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CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION <br />Title/Issue: Conditional Rezoning <br /> <br />By: Sylvia Frolik, Community Development Director <br /> Pat Tmdgeon, Principal Planner <br /> <br />Background: <br /> <br />About 1-1/2 years ago, Councilmember Zimmerman came across an article in the Anoka <br />Union regarding Andover City Council recently amending their City Code to establish <br />provisions for contract rezoning. He suggested that Staff that there be some discussion <br />regarding whether or not a similar ordinance should be adopted into Ramsey's code. Under a <br />contract rezoning, a request for rezoning will require the applicant to submit a site plan or <br />subdivision plan showing exactly how the property is proposed to be developed. If the <br />property is not developed in accordance with the plans submitted at the time of the rezoning <br />request, the City may initiate action to revert back to the previous zoning designation. <br /> <br />As the discussion of contract rezoning proceeded, it evolved into the fact that sometimes an <br />amendment to the land use plan in the Comprehensive Plan is necessary in order to approve a <br />request for rezoning. Consequently, staff made some attempts to study whether or not the <br />City could establish provisions for conditional comprehensive plan amendments. This would <br />go a step further and allow the City to revert the land use plan back to what it previously stated <br />ifa rezoning and related development did not proceed within a certain timeframe. <br /> <br />The last report to City Council on September 24, 2002, there was discussion of both <br />conditional rezoning and conditional comprehensive plan amendments. City Attorney Bill <br />Goodrich recommended that the two issues be separated because of the uncertainty of the <br />feasibility or legality of conditional comprehensive plan amendments. Council agreed and <br />directed City Staff to draft an ordinance to establish conditional rezoning in the City of <br />Ramsey. <br /> <br />Observations: <br /> <br />Some of the concerns raised with conditional comprehensive plan amendments were that the <br />City does not have total control of the process. Metropolitan Council would have to agree to <br />change the land use back if the applicant for the comprehensive plan amendment did not <br />follow through with his/her development plan. <br /> <br />Typically the follow through on a rezoning and related project development has not been a <br />problem. Applicants generally don't apply for a rezoning unless they have a very specific <br />project in mind and are ready to develop once the zoning is in place. As it stands now, there is <br /> <br /> <br />