HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 3City of Lakeville
Community & Economic Development
Memorandum
To: Mayor and City Council
Justin Miller, City Administrator
From: Daryl Morey, Planning Director
David Olson, Community & Economic Development Director
Date: April 19, 2019
Subject: Commercial Exterior Building Materials Requirements
It has recently come to staff’s attention that the new Hy-Vee Fast and Fresh under
construction in the northeast quadrant of Cedar Avenue and Dodd Boulevard is using a
product called thin brick instead of regular course brick as one of their Grade A exterior
building materials. Thin brick is not permitted by the Zoning Ordinance for non-residential
buildings. The conditional use permit approved by the City Council on July 17, 2017 for
Hy-Vee Fast & Fresh stipulated that the exterior building materials must meet Zoning
Ordinance requirements and the building elevation plans approved by the City Council reflect
that requirement. However, unbeknownst to Planning Department staff, the detailed wall
section plan sheets submitted with the building permit application identified the use of thin
brick. The exterior building elevation plan submitted with the building permit application
indicated traditional brick consistent with the plan approved by the City Council. The wall
section plan sheet is not consistent with the exterior building elevation plans approved by
the City Council.
The walls of the Hy-Vee Fast & Fresh have been completely installed using thin brick in
violation of the Zoning Ordinance and the approved CUP. The thin brick wall panels are
manufactured in a factory and shipped to the site. Staff will show a short video at the work
session on how these thin brick wall panels are manufactured.
In addition, it appears that the thin brick material may also have been used in a few other
recent commercial projects unbeknownst to Planning Department staff.
There are three options for the Hy-Vee Fast and Fresh building:
• Install full brick on the front of the existing façades to bring the building into
compliance with Zoning Ordinance requirements and the approved CUP. The
architect for the project has indicated that this can be done without taking the
existing walls down.
2
• Hy-Vee could apply for a conditional use permit per Section 11-17-9.G of the Zoning
Ordinance.
• The City could amend the Zoning Ordinance to allow the use of thin brick on non-
residential buildings. It should be noted that there have been similar requests for this
in the past, and staff is anticipating requests for this type of exterior building material
in the near future. If the City Council wanted to proceed with this option, staff would
work with the Planning Commission and City Attorney on appropriate ordinance
language.
Action Requested:
Provide direction to City staff on the preferred option for the Hy-Vee Fast & Fresh exterior
building materials.