CITY OF COON RAPIDS, MINNESOTA
CHAPTER 11-2600
(RS) REGIONAL SHOPPING DISTRICT

11-2601 Intent. The (RS) Regional Shopping District is intended to promote large-scale commercial development, including retail, entertainment, restaurant and other complementary uses, serving a trade area beyond the City boundaries and designed in an integrated and unified manner according to an overall plan emphasizing pedestrian convenience. The District is intended to serve a multi-community trade area with some features not already present in other shopping centers in the trade area, provide varied buying and shopping opportunities and offer varied exercise, entertainment and community activities. The district is intended to provide a desirable place where a variety of persons want to go, offer varied ways to shop, dine, socialize and have fun which are conveniently accessible to pedestrians, and have attractive and high quality, decorative lighting, landscaping, signs, sidewalks and trails. The District is intended to encourage access to several destinations from single parking locations and walking from destination to destination, provide attractive designs and quality materials for building exteriors, and offer a safe environment for visitors.

11-2602 Permitted Uses.

(1) Financial Institutions
(2) Medical and dental clinics
(3) Offices
(4) Personal appearance uses including barber and beauty shops, but not including tattooing, branding, body piercing and similar establishments.
(5) Public uses or utilities and their incidental structures
(6) Restaurants and other food establishments
(7) Retail stores other than those subject to license under Title 5 of the City Code.
(8) Hotels and motels
(9) Non-classroom, personalized instructional services for students in grades K-12. The total floor area of all such uses shall not exceed 4000 square feet of the total gross lease area of the regional shopping center where they are located. [Revised 1/20/04, Ordinance 1829][Revised 3/16/04, Ordinance 1832]

11-2603 Accessory Uses. Any accessory use that is permitted in the (O) Office District.

11-2604 Conditional Uses.

(1) Commercial recreation such as bowling alleys, skating rinks, and indoor movie theaters.
(2) Physical fitness centers providing services and equipment such as exercise classes, exercise equipment, aquatic facilities, locker rooms and showers.
(3) Taxi stands, bus shelters and other public transportation facilities.
(4) State licensed day care facilities.
[Revised 4/17/07, Ordinance 1945]

11-2605 District Standards. The District Standards shall be as follows:

(1) Bike Racks. Bike racks shall be provided in convenient areas which will not disrupt pedestrian circulation, vehicular traffic or fire lanes.
(2) Reserved for future use. [Revised 7/6/04, Ordinance 1822]
(3) Building Height. The maximum building height is 70 feet.
(4) Building Appearance. The design of buildings and exterior building materials shall be consistent with the following standards.

(a) Building Character. The design of buildings shall have a comparable, compatible and complementary relationship to surrounding land uses. Buildings shall be designed with interesting and varied exterior materials, setbacks and architectural features and details. All exterior wall surfaces of buildings shall be of the same materials as the front of the building.
(b) Development Guidelines. Developments shall satisfy the following guidelines. Determination of whether these guidelines are satisfied shall be made by the Planning Commission, or by the City Council after receiving a recommendation from the Planning Commission.

i. Vary building massing, using methods including staggering building components, adding columns, recessing doorways, creating interesting shapes and short, uneven facades
ii. Articulate building facades using techniques such as staggering, arcades, awnings, special window treatments, ornamentation and unique details. Face primary entries to public or private streets and orient doors for loading and unloading goods away from public or private streets.
iii. Provide a variety of roof shapes using techniques including pitched, gable or hip roofs or detailed parapets and cornices or creatively shaped cornice lines creating interesting roof line profiles.
iv. Every building shall include a focal element or feature adding interest or distinction, using techniques such as elevating parts of buildings, towers, or emphasizing a prominent part of the building such as a corner or main entry or by using features such as canopies, porticoes, overhangs, arcades, facade recesses and projections, and peaked roofs or raised parapets above doors or windows.
v. All exterior wall surfaces shall be primarily brick, glass, stone, or stucco and similar materials including dryvit and EIFS and integrally colored, decorative masonry block may be used as decorative accents to these primary materials Other materials may be used as accents if found they are compatible with the listed materials. Exterior materials shall not include smooth-faced concrete block, pre-fabricated steel panels, reflective glass or aluminum, fiberglass or vinyl siding.
vi. Exterior colors approved by the Planning Commission shall not be changed, at the time of building construction or in the future, unless approved by the Commission.
vii. Where approved, the motor vehicle fuel pump canopy roof shall have the same shape, materials and color as the roof of the principal building. Canopy supports shall be enclosed in decorative masonry or metal columns. [Revised 8/16/05, Ordinance 1899]
viii. The maximum horizontal length of any continuous front building face not varied by a 45 degree or greater change in the plane of the face is 300 feet. A building face greater than 100 feet in length shall incorporate wall plane projections or recesses having a depth of at least 3 percent of the length of the face and extending at least 20 percent of the length of the face. No uninterrupted length of any face shall exceed 100 horizontal feet. The maximum horizontal length of any continuous building faces, excluding the front building face, not varied by a 45 degree of greater change in the plane of the face is 300 feet. A building face greater than 100 feet in length shall incorporate design features to provide a varied appearance. [Revised 7/6/04, Ordinance 1822]

