01-30-08 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES CITY COUNCIL JANUARY 30, 2008 Blesener asked the amount of outdoor storage area the Council was comfortable with. McGraw replied that he had no problem picking a number, stating that his concern was how outdoor storage is defined and what would be allowed. McGraw also felt that property owners should be given some flexibility with their outdoor storage. McGraw felt outdoor storage must be an accessory use to the business and cannot be a principle use. The Planner stated that the Code requires outdoor storage to be an accessory use incidental to the principle use of the property. Outdoor storage would only be allowed for tenants of the building. The Planner suggested that the amount of outdoor storage would have to be proportional to the amount of building space that a business occupies. Blesener noted that the City's goal is to clean up Ryan Industrial Park, getting outdoor storage orderly and eliminating the junk being stored in the Park. The Planner pointed out that one negative of allowing a lot of outdoor storage is that property owners are not being encouraged to build buildings. The more outdoor storage allowed the less incentive to build a building. The Planner suggested that limiting the amount of outdoor storage does not disallow the use of a property. The property owner always has the option of constructing a building. Allan was concerned that allowing 60% of a property in outdoor storage will result in less buildings and more outdoor storage. Keis noted that even though the figure might be 60% of the lot size, there would be no outdoor storage allowed in the front of buildings and parking requirements would still have to be met. Keis felt that the 60% would give property owners the full use of their property behind their buildings. McGraw asked if an additional property tax could be placed on property with outdoor storage. The City Attorney replied that the County Assessor determined property values based on building and property. Property taxes are based on those values. Blesener suggested that the property in Ryan Industrial Park is valuable because it has outdoor storage. Michael Mergens, attorney representing Valor Enterprises, agreed that there is a tax base that comes from the fact that outdoor storage is allowed in Ryan Industrial Park. He pointed out that this area has poor soils that make it difficult to support various building types. Mergens contended that to maintain the tax base in Ryan Industrial Park, the City must allow outdoor storage. Mergens pointed out that without outdoor storage the Valor property is worth substantially less. Mergens stated that outdoor storage is what drives the values of the properties in Ryan Industrial Park, 12