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Planning Commission Regular Meeting Minutes October 15, 2024 Page 2 1 in either a group or individual setting. The zoning ordinance specifically accommodates 2 requests for zoning ordinance amendments from property owners in the City. 3 4 Currently, the Zoning Ordinance creates separate use classifications for “Professional 5 Offices”, such as legal, real estate, or similar office-based personal services “Commercial 6 Offices”, which are identified as offices with primarily administrative functions for 7 commercial enterprises in a wide variety of business categories, and “Medical, dental, 8 veterinary, and related clinics, in which customers receive such services in person, and which 9 consist of offices, exam rooms, laboratory and similar services, and related activities”. Each of 10 these is permitted in the Commercial zoning district. 11 12 In the L-I, Light Industrial District, only Commercial Offices for administrative purposes is 13 listed as an allowed use. The majority of Light Industrial uses are manufacturing in nature. It 14 should be noted that “Adult Daycare” uses are allowed in both the Commercial and Light 15 Industrial Districts. 16 17 The proposed ordinance is relatively simple, in that it would add the language from the 18 Commercial District for the various office uses (including “Professional Offices” and 19 “Medical Offices” as noted above) into the Light Industrial District as permitted uses. 20 21 When considering amendments to the Zoning Ordinance, the code requires that the Planning 22 Commission hold a public hearing, and that the City Council finds the proposed amendment 23 to be consistent with the intent of the City’s regulations and land use goals as identified in the 24 Comprehensive Plan. There are no specific findings listed in the zoning ordinance, however, 25 any regulation should further either the general intent of the zoning ordinance overall or some 26 specific goal or objective of the Comprehensive Plan. 27 28 The Comprehensive Plan identifies some objectives for the Industrial areas of the City. These 29 include opportunities for redevelopment of aging buildings and sites, and a strong focus on 30 office and office-showroom uses, in addition to the more traditional manufacturing uses in the 31 districts. Compatibility with existing and surrounding land uses is also an aspect of the 32 Comprehensive Plan goals for these areas. 33 34 While the Comprehensive Plan does not break office uses down into separate classes as the 35 zoning ordinance does, the introduction of more “retail-friendly” uses (such as showrooms) 36 indicates a potential for business uses that are welcoming to customer traffic. 37 38 Staff reviewed other community’s ordinances for context as the City considers this proposed 39 amendment for Roseville, New Brighton and Columbia Heights. 40 41 Staff believes that the City’s trend toward more commercial orientation in the Industrial areas, 42 such as the introduction of Office-Showroom, as well as certain types of brewer-taproom uses, 43 and the dominance of general office uses in the L-I district areas, supports the amendment. 44 45 While the surrounding community ordinances are mixed in this regard, the introduction of 46 these uses enlarges the marketplace for commercial tenants for building owners, without 47