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Home My WebLink About2015/01/21 - ADMIN - Agenda Packets - Planning Commission - RegularAGENDA PLANNING COMMISSION COUNCIL CHAMBERS 6:00 P.M. JANUARY 21, 2015 1. Call to order – Roll Call 2. Approval of Minutes of January 7, 2015 3. Old Business A. Zoning Ordinance Amendments - Outside storage in the IP District Applicant: James T. Smith Case No.: 14-29-ZA (tabled on January 7, 2015) 4. Other Business 5. Communications 6. Adjournment If you cannot attend the meeting, please call the Community Development Office, 952/924-2575. Auxiliary aides for individuals with disabilities are available upon request. To make arrangements, please call 952/924-2575 at least 96 hours in advance of meeting. Planning Commission Meeting Date: January 21, 2015 Agenda Item 3A 3A. Zoning Ordinance Amendments – Outside storage in the IP District Case No.: 14-29-ZA Recommended Action: Motion to recommend denial of the proposed Zoning Ordinance Amendments to Section 36-4 pertaining to the Accessory use or structure definition, to Section 36-243(c)(6) pertaining to Parking lots as an exclusive principal land use in the Industrial Park Zoning District, and to Section 36-243(d) to include outdoor storage as a Conditional Use. REQUEST: Mr. James T. Smith (Applicant) is an Attorney representing Mr. Martin Bell. Mr. Bell owns property on Florida Ave in the Industrial Park (IP) zoning district. He is requesting three amendments to the zoning ordinance. The purpose of the amendments is to clarify the intent of the zoning ordinance and to allow Outdoor Storage as a land use permitted by Conditional Use Permit (CUP) in the Industrial Park zoning district. SUMMARY OF PROPOSED AMENDMENT: Three amendments are proposed. The amendments were presented to the Planning Commission on January 7, 2015. The Commission tabled consideration for further discussion, and asked staff to meet with the applicant to review the proposed ordinance and recommend changes that may make the proposed amendment more acceptable if the city chooses to adopt them. A summary of the proposed amendments is below, and the complete text is attached. 1. Amend Section 36-4 to delete the word “land” and replace with the word “parcel”. During the enforcement action described below, Mr. Bell argued that the use of the word “land” gave him the right to conduct an accessory use on any property he owns in the City, not just the property on which the principal use is being conducted. As noted below, the City Attorney, City Council, and the Board of Zoning Appeals (BOZA) disagreed with this interpretation. 2. Amend Section 36-243(c)(6) to add language specifically stating that accessory uses, such as outdoor storage, are not permitted as an accessory use to the Parking Lot use. The Applicant gives two options to consider. a. All accessory uses are prohibited. b. Only outdoor storage is prohibited as an accessory use, other accessory uses may be permitted as allowed elsewhere in the code. 3. Amend Section 36-243(d) to allow outdoor storage as a conditional use. This would allow a property owner to apply for a conditional use permit to conduct outdoor storage as a principal land use (the only land use occurring on the property). Agenda Item No 3A – Zoning Ordinance Amendment – Outdoor storage in the IP zoning district. Page 2 Meeting Date: January 21, 2015 Staff met with Mr. Smith, and confirmed our position on the first two proposed amendments which is that the City Council already stated the ordinance is clear and does not need to be amended. Therefore, staff will continue to recommend denial of these two. Staff suggested revisions to the third option, allowing outdoor storage as a conditional use in the Industrial Park zoning district. If the city allows outdoor storage as a principal use, then it should adhere to zoning regulations such as setbacks, landscaping, stormwater management, screening, and any other regulations that may be required specific to a location. The revisions were accepted by the applicant and Mr. Bell. The revised proposed ordinance is attached. The revisions are in strikeout and underline. ANALYSIS: The first two proposed amendments are intended by the applicant to “clarify” existing code. These issues were the subject of discussions and appeals that were heard by the Board of Zoning Appeals (BOZA), the City Council, and the City Attorney. Each of them concluded that the existing language is clear; therefore no further analysis is provided, and staff recommends denial of the first two proposed amendments. The applicant believes that comments made at the council meeting indicate that he should pursue an amendment to the zoning ordinance to allow outdoor storage in the IP district. The third proposed amendment would accomplish that goal. The third amendment would allow outdoor storage as a principal use in the Industrial Park district by conditional use permit. The potential broad impacts of that proposed