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Case Tile: CU 11-08 Thai Buddhist Center of Minnesota <br />Page 3 <br />1. Will not endanger, injure or detrimentally affect the use and enjoyment of other property in the <br />immediate vicinity or the public health, safety, morals, comfort, convenience or general welfare <br />of the neighborhood or the city. <br />2. Will be consistent with the comprehensive plan. <br />3. Will not impede the normal and orderly development and improvement of surrounding vacant <br />property. <br />4. Will be served adequately by and will not adversely affect essential public facilities and services <br />including streets, police and fire protection, drainage, refuse disposal, water and sewer systems, <br />parks and schools; and will not, in particular, create traffic congestion or interference with <br />traffic on adjacent and neighboring public thoroughfares. <br />S. Will not involve uses, activities, processes, materials, equipment and conditions of operation <br />that will be detrimental to any persons or property because of excessive traffic, noise, smoke, <br />fumes, glare, odors, dust or vibrations. <br />6. Will not result in the destruction, loss or damage of a natural, scenic or historic feature of major <br />importance. <br />7. Will fully comply with all other requirements of this Code, including any applicable <br />requirements and standards for the issuance of a license or permit to establish and operate the <br />proposed use in the city. <br />If denial of such a permit should occur, it shall accompany findings stating how the proposed use does <br />not comply with the standards set forth in Section 30-654. <br />ANALYSIS <br />As noted above, religious institutions are a relatively common use in residential districts. Generally, <br />concerns are raised with regard to the additional traffic generated by the use and its required parking. <br />Institutional uses require one parking stall per 3 seats at design capacity. Although the improvements <br />proposed by the Buddhists do not include fixed seats, it is staff understanding that the users in the room <br />will use mats. Assuming a fairly dense configuration of 63 3' by 4' mats in the room, 21 parking spaces <br />would be required. <br />The site improvements show 34 parking stalls, on either side of the existing driveway off of 208th <br />Avenue. Although modifications of the parking lot design are necessary, the number of stalls exceeds the <br />requirements of the ordinance. Required modifications include provision of ADA handicapped <br />accessible stalls, creation of a 24 foot wide aisle, and provision of a concrete curb. The parking lot is <br />proposed as gravel. Elk River ordinances permit class V gravel as a parking surface, but require concrete <br />curbing. <br />With regards to the application of the Conditional Use Permit standards to this application, it appears <br />that the request is consistent with all of these standards. However, the biggest challenge with this <br />proposal is the placement of the parking lot. Any parking'lot expansion will require the removal of some. <br />trees. An alternative to the parking lot configuration is to reduce the number of stalls, thereby reducing <br />the impact on the trees, green space, and wetland. While the applicant proposes no additional <br />landscaping, the Planning Commission and Council may determine some is necessary to preserve the <br />neighborhood character. <br />N:\Departments\Community Development\Planning\Case Files\CUP\CU 11-08 Tai Buddhist Center\CU 11-08 SR to PC 6-14-11.docs <br />