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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPCExecSumm_SpectroAlloy_12092014 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Planning Commission Meeting Date: December 9, 2014 Tentative City Council Meeting Date: December 16, 2014 AGENDA ITEM: Case 14-62-CUP Request by Spectro Alloy to Issue a Conditional Use Permit to Allow AGENDA SECTION: Outdoor Structures in Excess of 15% of the Public Hearing Gross Floor Area of the Principal Building to Install a Custom Clean Charge System AGENDA NO. PREPARED BY: Eric Zweber, Senior Planner ATTACHMENTS: Site Map, 2015 Sorting Investment Plan; APPROVED BY: Planning Sketch Survey; CCC Sorter Elevation RECOMMENDED ACTION: Motion to recommend the City Council approve a Conditional Use Permit to Spectro Alloy to allow Outdoor Structures in Excess of 15% of the Gross Floor Area of the Principal Building to Install a Custom Clean Charge (CCC) System, subject to the following: 1. New outdoor structures shall not be closer than 40 feet from the bluff line. 2. The total aggregate area of outdoor structures shall not exceed 30% of the total gross area of the principal building. 3. Outdoor scrap or waste storage shall not occur within 400 feet of the Minnesota Highway 55 right-of-way. ISSUE The applicant, Spectro Alloy Corp (Spectro), requests a conditional use permit (CUP) to allow the installation and construction of outdoor structures to process and recycle aluminum scrap without smelting. This process is called Custom Clean Charge (CCC) by the industry. A CUP is required because the CCC equipment and associated outdoor structures will result in the site having a total aggregate area of outdoor structures in excess of 15% of the total gross area of the principal building. If the gross area of outdoor structures and equipment was under 15%, the request could be administratively approved. The Staff recommends approval of the request subject to conditions. BACKGROUND Applicant & Property Owner(s): Spectro Alloy Corp. Location: Northeast of Minnesota Highway 55; south and west of the Union Pacific rail line; and east of Doyle Path Area in Acres: 15.5 Acres Comprehensive Plan Designation: GI - General Industrial Current Zoning: GI – General Industrial Surrounding Land Uses: Northeast: HI – Heavy Industrial Southeast: WM – Waste Management North, South, East and West: GI – General Industrial Legal Authority City review of a conditional use permit application is a Quasi-Judicial action. As such, the City has a set of standards and requirements. Generally, if the applications meet the ordinance requirements they must be approved. The standards and requirements for each application along with staff’s findings for the specific review criteria are provided below. SUMMARY Spectro’s principal operation is as a secondary aluminum smelter. A primary aluminum smelter refines raw ore into aluminum ingots. A secondary aluminum smelter recycles existing aluminum scrap into ingots that are shipped manufacturers. Spectro’s operation stores scrap aluminum predominately behind (to the north of) their building. The scrap is normally shredded and sorted through the hammer mill located on the far east side of the site adjacent to the railroad tracks. The shredded scrap is brought into the building and smelted in one of their two smelters. The smelted aluminum is poured into ingots. This process produces a number of waste streams including air emissions of metals from the smelting process. These air emissions are removed through a device called a baghouse which is a metal box with a number of fabric socks or bags within it. The air travels through the fabric and the small particles (including metals) are removed. This debris is collected in bags. The debris is tested and is either disposed of as industrial or hazardous waste. The CUP request will install a new process that recycles the aluminum without the need of smelting. This process, called Custom Clean Charge (CCC), sorts shredded material into their separate, different metals or alloys. The sorting process is similar to the non-ferrous metal recycling facility that the City approved at SKB earlier this year. The shredded metal travels over conveys that include eddy currents to sort the material. The manufacturers will accept this sorted and shredded material instead of the ingots that Spectro now produces. The CCC does not need the smelters, reducing the energy used in the recycling process and reduces baghouse waste. The CUP is required because installation of the CCC equipment and bins that store the separated material will result in the aggregate area of outdoor structures being greater than 15% of the total gross area of the principal building. Spectro currently has a number of outdoor structures including a scale, oxygen tanks, bins and hammer mill. These structures are about 13% of the area of the existing building. The CCC structures would double the amount of outdoor structures to 26% of the building. Square Feet % of Principal Building Principal Building 81,171 sq. ft. n/a Existing Outdoor Structures 10,625 sq. ft. 13.09 % CCC Structures 10,800 sq. ft. 13.31 % Total Outdoor Structures 21,425 sq. ft. 26.39 % Legal Non-Conforming Status Spectro is non-conforming due to the development on the site, specifically the amount of outside storage on the site. When evaluating a land use request with non-conforming status, two determinations must be made. First, is the use legal, which means that the use had complied with the City Code when it began, or is it illegal because it did not comply with the City Code standards when it started operation? Spectro began operation in 1973. At that time, the City had a zoning ordinance that did not limit outdoor storage in the general industrial district, did not require parking 2 and maneuvering areas to be paved and the Mississippi River Critical Area Corridor did not exist. Since 1973, the City