amendment are discussed below. It is important to review a request like this in the context of how it would impact all properties zoned Industrial Park along with the impacts it would have on neighboring properties. Principal/Accessory Use Definitions: Uses that are allowed to occur on a property are listed in the zoning district regulations. The list of uses are divided into two types, principal uses and accessory uses. Principal use is defined as the main use and chief purpose of land or structures, as distinguished from a secondary or accessory use. Accessory use is defined as a use or a structure subordinate to the principal use or structure on the same land and customarily incidental thereto. In the case of an accessory structure, both the building footprint and building height of an accessory building are smaller than the principal building. The principal use of an industrial property is typically a building containing a manufacturing, office, or warehouse use. Each of these principal uses may have a small component of its operation that requires something to be stored outside. Outdoor storage is allowed as an accessory use as long as it is a small component of the operation. Small component means it cannot occupy an area on the lot that is more than 25% of the floor area of the building on the lot in an Industrial Park district. Agenda Item No 3A – Zoning Ordinance Amendment – Outdoor storage in the IP zoning district. Page 3 Meeting Date: January 21, 2015 Outdoor Storage: Outdoor Storage is defined in the zoning ordinance as follows: The receiving, keeping and shipping of goods and materials outside of an enclosed building where outdoor activity includes only the unloading, loading, and keeping of materials. This use may include storage yards for contractors, equipment, lumber, landscaping materials, construction materials and shipping materials. Storage of unlicensed or inoperable vehicles or other materials typically associated with a junkyard, salvage yard or auto reduction plant are excluded. Potential Impacts of Proposed Amendments: (1) Adverse impacts typically associated with outdoor storage include: • Noise coming from running heavy equipment, materials being moved around or dropped, and back-up alarms. In particular noise early morning or late at night can be a nuisance. • Odors from the machinery, typically diesel. The smell of diesel equipment running one hundred feet from a residential property may impact a person’s ability to enjoy their backyard or cause people to keep their windows closed in the summer. • Visual impacts include the sight of materials and equipment. These items are not always kept in an orderly manner. Weeds will frequently grow in seldom used areas of the storage lot. • The consequences of these impacts need to be considered not only when adjacent to residential, but also when adjacent to other properties within the Industrial Park zoning district where properties and uses are intended to be more professional and of higher aesthetic standards than the General Industrial zoning district. (2) There is also the potential opportunity cost of land used for outdoor storage rather than a more desirable industrial use. (3) Outdoor storage as a principal use may lack the monitoring, security, and upkeep that is typical of an industrial use with employees on-site. The City utilizes the Comprehensive Plan and zoning ordinance to mitigate these impacts on neighboring properties. Comprehensive Plan: The Comprehensive Plan contains a land use chapter that explains the goals and strategies that guides the city when considering land use applications, redevelopment, and zoning amendments. Each goal has several corresponding strategies intended to aid the city in meeting the listed goal. The following are some of the industrial and business park goals and strategies pertinent to the proposed outdoor storage zoning amendment: Goal: Protect and enhance the viability of the City’s designated industrial areas for industrial uses. Strategy: Support new industrial land uses that are able to minimize nuisances to surrounding non-industrial land uses. Strategy: Enhance industrial areas’ compatibility with nearby residential neighborhoods. Agenda Item No 3A – Zoning Ordinance Amendment – Outdoor storage in the IP zoning district. Page 4 Meeting Date: January 21, 2015 While the Comprehensive Plan supports and encourages the viability of industrial properties, it also calls for the industrial areas to evolve in such a way that the adjacent properties are not impacted by the noise, aesthetics, odors, dust and other potential nuisances associated with industrial uses such as outdoor storage. Zoning Ordinance: The city recognizes that industrial uses impact neighboring properties to varying degrees. The city also acknowledges that when considering impacts to neighboring properties we need to consider not just adjacent residential properties, but also impacts on adjacent industrial properties