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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-14-10 Design Review Board Minutes DESIGN REVIEW BOARD WEDNESDAY, APRIL 14, 2010 MINUTES ITEM 1. CALL TO ORDER AND ATTENDANCE Chairperson Livingston called the meeting of the Design Review Board to order at 5:37 p.m. in the upstairs conference room of the Alfred Stiff Professional Building, 20 East Olive Street, Bozeman, Montana and directed the secretary to record the attendance. Members Present Staff Present Christopher Livingston David Skelton, Senior Planner Walter Banziger Tara Hastie, Recording Secretary Michael Pentecost Mark Hufstetler Elissa Zavora Bill Rea Visitors Present Chris Kukulski Ted Mitchell Jim Ullman Jeff Krauss Keith Scott Scott Berkes Chris Finch Joe Cobb ITEM 2. MINUTES OF MARCH 24, 2010 MOTION: Mr. Rea moved, Ms. Zavora seconded, to approve the minutes of March 24, 2010 as The motion carried 6-0. presented. ITEM 3. INFORMAL REVIEW 1. Kohl’s/Bozeman Gateway PUD INFORMAL #I-10007 (Skelton) th 945 South 29 Avenue * An Informal Application for advice and comment on the construction of a new Kohl’s store with related site improvements within the Bozeman Gateway Planned Unit Development. Senior Planner David Skelton presented the Staff comments via a power point presentation. He stated the applicant had requested relaxations with the original approval of the Bozeman Gateway PUD and handed out a list of the approved relaxations. He stated he had distributed the development manual to the DRB members to give them the opportunity to use the document as the design guidelines for the PUD when reviewing any proposal for the development whether it was informal or formal review. He stated the Mayor and City Manager had directed the applicant to take comments from the DRB and ADR staff, and submit a formal application for review by the City Commission as opposed to the Commission reviewing the document as an 1 Design Review Board Minutes – April 14, 2010 Informal Application. He stated he had e-mailed the Board the lifestyle design and had provided them with examples of existing Kohl’s stores. He stated the development manual was a good model as an example to show other developers of large, multiple phase projects the type of manual to guarantee high quality development in our community and credit should be given to the applicant for putting the material together. Planner Skelton stated the property had a mix of B-2 and B-P zoning designations and was scheduled in five phases of development. He noted the location of the property within the West Main Street Entryway Corridor. He stated 22 relaxations were granted with the PUD and noted some were for reduced water course setbacks, maximize lot coverage, encroachments into yard setbacks, etc., as well as egress/ingress points that were granted by the Engineering Department instead of the City Commission. He stated Staff had anticipated that with a large scale, multi- phased of this scale there would always be modifications to the PUD whether major or minor. He stated Staff encouraged infill development within the PUD as long as it did not compromise the integrity of the lifestyle center design of the development. He stated the success of the lifestyle center would hinge on the development’s ability to maintain the user-friendly pedestrian main street concept of the lifestyle center site. He directed the DRB to a view of the lifestyle center facing south and noted the visual interest to the streetscape by the use of the craftsman style. He stated there were three principal land use types; convenience center out parcels, professional offices, and the lifestyle center. He stated franchise architecture was prohibited and the DRB would need to determine if that the proposal for Kohl’s would achieve this guideline of the Design Objectives Plan with the submittal. He stated the heart of the project, the lifestyle center, achieved a Main Street feel by orienting the primary building facades to an interior street. He stated the whole key to the development was the obvious carryover from downtown Main Street that was intended to be a civic space of walk ability and window shop instead of just a place that was a matter of convenience from the automobile directly into a retail store. Planner Skelton stated the Bozeman Gateway Development manual had been used as part of the review criteria for the proposal and added the key was discussing the standards for specific uses; he noted the size of the proposed Kohl’s was 64,000 sq. ft. and the threshold for large scale retail was 40,000 sq. ft. He stated there was no anticipation of single tenants over 40,000 sq. ft. in the PUD. He stated Staff had evaluated the proposal against the Design Objectives Plan and the proposal would need to follow the intent and spirit of the document as well as the Bozeman Gateway Development Manual. He stated the applicant had made a conscious effort to provide a high scale of design and noted the spirit was to provide high standards and thresholds for the craftsman style architecture. He stated there had been discussions regarding extending two access driveways further west and the installation of a sidewalk for a portion of the development. He stated Staff was concerned with connectivity along the west side of the proposed Kohl’s and the lifestyle center. He stated