03/14/2012 P&Z Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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• • • Outside storage needs to be clearly addressed, including updated definition of outside storage to address vehicle parking, dumpsters, display areas, etc. It is our understanding that there were some in the City who felt that the existing ordinance may have been overly restrictive and discouraged new businesses from locating in Lino Lakes. Our experience shows that one of the roles of zoning is to protect property rights of existing landowners and businesses by maintaining a standard that ensures quality and maintenance of adjacent properties, which helps to maintain property values. My conversations with site selectors and developers indicate that few buildings are being built on speculation. The only buildings being built are for specific tenants and each tenant has specific locational criteria that will drive site selection more that any zoning standards. The general consensus is that businesses are looking for land as close to the central cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul as possible and those businesses generally will not move out from that core until they can find land that is priced to fit their needs. The supply of industrial land in places like Blaine is diminishing, which will make land in Lino Lakes more appealing. Throughout the metropolitan area, performance standards have been increased and businesses seem to understand this baseline expectation has increased over what might have been acceptable 30 years ago. None of site selectors I spoke to cited Lino Lakes as having an ordinance that was too restrictive, but all noted the importance of flexibility for users. Proposed Revisions One of the significant changes relates to the general format of the Zoning Ordinance. It is our intent to make the Industrial district standards clearer with these updates. However, it should be noted that a future update to Section 3 (general performance standards) will be required in the future to supplement these updates. The key changes proposed in the LI and GI districts are as follows: • Eliminated motor fuel stations as an allowed use in both the LI and GI zoning districts. We believe that these users should be located on commercial property with convenient access. This will free up the remaining Industrial land for true industrial uses. • Added new permitted uses, such as research laboratories and trade /business schools in both LI and GI and food processing in GI. This is reflective of the current economy and is consistent with the intent of these zoning districts. • Made accessory indoor retail, rental or service activities an accessory use rather than a conditional use permit. This provides more flexibility for landowners and eliminates the time - consuming conditional use permit for these accessory and incidental uses. • Eliminated redundant standards for conditional uses. If the standard is addressed in the general performance standards section of the Zoning Ordinance or the Building Code, there is no reason to repeat those standards and, therefore, they have been eliminated. We understand that staff plans a future update of the general performance standards in Section 3 of the Zoning Ordinance as well. • Added Mini - Storage as a conditional use in the LI district (it was already a conditional use in the GI district). This type of use is commonly located in the Tight industrial zoning districts and would be compatible with other allowed uses. • A number of changes were made to outside storage standards (for outside storage as an accessory use). These changes will allow outside storage accessory to the principal use as an option for more properties in the Industrial zoning districts, but will increase the performance standards for outside storage: Revisions to Industrial District Standards (Section 8) 2 March 7, 2012 • • •