within the same industrial area. To successfully mitigate the impacts of industrial uses on adjacent properties, the city utilizes performance standards, zoning districts, and the zoning map. Performance Standards: Performance standards include screening (landscaping, berming, & fencing), limitations on hours of operation, setbacks, paved surfaces for parking and storage areas, and other measures that may be specific to the use. Zoning Districts: The city utilizes three industrial zoning districts designed to keep uses with similar purposes and impacts together, General Industrial (IG), Industrial Park (IP), and Business Park (BP). The districts progress from IG that allows most industrial uses and has minimal performance standards to mitigate impacts, all the way to BP which allows some industrial uses, but requires the uses, including storage, to be located inside a building. BP also has strict performance standards to mitigate impacts. On this scale, IP is located between IG and BP as a district that allows most industrial uses, but also requires substantial performance standards to mitigate impacts. To this end, the purpose/intent section of each of the districts is below: General Industrial: City Code Section 36-244(a) Purpose/intent. The purpose of the I-G general industrial district is to provide locations for large and small scale industrial enterprises engaged in such activities as manufacturing, processing, assembly, storage and warehousing. The purpose/intent of the IG district reinforces the premises that this district is intended to house industrial uses that may have higher nuisance potential. The purpose/intent statement doesn’t indicate a priority to mitigate these impacts, although as expected, the code does establish minimum standards that need to be met. Industrial Park: City Code Section 36-243(a) Purpose/intent. The purpose of the I-P industrial park district is to provide locations for large and small scale industrial enterprises engaged in such activities as assembly, storage, warehousing and light manufacturing which are not typically associated with high levels of noise, soot, odors and other potential nuisance impacts upon adjoining properties in an industrial park setting. Agenda Item No 3A – Zoning Ordinance Amendment – Outdoor storage in the IP zoning district. Page 5 Meeting Date: January 21, 2015 The IP district expands on the IG purpose/intent statement by similarly allowing industrial uses. Although it limits manufacturing to “light” manufacturing. The purpose/intent also includes a statement clarifying that the industrial uses allowed are those that are not typically associated with a high level of nuisance impacts on adjoining properties. Finally, the purpose/intent statement of the IP district calls the IP district out as an “industrial park setting”. An industrial park setting is one where the uses are primarily conducted inside the building, the buildings are of a higher aesthetic standard, and the properties are landscaped to provide a higher aesthetic experience. The aerial photo below demonstrates the difference between an Industrial Park quality of development and an IG quality development. Properties #1 and #2 represent good examples of an industrial park setting where the use is occurring inside the building, the customer/employee parking is separate from the truck dock area, there is no outdoor storage, and the site is very well landscaped. Property #3 is a good example of a General Industrial property that has a substantial amount of outdoor storage, very little building area, and very little landscaping. All three of these properties are located in the Florida Ave/Edgewood Ave industrial park area. Mr. Bell’s property is located adjacent to the property identified as #3. The Florida Ave/Edgewood Ave industrial park area used to be zoned as General Industrial, but was rezoned to Industrial Park. Property #3 is the result of the IG zoning, while building #1 was constructed in 2003, and is the result of the IP zoning. Marty Bell property Agenda Item No 3A – Zoning Ordinance Amendment – Outdoor storage in the IP zoning district. Page 6 Meeting Date: January 21, 2015 As indicated by the current zoning, this area is intended to evolve into an industrial park setting, and has begun taking those steps with the redevelopment of property #1. Outdoor storage as a principal use should not be allowed to locate next to a building such as the ones on properties #1 and #2 below in an “industrial park setting”. Business Park: City Code Section 36-233(a)(2) Purpose/effect. Allow for redevelopment and intensification of sites to provide a greater diversity of employment opportunities within the community, increase development densities and jobs per acre, and improve overall site aesthetics and building design. The BP district establishes the highest standard for industrial development. All activity is required to occur within the building, there are to be minimal