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4.1 PCSR 01-08-2013 si El REQUEST FOR ACTION River TO ITEM NUMBER Planning Commission 4.1 AGENDA SECTION MEETING DATE PREPARED BY Planning January 8th,2013 Jeremy Barnhart,Planning Manager ITEM DESCRIPTION REVIEWED By Request by Cornerstone Auto Resource for Conditional Use Permit,Public Hearing—Case No. CU 13-01 REVIEWED BY ACTION REQUESTED Staff recommends that the Planning Commission recommend approval of the Conditional Use Permit request, as illustrated on the following drawings: • Floor plan dated November 26,2012 with the following conditions: 1. As a Conditional Use Permit is not a Building Permit, the applicant shall apply for all required permits. 2. The development shall meet all applicable fire codes. The Fire Chief shall verify the location of all fire hydrants, and may require additional hydrants necessary to preserve the health and safety. 3. A sign package is not approved. 4. The plat shall be recorded and fees paid prior to release of the building permit. 5. Building permit shall not be issued until the property has been platted. Applicant Cornerstone Auto Resource Location/Address 17219 Highway 10 60 Day Rule The City must take action by January 21, 2013 OVERVIEW The applicant seeks Conditional Use Permit approval to convert a portion of the existing car wash/ detail building to accommodate oil changes. In addition to the car wash facility, the applicant will perform oil changes, air and gas filter changes, tire rotations, changes, and alignments. Internal modifications include a customer waiting area, a small room for bulk fluid storage, and bathrooms. There is no exterior expansion of the existing building. Hours of operation are 7 am to 9 pm Monday through Thursday, Friday 7 am to 6 pm, and Saturday and Sunday, 8 am to 4 pm. These times may change. Case File:CU 13-01 Cornerstone Conditional Use Permit Oil Change express Page 2 BACKGROUND/PRECEDENT Auto sales are a conditional use in the C-3 Zoning District. The applicant desires to expand their operation of Cornerstone Auto Resource by converting the existing car wash building to a combination car wash/ oil change facility. This expansion triggers conditional use permit review. The applicant received Conditional Use Permit approval in 2006 which was updated in 2012. APPLICABLE REGULATIONS Conditional Use Permit The issuance of a Conditional Use Permit can be ordered only if the use at the proposed location: 1. Will not endanger, injure or detrimentally affect the use and enjoyment of otherpropery in the immediate vicinity or the public health, safety, morals, comfort, convenience or general welfare of the neighborhood or the city. 2. Will be consistent with the comprehensive plan. 3. Will not impede the normal and orderly development and improvement of surrounding vacant prope . 4. Will be served adequately by and will not adversely affect essential public facilities and services including streets, police and fire protection, drainage, refuse disposal, water and sewer systems,parks and schools;and will not, in particular, create traffic congestion or interference with traffic on adjacent and neighboring public thoroughfares. 5. Will not involve uses, activities,processes, materials, equipment and conditions of operation that will be detrimental to any persons or property because of excessive traffic, noise, smoke,fumes,glare, odors, dust or vibrations. 6. Will not result in the destruction, loss or damage of a natural, scenic or historic feature of major importance. 7. Will fully comply with all other requirements of this Code, including any applicable requirements and standards for the issuance of a license or permit to establish and operate the proposed use in the ciy. If denial of such a permit should occur,it shall accompany recommendations or determinations by findings or a report stating how the proposed use does not comply with the standards set forth in Section 30-654. In the review of the standards for a CUP as outlined,it appears that the request is consistent with all of these standards. ANALYSIS Comprehensive Plan/ 171"Focused Area Study The Focused Area Study anticipates that changes to Highway 10 access may impact businesses that rely on direct or nearly direct access off of 10. This is one of those businesses. The use of the property for auto sales is appropriate based on the Comprehensive Plan and the 1715L Focused Area Study. Transportation/ Circulation Access to the site will be via driveways off of 173rd from the north and 171st from the south. Accesses off of Highway 10 were closed by the applicant in 2006. It is important to note that when access off of Highway 10 shifts, the Chrysler and Kia will be furthest from the likely primary entrance, at 171st, coming from the east. N:\Departments\Community Development\Planning\Case Files\CUP\CU 13-01 Cornerstone oil change\CU 13-01 ER Cornerstone SR to PC 1-8- 13.docx Case File:CU 13-01 Cornerstone Conditional Use Permit Oil Change express Page 3 Utilities No changes to the utilities are proposed. Landscaping Landscaping was proposed as part of the 2006 submittal, and was a condition of approval for the 2012 approval. No changes are suggested, although a site inspection will be completed to ensure all trees are still living in the spring. ATTACHMENTS • Location Map • Applicant's Narrative • Overall Floor Plan dated November 26, 2012 Action Motion by Second by Vote Follow Up N:\Departments\Community Development\Planning\Case Files\CUP\CU 13-01 Cornerstone oil change\CU 13-01 ER Cornerstone SR to PC 1-8- 13.docx 9� CORN KSTO N 1E u to Re5Ource MEMORANDUM To: Mayor, City Council and Planning Commissioners From: Stephen Rohlf, Cornerstone Auto Resource Date: November 28, 2012 Subject: Conditional Use Permit and Variance Request - Cornerstone Auto Resource In an effort to stay profitable and better serve our customers (a more competitive 30 minute oil change) Cornerstone Auto Resource is proposing to change our detail shop into an oil change facility. The car wash will remain, but details will be subcontracted out. Requests Conditional Use Permit Cornerstone auto resource is requesting a conditional use permit to allow a change of use from a detail center to a"Motor Vehicle Specialty Shop". A site plan of our entire campus, an enlarged site plan of the current detail/car wash building and plan of the