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