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~'/~ <br />f it <br />City of Elk River Item Number <br />REQUEST FOR PLANNING COMMISSION s <br />ACTION <br />Agenda Section Meeting Date Prepared by <br />Worksho November 28, 2006 erem Barnhart, Plannin Mana er <br />Item Description Reviewed by <br />Commercial Reserve <br />Attachments <br />• Map of area <br />Overview <br />Included in the Elk River Comprehensive Plan are two Commercial Reserve areas, one along Hwy <br />169, and the other along Highway 10 in the southeastern portion of the city. These areas are guided <br />to be <br />"held in reserve for future commercial development. The only areas designated for this use <br />lie adjacent to Highway 169 and Highway 10 outside the Urban Service Area. These <br />locations are well suited to support immediate development in this area. Also, the <br />Comprehensive Plan seeks to guide development in vacant land already served by utilities <br />before opening new areas for growth. The reserve status allows planning to facilitate the <br />desired. form of development in the future." <br />The apparent intent is to hold off development in the area until a master plan has been developed. <br />(Staff is currently working on the beginning stages of that planning process, including some fiscal <br />modeling to understand the impacts of land use decisions leading up to the study area). <br />In recent months, Staff has been approached by various property owners wishing to develop their <br />property, or to subdivide their parcels for possible sale or transfer. Neither the Comprehensive Plan <br />nor the Zoning Ordinance suggests a policy for treatment of development applications in these <br />areas, which may be inconsistent with the future land use or create unnecessary hardship for the <br />eventual development of the area. Based on Planning Commission direction, staff has prepared a <br />brief example of potential ordinance language. With Planning Commission support, a full <br />amendment will be prepared for action at an upcoming meeting. <br />Purpose <br />The Commercial Reserve transitional zoning district is intended to preserve areas for commercial <br />development with the future goal of a commercial complex of high design quality, ample and diverse <br />employment options, with a positive influence on the tax base of the community. In order to <br />preserve this opportunity, the transitional zone shall influence private and public investment and lot <br />size until such time as appropriate, focused land use plans are approved and property rezoned. <br />N:\Departments\Community Development\Plamiing\Case Files\OA\OA 07-01 Commercial Reserve\Staff report 1T- <br />28-06.doc <br />