space although you have this indoor space newly available sure in the building too yeah I'll defer to Mark and Tom if there's any operational specifics that they'd like to add hi commission I'm Mark vanderbent um work for lumberman um we two years ago just I'll give you a little bit of a longer answer to that question two years ago um Minnesota was not on our radar of places we were going to open up business and some of our vendor Partners came to us and approach and said hey we really like the relationship we have with you guys you guys um do a really good job we would love it if you guys would consider coming to the Minneapolis market and servicing that market and so we put our heads together and and and did our research and decided that yes that'd be a good thing to do and so we moved out here about a year ago we opened up last summer early summer and since then the market has been really really receptive to us and our business and so as a result um we quickly realized that the 990,000 square ft plus the current outdoor storage was just not going to be enough for what we needed to do to stay within the restraints and to service this market and so we quickly worked with Charlie and their team to say hey what what can we do to get more more space to accommodate this growth grow in business and so as a result we've we've made this move and and need this move to continue to service this market and the growth that we expect into the future thank you any further questions for the applicant all right thank you thank you thank you at this time we'll open Public public hearing on the application anyone wishing to speak for or against cons to the podium State their name and address all right seeing none we will close public hearing on the application any further discussion by commission commissioner esperson feel like it makes sense it seemed to work out pretty well on on their project last year I haven't heard of any complaints it looks nice um just trying to expand so I don't see an issue with that fer I'll add too that it's it's exciting to see somebody come in because I mean a lot of us on the commission with the North Point development so it's kind of cool to see a company come in that was kind of like oo Minnesota and now you're expanding so much that you need more space so I think that just says a lot to the location and you know the the success of not only North Point but your business so congratulations on that I agree it seems pretty straightforward the application any further discussion I'll just add that I'm glad that it's working out for you guys and you're you're needing the space to to move in and that business is going well the other thing I will add is that we've had this outdoor uh storage at the other location before this move there's been no complaints there's been no issues with code enforcement so it seems like it's not going to cause the problems that we're looking for in a conditional use permit to change that and so um I would be in support of the the move and the change um that's recommended here tonight as well so with that unless there any further comment I'd look for a motion I will make the motion to approve the conditional use permit subject to the stipulations in the staff report all right we have a motion from commissioner fiser do I have a second second second from commissioner aspon any further discussion on the motion seeing none all those in favor say I I post say no motion carries 60 6B tonight is Quick Trip cases SP and cup and v2025 d008 with Sam presenting all right just one second there we go all right quick trip uh has applied for a conditional use permit site plan review and variance request to construct a new convenience store at the intersection of Jamaica Avenue and 95th Street uh the the property is currently vacant and located south of Fire Station Number Four uh city-owned land abuts the property to the east which is used by rumka companies for storage of landscape materials and the city compost site um this site in question was also once used as the city compost site uh the lot is currently owned by wag Farms Inc and is in the Lake Flora second edition plant which was approved in 2023 the plant was intended to create developable Parcels for expansion of the city Business Park and allow for expansion of the city's Regional storm water system on land also owned by the wag Farms trust uh the Eda currently has a purchase agreement to acquire the property from wag farms and a purchase agreement to sell the property to Quick Trip at a simultaneous closing several years ago the city installed public utilities and infrastructure in the industrial park awaiting development in lie of assessing wag farms for the improvements uh the city finds appropriate developers and purchase is the Lots from wag farms and assessment costs are recouped in the sale to the end user the property is currently zoned i1 General industrial district and is guided Industrial in the comprehensive plan the i1 district does allow motor fuel stations with a conditional use permit motor fuel stations must also meet special zoning Provisions found in city code title 1145 an aquatic resource study a survey of the site was complet completed in April 2024 two aquatic resources were identified on site an unnamed tributary and depressional Wetland Basin the ordinary high water mark of the tributary was delineated and mapped and Wetland characteristics were documented to determine the Wetland boundary with this information Quick Trip altered their preferred site layout to minimize impacts to that tributary and avoid Wetland impacts including avoiding excavation or filling that Wetland a 135 linear foot stream Crossing was able to be designated that is permittable as a tier five impact uh the maximum tier five impact is 150 linear feet the applicant is proposing a convenience store with fuel dispenser canopy and Commercial Diesel dispenser canopy the store will be a single story building owned and operated by quick trip Inc which operates in Six States and is based out of Lacrosse Wisconsin the applicant anticipates hiring 25 to 30 employees to operate the store 24 hours a day 7 days a week all structures will meet the required property line setbacks and Building height restrictions of the i1 district three driveways will be constructed off of 95th Street the driveways vary in width to accommodate larger truck traffic accessing those commercial diesel pumps a right in right out driveway will be installed on Jamaica Avenue because full access is not needed due to the distance between the existing full access intersections at 95 5 th and 97th streets the existing raised Median on Jamaica should be extended 30 ft further south to prevent those southbound left turns into the site site and Westbound left turns out of the site uh the intersection of Jamaica and 95th and the traffic signal there were upgraded in 2019 therefore no improvements are needed as the intersection well with the signal as it operates with video detection uh the city will review and adjust signal timing as necessary after this project is completed uh an 8ft wide Trail will also be installed along the west and North sides of the site to facilitate pedestrian access from Jamaica and 95th Street the city will also be coordinating with quick trip to ensure acceptable access will remain to the city's compost site the image here shows the proposed adjusted access uh which may need to be refined once elevations of both sites are considered and both parties provide input an access must be entered into between quick trip and the city to allow access to and from the compost site on 95th Street all right um the city code 1134 for the motor fuel stations requires four parking spaces for gas stations plus two spaces for each service stall however quick trip is not having any service