Agenda - Environmental Policy Board - 09/15/2025

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Zero Zone — 2025 Office and Production Addition August 18, 2025 Project Narrative Zero Zone is a leading manufacturer in the refrigeration industry, specializing in display cases and refrigeration systems. Zero Zone has been at their Ramsey location since 2002, purchasing the building through an acquisition of an existing manufacturing facility. In 2007, they acquired an additional 4.84 acres to the east to support growth of the business and expand their manufacturing capabilities. Zero Zone proposes to construct a new 57,875 square -foot addition on the north and east sides of their existing facility. The project largely features increased space for production and manufacturing, with added support spaces including an engineering lab, testing area, conference rooms, additional office space and a lunch room with an associated outdoor amenity space. The proposed site improvements will increase parking from 113 to 269 parking stalls to support the addition. Two new overhead doors are proposed on the south side of the facility for deliveries with increased pavement areas for truck turning movements. The parking addition is thoughtfully concentrated on the east side of the facility to separate vehicular flows and pedestrian movements. An enhanced entry loop on the northeast side of the facility will serve as a welcoming and intuitive path for guests. Requested Variance The proposed project requires one variance request: • Section 106-943 — Shoreland Overlay District Development Standards. o Subsection (d), (4), (b), (1) - Impervious surface coverage of lots must not exceed 25 percent of the lot area. The requested variance meets the required findings as follows: 1) That the property owner proposes to use the property in a reasonable manner not permitted by the zoning code. The requested variance will allow Zero Zone to continue their long-standing use of the property as a manufacturing facility in the 1-1 Light Industrial District. The existing and proposed use of the property is well -suited for this predominantly industrial area with infrastructure to support the growth of the facility. The proposed impervious coverage is also reasonable when compared to the surrounding properties and those within the Shoreland Overlay District. To offset the increase in impervious, two infiltration basins are proposed on the northeast and southeast corners of the parking facility. Runoff from the parking facility and building expansion will be routed to the basins to treat the runoff before leaving the site to the south. This will be an improvement to the overall watershed as this area, consisting of gravel parking surfaces and open greenspace, was previously untreated. Page 1 of 2