10-10-2001 Council Agenda - Laserfiche WebLink

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COMMUNITY CHURCH • October 4, 2001 City Staff City of Little Canada 515 Little Canada Road Little Canada, MN 55117 -1600 Dear Staff: • On behalf of Christ Community Church „we would like to thank you for the opportunity to meet and discuss our proposal to purchase the Knox Lumber property and build our church campus. We thought it was beneficial for us to present the economic realities that the church brings to the community and to also understand the concerns 'of the City. At the conclusion of _the meeting, it was apparent that a common solution still needed identification. To help expedite the process, we would like to summarize our view of the major issues and offer our recommendation for approval of City Staff and the City Council. • One of the main concems that we have heard involves the land use of a church in context with the other adjacent uses. Christ Community is a church seeking to be relevant to a 21$1 century community. This necessitates a large building, significant parking, and space for recreational and special events. This type of use -is usually associated with. Business, Industrial, or Commercial parcels: It is our opinion that this property fits our criteria for an effective church and is' consistent with the allowable zoning uses fo- the Business- Warehouse District (B -W). The B -W' district allows commercial offices. and commercial recreation such as dance halls, theaters, and sports /health clubs. Our church will have office space, meeting spaces for large gatherings, a staged musical /drama auditorium, and recreational amenities such as indoor gym space and turf areas for ball fields. With retro - fitting the existing site to meet our needs, we feel that these improvements are 'a clear comparable use. However, we were led to believe that the current B -W District may not allow the use of a church and this would necessitate the property being rezoned to a Public District (P) as the only viable option for a church. This was the basis for our original application and request. It is also our view that Christ. Community Church brings important. programming and facilities to the community of Little Canada that assists in serving the needs as identified in the demographic reports and publications discussed in our last meeting. The three primary needs identified were Sports and Recreation, Cultural Activities (music/drama /art), and Marriage Enrichment. Our church is helping the community so that the City of Little Canada does not have to fund all the programs and facilities to address these and other community needs. In a sense; we are providing a Community Center with ' very little cost to the city. Some needs such as ball fields and gym space are not needed by the City at the present time, but will be available . if demand -increases. Other needs/ such as event and conference space, are not as abundantand will be available to the public through the church. In summary, it is our opinion that we are providing the Cityof Little Canada with beneficial resources while. at the same time enhancing the aesthetics,of this highly visible site. Along with being a good neighbor we think that what we are offering exceeds the value of taxable revenue that a lesser use would bring. However, should the City of Little Canada feel that this loss of tax revenues is simply unacceptable, then Christ Community Church would propose the following. To assist the City in their financial shortfall, the church would offer the city a yearly support payment from funds generated through the rental of the 16,000 square foot storage building located at the Southwest comer of the property. This storage use is an acceptable accessory use allowed within the Public District. _ concept would allow the City to replace lost tax funds while allowing the church to operate and fud its programs, including the acceleration of site - improvements of benefit to the community. In a sense, it is Page 13