04-27-1988 Council Agenda - Laserfiche WebLink

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o Establish the Rice Street Business District as the primary retail and service focal point of the community and promote and facilitate through direct public involvement further complementary development in this area. o Relate and integrate new development within the Business District to all adjacent development. o Establish an orderly transition between the Business District and residential neighborhoods through the introduction of either higher density residential or limited business commercial development. PLANNING DISTRICT INTRODUCTION District 16 The indentifying element of this neighborhood is County Road C. Paramount in the future of this neighborhood is the extent to which commercial development is allowed to encroach upon the existing single family residential neighborhoods and whether multiple family dwelling units should be allowed as zoned. Considerable encroaching commercial development has already occurred along Rice Street, east along County Road C and along portions of Little Canada Road. As is evident in the above adopted policy sections, the Comprehensive Plan is quite sensitive to the impact of commercial development on residential areas. In conjunction with this, however, is the goal of having the Rice Street Business District serve as a more integrated district. The accompanying existing and use map (Exhibit D) shows that although the two lots at the intersection of Rice and Iona Lane are zoned R -1, they are in fact used commercially. It is our belief that with a well designed, well buffered development, the Iona Lane residential area can be adequately protected. A number of reasons cause us to make this assertion. First, the area is relatively wooded, providing an existing overstory landscape screen between the residential and proposed commercial area. Second, the controls of the PUD, together with the City's required construction security, provides the opportunity to assure an even more intensely landscaped and attractively fenced screen. Finally, the location of the proposed building will inself afford a more effective screen of the most disruptive elements of commercial development. This will occur by locating the parking, lighting, and service areas either behind the Page 24