stalls on site additional parking was calculated using the retail requirements which is one space per each 200 ft of floor area resulting in a total of 50 parking spaces that are needed quick trip is proposing 58 total parking spaces 38 parking stalls and 20 spaces at the fuel service pumps uh the use of the service pumps as parking space is acceptable given the high turnover of the vehicles at the pumps um the applicant has requested a variance to off street parking Drive aisle and truck staging setback um the off street parking and drive aisle is required to be at least 10 ft from interior side and rear lot lines due to the restricted buildable area on site the driveway setbacks required from the Jamaica Avenue intersection and the need for wider driveways to accommodate those larger Vehicles the applicant has proposed to construct the drive aisle over the East property line onto city-owned property and encroachment agreement between the city and quick trip will be prepared for a 22t wide 300t long encroachment including that parking area uh findings of fact are included in the Planning Commission packet for this variance request the building must be composed of at least 65% class one or two materials using at least two different class one or two materials and no more than 10% class 4 materials the applicants submitted plans meet these requirements the gas pump canopies must be constructed of a material that matches and complements the prin principal building the applicant will need to submit revised plans showing the canopy columns uh with brick to meet those architectural standards all right uh minimum Landscaping is required by city code 11312 um the applicant's proposed landscape plan meets these landscape requirements by planting trees and shrubs within the SED area along Jamaica in 95th Street a tree inventory has not yet been completed for the site the will be required to submit a tree inventory to staff before any grading permits can be issued up to 50% of qualifying tree inches may be removed from the site before mitigation is required um and so a majority of the site will be maintained without tree removal um so there is not an anticipated issue there with that number right for signage they are proposing one double-faced Monument sign at the corner of Jamaica and 95th Street the proposed sign is 60 squ ft and 15 ft tall meeting the city's sign ordinance requirements the base will also be constructed of class one materials similar to those on the principal building additional signage includes um allowed is 15 squ ft of signage per exterior wall on a maximum three sides of the principal structure signs on canopies are considered wall signs and are included in those area calculations the applicant has proposed the Quick Trip red logo logo in the front Gable facing Jamaica Avenue and in the Gable on the North side facing 95th Street the red Quick Trip logo will be on the west south and north sides of the fuel canopy and a diesel enter and exit logo will be on the North and South sides of the diesel canopy all of this signage added together does meet the city code requirements for size and locations the site will be lit by overhead parking lot light LED lights mounted under the fuel canopies and recessed LED lighting along the convenience store three single head overhead light poles will be located within the encroachment on city property city code limits the amount of light that can be emitted from commercial properties to one foot candle on adjacent properties a photometric plan has been submitted that meets those requirements um there is an area that does exceed one foot candle on the property on the east side within that encroachment on city property um there is no concern about this light spill however because the light will be shining onto city-owned property within that encroachment that quick trip is entering into with the city a portion of these City's storm sewer within the parcel was realigned and relocated in the fall of 2024 historically this pipe just discharged storm water Overland onto across the Quick Trip parcel through a drainage and utility easement the realignment extended storm sewer approximately 330 linear feet South to discharge into the city's storm water Flume a storm rer Culvert must be installed that extends beyond the applicant's property line onto city property um still the same Outlaw C of the Lake Flora Edition that I've been mentioning a 10-ft wide encroachment agreement must be enacted here between the city and quick chip for this Culvert because the Culvert is only serving drainage from Quick Trip and is considered private the city's Regional Pond lp3 is currently hydraulically connected to this site the project proposes to fill approximately 12,000 cubic yards below the future lp3 high water level on site the city has plans to create new ponding storage on the city-owned property which will be implemented with the future 100th Street Improvement project lp3 as it sits today has a flood storage of approximately 250 acre feet F feet the Expansion Project will increase that to 365 acre feet therefore mitigating the 7.4 acre feet impacted by the Quick Trip site grading all right and also water quality the city requires water quality to meet removal rates of a minimum 50% phosphorus and 80% total suspended solids The Proposal does meet these requirements since infiltration is not allowed on the site um the applicant cannot manage total phosphorus discharge on site therefore credits must be purchased for off-site mitigation all right um this slide talks about uh city code title 1145 which is pertaining to those motor fuel station standards The Proposal does meet all of these standards um as presented all right so on the screen before you are two recommendations that have been prepared for consideration the first is recommending approval of the variants for the parking lot setbacks second is the recommendation for site plan review and conditional use permit um upon discussion with the applicant there are some conditions that should be amended within the conditional use permit and site plan including conditions 222 and 25 2 2225 uh those would be amended to expire 18 months from the date of council approval instead of one year um and condition number 21 would be amended to allow exterior storage in a neat and orderly manner um some background on that exterior storage uh is not allowed in the industrial district however all other gas stations in the city um do have some extraor shortage for things like water softener salt fire wood propane those types of things um the intent of the ordinance is to prohibit vast expanses of unscreened storage in the industrial district um out and Outdoor Storage incidental to principal uses is allowed up to 5,000 square ft if properly screened so um staff has amended condition number 21 um you may also notice that there was in your packet a variance for canopy light banding um I will invite the applicant up to kind of discuss some changes to that um but I'll leave it there and I will stand for questions and the applicant uh representative of the applicant is also available all right thank you any questions for staff commiss BR uh in regards to the uh encroachment on to city property um is there a reason why that they don't just buy that from us I mean what what's the the general philosophy with saying because it sounds like they're actually building something on city property versus just shortening how close they can get the city property so I'm curious at at what the process for that is and why leave it the way that it is versus separating it out and then what is that is that portion of the city property to the east there uh intended to be for that water storage long term so we won't be building anything there it's just going to be water storage right um I'm