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HomeMy Public PortalAbout09-2008Agenda Item: G MEMORANDUM TO: Planning Commission FROM: Dusty Finke, Associate Planner; through Planning Director Benetti DATE: September 5, 2008 MEETING: September 10, 2008 Planning Commission SUBJ: Open Discussion: Commercial/Industrial zoning districts Comprehensive Plan Compliance The Comprehensive Plan identifies three broad commercial/industrial uses within the Guide Plan. See the attached map for the location of these uses. The uses are described as follows: Commercial (C) provides areas for highway oriented businesses and retail establishments; can include commercial, office and retail uses; is concentrated along the TH 55 corridor and are served or will be served by urban services. General Business (GB) provides opportunities for corporate campus uses including light industrial and retail uses. This designation identifies larger tracts of land that are suitable for office and business park developments and are served or will be served by urban services. Industrial Business (IB) identifies areas that are currently used for manufacturing or processing of products and refers to lighter industrial uses in the community. The area is concentrated on TH 55 to allow access to primary transportation corridors and is served by urban services. The Comp Plan also establishes a list of objectives for Commercial Uses. When designing ordinances, the City should strive for these objectives. Commercial Uses The following objectives refer to commercial and industrial land uses that are connected to or planned for urban services. The Urban Commercial area is along the TH 55 corridor and will support businesses to benefit the residential areas to the north and south and commuters who travel on TH 55. Businesses will provide a variety of retail products and services mixed with light industrial/warehouses and smaller offices. Objectives 1. Provide convenient and attractive shopping and services to meet the needs of City residents. 2. Avoid multiple access points to collector and arterial roads. Commercial/Industrial 1 Planning Commission Zoning Discussion September 10, 2008 3. Encourage businesses that benefit the local community by providing employment opportunities offering convenience goods and services, utilizing high quality design, and having limited impact on public services. 4. Require commercial activities that serve the broader metropolitan market to have access to a regional highway or frontage road. 5. Regulate the impact of commercial development along the border between commercially and residentially guided areas to ensure that commercial property has a minimal impact on residential areas. 6. Regulate construction to ensure high quality, energy and resource efficient buildings and to promote such Green Building standards as LEED Certifications or the State of Minnesota Sustainable Building Guidelines: Buildings, Benchmarks and Beyond (B-3) standards. 7. Encourage construction that enhances the visual appeal of TH 55 corridor. 8. Create standards that promote a more rural appearance, or create campus style developments. 9. Require frontage roads that do not directly access TH 55 corridor. 10. Require developments to provide frontage roads as shown conceptually in the transportation plan. 11. Require conditional use permits for manufacturing, processing, cleaning, storage, maintenance and testing of goods and products in order to prevent adverse affects to the City and its residents. 12. Use the site plan review process to ensure that commercial and industrial uses are compatible with neighboring future and existing uses, and with the adjoining public streets and highways. PUD's may be used to help accomplish this policy. Existing Regulations Within existing ordinances, commercial activities are divided into three primary districts: Urban Commercial (Section 831), Business Park (Section 832), and Industrial Park (Section 833). The Rural Commercial Holding zone (Section 835) includes a small number of parcels which are currently not served by City sewer/water, but are intended to be developed with city services. Commissioners may review these regulations within their City Code books, and they are also available on the City's website. Staff will consult with Commissioners regarding your thoughts about the strengths and weaknesses of the existing regulations to be carried over or altered. Staff has also prepared a summary of regulations in some of the surrounding communities for purposes of reference. Please see the