nuisance impacts to adjacent properties, and buildings and landscaping is required to be of a high standard. Legally non-conforming uses: Comments were made at the Planning Commission meeting that the requested outdoor storage as a principal use is consistent with other existing uses occurring in the area, including directly adjacent to Mr. Bell’s property (#3 above). The properties in this industrial park that have significant amounts of storage are legally non-conforming to the city code. “Legally non- conforming” means the use was legal at one time, but the code changed resulting in the use no longer meeting code. The code changes typically as a result of on-going nuisance complaints and/or a public process deciding that an area needs to be developed in a different manner, which was the case for this area. As legally non-conforming uses they are allowed to continue as is, but cannot be intensified or increased in any manner. When deciding the future uses of the industrial park, the city should not be comparing the proposed use to a legally non-conforming use. The proposal should be compared to legal uses, the comprehensive plan, and to the purpose/intent of the zoning district. The proposal should be compared to the industrial park style buildings that exist on properties #1 and #2. Looking at the aerial above, the contrast between the general industrial type outdoor storage use of property #1 compared to the industrial park type development of properties #2 and #3 is striking and clear. Outdoor storage as a principal use is not appropriate in an industrial park setting. It is anticipated that eventually the legally non-conforming use on property #1 and others in the area will redevelop into an industrial park style use similar to properties #2 and #3. If the proposed amendment is adopted, then the legally non-conforming outdoor storage uses can become legal by applying for the CUP. The direction of making the legally non-conforming uses legal again is contrary to the stated purpose/intent of the Industrial Park district, the comprehensive plan, the zoning map, the two studies discussed below, and the past and current nuisance complaints. Legal uses: The table attached to this report shows all the uses permitted in both districts. The difference between the two is highlighted, and it clearly shows that uses typically associated with noise, odors and other impacts such as visual blight are kept to the General Industrial district. These Agenda Item No 3A – Zoning Ordinance Amendment – Outdoor storage in the IP zoning district. Page 7 Meeting Date: January 21, 2015 uses include autobody repair, composting and auto repair. To this end, outdoor storage is allowed as a principal use in the General Industrial district, but only as an accessory use in the Industrial Park district. Meaning, a parcel in the General Industrial district can be used entirely as outdoor storage, but it cannot occupy an area on the lot that is more than 25% of the floor area of the building on the lot in an Industrial Park district. Zoning Map: Segregating uses into zoning districts is one strategy to mitigate nuisance impacts on adjacent properties. A second strategy is to locate the zoning districts in areas of the city where the uses permitted within the district will have minimal impacts on neighboring properties. The properties zoned IG, which contain the uses with the most potential nuisance impacts on neighboring properties, such as outdoor storage, are located in areas far away from residential properties, and/or that are separated from residential properties by a substantial barrier such as a large wetland basin or an elevated road or railroad. This is illustrated in the aerial photographs attached to this report. The photographs show the location of the IG and IP properties and their proximity to residential. Allowing higher impact uses such as outdoor storage in the Industrial Park district would negate the purpose and effectiveness of the zoning map. It would create nuisance situations for the neighboring properties, especially the adjacent single family and multiple family uses. Agenda Item No 3A – Zoning Ordinance Amendment – Outdoor storage in the IP zoning district. Page 8 Meeting Date: January 21, 2015 Vacant properties in the IP district: The Planning Commission asked staff to review the Industrial Park district to determine how many vacant properties there are. Staff surveyed the properties and determined that there are six vacant properties in the Industrial Park district. Agenda Item No 3A – Zoning Ordinance Amendment – Outdoor storage in the IP zoning district. Page 9 Meeting Date: January 21, 2015 ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND: Enforcement Action: One of the properties owned by Mr. Bell is the subject of a zoning enforcement action. Mr. Bell recently leased a vacant parcel (2211 Florida Ave) to Tim’s Tree Service to store equipment and materials outside. Since this property