going to going to throw it over to our city administrator well Mr chair members of the Planning Commission those are really good questions and maybe as I start talking uh Sam can go back to the image that showed the encroachment you know as you saw on the site when we originally had anticipated a quick trip um we anticipated they were actually going to be be able to use all of the acreage of the site and you have seen that less than 3% of the site is unusable uh based upon how the storm water bisects the property and quick trip has been very diligent to ensure that they don't touch any of the the Wetland or the tributary um and so as part of that they have really endured a significant hardship um since the city is both is the seller of this um and the owner of the pond we affectionately know as lp3 um the city didn't feel that it was necessary um to charge or sell that specific piece uh to them a simple encroachment agreement versus versus a plat modification um would not be necessary and so it was a mechanism that we thought was easier for both the city um and the applicant to not endure additional cost the other thing too is um as we talk we know the compost site is going to be there um for a short time um we do have a lease with them but uh Beyond 5 years um we don't necessarily see them existing uh there and so we do have to help them find a permanent home so we anticipate that we would start start constructing lp3 um with the in conjunction with the 100 Street reconstruction so I know you guys have seen that project as it goes out to connect with Highway 61 and at that time um we would start that excavation work and at that time we would start to relocate uh the compost site okay thank you any further questions commission bot how long is the encroachment agreement going to be is it a is it term bound or is it as long as quick exists Mr chair members of the commission at this time we've drafted it with no termination uh so indefinitely in existence thank you further questions for staff Mr Stevens um first of all those storm water slides were very nice I like those um so this is more just out of curiosity but in terms of gas stations like in our city Co mod um I feel like when you look at a gas station and you look at it going in right next to some storm water features um I'm curious what so I think like the public perception is gas station means leakage means water contamination so or groundwater contamination what sort of measures are either in our cold or just maybe like standard gas station development measures today that protect the groundwater resource which is so close so I know they can't infiltrate but thinking about just what sort of like makes its way in accidentally how does that stay protected Mr chair members of the commission those are great questions because you're right it's always hard right when you have gas stations next to uh Wetlands uh we have to be extremely sensitive to that um one other additional fact is that uh this site is outside of our Wellhead protection area so uh that's one element we aren't having to worry about in this situation when we look at the storm water basin as you said we're not infiltrating so for us we're looking more at a clay liner or different infiltration um or a membrane to prevent the infiltration so that way there we obviously have a faster response time if there is a spill but I'm sure the applicant can probably speak to all of the things that they have on site um to prevent spills and their containment system that's quite extensive but at this point we feel very strongly with the pond design with the either a clay liner or a membrane uh we would be able to stop that discharge to a larger Regional system commiss B so in one of your earlier slides you mentioned uh planting additional trees are those additional trees or were you just accounting for the existing U um Woodlands um commissioner bot U Mr chair uh the trees that are being proposed are the required amount of landscaping that's required per their site area that is being disturbed is what we're calling so in industrial districts um you take the site area as a whole and multiply that by some various coefficients and we we don't need to get into all the math here and that tells you how many trees need to be present on the site um in this case we did take just the Disturbed area because they are conserving those wetlands and everything and those that number once we did that math is are the numbers of trees and shrubs that were required to be planted by the applicant um should they need to do any additional tree mitigation after that tree um inventory is done we will also be taking that into consideration um which is and they will need to mitigate that of course um that will be discussed once we receive their plan for that thank you one more question yep commission so if that um composite is going to go let's say in 5 six years time I thought that you had proposed that a new entrance should be built for the ramar site how how that how does that work oh absolutely she read my mind she's going back to the slide um so right now um the existing driveway actually comes off closer to the intersection of 95th Street where it actually bends um up into there you go very good that's where the existing driveway way is but one of the interesting things as you will note with the dashed red Wetland we can't actually extend the driveway from that location down to their current operation because we'd be impacting a wetland so we need to actually shift the driveway um further into the site to enable us to avoid the Wetland and be able to construct the driveway one of the challenges that we're having right now is just trying to make sure that that driveway is not too steep going into the compost site and so we just need to work with the applicant on the final grade to make sure that that transition and that grade change into their site doesn't adversely affect their operations any further questions all right thank you thank you this time if the applicant would like to approach and add anything additional thank you commissioner thank you Samantha uh for working with us on this proposal and Emily and Jennifer this is a long time coming to be back in front of you for this uh opportunity and one of the things I just wanted to address um was the the variance and the condition the denial of potentially of No Light band on our canopies um we understand the spirit of the ordinance and I did my own little research in your city on the gas stations and three of The Holiday gas stations obviously none of them have canopy banding lights but the buildings do the buildings have a bright blue banding light around the building itself around the car wash entrance around the monument sign we are not asking for any of those light bands around those features our building actually doesn't have a light band around the structure but we are asking for the light band on the canopy and the reason being just to switch out but a couple reasons one the overall location where we're located off of Jamaica um and 95th is not super visible from Highway 61 and as many you know you know our main purpose is convenience and visibility people want to be able to see before they get to us to be not make a a quick blinker and cut someone off to get over um so it does help with our visibility people look for that band to identify where we're at um the second part is we're not asking for a variance for a sign we normally would like a taller pylon sign for that visibility also because we're tucked back into the industrial park but we are not asking for that and we know um offsite signage also is not allowed so we feel um that might be a fair trade-off um it is a part of our brand identity which people identify um out of our 850 stores there's only 15 that don't have that red banding um