05-09-1994 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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COUNCaMEETING REQUEST FOR COUNCIL ACTION MAY 9 1994 DATE: Ma>CniMF ORONO ITEM NO.: \ f Department Approval: NaoM JeaoDe A. Mabu&ih Title Building A Zoning Adflanistrator Administrator Reviewed:Acenda Section: Zoning Item Description: #1923 Atelier USueur, Inc., 2180 North Shore Drive Conditional Use Permit/Variance - Resolution Additional Exhibits T - Building Official’s Review Memo 4/18/94 U - Minretonka Art Center Letter of 4/1/94 Brief Review of Application Atelier LeSueur. Inc., a school of fine arts, has occupied the former Hill School building for the last six months. The school currently has 15 full-time students and seeks approval of a maximum 24 full-time smdent enrollment. Annette USueur. the director, was advised that a conditional use permit was in effect and would allow the proposed use. Staff advised that since the property was reconfigured and under separate ownership from the Art Center that a conditional use permit had never been issued for an arts or dance school for the new owner. Ms. LeSueur’s intention is to purchase the property for the purpose of operating the fine arts school and to maintain the historic character of the Hill School facility. The issue for the Planning Commission was to determine if a full-time fine arts school would qualify under the conditional use permit for school use or as a continuation of a non- conforming use similar to the conditional use permit granted to the Art Center. As the curriculum of the fine arts school could not be considered similar to that taught in a public school, a conditional use permit for school use was disregarded. If the use was to be approved, it would have to be under a conditional use permit for the continuation of a non-conforming use. The Hill School housed the Art Center siirce 1957 and in the early 1970’s, when the use expanded to the former elementary school to the immediate west, art and dance instruction use of the facility continued through the Art Center’s ownership in 1989. Under the current ownership, art instruction classes via a lease agreement with the Art Center continued through the end of 1990. Since that time, a day care and dance school has been in operation. The day care was operated at a level that would not have required a conditional use permit but clearly the dance school would have required a conditional use permit. The City has never issued building permits for the conversion of the facility into a residential unit. The facility remains with its original classroom layout. The building has never been used as a dwelling unit. The property was connected to municipal sewer in 1992.