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3. Highway Commercial <br /> • Highway Commercial has the greatest impact on Elk River because of its size, <br /> associated traffic and impact on surrounding land uses. Therefore, future commercial <br /> development will have to be reviewed in terms of its appropriate location, design, <br /> visual impact to the highway corridor and compatibility with the community. <br /> The plan is currently designed to limit commercial development along Highway 169 <br /> from extending further north than the 194th alignment. This "line in the sand" is the point \' 417 <br /> where highway commercial will begin to transition into more compatible land uses with '-& <br /> the existing natural characteristics and residential homes. <br /> With the availability of water and sewer of new commercial development Highway 169 <br /> between Highway 10 and 194th Avenue will continue to blossom into the Elk River <br /> commercial retail corridor. The planning and development of this corridor will need to <br /> be carefully reviewed to prevent the appearance of "strip commercial" and <br /> maintaining a high level of aesthetic quality. <br /> Highway 10 has two distinct corridors, the east and west. The east corridor currently <br /> does not have water and sewer available. However, the plan calls for municipal utilities <br /> to be extended sometime in the future. The extension of utilities will be determined <br /> based on market demands and financial ability to serve this area. In the interim, the <br /> key for east Highway 10 will be to limit commercial growth today allowing future <br /> extension of utilities to occur in a cost effective manner. Also, without city services land <br /> values will be slightly less and, therefore, attractive to less intense uses such as open <br /> sales lots, mini storage facilities, etc. <br /> Conversely, west Highway 10 was included in the urban service area when the 1988 <br /> Growth Management Plan was adopted. Utilities are incrementally being extended to <br /> serve the western area. The commercial activity along west Highway 10 is planned to <br /> occur primarily at intersections with Highway 10. For example, Proctor Avenue, Joplin <br /> and Waco are all planned to be signalized intersections where commercial activity <br /> could be developed with good accessibility and minimizing impact on surrounding <br /> land uses. <br /> Commercial activity along west Highway 10 will be best characterized as <br /> neighborhood or community oriented. In other words, the larger scale commercial <br /> developments found along Highway 169 are not intended to occur along west <br /> Highway 10. The commercial uses are designed to benefit surrounding residential <br /> areas, the business park and office development and convenient service demands of <br /> external traffic. <br /> 4. Neighborhood/Community Commercial <br /> The city doesn't have a "transitional" commercial district that typically occurs in areas <br /> to serve an immediate neighborhood or a sub-area of the community. This type of <br /> commercial activity could be more compatible then highway commercial with <br /> surrounding land uses. Establishment of this type of commercial district should be <br /> considered to diversify commercial opportunities within the community. Once again, <br /> the location of this type of commercial should be located at intersections of collector <br /> • streets minimizing conflicts with surrounding land uses. <br />