because it's a significant part of how we look in the community um I think as you guys can tell by the materials we use we pride ourselves on using the highest quality material so we don't feel it's a true billboard looking uh light it's a professional very um meets the LED photometric and does not go off the site um the other part is that we're not next to any residential and we're also not NE next to any retail or business if you look at the current gas stations that are in your um Community they're all in very well-lit well-driven retail business area we are not we're the only business that will be in this industrial park and that's why we are asking for consideration for um this variance um the other part is we can also dim that led light band so many people aren't aware of that but we can actually dim that led light band that goes around the can canopy um because we're in the industrial park I think from a safety aspect and because we're adding the trail and encouraging people to walk even hopefully from the community that might be to to the west of us um you know lighting all of it helps provide safety for people and that's really what our spirit of adding it is from branding and a safety standpoint um so we would just ask that either consideration of dimming the light strip be considered or we could do the light strip with no lighting but just have a red strip with our logo so those would be the two considerations that I'd ask that the uh Commissioners that you would consider for our cup um to speak to commissioner bot's uh question about or sorry commissioner Steven's question about environmental we have a very strict um on how our environmental works I actually have a document I don't have it with me that has the monitoring system the how we're double walled all our how it's set up this system has passed in Wellhead protection areas so I am happy to send that document to Emily and Jennifer and Samantha to forward to you guys so that you can see how strict our own guidelines are in regards to the tanks and infiltration of storm water because is very important and I actually have a project myself in one of the communities that is in a well head and was able to go in because I provided this document to show them what we actually do to protect that so um I will take any other questions that you the commission may have all right thank you and I don't think we caught your name at oh sorry Watson Real Estate manager for Quick Trip Bloomington Minnesota thank you um any questions for the applicant where's your askon curious about the field tanks sorry about that since we're talking about infiltrating and stuff can you explain are they steel tanks or they poly tanks they're not they're not steel tank they're double walled I want to say I am not the store engineering expert I have a store engineering expert who designs all our plans that you see up here um that's why I want to send you the document so I don't misspeak but they are double walled and they are not steel and we hold ourselves to the strictest inspections um I think if you guys were to go on the mpca site I don't even know the last time we've probably had a leak because they're on a regular rotation even on our capex budget so we're constantly insuring um that there are no issues with our tanks but I am happy to send you that document I do not want to miss speak but I know they're double walled and I know they're not steel do you know how often they get inspected is it annual or I want to say it's annually if even more than that all right so thank you Mr chair may I chime in on that question I work in the business so I can give you a little more insight maybe um I do not work for Quick Trip um but I I have worked for uh several retailers in the business and currently work in that business most retailers use f glass on their tanks whereas uh maybe 40 years ago you'd find more metal in the ground uh and that's because as we both know metal is subject to rust and other sorts of challenges when it meets with moisture or um freeze thaw cycle those kinds of things and the fiberglass tends to not have that same issue um most tanks are uh at least double walled they do make a triple wall tank as well and then every um retailer in the state of Minnesota has to put in uh underground monitoring systems so those systems have alarms built into them both um silent and loud uh that will indicate if there's any sort of um weirdness in the soil surrounding the tank that could potentially be a leak and all of that is monitored uh p47 365 both um they usually have a a uh signal that goes to a corporate entity and then of course in the store the last thing is they are inspected annually just like your fuel pumps are so it's the same people who come and check all of that stuff uh sometimes the state will even Outsource those inspections to professionals like the petroleum maintenance group that works here in the Twin Cities that does a lot of the various repairs and things so that they stay on schedule should any kind of situation come up or they shorten inspector whatever that kind of deal is so um that any questions about that uh anything else I'm certainly happy to try to answer them if you'd like all right thank you council member yes thank you council member any further questions for applicants I just wanted to say I would still like to I want to see the the document you said you wanted to send if you could still send that even though you talked to it a little bit I I'm really curious about it so and I think Council will probably like to see it too when it comes foral approv they right for sure but he is accurate there are two alarm systems I do know that and I've seen in the store actually the actual where it comes in at and it's monitored offsite on our corporate office commiss B considering that this fuel pump fuel station is going to be next to a wetland um what kind of care or consideration you have uh taken into uh taken into consideration uh for the placement of these fuel tanks because it's next to a wetland Samantha can you pull up the picture of so when we design and it goes to civil uh designers they're the ones who look at this and say where's the best location for the tanks um in regards to uh the storm water but also accessibility um you can tell yeah I think I think you can stop there cuz I want to yeah so the fuel tank if you look at this photo is up in the upper right hand corner um the big Square okay oh sorry so it's going to be up in this area right here so the fuel tank is going to be up away from the storm water um and again placement of it a couple things need to be taken into consideration one when the F fuel truck comes in that they're not blocking consumers they're not um it's not a safety hazard it is really really important for us that the driver when fueling is not in the vicinity that a car could come and hit them and so we have to place the tanks where we know the tanker is going to come in and the driver is going to be on the safe side of where he's going to be filling those underground tanks um the other part is vicinity from potential storm water things like that and then also to ensure that again we're not blocking and potentially causing a hazard within our own site and from a safety that if there was a fire if there was something that were to happen that this is away from potential consumers and people um being affected and both Diesel and gas will be at that yeah actually no here's the canopy one sorry canopy one is right there so the canopy one is in front of the canopy and the diesel one is over by the diesel and when we can we do share them if it makes sense if on a if on a site plan we can put them in close vicinity and we'll put them in between but on this site plan we could not do that Pi any further questions I have one commission fer uh the