6.3. SR 05-21-2001City
MEMORANDUM
Item
TO:
FROM:
DATE:
SUBJECT:
Mayor and City Council
Scott Harlicker, Senior Planne~
May 2 I, 2001
Case No. Cu 01 - 14
Request by KKE Architects for Conditional Use Permit to
Construct Addition to Elk River Senior High School
Request
KKE is requesting a conditional use permit for a 53,500 square foot expansion to the
Senior High School.
Location
500 School Street
ZoninglLand Use
R Ic (Single Family Residential) ! MR (Medium Density Residential)
Attachments
· Location map
· Site plan
· Memo from the City Engineer
· Letter from the applicant
Overview
The applicant is proposing a 53,500 square foot expansion to the Senior High School.
The proposed additions will be located in the northwest and southwest corners of the
building. The expansion in the northwest corner includes a 3,500 square foot addition to
Memo to Mayor and City Council/CU 01-14
May 2 I, 2001
Page 2
the multi-purpose gym. The expansion in the southwest corner, in the area of the
existing main entrance, includes an 800 seat auditorium and support space, additional
music and band rooms, and a new commons/dining area. The addition in the southwest
corner will also include a new main entrance. The overall footprint of the building,
including the expansion, will be 273,309 square feet.
Site plan
The proposed additions will comply with the required setbacks of the R I c zoning
district and the lot coverage requirements. The high school site is about 24.6 acres in
size. The addition to the multi-purpose gym will require a minor realignment of the
driveway around the northwest corner of the building. The larger expansion at the front
of the building will eliminate the existing driveway in front of the current main entrance
and will result in the elimination of one driveway access on School Street. No
demolition of the existing school is proposed as part of this project.
Parking and Access
The School District recently received a conditional use permit to expand the parking
area on the west side of the building. The total number of parking spaces is 72 I. The
parking requirements are determined by the following formula: I space for every 3
students plus one space for each classroom. The total number of space required, based
on a design capacity of 1500 students and 73 classrooms, is 573. Because of the
construction staging area and the need to relocate the existing portable classrooms,
some of the currently available parking spaces on the north side of the building will not
be available during the construction period.
The current parking area in front of the school along School Street will be eliminated.
The visitor parking, which was located in this lot, will be moved to the parking lot on
the west side of the school. The eastern curb cut will be converted to a delivery access
and the western access will become the main entrance into the site. The current
driveway along the west side of the school will be widened to allow for a drop off area
in front of the main entrance.
Building Elevations
The proposed additions will be brick and pre-cast concrete panels similar to the existing
building. Both additions will be visible from School Street.
Landscaping
The applicant will be working with staff on a landscape plan that complies with the
Landscape Ordinance. Landscaping will be installed along School StreelL along Jackson
Street and along the west side of the building. The ordinance requires 33 trees, 25 are
proposed.
S:\PLANNING\SCOT'r~cu01 - 14cc.doc
Memo to Mayor and City Council/CU 01-14
May 2 I, 200 I
Page 3
Si_~na_~e
No new freestanding sign is proposed. A new wall will be installed at the new main
entrance. The sign will require a City of Elk River sign permit.
Grading, Drainage and Utilities
Grading, drainage and utilities are addressed in the City Engineer's memo.
Planning Commission Meeting
At the Planning Commission meeting held on April 24*, no one spoke at the public
hearing. The Commission asked if the auditorium would be used by organizations other
than the school district, the applicant said that it could be. The Planning Commission
recommended approval of the conditional use permit.
Recommendation
The Planning Commission and staff recommend that the City Council approve KKE's
request for a conditional use permit for a 53,500 square foot expansion to the senior
high school with the following conditions:
I. All comments of the City Engineer shall be addressed.
2. All new signs require a sign permit.
3. The landscaping plan shall be revised so that it complies with the landscape
ordinance.
4. A 20 foot wide lane shall be maintained through the staging area
S:\PLANNING~SCO'I-~cu01 - 14cc.doc
RIc
ORONO
PARK
City of
River
13065 Orono Parkway ° P.O. Box 490
Elk River, MN 55330
LOCATION
'MAP
CASE: CU 00-14
Howard R, Green Oompany
Apdl 16, 2001
File: 813370J-0601
Ms. Michele McPherson
Director of Planning
City of Elk River
13065 Orono Parkway
P.O. Box 490
Elk River, MN 55330-0490
RE: lSD #728 BUILDING EXPANSIONS
Dear Ms. McPherson:
We have reviewed the preliminary plans for Independent School District #728's proposed
expansions to the Elk River Senior High School and Parker Elementary School. From a
drainage standpoint, neither of these proposed expansions require any additional drainage
improvements and, in fact, the expansion to the Senior High School will arguably improve the
drainage situation. The expansion at the front of the High School will take an area that was
essentially impervious and ran overland to School Street and turn it into rooftop which will be
picked up in a storm drainage pipe and conveyed to the storm sewer system in School Street.
Eliminating the ovedand flow from high intensity rainstorms may actually improve the situation
along School Street.
