4. LINDERS 04-04-2012
Cinder's Flower Marts
e~at,ng 275 W. Wheelock Pkwy
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~ ~` ~ ~ \' , St. Paul,. MN :55117
'~ ® ~ ~~~QUA~rt 612-685-7993
~.~ ~,,~~~ l~~o-zol~ Fax: 65.1-255-0445.
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E-mail:-caiocella@Jinders.com
Jeremy Barnhart March 14, 2012
Planning Manager
City. of Elk River
13065 Orono.Pkwy.
Elk River, MN 55330
Dear Mr. Barnhart,
Please consider this letter. with the attached application form, documents, and information, to be our
application for a Land Use/General Planning Permit. The request is being made to be able to
operate a Cinder's "Flower Mart" at the Elk River Plaza Shopping Center at 804 Freeport Ave.
I have attempted to provide enough information. for you to complete the process.
I hope this is what you need to process and issue the appropriate permit.
ABOUT CINDER'S:
Cinder's is a familybusiness and has been. growing and selling high qualityflower and vegetable'
plants for over 100 years. We grow most everything we sell other than nursery stock and have two
large growing .locations:: St. Paul and Lake Elmo, We operate ayear-round garden center. in St.Paul.
During the last twenty three years we have developed our "Flower Marts" and have placed them
throughout.. the Twin Cities. Last year we operated. at fifty two different locations. During our
season we sell all types of annuals, perennials, hanging baskets and other -products for use in the
home garden. Because we are well known as a quality grower many gardeners seek us out to supply
their planting needs. Locatingn areas around the cities we are able to serve our customers better.'It
is also an opportunity for neighboring business owners to' provide their customers with quality..
flower and'vegetable plants conveniently nearby. Our customers have given us a tremendous
welcome and look forward to our returning each'spring.
We grow quality bedding plants as well as other seasonal. products for sale both wholesale and
retail. Cinder's guarantees all our products and because we are ayear-round. business, our customers
can come to us even after our remote "Flower Marts" have closed for the season. We take great
pride in our "Flower Marts" and are very proud of our reputation and do everything possible to be
the best in his market.
LOCATION:
The site is in the east area of the parking lot (see plot plan). The area needed is 92 ft by 60 ft. It is
5520 q. ft.. The parking places in this lot are 9 ft. by 18 ft. based on this information the "Flower
www.L'inders.com'
Mart" will. temporarilyoccupy approximately 14 places:.: We believe this to be a-good site selection
for several reasons. First it is distant from the front of the other stores and out of the main stream of
traffic, both pedestrian and vehicular. It also gives the "Flower Mart" better visibility to the public
without obstructing the visibility of the other neighboring businesses.. Being in this portion of the
lot.. also keeps it away .from most of the traffic in the lot.
TRAFFIC:
With regard for vehicle traffic, the "Flower Mart" is placed in the selected location in order to keep
any traffic disruption to a minimum. The patio areas at the front,. side and back serve to protect the
"Flower Mart" from. vehicles and lets the drivers ee around the garden center. The patio fence is
...about 4. ft high.. This design has been used at our "Flower-Marts" for several years and we have yet
to have had a problem with vehicle movement. We feel that this is a safe way to deal with vehicles.
PARKING:
We have designed the "Flower Mart" as a single wide unit and placed it as we did within the area
shown because we feel that this is the most professional design and -uses the available space to its
maximum potential. Cinder's has operated. "Flower Marts" successfully for twenty three-years in
communities surrounding the Twin. Cities. It has been our experience -that the traffic and parking in _
the lots shared by the "Flower Mart" is not affected considerably due to the sharing of customers
' with our property owner.: We bring in many customers but they are easily handled by the size; of the
lots we occupy.: We do not want to create a congestive :atmosphere. for our customers.
The "Flower Mart" generatesbusiness activity which varies during the business day with the most
activity occurring in late afternoon and evening. There is also business activity occurring on the
weekends with the most on Saturdays. Havng`done this ype bf operation for twenty three years it
would be safe to say that the average. amount in the "Flower Mart" at any one time. is about five to
six customers."The maximum amount of customers maybe up to ten.. There are certainly: times'
when special sales occur that higher levels of activity may occur, but we have never seen so much
that a problem has occurred in relation to the amount of cars or pedestrian traffic.
THE "FLOWER MART":
The ."Flower Mart" itself is 72 ft long, 21 ft wide and;12 ft high. There are patio/display areas in the
front; side and rear of the "Flower Mart". The entire size shown on the drawing included.
