CCP 07-26-1999 - Laserfiche WebLink

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. ARDEN HILLS PLANNING COMMISSION - JULY 7, 1999 rtn ro~ ill I!!J iJli 1!1~ 7 ?V Mr. Ringwald explained that, while going through the Comprehensive Plan process in 1998, the City of Arden Hills identified several sites within the community, either with existing commercial or vacant, which had commercial designations and were adjacent to residential uses. These sites, left to their current zoning districts, could have negative impacts on the adjacent neighborhoods. The Planning Commission identified these seven sites for inclusion into a new Neighborhood Business Zoning District. The discussions thus far have been to work out design considerations so that the sites that have uses on them could continue with some commercial activity, and those that are currently un-buildable, due to current zoning requirements, are allowed flexibility to develop. The seven sites are: . The northeast corner of County Road E and Old Highway 10, currently the Lindey's Restaurant . The northeast comer of County Road D and Cleveland Avenue, which is vacant . The north corner of County Road D, New Brighton Road and Lake Johanna Boulevard, which was a vacant coffee shop and had recently reopened as a coffee shop . The northeast corner of County Road E2 and New Brighton Road, currently the Baptist Conference Council . The southeast corner of County Road E2 and I-35W, which is vacant . Highway 96 west of Ham line Avenue, which contains the Old City Hall, the current City Maintenance Facility and a Daycare . 4703 Highway 10, the Big Ten Supper Club . Mr. Ringwald stated that he had contacted other cities in the surrounding area, as well as other selected cities within the metropolitan area, and asked them for copies of their Neighborhood Business Zoning Districts to provide to the Planning Commission. He indicated that the City of Arden Hills is still in the preliminary stages of creating the actual Zoning District itself. . Mr. Ringwald reiterated that the basics of zoning deal with height, bulk and density, and use. The Zoning Ordinance limits the maximum height of structures to 35 feet, except for the 1-2 and the I-Flex zoning districts. However, most homes in residential neighborhoods, including those adjacent to the seven sites, are less than that maximum height. The Planning Commission should provide direction on whether to stay with 35 feet as a maximum or whether to go to something else (such as one story) and to possibly allow increasing up to 35 feet (i.e., two story) if that scale is in keeping with the neighborhood standard. Under a different section, the staff report discusses peaked roofs, which take up some of the 35 feet. Generally, in most commercial zoning districts, if there is a 35-foot linJit, the structure will be less than 35 feet. With a zoning district such as the Neighborhood Business District next to residential uses, the buildings that fit in well with the neighborhoods, generally utilize peaked roof. This maintains the appearance of being the same size and scale as residential uses. With regard to bulk and density, Mr. Ringwald explained that the floor to area ratio for small business sites generally range from 0.7 to 0.85. The floor to area ratio is determined by adding up all the square footage in the building and dividing this figure by the square footage of the properly. If the Planning Commission desires only single level buildings then the floor to area ratio should be in the 0.3 to 0.4 range. A higher ratio than this generally implies that two story buildings are acceptable.