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opinion was that, since the City indicated 101 units were appropriate for that site, the City would be hard <br />pressed to stop the applicant from doing so. However, the City Attorney pointed out there was no park <br />dedication ordinance in place then. Therefore, City Attorney was unsure of the City’s ability to hold <br />development to 72 units or allow the 101 units. <br /> <br />Schmitz asked if the primary parking would have direct access to Meadowwood Park. Mattila answered park <br />access would be from the northwest parking lot of the proposed coop facility, either around or over the <br />proposed ponding area. Also, there is a proposed emergency vehicle access easement over the proposed <br />underground tunnel area. The easement can be used for access to the park as well. The emergency vehicle <br />easement would be from Erickson’s New Market parking lot. <br /> <br />Schmitz asked if the Parks, Recreation and Environmental Commission had a problem with the access. <br />Schmitz commented that this summer there were four or five hundred kids participating in soccer programs at <br />Meadowwood being dropped off and there was no parking available. <br /> <br />Mattila said Maurie Anderson, the Parks and Recreation Director, met with the Parks Commission. Anderson <br />said they would want to have a shared parking agreement if this proposal were approved. The shared parking <br />agreement would be for the stalls in that northwest corner because there would be soccer programs in the <br />evenings. Anderson felt the parking lot would be adequate to accommodate these programs. <br /> <br />Zisla asked if any City-owned park parking would be eliminated by this proposed project. Mattila responded <br />there is no publicly owned parking, except the public right-of-way that is 27th Avenue and 21st Street. <br />Brightondale has a parking easement on the Rice Creek Shopping Center site, but there is no City-owned <br />parking involved. <br /> <br />Baker stated the City owns parking rights on the existing shopping center through a shared agreement given <br />by the original developer. Mattila said he was not aware of that agreement. Baker said he shared Schmitz’s <br />concern about the parking for Meadowwood Park. The proposal makes Meadowwood Park a private park and <br />that is not acceptable. <br /> <br />Schiferl asked Baker how many parking spaces are there under the existing agreement with Rice Creek Center <br />versus the proposed parking for the coop on the northeast side. Baker responded he did not recall. <br /> <br />Zisla said Baker’s comment puzzled him. Zisla stated he understood it is a privately owned property with a <br />driveway that goes with the shopping center. Baker answered affirmatively. Zisla asked how taking away a <br />private driveway and converting the shopping center to housing is interfering with the use of the park. Zisla <br />said he did not understand the public aspect of that. Baker answered the existing parking is adjacent to the <br />park and the developer gave the City the right to use that parking for the park. The City owns the right to use <br />that parking lot. Baker said the area behind the existing shopping center building by that roadway is shared <br />parking with Brightondale and shared parking for the park and is part of the development agreement. Zisla <br />asked if these were the parking stalls behind the vacant Rice Creek Shopping Center. Baker answered <br />affirmatively. <br /> <br />Mattila asked if the area dedicated for the overflow is the area dedicated for parking for Meadowwood Park. <br />Baker responded affirmatively. <br /> <br />Knuth asked if the City had done any analysis of the parking density and the parking in areas around the <br />proposed development. Is there sufficient parking now to meet the needs of the youth, for shopping, and for <br />visiting at Brightondale? Mattila said the City did a parking analysis of the coop, New Market, the remaining <br />18,000 square feet for Snyder’s and the Pizza Factory/Spectacle Shoppe area. When the owners constructed <br />the Pizza Factory/Spectacle Shoppe building, the parking was construed to be adequate. The remaining stalls <br /> <br />I:\COMMISSIONS\PLANNING\MINUTES\1997\10-21-97.WPD <br />6 <br /> <br />