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Item No: 6A Meeting Date: January 6, 2010 Type of Business: Business City of Mounds View Staff Report To: Mounds View Planning Commission From: Heidi Heller, Planning Associate Item Title/Subject: Consideration of a Conditional Use Permit Amendment for Saturn of St. Paul, 2375 Highway 10; Planning Case CM2009-001 Introduction: The applicant, Jim Price, representing Saturn of St. Paul, is requesting approval of an amendment to an existing conditional use permit. They want the City to remove the condition that states “the dealership in operation on this property shall maintain a new car sales license at all times” (Resolution 5042). Discussion: The Saturn car dealership at the corner of Highway 10 and County Road H2 has been in Mounds View since 1992. Saturn Development built the dealership and has expanded the business twice. Due to the recent problems in the auto industry, General Motors informed St. Paul Saturn’s parent company, the Rydell Group, that they are discontinuing the Saturn brand in October 2010. All of the Saturn of St. Paul locations will continue to sell new Saturn cars until then. After that, the owners will have to make changes to the operation in order to keep the Mounds View dealership open. The city code allows motor vehicle sales to be located in B-3 zoning districts as a conditional use. There have been two City resolutions for their conditional use permit over the years regarding the Saturn dealership. The first resolution for the initial development of the property for a dealership was in 1991, and then in 1996 the City amended the CUP to allow for a building expansion and additional uses on the site. The owners delayed implementing their approved 1996 expansion plan for two years, and the City Council reapproved them in 1998. There are many conditions included in the resolutions, one of which will be an issue for the property owners after the Saturn brand is discontinued: Resolution 5042, Condition #14 – “The dealership in operation on this property shall maintain a new car sales license at all times.” The Saturn of St. Paul owners are requesting an amendment to their conditional use permit to remove this condition so that their Mounds View dealership can remain open. They like Mounds View and want to keep their business open, but at this time, they cannot guarantee being able to bring a new car franchise here. Though they are ready to move forward with changes to this dealership if their request is approved. The Mounds View Saturn dealership has an opportunity to become a “Motor Trend Certified Advantage” dealership. Since 1949, Motor Trend has been a very popular and widely subscribed to auto magazine. In January 2009, they introduced a certified used car program to dealers. The new Motor Trend dealerships are a Certified Pre-Owned Vehicle Program. The other two local Saturn of St. Paul dealerships will be changed to another car brand, but the Mounds View store cannot switch to a different (existing United States) new car brand