has adopted zoning ordinances that included performance standards limiting outdoor storage, requiring the paving of parking and maneuvering areas and requiring a 40 foot setback from the bluff line. Spectro is a legal non-conformity and the use would be permitted by the current ordinance. It is the development and site improvements that are non-conforming, specifically the three items noted above. Second, non-conformities cannot be expanded when new operations, processes, buildings, or structures are installed. Spectro’s existing non-conformities include the gravel semi-trailer parking area in the southern corner of the site; the lack of a 40 foot setback from the bluff line; and the outdoor storage of maintenance equipment, scrap waiting to be processed, baghouse dust, and other wastes waiting to be tested before disposal. The gravel parking area is not impacted by this request. The CCC equipment and structures will be installed at least 40 feet from the bluff line. To prevent the outdoor storage to be moved to some other location on the site, a condition is included that prevents the outdoor storage of scrap or waste within 400 feet of Minnesota Highway 55. Custom Clean Charge Process and Outdoor Structures The CCC process will require four enclosures and conveyors connecting three of the four enclosures. The enclosures will have three sides so that a front end loader or skid steer can transfer material from the structures to trucks or other structures. The first enclosure will be constructed on the north side if the existing building and will hold the raw shredded material before it is sorted. The second enclosure will be located about 40 feet north of the first enclosure and will contain the primary sorting machine. The third and fourth enclosure will be separated bins in which the sorted finished material will be dropped. The material will be brought from the second enclosure to the bins by a conveyor traveling over the bins. The conveyor will be covered to prevent the material from falling off or being blown off. The first two enclosures will have metal sides and either metal or fabric covers. The bins of the final two enclosures will be made of cast-in-place concrete and the bins and conveyors will be covered by a metal roof. All enclosures will be installed at least 40 feet from the bluff line. The northern three structures will be installed about 40 feet north of the existing building to maintain maneuvering for the trucks and facility equipment. 11-4-16: C. General Industrial Outdoor Structures Accessory Use The GI: General Industrial Zoning Ordinance allows outdoor structures as accessory use. The City Code reads as follows: Outdoor structures. Functioning structures such as conveyor belt systems, cooling towers, storage silos, or the like that are accessory and integral to the principal use of the site may be exempt from the requirements of section 11-2-9, "Outdoor Storage", of this title, subject to the following: 1. The applicant shall demonstrate that the outdoor structure or equipment cannot be integrated into a building design. Finding: The current shredding and sorting of raw material occurs in outdoor structures along the eastern edge of the site. The CCC proposal continues the shredding and sorting of material in the newly installed outdoor structures. 2. The site and building(s) shall be designed to screen and limit the effects of the outdoor structure or equipment (noise, vibrations, illumination, particulate, or the like) on adjacent properties and public right(s) of way. 3 Finding: The CCC structures will be located to the north of (behind) the existing building and will not be visible from the Minnesota Highway 55 or Doyle Path right-of-ways. The conveyors and bins will be covered limiting any adverse effects. The CCC structures will be installed 40 feet south of the bluff line as required by the Mississippi River Corridor Critical Area. The CCC structures will be about 350 feet from Pine Bend Trail. 3. The outdoor structure or equipment shall be located on an approved surface in a remote location that is not adjacent to any public right of way or nonindustrial use or district. Finding: The CCC structures will be located in an area that is currently paved. The structures are located north of (behind) the existing building and about 350 feet from Pine Bend Trail. The properties to the north, east and west are industrial. The property to the south is waste management. The CCC structures are not adjacent to the public right-of-way. 4. The aggregate area for outdoor structure or equipment shall be limited to an area equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the gross floor area of the principal building and to a height not to exceed seventy feet (70'). Larger areas or taller structures or equipment may be approved by the city through a conditional use permit. Finding: Currently, outdoor structures on the site (oxygen tanks, hammer mill, storage bins, and scale) are about 13% (10,625 square feet) of the gross floor area of the principal structure. The CCC structures will add 13% (10,800 square feet) of gross floor area to a total of 26%. To accommodate this request, the Executive Summary’s recommendation would grant Spectro a CUP to exceed the 15% standard. The highest CCC structure (covered storage bins) will be less than 50 feet tall. 5. The outdoor structure or equipment shall not take up, encroach upon, or interfere with access to, any required yard, parking, loading, maneuvering, or pedestrian area. Finding: The CCC structures will are separated from the principal building by about 40 feet to maintain loading and maneuvering. The CCC structures will be located 40 feet from the bluff line maintaining the required yard and setback from the bluff. There is no parking or pedestrian area to the north of (behind) the building. 