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Item No: 6A Meeting Date: July 25, 2007 Type of Business: Discussion City of Mounds View Staff Report To: Mounds View Planning Commission From: Jim Ericson, Community Development Director Item Title/Subject: Review Potential Zoning Districts Therapeutic Massage Use Background: In response to what was then viewed as a deficiency to the City Code, the Council adopted Ordinance 583 on September 23, 1996 putting into place regulations and requirements relating to the licensure and operation of therapeutic massage businesses. Six years later, staff reviewed the issue of appropriate zoning locations with the City Council on November 4, 2002, after realizing that the enabling ordinance did not identify zoning districts within which such a business could be operated, or if the use would be permitted or require a conditional use. Because this was discussed at a worksession, there are no minutes to refer back to. Ultimately, no action was taken as a result of this review. Discussion: The reason staff is once again raising this issue for discussion is to resolve the omission made when the ordinance was first adopted to establish appropriate zoning districts within which licensed massage therapy businesses may operate. Over the years, the City has received many inquiries from individuals interested in opening a massage therapy business and from residents asking about massage therapy as a home occupation. It is however only recently that someone has decided to pursue such an enterprise and submit an application to the administration department. The leasing agent for Silver View Plaza contacted staff about a new massage therapy business who would like to locate in the mall and asked whether such a use would be permitted. The ONLY stipulation governing the location of such a business appears in the Massage Therapy City Code Section 514.10, Subd 2, which states the following: Zoning Compliance: A therapeutic massage enterprise may not be licensed if the location of such enterprise is not in conformance with Title 1100 of the Mounds View Municipal Code. Surprisingly, the Zoning Code is silent on such uses, and unfortunately there is no answer to adequately explain this rather obvious omission. Thus, staff seeks direction from the Planning Commission as to which zoning districts a therapeutic massage businesses could be allowed to operate, and whether these business be permitted or conditional.