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3.4. SR 03-16-2009Elk REQUEST FOR ACTION River To Item Number Ci Council 3.4. Agenda Section Meeting Date Prepared by Consent March 16, 2009 Chris Leeseber ,Park Planner Item Description Reviewed by Request by Linden's Greenhouse, Inc. for General Planning Permit for Temporary Greenhouse Located in Parking Lot Reviewed by North of Buffalo Wild Wings, Case No. GP 09-02 Action Requested Staff recommends the City council approve the general planning permit request for a temporary green house in the parking lot of Elk River Plaza for Lindens Greenhouse with the following 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 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 within one week of the end of the sales period and the site be returned to its previous condition. 6. One 24 square foot banner, advertising the greenhouse, shall be allowed directly behind the curb parallel to the curb on the east side of the parking lot. 7. No other signage shall be allowed on site or on the greenhouse. Background/Discussion The applicant is requesting a temporary greenhouse from April 15 to July 15. The greenhouse will be located in the same location as in 2008, in the parking lot north of Buffalo Wild Wings. There were no issues last year reported to the City. The proposed hours of operation are Monday through Sunday 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. They will be using a 21' X 72' temporary greenhouse/display area. The total area for the garden center operation is 5,520 square feet. Attachments • Applicant's Narrative • Site Plan • Si Exhibit Action Motion by Second by Vote Follow Up _~~ flower Mart Division ' :,~% 275 W Wheelock Pkwy ~'- , St: Paul,. MN 55117 !~ `~ 612.685.7993 ~ ` Fax: 651.255:0445 ~~ E-mail; caiocella@linders.com ' ~, ~` `j ,, j GREENHOUSES, GARDEN CENTER & FLOWER MARTS '' ~ j ;.~ ,1 Jeremy Barnhart February 12, 2009 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. Lhope 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 over 90 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 years we have developed our "Flower Marts" and have placed them throughout the Twin Cities. Last year. we operated. at fifty 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. Locating in 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 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 information the "Flower ~CAG~G~L6l~ ~~ .~t°.eR~2 ~~ ~~ ~Gt~G2 ~G~ Mart" 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. 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 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 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-years in' communities surrounding the Twin Cities: It has been our experience that the traffic. an_ d 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 far our customers.. The "Flower Mart".generates"business activity which varies duringthe 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 twenty 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 ~I 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 thecurrent 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 register and other small itemsin the "Flower Mart". `This power will- come from a light pole in the lot nearest the "Flower Mart". We have no lighting permanently installed iri 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 SPRINCr SELLING SEASON:. We anticipate the 2009 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 an 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 ourhaving been there.- OUR HOURS: Our hours are 8:00 AM until 8:00 PM weekdays and 8:00 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 minder's- "Flower Mart". We axe 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 ' ~'t t ~ ~ ~~~2 •?iL~~€€ ~ 4Lif~i{ em • 4 _ j ~1 r ~ ~ ~! f . 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