05-08-2017 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,May 8,2017 7:00 o'clock p.m. PLANNING DEPARTMENT REPORT—BRUCE LEMKE,REPRESENTATIVE 13. #17-3911 LAKE WEST DEVELOPMENT,LLC,3245 WAYZATA BOULEVARD WEST, ZONING CODE TEXT AMENDMENT—ALLOW INTERIM/TEMPORARY USES Curt Fretham,Lake West Development,was present. Gaffron stated the applicants received preliminary plat approval for a 27-lot residential development of the Eisinger property in July of 2016. The property is guided and zoned for residential use. Currently the site is in the RR-1B zoning district,which will be rezoned to RPUD upon final plat approval. Pending more favorable market conditions,the applicants have chosen to not proceed immediately with residential development. However,the applicants have requested to be able to be allowed temporary use of the site for staging of construction activities, such as materials and equipment storage and a materials recycling yard for the Wayzata Boulevard improvement project. That project is being done in phases and could take up to four to five years for completion. The proposed use for storage, construction staging and materials recycling is dissimilar to virtually every permitted conditional or accessory use in any of Orono's zoning districts. The only functional method for approving it is via an interim use permit. Orono's Zoning Code currently does not contain provisions for interim uses. The applicants are requesting in this application that the City amend the Zoning Code in order to allow interim uses. Staff would note that the contractor for Hennepin County for the Wayzata Boulevard project has obtained a permit from Mn/DOT to utilize the site at 365 Old Crystal Bay Road. That permit expires mid-2018. The applicants have requested that their application for a text amendment and an interim use permit be continued to be reviewed as they would like to be prepared for use of the Eisinger site for later phases of that project. MN Statute 4623597 permits cities to allow interim uses. Interim use is defined by statute as a temporary use of a property until a particular date,until the occurrence of a particular event, or until zoning regulations no longer permit it. The statute indicates that a governmental body may grant permission for an interim use of a property if a number of conditions exist: First,the use conforms to the zoning regulations. Second,the date or the event will be terminated can be identified with certainty. Third,permission of the use will not impose additional costs on the public if it is necessary for the public to take the property in the future. The user also has to agree to any conditions that the governing body deems appropriate for permitting the use. Interim use may be terminated by a change in the zoning regulations. It is important to remember that a conditional use permit is permanent. It runs with the land and not with the property owner. In contrast,the interim use permit provides the tools necessary to sunset a use that may be appropriate for some temporary time period but it is not generally appropriate on a permanent basis. Staff has long felt that an interim use ordinance would be a very useful tool for Orono because it provides flexibility but with a high level of city control. In order to allow the proposed staging use on a temporary basis,the Code must be amended. This involves two elements of the Zoning Code: First,a general interim use ordinance must be adopted that establishes parameters for any interim use regardless of zoning district. A draft ordinance for discussion Page 6 of 34