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unanimously (i.e., 4-0) to recommend amending the text of the B-3 District to permit <br />churches. Draft minutes from the public hearing are included with this staff report as <br />Attachment D, but a few of the more significant issues are further discussed in the <br />following sections. <br />7.2 In recommending approval of the requested ZONING TEXT AMENDMENT, Planning <br />Commissioners cited the goals expressed in Imagine Roseville 2025 pertaining to <br />encouraging diversity in the community. While Planning Division staff is supportive of <br />goals that promote and facilitate diversity, staff believes that the fundamental question in <br />this application is whether the RB areas are meant to include institutional uses — not, <br />frankly, whether they are meant to include Chinese or Ukrainian or Lutheran institutions. <br />More importantly though, staff believes that the institutions or other resources or <br />facilities that support Roseville's varied residents, who make up a relatively small part of <br />T4C's regional congregation, must also be located in places consistent with the <br />Comprehensive Land Use Plan, rather than approved wherever they may be proposed. <br />7.3 Planning Commissioners also indicated very little concern about the "unintended <br />consequences" of allowing churches in B-3 Districts in light of the fact that this district <br />will likely be replaced in a relatively short period of time as part of Roseville's ongoing <br />zoning code update process; to wit, the consensus was that this specific zoning district <br />would probably no longer exist by the time other churches submitted building permit <br />applications for new facilities on other sites in B-3 districts. Planning Division staff finds <br />this to be a short-sighted approach. Even though staff will be proposing replacements for <br />B-3 and other districts in the coming months, the new business districts will have to <br />account for all of the uses in the existing business zoning districts. Some outdated uses <br />(e.g., "physical culture") and some overly specific uses (e.g., "picture framing") can be <br />easily removed from the new zoning code in favor of something more appropriate, but <br />removing a newly-permitted use that has been added during the zoning code updute <br />process, would be a considerably more complicated proposition. After all, if institutional <br />uses are today found to be appropriate in areas guided for RB uses through the approval <br />of the presently-proposed church, determining them to be inappropriate in 6 months' time <br />would seem to be rather arbitrary. <br />7.4 Several times during the public hearing, Planning Commissioners erroneously suggested <br />that the only way to accommodate a new institutional use would be to replace an existing <br />institutional use because the Comprehensive Plan does not guide any vacant land for <br />Institutional land uses. Planning Division staff wishes to offer the reminder that the <br />Comprehensive Plan does allow institutional land uses in the Community Mixed Use area <br />— which generally corresponds to the redevelopment area known as Twin Lakes — as well. <br />7.5 Finally and, perhaps, most importantly, Planning Division staff is concerned that the <br />Planning Commission might not have given adequate consideration to the question of <br />whether or how the Comprehensive Land Use Plan allows institutional uses in Regional <br />Business areas. As described in the Staff Comments section of this report, Planning <br />Division staff has given considerable time and attention to the Comprehensive Plan and <br />has determined that areas guided for RB uses are meant to accommodate commercial <br />businesses. Ideally, these businesses will individually generate commercial traffic that <br />will benefit the other businesses in the area, resulting in a synergistic, mutually- <br />supportive commercial environment that will, in turn, strengthen the City's tax base. <br />PF10-006 RCA 032210 (2).doc <br />Page 4 of 5 <br />� � <br />