Agenda - Council Work Session - 06/02/2009

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#2 State law says that grandfather rights are for use of property not performance standards, which is what we are talking about hete, but we have given the property owners the benefit of the doubt over the past 20 years; and #3 - the highway 10 improvements may not occur for another 10-20 years - the cost of pavement improvements will certainly be realized over that period ,of time, especially when you consider they have been getting by for 20 years already without expanding their paved area to accommodate their growing businesses. And, by the time the highway improvements are installed, the pavement will most likely have reached its life; In the event the Highway 10 improvements come sooner, the quality of the parking surface would likely be factored into the appraisal. There is one property along the Highway 10 corridor which was given a waiver to the paving requirements this year, Rain for Rent. In order to ease future enforcement concerns, having specific findings regarding the rationale for a waiver would be beneficial. There are 3 zoning districts along the Highway 10 corridor: H-1 Highway District - this area is the officially mapped area for future highway improvements. It is located on the north side of the highway, south of the railroad tracks and stretches from our border with Anoka west to Armstrong Blvd. Outdoor storage for materials and equipment is allowed as an accessory use to the principal use provided it follows the following guidelines: 1. Shall not constitute more than 20% of the gross lot area. 2. Shall be screened on all sides with 100% opaque screening of wood, masonry, or maintenance free material. Chain link fencing of any type will not be permitted. 3. Shall be surfaced with bituminous or concrete. 4. Shall be located in the side or rear yard only. The H-1 District has no conditional uses. Anything that is not a use by right ("permitted use") would be required to obtain an Interim Use Permit. B-2 Business - This involves the bulk of the highway properties not in the officially mapped area for future transportation improvements. Most of the B-2 parcels are located on the south side of the highway; and there are several parcels on the north side of the highway at the intersection of Alpine and Hwy. #10. The only Conditional Use in B-2 is outdoor commercial recreation. Open and outdoor areas for display or goods for sale and rental is allowed as an accessory use. Off-street parking including semi-trailer trucks is also allowed as an accessory use. Outdoor storage is not permitted. E-1 Employment - there are several parcels of E-1 Employment (places to work) parcels located on the south side of the highway, east of Sunfish Lake Blvd. and on the north side of the highway at our border with Elk River. Open and outdoor storage is allowed as an accessory use of the property provided: 1. Storage area is surfaced to control dust and subject to the approval of the Zoning Administrator. 2. The use does not take up parking space or loading area as required for conformity to this Chapter. Off-street parking, including semi-trailer trucks, is also allowed as an accessory use. Open and outdoor storage and outdoor service, sale and display could be a principal use with a Conditional Use Permit. It would still have to meet both of the above requirements. The Public Works facility is mentioned frequently as something that people compare us to as far as storage on an unpaved surface. The costs to pave our site would probably cost $75,000 -$100,000.