Wold Architects & Engineers is proposing the construction of an expansion to the Scott County Government Center & Justice Center on this property. The structure as proposed would have a 16.70-foot setback from 4th Avenue, where 30’-8” is the minimum requirement.  The Office Business ( B-2 Zone) has a min. setback of 30 feet, but the over height standards requires a setback ½ the distance of the height of the structure.

The new addition would be setback approximately the same distance as the existing Government Center from 4th Avenue. The applicant is also requesting that the building be allowed to have an overall height of 61’-4” from the 4th Avenue proposed grade. Maximum height allowed by the B-2 Zone without CUP approval is 55 feet. The new addition would be at approximately the same elevation as the existing Justice Center, except that there will be a penthouse on the upper level that is slightly taller than the penthouse enclosure found on the existing Government Center. The penthouse, which houses ventilation and elevator, is not factored into the building height because of its setback. The applicant has provided elevations from 4th and Atwood, and a site plan that shows the proposed location of the addition. These elevations and site plan include the existing buildings for context. Additionally, the applicant has provided a shadow study that reflects the proposed shadow casting on adjacent properties.

Scott County and their consultants have spent a significant amount of time meeting with City and SPUC staff regarding this project, reviewing in detail proposed utility improvements, parking lot expansion improvements, and design aesthetics of the building to ensure compliance with City standards.

The ultimate full development of the proposed building expansion would require 524 parking spaces. There are no less than 9 parking lots that are (or will be) available for Government Center and Justice Center users. There would be an elimination of approx. 42 spaces from where the new building is proposed to be located, but there would be an expansion of the parking lot located at Holmes and 3rd, the creation of a new lot at Fuller and 4th, and improvements to several other Scott County parking lots.

Factoring in all parking spaces (including the shared St. Mark’s lot on Atwood and street parking on Atwood between 4th & 5th Streets), there would be a total of  553 parking spaces. Additional spaces are presently located on the north side of 5th Street between Holmes and Scott Streets, and there are ongoing discussions for improvement to some of the spaces found on 4th Street between Holmes and Scott Streets for handicap accessibility. Additionally, Scott County Administration has shared that they will be implementing a directive regarding employee parking, which should result in a decrease of on-street parking usage. Planning staff have acknowledged that the parking requirements of the City Code would be met with the proposed improvements to the parking lots found within the Scott County Government Center complex, and there was no need for a Variance of the required parking.

Scott County has also submitted an application requesting the vacation of an easement that runs along the vacated Fuller Street, which is presently encumbered by the existing Government Center & Justice Center, and a Minor Subdivision to combine the two parcels that comprise these two structures which would eliminate the non-conforming buildings encroachment over property lines.

City departments and other outside agencies were given the opportunity to review and provide comments regarding this application. City Engineering and SPUC support the requests and have provided memorandums that list conditions of approval.