proposed interior layout of this building are attached. Modifications to the building to accommodate this change of use are very minor and include: Customer Waiting Area A 12 foot long non-bearing wall that currently separates an existing office area and the detail shop will be removed to expand that office into a 16' x 24' "Customer Waiting Area". The new walls of the Customer Waiting Area will be sheetrock with windows for customers to view their vehicle being worked on and the floors will be tile. An enclosed hallway to the restrooms will be constructed of the same materials. Shop A 21' x 39' area in the southwest corner of the detail shop that is currently being used as a photo booth will remain devoted to that use. A small irregular shaped room will be used as screening for bulk storage tanks. There are nine doubled walled tanks (one of which is 500 gallons and the others are 280 gallons and one plastic tank for windshield washer fluid) and equipment like the break lath. Five hoists and an alignment rack will be installed. Wet Area Finally, a wet area for cleaning sold vehicles prior to delivering them to customers will still be needed in this building. This work will be done in the southeast corner of the former detail shop where it is currently being conducted. The walls of tank area will be used to deflect water overspray from this wet area. Variance We are opening a new business and we are asking for 212 total square feet of signage. We are requesting an additional 176 square feet facing Highway 10 that states: "Oil Express&" and an additional 36 square feet stating the same thing facing 171st Avenue. A business is allowed 2 walls signs for a maximum accumulation 200 square feet. We are willing to forego a 150 square foot freestanding sign to gain the additional 12 square feet. Drawings of the proposed signage are attached. Currently there are two wall signs on the building made up of individual internally lit red letter that say"Car Wash". The two existing "Car Wash" signs measure 4' x 36' or 144 square feet each. These existing signs met the city's requirements when they were put up (two walls signs per occupant for a maximum accumulation of 300 square feet). Their combined square footage is 288 square feet so now they are 88 square feet out of compliance with the city code as it exists today. Standards for granting a variance: 1) The variance is in harmony with the general purpose and intent of the ordinance We content our request is in harmony with the general purpose and intent of the ordinance. There is no issue with the type and placement of our proposed signage, only the size. One of the stated purposes of the City's sign regulations is to recognize the commercial communication requirements of all sectors of the business community. We are opening a new highway business in a Highway Commercial zone. Highway visibility is critical to our business. The few square feet we are requesting in addition to what the ordinance provides will allow us to be seen from Highway 10. Foregoing the square footage of a freestanding sign, we feel, keeps us within the general intent of the ordinance as far as the physical dimensions, while staying with the dimensions of the existing signage on the building. 2) The variance is consistent with the City of Elk River comprehensive plan The comprehensive plan shows the property in question as Highway Business and it has been zoned Highway Commercial. We are proposing a highway commercial business that needs highway visibility to be successful. The comprehensive plan doesn't guarantee the success of a business, but nor would it anticipate the failure of a business due a minor variation of the ordinances that are meant to implement that plan. The signage variance will give this business the highway visibility it needs. 3) The petitioner proposes to use the property in a reasonable manner not permitted by the zoning ordinance Our proposed use of this building makes sense with the area and it has a clear sightline to the highway, it just needs slightly larger signage than permitted to be seen. Due to the large set back from Highway 10, which is the proposed business's traffic generator, it seems reasonable to have signage that is large enough to be read from this roadway. In addition, staff will probably view this building as one business,but both the car wash and the oil change facility need to be advertised to be successful. It could be argued that they should both be allowed 200 square feet of wall signage. 4) The plight of the petitioner is due to circumstances unique to the property not a consequence of the petitioner's own action or inaction We could add a freestanding sign, but does that make any more sense than placing the sign on the building. We could also remove the existing wall signage and replace it with a 200 square foot sign with both Oil Express & Car Wash on it,but it would be impossible to read from highway 10. In addition,the existing wall signs cost$16,000 when they were put up. In a time when we are all promoting recycling, it seems like an incredible waste to throw these signs out, which are unlikely to be reused by anyone. It would take the recycling of a lot of pop bottles to make up for these signs. 5) The variance, if granted, will not alter the essential character of the locality. The neighbor adjacent to the larger sign facing Highway 10 is our car lot and it doesn't bother us. The sign facing 171St, although it probably does have some advertising benefit, is mostly to let people know where to turn and it has been reduce in size. If granted, this building will have less wall signage per square foot of building wall than some of our neighbors with multiple tenant buildings. Granting this variance will not alter the essential character of the locality. Oil Express & Car Wash Scale •I......■■■••=hh■ 1" = 12' Z 1 123'-0" o \ Hs\\tsTPIcal Mezzanine 3s'o° \,1... 5 . � o Photo Booth N 4 3 2 1 t 0 9 - Doubled Walled Tanks • d 6 for oil o � 2 for Transmission Fluid CD 3'Typical 1 for Waste Oil I Between Tanks • RECEIVED / 6 5 NOV 2 6 2012 ,, i ire Machine 0 • R Wet Area ',.� W 0 • , ancer �' :07/./4" 4,040 f ,,- rake Lath dj 2a'o° •r Customer q Illkz I Waiting N 1 Plastic Tanks for Windshield Washer Fluid Women Men € Employee Mechanical Room Electrical Room Car Wash Equipment 1 s'o" ' Break Room Car Wash Exit Exit j i 138'-0"