` The "Flower Mart" itself is a high quality greenhouse structure which sits on the pavement and is
held down with an internal system which uses water for ballast: It is a commercially made unit
which is manufactured by a Minnesota company (Poly-Tex, located in Castle Rock, MN). It is„a
very good looking. structure which we have used for many years.
SIGNAGE:
We -will comply with the current sign requirements of the City of Elk River.
UTILITIES:
Our only utility requirements-are reasonable access to water for theplants and 110 volt electricity ~ '
which runs the cash register and other small items in the "Flower Mart". _
This power will. come from a lighf pole in the lot nearest the "Flower Mart". We have no lighting.
permanently installed in the "Flower Mart". Cinder's takes away all discarded material and
unnecessary items on a daily basis. We strive to maintain a clean and professional appearance.
Water is the other utility we need. This is needed to care for the plant material at the "Flower Mart".
The source of water is from the underground watering system. A tap is installed in the spring in the
location just to the east of the "Flower Mart". We only need the equivalent of a standard gardening.
hose to care for the plant material
THE SPRING SELLING SEASON:
We anticipate the 2012 selling season to be from April 15 thru July 15. We usually start to set. up
by March 15. The "Flower Mart" is taken down and totally removed on the closing day. of the
season. We clean and sweep the location in the parking lot so that once we are gone there is no
evidence of our having -been there..
OUR HOURS:.
Our hours are 7:00 AM until. 8:00 PM weekdays and 7:00 AM unti18:00 PM on most weekends.
We typically have two to three employees during weekdays and three to four during weekends. We
are open seven days a week during the season. The "Flower Mart" is closely supervised by a
Manager and several District. Managers. as well as myself, who keep it stocked and operating
cleanly and efficiently. We make every- attempt to employ persons from the community.
THE MARKET:
We feel that the Elk River area is an excellent area to locate a Cinder's "Flower Mart".: We are well
known in the entire-Twin Cities area and many of our customers already come from the Elk River'
area to our year-around. Garden Center as well as other "Flower Marts. This is an opportunity to
continue serving-our Elk River customers with a nearby convenient shopping location where they
can buy quality plant materials-from a local Twin Cities grower. We are experienced in this kind of
operation and feel that we are doing an excellent service for our. customers .and our surrounding
communities.
I have tried to provide enough information about Cinder's and our proposal to satisfy any questions
you may have about Cinder's doing.. business in Elk River. We are eager to be a part of beautifying-
this area. of the Twin Cities-with Cinder's grown flowers and plants. You can always reach me at
612-.685-7993.
Sincerely,
Caio Cella
Division Manager- Flower: Marts
To Whom It May Concern:
Cinder's Greenhouses Inc. has our permission to operate a Flower also havee ermis gon totbegin
River Plaza from approximately April 15 thru July 15, 2012. They p
setting-up the Flower prior to their opening date.
If you have any questions, please call me at 612-920-5605.
Sincerely,
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Project Narrative
The Home Depot
18011 Zane Street Northwest
Elk Rive, MN 55330
Scope of the Project
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It is our intention to merchandise live goods around the outside of the south side
of our building. The live goods area on the south side of the building will be set up
similar to 2011 garden and live goods season without the 24x40 greenhouse used in
previous seasons. The entire expanded retail area will be kept clean and organized. The
area will also be surrounded by a decorative fence.
As we enter the 2012 season our intention is to .grow the business at The Elk
River Home Depot. Expanding our merchandising area and giving the customers a much
larger selection of plants helps us draw customers to the city of Elk River.
Compatibility with Surrounding Properties
The two buildings on the south and north side of our Home Depot is also large
retail businesses. Having the expanded merchandising area would not impede on any
other businesses in the area.
Operation Information
The hours of operation for our greenhouse would be the same as the operating
hours of the rest of the building. Monday through Saturday 6:OOam-10:00pm and
Sundays B:OOam-8:OOpm.
Our intention would be to have the expanded shopping area open from mid April
until the end of July.
Number of Employees
The Elk River Home Depot averages around 115 employees during our summer
months and the garden department will consist of 12-16 employees during the stated
operating period.
Parking Stalls being utilized
While there is parking lines painted on the south side of the building they are not
used during the winter or summer months by employees or customers. That area is
typically used for storage of bagged goods during the summer months. The addition of
the expanded selling area will have no impact on the existing business or vehicular
circulation.
Temporary Signage
There is currently no plans for temporary signage on the south side of the building
as the area is easily seen by customers as they shop inside of the garden department.
Outdoor storage
As with seasons past there will be outside storage during the summer months on
the south side of the building. The outside storage will consist of the necessary bagged
goods that we provide for our customers. The storage of these bagged goods consists of
pallets that are safely wrapped and stored in a neat and organized manner.
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