City Response Ltr Spectrum Commerce Ctr 4-7-20
April 7, 2020
Beck Law Office
Attn: Peter Beck
4746 Sheridan Ave. S.
Minneapolis, N 55410
RE: Zoning Determination for Amazon/Spectrum Commerce Center
Dear Mr. Beck,
This letter is in response to your letter dated March 13, 2020 regarding the use by Amazon
(“Tenant”) within the Spectrum Commerce Center (“Building”) located at 1000 Blue Gentian Road.
The letter was in response to our meeting held on February 25, 2020 involving representatives of
Spectrum, Amazon and City Planning. This letter serves as an official response to the City’s
zoning determination involving the storage of the approximately 650 Amazon vans.
Regarding the “Factual Background” information outlined within your letter, a few points of
clarification.
• Loading docks: At least one building permit on file illustrates loading docks or overhead
garage doors on the internal “courtyard” portion of the building; a combination of 65 docks
or doors appears to be accurate. However, as you point out later in your letter, the first
floor of the building has been almost exclusively used for office purposes. Aerial photos
taken shortly after completion of the third phase illustrates a parking arrangement similar
to the striping arrangement that is seen within the courtyard today. This suggests the
loading and maneuvering areas were not needed as the loading docks/doors were not
implemented. Only a small number of docks or overhead doors are current utilized as of
today.
• Parking: Based on several site plan documents on file the parking total comprises of 1,803
to 1,827 stalls (923 to 947 surface stalls and 880 stalls on second level of structured
parking).
• Parking/Accessory Garage: Staff would not consider the second deck of the Building to
be an accessory structure or “Garage” but as a “Parking Ramp” meaning “a structure used
for the temporary storage of motor vehicles” (emphasis added), as defined in City Code.
The second floor is covered by a roof and consists of solid walls and would not be
considered “outside”.
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• Building Use: Staff agrees that a minimum of 15 percent of gross floor area of the Building
needs to be retained as office space (as defined within the City Code) to meet the BP
(Business Park) zone district. Staff accepts Amazon as legal office tenant within the
Building consisting of 1,100 square feet.
The City considers the “Use”, meaning “…the purpose or activity for which the land or
building thereon is designa ted, arranged or intended or for which it is or may be occupied or
maintained….” to be “Office/Warehouse”.
Because many commercial and industrial buildings have multiple tenants, the City evaluates
and considers each use conducted by an individual tenant to determine if the use (“Use” and
“Use, principal” as defined by City Code) is acceptable under the Zoning Code. The definition
of 1,100 square feet of space occupied by Amazon within the Building as “Office” is acceptable.
Although Amazon’s use within the Building would be defined as “Office”, the use is not
considered “Warehouse” or “Truck Terminal” as defined within the City Code . Thus, the
Amazon office use does not have a direct correlation to the storage of (Amazon) delivery vans
in the approximately 650 parking stalls the Amazon vans occupy.
The property located at 2811 Beverly Drive serves as the warehouse and distribution facility
for Amazon’s primary operation involving the vans for the distribution of goods and products to
its customers. A tenant occupying a marginal space within a building in order to allow an entirely
different use or purpose would set a n inappropriate precedent for the City.
City Planning is also concerned over the number of parking stalls the vans currently occupy
on the property. On-site parking is intended to be reserved for the purpose of tenants and users
within a subject building. The vans currently occupy a pproximately one-third (1/3) of the
available parking (approximately 1,800+ stalls). In the event the entire building were occupied
by office tenants, up to 2,000 parking stalls may be required. This calculation is obviously a
worst-case scenario, but the parking needs of future users could create a shortage of on -site
parking.
City Code Section 11.70. Subd. 4: “Off-site off-street parking and outdoor storage” (the full
Code provision is provided on the attached page) provides allowances for “Off-site parking and
storage” to occur within the City . However, this Code Section cannot be applied within the BP
(Business Park) zone district (subsection C(b)) nor would it meet the “fewer spaces” provision
(subsection C(f)).
Because the provisions relating to this section of the Code can not be entirely met, City Staff
is requiring the submittal of Interim Use Permit (IUP) allowed under City Code Section 11.50.
Subd. 6. Interim Use Permits follow the same process as Conditional Use Permits, which
requires the scheduling of a public hearing, review and recommendation by the Advisory
Planning Commission and review and final determination by City Council. City Council may
determine the appropriate length of time for the use; applicants/property owners may request,
and the Council may grant extensions to the timeframe.
It is the determination of City Planning that the 1,100 square feet of office space occupied
by Amazon does not have a direct correlation for the intended purpose of the approximately
650 Amazon vans that conduct “last mile” delivery of ordered goods. The property owner and
tenant must submit for an Interim Use Permit no later than June 17, 2020 (the next two available
submittal dates are May 20th and June 20th).
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If you have any questions regarding this letter in terms of our decision or the Interim Use
Permit process please feel free to contact me at (651) 675 -5650 or by email at
mschultz@cityofeagan.com.
