CCP 07-26-1999 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

. e e ARDEN HILLS PLANNING COMMISSION - JULY 7,1999 fh~ :6"; i!l r.;o 'l? ,. .id , , '~ rJ!J U1J 'I f:r.~ lJ II 15 Commissioner Sand noted that the Old City Hall site is the largest parcel being dealt with and there may be more options of how the land could be used. Therefore, it would be important to know how the residents in that neighborhood would like to see the land developed and he would welcome guidance from the residents. Mr. Caldwell noted that the intent of this and subsequent meetings was to determine the content of the proposed Neighborhood Business District. With regard to the process, he asked what the relationship is between these discussions and the rezoning of the seven sites. It seemed to him that it would be a separate process to rezone the sites when and if the Neighborhood Business District zoning is approved. Mr. Ringwald stated that adopting the new zoning district and designating the rezoning could be done at the same meeting. Ms. Arth asked who owns the property which contains the daycare on the Highway 96 and Hamline Avenue site. Mr. Ringwald stated that the City owns the majority of the site and the portion that contains the daycare is owned by the owner of the daycare. Ms. Arth asked which of the seven sites was being referred to as not being buildable. Mr. Ringwald stated that the site at 3130 Cleveland Avenue is not buildable at this point because there is a negative three feet of buildable area with the current zoning requirements. Ms. Arth stated that she has lived in her townhouse for 18 years and has planted evergreens which will somewhat protect her from any new development. Chair Erickson reiterated that the Planning Commission was to mark up their copies of the draft Neighborhood Business District with comments and questions and return these to staffby Friday, July 16, 1999. Commissioner Sand asked if the consensus was that, if the City was going to develop a Neighborhood Business District, the intent would be to create a zoning district which is more restrictive than the existing B-1 and R-l zoning districts with respect to the type of businesses allowed. Commissioner Duchenes stated that this was generally true, however, the Planning Commission has discussed allowing uses which are currently not permitted in the B-1 zoning district. Therefore, in some areas this new zoning district may be more permissive than the B-1 zoning district. She noted that the goal is to create a district which especially focuses on uses which are acceptable to the residential uses. With regard to the site on Highway 96 and Hamline Avenue, she stated that this will never be an easy site to access without a frontage road. She indicated that it would be nice to be able to access these neighborhood sites on a bicycle or on foot. Commissioner Sand confirmed then that the goal is to make the sites more compatible with the adjacent neighborhoods and to ensure the intent of uses would not be to provide service outside the neighborhood. Commissioner Baker noted that not only is the City trying to do something good for the neighborhood, it is also trying to do something good for the buildability of the properties. Flexibility would be given in setbacks and site plan design to allow these sites to be developed and utilized in ways that they can not be used under the current zoning districts. If all of these