Agenda - Planning Commission - 01/09/2014

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provides the City the ability to attach reasonable conditions if it mitigates reasonable concerns and provides an additional enforcement mechanism in the event of non-compliance. It should be noted that there is a wide spectrum of land use types and surrounding conditions within the B-1 General Business District. Major nodes located in the B-1 General Business District include 167th Avenue/Highway 47, River's Bend Plaza (Bunker Lake Boulevard/Highway 47), and Ramsey Towne Square (Bunker Lake Boulevard/Highway 47). Smaller nodes within this district include Alpine Drive/Highway 47, Alpine Drive/Nowthen Boulevard, Bunker Lake Boulevard/Sunfish Lake Boulevard, and Bunker Lake Boulevard/Ramsey Boulevard (undeveloped). While some of these nodes have larger, contiguous tracts of property and multiple retail users, others are single -user nodes intended to service the immediate surrounding area. City Code already has standards in place for nuisances (noise, glare, odors, etc) and off-street parking requirements. Additionally, Minnesota Building and Fire Codes have standards in place regarding the construction, design, and ventilation requirements for shooting ranges as well as storage, handling, sale or use of ammunition. In order to maximize the effectiveness of enforcing these codes, Staff has developed some minimum standards for incorporation into City Code specifically for indoor shooting ranges. A conditional use permit could then include additional reasonable conditions, if necessary, depending on the specifics of a request/proposal. Alternatives/Options Option # 1: Recommend that the City Council adopt Ordinance # 14-01 Amending City Code Section 117-114 Allowing Indoor Commercial Recreation as a Conditional Usein the B-1 General Business District and Creating City Code Section 117-363 Establishing Performance Standards for Indoor Shooting Ranges as drafted. This would expand the allowable uses within the B-1 General Business District. This would address comments received from Property Owners within the retail node and adjacent residents that participated in the citizen engagement process. Allowing additional allowable uses may help reduce vacancy rates in the 167th Avenue/Highway 47 retail node area, while maintaining consistency with language in other zoning districts. As previously noted, the B-1 General Business District is generally more closely interrelated to adjacent residential uses. Thus, maintaining the public input process via a public hearing for a conditional use permit, would help address and potentially mitigate questions and/or concerns that may be raised prior to this use commencing. Option #2: Recommend that the City Council adopt an amendedOrdinance # 14-01 Amending City Code Section 117-114 Allowing Indoor Commercial Recreation as aPermitted Usein the B-1 General Business District and Creating City Code Section 117-363 Establishing Performance Standards for Indoor Shooting Ranges. This would permit Indoor Commercial Recreation 'by -right' in this zoning district (including indoor shooting ranges, bowling alleys, laser tag, indoor playing fields etc.) and would become an administrative process. There would be opportunity for due process for those individuals in opposition; however, this due process would be reactionary in nature versus proactive. Due to the nature of the B-1 General Business District (typically neighborhood scale retail), maintaining the formal review process to ensure that the proposed use would not be in conflict with the intent of the B-1 General Business District could be beneficial. However, if the Planning Commission prefers the use as a Permitted Use, Staff would suggest that a standard be incorporated into the proposed City Code Section 117-363 (Indoor shooting range) that would require a City license to operate an indoor shooting range. Thus, if there were issues with how the facility were being operated or concerns with the quality of owner, the City would retain the ability to revoke the license if necessary. Option #3: Recommend that the City Council adopt an amendedOrdinance # 14-01 Amending City Code Section 117-114 Allowing Indoor Commercial Recreation as a Conditional Usein the B-1 General Business District as an Overlay Districtand Creating City Code Section 117-363 Establishing Performance Standards for Indoor Shooting Ranges. An overlay district would allow the current zoning of the property to remain but would allow for an expansion of uses only within the overlay district (specific to the 167th Avenue/Highway 47 retail node). Even though this option would assist with expanding uses within this distressed retail node, it is Staffs opinion that this would add complexity overall to the Zoning Code and that it would be more desirable to either view the use as a conditional or permitted use with appropriate performance standards to ensure compatibility with the surrounding area in all of the B-1 General Business District or not at all.