3.10. SR 01-22-2008.''+~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
Action Motion by Second by Vote
Follow Up
C:\Documents and Settings\jmillex\Local Settings\Tempoxary Internet Files\OLK3E\Request authorization WW"P permitted use.doc