the concept of the public plazas and open space areas would be integral to the spirit and intent of a lifestyle center. He stated there had been discussion as to what extent open space #7 would need to be developed and added that Staff did not anticipate the need for the applicant to develop the whole space, but it would need to be established as to what level of improvements would occur while the confirming finish grade and finished slopes for the open space area. Planner Skelton stated one of the key elements would be building orientation and maintaining the lifestyle concept; i.e. facing the structure to Technology Boulevard West. He stated the proposal had depicted the orientation as facing West Main Street and Staff believed the orientation was a 2 Design Review Board Minutes – April 14, 2010 significant counter to the Development Manual and overall lifestyle center design. He stated if the double frontage concept was accepted to address the lifestyle center’s main street, the submittal would not present a design that would complement the lifestyle center in the future; in the interim, the question is what would happen to the open space in that location along the main street. He stated that open space #7 would need to be addressed in the interim time with construction of Kohl’s, as well as with the next tenant south of Technology Boulevard West. He stated Staff had suggested the use of scored concrete be included on the site and the need for additional architectural features that emphasize street level interest and a stronger sense of human scale. He stated the intent of the applicant was to improve open space #7 and connect it to the Kohl’s structure. He stated Staff suggested a stronger look providing adequate pedestrian connections to the open space #7 and along the west side of the structure to connect with the lifestyle center and continue the angled parking as shown in the master plan, instead of removing the connections. Planner Skelton stated the applicant had called out a class I or II trail that would require hard- scape and landscape improvements with the development of the property along West Main Street, south through the parking lot, to the open space #7. He stated the minimization of negative visual impacts of parking on the site would be important and additional screening would thth be required along West Main Street and South 29 Avenue. He stated South 29 Avenue was a principal entry to the site and there had been discussions regarding requesting a variance to the required yard setbacks, which staff is not favorable of. He stated the main entrance to the building had not been celebrated with minimal improvements. He stated the applicant had made an effort to maintain the natural features and had included an open space corridor along West Main Street that would need to be completed with the initial tenant for this phase of the subdivision. He stated open space #7 and along Main Street would need to be implemented. He directed the Board to a conceptual plan for the Entryway Corridor landscape plan and noted Staff would need to ensure during Site Plan review that adequate screening of the parking lot areas would be included. Planner Skelton stated he was not going to spend too much time on design comments and noted Staff had determined the proposal included franchise architecture which was discouraged in the Design Objectives Plan for Entryway Corridors. He stated Staff had discussed the proposed orientation of Kohl’s countering the idea of a lifestyle center main street. He stated there were three facades included in the proposal going down the path of suggesting the presentation of the back of buildings as opposed to a multi-frontage structure. He stated the proposed building materials were more synthetic than natural and Staff recommended the institution of more natural materials that remained in keeping with the character of the PUD. He stated the pattern or rhythm along the facades modules would be important to provide articulation of the facades and present a design that would better compliment the Development Manual and the Design Objectives Plan design guidelines. He stated the south side of the site was a concern as the intent of the applicant was obvious with the retail stores along Technology Boulevard West, but Staff was concerned with what would happen in the interim to this area. Planner Skelton stated the applicant had been directed to listen to advice and recommendations for the DRB and ADR staff prior to bringing the proposal to the City Commission for review. He stated issues could not be identified completely until a formal application was submitted and further comment is anticipated with a revised proposal. 