Laserfiche WebLink
Mr. Lloyd assured Commissioners that this Conditional Use allowed much better controls for the City, <br />50 <br />since the property would lose its current grandfathered characteristics. <br />51 <br />Member Cunningham asked if staff had provided legal notice to Saint Anthony Village, as an adjacent <br />52 <br />property holder, allowing for their comment. <br />53 <br />Mr. Lloyd advised that the State required notification; and their property was within the 500’ property <br />54 <br />notice proscribed by the City Council via code; and advised that Hennepin County’s Park Board, manager <br />55 <br />of the adjacent golf course, had also been notified. Mr. Lloyd advised that no comment from either body <br />56 <br />had been received. <br />57 <br />Applicant Representative, Jeff Dufresne – Minnehaha Transportation <br />58 <br />Mr. Dufresne advised that their firm had been in operation now for six (6) years, and as a former School <br />59 <br />Principal, the business had been established to serve area charter schools. Mr. Dufresne advised that, <br />60 <br />now that he has retired, the business continues to grow and they found they were outgrowing their <br />61 <br />previous location. <br />62 <br />Mr. Dufresne advised that his firm did not want to preclude the possibility of limited outside truck storage. <br />63 <br />Even though the firm was a school bus company with forty-five (45) buses and ten (10) vans, However, <br />64 <br />Mr. Dufresne advised that he wanted to be clear upfront that they served a diverse and particular <br />65 <br />community, with many of their drivers and the community they served of East African descent, and using <br />66 <br />their facility in off hours for repair and maintenance of their personal vehicles, some of which were semi- <br />67 <br />trucks. Mr. Dufresne noted that the trucks would come and go from the site and facility; and not be stored <br />68 <br />long-term on-site. However, Mr. Dufresne advised that he did not want to preclude that use, since this <br />69 <br />had been part of their rationale in considering this parcel. <br />70 <br />Member Boguszewski clarified that the intent was that the truck drivers, once trucks were repairs, would <br />71 <br />not be stored on the parcel; but may be there for some short period of time (e.g. several days), but not a <br />72 <br />permanent storage area per se, but only while under maintenance and/or repair. Member Boguszewski <br />73 <br />asked Mr. Dufresne to define “truck.” <br />74 <br />Mr. Dufresne advised that some of the drivers’ personal vehicles could include 19-wheelers. Mr. Dufresne <br />75 <br />advised that his firm was not currently using the property; but was hoping to purchase in the future. <br />76 <br />Chair Boerigter questioned, if Mr. Dufresne purchased the property, would he have any opposition to the <br />77 <br />City regulating under this Conditional Use, that there would be no right to continue any operations as a <br />78 <br />non-conforming use once this Conditional Use was granted. Chair Boerigter clarified that the current <br />79 <br />outdoor truck/trailer storage was allowed to operate as a legally, non-conforming use; however, if this <br />80 <br />Conditional Use application is approved and moves forward, with the City Council’s final approval, for this <br />81 <br />specific requested use, if this use was found out of compliance in the future the City would have the ability <br />82 <br />to revoke it. <br />83 <br />Mr. Dufresne sought clarification as to what manner the property was currently out of compliance. <br />84 <br />Chair Boerigter advised that outdoor storage was not permitted without a Conditional Use; however, since <br />85 <br />the current property owner/tenant had been using it for that purpose for a significant amount of time, it <br />86 <br />had been allowed as a legally, non-conforming use. <br />87 <br />Mr. Lloyd further clarified that use of the property did not include or allow for outdoor storage of trailers; <br />88 <br />and approval of this Conditional Use would remove that previous legally, non-conforming use. From his <br />89 <br />perspective, Mr. Lloyd opined hat buses and trucks could be kept on the site in compliance with this <br />90 <br />Conditional Use; however, no piles of material, construction equipment or truck bodies not considered <br />91 <br />fleet vehicles would be allowed under this use. <br />92 <br />Mr. Dufresne interpreted the City’s preference and intent to avoid the property becoming a scrap yard. <br />93 <br />Member Boguszewski further noted that, if in the future, the applicant was found to have broken down, <br />94 <br />inoperable vehicles on site, the City could then revoke this Conditional Use as it would be out of <br />95 <br />compliance; and the use of the property could not revert back to storing of trailers as had been done <br />96 <br />before the applicant’s use and/or purchase of this p property. <br />97 <br /> <br />