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• FALCON HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES July 28, 2004 _5_ Proposed ordinance providing for the addition of rental storage space as an Interim Use in B-3 Zone (continued from July 14, 2004) Mayor Gehrz said that in the definition of the B-3 Zone we make a lot of references to commercial, retail and service. Now, TIES is primarily office use and that fits in with the concept of commercial, retail, and service, right? Ms. Jones said that office use is a permitted use in the B-3 Zone. Mayor Gehrz said that it can sometimes be confusing if the term office use isn't used in there too. She said she wanted to add that for the benefit of the viewing public. Mayor Gehrz said that her next question deals with accessory uses. It sounds like the situation right now is that TIES is leasing to several different entities. If an entity is renting an office at TIES, is it legal for them to store their material there? Ms. Jones said yes and mentioned, as an example, the National Youth Leadership Council. They rent space there and she understands they store materials there. That is accessory to their use. However, if an employee of a non- profit that rents office space from TIES rents space to store a boat, that is not an accessory use. The kind of property that is leased for storage alone is more usually associated with an industrial • warehouse type of zoning, which Falcon Heights doesn't have. Mayor Gehrz said that with the issue of housing and our commercial core, we have new housing and commercial under construction on the SE Corner. Within the City code it is permissible to have housing and commercial, provided that it is put in as a Planned Unit Development (PUD). It is part of a total package that has gone through approvals by the Planning Commission, a Comprehensive Plan change, the City Council and the Metropolitan Council. Ms. Jones said that is an example of a rezoning. It is no longer part of the B-3 Zoning District. It is a separate zoning. The process was lengthy and involved. Mr. Thomas Bertz, Director of Special Projects and Facilities Manager for TIES, introduced himself and described TIES, anon-profit cooperative that provides technology and information resources to school administrators, educators and students. TIES is owned by 37 Minnesota school districts that represent about 40 schools with a total enrollment of more than 245,000 students. Mr. Bertz said that he wanted to provide some rebuttal to the bulleted items outlined in the staff report. (The staff report bulleted items that Mr. Bertz numbered 1-10 for the purpose of his response are found on pages 3-4 of these minutes.) What is TIES trying to accomplish? Mr. Bertz said they want to maximize usage of the empty spaces within the TIES complex. Originally, they wanted to pursue a Conditional Use Permit • but after discussing this with a number of planners and City staff, they suggested applying for an Interim Use Permit instead, with an eventual move toward a Conditional Use Permit. S