3.10. SR 01-22-2008 - Laserfiche WebLink

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.''+~i City of Elk --~ River REQUEST FOR ACTION To Item Number Ci Council 3.10. Agenda Section Meeting Date Prepared by Consent January 22, 2008 Jeremy Barnhart, AICP Plannin Mana er Item Description Reviewed by Authorization to Direct Staff to Research Zoning Ordinance Amendment Allowing Public Water/ Wastewater Treatment Reviewed by Facilities in Light Industrial Zoning District Action Requested Authorization to prepare an ordinance amendment that would allow public water/ wastewater treatment facilities as a permitted use in the I-1 zoning districts. Background/Discussion Essential Services are permitted in virtually every zoning district in the City. However, the defuution of Essential Services excludes buildings or overhead transmission structures. This allows a neighborhood to review a well house proposal in their back yard and possibly influence the location appearance, scale, etc of the improvement. The building components of Essential Services are treated as conditional uses. For example, the wastewater treatment facility is a conditional use in the I-1 zoning district and the recently approved expansions require a conditional use permit. The challenge is that the public hearing process is designed to give residents the ability to understand the proposal and voice their concerns to the elected leaders, who then may alter or otherwise mitigate the impact of a proposed use. In this situation, the City's existing sanitary system all feed to the plant, and relocating the plant based on citizen opposition is unlikely even if desired. This puts the Council in a position where they cannot respond to interested citizen groups. Additionally, in this expansion, the expansion was mandated by the State, and the City has no choice but to make the necessary improvements. Additionally, all improvements axe approved and funded by the City Council. Staff is suggesting that an ordinance amendment be developed that would classify public wastewater treatment facilities as a permitted use in the I-1 zoning district. A permitted use does not require City Council review and no public hearing is held. There would be no other public wastewater treatment facility in the City, and the City Council would retain their authority to approve all expansions or modifications based on budget impacts. Financial ImRact None Attachments None C:\Documents and Settings\jmillex\Local Settings\Tempoxary Internet Files\OLK31;\Request authorization WW"I' pernutted use.doc