10-09-08 Planning Comm. Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES PLANNING COMMISSION OCTOBER 9, 2008 Knudsen pointed out the Planner's previous comments which pointed out that only uses that are established legally would be grandfathered in. Socha asked for a review of the property lay-out. Dave Sandburg reviewed the property, noting that R & S occupies approximately 2/3rds of the building and Meyer Enterprises the remaining I/3rd. The property consists of approximately 2 3/4 acres of land with 1 acre of building coverage. Sandberg reported that McGough Construction, property owner to the south, had approached them to purchase a portion of their land. They had been willing to sell and spent money on attorney's fees related to the potential sale, but McGough backed out. Duray asked if there were any other buildings on the property. Rustad reported that the only other structures are an air compressor shed and an oil tank. Pechmann asked about the office hailer. Rustad replied that the trailer belongs to their tenant, Dubya Underground. Rustad reported that the trailer is stored on site 9 months of the year and gone the remaining 3 months. Sandberg presented pictures of examples of the storage each of his tenants have on the property. Rustad reported that R & S does a lot of work on their tenants' equipment. Sandberg then presented pictures of the buffer area around their property as well as pictures of the condition of some of the surrounding properties. Duray felt that R & S has been a good business owner in the City, and felt that their outdoor storage requests fall into a gray area given that some may be grandfathered in and some not. Duray indicated that he was present at the workshop meetings at which updates to the outdoor storage regulations were discussed. He noted that there was no intention to run a good business out of Little Canada because of the changes that were made. Knudsen agreed that the intent was not to run someone out of business, but noted that the majority of the outdoor storage uses on the R & S property are not permitted uses and were not legally established. Knudsen pointed out the need for consistent treatment, noting that at the September meeting a property owner was denied the ability to rent outdoor storage space as a principle use. Knudsen indicated that there would be no basis to grant a Variance to the ordinance for businesses that were not legally established. Knudsen felt the situation was a difficult one and there was no gray area. Knudsen acknowledged that Figg Masonry may be grandfathered in as they may have been established legally under Code requirements that were in existence at the time. Knudsen felt that R & S would have to provide documentation of that fact. However, it appears that the other outdoor storage businesses were not legally established. Knudsen stated that he did -6-