Planning commission hears concept plan for Graco office; parking, shoreland and lighting draw scrutiny

The Dayton City Planning Commission on Nov. 6 held a public hearing on a concept plan and planned-unit-development amendment for an office building on a vacant parcel within the Graco campus area near French Lake.

Planning staff told the commission the initial proposal shows a roughly 33,500-square-foot, three-story office building with a maximum structural height of 50 feet (59 feet if rooftop screening is included), and a concept parking count of 277 spaces. "The footprint of the building is roughly 33,500 square ft," staff said, and noted that the zoning-code calculation for the floor area would translate to an estimated parking need in the 400‑space range under a strict one-per-200-square-foot standard.

Why it matters: commissioners flagged three practical constraints that could change the project—parking, shoreland regulation and nighttime lighting. Staff said the site is partly in the shoreland overlay and that the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources sets the ordinary high-water elevation (the record cited was 904.5) that defines the thousand-foot boundary; that shoreland rules cap impervious surfaces at 25% and could require variances or PUD flexibility. Staff asked the commission for advisory feedback and to hold a public hearing; no action was requested tonight.

Applicants and design team representatives said the building program remains in flux, and that the parking shown is being planned to accommodate a future full buildout over a roughly 10-year horizon rather than just day‑one occupancy. "We are actually planning for the future full capacity of the building," the applicant said, noting phasing and platting will split the office parcel from an outlot intended for future warehousing or distribution.

Commissioners pressed staff and the applicants on whether 277 stalls would be sufficient if the building were used at higher occupancy or converted to a different office layout later. Members suggested options—higher proof-of-parking requirements on final plans, shared cross-parking easements with neighboring lots, or adding parking in a later phase (an applicant pointed to an area that could add roughly 26 stalls if paved).

Several members raised concerns about visibility from French Lake and community lighting. One commissioner urged the applicant to prioritize screening rooftop mechanicals and to avoid bright, constant facade lighting that would break the city's dark-sky goals. Staff said engineering review will verify whether existing stormwater ponds have capacity and whether additional ponding or setbacks are required.

Public comment included two appearances by resident Marcia Grover, who urged transparency around large tech developments and NDAs and raised neighborhood access concerns for a homeowner on Fernbrook Lane. "The city of Dayton is supposed to support the residents, not support developers and contractors," Grover said during the open comment period.

Outcome and next steps: the commission closed the hearing at 7:39 p.m. and took no vote. Staff will return with delineated shoreland surveys, refined parking proofs and engineering analyses as part of subsequent preliminary-plat and site-plan submittals. The commission also noted that any proposed departures from shoreland impervious-surface limits or height limits would likely require explicit PUD flexibility or variances and additional DNR review.

The planning commission made no decision on the concept plan at the meeting; applicants were advised to provide clear parking counts tied to day‑one and full‑buildout scenarios, a shoreland delineation, and to show how rooftop screening and lighting would be handled.