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Item No: 6A Meeting Date: March 21, 2007 Type of Business: Discussion City of Mounds View Staff Report To: Mounds View Planning Commission From: Heidi Heller, Planning Associate Item Title/Subject: Consideration of Amendments to the Mounds View Zoning Code: Chapter 1102 Amendment to Define “Neighborhood Motor Fuel Station” and Chapter 1113 Amendment to allow a “Neighborhood Motor Fuel Station” as a conditional use in a B-2 District. After discussion at the March 7th Planning Commission meeting, Staff has been working on a solution to allow The Station at 2280 County Road I, to become a conforming use without having to rezone their property or do a comprehensive plan amendment. The Planning Commission indicated that they were supportive of The Station’s desire to become conforming and add two additional fuel pumps, but were hesitant to change the property to a higher intensity designation because of what that could be opening this site up to in the future if the owners were to sell the property. The Station is a very small scale gas station compared to a Holiday or SuperAmerica. Currently the zoning code only has one definition of a motor fuel station, regardless of size. The Planning Commission felt that The Station could be defined as a “neighborhood gas station” and allowed to operate in less than a B-3 zoning district. Staff did some research to see if other cities have different gas station definitions, and what zoning districts they allow gas stations to operate in. Five cities zoning codes were looked at: Maplewood, Arden Hills, Vadnais Heights, Blaine and Fridley. A few did have two gas station distinctions: “convenience food store with accessory gas pumps” and a ‘service station” which may have auto services also. The cities that defined a Service Station, only allowed them in at least a B-3 or comparable zoning district, whereas, the convenience food store with gas pumps was allowed, depending on the city, in B-1 or B-2 districts. All the cities except Maplewood, allow gas stations in lower zoned business districts than a B-3 (or comparable), and all five of the cities only allow a gas station as a conditional use. Staff is proposing that the Mounds View Zoning Code could be amended to define a “Neighborhood Motor Fuel Station” and to allow a smaller gas station in a B-2 zoning district as a conditional use. Staff has drafted a definition for a Neighborhood Motor Fuel Station and the proposed addition to the B-2 zoning code, Chapter 1113, allowing a Neighborhood Motor Fuel Station to be allowed as a conditional use. The City Attorney has reviewed this proposal and indicates this could be a satisfactory option rather than rezoning and a Comp Plan Amendment to a higher intensity use. Recommendation: Discuss if this proposal is the direction that the Planning Commission would like to go, rather than a rezoning and comprehensive plan amendment for The Station gas station. Respectfully submitted, Heidi Heller