06-24-2002 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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#02-2780 Often Bros. Nursery 2350 West Wayzata Boulevard Paye 4 of 5________________ 30. Wearing appar el store, shoe storei 31. OfT-sale Liquor Store 32. Home and garden equipment rental. 33. Municipal Buildings. Municipal buildings where the use conducted is customarily considered to be an office use. Any uses not permitted are required to go through the PUD Amendment process for approval, Other Issues Over the years since the property was developed there have been comments from sunounding residential property owners about the operation of the site in relation to noise and screening. I t ere is no standard that limits the types of equipment that can be used on the property. The zoning ordinance regulates uses, but does not regulate the types of equipment that would be allowed with a particular use. Oo / a. u 4) Operation of the nursery and production facilities includes bobcats, dump trucks, a front-end loader, and other incidental equipment. The ordinance that can be applied to the use of trucks and equipment on the property is the Noise Ordinance. The Noise Ordinance can be difficult to enforce because the actual noise production may have ceased by the time the Cit>' can respond to a complaint. ■V The City has never researched the decibel ratings on cquioment used by commercial and industrial users to determine whether they exceed noise standards. One ongoing issue with noise is the sound of the back-up beepers on larger vehicles. This is an OSHA safety requirement and is exempt from noise standards. The primary piece of equipment the City has received comments on is the use of the front-end loader. Mr. Otten has stated they use the front-end loader for faster loading of materials that would take much longer to do if done with a smaller vehicle, such as a bobcat. The front-end loader is used primarily during the daytime hours and stored w ithin a building before 6:00 p.m. It is also used sparingly on weekends. The production facilities on the property required screening by planting of trees located north of the property to separate the commercial from the residential uses. The trees were planted in 1990. In most cases the trees have prospered and have begun to provide belter screening. However, they have never provided full screening of the property. This particular application is an opportunity to resolve some issues that have risen since the property was developed. Possible solutions may be by setting limits on the extent of activities and equipment allowed on the property and improving screening. City Suff is willing to mediate that discussion between Onen Bros, and surrounding property owners. Staff did a comprehensive review of the site to check compliance with the original PUD and determined Otten Bros, landscaping and the uses on the property are in compliance with the past PUD approvals.