Minutes - Planning Commission - 07/12/2018

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5.02: Public Hearing: Consider Request for Zoning Amendment (Text) to the E-1 Employment District and a Conditional Use Permit to Allow Motor Vehicle Sales on the Property Located at 14300 Sunfish lake Boulevard NW(Project No. 122); Case of John Buzick Public Hearing Chairperson Bauer called the public hearing to order at 8:01 p.m. Presentation Community Development Director Gladhill presented the staff report stating the City has received an application from John Buzick (the "Applicant") requesting a Zoning Amendment to the text of the E-1 Employment to identify motor vehicle sales as a Conditional Use and a Conditional Use Permit to allow motor vehicle sales on the property located at 14300 Sunfish Lake Blvd NW (the "Subject Property"). That there is an existing Conditional Use Permit (CUP) for the Subject Property, which was approved by the City in 1993, that allows for a towing operation and motor vehicle repairs. The Applicant is proposing a similar business model that he has implemented on two (2) other properties within the City. That model creates multiple tenant suites in a building that are leased out to individuals. Staff provided further comment on the request and recommended denial Zoning Amendment. Citizen Input Commissioner Woestehoff asked how much of the City was zoned E-1. Community Development Director Gladhill reviewed several hundred acres in the City were zoned E-1. Commissioner VanScoy questioned if the City had received other requests for car sales in the E-1 or E-2 zoning districts. Community Development Director Gladhill reported this was a rare request and not of this magnitude. He stated there were other zoning districts in the City that better supported this use. John Buzick, 14300 Sunfish Lake Boulevard, discussed the history of his business and stated he has not had any complaints. He indicated his current location worked as an incubator for small business operators. He explained the property he was looking to purchase has been used for auto repair and towing since 1993. He reported he had 11 people interested in working in Ramsey selling cars from this location. He requested the Commission allow used car sales to occur on this property, along with auto repair and towing. Darren Guthmiller, 14400 Wolfram Street, explained he lived around the corner from the subject property. He expressed concern with having all of the E-1 properties in Ramsey available for used car sales. He noted all of the other businesses along Sunfish Lake Boulevard have curb and gutter as they have been updated. He commented the current towing company has poor signage and Planning Commission/July 12,2018 Page 5 of 10