Agenda - Planning Commission - 06/06/2013

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Regular Planning Commission 5. 3. Meeting Date: 06/06/2013 Submitted For: Chris Anderson By: Tina Goodroad, Community Development Information Title: PUBLIC HEARING: Consider Request for a Conditional Use Permit for motor vehicle sales located at 7820 Riverdale Drive NW; case of Bethel Properties, LLC. Background: The applicant, Bethel Properties LLC, has submitted an application for a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) to operate a small business used car dealer office and shop. The proposal acts as a business incubator where individual dealers are provided office space, storage for records, and up to five (5) car stalls on the lot for vehicle display to operate their own individual business. The building will also include two (2) bases for dealer detailing shops. The applicant is proposing this use in the former Monarch Homes building, located at 7820 Riverdale Drive NW. The Property is located within the B-2 Highway Business District. Motor Vehicle Sales and Repair is listed as a Conditional Use. Of note, this type of use was previously listed as a Permitted Use prior to 2009, meaning the use would have been approved administratively without special permit or Public Hearing. The use was re-classified as a Conditional Use to provide the City the opportunity to better address enforcement concerns, review each site individually for compatability and adequate size/parking, as well as give surrounding owners an opportunity to review and comment on proposals. It should be noted that a Conditional Use is an acceptable use that the City shall approve unless reasonable conditions cannot be met. The CUP process allows the City to impose reasonable conditions to address concerns that are raised that can be mitigated by additional standards. Notification: Staff attempted to notify all Property Owners within 350 feet of the Property. A Public Notice was also published in the Anoka Union, the Official City Newspaper. Observations/Alternatives: The applicant is proposing the motor vehicle sales operation in an existing building that had previously been used as office space. The building will include nine (9) offices, each designed with its own exterior entrance. In addition, two bays for vehicle detailing will be provided at the rear of the building within the existing workshop space. While no building expansion is proposed, per the applicant's submittal, modifications to the building would be made, including individual exterior entrances to each office and an overhead door for each of the two (2) proposed bays. Required parking is based on the proposed use. The use contains 2,200 square feet of office space for the nine (9) proposed individual offices. The zoning ordinance requires one (1) space for each 300 square feet of office area, which equates to seven (7) spaces. The vehicle detailing bays require three (3) spaces for each bay plus one (1) space for each full time employee. The bays can accommodate a total of four (4) vehicles combined. The outdoor auto sales space requires one (1) parking space for each ten (10) vehicles displayed for customer parking. The total parking required for the use is fifteen (15) spaces not including the designated customer parking spaces. The applicant proposes providing five (5) display vehicles per office for a total of forty-five (45) stalls. The site includes surface parking for forty-four (44) stalls with an additional four (4) stalls within the bays. As the use is not a typical office use with multiple employees but rather a series of individual offices (each with a single user) mainly used for internet car sales, and limited display space, Staff is comfortable combining the required "office" parking space with the proposed display area. If this use were to be converted and returned to an office -only use, the required parking would be available.