attached tables. Commercial/Industrial 2 Planning Commission Zoning Discussion September 10, 2008 Districts As is evidenced by regulations in other cities, different communities may utilize different districts to regulate commercial uses. A distinction is almost always made between business/commercial and industrial uses. Additionally, communities often differentiate between "neighborhood" and "highway" commercial uses, and sometimes also call out a district for office concentration. The Industrial Business land use is limited to the area southeast of the Highway 55/Arrowhead Drive intersection. This area is currently zoned Industrial Park. The Commission may want to consider utilizing this zoning district since there are only a small number of parcels remaining in the use, and one is already developed under the Industrial Park standards. The General Business land use includes tracts of undeveloped land, and also a number of properties which are developed as industrial uses (around the Highway 55/Willow Drive intersection). The Commission should discuss if Business Park should be used as a guide for this use, what changes should be considered, and if there would be reason to further divide this area into numerous zones. The Commercial land use includes a number of undeveloped properties adjacent to Highway 55, consistent with highway oriented uses. Additionally, the land use also includes the developed office/warehouse areas along Pinto/Tower Drive and north of Clydesdale Trail. These areas differ to an extent that separate zoning classifications are warranted. Because of the location of most of the Commercial land use property, a "neighborhood commercial" zone may not be utilized. This type of zone would be more likely within the Mixed Use, where the commercial use will be more accessible to residential dwellings. Specific Regulations for Further Discussion Lot Size The Business Park and Industrial Park zoning districts require a minimum of 5 acres. This is larger than comparable ordinances in other cities. Such a requirement limits development to uses which tend to have larger buildings. Urban Commercial requires 1 acre. The Commission should discuss this issue in relation to some of the ordinances in other cities. Tree Preservation Business Park, Industrial Park, and Urban Commercial districts require replacement for every significant tree removed. Additionally, the ordinance requires street trees and landscaping. The City passed a tree preservation ordinance for residential development back in 2006 which allows a percentage of trees to be removed based on the size of the property. The Commission should discuss if they wish to apply a similar regulation in commercial zones. Building Materials Staff has found that the building material requirements in the existing ordinance are fairly consistent with requirements in other cities. Staff plans to utilize a similar list when crafting the commercial/industrial district regulations, unless the Commission has additional input. Commercial/Industrial 3 Planning Commission Zoning Discussion September 10, 2008 Landscaping Requirements Current ordinances require one street tree per 50 feet of lot frontage. In researching other city ordinances, it appears to be common to count the entire lot perimeter. Additionally, some ordinances require understory shrubs based on lot perimeter or building square footage. Another strategy utilized by cities is to require a percentage of the project value to be spent on landscaping. Building Modulation Current ordinances speak broadly about requiring building modulation in order to break up monotonous building facades. In the Uptown Hamel ordinance, staff had suggested a requirement that buildings facades are modulated every 40 feet. Hardcover Business Park and Industrial Park districts limit hardcover to 50% of the site, and Industrial Park limits hardcover to 60%. Some cities do not regulate by hardcover, but rather by limiting the size of building in comparison to the lot. See the table for comparison. Outside Storage Within current ordinance, outside storage is limited to Industrial Park and larger (5 acre+) Urban Commercial lots. Staff has heard a lot of comments from businesses looking for the availability of outside storage. The comparison table from other cities identifies how they regulate the storage. The Commission may also discuss what zones outside storage should be permitted within, and what type of restrictions (lot size, screening, location) should be used. Uses When discussing the Uptown Hamel ordinance, the