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PF15-017_RPCA_090215 Page 3 of 6 REVIEW OF INTERIM USE APPLICATION To arrive at its recommendation, Planning staff considers the relevant code section, input gathered at the open house, and comments from DRC members. In this case the Code Section is 1009.03: The purpose statement for this section indicates that: Certain land uses might not be consistent with the land uses designated in the Comprehensive Land Use Plan, and they might also fail to meet all of the zoning standards established for the district within which they are proposed; some such land uses may, however, be acceptable or even beneficial if reviewed and provisionally approved for a limited period of time. The purpose of the interim use review process is to allow the approval of interim uses on a case-by-case basis; approved interim uses shall have a definite end date and may be subject to specific conditions considered reasonable and/or necessary for the protection of the public health, safety, and general welfare. Section 1009.03D of the City Code specifies that three specific findings must be made in order to approve a proposed INTERIM USE (IU): a. The proposed use will not impose additional costs on the public if it is necessary for the public to take the property in the future. This is generally intended to ensure that a particular interim use will not make the site costly to clean up if the City were to acquire the property for some purpose in the future. In this case, the Planning Division understands that many of the semi-trailers are currently loaded with clothes, furniture, and other items, which are the property of Goodwill Industries. These trailers pose limited environmental risk to the City if it were to acquire the site, so Planning Division staff believes that the IU would not have significant negative effects on the land. That said, there is a financial burden tied to the removal of approximately 75 semi- trailers, should the City be required to remove them. If the applicant began to store trailers that contained other cargo, there could be additional environmental risks. b. The proposed use will not create an excessive burden on parks, streets, and other public facilities. Storage and staging of semi-trailers is viewed by the Planning Division to generate limited impacts to the area, especially on the roadways. This area includes warehousing, distribution, and motor freight transfer which is generally industrial. These uses (similar to that proposed) tend not to generate traffic impacts in this area since the trailers sit unmoved for much of the time. As such, the Division believes that the proposed IU would not constitute an excessive burden on streets, parks, or other facilities, especially given the location. c. The proposed use will not be injurious to the surrounding neighborhood or otherwise harm the public health, safety, and general welfare. There were no concerns raised at the June 30, 2015, open house regarding the IU for this property. The Planning Division staff believes that in the short-term, proposed trailer storage would not be injurious to the surrounding neighborhood, especially since the site would generate limited noise, does not deal with chemicals, and would have limited vehicle movements on County Road C2 and Long Lake Road. The proposal does have two issues that could potentially harm public health: 1) if the trailers were to contain items that had the potential to leak hazardous materials that could become an environmental concern; 2) the Fire Marshal has indicated that the current trailer storage configuration is a fire hazard and would be very difficult for the fire department to extinguish if a fire were to occur in the interior. The Fire Marshal has indicated that in order to reduce the fire danger, the IU should include the requirement of a trailer parking plan that provides for stacking of no more than 2 trailers back-to- back, minimum separation between trailers of 5 feet, and fire access lanes. It is also important that the trailers remain locked and secured so that they do not become a magnet for crime.