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______________________________________________________________________________ City of Arden Hills Planning Commission Meeting for November 9, 2016 P:\Planning\Planning Cases\2016\PC 16-028 - University of Northwestern - CUP & Zoning Code Amendment - 1265 Grey Fox Road\Memos_16-028 Page 6 of 9 Higher education schools can be comprised of several different types of land uses, including administrative offices, classrooms, athletic fields, dormitories, laboratories, cafeterias, theaters, and chapels. All of these uses have in common the presence of a large number of students with a smaller percentage of faculty or employees. An academic campus would not be compatible with the predominantly industrial and employment-based land use characteristics of the district. A main purpose of land use regulation is to create separate zoning districts where generally compatible uses are allowed. The City has established the I-1, I-2, I-Flex, Gateway Business, and TCAAP Flex Office Districts as areas where a range of different industrial activities are permitted. These types of businesses can have nuisance characteristics that are not compatible with other uses, such as noise, odor, and truck and freight train traffic. The higher education land use is not permitted in any of these predominantly industrial zones because of these types of potential land use conflicts. The City has determined that colleges and universities may be an appropriate use in the non-industrial B-1, B-2, B-4, Civic Center, and R-1 Districts, and the use is allowed with a Conditional Use Permit or as a PUD in these districts. 2. Conditional Use Permit Criteria – Section 1355.04, Subd. 3 Section 1355.04 Subd. 3 of the Arden Hills Zoning Code lists the criteria for evaluating a Conditional Use Permit. If the proposed Zoning Code Amendment is approved then the following Conditional Use Permit criteria would apply. The Planning Commission and City Council should consider the effect of the proposed use upon the health, safety, convenience and general welfare of the owners and occupants of the surrounding land, in particular, and the community as a whole, in general, including but not limited to the following factors: 1. Existing and anticipated traffic and parking conditions; 2. Noise, glare, odors, vibration, smoke, dust, air pollution, heat, liquid or solid waste, and other nuisance characteristics; 3. Drainage; 4. Population density; 5. Visual and land use compatibility with uses and structures on surrounding land; 6. Adjoining land values; 7. Park dedications where applicable; and the 8. Orderly development of the neighborhood and the City within the general purpose and intent of the Zoning Code and the Comprehensive Development Plan for the City. The City may place conditions on a Conditional Use Permit approval to mitigate expected impacts of the use upon the health, safety, convenience, and general welfare of the community. The application from the University of Northwestern indicates a willingness to have specific conditions for the CUP, including a payment in lieu of taxes agreement, a charitable gift agreement, and a transportation shuttle plan.