02-09-2012 Planning Comm. Agenda

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On the attached maps, we show how the buffer applies to the existing zoning pattern in the City. It is important to remember that if the buffer zone catches a small portion of a parcel, the entire parcel is ineligible, so the impact of the buffer is actually more broad that then overlay marking appears on the map. Thus, the larger overall map tends to visually appear to show more land than is actually available. Almost all of the available area is located in the northwest corner of the City, with two additional small parcels along Rice Street between Trunk Highway 36 and Minnesota Street — one occupied by McDonalds and the other owned by the City of Little Canada. There are usually two options to consider. The first is to add adult uses to the B -3 and I -1 Districts, and retain the existing 500 foot buffer. The expanded map referred to above shows the parcels that would be potentially eligible under this scheme, and the percentage of the City available to adult uses would be 4.06% - reasonably close enough to the 5% estimated threshold we commonly aim for. The second option is more difficult to accomplish. Even with no buffer, but exempting parcels that directly abut sensitive uses, the B -2 and PUD Districts provide just 2.82% of the City. Thus, we need to either add a zoning district to this list, or allow adult uses to directly abut the very uses that the ordinance is designed to protect. The best solution appears to be to add the B -3 and 1 -1 Districts to the ordinance, but retain the 500 foot buffer distance. The properties that get added include B -3 zoned parcels along the north portion of Rice Street and the 1 -1 zoned land which has much less impact or exposure. Summary and Recommendation The material presented identifies issues with the City's adult use regulations as they apply to the current zoning pattern. The growth of the use of the PUD district, the separation of the B -2 and B -3 linkage that was in the previous ordinance, and a relatively small change in land use patterns over time has eroded the available area to less than 2% of the City under the current 500 foot buffer. To recover an area for potential adult use location that approaches the traditional 5% threshold, planning staff recommends adding adult uses to the B -3 and 1 -1 zoning districts, but retaining the 500 foot buffer zone. This results in an eligible area for adult uses of more than 4% of the City. Attached to this report are three maps that illustrate the impact of this amendment, including (1) the existing zoning pattern for the entire City with the overlay buffer, (2) the parcels that would eligible in the B -2, B-3,1-1, and PUD zones after the amendment, and a enlarged view of the northwest portion of the city where the vast majority of the eligible parcels are located.