Sincerely,
Michael Schultz, AICP
City Planner
CC: Jill Hutmacher, Community Development Director
City Attorney
Attachment
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City Code Definition s, Chapter 11
Warehouse means a building used primarily for the extended storage of goods and materials.
***
Truck terminal means a building or area in which freight brought by truck is assembled and/or
temporarily stored for rerouting or reshipment. The terminal facility may also include storage
and/or parking areas for truck tractor and/or trailer units.
***
Use means the purpose or activity for which the land or building thereon is designated,
arranged or intended or for which it is or may be occupied or maintained. Uses are classified
as principal or accessory and as permitted or conditional.
***
Use, principal means the main use of land or buildings a s distinguished from subordinate or
accessory uses. A principal use may be either permitted or conditional.
***
City Code section 11.70
Subd. 4. Off -site off-street parking and outdoor storage as conditional use.
A. Scope of application. For purposes of this subdivision only, off-site off-street parking
and off-site outdoor storage shall mean such activity as a principal use on a parcel of
land which shall be deemed servient to a dominant parcel on which a principal use is
located and served by the off -site off-street parking or off-site outdoor storage on the
servient parcel. The council intends this provision to provide supplementary off -site
off-street parking or off-site outdoor storage that which complements the existing off-
street parking or outdoor storage on the dominant parcel. It is not the council's
intention to allow off-site outdoor storage or off -street parking in greater amounts,
greater number of spaces or greater area on the servient parcel than exists on the
dominant parcel.
B. Conditional use permit application. All applications for a conditional use permit for off -
site off-street parking and off-site outdoor storage shall include a detailed, to-scale
site plan specifying the dimensions, location, design and compliance with the
performance standards set forth herein.
C. Performance standards, termination and noncompliance.
1. Standards. No off-street parking or outdoor storage, as described in
subparagraph A, shall be permitted unless the following conditions are met, in
addition to those standard s set forth in section 11.40 subd. 4:
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(a) The dominant parcel, which shall be served by the off -street parking or
outdoor storage on the servient parcel, cannot physically accommodate the
parking or storage needs of the principal use on the dominant parcel.
(b) The parcel on which the off -street parking or outdoor storage is located and
the dominant parcel which the off -street parking or outdoor storage serves
shall be within the same zoning districts, provided in R -4 districts the servient
parcel shall be within a R-4 district, limited business LB, neighborhood
business NB, general business GB, community shopping center CSC, limited
industrial I-1, general industrial I-2, and research/development RD districts.
(c) The servient parcel on which the off-street parking or outdoor storage area is
located is a reasonable distance not to exceed 660 feet at the closest point
from the lot line of the dominant lot to be served by the off-street parking or
outdoor storage area.
(d) The off-site off-street parking area shall meet the requirements for off-
street parking set forth in this chapter.
(e) The off-site outdoor storage area shall meet the requirements set forth
in section 11.70, subd. 20, except those provisions governing building or height
restrictions.
(f) Off-site off-street parking and off-site outdoor storage on the servient parcel
shall have fewer parking spaces, less area, and less outdoor storage area than
the dominant parcel.
***
City Code 11.50. Subd. 6.
Interim use permits.
A. Purpose. The purpose of an interim use permit is to allow a reasonable use of property for
uses not specifically permitted in a zoning district on a temporary basis as deemed appropriate
by the city council upon recommendation of the advisory planning commission and benefit the
public good.
B. Definition. "Interim use" is a temporary use of property until a particular date, or until the
occurrence of a particular event.
C. Evaluation criteria. The council may issue interim use permits for an interim use of property if:
1. The use is deemed to be temporary in light of the Comprehensive Guide Plan
designation for the property site on which the use is located and the use confor ms
to the bulk and performance standards of the zoning regulations herein;
2. The date or event that will terminate the use can be identified with certainty;
3. Permission of the use will not impose additional costs on the public if it is
necessary for the public to take the property in the future;
4. The user agrees to any conditions that the council deems appropriate for
permission of the use;
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5. The use meets the standards set forth in the zoning regulations herein governing
conditional use permits; and
6. The city determines that the property is in compliance with the City Code.
D. [Reserved.]
E. Termination. Any interim use permitted hereunder shall terminate upon the earlier of a
specified date, or upon the occurrence of a particular event, which is specified in the permit.
F. Revocation. All interim use permits shall be subject to an annual administrative review. The
purpose of such review shall be to determine that the conditions of a permit issued hereunder are
within compliance. Any interim use permit may be revoked for failure to comply with any condition
of the permit following notice of the noncompliance and a hearing by the city council with all
interested parties being given an opportunity to be heard.
G. Public hearings. Public hearings on the grantin g of interim use permits shall be held in the
manner provided in Minn. Stat. § 462.357, subd. 3.
H. Reapplication. No application of a property owner for an interim use permit shall be
considered within a period of one year following a denial of such req uest, except that a new
application may be permitted if new evidence or a change of circumstances warrant it.