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Planning Commission Meeting Minutes May 17, 2005 Page 9 1 to bring this into conformity with the current zoning, to be able to provide the framework and to 2 have the issues addressed through the conditional use process. 3 4 Chair Stromgren asked how long the Alderwoods Group has been in operation. Mr. Tyson stated 5 that the Alderwoods Group has been in operation since 1991. 6 7 Chair Stromgren closed the Public Hearing at 8:22 p.m. 8 9 Commissioner Jensen stated that the City has no ability to demand that a facility maintain upkeep 10 of conforming use. Ms. Moore-Sykes clarified that as a legal non-conforming they cannot allow 11 anything to happen there that would continue to be non-conforming. She explained that the 12 zoning ordinance stated that a City has the right to go in and rectify violations of the code that 13 create a nuisance. She stated that the City does have the ability to control what goes into an area 14 through the zoning and ordinance. 15 16 Commissioner Jensen acknowledged that it is the site that moves so many of the residents,which 17 is the reason why they should add a conditional use. He noted that there are many places in the 18 cemetery where trees are missing and nothing has been replanted. He stated that the site was 19 significant for what it was designed to be and clearly, at some point, it should be expected that 20 there would be some form of construction activity as the roads are in need of repair. He agreed 21 that there are a lot of reasons for concern when considering the upkeep adding that he does not 22 know if anything has actually been submitted at this point that would allow him to vote on the 23 building design or the text amendment. 24 25 Commissioner Young expressed concerns stating that they have funeral homes and mortuaries in 26 commercial use areas and now they are discussing the possibility of moving this to another 27 zoning code group. She stated that she is concerned and unsure as to how this bodes for the City. 28 29 Vice Chair Hason stated that after talking with Residents he does not think that a funeral home 30 should be permitted in an R-1 zoning. He stated that he would be interested to know if the 31 Alderwoods Group has looked at redesigning or reconfiguring the Minneapolis portion of the 32 cemetery. 33 34 Chair Stromgren stated that he and Commissioner Young participated with the Design 35 Committee and shared several design alternatives that included remodeling and expansion of the 36 chapel building located at the west end of the Mall on the Minneapolis side. He stated that the 37 options proved to be unworkable because they did not have an adequate space at the site. He 38 stated that they took it away from the meeting that they could do a workable solution that would 39 require a split in the operations between sales and administration and the funeral home could fit 40 on the chapel site, which would allow the original administration building to retain its original 41 footprint. He noted that the entire landscape composition was clearly eligible to be nominated 42 for historical designation. He stated that he has copies of two letters submitted to Staff, one from 43 Joan Scovil opposing the changes and the other from Chris Addington and Delores Way both 44 oppose the plan. 45