3 Design Review Board Minutes – April 14, 2010 Ted Mitchell, Jim Ullman, Keith Scott, Scott Burgess – Kohl’s, Chris Finch-Mulvanny G2, and Mr. Cobb joined the DRB. Mr. Mitchell stated he appreciated Planner Skelton’s comments. He stated when the concept for the site had originally been conceived; large scale anchor establishments had been anticipated and noted which area the anchor occupant had been conceptually planned at 45,000 sq. ft. He stated as a developer, it was always wisest to have an anchor in the middle and one on each end. He stated there had been a number of larger square footage users that were larger than the proposed Kohl’s would be. He directed the Board to the presumed orientation of the buildings within the Bozeman Gateway PUD. He stated he intended to construct the smaller retail tenants and in the interim the landscaping would be installed to provide for a public plaza. He stated he would agree to complete the west open space area and incorporate a plaza but two issues had been identified; the elevation of the area would need increased by ~4 feet, which would create a difference in elevation from the stream bed, and the relocation of the farmers canal had eliminated the water on the site that would be used for the pedestrian amenities – a well had been being used. He stated he did not know if ponds could be installed as the water would be stagnant unless the water was pumped out or chemically treated. He stated the trail would be continued through the site, but the applicant would rather do sections of concrete as opposed to a Type II trail due to the amount of maintenance required for the Type II trail. He stated he had always intended the incorporation of large scale retail into the development. He added he felt honored that Kohl’s had selected the site and the location within the City of Bozeman. Mr. Mitchell asked Mr. Ullman the distance of the grade change. Mr. Ullman responded the grade change would be roughly six feet and the natural watercourse intent would be maintained. Mr. Mitchell stated that in his mind, the only modification would be to allow a portion of the Kohl’s building to be seen with an entrance in a place other than Technology Boulevard. Mr. Burgess stated he was responsible for the architecture of the building and interpretation of design guidelines from various municipalities. He directed the DRB to the proposed elevations for the building. He noted the location of an eyebrow feature and noted the building would be single-story with a canvas and the signature gateway element. He stated landscaping would be fifteen feet deep from the base of the building to the planter boxes to help soften the edge of the building. He stated the proposal was to orient the building to the parking field on the north side of the site, facing Main Street. He stated that in order to address some of the concerns of Staff, towers of synthetic stone material had been included on each corner as well as EIFS inserts or th possibly split faced masonry. He stated the 29 Avenue side would be articulated with modulation of horizontal elements and pilasters; he added typical stores would be straight across th or possibly step. He stated they would include boulevard trees along the sidewalk along 29 Avenue to provide articulation in the horizontal dimension. He stated the rear elevation, proposed facing Technology Boulevard, would accommodate the exit doors and egress between that building and adjacent tenants. He stated there would be a slight grade elevation of ~1 foot to provide for egress to the pedestrian connection. He noted the locations of compactors that would be used on the site that would be screened by fencing/landscaping. He stated height had been added to provide a buffer for the rooftop mechanical equipment. He stated he knew the proposal would need to be tweaked a little and the façade would need a more/less/different rhythm. He stated that from a functional standpoint, Kohl’s had a process in place to provide a LEED certifiable building. He stated of the 48 stores, 11 of them were Silver LEED Certified; 100% of the energy in the national headquarters was green energy and some of the stores had solar panels. He stated part of the issue with adding elements to the exterior was that the material be 4 Design Review Board Minutes – April 14, 2010 manufactured in Bozeman or within 500 miles of Bozeman; the concrete would also need to be manufactured in Bozeman. He stated the LEED process was long and was currently in the process of modifying their scoring system. He stated LEED and being “green” was an integral part of the Kohl’s company. Mr. Burgess stated a lot municipalities were concerned with maintenance of the structure and noted Kohl’s was in the midst of implementing a remodel program and the old prototypes built prior to 1996 were being changed to an elevation more like that being proposed. The Board called a five minute recess. Vice Chairperson Pentecost stated he applauded the LEED commitment of Kohl’s and asked if the stores had skylights. Mr. Burgess responded they did not include skylights; the office of store administration stated it caused too much change in the color rendering of the clothing and materials they were selling. He added the mezzanine design also did not allow for inclusion of skylights though they were cutting down on the lighting requirements. th Mr. Hufstetler asked if any alterations to the intersection of 29 and College Street were planned as part of the application. Mr. Ullman responded no alterations to the intersection were planned and MDOT had been involved in the design of the intersection. Mr. Hufstetler stated things wouldn’t be built out to the west and there would only be one entrance to the establishment. Mr. Ullman responded that sections would be installed to provide vehicular access from the west and apologized that he had not included that information. Mr. Hufstetler asked precisely how one area would work with the grading of the site. Mr. Ullman