12-15-2014 Council Agenda - Laserfiche WebLink

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The building has been vacant for a number of years. There has been, during that time, some minimal use of the building for personal storage, and only a few business or other redevelopment proposals for the property. Changing the zoning designation to B-3 would allow the catering use, but would also allow any of the other uses identified in the B-3 District, which consists of a broad range of retail and office or service commercial businesses. The site gains its access from both Little Canada Road and Noel Drive. Very little (if any) traffic would be expected to travel into the residential areas to the north. Land uses to the east are dominated by public uses (Watershed offices and City Center offices). Lands to the west include a mix of single family and small commercial uses, primarily zoned R -B, Residential Business. To the south of the property across Little Canada Road, the St. John's cemetery. Some single family areas lie to the southeast, but gain their access from Schletty Drive rather than Little Canada Road. The site is within the area designated as District 8 in the Little Canada Land Use Plan. The land use plan directs the site for continued commercial use, and notes that parcels in this district are encouraged to develop and/or redevelop with attention to architecture and site improvements that are consistent with the mixed use "village" character of the existing neighborhood. With this in mind, the continued use of the property for commercial purposes is consistent with the Comprehensive Plan, with the understanding that improvements might be forthcoming in both architecture and site planning. The current facility consists of large metal building. The detached garage/storage building and a strip of property was recently sold to the adjoining Watershed District. Metal buildings are no longer allowed in the B-3 District, so the building would exist as a legal non -conforming structure. The applicants are encouraged to consider additional architectural enhancements of the building to help it fit into the "village" nature of the area along Little Canada Road. With regard to the site, the area is largely covered by pavement, but which would require better parking lot striping and circulation markings. Staff would further encourage enhancements to the site to add green space and minimize or manage stormwater, since the site drains to Gervais Mill, and from there, to Gervais Lake. With regard to signage, the new facility will need to comply with the current sign regulations for the property. Plans for signage have not been included with the application materials, but new signage will have meet both code and architectural guidelines. Summary and Recommendation The site is currently zoned and guided for commercial use. The transition of the site from automotive uses to more general commercial — in this case, a catering business — is seen as positive in terms of the aggregate impacts on the area. As such, planning staff recommends approval of the rezoning of the site from B-2, Auto -Oriented Business to B-3, General Business. 7