is otherwise vacant, the outdoor storage constitutes a principal use. Outdoor storage is not permitted as a principal use in the Industrial Park zoning district. Therefore, Mr. Bell and the owner of the tree service were directed to cease the activity. Mr. Bell appealed the determination to the BOZA, where the BOZA upheld Staff’s determination that the use is a principal use, and therefore, illegal. Mr. Bell then appealed BOZA’s decision to the City Council and the Council confirmed the BOZA decision. Shortly after the Council decision, staff again notified Mr. Bell and Tim’s Tree Service that the use is not permitted, and must cease. Mr. Bell responded to the notice with this request to amend the zoning ordinance to allow outdoor storage as a conditional use in the IP zoning district. Allowing outdoor storage as a conditional use would allow Tim’s Tree Service to apply for a CUP, and remain if the CUP is approved. Zoning Studies: There were two different zoning studies conducted in 1989 and 1991. The studies focused on the Edgewood/Florida Ave industrial area, which is the same industrial area where Mr. Bell would like to operate outdoor storage as a principal use and there is currently an enforcement action pending. Both studies included a task force made up of property owners from the industrial area and from the adjacent residential area. The 1991 task force utilized an official from the Minnesota Office of Dispute Resolution to mediate the discussions. Many of the issues discussed pertained to the impacts on the adjacent residential properties resulting from uses conducted outside a building. The result of the studies was to rezone the Edgewood/Florida Ave industrial area from IG to Industrial Park, which it is currently zoned. The decision was made to rezone the area to Industrial Park instead of General Industrial because the impacts of uses permitted in the General Industrial Park are too great for adjacent residential areas. This decision was mutually agreed upon by the industrial and residential property owners making up the task force. RECOMMENDATION: The zoning ordinance currently does a good job of mitigating the impacts of outdoor storage by allowing it as a principal use in the General Industrial district only, and limiting the properties zoned General Industrial to those that are not in close proximity to single family residential. Any amendments to the zoning ordinance to allow outdoor storage in the Industrial Park would be contrary to the studies already conducted and the intent of the zoning ordinance to separate incompatible uses. Staff recommends denial of the proposed amendments to the Zoning Ordinance pertaining to Outdoor Storage and the Accessory Use definition. Agenda Item No 3A – Zoning Ordinance Amendment – Outdoor storage in the IP zoning district. Page 10 Meeting Date: January 21, 2015 Attachments: Draft zoning amendments with staff recommendations. Proposed original zoning amendments and applicant comments Table – Comparison of IP and IG zoning districts Photos of Industrial zoned properties Zoning Map Prepared by: Gary Morrison, Assistant Zoning Administrator Reviewed by: Sean Walther, Senior Planner Agenda Item No 3A – Zoning Ordinance Amendment – Outdoor storage in the IP zoning district. Page 11 Meeting Date: January 21, 2015 Draft zoning amendments with staff recommendations All of item (6) below is proposed by the applicant as an amendment to city code. The strike out and underlined language represents changes recommended by staff. iii. Amend Section 36-243(d) to include a new subsection (6) as follows: (6) Outdoor Storage. The conditions are as follows: a. Properties must not be within 100 feet of any parcel that is zoned residential. b. Storage areas shall be enclosed with a fence at least six feet in height. c. Where properties abut a railroad track, fencing shall not be required on the side of the storage yard which faces, or is adjacent to, the railroad track, unless the average grade of the railroad track is less than six feet higher than the average grade of the storage yard. d. Storage shall not be permitted within any required yards. Storage areas shall be a minimum of 10 feet from a side and rear lot line, 50 feet from a front lot line, and 25 feet from a side lot line adjacent to a street. e. All yards shall be planted with turf grass or similar vegetation, and shall be landscaped as required by this chapter. f. Storage areas shall be separated from the vehicular parking and circulation areas. This separation shall be clearly delimited by a physical separation such as a greenway, curb, fence or line of planters or by a clearly marked paved area. If the means of demarcation is a marked paved area, such marked area shall be at least 10 feet in width. Storage areas shall be separated by curb and landscaping from parking and circulation areas that are required by the off-street parking section of this chapter. g. Inoperative vehicles or equipment or other