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1701 E.79th Street, 25e 19 <br /> CELLULAR <br /> Bloomington,MNN5 554425 <br /> (612) 858-0000 <br /> • REALTY (612) 854-4105 Fax <br /> ADVISORS, INC. <br /> 4 February 1997 <br /> City of Elk River <br /> Planning Commission <br /> 13065 Orono Parkway <br /> Elk River, MN 55330 <br /> RE: Application for Conditional Use Permit and <br /> Antenna Overlay Zone for <br /> Proposed PCS Wireless Telephone Tower Facility <br /> by American Portable Telecom(APT) <br /> on property known as Industrial Hardfacing: 18489 Twin Lakes Road <br /> Dear Planning Commissioners: <br /> The site chosen by American Portable Telecom for its Elk River tower is located east of Highway <br /> 169 directly adjacent to County Road 13. The site has a land use and zoning designation of"Light <br /> Industrial". The current use of the property is light industrial; "Industrial Hardfacing". Zoning districts <br /> • to the north and south are "R1C" - single family residential, but the area is currently undeveloped. <br /> The zoning district to the west is"PUD"-planned unit development, but the actual uses are a mix of <br /> single family residential, multi-family residential and commercial. The zoning district to the east is"I- <br /> 1"-light industrial. <br /> The subject site was previously zoned R1C, but was rezoned to I-1 by the City of Elk River in <br /> November of 1996. The rezoning was initiated by the City of Elk River Planning Department in an <br /> effort to bring the zoning into compliance with the industrial use on the site. <br /> American Portable Telecom cites several reasons the subject site is ideal for a communication <br /> tower from a planning perspective: <br /> 1.) Industrial sites are generally the first choice for the erection of new communication towers when <br /> possible. "Industrial" is the most applicable zoning jurisdiction because the uses allowed on the <br /> industrial sites are typically compatible with a tower. <br /> 2.) APT has planned for the tower to be on the eastern side of the property which is the side that <br /> abuts another light industrial zoned district. The tower should continue to be compatible with <br /> future industrial uses to the east. In addition, there are buffer areas between the proposed <br /> tower and the existing residential area to the west. Additional buffers are possible to the north, <br /> east and south. <br /> 3.) To rezone the property, the proposed use must meet certain compatibility criteria set forth in the <br /> Elk River zoning code. In order to review the compatibility of a communication tower, one must <br /> review the possible uses allowed under the zoning district currently in place for the subject site. <br /> Some of those permitted uses include: <br /> Offices, warehouses, research/design facilities, wholesale business, medical, dental, and <br /> • optical labs, and light manufacturing. <br /> Conditional uses allowed in the I-1 zoning district include: <br /> Outdoor storage areas, recycling processing center, bottling and distribution center, mini- <br /> storage,water sewage treatment plant, auto repair shop, grain and feed elevators, sexually <br /> oriented land uses, broadcasting studios and facilities and truck and implement sales. <br /> When consideration is given to the possible uses allowed under the I-1 zoning district, it is <br /> obvious that a myriad of uses could be located on the subject site which create traffic, noise, <br />