REQUEST FOR ACTION CHASKA CITY COUNCIL AUGUST 1, 2016

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Merryl Lamb
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1 REQUEST FOR ACTION CHASKA CITY COUNCIL AUGUST 1, 2016 Agenda Item No. 10 Subject: Applicant: Location: CUP for Goodwill Easter Seals Donation Drive Thru Lake Hazeltine Drive Goodwill Easter Seals 312 Lake Hazeltine Drive Case No.: P.C. No Synopsis: Applicant is requesting approval of a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) to allow a donation drive-thru for Goodwill Easter Seals at 312 Lake Hazeltine Drive Prepared By: Elizabeth Hanson Staff Recommendation: Adopt Resolution No BACKGROUND This request was previously seen by the Planning Commission (July 13, 2016) and City Council (July 18, 2016). The Planning Commission recommended approval of the request; the City Council decided to table the request so as to have the primary contact for Goodwill, Shannon Hoaglund, available at the meeting to answer questions. Tonight we are looking at the continuation of this request. Goodwill Easter Seals currently maintains two processing facilities one in Brooklyn Park, and one in Saint Paul. Both are located in industrial areas. The Chaska location will be the third processing facility, and is intended to service the Goodwill Easter Seals stores in the south metro and southern out-of-state locations. The operation of Goodwill Easter Seals involves processing, warehousing, and storage of donated goods, which are collected and sold by Goodwill Easter Seals at retail store locations throughout the Goodwill Easter Seals system, serving the Twin Cities metropolitan area and much of greater Minnesota. In addition to the benefits received from the recycling and repurposing of over sixty million tons of donated goods per year, all proceeds of the sales go to furtherance of Goodwill Easter Seals mission of preparing people for work. Through services to people with disabilities or other barriers to independence and employment, Goodwill Easter Seals has been helping Minnesotans with disabilities and other disadvantages prepare for work, obtain employment, and advance in their careers since Last year, Goodwill Easter Seals provided services to more than 30,000 people. This new facility in Chaska will allow Goodwill Easter Seals to more efficiently process and sell its donated goods, resulting in an increase in funds available to help individuals in our community become self-sufficient and obtain meaningful employment. Page 1

2 In order to maximize the benefits of this new facility, Goodwill Easter Seals wants to include a donation drop-off lane, which allows individuals to easily access the site to donate household goods to Goodwill Easter Seals, in support of its mission. Since this facility focuses on processing goods, this is an ideal donation site, and the easy access makes it convenient for donors. The more convenient the donation sites are, the more often individuals donate. This results not only in more goods being available for sale to benefit the community, but also in fewer household goods being transported to and disposed of in landfills. Key facts about this specific donation drop off lane location are: Fully staffed from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Monday through Friday; 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Saturday; and 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Sunday. Well-lit. Subject to security camera surveillance. No outside storage. Average visit of under ninety seconds. Provides six to eight additional employment opportunities (three full-time equivalents, some benefits-eligible). Expected to divert over three tons of goods annually from landfills and waste facilities. Goodwill Easter Seals takes pride in the appearance and operation of its sites, and ensures that its facilities are well-maintained and a benefit to the community. The site is open and staffed for long hours, seven days per week, which reduces the risk of a donor arriving after-hours. Signs will be posted at the donation lane stating that individuals are prohibited from leaving any materials after the site has closed; an example of the signage is provided as an attachment. The donation lane is also well-lit, including motion sensor lights to deter individuals from leaving materials after hours. There are also security cameras, with recorded footage that can be referenced in the event of any dumping activities. Because of the extended hours, signage, lights and cameras, Goodwill Easter Seals has not experienced any significant dumping activity at any of its donation sites, and will work to ensure that this site is a benefit to the community, a convenience to those working in the area, and a resource for reducing waste and encouraging re-use. As Chaska s population continues to increase, matters such as re-purposing and recycling will become increasingly critical to both the environmental and land use aspects of the City s development. In 2015 alone, Goodwill Easter Seals diverted over sixty million tons of household goods and clothing to alternative uses, providing drastic relief to the area s refuse disposal and preserving land that would otherwise need to be allocated for waste processing/ disposal. In addition, the use as a donation drop-off lane provides a stronger community, by providing residents (and those working or otherwise transacting business in Chaska) with a convenient and efficient means of recycling and giving back to the community through donations to Goodwill Easter Seals. This facility will also provide seventy to eighty new jobs (sixty FTEs), with an average starting wage of approximately $ Page 2