right in and right out off Jamaica is that wide enough to I would assume that lots of uh diesel will be coming out of this particular quick trip is that wide enough for it's not and so I will tell you and thank you commissioner because this is one that's under consideration by my team if we keep this right in because of the fact of the cost to build this and where it's located I asked specifically my engineer today can this handle a semi- company coming in and it cannot the turn radius is not big enough and so we will actually have a sign that'll say cars only but that's where we're right now weighing if it makes sense to construct that right in without having the trucks and trust me the reason we did this site with diesel I when I observed this site multiple times and would park just to look at the location I almost got hit multiple times by semis coming out of renewal coming out of North Point so we know this is a great opportunity for us but yeah this right in right out may not be so continuing on with that so if I'm a semi- driver and I need some diesel what is what's my route going to be from Anderson coming in taking it right up into 95th on 95th right in but then how you're going down you're going down to um the second entrance pulling pulling through the diesel and then you're out is the third entrance so we're going to Loop them around the back side oh like where the encroachment area is yeah where the encroachment area is left yep okay yep gotcha did you consider maybe not changing the diesel and the regular canopy cuz I just feel like that's I don't know kind of weird like Louis just so you know in engineering they use turn rate there's a there's a program they can use to do the turn radius of the trucks yeah and it would not work in that that front area we actually need to have it sure and behind this we'd prefer that the first thing customers don't see is actually the semis on Jamaica it's usually a request we get all the time that the diesel canopy is behind the store or away from the main traffic okay um we live we have played with this site many many many site plans um so what you're seeing is what we feel is not only pleasantly pleasing to the to you the city and the consumers but also functional for all the drivers right so if you eliminate the right in right out then you wouldn't have to go over that little stream situation right is there a way to do the right in right out north of that stream and just make like like a turn lane in or that's actually we have looked at it but we don't think there's enough room um in that in that area um I think we did look at it Emily with engineering I think we did look at it and I don't think it's feasible right I'm not here to move a driveway I just I just know like there you're going to have a lot of semi- trffic I mean that's just the reality of the situation and I think putting a sign there cars only like is I mean in theory sounds great but also I think people are going to try to wiggle in there and I think it it might be well I mean nobody yeah listens to it looks and I and I will say this um knowing knowing and working with engineering it looks like something is feasible but we have played around with that driveway a lot also and so when you start to put in what has to happen with setbacks especially off of Jamaica and what is required to be able to do a straight in um it makes it a little more difficult so we'll take a look at it again for sure before final permitting sure um I will bring it up to the team to see if there's anything that they can okay I always take it back and say hey is there anything can you try one more time yeah and I have one final question um so this the southern most section of the parcel is that pretty heavily wooded with the Wetland kind of in there I'm just wondering with you know once you own the parcel what kind of upkeep and what kind of attention that large chunk of the parcel will it is it won't be a lot but it's enough um you know we're the permitting that's required for this is still DNR like there's a couple permitting things we still have to go through um but we maintain our properties very well as hopefully most of you are aware of and so we will make sure whatever is required here that we do the necessary upkeep sure okay thank you any further questions for the applicant I just have one for you yes um it's about the light banding because I just want to clarify as to what the ask is tonight my understanding was that the the variance request was going to be withdrawn but then you would kind of suggested a couple other things and so I just want to make sure I'm understanding as far as what what quick Trip's asking us to do tonight um I'm I'm asking I asked for the variance to be withdrawn okay and asking in consideration either we do a plain light Bland just a plain one with our logo or if consideration would be given to a recommendation to have the light band dimmed and again my reasoning is the other story have a band it's just not on the canopy we don't want it on our store we don't want and we don't have a car wash entrance at this location so really the amount of light banding is only on the canopy and that's the the consideration and ask that I would be asked by Commissioners that you consider that instead of on the stores and the buildings it's just on our canopy sure okay understood can I ask a question on top of that maybe for staff I'm sorry um so our hands allowed on buildings but not on the canopy cuz I'm seeing in the packet that it it keeps specifying that it's not allowed on the canopies but it is allowed on buildings is that correct uh commissioner officier Mr chair yes that is correct um Bans are allowed on buildings um signs um car washes as the applicant pointed out there are some within the city of cage Grove of the ban is specifically on those canopies um as I'll just touch on kind of what what the request was as far as the just the stripe not a lit stripe with the Quick Trip logo um that would not require a variance um the Quick Trip the words Quick Trip may be lit um you will see some of the gas stations in Cottage Grove with their logo lit up um just it's that band around which is not allowed to be lit up so we would be happy to accommodate that request and no action would be needed on that by the plan commission tonight um I'll leave it there okay so I guess I and I just want to make sure I understand so they can put a a solid red colored band on the canopy and then they can put quick trip on there and have Quick Trip lit up the band just can't be lit up Mr chair you are correct okay okay any further questions for applicant or Sam while she's up there I do I'm sorry yeah commissioner Fisher can you can somebody give me the historical reason why a band on a building is okay versus a band on a canopy is not okay because I I this as I was reading the packet before you even spoke I was kind of like that seems a little odd to me so I guess maybe if there's some historical information that can help me understand why it's put that way in the code well Mr chair members of the Planning Commission since I think I'm the one that's been here the longest I can maybe tell you the historical reference to it um one of the challenges that the city council had probably you know 15 to 18 years ago um was the fact that gas station canopies you know kind of glowed in the sky they were very high um which is why we obviously got rid of our um pylon sign standards so that um we didn't have that large glow in the sky so additional kind of light pollution in that regards but um undo marketing and attraction and potentially new lighting so the council at that time uh directed staff to move away from allowing that um but as the applicant noted um there is nothing that prohibits the principal structure the sofit area from being lit some