Planning Commission Resolution 475-96

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. . . Planning Commission Resolution No. 475-96 September 18, 1996 Page 5 are much lower to the ground and have smaller building footprints. The applicant has provided a 10 foot wide landscaped buffer along the east property line, and a buffer area ranging from 10 to 24 feet along the north property line, between the parking lot and the adjacent single family residences. The buffer areas are less than is typical of other Mounds View churches. The range for buffer areas between parking lots and adjacent residential uses is 14 - 63 feet with the typical width at 30 feet. The type of landscape material proposed will not provide an effective screen at least eight feet in height. Parking lots are not typical improvements in the R-l single family residential district and represent a more intensive use of property than is typical for this district. Testimony has been received from adjacent property owners that the proposed plan will have an adverse effect on the enjoyment of their property due to the closeness of the parking lot to the property line, and that a landscaped buffer area of at least 15 feet in width is needed to provide an adequate buffer. Criteria (2) and (3) are not met. (4) The use, in the opinion of the City Coundl, is reasonably related to the overall needs of the City and to the existing land use. (6) The use is not in conflict with the Comprehensive Plan of the City. The Zoning Code envisions the development of churches in residential neighborhoods, and there are five other churches in Mounds View in residential districts. The applicant has testified that a number of the members of this church are from the Mounds View area, and desire to locate the church closer to their homes. (5) The use is consistent with the purposes of the Zoning Code and the purposes of the zoning district in which the applicant intends to locate the proposed use. According to the Zoning Code, "the purpose of the R-l, single family district is to provide for low density single-family detached residential dwelling units and directly related, complementary uses." Churches are allowed in the R-l district but require approval of a conditional use permit. Churches, therefore, are regarded as complementary uses which require special, discretionary review. The R-l district is intended for low density, i.e. low intensity uses. There is insufficient room on the property to meet the parking requirements and provide the type of buffer between the parking lot and the adjacent residences which is typical of other churches in Mounds View. The proposed church development, with a building of 4,108 square feet on two levels, with a building footprint of 2,054 square feet, and a 29-space parking lot, does not fit with the surrounding single family residential neighborhood. This criteria is not met.