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future. The second would be if a school is established now, what would be the appropriate <br />use in the future in the event that the charter school vacates the property. This report <br />addresses these issues separately below. <br />Current Proposed Use. The City has the greatest amount of discretion at the rezoning <br />stage. Since the R -B zoning currently in place is consistent with the Land Use Plan, the <br />City is not compelled to rezone the property to another consistent zoning district. <br />Therefore, if the City does not wish to accommodate a school use on this property, the <br />current zoning is appropriate. It is in part because of this that the City created the Public <br />District in the first place. <br />The City has less discretion to deny new public uses if they are allowed by Conditional <br />Use Permit. Conditional Uses may be defined as those uses which are allowed within a <br />zoning district but which require some additional conditions to ensure compatibility with <br />other uses in the same district. Since the City has had a significant amount of land <br />devoted to public uses, institutional uses were removed as Conditional Uses from <br />residential districts to avoid additional public building siting. <br />Therefore, adding schools as a Conditional Use Permit within the R -B Zoning District <br />would actually reduce the City's control over the potential siting of a new school. A school <br />use could then be located on any parcel within the R -B District, provided it meets the <br />conditions established by the Ordinance. Under the current ordinance, no new potential <br />school sites exist unless the City rezones. Under an amendment to the R -B District, new <br />potential school sites would become available on any land zoned R -B. <br />Future Land Use. If the issue is one of future land use following the vacation of the site <br />by the charter school, either zoning approach (rezoning or R -B District amendment) would <br />open the site to another school use. Moreover, if the School District were to purchase the <br />property for use as a school, such a use and ownership in any zoning district would <br />exempt it from property taxes. The zoning district name would not factor in the property <br />tax status. <br />The best way to allow the current proposal, but gain some control over future school <br />proposals, would be to establish schools as an interim use in the R -B District. An interim <br />use is similar to a conditional use in that it receives a complete review and must comply <br />with certain additional conditions to be allowed. It differs only in that the interim use permit <br />establishes a termination date to which the applicant specifically agrees. Upon termination <br />of the IUP, the City could determine whether another IUP would be issued for a school. <br />However, its review would be constrained by many of the same reasonable land use - <br />related conditions which are applicable to a Conditional Use Permit. <br />Site Plan Review <br />The site plan was reviewed in concept form at the time of the original rezoning application. <br />Staff does not have a more detailed site plan at this time. The original plan elicited <br />Page 38 <br />