have obviously with new lighting technology taken that to their advantage with the way they have the LEDs uh on their sofits of their building and so um that's the history that's been there um and I guess one clarification you know related to condition number 19 I need to make sure they I understand the applicant is saying that they'd be allowed to install the Leed band but they're saying they would not turn it on or operate it um for so we need clarification of that or is it just a painted red stripe just so that we ensure that that condition is correct thank you Jennifer um for clarification I think we would want to be able to install it and not turn it on in case the city council and Commissioners ever decide that this would be allowed and again it's in the spirit of that we would leave it off but that either I think I'd leave it to my signage team to say which is better um visible visibility during the day because as you guys may or may not know sometimes lighting um if it's red at night may be actually a clear acrylic that's over it during the day and so and that's another point is the LED light that's on the canopy has an acrylic panel that is actually over it so my team may say no we're not going to light it even we just want a red band because it doesn't make any sense to have but they may say if if in the spirit you ever would consider a change then we would install it and we'd want to install it probably if there was a consideration because the cost to do it after the fact is significantly more thank you I guess my reading and understanding of the conditions right now is that it not be installed even if it wasn't going to be turned on and so that's that's condition right 19 right now as it's written is that it cannot be installed um on the banding commissioner B I guess first off do you have a question or are we in a discussion point I have a question okay go ahead so if uh you're not allowed to use the light banding and you want to just light up the Quick Trip logo as of now you just just have one logo for the entire canop canopy or you have like logos on each like three sides of the canopy where it's visible is it on each side Sam I'm GNA bring Sam back up she's got her all right thank you uh Mr chair commissioner but um the Quick Trip logo the words itself is proposed on three sides of the traditional fuel dispenser canopy that would be the southwest and North sides um think you will be able to see them from the right of way s somewhere so I guess my followup then is would that address your concern of it not being visible so if you had your quick trick logo lit up and it's seen on all sides uh all three sides which are visible then would that elevate your concern of it not being seen no because depending on which direction you're coming from that band because of the length and withth of the canopy helps extand the visibility so it is nice to have the logo lit which all the convenience stores and gas stations do have in town but when you're coming from a distance the more light there is the more it's going to catch your eye you may not catch the logo but you may catch the band at a certain angle and depending as drivers do if they're looking down or talking to their partner in the car or doing something you may or may not catch it so yes it works but from a true like visibility it just helps us be more visible from a distance okay thank you any further questions for the applicant all right thank you very much thank you uh at this time we'll open public hearing on the application anyone wishing to speak for or against the application can step to the podium State their name and address for the record seeing none we will public hearing on the application any further discussion by commission commissioner Burton um you've done a great job on the presentation a lot of great details it's it looks like a a tremendous project project so I'm I'm real pleased with you know all the detail and everything that's gone into this um with respect to the light banding I'm still strongly against that um traditionally in the community yes there are some roofs and signs that have this banding on there and if there was some way for us to not have allowed that then we shouldn't have allowed it to begin with so wow I see them as two different things one that we can control and one that we can't um the other thing would be consistency within the community if we allowed it to happen here then another gas station that comes in would have to allow that as well um I don't see it I understand the reasons why the applicant would like to have this uh but from a community perspective trying to limit this type of accent um I think is still important for us to maintain the what we've been doing thank you fure me next um I respectfully disagree with my colleague here um I the only reason why is because this is an industrial use um to me if this was in a development absolutely not like it totally makes sense but when you drive up to a fuel canopy like that and all the lights underneath it like those are all very bright and like you said a safety concern when you're moving traffic in and out like one red band to me in an industrial area um doesn't I mean if we allow bands on buildings I mean the canopy is literally right next to the building so to me it it's not a huge consideration or not a huge um what's the word I'm looking for it's not a big difference right like I said if it were in a residential area if it were at Hadley in 80th or whatever then absolutely not I think that's a whole different scenario but industrial Zone there's going to be a ton of trucks coming in and out I think the red band is is a reasonable ask all right thank you I guess I'll just say before we get too far field on the banding question that the rec the request for the variance was withdrawn and so that's not something we're voting on tonight voting on it no um I appreciate hearing everyone's comments on it um but the applicant has withdrawn it the the variant request tonight I think going forward that may be a discussion they want to keep having with the city and maybe it ends up in front of us um but go at this point yeah I don't think that that that request is on there and currently the conditions of approval would not even allow them to put it on and not turn it on so they would have to put a solid color barrier on there right now as the conditions of approval would are reading currently with that being said any further discussion on sorry I did not that's all right any further discussion on the um variance for the drive lane and then the site plan and conditional use permit requests um so the question that I have is the pillars of the canopy are going to be brick wall is that what it is that's my understanding is they are going to redesign them in the picture we saw to put put some brick on them so they match the convenience store correct Mr CH you are correct okay than any further discussion all right seeing none I'd like for a motion a motion to approve subject to the stipulations in the staff report then Emily did you have Mr chair members of the commission as Sam noted at the beginning there were three modifications so I wanted you to be cautious of that to ensure that you in Incorporated that if that is your wish with item number two to extend from one year to 18 months item number8 25 to be 18 months and then to reward condition 21 to allow the exterior storage display oh and condition 22 to extend to 18 months as well um with condition number 21 for that exterior storage displayer sales of merchandise is permitted in a neat and orderly manner in all of the commercial pads and at the pump station so I would administrator L beat me too what I was just about to ask you does that include the the recommendations that Sam highlighted for us but so does that motion include those