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Mounds View Planning Commission October 20, 2004 <br />Regular Meeting Page 5 <br />________________________________________________________________________ <br /> <br />seen it happen that they have to go from a low key to a high profile operation when sales do not <br />meet expectations and he feels the property values would suffer with this type of development. <br />He further commented that he feels the City should stick to its Code. <br /> <br />Katie Murr of 5279 O’Connell Drive addressed the Commission and said she had three reasons <br />that this should not be approved. She then said that the neighbors have a reasonable expectation <br />of what will go in on a vacant lot based on the zoning and the rules for that zoning. She then <br />said that they have only been at this location for six months but, before buying the home, they <br />looked at the vacant lot, the zoning for it, and its size and determined that due to the small size of <br />the lot the potential impact from a commercial development would not be too great. Allowing <br />this would undermine the reasonable expectations of property owners in the neighborhood. <br /> <br />Ms. Murr stated that the neighbors understand that the property can be developed and they are <br />not before the Commission in an attempt to completely stop development but they would like to <br />work with the City and developer to bring a development with a business that would be friendly <br />to the neighborhood. She then said that this business is for credit union members and would not <br />be beneficial to the residents of the neighborhood or of Mounds View as a whole. <br /> <br />Ms. Murr commented that the developer has offered to put up a fence but it would be very <br />difficult to buffer their view of this business because the property slopes down. She then said <br />that, in terms of quality of the neighborhood, they already have to hound the car wash to stay <br />within its parameters by calling in misuse and they do not need another business that they will <br />have to hound to stick to the rules. <br /> <br />Ms. Murr urged the Commission and the City to look for a better use of the land. <br /> <br />Mr. Nordness indicated that the current zoning is B3 so there could be a fast food restaurant on <br />the location without any variances that would be open until midnight. He then said that this <br />proposal would be less of an impact. He further commented that the slope could be worked on <br />and they are willing to put restrictions on operations to accommodate the neighbors. <br /> <br />Mr. Nordness indicated the reason the building is closer to the street is to stay away from the <br />neighbors and there would be only one access point so there would be no traffic on O’Cconnell. <br />He then said that they would continue to refine the plan and clarified that anyone can buy a car <br />from CU. <br /> <br />Mr. Nordness indicated that this company is concerned about the neighbors and does everything <br />first class. <br /> <br />Brian Bennett of CU Companies addressed the Commission and provided an overview of his <br />company and why they need to expand to accommodate car sales for members. <br /> <br />Mr. Bennett indicated that this is a relatively stress free way for credit union members to shop for <br />vehicles and there would typically be between 60 to 65 newer vehicles on the lot. He then