6. The city may exempt outdoor structure or equipment from the site and building performance standards in subsection G of this section; however all such structures or equipment must be functional and shall be made of high quality long lasting material compatible with both adjacent properties and other buildings in the GI district. Finding: The CCC structures will be concrete storage structures with metal coverings and metal and rubber conveyors. The concrete storage structures do meet the required building materials. The conveyors and their covers are long lasting materials. Conditional Use Permit The purpose of conditional use permits (CUPs) is to allow for those uses which may be suitable for a given site under certain circumstances. The request is subject to the general CUP standards outlined in Section 11-10-7. These standards evaluate the City’s land use and zoning performance standards in the context of the proposed use’s potential impact on the surrounding properties. After reviewing the applicant’s plans in comparison with the applicable standards, staff finds the proposed use meets the conditional use permit requirements and recommends approval. 4 1. Will not be detrimental to or endanger the public health, safety, or general welfare of the neighborhood or the city. Finding: The proposed use is consistent with the City’s land use and development regulations for general industrial uses. The proposed use is not detrimental to the public health, safety, or general welfare of the neighborhood or the City of Rosemount. Public health and general welfare will likely increase due to the reduced energy use and air emissions through processing the material in the CCC process instead of being smelted in the current process. 2. Will be harmonious with the objectives of the comprehensive plan and city code provisions. Finding: The site is designated as general industrial and is surrounded by heavy industrial, general industrial, and waste management uses. These uses allow or are similar to the metal processing use proposed by the CCC outdoor structures. Staff finds that the CCC process is harmonious with the objectives of the City’s plans and codes. 3. Will be designed, constructed, operated, and maintained so as to be compatible or similar in an architectural and landscape appearance with the existing or intended character of the general vicinity and will not change the essential character of that area, nor substantially diminish or impair property values within the neighborhood. Finding: The surrounding existing and planned land uses are heavy industrial, general industrial, or waste management. The general industrial uses allow a minor amount of outdoor structures while heavy industrial uses are predominately outdoor structures. The allowance of less than 30% outdoor structure for Spectro, most of which are located behind building, does not change the essential character of the area. 4. Will be served adequately by existing (or those proposed in the project) essential public facilities and services, including streets, police and fire protection, drainage, structures, refuse disposal, water and sewer systems, and schools. Finding: The existing site will be adequately served by essential public facilities and services. Access to the subject property will come either directly from Minnesota Highway 55 or from Doyle Path. The site is served by City water but has its own septic system located north of the Doyle Path cul-de-sac. This septic system is adequate for the workforce of Spectro. 5. Will not involve uses, activities, processes, material equipment, and conditions of operation that will be hazardous or detrimental to any persons, property, or the general welfare because of excessive production of traffic, noise, smoke, fumes, glare, or odors. Finding: The CCC system will reduce the amount of aluminum that is smelted resulting in lower air emissions and waste generation. This will reduce activities and processes that would be hazardous or detrimental. 6. Will have vehicular ingress and egress to the property which does not create traffic congestion or interfere with traffic on surrounding public streets. Finding: The site has two accesses, one directly from Minnesota Highway 55 and on from the end of the cul-de- sac at Doyle Path. This traffic pattern has occurred for decades without interference to the surrounding streets or properties. 5 7. Will not result in the destruction, loss or damage of a natural, scenic, or historic feature of major importance and will comply with all local, state, and federal environmental quality standards. Finding: Spectro Alloy is located within Mississippi River Critical Area Corridor which intends to protect the bluffs adjacent to the Mississippi River. The new CCC structures will not impact the bluffs and be located 40 feet from the bluff line. The CCC process will have less of an environmental impact than the existing smelting process. 8. These standards apply in addition to specific conditions as may be applied throughout this code. Finding: The existing operation is a legal non-conforming use. The largest non-conformity is the amount of outdoor storage on the site. Spectro has recently reduced the amount of outdoor storage and organize the different types of outdoor storage. Staff is most concerned with the storage of the scrap used in the plant’s operation and the storage of waste while it is being tested before it is sent off site for disposal. Spectro is currently storing the scrap and waste north and east of Doyle Path. Staff has proposed a condition that requires that scrap and waste storage occur more than 400 feet from the Minnesota Highway 55 right-of-way. CONCLUSION & RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends that the Planning Commission approve the Conditional Use Permit to Spectro Alloy to install the Custom Clean Charge (CCC) outdoor structures, subject to the staff recommended conditions. This recommendation is based on the information submitted by the applicant and findings made in this report. 6