those changes we heard here tonight yes it does all right um so I have a motion to approve subject to conditions stipula in the staff Report with the Amendments that Sam highlight for us in her presentation is there a second to that motion now second second from commissioner raspon any further discussion on the motion the only thing I will say is um again thank you I think for a very good presentation from both of you um it seems like this project this piece of land has probably been a little more difficult than it was originally anticipated when um quick trip started looking into it but I know people in the community are very excited about Quick Trip coming um and so hopefully um we will see you here for a very long time so with that is there a mode are we're having a motion we've got a second all those in favor say I I I post say no motion carries 60 item number seven is approval of the minutes unless there is a motion to amend I look for approval motion to approve motion to approve from commissioner Fischer do I have a second I second second from commissioner bot all those in favor say I I I post say no motion carries 60 eight is reports 8A is recap of February 5th and 19th City Council meetings with Emily presenting Mr chair members of the commission uh look going back to February 5th the only item that I wanted to uh reference was the Prairie Dunes final plat that was approved by the council um on the 5th that's 120 single family homes south of 100 Street if you recall it's been some time since you've seen that preliminary plat but uh py worked through that final plat and again approval um so likely we'll see some activity down there yet this year moving to February 19th uh the council did approve the reappointments of commissioner bot commissioner Stevens commissioner Brittain um and uh chair Evan Frasier uh so thank you again for an additional term twoe term um on the commission uh wholesome uh Council approved their annual 2025 mining permit that was before you in January so that will um allow them to continue their mining activity as has been for uh quite some time uh down on the island and then finally uh the lockage Development Council did approve that uh project at their February 19th meeting again that's 183 total units with that mix of single family and town homes on the Walter SF property at Jamaica Avenue uh kind of at the north side of the city but with that I will certainly offer uh council member Olson if you have anything to add um this evening thanks everybody pardon my voice I've been fighting the grunge for a while so I'll keep it very short and very sweet if you have anything for me I'm here to answer any questions not going to do a lot of talking tonight because my voice is is a little rough but um we do have a guest in the room if you haven't yet met our new council member Dave clawen he's sitting to my left just listening in yep so um Dave uh you know worked for the city of cottage grow for many years uh a police officer paramedic and um we're lucky to have him aboard with his vast institutional knowledge of kind of how the City Works and uh his experience in the public safety room will be invaluable to us so I just wanted to make sure you knew who it was who was sitting out there watching you guys do your business anything for me anything for council member ol I have a question what was the fate of the walking path for Lockridge sure um the fate of the walking path was is uh we chose to stick with the original plan which was behind the properties that would um be directly in front of the the uh body of water some people call it a lake some people call it a pond I'm just going to call it a body of water because I don't know what the proper name for it is but um what I will tell you is staff took a lot of of the feedback that you provided at the last meeting and uh also got a lot of feedback from all the VAR council members because many of us actually went out to those homes and met with those homeowners and walked the properties and tried to understand uh the lay of the land as it were with regard to how close uh to a trail would a would a backyard be and those sorts of things and they made some very nice uh adjustments to the plan around um screening for the trail with uh some different you know uh either shrubs or or tall shrubs or or trees that will help provide a little bit better sense of um I don't know if it's security or privacy or a combination of the two that people were worried about uh but we ultimately felt the best option was to stick with the plan to go around the body of water we did consider the um the wood walkway in in the water but terribly expensive and uh requires an awful lot of Maintenance Etc so um we ultim chose to to stick with the original plan any other questions any further questions all right thank you thank you Item B is response to Planning Commission inquiries we did get a letter from Crystal about uh Jamaica and 70th Street Military Road and so I would consider that one closed and unless anyone's got anything else on that one okay C is Planning Commission requests any requests for stuff I do have I guess one thing since we talked about it during quick quick trip um currently are gas stations and other businesses in Cottage Grove allowed to have light banding on their buildings or is that one that his grandfather didn't know Mr chair members of the commission our our code AS written does not prohibit light banding on principal structures okay I don't know if any one else on the commission would join me in this but I think there were a couple businesses that were mentioned tonight that have that and I think there was some discussion I think by you Emily of new technologies that allow light banding that makes it a little brighter um and causes some of those I think light pollution issues that we were concerned about with the um canopy lighting um and so I would ask staff if we could look into discussion about whether or not that should be something that continues and and what the benefits and the cons are of of um regulating those so commiss R I will support that and I'd also like to add one of the things that I found the most problematic with those is on the signing not necessarily the building which I'd be fine with the building going away too but the the neon lighting on the holiday you know right out in front of Cub was so unbelievably bright my photo grze would dim if I pulled up to the light that's a visual distraction to a driver so yeah it's drawing my eyes attention to it but it shouldn't be I know the gas station's there there's plenty of light so that amount of light in an LED type of line is not a broad diffuse illumination um so if there's anything that we can do if it's not the buildings if even the signs and I would also extend that to to businesses such as like the smoke shops that have their Windows lit up like Christmas trees 24/7 that it's a visual distraction when I should be concentrating on the road um yes have signage it it should be indirectly lit um I shouldn't have catching something out of the corner of my eye that I know we don't allow flashing which is incredibly important not to um but if we could somehow decrease or or have some type of consistent method of preventing uh a little Vagas type atmosphere with with the amount of lighting that's coming out of some of these instances that would be great I want to add something too since we're on the light subject so I think it would be important to consider because we have such a humongous industrial Zone like consider if there are different implications of lighting in an industrial Zone versus a residential too because I think that's important to distinguish when you've got lots of semis rolling around I think more light is better I Stevens I actually I don't want to comment because I'm ready to