Agenda - Planning Commission - 08/07/2003

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par~:ing lot when the City issued a six-month interim use permit in December 2001. The parcel was used for overflow park/ng fbr the Collegd. The [UP expired in May, 2002. During the time the I-UP was in effect, Staffonly noted a few occasions when vehicles were parked on the property. Staffis not adverse in allowing for the parcel to be used overflow parking in an unimproved' state on an interim basis. The College plans on fully improving the parking area as referenced by attached site plan once funding is received from the State. There are, however, several th/ngs that staff would condition their recommendation on allowing for the parking. · Ln the long term, the current access on the east side of the property to Hwy. 10 should be closed. A split-rail fence or similar type of attractive barrier will need to be put along the south property line parallel to Hwy. 10 to discourage people trying to access Hwy. 10 directly. Access from Hwy. 10, therefore would come from the College's existing parking lot to the east. Given the sporadic use of the property for overflow parking, Staff finds it acceptable to keep the current access as it is. However, the City will Want to still reserve the right to review the situation if in their judgment the access is posing a safety hazard or if the access is being used more frequently than expected. · The common lot line with the property to the west has no distinguishable separation and it may be fairly common for users of the 1C0 property to cut across the property line and use the adjacent property's access to Hwy. 10. Once final improvements are made to the site, a split rail fence or similar type of attractive barrier should also be put on the west property line to discourage trespassing onto the adjacent property in trying to access HWY. 10. · Security. It should be noted that the former [CO property is located in the City of Ramsey while the rest of the Anoka Technical College's campus is located in Anoka. Any incidents on the subject property that will need public safety services (police and fLre) Mil need to be routed through the City of Ramsey Police and Fire Departments. Outdoor Storage: The property previously had vehicles, storage tanks, and other debris stored on the property. Recently, the College has cleaned up the property and have removed the storage tanks and many vehicles. The College would like continue to store some vehicles that can be used by the fire fighter pro,am for training purposes. This is acceptable with the following conditions: · A minimum of six-foot high screening should be in place on all four sides of the storage area. The fence design and material will need to be approved by the City of Ramsey. · No more than 10 vehicles will be allowed to be stored within the storage area. No other equipment or material shall be stored in the outdoor storage area. The existing pole building may be used for storage as long as the building maintains compliance with the state building and fire codes, Staff will be visiting the site to inspect this building to ensure that it is compliant with all applicable codes. Use of existing building for educationalpurigoses. Current code does not allow for educational uses in the Highway Business District. Therefore, any educational use w/il need special permission to operate. The College would like to use the old ICO station for plumbing courses associated with the College. [t is the intent to use the building for students to install, repair, and replace plumbing fixtures as part of their training. City Staffis willing to take a look allowing for educational uses in the Highway Business District in the future, but presently ~'md the College's proposed use acceptable with the following condition: