Agenda - Council Work Session - 05/01/2007

Home

4_ - CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION Topic Report: Highwa'y 10 Performance Standards By: Sylvia Frolik, Asst. Com. Dev. Dir./HRA Exec. Dir. Background: The last Council discussion regarding enforcement of site performance standards along the Hwy. #10 corridor was at a Work Session on January 23, 2007. This discussion was the culmination of a series of code enforcement inspections performed on motor vehicle, implement and recreational .. equipment sales lots. City Staff reported that the most common areas of violations were illegal outside storage, nonconforming accessory buildings, operations that could be defined as salvage, and lack of required pavement for employee/customer/display areas. There are 3 zoning districts along the Highway 10 corridor: H-l Highway District - this area is the officially mapped area for future highway improvements. It is located on the north side of the highway, south of the railroad tracks and stretches from our border with Anoka west to Armstrong Blvd. B-2 Business - This involves the bulk of the highway properties not in the officially mapped area for future transportation improvements~ Most of the B-2 parcels are located on the south side of the highway; and there are several parcels on the north side of the highway at the intersection of Alpine and Hwy. #10. E-1 Employment - there are several parcels of E-l Employment (places to work) parcels located on the south side of the highway, east of Sunfish Lake Blvd. and on the north side of the highway at our border with Elk River. At the work session in January, Council directed City Staff to continue to pursue code compliance as it relates to outdoor storage, nonconforming accessory buildiugs, and salvage operations. Because of what is considered to be the transitional nature of the H-1 Highway District, Council directed Staff to draft ordinance. amendments that would allow business owners the flexibility to utilize alternatives to bituminous and concrete surfacing materials. As for the B-2 and E-1 Districts, City Staff is requesting clarification of what the City Council's intentions are for possible code amendments in these districts. The image of the Highway 10 corridor is a long standing issue in our community. One of the most frequent questions City Staff encounters in our efforts to bring quality development into cthe community is the appearance of the corridor. Developers,.business owners, and residents alike frequently inquire as to what the City's plans are to improve the image of the front door to our community.