01/08/2003 P&Z Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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Planning & Zoning Board January 8, 2003 Page 4 APPROVED MINUTES 908-1/2 Maple Street. The report for this application states that “the land is a remnant of the City’s commercial strip that was eliminated several years ago. Present zoning is General Business…automobile and truck repair (is) a conditional use.” The amended Conditional Use Permit was granted, with 16 conditions attached. Staff explained that, importantly, both thes e past CUPs were approved for specific purposes, under a previous City ordinance, with previous zoning conditions, and do not imply – implicitly or explicitly – rights for any other CUP or uses, such as that proposed by the current applicant. Further, the uses previously approved have now become non- conforming uses under the City’s current Zoning Ordinance. Significantly, the City’s Zoning Ordinance is explicit regarding non-conforming uses (Section 3, subdiv. 2.A), stating as its intent that “all non-conforming uses shall be eventually brought into conformity.” Staff presented the chart below which shows both how the subject property and surrounding properties are guided under the City’s Comprehensive Plan and how they are zoned. Location Guided Land Use Existing Zoning Site Low Density, Sewered Residential Rural West “Rural North “Rural & General Business East “Rural South “Rural Staff reviewed that the Comprehensive Plan is the tool which guides land use in the City, with the Zoning Ordinance the more specific tool that allows that stated land use to be implemented. As such, both are primary planning tools and must carry requisite weight and importance. The Comprehensive Plan was adopted as the City’s tool to achieve its goals, and we must defer to it for guidance. Since the site is guided Low Density, Sewered Residential and zoned Rural, the proposed use as a parking/storage spot for heavy equipment and commercial vehicles is clearly at odds with what the City has planned for the area. In addition, significantly, the site is abutting a residential area to the west, with the resulting situation of conflicting abutting uses. Staff stated that overall, the site has a history of uses that were either commercial in nature (auto body painting and repair) or supportive of commercial uses (storage for materials used in conjunction with an auto repair business). However, these uses took place in the past and do not over-ride the current guidance of the City’s Comprehensive Plan or zoning. Such past uses allowed the property to become what it is today: a site containing a large metal pole building, a 6-foot high privacy fence, and not much else. While such conditions would not seem to readily lend themselves to a Rural or Residential use, the Comprehensive Plan must be respected as a vision of what the City wants to become.