responded there would be a downgrade and a three foot difference had been anticipated; when the necessity for delivery trucks arose, the intent to install another bridge feature would help transition over the grade difference, but no retaining walls were needed at this time. He stated the truck dock would be four feet below the finished floor which was part of the challenge of getting enough slope but still allow people to get out of the access in the winter. Mr. Hufstetler if the applicant would need to keep the ground depression as part of the drainage system. Mr. Ullman responded they would need to keep the depression and grade so water would pass through the site. Mr. Hufstetler stated he really hadn’t seen any pedestrian amenities and asked someone to address those features. Mr. Ullman responded there was an overall implementation of amenities for continuity through the site with the use of chairs, tables, benches, concrete path, etc. and noted the location of a seating area near Kohl’s and other locations amenities might be included depending on the design of the lifestyle center; the intent was to have those amenities throughout the development. Mr. Mitchell added that the plan had been completed today, but Kohl’s would need to be contacted prior to the approval of the preliminary landscape plan. Mr. Hufstetler asked Mr. Burgess if there were properties in the chain that had more than a single primary entrance. Mr. Burgess responded they did not have more than one entrance in stores of the size proposed, but the larger buildings had two entrances; an additional entrance would eat up a lot of area. Mr. Hufstetler asked if Kohl’s had properties of that approximate footprint that incorporated other tenants as well; something other than a single occupant large, rectangular structure. Mr. Burgess responded they did not have stores with another tenant, just adjacent tenants. Ms. Zavora asked Mr. Mitchell what variance request he was referring to earlier in the discussion. Mr. Mitchell responded the variance request was to allow the building orientation to provide for the entrance on Technology Boulevard. Ms. Zavora asked if the exposed section of 5 Design Review Board Minutes – April 14, 2010 building would be 60-80 feet long. Mr. Mitchell responded it would be exposed for a length closer to 60 feet. Mr. Ullman responded the exposed length would be 60feet. Mr. Burgess stated the plaza concept could be instituted in that location to lessen the exposure. Ms. Zavora asked if the 25 foot setback applied to the structure. Mr. Ullman responded the 25 foot setback requirement applied only to parking area setbacks. Ms. Zavora asked if green space had been planned from the parking lot. Mr. Burgess responded it would make sense to install landscaping between the trees and the building. Mr. Mitchell added greenery, rock, and various plantings would be installed along the building. Mr. Banziger asked Mr. Burgess what conservation efforts had been made aside from what had already been mentioned. Mr. Burgess responded they had compactor units to provide for easier recycling and recycled all of their boxes, computer guided energy systems, low flow toilets, the elimination of irrigation if possible to reduce potable water consumption, reductions in lighting, reductions in cooling requirements, and installation of bike racks. Mr. Banziger asked how water runoff from the building would be handled. Mr. Burgess responded a system would be in place to provide runoff directly to the ground and reduced water usage was being investigated; no smoking in the building during construction had also been instituted. A green education program had also been included for employees and customers alike. He added much of the construction waste was also recycled. Mr. Rea asked the design of the street entrance on College Street. Planner Skelton responded he thought it would remain a pork chop design in that location. Mr. Banziger added that MSU saw th Garfield Street and South 19 Avenue as a major entrance to the campus and were considering a th bridge over 19 Avenue. Mr. Rea asked if the water had been removed from the site with the installation of the culvert. Mr. Ullman responded the culvert was partly responsible, but the water users and the intersection of the aquifer had also contributed. Mr. Mitchell added they had thought of other possibilities to provide flowing water on the site such as incorporating underground parking in one building that could contain a pump to provide water to use for the site. Mr. Rea asked why the storm water retention would not be an option. Mr. Mitchell responded there would not be enough water seasonally to sustain the feature. Mr. Rea asked if there was a threshold that could trigger re-submittal of the Bozeman Gateway Development Manual. Planner Skelton responded as part of the formal application, a major modification to the PUD and modifications to the Development Manual would also need to be approved. Chairperson Livingston asked from where to where the eight foot grade change would occur. Mr. Ullman responded the grade change began at the cul-de-sac and went to the ditch. Chairperson Livingston asked the grade change perpendicular to the site. Mr. Ullman responded that, not including the road, there was a three foot grade change to the site. Chairperson Livingston stated there were 196 