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ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION AND JOINT WORK SESSION WITH JDA—AUGUST 4 5, 201.6 8 this agenda item is to review how the Zoning Code addresses higher educational uses specifically in the City's industrial districts and to discuss if the City Council supports the current policy limiting higher education activities in industrial areas. There are currently four zoning districts primarily designated for industrial uses in the City: I- Flex, I-1, I-2, and Flex Office. The Zoning Code includes a description of the purpose of each of these districts. Provided below is a general overview of the location of each district and the types of businesses in each: • I-Flex District: Generally located between Dunlap Street and Highway 51, and between I- 694 and the Canadian Pacific railway line. Examples of businesses located in this district include International Paper, Powder Technology, and lntriCon. • I-1 District: Generally located between Lexington Avenue and Hamline Avenue, and between Cummings .Park and 1-694. This district is comprised primarily of the Boston Scientific and Land O'Lakes corporate campuses. • I-2 District: Generally located between 1-35 W and Highway 10, north of the Arden Manor manufactured home park.. Scherer Brothers Lumber Company is the only business located in this district. • Flex Office District: Located on the Rice Creek Commons (TCAAP) property on the west side of the main boulevard and at the southeast corner of the site. There are no businesses located in this district at this time. The Zoning Code includes the following definition for higher education schools: Junior colleges, colleges, and universities approved by the Minnesota Higher Education Coordinating Boards for the Minnesota Department of Education Currently, higher education uses are not allowed as a permitted or conditional use in any of the four industrial zoning districts. Higher education is allowed as a conditional use in the B-1, B-2, B-4, and Civic Center Districts, and as a PUD in the R-1 District. Senior Planner Bachler reported colleges and universities are comprised of several different types of uses, including classrooms, administrative offices, recreational facilities, and residential dormitories. The Zoning Code includes separate land use classifications for some of these uses, such as office and residential dormitories, and may treat them ditTerently than the broader, higher education land use. For example, a college dormitory is a conditional use in the R-4 District, but higher education schools are not permitted.However,the Zoning Code does not include a separate category for classroom facilities and this use is grouped with the higher education land use category. Senior Planner Bachler stated in order to allow for higher education uses in any of the industrial zoning districts, a Zoning Code amendment would be required. The City does not have specific criteria for evaluating proposed 'Zoning Code amendments. However, the following questions should be considered: • Is the higher education use compatible with the other uses in the Zoning District? • Is the higher education use consistent with the purpose of the Zoning District?