Agenda - Council - 08/08/2023 - Laserfiche WebLink

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After the June 22 Planning Commission meeting was canceled due to lack of quorum, a Union Herald legal notice was placed and social media posts were created noting the July 27 public hearing. Direct mailing is not required nor done due to the anticipated cost. Time Frame/Observations/Alternatives: Alternatives to consider: 1. Introduce Ordinance #23-14 as recommended by the Planning Commission. 2. Introduce Ordinance #23-14 with any modifications that the City Council sees fit. 3. Table the introduction of the Ordinance to discuss any topics further. 4. Deny Ordinance #23-14 keeping the existing regulations in place. Funding Source: This work has been done as a course of staffs normal duties. All work has been done in-house without the use of consultants. Recommendation: At its meeting on July 27, the Planning Commission unanimously (6-0) recommended approval of the Ordinance with some minor modifications. The modification regarding EIFS from an accent material to a primary business building material has been incorporated into the draft. The Commission requested the Council discuss the definition of "family" and proposed regulations for car dealers further: Definition of "Family" Currently, the Zoning Code identifies single-family dwellings in single-family zoning districts, but it does not define what a family is. The proposed Zoning Code includes a definition that is similar or the same as many other communities in the region: "Family means an individual; two or more persons related by blood, marriage, adoption, or foster care; or not more than four persons not related by blood, marriage, adoption, or foster care occupying a dwelling unit as an individual housekeeping organization." This definition is important to keep single-family homes from turning into rooming houses or small apartment buildings. It also acknowledges that people can have roommates, have live-in caregivers, be unmarried cohabitators, or have other reasonable living situations. The Commission received testimony from an investment property owner who has properties being rented to various groups of people that would not meet this definition. It should also be noted that licensed residential facilities (i.e., group homes) and unlicensed residential facilities (i.e., sober homes) are proposed to be limited to six residents. These dwelling types have extra Building Code regulations that could require additional SAC/WAC payments, accessibility, and fire protection and, given these extra regulations from the State, typically limit residents to four or five to avoid the extra costs. Car Dealers Cleaning up the Highway 10 corridor was something that was brought up several times in discussing business districts. Staff has had feedback from other Ramsey businesses that the corridor looks bad due to many of the auto dealer properties. The most problematic ones are the multi -tenant dealership properties. They are consistently in violation of their conditional use permits and they are difficult to coordinate clean up with due to the several dealers involved. These small dealers are generally not invested in the community, turn over frequently, and are usually not the dealer's primary business. Regulations are proposed to make sure that a car dealer is making an investment in the property and running an accountable legitimate business. These regulations include having a minimum of two acres of buildable land, having a building with a minimum footprint of 10 percent of the property, and limiting the number of licenses to one per property. Outcome/Action: