5.3. PCSR 05-08-2007 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mr. Jeremy Barnhart, This letter is in reference to tonights planning commission meeting concerning the request by the City of Elk River for an ordinance amendment to allow physical recreation/training facilities as an interim use in Business Park Zoning. Our group is in the process of building a 22 unit 53,000 square foot flex use condominium development in the Elk River Business Park www.elkrivercondos.com . We selected this location for several reasons, location, access, price, visibility, flexible use, and proximity to retail establishments. We have begun construction and expect occupancy in December, 2007. Our intent is to attract the small business owner, with flexible use needs, and provide them a location at an affordable price. We currently have two clients that fit within the Recreational Use category, express an interest in locating their Business's in our project on a long term basis only. I have included a letter from one of the clients for your review. We understand the Planning Commission's concern of allowing use's that are not in keeping with the light industrial aspect of the underlying land use that affects these properties. We also understand the current need for affordable property, with good access and proximity to retail, for recreational service type business's that have expressed a desire to locate within the Elk River Business Park. The Council's decision to allow these types of Business's on an interim basis only, makes it very difficult for any business to succeed. The buildout expense, cost of moving, location recognition, and advertising new locations every three to five years seems unreasonable. We have had many discussions with area residents and business owners regarding this issue. We believe that a more reasonable solution would be to limit these recreational uses on a percentage of total building space within the Business Park. By allowing a percentage of use formula (20-30%) on a per building basis, the City of Elk River would be .preserving the intent of the underlying land use and at the same time would provide these affordable spaces to the recreational service business owner. We would like to work with the City of Elk River in finding a solution to this situation. We would appreciate any input you have on this matter. Sincerely, Troy L Tufto Dan P Murphy The Commercial Condos at EIk River Business Park.