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Planning Commission Meeting – Zoning and Subdivision Ordinance Revisions – Work Session #1 – February 5, 2025 2 Commission. Targeted stakeholder groups will be involved throughout the year as needed to provide input on various topics. Consideration and adoption of the new code is anticipated for late fall of 2025. WORK SESSION TOPICS There are five broad topics that will be discussed at the first work session: • Base Zoning Districts • District Purpose Statements • Housing Types • Lot and Site Standards • Accessory Dwelling Units Base Zoning Districts Arden Hills currently has 17 different base zoning districts. This number is high compared to the typical number of districts in peer communities in the Twin Cities. There are four residential districts, which is a typical number. There are six commercial/business districts; three to four is a more common number. Unless there is a good reason to keep each district, and a clear difference between each of them, the code would benefit from reducing the number of districts overall – and the number of business districts specifically. At the beginning of the code rewrite process, there were two zoning districts in the city that each had only one site so designated – B-1 and I-2. Since that time, the single property zoned B-1 has been rezoned. Given the large number of zoning districts, and the infrequency with which these two categories have been used, HKGi is recommending they both be eliminated. The single site zoned I-2, which is the lumberyard on Hwy 10, could be rezoned to I-1. Any concerns about outdoor storage of materials at this location could be addressed as those standards are updated in the code generally. Originally, there was thought of combining the B-3 and B-4 zoning districts into one new district as these two seems to serve similar purposes, have a small number of parcels zoned within each, and the two districts sit adjacent to each other. However, with the recent decision by the City Council to only allow cannabis retail sales in the B-4 district, it is best to keep these two districts separate. Currently, the B-3 district is called the Service Business District, even though the uses that are currently there are primarily focused on retail. The B-4 district, on the other hand, is called the Retail Business District but has little to no retail and instead contains a number of service businesses such as print shops, contracting services, supply and distribution companies, and indoor recreation. Assuming the preference of the City is to continue to encourage these uses in their current configuration, HKGi is recommending name changes to these districts to make it clearer how they are intended to be used. Since the B-3 district provides retail options along a major arterial, it is recommended it be renamed the Corridor Business district. The B-4 district functions as a typical business park in the way it accommodates multiple businesses in multi-tenant buildings with a focus on providing services or other non-retail operations. It is recommended to be renamed the Business Park district.