3 Building Plan The Goodwill Easter Seals facility at 312 Lake Hazeltine Drive in Chaska will consist of 129,242 square feet, which is approximately 43% of the existing 297,475 square foot building. Goodwill s facility will include processing, warehouse, storage, and related purposes, as well as a small after-market wholesale facility. The applicant is proposing to add an additional 600 square feet to the existing building to accommodate the donation drive-thru. This addition is situated on the northeastern side of the building, which is tucked away from view. Site Plan Goodwill Easter Seals will essentially be using the building and site plan as is. As noted above, a small building addition for the donation drive-thru is proposed on the northeastern side of the building. Additional pavement will be incorporated to create a circular, convenient movement for vehicles using the drive-thru that should not conflict with other vehicular traffic using the site. Individuals pull their vehicles up to the door, and an alarm sounds inside, alerting Goodwill Easter Seals staff that a donor has arrived. Staff goes out to the individual s vehicle, and picks up the donation using a rolling cart. The donation is immediately rolled inside, and the donor is thanked and provided a donation receipt for their records. The average time that a donor is at the site is less than ninety seconds. Zoning This site is zoned as a planned industrial development (PID-1) district. Specifically, the intent of the PID ordinance is to provide an area within which industrial and related uses of a generally clean and quiet nature can be developed and operated in a high quality physical environment, one which will be complementary to and compatible with the predominantly low density residential character of the City, and one which will ensure to the owners and occupants of permitted uses the full use, benefit and prestige of a Planned Industrial District of exemplary standards. More specifically the permitted uses in the PID-1 district are as follows: a) Manufacturing, fabricating, assembly, processing (except live animals), packaging or compounding of materials, goods and products; b) Warehousing or wholesaling, all commodities except live animals; c) Scientific research, investigation, testing or experimentation; d) Offices and administrative facilities; e) Retail commercial facilities providing goods and services for the day-to-day needs of PID-1 workers and visitors; f) Uses similar in nature to those listed above and which, in the opinion of the City Council, will not be detrimental to the integrity of PID-1. Conditional Use Permit A Conditional Use Permit may be granted by the City Council after demonstration by evidence that: Page 3

4 a) The establishment, maintenance, or operation of the special use will not be detrimental to or endanger the public health, safety, comfort or general welfare; b) The special use will not be injurious to the use and enjoyment of other property in the immediate vicinity for the purpose already permitted, nor substantially diminish and impair property values within the neighborhood; c) The establishment of the special use will not impede the normal and orderly development and improvement of surrounding property for uses permitted in the district; d) Adequate utilities, access roads, drainage, and necessary facilities have been or will be provided; e) Adequate measures have been or will be taken to provide ingress or egress so designed as to minimize traffic congestion in the public streets; f) The special use shall, in all other respects, conform to the applicable regulations of the district in which it is located. a) The applicant states that the donation drop-off lane is a very non-intrusive, low-impact use. The donation drop-off lane is clean, well-lit and professionally staffed and maintained seven days a week. The location of the drive-thru is in a minimally invasive area. The applicant also states that extra precaution will be taken (ie. security cameras, motion sensor lighting, signage) to ensure users do not drop-off goods during after-hours and thus creating exterior storage. Because the location of the donation drive-thru is tucked back into the site staff does not see it as a direct issue with surrounding properties. It should be noted that the parking lots on this site are in disrepair. Staff would strongly suggest that the applicant look into improvements in order to create a functional site for the people using it. In addition to that, re-striping of the parking lot would be required to ensure that adequate parking spaces are delineated and provided to accommodate the site. b) As previously noted, the donation drop-off lane is a very non-intrusive, low-impact use of a very small portion of an existing industrial facility, located in a planned development district that was created with the specific intent of allowing a variety of industrial and commercial uses. The location of the drive-thru is towards the rear of the building and thus is situated in a less invasive area. Vehicles using the drive-thru will only be on site for a short period of time and thus should not create any congestion. The use proposed is a predominantly industrial use and thus will fit in well with the other industrial uses in this area. c) The donation drop-off lane is a repurposing of a very small portion of an existing facility, with a mere addition of a donation drop-off lane and re-striping of the access path for ease of traffic flow. Fewer than seventy donors per day are expected to access the facility, and nearly all of those individuals are people for whom the facility is in their existing travel path, and so there will be only nominal, if any, added traffic. In addition, adding this facility will reduce the number of people who have to travel farther to donate currently, likely resulting in a net reduction of traffic. No added capacity is required for this use. The donation drop-off lane is consistent with the intent of the PID ordinance in that it provides a clean, non-intrusive commercial use that complements the warehouse and processing facilities of the user. Warehouses and processing centers receive goods, which are then warehoused and processed. The only distinction with a Goodwill Easter Seals Page 4

