2014_0609_CCpacket - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

17 4.0 BACKGROUND �s 4.1 19 20 21 42 22 The subject property, located in Planning District 2, has a Comprehensive Plan Land Use Designation of Community Business (CB) and Zoning classification of Community Business (CB) District. The following are excerpts from Planning District 2 of the Comprehensive Plan as it pertains to the subject area: 23 Land-Use Issues — The primary land-use issues in District 2 occur on ihe edges. This 24 districi's southern edge borders the Twin Lakes Redevelopment Area, currenily a mix of 25 indusirial and vacani land. The Comprehensive Plan guides the Twin Lakes area for a mix of 26 residential and nonresidential land uses. Attention should be given to establishing 27 appropriate transition/buffer land uses between future land uses in the Twin Lakes area and 2s the existing low-density residential uses in Planning District 2. 29 Similar transition issues exist with the more intensive land uses along Snelling Avenue 3o adjacent to Norihwestern College and along Cleveland Avenue. Northwestern College 3� has continued to grow in size, which creaies pressures io expand its campus. In 32 particular, there is a growing presence of student housing, some owned by the college, 33 easi of Snelling Avenue and south of County Road C2. The Comprehensive Plan seeks io 34 balance maintaining the integrity of the existing neighborhoods with sustaining this more 35 36 37 intense adjacent land use. Future Land Use — The 2030 Land Use plan for District 2 focuses on maintaining existing land uses. Planned uses are consisieni with curreni development. 38 The Comprehensive Plan continues to guide land uses near the Northwestern College 3g campus for appropriate land uses rather than expanding the designation of instiiutional 40 land uses east of Snelling Avenue and south of County Road C2. 41 42 43 44 45 46 43 When the topic of Northwestern purchasing the Country Inn and Suites and converting it to student housing initially came up, staff had a number of concerns, including loss of tax base, potential use impacts, conversion of lodging rooms to dormitories, and southward expansion of campus. The City Planner also discussed whether student housing was a more appropriate term to be used, rather than dormitory, since the latter was more closely aligned with a type of building versus a housing use. 47 4.4 Over the past few months, the City Attorney, Planning Division staff, and University of 4g Northwestern representatives have been discussing the appropriate remedy to support the 4g purchase, conversion, and reuse of the Country Inn and Suites and have most recently 5o determined that text amendments within the Zoning Code are the most appropriate 5� approach. 52 4.5 Although the initial application submitted by Northwestern was for a Comprehensive 53 Plan Land Use designation and Zoning classification amendments for the subject 54 property, Planning Division staff and the City Attorney concluded that such changes 55 were not in the City's or Northwestern's best interest. We believe that it is better to 56 clarify the difference between a dormitory and student housing and address necessary 57 mitigations or heightened standards to support student housing in the CB district. PF14-006 RCA 060914 final.doc Page 2 of 7