Discussion:
Jason Palmby of Topaz Investments, has applied for three conditional use permits (CUP) to develop property on the north side of the 1300 block of First Avenue. The property is currently owned by the City of Shakopee. The City Council has approved the sale of the property for this development, pending approval of the CUPs.
The proposed development involves two different land uses: a rehabilitation treatment center and pet grooming / daycare and boarding. The applicant is proposing two buildings for the treatment center, which would be built in phases. A third building on the east side of the site is proposed for pet grooming / daycare and boarding. The site is within the Old Shakopee Commercial (B-1C) overlay zone that has reduced setbacks from the B-1 zone, but a height limit of 25'. The applicant is proposing to construct the rehabilitation center buildings at 37' in height, which requires a conditional use permit. The property is guided for commercial development by the comprehensive plan.
The site is currently three separate parcels. The applicant is proposing to perform a minor subdivision to adjust the lot lines and create two separate parcels, one parcel for the treatment center and the other for the grooming / boarding facility. The applicant has also applied to vacate drainage and utility easements adjacent to the current lot lines to allow for development of the site. The commission will review the vacation request at the July meeting (see site plan).
The 19,000 square-foot, 3-story, 48-bed rehabilitation center is proposed to be operated by Five Stars Recovery. The facility would house a commercial kitchen, cafeteria, meeting spaces and the residential component of the facility. Staff of the Five Stars facility include nurses, counselors, technicians, and a psychiatrist.
Scott County Department of Human Services approached Five Stars about finding a site in Scott County as a way to assist residents of Scott County that need their services. Five Stars currently operates facilities in Chaska in single-family houses and a facility similar to this proposal on Stoughton Avenue. Both the Mayor and City Administrator of Chaska have provided letters about their experiences with Five Stars Recovery (attached). The applicant has noted its desire to build a second building on the site, should the need arise. The request for a second building is included in the proposal and would be built of the same materials and be the same height as the first building.
As mentioned previously, the proposal includes an over-height structure request. The proposed building at 37' is two-feet above the height maximum of the standard B-1 district. Based on this, a shadow study was not required by staff. The over-height structure request only applies to the rehabilitation center buildings. The daycare / grooming facility is one level. Staff believes that buildings of 37' in height are compatible with surrounding land uses. A pitched roof building is compatible with surrounding buildings in this area. All residential zones allow structures up to 35' in height as permitted uses.
The other use is pet daycare / boarding, operated by Doggy Doo's, which would be located on the eastern parcel. The proposal involves a 7,500 square-foot building and a 6,000 square-foot outdoor area. Doggy Doo's received a conditional use permit for their operation at 321 First Avenue West in November of 2014 and began operating in January, 2015. Doggy Doo's has outgrown their current facility and is looking to construct a new building in Shakopee.
The proposed 7,500 square-foot building incudes a 5,000 square-foot pet daycare area and 2,500 square-foot grooming / office area. The indoor boarding area would be separated into three different areas based on the size of dogs.
The applicant hosted a neighborhood meeting relating to this development. The majority of questions from meeting attendees related to the pet daycare portion of the development and mitigation of noise from barking dogs.
The proposed outdoor area would be fenced with 8' maintenance free fencing, a revision from the original proposal of a 6' wood fence. The fencing material would not have gaps, limiting the dogs ability to see outside of the site and reduce the potential for barking. The applicant is proposing five supervised outdoor times, 7-8 am 9-11 am, 1-3 pm, 4-6, and 8-9 pm, weather permitting. The total amount of outdoor time equals 8 hours per day. The current conditional use permit requires the dogs to be supervised while outside. Any dog that cries or barks continuously must be let inside the building. The change in fence material is a result of concern regarding noise from the outdoor area. The outdoor area is over an area with utilities, including a trunk sanitary sewer line. Buildings are not permitted to be built on the eastern 40' of this site. The outdoor area in this location allows the applicant to use this portion of their site, as trees and buildings are not permitted to be in this location.
ASPCA guidelines for dog boarding state minimum requirements of 100-square feet for large dogs and 50 square-feet for small and medium dogs. 5,000 square-feet of indoor space allows for 20 large dogs and 60 small or medium dogs based on these guidelines. The applicant is proposing a maximum of 70 dogs within the boarding area and 30 within the grooming area, which falls within these guidelines. Most dogs at the facility for grooming will not be at the facility for extended periods of time.
The proposed development would be accessed from Marschall Road North and have shared parking. The two facilities have different peak times for parking needs, which is conducive to shared parking. Parking for the pet daycare peaks in the early morning and evening. Parking for the rehabilitation center peaks after pets have been dropped off. The total number of proposed parking spaces is 60 spaces and has a turn around area for vehicle circulation and drop-offs.
This site is south of the Minnesota Valley State Trail. The segment of trail adjacent to this site is on land owned by the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community (SMSC). Planning staff is proposing that the applicant work with the SMSC to construct a trail section from this site to allow trail access from this site for the pet daycare, treatment center and other trail users from First Avenue. The Memorial Park bridge has not been replaced due to a lack of funding. A current unofficial detour for trail users is the campground driveway, which is on land owned by the SMSC. The SMSC has approved their driveway as a temporary unofficial detour. The proposed trail connection through this site would not be an official part of the State Trail. The SMSC has requested that a cultural resources inventory of the site take place, since this site is in proximity of an area with known burial mounds. The City of Shakopee is in the process of hiring a consultant to review the site for cultural resources. Records show that at one time there were burial mounds north of the existing property line. Currently the applicant is proposing no construction in that area but the consultant will complete additional work to ensure that there is no impact.
Staff recommends that the Board approve all three conditional use permit requests for this development, as the proposed uses are compatible with surrounding land uses, and also compatible with each other.