Laserfiche WebLink
ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION <br />AND JOINT WORK SESSION WITH JDA – AUGUST 15, 2016 8 <br /> <br />this agenda item is to review how the Zoning Code addresses higher educational uses specifically <br />in the City’s industrial districts and to discuss if the City Council supports the current policy <br />limiting higher education activities in industrial areas. <br /> <br />There are currently four zoning districts primarily designated for industrial uses in the City: I- <br />Flex, I-1, I-2, and Flex Office. The Zoning Code includes a description of the purpose of each of <br />these districts. Provided below is a general overview of the location of each district and the types <br />of businesses in each: <br /> <br />• I-Flex District: Generally located between Dunlap Street and Highway 51, and between I- <br />694 and the Canadian Pacific railway line. Examples of businesses located in this district <br />include International Paper, Powder Technology, and IntriCon. <br />• I-1 District: Generally located between Lexington Avenue and Hamline Avenue, and <br />between Cummings Park and I-694. This district is comprised primarily of the Boston <br />Scientific and Land O’Lakes corporate campuses. <br />• I-2 District: Generally located between I-35W and Highway 10, north of the Arden Manor <br />manufactured home park. Scherer Brothers Lumber Company is the only business located <br />in this district. <br />• Flex Office District: Located on the Rice Creek Commons (TCAAP) property on the west <br />side of the main boulevard and at the southeast corner of the site. There are no businesses <br />located in this district at this time. <br /> <br />The Zoning Code includes the following definition for higher education schools: Junior colleges, <br />colleges, and universities approved by the Minnesota Higher Education Coordinating Boards for <br />the Minnesota Department of Education <br /> <br />Currently, higher education uses are not allowed as a permitted or conditional use in any of the <br />four industrial zoning districts. Higher education is allowed as a conditional use in the B-1, B-2, <br />B-4, and Civic Center Districts, and as a PUD in the R-1 District. <br /> <br />Senior Planner Bachler reported colleges and universities are comprised of several different <br />types of uses, including classrooms, administrative offices, recreational facilities, and residential <br />dormitories. The Zoning Code includes separate land use classifications for some of these uses, <br />such as office and residential dormitories, and may treat them differently than the broader, higher <br />education land use. For example, a college dormitory is a conditional use in the R-4 District, but <br />higher education schools are not permitted. However, the Zoning Code does not include a separate <br />category for classroom facilities and this use is grouped with the higher education land use <br />category. <br /> <br />Senior Planner Bachler stated in order to allow for higher education uses in any of the industrial <br />zoning districts, a Zoning Code amendment would be required. The City does not have specific <br />criteria for evaluating proposed Zoning Code amendments. However, the following questions <br />should be considered: <br /> <br />• Is the higher education use compatible with the other uses in the Zoning District? <br />• Is the higher education use consistent with the purpose of the Zoning District?