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AttachmentA <br />211 <br />broader discussion could be held at the City Council level for them to set a policy in their Zoning <br />212 <br />Ordinance. Mr. Paschke noted that non-profits come and go; the building could exchange hands; it could <br />213 <br />be on or off the tax rolls; but any or all of those situations were not related to zoning. Mr. Paschke <br />214 <br />recognized the overall implications of tax burdens; however, reiterated that the broader issue would not <br />215 <br />be solidified through zoning, or who owned the building or who paid or didn’t pay taxes. With all due <br />216 <br />respect, Mr. Paschke reiterated that this was not a concern of the Planning Commission related to this <br />217 <br />specific request. <br />218 <br />Member Strohmeier, respectful of Mr. Paschke note of caution; opined that the Commission was being <br />219 <br />asked to turn around zoning for this applicant, a non-profit, to buy an office building and remove it from <br />220 <br />the tax rolls. By adding this use, Member Strohmeier concurred that there would be no change to that <br />221 <br />status; however, the Commission would be opening up the City for a similar use in the community allowed <br />222 <br />more specifically in the Zoning Ordinance. <br />223 <br />Vice Chair Gisselquist and Mr. Paschke in turn reminded Commissioners that Northwestern College <br />224 <br />already owned this building, and was not purchasing it. <br />225 <br />Member Boguszewski, respecting Mr. Grefenberg’s concerns, opined that they didn’t apply; since those <br />226 <br />concerns were related to something changing the function of those occupying the space, while this <br />227 <br />request didn’t change anything about the character or nature of an activity already occurring. <br />228 <br />Member Boguszewski opined that the request was for a similar use to that already occurring on site, with <br />229 <br />no one raising any concern or contention that the current use was in violation of the Comprehensive Plan <br />230 <br />or nature of what use could happen there; and further opined that therefore, this proposed use should not <br />231 <br />raise any concerns either. Member Boguszewski opined that this use was not in violation of or not in the <br />232 <br />spirit of the Comprehensive Plan. While it may not address Mr. Grefenberg’s concerns about the <br />233 <br />Comprehensive Plan or if the City Council or other bodies were ignoring parts of that Plan in their <br />234 <br />deliberations, Member Boguszewski offered his support of the proposed use and Text Amendment. <br />235 <br />Member Olsen opined that this was a change from office space to teaching, essentially expanding the <br />236 <br />campus, and whether good, bad or indifferent, it still represented a change and raised questions, as <br />237 <br />expressed by Mr. Grefenberg, in expansion of the Northwestern College campus. From that perspective, <br />238 <br />and true intended use as a teaching space, not another office space, Member Olsen opined that the use <br />239 <br />was new and different. <br />240 <br />At the request of Member Cunningham, Mr. Humphries advised that the College could not afford to build <br />241 <br />additional facilities on their campus proper. While this may be a consideration at some future point, and <br />242 <br />allowed under the College’s footprint for their Planned Unit Development (PUD), Mr. Humphries <br />243 <br />confirmed that the College didn’t have the available resources to proceed with a new facility on campus at <br />244 <br />this time, thus their request for this option. <br />245 <br />Member Cunningham noted that here areas of most concern were in the campus appearing to spill out <br />246 <br />into the community, affecting residents and businesses in those areas. However, Member Cunningham <br />247 <br />advised that she would probably support this request; but hoped that the City Council considered those <br />248 <br />implications as well during their deliberations. <br />249 <br />Vice Chair Gisselquist closed the Public Hearing for File 12-008 at approximately 7:19 p.m. <br />250 <br />MOTION <br />251 <br />Member Boguszewski moved, seconded by Member Lester to recommend to the City Council <br />252 <br />APPROVAL OF THE ZONING TEXT AMENDMENT for Lincoln Drive Properties, LLC, a property <br />253 <br />management subsidiary of Northwestern College, to allow academic classes to be taught in office <br />254 <br />settings in addition to more traditional campus settings; based on the comments and findings of <br />255 <br />Sections 4-6 and the recommendations of Section 7 of the staff report dated June 6, 2012. <br />256 <br />Member Strohmeier opined that this request put people on edge as it was essentially Northwestern <br />257 <br />College expanding again; and noted the rocky past and controversial issues in the past as well. While not <br />258 <br />sure of his feelings, Member Strohmeier opined that some of the questions raised needed to be <br />259 <br />addressed at the City Council level and urged them to flag those issues (e.g. property tax roll status and <br />260 <br />impacts). Despite the opinions expressed by Member Boguszewski, Member Strohmeier opined that this <br />261 <br />was a change, and with the location of the building adjacent to Eagle Crest with many seniors walking on <br />262 <br />Lincoln Drive to parks and shopping, it created concerns. Member Strohmeier advised that he had heard <br />263 <br />residents from that facility, as well as in the area, express their grave concerns with the continued <br />264 <br />expansion of Northwestern College and the multiple and negative impacts of the expansion. Member <br />Page5of6 <br /> <br />