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The Elk River Vision <br />A welcoming community with revolutionary and spirited resourcefulness, exceptional service, and community <br />engagement that encourages and inspires prosperity <br /> <br />Request for Action <br /> <br />To <br />Planning Commission <br />Item Number <br />5.4 <br /> <br />Meeting Date <br />January 27, 2026 <br />Prepared By <br />Zack Carlton, Community Development Director <br /> <br />Item Description <br />Ordinance Amendment and Conditional Use Permit: <br />Educational Use, Good Shepherd High School - 630 <br />Freeport Ave NW <br />Reviewed by <br />Chris Leeseberg <br /> <br />Action Requested <br />Recommend, by motion, denial of the proposed ordinance amendment to add Educational Institutions as an <br />allowed use in the MU-ERP zoning district as the use is not consistent with the goals and intended purpose of <br />a commercial area. <br /> <br />Recommend, by motion, denial of a Conditional Use Permit for an Educational Institution as it is not an <br />allowed use in the MU-ERP zoning district. <br /> <br /> <br />Background/Discussion <br />The applicant, Good Shepherd Lutheran High School, has requested adoption of an ordinance amendment <br />that would add Educational Institutions as a conditional use in the Mixed Use Elk River Plaza (MU-ERP) zoning <br />district. The zoning district is a former Planned Unit Development (PUD) district that had the PUD <br />agreement added to city codes in 2010. The zoning district is divided into three separate areas: multifamily <br />residential, single-family residential, and commercial. Each of these ares are distinct in their location within the <br />district and act as separate districts with their own allowed uses. The proposed amendment would apply to <br />the commercial section as the proposed building site is within the commercial section of the MU-ERP zoning <br />district. <br /> <br />Commercial districts, especially those along major highways, support retail and commercial uses, providing <br />employment and economic opportunities throughout the community. Educational uses do not appear to <br />support the goals of commercial districts, and based on that analysis, staff do not recommend approval of the <br />amendment. <br /> <br />The associated Conditional Use Permit application cannot be approved without the ordinance amendment. <br /> <br />If the Planning Commission supports the proposed ordinance amendment, staff requests a formal <br />recommendation for the ordinance amendment and continue the discussion of the Conditional Use Permit to <br />February 24, 2026. This will allow the City Council to act on the ordinance amendment on February 17, 2026, <br />and provide staff with additional time to review the CUP in more detail. <br /> <br />Page 48 of 71