Agenda - Council Work Session - 09/04/2012

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A2012 -5 Staff Report May 1, 2012 Page 6 of 12 5. Whether the proposed amendment will have significant adverse impacts on other property in the vicinity of the subject tract. Staff Finding: The general public and adjacent property owners /users have enjoyed open space in this area. Whenever a zoning change occurs to land that has been vacant, adjacent to publicly used land and development may occur, there will be change. However, the Planning Commission should consider whether that change is an adverse impact. The property is adjacent to existing residential uses in the City of Andover to the north and east and Anoka Nature Preserve to the west. As stated in review criteria #4, the proposed ordinance takes into consideration adjacent uses and requires a greater setback than what typically would be required in a commercial district. In the B -5 district buildings must meet a 100' setback to residential property to the north and the Anoka Nature Preserve. Lighting shall not exceed .1 foot candle at residential property lines or .5 foot candle on non - residential property lines. This is a typical requirement that already exists in the Main Street Mixed Use and Transit Oriented Development districts. Screening will be required for parking areas and any outside storage to minimize impacts. Though vacant now, Andover has identified the land at the northeast corner of County Road 116 and 7 Avenue for neighborhood commercial and high density residential uses. The proposed B -5 zoning should complement those future uses. If development is proposed, the Planning Commission and City Council will have a specific opportunity to address potential adverse impacts on adjacent property and require certain conditions upon a development approval. Based on this finding, staff believes that though there could be a change from what exists today, ordinance regulations and review procedures have been put in place to mitigate adverse impacts on adjacent property. 6. The suitability of the subject property for the existing zoning classification and proposed zoning classification. Staff Findings: The property is currently zoned R -F, Rural Farm and has been since the property was annexed. R -F zoning exists in four places throughout the city. In this area, east of 11 Avenue, King's Island, and the Anoka County Fairgrounds parking lot. R -F generally permits single family uses at a very low density (minimum lot size of 2.5 acres), agricultural, and public uses. In general, this zoning district likely should be removed from the zoning code and these areas zoned more accordingly. However, the existing use does fall within the permitted uses in the district. The property is located on the corner of County Road 116 and 7 Avenue. Traffic counts for the intersection according to the 2008 MnDOT data, show approximately 31,700 daily vehicle trips. This traffic volume is similar to County Road 116 and Highway 47