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the I -P District. The applicant indicated that outdoor storage is used by tenants of his industrial <br />site, and that strict enforcement of the storage area standards for the I -P District would pose <br />practical difficulties preventing him from using his lot in a reasonable manner. In addition, Mr. <br />Stockness believes that the property located at 3065 Spruce St. may be better suited as an 1 -1 <br />District parcel. The property is abutted by an I -P District parcel to the south, but is surrounded <br />by 1 -1 District parcels on all other sides. <br />The applicant has made parallel requests intended to resolve the conflict between the outdoor <br />storage area on the property and the applicable zoning standards. Staff had advised the <br />applicant that while outdoor storage is a disfavored use, there were two possible routes to <br />seeking conformity for the current storage arrangement. One would be a variance from the I -P <br />storage standards, and the second would be rezone the property to 1 -1, Light Industrial. <br />Staff further informed the applicant that variance standards were likely difficult to meet given <br />the conditions on the property and the required findings. It is noted, however, that variance <br />consideration is typically more "case -by- case" than other zoning actions, and if the City <br />believes that the request is appropriate, this route may be preferred over rezoning. <br />On the other hand, rezoning would not raise issues of "precedent" or the difficulty of making <br />the necessary findings for variance consideration. For rezoning, the City would be required to <br />find that the proposed use is consistent with the existing and future land uses in the area. <br />Again, while outdoor storage is not favored, the City may choose to approve a rezoning based <br />on surrounding 1 -1 zoned lands. While neither approach was presented to the applicant as <br />likely, both applications running concurrently allow the Planning Commission and City Council <br />to deal with all options in a single process. <br />Finally, it was noted to the applicant that the third option was to reduce the outdoor storage <br />area to be consistent with the zoning ordinance requirements. As noted above, the applicant <br />has indicated that this option would be a problem for his current tenants. <br />ANALYSIS <br />Request to Rezone the Subject Property from I -P District to 1 -1 District <br />The request to rezone the subject property from I -P, Industrial Park District, to 1 -1, Light <br />Industrial District, requires a zoning map amendment. The Zoning Ordinance requires that the <br />Planning Commission consider possible adverse impacts of proposed zoning map <br />amendments, based upon (but not limited to) the following factors: <br />1) The applicant shall demonstrate by clear and convincing evidence that the proposed <br />action has been considered in relation to the specific policies and provisions of and has <br />been found to be consistent with the official City Comprehensive Land Use Plan. <br />Comment: The Comprehensive Plan provides no direct guidance on how to <br />address rezoning of the subject property. The reason for rezoning would be to <br />allow more outdoor storage, a use that has come under specific efforts by the <br />City to minimize and control over the past few years. These efforts reflect the <br />2 <br />