11-23-1998 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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"2417 - Amend B-5: Add Drugstore Use November 10,1998 Page 2 B-5 District Purpose The B-5 District purpose as outlined in the zoning code is to "provide a district for businesses that supply commodities or perform a sen/ice primarily fc'' residents in the surrounding neighborhood, which businesses are not high traffic generators and do not necessitate an inordinate amount of hardc ver. The district may adjoin residential districts or other business districts which are subject to more restrictive controls. The district shall have immediate access to adequate highways and public sanitary sewer. Because of the location of the B-5 District as contemplated in the area known as Navarre in the City, the uses are limited in order to limit the hardcover in that area and to limit the future generation of traffic for that property in that use district since there is already a traffic problem in Navarre". Orono's Comprehensive Plan generally recognizes the Navarre area as one of only tvvo commercial areas in the City, noting that Navarre will provide "sufficient opportunity for neighborhood retail and service businesses, plus adequate professional offices, to serve the needs of most Orono residents." (CMP 4-26 "Urban Commercial Land Use") The Comprehensive Plan does not specifically address the intent of the B-5 district, but does note in Urban Land Use Policies (CMP 4-18, Item 6) as follows: "COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT WILL NOT BE PERMITTED TO ADVERSELY AFFECT NEIGHBORING RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY. The location and scale of commercial and industrial development will be controlled so as not to encroach upon the primary residential land uses in Orono. Whereever possible, natural land forms or buffers will be required between different land uses." The allowed uses in the B-5 District include both service and retail businesses, the majority of which are typically not major traffic generators. (See Exhibit E) The current list of conditional uses in B-5 was amended in October 1996 with the deletion of "home and garc. n equipment rental", which was concurrently made a permitted use in the B-1 District. The B-5 was again amended in March 1998 by adding "coffee or bagel retail stores" to the list of allow ed conditional uses, with a number of conditions related to maximum floor area, parking and seating. The list of B-5 conditional uses includes some which may involve higher traffic volumes, or somewhat more intensive use than the permitted uses. For instance, a "candy, ice cream, popcorn, nuts, frozen desserts, soft drinks store" such as the Dairy Queen, has a more intense use of the parking lot and drive thru, and has perhaps more lighting than most of the other allowed retail uses. B-5 also lists "kennels" as a conditional use, which has the potential for disrupting a neighborhood due to noise levels and possibly odors. The "home and garden equipment rental" use was moved out of the B-5 District on the basis that such use could be noisy or create noxious odors, involving the operation of engines, as well as tending toward fenced storage areas which could be visually disruptive. :■