For your consideration is a request from Supervalu Holdings, Inc., for a variance from the minimum parking requirements for a grocery store and fitness facility. The applicant will be downsizing their current grocery store, located at 15350 Cedar Avenue, from 108,110 sq. ft. to 88,210 sq. ft. and leasing out the remaining 19,900 sq. ft. to Planet Fitness for a fitness center.
Minimum parking requirements for a retail grocery store is "one space for each 150 feet of floor area up to a total of 20,000 sq. ft.; thereafter, one space for each 200 sq. ft. of floor area". Recreation and sports training facilities such as Planet Fitness has a minimum parking requirement of "one space for every three occupants, based on the maximum occupant load of the building". Upward or downward revisions may be considered based upon experiences of the city.
Based upon historical information related to this site, it is expected that 71% (62,629 sq. ft.) of the grocery store will be available to the customer. Therefore, the minimum parking requirement would be 346 spaces. Planet Fitness will have a maximum occupancy of 359 persons, which would require 120 parking spaces. The site plan shows 434 parking spaces, 363 spaces in the front of the building and 71 spaces in the rear. They also identify 20 proof-of-parking spaces in the southwest corner of the site and 28 along the west side of the building directly adjacent to the proposed relocated drive-through pharmacy window.
During the past several years there has been discussion regarding parking requirements for large retail operations that have focused on the assumption that the parking calculations have been based on peak demand on days such as the weekend after Thanksgiving. The applicant has prepared and submitted to staff for review an analysis of parking demand for the two uses. It shows that normal peak parking demand for both uses will be from 5-6:00 p.m. during the week and 12-1:00 p.m. on the weekend. The information provided by the applicant indicate that at no time will the demand reach or exceed the available parking in the front of the building.
They have also provided information on parking demand during the peak days of the year. They include demand for the days before Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, New Years Day, Easter, and the Super Bowl. They would expect to exceed the available parking in the front of the building from 3-6:00 p.m. during the days before Thanksgiving and Christmas; and 1-2:00 p.m. on December 31. The proposed parking spaces in the rear of the building will be utilized for employee parking and would be able to address any parking stress on the front lot.
Staff expressed concerns regarding potential conflicts with access by delivery and emergency vehicles with the proposed parking in the rear of the building. The applicant has submitted auto-turn plans that have been reviewed by staff and no significant issues were identified. There is a fire hydrant along the south side of the property, which the applicant has located a parking space. That space will need to be removed.
There is a proof-of-parking agreement for this property that was approved in 2012, which identified 37 parking spaces along the west side of the building. This area is slated to be the future location of the Cub Pharmacy drive-through window. The plans submitted as part of this request now show 28 proof-of-parking spaces at this location and 20 spaces within the delivery turnaround in the rear of the building. Approval of a variance will require revisions to the agreement.
The addition of the fitness center provides a redevelopment opportunity to upgrade the parking lot landscaping. Approval of the variance should be contingent on submitting a landscape plan to be reviewed and approved by staff. This plans should include a minimum of one 2.5-inch diameter tree and a variety of ground plantings in each parking lot island, as well as a mix of ornamental trees and shrubs along the west side of the easterly entrance into the property.
A variance is a legally permitted deviation from the literal requirements of the City code. A variance may be granted in instances where strict enforcement would cause undue hardship, the circumstances are unique to the individual property under consideration, and the granting of the variance will be in keeping with the spirit and intent of the applicable ordinances, goals and policies of the comprehensive plans, and will not alter the essential character of the surrounding area.
Although strict enforcement would not cause an undue hardship and the circumstances are not unique to the property. It does not appear that the proposed variance would not alter the essential character of the area as the reduction of the retail grocery operation and addition of the fitness facility would not be significantly different from the existing operation. This project will provide a redevelopment opportunity, retain or increase downtown employment opportunities and tax base, which is essential to a successful downtown a key vision identified in our Comprehensive Plan.
In 2012, the City reviewed and approved a development proposal by Supervalu Holdings, Inc., to subdivide an 11.6-acre lot into three lots. The subdivision created a 9.5-acre lot for the existing store an two one-acre lots that became the sites of a Chick-fil-A restaurant and multi-tenant retail building. At the time of the approval, the applicant indicated that they were considering a remodeling of the grocery store that would include the removal of the east 20,000 sq. ft. if the building.
Since that time, they have decided to go ahead with the store remodel as indicated in 2012, but not remove the east 20,000 sq. ft. and market it for lease.