items typically stored in a junkyard or salvage yard shall not be stored on land on which storage is permitted with conditions under this section. h. All areas used for outdoor storage shall be paved, and have a six inch minimum concrete curb around the perimeter. i. Hours of operation shall be limited to 6:00 am to 9:00 pm. j. All stormwater requirements of the city and watershed shall be met. Agenda Item No 3A – Zoning Ordinance Amendment – Outdoor storage in the IP zoning district. Page 12 Meeting Date: January 21, 2015 PROPOSED ORIGINAL ZONING AMENDMENT AND APPLICANT COMMENTS Agenda Item No 3A – Zoning Ordinance Amendment – Outdoor storage in the IP zoning district. Page 13 Meeting Date: January 21, 2015 Agenda Item No 3A – Zoning Ordinance Amendment – Outdoor storage in the IP zoning district. Page 14 Meeting Date: January 21, 2015 Agenda Item No 3A – Zoning Ordinance Amendment – Outdoor storage in the IP zoning district. Page 15 Meeting Date: January 21, 2015 TABLE – COMPARISON OF IP AND IG ZONING DISTRICTS Comparison of Permitted Uses in the Industrial Park and General Industrial Districts P=Permitted PC=Permitted with Conditions CUP=Permitted by Conditional Use Permit PUD=Planned Unit Development A=Accessory Use Use Industrial Park General Industrial Park and open space. P P Police and fire stations. P P Post offices. P P Business/trade school/college P P Parcel delivery services P P Recycling operations P P Showrooms P P Warehouse and storage P P Transit stations P P Studios P P Freight terminals - P Group day care/nursery schools PC PC Public service structures PC PC Utility substations PC PC Communication towers PC PC Manufacturing/processing PC P Parking lots as an exclusive principal land use PC PC Parking ramps as principal structure PC PC High impact sexually-oriented business PC PC Medical, optical and dental laboratories PC PC Catering PC P Brewery PC P Animal handling - PC Autobody/painting - PC Composting operations - PC Motor vehicle service and repair - PC Heliport CUP CUP Office CUP PC Agenda Item No 3A – Zoning Ordinance Amendment – Outdoor storage in the IP zoning district. Page 16 Meeting Date: January 21, 2015 More than one principal building CUP CUP Group Daycare/Nursery Schools CUP CUP Communication towers more than 110 feet in height but not to exceed 199 feet in height CUP CUP Anaerobic digester - CUP Retail other than accessory PUD - Service PUD - Office, provided that it occupies less than 50 percent of the gross floor area of the development. A A Parking lots A A Parking ramps A A Railroad spurs A A Outdoor storage A PC Repair and maintenance of motor vehicles and equipment incidental to the conduct of the principal use A A Food service A A Retail sales limited to a maximum of 15 percent of the gross floor area of the development A A Large item retail sales limited to a maximum of 15% of the gross floor area of the development A A Motor fuel station - A Agenda Item No 3A – Zoning Ordinance Amendment – Outdoor storage in the IP zoning district. Page 17 Meeting Date: January 21, 2015 Photos of Industrial zoned properties ¯0 0.10.05 Miles Legend 100 Ft Residential Buffer Residential General Industrial Industrial Park Parcels General Industrial and Industrial Park LouisianaAveH ig h w a y 7 100Feet ¯0 0.20.1 Miles Legend 100 Ft Residential Buffer Residential General Industrial Industrial Park Parcels Industrial Park CedarLakeAveHampshireAve1 0 0 F e e t ¯0 0.250.125 Miles Legend 100 Ft Residential Buffer Residential General Industrial Industrial Park Parcels General Industrial and Industrial Park Highway100ParkPlaceBlvd100 Feet ¯0 0.150.075 Miles Legend 100 Ft Residential Buffer Residential General Industrial Industrial Park Parcels General Industrial 100 Feet Excelsior BlvdMeadowbrookRoad ¯0 0.20.1 Miles Legend 100 Ft Residential Buffer Residential General Industrial Industrial Park Parcels General Industrial L o u i s i a n a A v e O xfordS t100 Feet ¯0 0.20.1 Miles Legend 100 Ft Residential Buffer Residential General Industrial Industrial Park Parcels General Industrial and Industrial Park Highway 7 LouisianaAve100Feet ¯0 0.150.075 Miles Legend 100 Ft Residential Buffer Residential General Industrial Industrial Park Parcels General Industrial and Industrial Park H ighw ay7W oodale Ave 100 Feet ¯0 0.20.1 Miles Legend 100 Ft Residential Buffer Residential General Industrial Industrial Park Parcels General Industrial and Industrial Park 100 FeetHighway10036 St ¯0 0.20.1 Miles Legend 100 Ft Residential Buffer Residential General Industrial Industrial Park Parcels General Industrial and Industrial Park H ig h wa y7BeltLine Blvd1 0 0 F e e t ¯0 0.20.1 Miles Legend 100 Ft Residential Buffer Residential General Industrial Industrial Park Parcels General Industrial and Industrial Park H ig h w ay73 1 s t S t 1 0 0 F e e t ¯0 0.150.075 Miles Legend 100 Ft Residential Buffer Residential General Industrial Industrial Park Parcels Industrial Park 28th St LouisianaAve100 Feet