Agenda - Planning Commission - 12/20/1999 - Special Meeting

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Case #2A ADOPT ORDINANCES TO AMEND CHAPTER 9 (ZONING AND SUBDIVISION OF LAND) SECTION 9.03.04 AND ADD SECTION 9.03.04A OF THE RAMSEY CITY CODE By: Jon Scalzo, Planning Consultant BACKGROUND: Ramsey City Code presently does not have language to support and process the applications of interim use permits. Per the City Attorney's direction, City Staff has prepared these ordinance amendments and additions to Chapter 9 of the City Code. OBSERVATIONS: As stated earlier, the City does not currently have a section on interim use permits. The zoning ordinance is the primary tool that communities have to guide and control land use. It is also one the most tangible and direct means for implementing the comprehensive plan. When all is said and done, the sum total ora community's authority to regulate the use of property is what is written in its ordinance. However well written or intended, ordinances are prepared at a single point in time, in response to the community's then current objectives and values. Ordinances also change incrementally over time, with individual sections being prepared in response to problems. 'It is inevitable that plans and ordinances become outdated. The purpose and intent of allowing interim uses is 1) tb allow a use for a limited period of time that reasonably utilizes the property where it is not reasonable to utilize it in the manner provided in the comprehensive guide; and 2) to allow a use that is presently acceptable but that, with anticipated development, will not be acceptable in the future. "Conditional use" means a land use or development as defined by ordinance that would not be appropriate generally but may be allowed with appropriate restrictions as provided by official controls upon a finding that 1) certain conditions as detailed in the Zoning Ordinance exist, 2) the use or development conforms to the Comprehensive Land Use Plan of the City and 3) is compatible with the existing neighborhood. In the past, the City of Ramsey has accepted applications as interim use permits and processed them as conditional use permits with a time limit or sunset provision attached. This is no longer an acceptable practice. The only permit that can legally be attached a time limit or "sunset provision" is an interim-use permit. Conditional use permits are land use permits that run with the land. They cannot be automatically revoked when a particular applicant sells, or a specific time period elapses.