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3.6. SR 03-17-2008REQUEST FOR ACTION To Item Number Ci Council 3.6. Agenda Section Meeting Date Prepared by Consent March 17, 2008 Sheila Cartne ,Senior Planner Item Description Reviewed by Request by Lindex's Greenhouse, Inc. fox General Plamung erem Barnhart, Plannin Mana er Permit -Temporary Greenhouse; Case No. GP 08-03 Reviewed by Action Requested Staff is recommending the City Council approve the General Planning Permit request for Litlder's Greenhouse, Inc., to be located in the Elk River Plaza parking lot, as indicated on the plans dated received February 27, 2008; with the following standard conditions: 1. No electrical services shall be across any drive or walking surface. 2. If traffic becomes a problem around the temporary site, the sales area shall be delineated with a bamer to restrict traffic. 3. The greenhouse/garden center be maintained free of debris and kept in an orderly condition. 4. The location of the greenhouse is consistent with the submitted site plan. 5. The greenhouse and display area be removed by July 22, 2008 (within one week of the end of the sales period) and the site be returned to its previous condition. Introduction Cinder's is requesting a general plamiing permit fox a temporary greenhouse/garden center in the Elk River Plaza parking lot. Attachments Applicant's narrative • Site Plan Overview The applicant is requesting a temporary greenhouse from April 15s' to July 15`". The greenhouse will be located in slightly different location then it was in 2007, in the same parking lot north of Buffalo Wild Wings, but one row over. There were no issues last year reported to the City. Recommendations Staff recommends approval of the General Planning Permit request for a temporary green house in the parking lot of Elk River Plaza for Cinder's Greenhouse, Inc., as indicated on the plans dated received February 27, 2008, with the following conditions: S:\PLANNING MAIN\Case Fdes\GP\GP 08-03 Lindeis\CC xepo¢ 3 17 OS.doc 1. No electrical services shall be across any drive of walking surface. 2. If traffic becomes a problem around the temporary site, the sales area shall be delineated with a barrier to restrict traffic. 3. The greenhouse/garden center be maintained free of debris and kept in an orderly condition. 4. The location of the greenhouse is consistent with the submitted site plan. 5. The greenhouse and display area be removed by July 22, 2008 (witlun one week of the end of the sales period) and the site be returned to its previous condition. Respectfully Submitted Sheila Cartney Senior Planner Action b4otion by Second by Vote Follow Up S:\PLANNING MAiN\Cacc Files\GP\GP 0&03 Lindeis\CC cepo¢ 3 17 OS.doc Flower Mart Division 275 W Wheelock Pkwy St. Paul, MN 55117 612.685.7993 Fax: 651:255.0445 E-mail: caiocella@linders.com IDEN CENTER & FLOWER MARTS Jeremy Barnhart February 26, 2008 Planning Manager RECEIVED FE6 271008 City of Elk River 13065 Orono Pkwy.. . EIk 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 family.business and has been growing and selling high quality flower and vegetable plants for ovef 90 years: We grow most everything we sell other than nursery stock and have two lazge growing locations: St. Paul and Lake Elmo. We operate a yeaz-round gazden center in St.Paul. During the last nineteen years we have developed otu "Flower Marts" and. have placed them throughout the Twin Cities: Last year we operated at forty eight. 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. Locatingin 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 beddingplants 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 ourYemote "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 this 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: sq. ft.. The parking places in this lot. are 9 ft. by 18 ft. based on this inforrriation the "Flower ~L~ ~~ sP~2 ~~~ ~i~GLGC~ ~a6!/l ~L~ IVSart" will temporarily occupy 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. If 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: . Withtegard for vehicle traffic, the "Flower Mart" is placed in the selected location in order to keep any traffic disruption to a minimum. The patio azeas at the front; side and back serve to protect the "Flower Mart" from vehicles and lets the drivers see 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 azea -shown because we feel thatthis is the most professional design and uses the ayailablespace to its maximum potential. Cinder's has operated "Flower Marts" successfully for nineteen years in communities surrounding the Twin Cities. It has been our experience that the traffic and pazking in the lots shared by the "Flower Mart" is noYaffected 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 createa congestive atmosphere for our customers. The "Flower Mart" generates. business 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. Having-done this type of operation for nineteen years it ..would be safe to say that the average amount in the "Flower Mart" aYany one time is about five to - six customers. The. maximum amount of customers may be 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 cazs or pedestrian traffic. THE "FLOWER MART": The "Flower Mart" itself is 72 ft long, 21 ft wide; and 12 ft high; There aze 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 the plants and 110 volt electricity .which runs the cash registerand other small items in the "Flower Mart". This power will come from a light pole in the lot nearest the "Flower Mart". We have no lighting permanently installed in the "Flower Mart"_ Linder'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 2008 selling season to be from April 15 thru July 15. We usually start to set np 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 pazking lot so that once we are gone there is no evidence of our having been there:. OUR HOURS: Our hours are 8:00 AM until 8:00 PM weekdays and $:OO.AM until 8:00 PM on most weekends. We typically have two to three employees during weekdays and three to four during weekends: We are open seven days. a: week during 4he season. The "Flower Mart" is closely supervised. by a Manager and several District Managers as well as myself; who keep it stocked and operating cleanly and efficiently. We make every attempt to employ persons from the community. THE MARKET: We feel that the Elk River area is an excellenYarea to locate a Linder's "Flower Mart". We are well.. known in the entire Twin Cities area and many of our customers already come from the Elk River azea to our year-around Garden Center as well as other "Flower Marts. This is an opportunity to continue serving our Elk River customers witha nearby convenient shopping location where they can buy`quality plant materials from a local Twin Cities grower. We are experienced in this kind of operation and feel that we are. doing an excellent service for our customers and our surrounding communities. I have tried to provide enough information about Linder's and our proposal to satisfy any questions you may have about Linder's doing business in Elk River: We aze eager to be a part of beautifying this area of the Twin Cities with Linden's grown flowers and plants: You can always reach me at 61.2-685-7993. Sincerely, Caio Cella :.Division Manager,-Flower Marts '~1T e €~: ~' tp ~'~ ti(~, of t 9 4 y..t ~~ Rp C •t. tfz i~£ x tt ~j ~tf; Pa B 2 ~ % p e ~~~~Pi ~ ~ f P EI %' b e i3€$E ~f~ i a 3 Z 9 ~.'. 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