Loading...
CR 2000-145 Vacation-Sixth Avenue South CITY OF '.a August 30, 2000 ~ Council Report 2000-145 NaPKINs VACATION - SIXTH A VENUE SOUTH . Proposed Action. Staff recommends the following motion: Move to approve Ordinance 00-842 providing for the vacation of Sixth Avenue South for second reading and ordered published. Overview. The applicant, SuperValu, is proposing to vacate Sixth Avenue South for the construction of an addition at the perishable site. The area to be vacated is from Third Street to Fifth Street. The vacation of Sixth Avenue will provide SuperValu with internal access to the perishable site and a new warehouse area. The intersection of Third Street and Fifth Avenue will be reconstructed to become a three- legged intersection. The neighborhoods to the south of SuperValu will have access to the north from Second A venue or 11th Avenue. The abutting property owners on each side of Sixth Avenue will acquire half of the right-of- way. The abutting property acquires the land because when Sixth Avenue was constructed the land was taken from the abutting property owners. . Primarv Issues to Consider. . What is the zoning of the property, and how has the Comprehensive Plan designated the subject site? . Is Sixth Avenue needed for a public purpose? . What is the recommendation of the traffic study regarding the vacation of Sixth Avenue? . What is the staff recommendation for the vacation of Sixth Avenue? . Have the utility companies objected to the vacation? . What was the discussion at the Zoning and Planning meeting? SUPDortine Documents. . Analysis of Issues . Ordinance 00-842 Ij'\ Nancy . Anderson, AICP Planner . Financial Impact: $ N/A Budgeted: _ YIN - Source: Related Documents (CIP, ERP, etc.): Notes: ---- .-.- --- .- CR2000-145 Page 2 . Primary Issues to Consider. . What is the zoning and of the property, and how has the Comprehensive Plan designated the subject site? The zoning of the property is 1-1, Industrial. The Comprehensive Plan has designated the site as industrial. . Is Sixth Avenue needed for a public purpose? The public works department reviewed the proposed vacation and determined that the street is not needed for a public purpose. . What is the recommendation of the traffic study regarding the vacation of Sixth Avenue? The following is the recommendation of the traffic study: Regarding the potential closure of Sixth A venue North of Fifth Street, we have determined that such closure would provide major benefits for the neighborhood in terms of reduced non-residential through traffic and reduced truck traffic on Fifth/Sixth Street west of Sixth . Avenue. The closure of this street would cause the following disadvantages: . Slight increase in response time for some police calls . Slight reduction in the convenience of access to and from the neighborhoods for residents . Slight reduction in accessibility to and from the north for pedestrians and bicyclists On an overall basis, it is our judgement that the traffic benefits to the neighborhoods of closing Sixth Avenue outweigh the disadvantages. For this reason, we would support the closure of Sixth Avenue north of Fifth Street. . What is the staff recommendation for the vacation of Sixth Avenue? Staff's recommendation for approval of this project includes the closing of Sixth Avenue South. It is understood this may provide some minor inconvenience in pedestrian and automobile movement from the Park Valley/Peaceful Valley neighborhoods, StafT, however, feels that the elimination of the roadway would have the following important benefits: . It would allow for continuous extension of the noise wall and berming, which was previously constructed to the east as part of the distribution facility project. This would allow for fairly complete physical separation of SuperValu's industrial operation from the adjacent residential neighborhood, If Sixth Avenue was to remain open and total separation was not achieved, . there would be a better chance for conflicts between these uses. . Residents within the Park Valley/Peaceful Valley neighborhoods have expressed concerns about the amount of through-traffic utilizing the streets in ------ CR2000-145 Page 3 . these neighborhoods to bypass more congested roadways. Benshoof & Associates recently reviewed this issue as part of their traffic study for the SuperValu warehouse expansion project. As part of this study, it was determined that "if Sixth Avenue is closed, the major link for the neighborhood will be eliminated, reducing the through-traffic impacts on the neighborhood streets. This change in travel patterns could result in as high as 20 percent reduction in non-residential through traffic on the located street." . Adequate north/south access will be maintained into the park Valley/Peaceful Valley neighborhoods. Prior to 1998 there were only two north/south roadways into these neighborhoods: Sixth Avenue South and 11th Avenue South. SuperValu constructed a new north/south roadway, Second Avenue South, as part of the distribution facility project on the Hennepin County Public Works property. The intent of building this road was to provide access to their new employee/customer lot; however, conceptually the roadway was also built based on the fact that SuperValu was considering future phases of development that would require the closing of Sixth Avenue South. . There are conditions within the conditional use permit that require roadway and pedestrian improvements to be