go home but I do think that when I need to go get gas at midnight I'm happy that gas stations are lit up and bright and I think it's also a safety thing so um while the banding maybe isn't necessary but if that's going to be something removed just making I think it's important that they're very well lit because you have a lot of semi trucks just like they're open 24/7 I think it is a safety thing and I can't be the only one that when I need gas in the middle of the night I'm looking for the most lit one I'm going to avoid the ones that just have a few like dim lights so I think there's a safety piece there also um so that's all so not to just great thoughts and I agree well lit is better if we're going to well light them having downward directed light that's diffuse I think is is is a key I feel that this intensely focused lighting is where the problem is and granted there's differences of opinions but I do agree with well-lit I don't have a problem with things being well lit and if you looked at the illumination plan from the Quick Trip there's white light everywhere which is great um it looked like it was very well lit so I am support of well lit but it shouldn't be leaving the property and Illuminating areas outside of it or a distraction from a significant distance yeah um type of thing in my opinion yeah and I guess I was talking more about advertising lighting rather than safety lighting or something like that it's it's lighting that's trying to draw your attention to the product rather than create safety or you know I think it contributes though I guess is what my the big glow helps it sure well and that's why I think it's fair that if if staff comes back and says you know we looked at this and actually we think it is a good idea because it provides some additional lighting or whatever right that will make it a better property that's fair um but just to and I'm not saying I'm in fan of banning it altogether but just if we can maybe tweak that just because it sounds like there are some instances where it's being potentially misused but they're doing it fairly right now because we don't have rules around it um and just see what we can if this is something that we should get into so that's where I'll okay any further anything else on that okay any any other requests for staff now that we've given them a laundry list of things to look at before the next okay so no more uh requests then before we do adjournment I do just want to note that this is um commissioner rasp person's last meeting with us um he has been a um planning commissioner since March of 2016 um the past couple years he has served as the secretary for the Planning Commission and done a great job with that every meeting taking um attendance um but also just a leadership role in being on the commission um Derek I know I can always trust that you'll have something a good question for the applicant or at least provide your opinion when we're talking about discussion so we're not just all sitting here quietly um before we take a vote um you ask very insightful questions um you've obviously had a lot of experience on the commission and seen a lot during the city and so I want to thank you on behalf of the rest of the Commission in the city um for serving on this role I know it's just from my experience on it it's not always an easy one um it's not always one that makes everyone like you a lot um but it's it's a very important role and you've been taking time out of your family and your life to come and do this and so I do want to thank you um for doing that for the city cach gr thank you appreciate it yeah all right with that I would like for a motion to adj may I hold you for just a moment yes if it would be acceptable with the chair um maybe we could come down in front and get a nice picture yes I didn't know if we want to do that before adjournment or after let come on down all right if everyone else would like to join me in front here front you want Emily to you know I don't know that we had a picture of all this okay ready one two three everybody a big smile I'm going to get a couple good ones with you as well ready one two three big smiles wonderful yay thank and then we get a few just there yeah absolutely y yeah yeah no I'm going to join two EXC great let's let's give Derrik an opportunity to kind of share a few words yes Abol before we adj yeah thank speech speech speech you didn't know you were have to do this yeah this is nice thank you look forward to hanging this in my office I you know n nine years here I I feel like Cottage Grove has uh grown quite a bit in nine years it's it's really been rewarding um watching projects come in seeing them get built developed uh very educational um learned a lot about City process and how things happen and and I just really enjoyed volunteering I hopefully uh I get a chance to volunteer again whether on this commission or another one um I really look forward to that have the rules been explained already to you in terms of your time away versus when you can jump back on I believe I got a year a mandatory year break any questions Ask Ken he's done it six or seven times I think already but yeah you basically uh you know take take a year catch your breath and then if you're still interested in serving on another commission or this commission please absolutely reapply there's such a need for really good volunteer advisory commissions and I I I think sometimes um our commissioners maybe don't quite understand the the uh degree of gratitude that we as a city council hold for the work that you do you have to remember that part of our job is we have to um know a little bit about a lot of things and uh when we get those big packets on a you know Friday of you know 700 800 pages of of stuff that we have to do one of the first things we look at is what did the commission think of this and a perfect example of of why that's such a critical thing is when you think about um the action that you took uh 4 to3 on that development lockage development last go round you then prompted uh many of us on the city council to actually go out to the site to meet with the neighbors um I know Dave did I did Dave leave uh Dave did I did um I believe council member Garza did as well I'm not sure about the mayor but he intended to um so generally he does do things like that but um because you had that robust debate amongst all of you with various backgrounds and experiences and different uh pieces of knowledge like Derek for example I believe you're construction manager right so you come at the problem from one angle whereas Evan who's an attorney comes at the problem from another angle whereas Ken who's a engineer comes at the problem from a completely different angle and then you know all of you bring that that specialty and what that does for us is it helps us know that whatever decision was made went through a very rigorous review process and uh it enables us to feel more comfortable and confident that the staff has had ample opportunity to refine refine refine refine based on your feedback and um each and every one of the Commissioners who serves in a volunteer capacity with the city of cotage Grove deserves our our gratitude and uh Derek for as as long as you've given us um cuz look I was a commissioner too man the these meetings take time away from your F your family your friends your this you're that you're the other thing um it it it really means a lot so thank you so much for for dedicating that time and investing your time in this city with that Mr chair back to you all right thank you would you like to make the motion to adjourn then motion to adjourn all right I have a motion to adjourn from commissioner rasmon do I have a second second second from commissioner Britain all those in favor say I I I post say no motion Carri 60 we are adjourned