City Council favored a more generalized list of uses within the zoning ordinances. If the Commission has specific uses which they believe should be limited to certain districts (for example, no auto uses within a neighborhood commercial zone), this should be discussed. Attachments 1. DRAFT Future Land Use Map 2. Selection of regulations in other cities Commercial/Industrial 4 Planning Commission Zoning Discussion September 10, 2008 Summary of Commercial Regulations in Other Cities (allowed uses) City District PermittedUsel PermittedUse2 PermittedUse3 PermittedUse4 ConditionalUse1 ConditionalUse2 ConditionalUse3 ConditionalUse4 Minnetrista C-1 - Office/limited commercial Offices (including medical) Banks Nursing Homes, Hospitals, Funeral Home Motel/Hotel Educational facilities, Day Care, Religious Restaurants, Clubs/Lodges C-2 - Highway Service Offices (including medical) Service Businesses Printing, Skill trades Funeral Home Auto/Marine Sales, auto repair Motel/Hotel Educational facilities Commercial recreation C-3 - Shopping Center Offices (including medical) Banks Retail Uses, Restaurants Funeral Home Nursing Homes Auto/Marine Sales Educational facilities, Day Care Religious Commercial recreation Corcoran C-1 - Neighborhood Commercial Certain retail and service businesses Offices Restaurants, clubs, lodges Auto uses (motor fuel station, car wash, drive- Commercial recreation, hotels Senior housing, nursing homes Hospitals (human and vet) C-2 - Community Commercial C-1 uses Home Furniture, Appliances Sporting goods C-1 conditional Assisted Living BP - Business Park Offices Light Manufacturing, Industrial, printing Warehousing Banks Hotels Vehicle repair, vehicle sales Educational facilities Hotels/Motels Maple Grove Business Retail Uses Personal Service Businesses Essential Services Freeway Frontage (PUD) Orono B-1 - Retail Sales Retail and Service Businesses Restaurants Offices Day Care B-3 - Shopping Center Retail and Service Businesses Restaurants Offices Day Care B-4 - Office and Professional Offices Clinics Banks Nursing Homes, Hospitals Animal hospitals B-5 - Limited Neighborhood Certain retail and service businesses Certain Retail and Service B-6 - Highway Commercial Offices Banks Motels/Hotels Restaurants Drive-thrus Burnsville B-1 - Office Business Offices Health Clubs Daycare, schools, colleges Clinics Funeral homes Nursing homes Art studio, interior decorating, photography, B-2 - Neighborhood Business B-1 uses Certain retail and service uses B-1 conditional Motor fuel stations and Car Wash Restaruants, taverns, liquor store B-3 - General Business B-1 and B-2 uses Auto uses Printing/ Publishing/ Photograph B-1 and B-2 conditional Vet, Trade skills Open sales or storage lot B-4 - Highway Commercial Trade skills Outdoor recreation Open sales or storage lot Rockford C-1 - Commercial Service Personal service/repair uses Skill trades Printing/Publishing/Photo graph Veterinary, taxidermists Funeral homes Dry cleaning Business/trade schools C-3 - Highway Commercial Retail and Service Businesses Auto/RV sales, auto repair Hospitals/labs Liquor stores Plymouth O - Office Offices Clinics - human and vet Funeral homes Senior housing, nursing homes Bank w/ drive-thru Motor fuel station & convenience grocery Educational facilities C-1 - Convenience Commercial Certain retail and service businesses Offices (not medical/dental) Dry cleaners, Laundromats Motor fuel station & convenience grocery Day care C-2 - Neighborhood Commercial Certain retail and service businesses Offices Veteranarian Dry cleaners, Laundromats Motor fuel station & convenience grocery Day Care Supermarket/Grocery C-3 - Highway Commercial Certain retail and service businesses Offices Indoor recreation Veterinary Dry cleaners, Laundromats Motor fuel station & convenience grocery Drive-thru Car Washes C-4 - Community Commercial Retail and Service Businesses Offices Veterinary Dry cleaners, Laundromats Motor fuel station & convenience grocery, Drive-thru Funeral Home B-C - Business Campus Banks Offices, Printing Recreation, indoor Conference, reception hall Manufacturing/Warehou sing Hotels/Motels Day Care Restaurants Wayzata C-1A - Neighborhood Office/Limited Commercial Offices Barber, beauty shop Art studio, interior decorating, photo studio Day care <12 persons Banks (no drive-thru) Dry cleaning C-2 - Shopping Center Retail and Service Businesses Auto service, motor fuel station, Indoor recreation Restaurants Child care C-3 - Service District Retail and Service Businesses Offices C-2 Conditional Auto Sales Motels/Hotels Nursery