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LARKIN, HOFFMAN, DALY SL LINDGREN, LTD . NIr. Thomas Paschke February 7, 2000 Page 3 The balance of this letter addresses the foregoing statutory and regulatory criteria for granting variances: Reasonable Use Minnesota courts have construed this language to mean that the landowner would like to put the land to a reasonable use, but that the proposed reasonable use is prohibited under the strict provisions of the code. If a landowner could not put the land to any reasonable use under a zoning ordinance, the Constitution would compel a variance regardless of the state statute or municipal zoning ordinance. Here, Bradley wants to put the land to a reasonable use: a Cub grocery store connected to the southeast comer of Har Mar Mall, an existing community shopping center. In 1992, when Bradley purchased Har Mar, the shopping center was near collapse. It had a number of month-to-month tenancies, and was badly in need of leasing, management expertise, and capital improvements. Bradley intended to improve the tenancies and invest substantial capital to renovate Har Mar and create a viable shopping center development. One of its key strategies was to find an anchor tenant that would stabilize the southeast comer of Har Mar and provide an opportunity to build a new tenant base. The Cub store is a reasonable response to these valid concerns. The Cub store is a reasonable use because it is consistent with the City Comprehensive Plan and Zoning Ordinance. The Har Mar Mall property is designated SC-Shopping Center in the Comprehensive Plan. The Shopping Center land use designation was established in this area in the 1950s. The Comprehensive Plan includes the Vista 2000 Summary, a collection of vision statements and community goals. Economic development is a leading vision in this document, which calls for a partnership among City constituents to create new opportunities with emphasis on job retention and expansion, growth of the City's tax base and a high quality of life for all residents. The Comprehensive Plan includes several policies dealing with the expansion of commercial areas, including: "Encourage the development of a wide range of �etail sales and services in the community. Concentrate these uses in existing retail/service areas," and-"encourage the development or expansion of existing and future retail shopping centers as a means of achieving maximum efficiency of land use, adequacy of vehicular movements and parking areas, and maximum aesthetic considerations." (Emphasis added). The Comprehensive Plan also encourages the City to "maintain and continue development of a strong economic base and create a favorable climate for the operation of a responsible free enterprise system." Shopping centers and grocery stores are permitted uses in the SC Shopping Center District that implements the land use designation of the Comprehensive Plan. "Twenty-four hour uses" as defined in Ordinance 1234 are also permitted uses in the Shopping Center District provided they meet new strict performance standards recently adopted by the City Council. After a moratorium and an exhaustive study by a planning consultant, the City Council found that twenty-four hour uses are appropriate permitted uses in the Shopping Center District. Apart from the lot coverage provision of the Zoning Ordinance, City staff has found that the Cub proposal meets all other provisions of the Zoning Ordinance, including strict