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October 15, 2024 Page 2 PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION If acceptable to the Commission, the applicant seeks approval of an amendment asking that the Commission make a recommendation on the proposed ordinance and send it to the City Council for its consideration, including any recommended revisions to language or approach. PROPOSED ORDINANCE SECTIONS The proposed ordinance is relatively simple, in that it would add the language from the Commercial District for the various office uses (including “Professional Offices” and “Medical Offices” as noted above) into the Light Industrial District as permitted uses. When considering amendments to the Zoning Ordinance, the code requires that the Planning Commission hold a public hearing, and that the City Council finds the proposed amendment to be consistent with the intent of the City’s regulations and land use goals as identified in the Comprehensive Plan. There are no specific findings listed in the zoning ordinance, however, any regulation should further either the general intent of the zoning ordinance overall, or some specific goal or objective of the Comprehensive Plan. The Comprehensive Plan identifies some objectives for the Industrial areas of the City. These include opportunities for redevelopment of aging buildings and sites, and a strong focus on office and office-showroom uses, in addition to the more traditional manufacturing uses in the districts. Compatibility with existing and surrounding land uses is also an aspect of the Comprehensive Plan goals for these areas. While the Comp Plan does not break office uses down into separate classes as the zoning ordinance does, the introduction of more “retail-friendly” uses (such as showrooms) indicates a potential for business uses that are welcoming to customer traffic. For additional guidance, the following community ordinances were reviewed for context as the City considers this proposed amendment. Roseville. Roseville permits all categories of office uses, including clinic-based office uses, in its two “lightest” industrial districts, which it labels “Employment Districts”. In its “Industrial District”, which is a heavy-industrial area of significant warehouse spaces, clinic-office uses are not allowed. New Brighton. The New Brighton zoning ordinance allows all commercial district uses (including medical uses) in its Industrial district, with only limited exceptions. Columbia Heights. This code is structured similar to St. Anthony’s, in that Clinic uses and other “Office” uses are established as separate use categories. Both are allowed in the commercial zoning districts, whereas only the “Office” use category is allowed in the industrial districts. Staff believes that the City’s trend toward more commercial-orientation in the Industrial areas, such as the introduction of Office-Showroom, as well as certain types of brewer-taproom uses, and the dominance of general office uses in the L-I district areas, supports the amendment.