03-13-2017 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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Ulla • I.I ORONO PLANNING COM31ISSION Tuesday, February 21, 2017 6:30 o'clock p.m. The property is zoned B-6 PUD. B-6 is an office/commercial district. The PUD on this property specifically allows for a small office condominium complex consisting of five buildings but does not allow any other types of uses. Because the PUD 2C Agreement functionally becomes the zoning for this property, an amendment of the Agreement is necessary for approval of a daycare use should the City Council choose to allow it. As a result, the applicant is requesting the City amend the Agreement to allow daycare as an allowed use for the property. From Staff's perspective, a B-6 District text amendment to allow daycare would not be necessary. The proposal to allow the daycare use should be evaluated against the goals of the Community Management Plan. The CMP guides the subject property for office use but the Comprehensive Plan suggests that the area west of the Orono Woods Senior Housing should be developed "with a mix of commercial uses, including retail, service and office components." Gaffron noted while this property is essentially guided for office use, the Comprehensive Plan suggests service uses would be appropriate; a daycare facility would be a service to the community. The character of the immediate neighborhood is varied. Some businesses along the Highway 12 corridor provide services to a sub -regional area, not necessarily specific to Long Lake and Orono, while other businesses are quite localized. The proposed daycare use is likely to be providing service to local residents and potentially to some smaller subset of commuters. In residential zoning districts where daycare is allowed, it requires a conditional use permit. Daycare is also allowed in the B-1 and B-3 districts as a conditional use. Little Acorns Childcare is looking to occupy the existing building on the site and remodel the interior. The building on Lot 2 to the immediate east consists merely of a foundation. The rest of the site has had extensive grading done on it in 2007-2008 in preparation for future office condo use. In other areas of the City where daycare is allowed, it is a conditional use. In residential districts where it is allowed there are no specific standards for a daycare other than it is to be a conditional use. In the commercial districts where `day nurseries' are allowed, the only condition is that not less than 50 square feet of outside play area per pupil be made available and that it be fenced. The applicants have proposed two outdoor play areas, one at the north end of the parking lot and another behind one of the building Page 2 of 48