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<br /> <br />Staff has communicated to both Charlie Hall and Dan Hall that certain uses would likely NOT <br />be welcomed by the City Council, uses such as a gas station or drug store. Uses which <br />might be supported could include a coffee shop, bank, restaurant, or other complementary <br />uses. If the proposed is not one of the few already permitted, a rezoning would be required. <br /> <br />Parking. One of the issues addressed in 2005 would be the impacts to parking on site is <br />some of the parking area was developed. Not only would this have the effect of reducing <br />available parking by the amount of the area developed, there would be a compounding effect <br />in that the use developed itself would create a parking demand. While the site presently <br />satisfies all parking requirements, it appears clear that even on the busiest of occasions, <br />excess capacity remains. Because of this, the Mermaid entered into an agreement with the <br />Met Council which set aside a substantial number of parking stalls to be used for an overflow <br />park and ride lot. Such an agreement would be terminated if development were to move <br />forward. Regardless, staff has communicated that it would likely be necessary to conduct a <br />parking needs analysis on the site to ensure adequate parking would be available for any <br />new use and for the original uses. <br /> <br /> <br />Conclusion: <br /> <br />The purpose of bringing this information forward to the City Council without the benefit of an <br />application is to simply raise your awareness to the potential for development to occur on the <br />Mermaid site. While a previous Council gave preliminary concept plan approval for a hotel <br />addition in 2005, that action does not obligate the present Council to follow suit. While it <br />appears to staff that more than ample parking is available to support additional development, <br />we do feel strongly that the applicants confirm this through a comprehensive parking <br />analysis. Finally, it would be helpful for the owners of the Mermaid to know if the Council <br />remains supportive of development on the site in general, and if there are specific uses <br />desired (and conversely, specific uses not desired) it would be helpful to know this up front as <br />well. <br /> <br /> <br />Respectfully submitted, <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />________________________ <br />James Ericson <br />Community Development Director <br /> <br />