Agenda - Planning Commission - 04/03/2003

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P26 Code. Mr. Bauer contacted City Staff and stated he is leasing a portion of the subject property to Able Paving & Construction, who is utilizing the property for outside storage of their commercial vehicles and equipment. Mr. Bauer is requesting an interim use permit to allow for outside storage of commercial vehicles and equipment on the subject property for approximately a 2-year period; The subject property is zoned R-1 Residential and City Code does not permit commercial activities as a principal use in a residential district. As previously stated, the gun club is a legal non-conforming use and therefore commercial activities on the subject property cannot be expanded without the property being rezoned to business or the property owner receiving a conditional use permit to expanded commercial activities on the subject property. City Code states that in a residential district, outside storage of commercial vehicles and equipment is permitted as an accessory use provided the following criteria can be maintained: 1) All vehicles and equipment must be parked in the side or rear yard 2) Must be screened to a degree of 75%, 100% of the time while unattended 2) All commercial vehicles and equipment located within the belUSA boundary must be parked on a concrete or bituminous pad and if the property is located outside of the MUSA boundary the commercial items must be parked on a minimum of Class V. Staff conducted an on-site inspection and found an array of commercial vehicles and equipment parked on the prope~1y, several 50-gallon drums filled with oil, and clean sand and gravel products on the site. Staff did notice that Mr. Bauer has placed Able Paving & Construction in an area that is completely surrounded by mature trees. It does not appear that any adjacent neighbors can visually see the commercial vehicles and equipment. In discussions with the owner of Able Paving, Wes Able, he stated that Able Paving is utilizing the property for outside storage of a bobcat, 2 rollers, 3 trailers, 5 dump trucks, 1 business truck, and a paving machine. They also perform mechanical work within an existing accessory structure and they periodically bring clean excess paving products (i.e. sand and gravel) to the site. Able Paving mTives to the subject property to utilize the vehicles and equipment around 6:00 a.m. and typically return to the site around 6:00 p.m. Currently the items are being stored on a combination of grass and gravel. The Planning Commission held a public hearing and reviewed the interim use permit request at their February 6, 2003 meeting. During the public hearing, several citizens expressed concerns regarding the commercial vehicles creating traffic congestion on Variolite Street, since the commercial vehicles take awhile to reach the posted speed limit. Residents also stated in general they do not xvant to see commercial activities expanded or intensified on the Ramsey Shooting Center property. The Plarming Commission recommended that the City Council deny the interim use permit request by Gerry Bauer. The Planning Commission felt that the proposed commercial activities are not an appropriate use for the subject property and smTounding area. Gerry Bower, Waco Street, Ramsey, stated that he owns 155 acres and lhey would be using 40 acres, which is currently zoned commercial and industrial. He questioned why he should be paying commercial and industrial taxes on the property if it cannot be used for commercial or industrial type businesses. Wes King, Able Paving, explained that he does very little maintenance on the site and that primarily the site is used to store his vehicles. The trucks typically leave the site at 7:00 a.m. and return between 5:00 and 6:00 p.m. The trucks do move slowly, but the only traffic is when they leave in the morning and return in the evening. He currently does a lot of business within the City of Ramsey, which makes the site a convenient location. He stated that Able Paving is an up City Council/February 25, 2003 Page 6 of 24 I I I I I i I I I I I I I I I I I I