(5) Dumpster, Trash and Recycling Storage. Dumpster, trash and recycling container shall be placed within Service Areas where practical or screened according to Section 11-1836 of the City Code.
(6) Floor Area. The minimum aggregate building floor area for the entire development shall be 740,000 square feet. The minimum aggregate building floor area for the initial phase of the development shall be 445,000 square feet. The minimum floor area of a primary building shall be 40,000 square feet. The minimum floor area of a secondary building shall be 5,000 square feet.
(7) Landscaping and Screening. The landscape design objectives, the landscape plan and the size, location, quantity and type of landscape and screening plants shall meet the requirements of the current version of Landscape Standards On File With The Community Development Director and the following requirements:

(a) All landscaped areas shall be irrigated with an underground sprinkler system.
(b) Landscaped islands shall be provided in parking lots to break up and soften large areas of paving.
(c) All areas not covered by impervious surfaces or landscaping shall be planted with cultured sod laid over four inches of drought-resistant top soil.
(d) Trash and recycling areas, mechanical equipment and other screening shall be required in accordance with Sections 11-1833 through 11-1837.
(e) At least 25 percent of the lot area shall be landscaped. As recommended by the Planning Commission and approved by the City Council, the area of landscaped water retention areas and landscaped spaces within buildings which are an integral part of the development, may be used to partially satisfy the landscaped area requirement. [Revised 12/16/03, Ordinance 1828]

(8) Lot Area. The minimum aggregate area of lots in the entire development shall be 120 acres. Individual lot area shall be of sufficient size to meet the requirements of this Title.
(9) Lot Coverage. No more than 40 percent of the lot shall be covered by buildings.
(10) Mechanical Screening. All mechanical equipment on the ground or roof, such as heating and air conditioning units and transformers, shall be screened on all sides or placed so as not to be visible from public streets, other properties or on site pedestrian spaces. Such screening shall be compatible with the building. Evergreen plant materials may be used to screen such equipment located on the ground.
(11) Outdoor Display and Sales. Except as provided by Section 11-2604(5), the outdoor display and sale of merchandise is prohibited. [Revised 3/16/04, Ordinance 1832]
(12) Outdoor Storage. Outdoor storage is prohibited except as authorized in Section 11-1854.
(13) Parking, Driveways and Driving Areas. Such areas shall be provided as specified in Sections 11-1802 through 11-1811 of the City Code. With appropriate supporting technical documentation, the Planning Commission may recommend and the City Council may approve, alternatives to the minimum number of parking spaces required by Section 11-1809 of the City Code. All vehicles shall be parked on a paved surface.
(14) Pedestrian Circulation. Internal pedestrian systems shall be provided within the development to provide for user-friendly pedestrian access to buildings and pedestrian safety, shelter, comfort and convenience as follows:

(a) Pedestrian crossings of major vehicular drives shall be minimized.
(b) The maximum distance from parking spaces to buildings shall be 550 feet. The maximum distance for 80% of parking spaces to buildings shall be 450 feet.
(c) Pedestrian movements between adjacent uses shall be encouraged and accommodated.
(d) Pedestrian walks shall be a minimum of 8 feet wide.
(e) Building orientation and design shall be used to provide weather protection for pedestrians to the greatest practical extent.

(15) Service Areas. Areas for loading, truck parking, trash compaction and other service functions shall be designed with the same exterior materials and to complement the overall design of the buildings being served by them. Such areas shall be screened from view of adjacent lots, public streets, and building entries. Such service areas shall also comply with Sections 11-1802 through 11-1808 and 11-1810 through 11-1811 of the City Code.
(16) Setbacks. Minimum setbacks shall be as follows:

(a) Principle use buildings from:

Another Building: 25 feet (does not apply to buildings with common walls or parallel building walls less than 6 inches apart)
Street right-of-way: 50 feet
Other adjacent property: 25 feet

(b) Parking and drives from:

Street right-of-way: 25 feet
Other adjacent property: 5 feet

(17) Sidewalks. Public sidewalks shall be installed at all locations designated by the sidewalk plan adopted by the City Council. The location, design and elevation of such sidewalks shall be in conformance with the standards on file in the office of the City Engineer. If the sidewalk construction is not feasible because of future street construction, a cash payment shall be made to the City in an amount determined by the City Engineer to be sufficient to cover the cost of constructing the sidewalk when feasible.
(18) Signs. Signs shall be regulated by Chapter 11-2100 of the City Code. The sign plan shall be part of the final development plan.

11-2606 Development Plan Approval. Approval shall be required pursuant to Sections 11-1705 through 11-1717 of the City Code. Approval shall also require a finding that the proposed development is an integrated project. Final development plan approval shall be conditioned upon the developer entering into a development agreement with the City. This agreement will obligate the developer to comply with the requirements of this Chapter of the City Code, require the developer to comply with all conditions of final development plan approval by the City Council and define a financing plan for the developer’s responsibilities for the payment of public improvements needed to serve the project. [Adopted 7/21/98, Ordinance 1638]