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I I I Council Meeting Minutes February 14, 1995 Page 5 Council Business. continued Benke noted issues addressed on January 24th which focused on possible traffic congestion at the 5th Ave. intersection, and asked if these concerns are considered unique to the site. Mattila noted that westerly traffic travels from Old Hwy past the subject site and down to 5th Ave., however, when entering from 5th Ave. a customer would need to cross Old Hwy 8 and turn left into the parking lot. Mattila would defer traffic congestion issues to City Engineer Les Proper. Proper does not know specifically how severe the congestion problem is, but residents alleged congestion occurs when vehicles try to gain access onto 5th Ave. during peak hours. He would need to review traffic counts, but his observation is that the problem is not severe and suspects it may be a normal traffic pattern. Gunderman noted the May 1983 Council denied of SP-100 which involved a request for gasoline sales at the site. Mattila confirmed that in 1983 and 1985, Council denied requests for gasoline sales and felt the location was inappropriate due to increased traffic generated from the site. Gunderman asked how the previous proposals differed from the current proposal and noted earlier decisions focused on safety. Gunderman asked if historical traffic counts were available. Mattila said the previous proposals included a gasoline pump island located on the westside, but the current proposal includes a pump island, canopy, and curb cut relocation. Gunderman asked if lawsuits were associated with previous proposals. City Attorney Charlie LeFevere noted a lawsuit which challenged the City's denial of the special use permit in 1985. The lawsuit was dismissed with prejudice in 1989. "Dismissed with prejudice" means the applicant cannot reinitiate the lawsuit based on the grounds of the denial. Gus Tarr, Tom Thumb Real Estate Coordinator, read the statements listed in the resolution of denial for the special use permit. In regards to increased daily traffic which the City feels would impact adjacent properties, Tom Thumb feels any increase in daily traffic would involve only about 6 cars per hour. Mike Eicher, Pump and Meter Service, referred to the resolution and said Tom Thumb intents to contract with a lighting expert to perform a luminal plan which could satisfy the lighting concerns expressed by the City. He feels the lighting notation should be stricken from the resolution. Tarr feels traffic patterns within the parking lot that are perceived as unsafe could be corrected by relocating the pumps. Benke asked if a relocation would satisfy the store's security concerns. Tarr feels the security measures would be adequate. Tarr noted that Mattila previously stated that the site allows for access requirements and appears to have more maneuvering area than many other parking lots in New Brighton. The plan's turning radiuses were based on MNDOT templates. Fulton asked if a realignment would eliminate the need for a variance. Tarr confirmed that a variance would still be needed. Tarr said the current daily customer count is about 560; an inclusion of gas sales would increase that by 102. This relates to 39 hourly customers with gas sales or 33 customers per hour without gas sales. Council Business Tom Thumb Site Plan Review Report 95-026 Resolution. 95~0 14 Resolution 95-015 Resolution 95-016