8C, Planning Case 12-001 and or Moratorium on Multi-family Housing

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assist with this process, and the Council has appointed a Corridor Advisory Committee, consisting of area business and property owners to provide recommendations to the Council. Bolton & Menk is scheduled to submit their final implementation plan this fall. At the May 14, 2012, City Council meeting, the Council directed Staff to review the regulations for multi-family dwelling units in the City's Zoning Code. Based on this direction Staff has prepared two options for Council that would allow staff time to review transportation issues in the B-2 District, and design standards related to multi-family dwelling units. The first option is a Zoning Code Amendment that would remove multi-family dwellings as a permitted use in the B- 2 District; the second option would be a city-wide moratorium on the development of new multi- family dwellings units. Discussion Zoning Code Amendment The first option includes a Zoning Code Amendment that would remove multi-family dwelling units as a permitted use in the B-2 District. While the City Council may choose to further amend the City's Zoning Code at a future date, this option would not have a timeline associated with it that would require further City action. The Planning Commission reviewed this item at their June 6, 2012, meeting (Attachment A), and unanimously recommended denial based on discussions related to the City's Guiding Plan for the B-2 Distr�ict as well as the 2030 Comprehensive Plan, which identify multi-family dwellings as an acceptable use in theB-2 District. Staff continues to have concerns related to the implementation of the Guiding Plan and the appropriateness of land use controls that allow greater intensity of use, in the event that traffic management controls that would ease congestion on County Road E are not implemented. As part of the process of developing the Guiding Plan the City had a traffic study done to identify how much development was possible along County Road E, and what trafiic management improvements would be necessary to accommodate additional intensity of use. The traffic study found that current left turns on to County Road E could function, though with extended wait times, in the short-term, but that as traffic increased in the area the left turn waits could become an impediment to development and negatively impact property values. The traffic study indicated that some traffic management improvements would be necessary in order to accommodate additional intensity of land uses, and recommended the addition of a traffic signal halfway between Lexington Avenue and Pine Tree Drive on County Road E. The traffic signal would allow multiple accesses to be consolidated at one controlled intersection, which would greatly improve the left turn movements onto County Road E. City ofArden Hills City Council Meeting for June 25, 2012 P: IPlanninglPlanning Cases12012112-011 - Zoning Code Amendment - Multi family housing (PC Denied)106-25-12 - Zoning Code Amendment or Mora[orium - CC Memo. doc Page 2 of 4