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32 / Chapter 5: Land Use <br />Elk River Comprehensive Plan <br />Highway Business <br />Outside of the Central Business District, the majority <br />of commercial land uses are placed into this category. <br />The uses range from commercial areas that are <br />occupied by professional trades (such as fi nance, <br />insurance, and real estate) to more intense commercial <br />activities requiring highway orientation for access <br />and visibility. Approximately 342 acres or 1.3% of <br />Elk River is located in the Highway Business land use <br />category. <br />Community Commercial <br />Community Commercial land use makes up 21 acres <br />or 0.1% of Elk River and focuses on community retail <br />development that are often service and convenience <br />oriented. Community Commercial refers to smaller, <br />neighborhood-oriented commercial uses. Although <br />limited use of the Community Commercial designation <br />exists in Elk River, these areas typically appear as <br />small pockets of retail development along the highway <br />corridors. <br />Industrial <br />The Industrial land use includes all forms of businesses <br />with manufacturing, distribution, warehousing or <br />other industrial use and is commonly referred to as <br />“Light Industrial”, “Medium Industrial” or “General <br />Industrial.” The majority of Elk River industrial <br />development is classifi ed as “Light Industrial”. The <br />Cretex property and an area in the southeastern <br />portion of the City south of 165th Avenue and <br />along the Highway 10 corridor are classifi ed as <br />“Medium Industrial”. Industrial land use makes up <br />approximately 686 acres or 2.7% of the City. <br />Rural Residential <br />Rural Residential includes land currently developed for <br />residential use in areas outside of the Urban Service <br />Area that are not currently served by municipal sewer <br />and water. The predominant land use in this area is <br />single family detached homes. Included among the <br />detached single family homes are single family “cluster <br />subdivisions.” Cluster subdivisions are development <br />patterns that place housing closer together in order to <br />preserve greater areas of undeveloped or natural land <br />and to minimize the number of individual on-site septic <br />systems. In 2013 Rural Residential comprised of roughly <br />3,363 acres or 13.0% of the City. <br />Urban Residential <br />Urban Residential land use makes up 2,537 acres or 9.8% <br />of the City and includes land for residential use in areas <br />that are currently served by municipal sanitary sewer <br />system. Urban Residential land uses include single family <br />detached housing and attached housing in the form of <br />duplexes and townhomes. <br />High Density Residential <br />High Density Residential land use consists of forms of multi- <br />family attached housing units such as apartment buildings <br />and condominiums. In 2013, roughly 94 acres or 0.4% of <br />Elk River was classifi ed as high density residential use. <br />Central Business District (Commercial) <br />The Central Business District (Commercial) includes retail, <br />service and offi ce uses in and around Downtown Elk River. <br />Roughly 70 acres or 0.3% of Elk River is classifi ed as <br />Central Business District (Commercial) land use. <br />Inventory and Analysis <br />Existing Land Use Characteristics <br />Figure 5-1: 2014 Existing Use of Land shows the location and types of existing land uses in the City of Elk River as of <br />2013. The inventory as conducted as part of this planning process refl ects general development patterns and is intended <br />for general planning purposes only. The land use categories shown in the fi gure are further defi ned as follows: