05/16/13 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

4. EDA BUSINESS 4.01: FOR DISCUSSION ONLY: Discuss Future Land Use Options and Land Use Open House Results for 15153 Nowthen Boulevard (Former Ramsey Municipal Center /Current Fire Station #2) Management Analyst Brama provided a brief background regarding this property and stated the City held an open house on April 18 He advised the City received 26 formal comments with 24 comments indicating a preference for a residential development and indicating opposition to a data center while two comments were received in favor of a data center and opposed to a residential development. He stated the City also received a petition with 69 signatures in opposition to a data center and in favor of a residential development and noted there was no formal analysis of this petition to verify addresses. He advised that staff has worked to find solutions to mitigate resident concerns and has prepared a revised site concept. He stated that noise was a major concern and staff feels that noise pollution can be resolved with proper land use restrictions including increased setbacks, requiring enclosed or indoor storage, and requiring that air conditioning units be located near the center of the building. He indicated that Anoka and Chaska have noise decibel restrictions for their data centers and the City could adopt more restrictive noise regulations, e.g., 55 decibels, which is comparable to normal office noise or a library. He stated another concern raised by residents was the look of a data center and whether a data center would fit in with the neighborhood. He advised this concern could be mitigated through larger setbacks, dictating the maximum height of the building, proper landscape screening, and establishing architectural standards so the building is compatible with the surrounding area. He stated that residents expressed concern regarding traffic and staff does not believe this is a legitimate concern and feels a data center will have less impact than a residential development with 48 trips per day for a data center compared to 480 trips per day for a residential development. He stated the issue of spot zoning was raised and staff reviewed this issue with the City Attorney and the League and does not believe this would result in spot zoning due to the size of the parcel, the public purpose for developing the site as a data center, and the fact that the previous use was for either a school or municipal complex that are more intense uses. He advised that residents also felt a data center would reduce their property values and while it is possible that property values could decrease with a data center, surrounding property values could also decrease with a residential development. He indicated the City Attorney and the League feel this issue is subjective and should not be concerned as long as the City goes through the proper steps to ensure the development is compatible with surrounding properties. He stated residents also raised the issue of risk of market failure of a data center and what would happen to the property and advised that while there is no mitigation the City can provide for this, the City could state that the property may only be used for quiet type uses in the future. He stated residents suggested the property be used for a park and the Parks Commission has not identified this site as a future park, noting the site is connected by trail to a number of nearby parks. He presented a revised site concept and stated a single user data center was reduced from 250,000 square feet to 190,000 square feet and the setbacks were increased from 125' to 200' and setbacks for a two -user data center were also increased to 200'. He indicated the required parking could be reduced by 30 stalls and the site concept includes landscaping and buffering especially along Helium Street to screen properties and also includes a neighborhood open space in the northeast corner of the property. He stated generators would be required to be enclosed in the building or placed in enclosures toward the center of the building and the building's Economic Development Authority/May 16, 2013 Page 2 of 7