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<br />Elk River City Council Meeting <br />February 17,1994 <br /> <br />Page 5 <br /> <br />e <br /> <br />Development) zoning for the area west of City Hall between Highway 10 and <br />County Road 30. He explained that the business park concept for the area <br />between Joplin Street and Waco Street included uses such as light <br />manufacturing, offices, office-warehouse and office show room buildings. He <br />further explained that approximately 26 acres of commercial property was <br />identified to serve and support the business park and surrounding residential <br />area. <br /> <br />The City Planner explained that the Menards concept includes approximately <br />290,000 square feet of other commercial use on the 24 acre parcel, for a <br />possible total of 400,000 - 450,000 square feet of buildings on the entire 45 acres.. <br /> <br />The City Planner asked the City Council to consider the following: <br /> <br />1. The inventory of industrial/commercial property currently available in <br />the City - (There is a substantial amount of commercial property vacant <br />along Highway 169; however, the supply is running out of available <br />industrial sites). <br /> <br />2. Concentration of commercial- (Comprehensive Plan calls for <br />commercial property to be located in close proximity to the downtown <br />area to give it support. Proposals for commercial development along <br />Highway 169 up to 197th, and the corner of Main Street and 169, <br />provides strong commercial opportunities). <br /> <br />e <br /> <br />3. <br /> <br />Business Park Task Force - (Parcels requested for land use change would <br />be included in area proposed for business park; would affect viability of <br />business park along the west Highway 10 corridor; industrial <br />development would diversify the employment base). <br /> <br />Steve Ach stated that staff has given the proposal a great deal of consideration <br />and feels that Menards would be an attractive addition to Elk River. He further <br />stated that the business park ordinance adopted last month would allow for <br />some commercial development but not to the scale that Menards was <br />proposing. Steve Ach indicated that the Planning Commission and staff have <br />recommended denial of both requests, based on the five (5) stipulations listed in <br />his memo to the Mayor and City Council. <br /> <br />Mayor Duitsman opened the public hearing. <br /> <br />Gary Colby, representative of Menards, stated that the developers would like to <br />withdraw Agenda Item 4.4. in order to comply with the Focus Area Study. Gary <br />Colby stated that Menards currently has 86 stores throughout the Midwest. Mr. <br />Colby distributed photos of the proposed Menards facility, which would be <br />similar to their facility in Pekin, Illinois. He stated the building proposed is much <br />different than the usual type of Menards store. He further stated that the <br />building would be approximately 144,000 square feet. including a 16,000 square <br />foot warehouse. Mr. Colby further stated that the store would be constructed of <br />steel and masonry, with a block exterior. <br /> <br />e <br /> <br />Mr. Colby indicated that the Focus Area Study designates 26 acres for <br />commercial development and that they are proposing to develop 24 acres of <br />