5 warehouse and processing center is that while some of the goods come in through traditional means of tractor-trailer truck traffic (generally four box trucks and approximately twenty tractor trailers daily) for processing and re-distribution to retail stores, a very small portion of the goods to be processed and re-distributed through this facility will be brought by individual donors, seeking to have a positive impact on their community while reducing their environmental impact. The donation drop-off lane provides the residents of Chaska and surrounding communities with the opportunity to easily, efficiently and safely repurpose household goods. The donation lane is well-lit, is fully staffed seven days per week, and easily accessed from Lake Hazeltine Drive. The donations received at the donation drop-off lane will be distributed to other retail stores (including the new retail store in Chaska), and sold through the traditional Goodwill Easter Seals process. This Conditional Use is precisely the type of flexibility intended by the adoption of Planned Development Districts. d) The applicant is proposing to add a 600 square foot building addition plus additional pavement to accommodate the donation drive-thru. All other necessities are in place as they are using an existing building. e) As stated before, ingress and egress are already provided on site. The donation drive-thru will only be generating approximately seventy cars per day over a 6-11 hour span. The location is tucked towards the rear of the existing building, which is away from public right of way and potential traffic conflict. At least eight cars are able to stack on the driveway leading up to the donation drive-thru before intersecting with an internal, private driveway, which staff sees as a comfortable amount of room to provide. f) The donation drop-off lane is consistent with the intent and goals of the Planned Industrial District, the PID-1 permitted uses as set forth in the Zoning and Subdivision letter, and the City of Chaska s Comprehensive Plan. Permitted uses include administrative facilities; retail commercial facilities providing goods and services for the day to day needs of the PID District workers and visitors; customary accessory uses; and retail commercial facilities, provided that the Council shall find that the use is compatible with the Planned Industrial Development District in which located. The donation drop-off lane is consistent with the intent of the PID ordinance in that it provides a clean, non-intrusive commercial use that complements the processing, storage and warehouse facilities. Warehouse and processing centers receive goods, which are then warehoused and processed. The only distinction with a Goodwill Easter Seals warehouse and processing center is that while some of the goods come in through traditional means of truck traffic, a very small portion of the goods are brought by individual donors, seeking to have a positive impact on their community while reducing their environmental impact. This falls well within the constructs of a processing facility, as well as within the construct of a retail facility primarily serving the needs of the workers and visitors to the area. The donation drop-off lane also furthers the City s stated goals of increasing employment opportunities and protecting the environment, and well as increasing the commercial tax base. CONCLUSION Staff supports the Conditional Use Permit for the donation drive-thru, because it is located in an industrial park and tucked away from view and potential traffic conflicts. The addition of this Page 5

6 donation drive-thru could help lessen the traffic load at the Chaska Commons Goodwill donation drive-thru, which staff sees as a positive impact on the community. PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION TAKEN ON : Motion to recommend approval of the Conditional Use Permit (CUP) to allow a donation drivethru for Goodwill Easter Seals at 312 Lake Hazeltine Drive, subject to the following conditions: 1. Approvals shall be based on the following graphic exhibits: a. Narrative, prepared by Hoaglund Law, PLLC, dated June 23, 2016 b. Alta Land Survey, prepared by Egan, Field & Nowak, Inc. c. Donation Drive-Thru Elevation, prepared by DJR Architecture, Inc., dated April 26, 2016 d. Site Plan, prepared by DJR Architecture, Inc., dated April 26, Re-striping of existing parking lots on site. 3. Compliance with all building and fire codes. 4. Building permit is obtained. 5. No exterior storage allowed. 6. The donation drive-thru to be designed to match the existing building. 7. Any impacted trees to be adequately replaced. 8. Landscape plan to be submitted with building permit; at least 8 overstory trees to be added in green area adjacent to proposed donation drive-thru. CITY COUNCIL ACTION REQUESTED: Motion to adopt Resolution No approving the Conditional Use Permit (CUP) to allow a donation drive-thru for Goodwill Easter Seals at 312 Lake Hazeltine Drive. Page 6

B-2 COMMUNITY COMMERCIAL BUSINESS DISTRICT. Uses allowed in the B-2 Community Commercial Business District are subject to the following conditions:

SECTION 46-53.1 B-2 COMMUNITY COMMERCIAL BUSINESS DISTRICT A. PURPOSE The B-2 Community Commercial Business District is oriented toward retail, service businesses and multi-family residential development.