parking stalls depicted and asked Mr. Burgess their typical parking allotment. Mr. Burgess responded the intent was to provide what the establishment needed and no more than that. Scott responded the ratio was two spaces for every 4,000 sq. ft. Chairperson Livingston asked if this would be a tilt panel building. Mr. Burgess responded it would be a tilt panel building; because they only open stores twice a year, the pad delivery date for the store would be March 15, 2011 and masonry would increase the construction time. Chairperson Livingston asked Planner Skelton what the ramifications of his last statement regarding modifications to the Development Manual as Mr. Rea had indicated. Planner Skelton responded Chairperson Livingston was correct. Chairperson Livingston asked Mr. Mitchell how he felt about the interest in the lifestyle center and how it was marketed in the Development 6 Design Review Board Minutes – April 14, 2010 Manual. Mr. Mitchell responded the lifestyle market was not so pronounced but he still thought he could achieve it in Bozeman. Planner Skelton added he knew Mr. Mitchell’s passion for the proposal, but the merits of the proposal significantly included the lifestyle center design. Chairperson Livingston stated he had done some math to figure out the depth of the retail structure and asked if a structure with a depth of 15 to 40 feet would be rentable. Mr. Mitchell responded the space would work for some tenant though it would not be a huge money maker. th Chairperson Livingston asked if it would be possible to turn a truck to park off of South 29 Avenue. Mr. Ullman responded it would be difficult to turn a truck in that allotted distance; the curb had been backed up to allow for more room. Chairperson Livingston asked if a curb cut in that location would provide for maneuvering space. Mr. Ullman responded he couldn’t say that th it was impossible, but with traffic along 29 Avenue it would not be feasible. Chairperson Livingston opened the item for public comment. Seeing none forthcoming, the public comment portion of the meeting was closed. Mr. Rea asked Ms. Zavora to address the landscaping in the shadow of the building during comments. Vice Chairperson Pentecost stated he was involved in many of the meetings when the PUD was developed and he believed what came from that was a thoughtful document (Development Manual) with excellent guidelines and graphics. He stated he applauded Kohl’s for the LEED direction they were going in. He stated he could not imagine going to work in the morning to a building with not windows considering lighting could be manipulated to reduce the lighting requirements; he added the building would function better. He suggested a pump and dump ground source heat system might work for the site if there was enough groundwater. He stated on page 4 of the Development Manual it said the idea of the whole development was to emulate the idea of small town shopping; he suggested the applicant should focus on the Development Manual with regard to the design of the structure. He stated the Rosauer’s provided a great combination of things that made the building feel smaller and at human scale. He stated the th entrance into the development at 29 Avenue and Technology Boulevard left a good opportunity for a gateway type entry on the corners so that there would be a conversation between the buildings on the site. He stated the mass and scale seemed to be the first brush stroke on an empty canvas. Mr. Hufstetler stated he agreed with Vice Chairperson Pentecost and he was impressed with the Development Manual. He stated he saw a design for the overall PUD that relied heavily on the water and green space areas and he was concerned that some of the water features and landscaping would not be included; particularly on the east side of the site. He suggested something needed to be installed to draw people to those locations. He stated he was also concerned with regard to the landscaping potential along Main Street and suggested modifications to the site plan to provide focal points inside the lifestyle center and visual appeal outside of that area. He stated he felt that it would be appropriate to have two or three anchor stores in the development and he thought the proposed location was one potential spot. He stated, even if it were heavily detailed, the current proposal would not be appropriate for the site. He stated the proposal isolated the piece of land from the rest of the PUD and removed it from the lifestyle center aspect of the development. He stated he shared Chairperson Livingston’s concerns regarding the wedge shaped buildings proposed at the rear of Kohl’s; he was concerned with access to those buildings and the view from those buildings. He stated the only way the 7 Design Review Board Minutes – April 14, 2010 th proposal would work was if there was an entrance to Kohl’s on South 29 Avenue. He stated elsewhere in the PUD might work for the building, but it would keep people away from the rest of the development as opposed to encouraging people. He stated he was not opposed to having a franchise tenant, but the building design would need to show a high level of materials and th design; he suggested the building would be most appropriate on 19 Avenue. Ms. Zavora stated she agreed with Mr. Hufstetler regarding the overall building design. She stated