4 PCSR 09-21-1995 - Laserfiche WebLink

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and a bridge crossing, together with the rights-of-way of U.S. Highways 10 and 169 and • the Burlington Northern Railroad, all converge upon Elk River's downtown. Although these arteries of travel and commerce have in varying degrees at different times provided the city with economic opportunities for growth, because of their locations they have also physically restricted the options for the central business district's expansion inasmuch as they are formidable obstacles and tend to set the boundaries of the contiguous central business district. Main Street west of Highway 10 provides access central to the city's central business district and its various businesses, financial institutions, shops and professional offices. It is a wide street capable of accommodating on-street parking and adequately meeting traffic circulation requirements. The major opportunities for central business district expansion are westerly along Main Street into an existing residential district that is experiencing some transitional uses, and the contiguous area between Main Street and U.S. Highway 10. The downtown area has recently begun to go through a transition period adjusting to the impacts of regional commercial activity along Highway 169. Change also accompanies growth, and accommodation is necessary if the vitality of a community is to be maintained at a high level. As the economics of the retail, business, and industrial sectors of a society change, so must the facilities, neighborhoods, and cities adjust to these new realities. The economic and functional life of a building is not synonymous with the physical life. Adaptive reuse of structures is determined by their highest and best use regardless of the purposes for which they were originally constructed. Government's role in a free market society is to facilitate, coordinate, and manage • growth and change in order that the community as a whole derives the maximum benefit therefrom and no person, business, group, neighborhood, or sector of the community unfairly subsidizes or is infringed upon in the process. The central business district transition process will be ongoing, gradual, and orderly. Several former residences have been converted to real estate and professional office types of uses. It is felt this can be in the best interests of the community, and through the use of appropriate zoning and possibly incentive programs, can be further accommodated without excessively detracting from adjacent residential properties. 3. Office District The office district is basically set up to accommodate governmental, business and professional offices, and other financial related businesses. The two identifiable office corridors extend east along Main Street and north along Jackson out of the downtown area (Figure 5C). The Main Street corridor between Highway 10 and Highway 169 has recently had development activity which included removing single family homes and constructing new low profile office space. This corridor has a considerable amount of potential to become a high quality office corridor, both visually and in terms of its location. East Main Street also provides the link between downtown and the Highway 169 commercial corridor. The Jackson Avenue corridor extending north from the downtown area has a few office buildings on the south end, however, is primarily undeveloped at this time. This corridor once again has the potential to link the downtown to regional commercial activity • between Highway 169 and Jackson Avenue.