From a traffic standpoint, the proposed high school expansion will again improve the traffic flow
along School Street. Currently, the High School has a small parking area directly in front of the
school entrance with two access points along School Street. With the proposed expansion, this
parking area will be eliminated. The access point Will be made perpendicular to School Street
and will be used solely for deliveries to the expanded school building. The westerly access
point from the small parking area will be eliminated, thus cleaning up a confusing access point
at School Street where two different driveways merge together.
Other than these relatively minor items, we see no other issues with the City utilities and/or
transportation system affected by these proposed expansions. If you have any questions
regarding engineering issues dealing with the building expansion, please call.
Sincerely,
Howard R. Green Company
~.;, ,, , ,J'),;'./...., ,
try J. ~urer, P.E.
TJM:tw
O:\PROJ\813370j\0601\LIr 04-16-01 McPherson.doc
1326 Energy Park Drive · St. Paul, MN 55108 · 651/644-4389 fax 651/644-9446 toll free 888/368-4389
KKE
Korsunsky Krank Erickson
Architects, Inc.
300 First Avtenue North
Minneapolis, MN 55401-1681
612/339-4200
612/342-9267 FAX
Memorandum
Project:
To:
From:
Date:
Subject:
Elk River Schools
KKE No. 01-06-1094-01
Elk River Planning Commission and Planning Staff
KKE Architects - representing Independent School District No. 728
March 20, 2001
Conditional Use Permit for Additions to Elk River High School
Please accept this narrative as application for a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) for additions to
the Elk River Senior High School, located at 900 School Street. According to the City of Elk
River Zoning Ordinance Section 900.10, institutional uses within an area zoned as R-lC (Single
Family Residential - Sewered) require a CUP. The proposed additions are approximately 53,500
square feet and will be located at the southwest and northwest corners of the existing high
school.
Most notably, the additions will include an 800-seat auditorium, which includes a stage, fly-loft,
and support space. Adjacent to the auditorium are choral new music and bandrooms. A 3,500
square foot multi-purpose gym expansion, will also be constructed on the northwest side of the
building. Finally, a commons area will be located between the existing gym and new auditorium.
The addition will include a new front entrance into the school, which will also be more inviting
to the community at large. The entrance will include a lobby, or gathering area. Building
materials for the addition will include brick masonry, glass, and colored textured pre-cast
concrete wall-panels. The following is a summary for the planned improvements to Elk River
Senior High School:
Site Plan
Setbacks
The addition meets the required setbacks of 30 feet - front, 20 feet - rear, and 10- feet for side
lots.
Architecture
Planning
Interior Design
Lot Coverage
Elk River High School property is also shared with Lincoln Elementary and Parker Elementary,
however Jackson Avenue separates the parcel. Consequently, the High School site is
approximately 24.6 acres west of Jackson Avenue. East of Jackson Avenue, the Lincoln and
Parker Elementary Schools site is 27.8 acres. It should be noted the Ice Arena, located northwest
of the High School, is a separate parcel.
Property zoned R1-C is required to have maximum lot coverage of 25 percent. The property
consists of 1,071,177 square feet (24.59 acres), while the building footprint will be
approximately 273,309, resulting in total lot coverage of 25.5%. It was agreed with planning
staff the Vandenberge Junior High property area could be incorporated into the coverage
calculation, given that additional parking for the High School will be located on the Vandenberge
property.
Vandenberge Junior High encompasses a building footprint of 157,580 square feet, located on a
parcel of 26.75 acres. Combined, the two schools account for a 19.3 percent coverage ratio.
Parking
Zoning Code Section 900.24 (Parking and Loading Regulations) requires 1 parking stall for each
classroom plus 1 parking stall for each three students, based on design capacity. Based on a
design capacity of 1,500 students, and 73 classrooms, the required number of stalls is 573 (500 +
73). The new addition will require the removal of portables along School Street, thus placing the
portables on the north end of the property. Consequently, all 225 parking stalls behind the school
will be replaced at the new parking expansion, west of the existing student parking lot.
The Ice Arena lot has approximately 98 stalls reserved for High School staff. Currently, the
parking lot west of the High School can accommodate about 225 vehicles. However, recently a
Conditional Use Permit was applied for, and approved, for additional parking expansion between
the existing west lot and Vandenberge Junior High. Thus, parking requirements will not be fully
addressed with this application.
Landscape Plan
Per Section 900.30 of the Zoning Ordinance, minimum landscaping shall be 1 tree per 40-linear
feet of the property. After reviewing with planning staff, landscaping requirements are to be
based on the School Street frontage, approximately 1,300 feet. Also, landscaping may be
distributed throughout the property. Therefore, we propose landscaping in the following areas:
>' Boulevard along School Street
>' East side of building to screen parking and shops area from Jackson Avenue
> Entry landscape screening on the west side of the building
Signage
At this time, signage is tentative to the final design of the addition. Nonetheless, it is likely a
wall sign will be placed on the entrance, according to criteria of the Sign Ordinance.
Grading Plan/Utility Plan
John Oliver & Associates, Inc. has completed a grading plan for the addition.
/mln
copy: ISD 778
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