Planning Commission Minutes 2021 10 14

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Planning Commission Meeting Minutes October 14, 2021 Page 2of9 • Case Planner: Lisa Ritchie, Interim Director All required notice was met. Ritchie shared the history of the larger site and the development currently underway. She then described the application, which met the setbacks and height requirements in the General Development Plan (GDP) and included enhanced landscaping and dark sky lighting, and complied with the Commercial Development Design Standards and Guidelines (CDDSG). Staff applied the drive-thru standard for orientation to this plan, which stated that stacking lanes cannot be within the building setback, and with which the plan complied. There was another requirement that stated that the lanes be screened from public right-of-way. To that point, Ritchie stated that the plan met enhanced landscaping, but the majority of the trees were deciduous so in certain times of year the landscaping screen would not fully screen the lanes. Staff believed there should be more evergreens to address that issue and staff believed that the applicant was willing to contemplate those changes. Ritchie requested commission direction on the importance of the type of trees. Ritchie also shared the Special Review Use application, which staff found met the criteria. Staff recommended approval with the following condition: 1. Prior to the City Council hearing, the applicant shall amend the PUD to replace deciduous trees and shrubs with additional evergreen trees and shrubs to effectively screen the drive -through stacking lanes. Diehl asked for the location of the 55-foot setback, which Planner Ritchie showed on the plan. She stated that the proposal showed a lot of cars waiting on the site and she did not know how often the lanes would be stacked to capacity. Diehl asked about the maturity of the trees when first planted. Ritchie stated that evergreens were required to be between six and eight feet tall on day one with deciduous trees having a 2.5 caliper on day one. She noted that it would take years for trees to mature to what was shown on the renderings and she noted that the Commission could ask for larger trees to be planted on day one. Diehl asked for a comparison to 7-11. Ritchie replied that they did not have the same screening requirements but 7-11 did have enhanced landscaping. She stated that there would be a visible difference of screening along the corridor. The CDDSG allowed for a low wall for screening, but staff had a concern that that might not be compatible with the rural character across the street from the site. Diehl asked if there was anything that defined "gateway" vis-a-vis the rural context and gateway language.