completed to mitigate the impact of the closing of Sixth Avenue South. . . Have the utility companies objected to the vacation? The utilities in Sixth Avenue will remain unchanged, and an easement will be provided to all the utility companies. The utility companies have been notified of the vacation. As of the date of this report, Paragon Cable, NSP, and Minnegasco have replied. Paragon Cable does not object, Minnegasco is requiring an easement and NSP is objecting. U.S. West has not responded. The utilities in the street will not be disturbed and all will be granted an easement, . What was the discussion at the Zoning and Planning meeting? Staff reviewed the proposed vacation. Sheri Azizi and Mary McGlinch appeared before the Commission and reviewed the need for closing Sixth Avenue, Jim Benshoof reviewed the traffic study. Craig Reid and Don Beckering reviewed the police and emergency vehicle access. Jerre Miller reviewed the vacation process, The following comments were made at the public hearing: . Other measures of reducing cut-through traffic have not been tried . Get rid of the trucks . Have major traffic issues in the neighborhood . People coming from Opus cutting through neighborhood . Shady Oak single lane - does not help . . Need four-way stop at Washington . Overall transportation problem - closing Sixth Avenue will not solve problem . Only reason to close Sixth Avenue is for SuperValu . Sixth Avenue serves the neighborhood CR2000-145 Page 4 . . Sign neighborhood for local traffic only . Survey completed and 30 people responded 25 for keeping sixth open, four for closing Sixth Avenue, and one undecided . Any increase in emergency vehicle response is a problem . Staff has put Commission and City Council in a box . Do not care about south Hopkins . In favor of closing Sixth Avenue . Trend in City's to isolate neighborhoods . Has SuperValu ever considered a tunnel? A total of ten residents spoke. Six were against the vacation, three wanted the vacation, and one never stated an opinion on Sixth Avenue. Steve Stadler, Public Works director, discussed the upgrading of Shady Oak Road and Excelsior Boulevard. The Commission discussed the pros and cons of the vacation of Sixth A venue. Some issues the Commission brought up are the following: . Has the cut-through traffic been discussed before? . There are not enough signs to tell truck drivers how to get to SuperValu . Vacating Sixth seems to be an overall benefit . . There seems to be more disadvantages in the study for the vacation of Sixth Avenue . Second Avenue will become the new road to use . Reduction of truck traffic a benefit to neighborhood . No one has said that the vacation of Sixth will be an inconvenience for pedestrians and bikers . Must consider public as a whole . Traffic pattern is an issue . Need comprehensive traffic plan . Not great inconvenience for neighborhood Alternatives. 1. Approve of the vacation of Sixth Avenue South. By approving the vacation of Sixth A venue South, the Applicant will be able to construct the building as proposed. 2. Deny the vacation of Sixth Avenue South. By denying the vacation of Sixth Avenue South, the Applicant will be able to construct the building as proposed, If the City Council considers this alternative, findings will have to be identified that support this alternative. 3. Continue for further information. If the City Council indicates that further information is . needed, the item should be continued. - - -,- ,', '''-'''''-''~ . ,_'__.. ..w" _ w . / It! ,', "':::f ," , Y , .,.,,~ ",,;ffi "'. .- "AREA TO BE VACATED . ',"','w' ,;; ~,~ ._-- -< ,.j " ',,;....>: ':;;,~<::::-:o-., ,;: ,'.' ~, ._~.;;: :" ~.- ~~ .".-.~. .:...... .n;,:<,:....." ~ "'7-.;"> ., .~:;.:., ;;.......- .;"1""'" .=~~__~ . /-;; ~ '-~_""-3;;;c..-I."~n~"'''; -.-:".........~......;....s .....:--~....<":.:.....-,_'":"_;'"""':....T'...;.": _~ ,.M~.~ ....,:.-.... .- . -~':.:.:"5 '. . ~ :-. h ,- '. ~.~ -- ~.. ,::.9, :=}:~~= __,.;',,~"O >_'" ;- -r-" ......., ~.-. -~~... . -~ ~....~ ,-~...""''''' .- "-"""" "'" _~~~_"",_,~",,,,_,,-,,,-,",,,:--.~_":-~ '" : : ~'.~ ..~.,.~.~".:. ':'C-::':~ ~-"~.". .... -....:-.,..- ~---.-..v... . __~ _y,--""",,",~:,._,,,,,,""""'''''''''' ~_..;-' "'~____---'~,_.~:'~ ~~ ...............':......"-_-;-:--:_.~ ~~._..--t"-v.~;-;_~'" .,.-"".....~,._..,........"n:;':~..~...-~;::~. .~~.. '..._ ,:I:.. _ .. ..- -- .. --' ,,,...,, ",",' . --,~ . ~ -;--._~-- ~~~'_. ... :: ..:~ .-.. - " -, , "." .-- , CITY OF HOPKINS Hennepin County, Minnesota . ORDINANCE NO. 2000-842 ORDINANCE VACATING A PORTION OF SIXTH AVENUE THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF HOPKINS DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: That the following described area of the following public street in the City of Hopkins, namely: That part of the West Half of Sixth Avenue South, lying northerly of the Easterly extension of the Northerly right of way of 5th Street South as dedicated in the recorded plat of WEST MlNNEAPOLIS, Hennepin County, Minnesota, and lying Southerly of the Northeasterly extension of the Northwesterly line of Lot 7, AUDITOR'S SUBDIVISION NO. 195 be vacated as a public street. First Reading: August 2, 2000 . Second Reading: September 5, 2000 Date of Publication: September 13, 2000 Date Ordinance Takes Effect: October 3, 2000 Eugene 1. Maxwell, Mayor ATTEST: Terry Obermaier, City Clerk APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGALITY: City Attorney Signature Date . ---..-- . - -