she thought the Development Manual should be the template for the design of the structure. She stated the landscaping in the PUD was strong and unique and the proposal should th attempt to mimic those guidelines. She stated the entrance from 19 Avenue to Technology Boulevard would provide a view of a sixty foot long building and suggested landscaping should be included in a plaza area at that location. She stated the landscaping in the shadow of the structure would not likely get any sun and was not a good location. She stated the connectivity from the park areas and the lifestyle center should be inviting to the public. She suggested diversity in plant species be shown on the landscape plans. Mr. Banziger stated he concurred with previous DRB comments. He stated the work and effort put into the PUD Development Manual was an exceptional design well above the cookie cutter standards. He applauded Kohl’s for their conservation efforts. He stated he did not believe the building fit into all the efforts to design the PUD. He stated he wondered how the inclusion of the proposal would help the sale of the other sites within the PUD; he thought the adjacent building might not ever get built. He stated he saw the franchising of the small and medium sized towns by large corporations; the lifestyle center provided the opportunity for the applicant to redesign their ideas to fit the lifestyle center design values. He suggested fitting the community and not the model. He stated he appreciated the applicant’s willingness to work with the DRB. Mr. Rea stated he thought the Informal Review process was brilliant and he would base his comments as such. He stated he thought, without developers, the community would not move ahead. He stated he agreed with previous DRB comments with regard to following the design guidelines within the Development Manual. He stated he did not see Kohl’s stepping up and he was surprised to see the design submitted for this location. He stated that personally, if he had to put the project on a relative ranking of projects the DRB had seen, it was hands down the worst one; overall design, franchise architecture. He stated the only thing going for it was the LEED rating; it had no windows and was not an anchor, it was an island that would prevent people from going into the rest of the development. He stated he was not supportive of the design as proposed and was not supportive of the proposed tilt panels. He stated the franchise nature of the proposal was undeniable and the DRB was resistant to that. He stated he would love to see Kohl’s, but the bar was set high with the high quality design of Roseaur’s. He suggested moving the whole building to the north to accommodate better use of the adjacent structures. Chairperson Livingston stated he concurred with previous DRB comments. He stated he appreciated Planner Skelton’s efforts in putting together a nice Staff Report. He stated if there was no water on the site, magnificent landscaping should be included instead of water features; landscapes change and we should accept them. He stated he thought the southeast corner of the building was a significant corner and it should be better utilized. He stated he thought the site was too tight and when landscaping was not instituted because a truck was going to hit it, the site should be modified to accommodate the truck. He stated the pedestrian connections on the site 8 Design Review Board Minutes – April 14, 2010 to provide for public safety would be very important. He stated the infill buildings scared him because he did not know if they would work due to their minimal depth. He stated he thought the set of buildings might appear to be glued onto the side of Kohl’s lacking their own presence. He stated there was a good example of a store with two entries in the Campus Town & Country who had created their typical register zone with two small registers at the other entry. He stated appealing to the lifestyle side of the development might be accomplished by another, smaller entry. He stated he had been on the DRB when the Kohl’s submittal had been reviewed for th North 19 Avenue and there hadn’t been an effort by Kohl’s to avoid franchise architecture other than a practically glued on timber on the façade. He stated it would be unfortunate if the DRB saw that design again. He suggested Town & Country might be a good model. Planner Skelton reminded the applicant that design standards for a large scale retail department store would have a high threshold regardless of where the department store was constructed in the community. The Design Objectives Plan call for large scale retail exceeding the minimum standards of the guidelines for development within the entryway overlay district. ITEM 4.PUBLIC COMMENT – (15 – 20 minutes) {Limited to any public matter, within the jurisdiction of the Design Review Board, not on this agenda. Three-minute time limit per speaker.} Mr. Taylor stated the idea of the DRB and City Commission meeting together had been received well and he would get back to the DRB regarding the meeting date, place, and time. ITEM 5.ADJOURNMENT There being no further comments from the DRB, the meeting was adjourned at 9:18 p.m. ________________________________ Christopher Livingston, Chairperson City of Bozeman Design Review Board 9 Design Review Board Minutes – April 14, 2010