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2 <br />Now that the Main Street/Lake Drive signal was approved, Miller’s on Main is interested in <br />selling its property to Anoka County and building a new restaurant across Lake Drive. Staff is <br />working with the owner and the county to see if it can work financially. <br /> <br />REDEVELOPMENT TASK FORCE <br /> <br /> The council has asked EDAC to look at the issue of nonconforming uses and see if there is <br />something the city can do to keep these buildings in use until redevelopment occurs. Should the <br />city change its ordinances to allow uses in empty nonconforming buildings, or should the city <br />take action to expedite the redevelopment of these properties. <br /> <br />Associate Planner Bengtson provided a work plan for members. The key is the purpose statement <br />“to identify issues relative to the use or reuse of C/I properties and how those issues could or <br />should be addressed to maintain and increase the city’s tax base.” The Comp Plan guides the use <br />of these sites. Is their use appropriately guided? Is there a way to make changes to make them <br />easier to be redeveloped? Tax base is an issue. Bringing utilities to a site increases the tax base <br />and makes it ready for redevelopment. Can the city participate in extending utilities? Mr. <br />Masonik noted that if a business owner fixed up a place with private septic, it’s all the harder to <br />redevelop it. <br /> <br />Mr. Bengtson showed an example of how the inventory of properties will be put together. Most <br />properties are on Lake Drive or on Hodgson Road. There are some drop-dead issues such as fire <br />codes and building codes. The work plan will identify what could be changed to loosen <br />requirements, and what would the consequences of those changes would be. <br /> <br />The materials include the uses currently allowed in the zoning ordinances and guided in the <br />Comp Plan. Are there different zoning districts we need to create to handle some of these <br />properties? Could zoning ordinances be amended to be more permissive? What official controls <br />does the city have the ability to change? <br /> <br />Ms. Divine noted that EDAC has already had a discussion regarding this, but this work plan will <br />look more closely at the issues. <br /> <br />Mr. Masonik said if utilities are available it makes sense to redevelop. If utilities are far away <br />there’s no point in discussing it. Ms. Keller noted that these issues are more in the area of <br />planning and zoning. Mr. Bengtson said staff already sees changes coming down the road <br />because of the new Comp Plan. New zoning categories will include Mixed Use and Urban <br />Reserve. This process can be the first step to a Redevelopment Plan. <br /> <br />Next meeting is January 6, 2011. <br /> <br />Meeting adjourned.