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HomeMy WebLinkAbout6.p. Text Amendment to Zoning Ordinance to Remove Membership Organizations from the DT & C-4 Zoning Districts EXECUTIVE SUMMARY City Council Regular Meeting: December 18, 2018 AGENDA ITEM: Text Amendment to Zoning Ordinance to Remove Membership Organizations from the DT and C-4 Zoning Districts AGENDA SECTION: Consent PREPARED BY: Kim Lindquist, Community Development Director AGENDA NO. 6.p. ATTACHMENTS: Ordinance Amendment, Use Comparison Chart, Planning Commission Excerpt November 27, 2018 APPROVED BY: LJM RECOMMENDED ACTION: Motion to adopt the Text Amendments amending the DT Downtown and C-4 Zoning Districts. SUMMARY The City Council is being asked to consider zoning ordinance amendments to the C-4 General Commercial and DT Downtown zoning districts to remove “Membership Organizations” from the list of permitted uses in both of these districts. This action is intended to help address any potential issues regarding the City’s ability to comply with the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) of 2000 and to address some inconsistencies in the ordinance concerning the listing of uses allowed in commercial areas. As part of this review, staff would like to evaluate the purpose and intent of the City’s various commercial districts and the uses allowed in these districts. Legal Authority Text amendments are considered legislative actions. In such cases, the City has a fair amount of discretion in its deliberations and final decision as long as the decision is not arbitrary or capricious and the City develops reasonable findings to support its action. BACKGROUND The proposed ordinance amendments have been prepared partially in response to recent inquires the City has received and the recognition that our zoning ordinance is not aligned with City goals. In the past, there have been questions as to whether certain organizations such as churches or a community service organization are considered membership organizations. While churches are clearly not allowed in either the C-4 General Commercial or DT Downtown district, both districts do list “membership organizations” as a permitted use. In the DT district, membership organizations are permitted and the ordinance also includes terms such as clubs, lodges, trade associations, unions, political and religious organizations. Staff finds the inclusion of this language somewhat vague and confusing, especially when trying to differentiate between a “church” and a “religious organization” or a VFW. There are two main issues that staff believes should be addressed based on the current ordinance language. First, the purpose and intent of the City’s general commercial zoning district is to provide “a wide range of goods and services to the entire community. Due to their proximity to major arterial streets, businesses in this district are dependent on large volumes of traffic, thus need to be highly visible and accessible. It is the 2 intent of this district to promote development that maximizes the full development potential in this area. The downtown district includes similar language with a focus on developing the downtown area as the commercial and social center of the city with an emphasis on pedestrian movements and walkability. A church or membership organization does not have the same need for visibility or access to roads with larger traffic volumes. In addition, the City benefits from setting aside space for retail, office, and services uses within the community because these uses generate tax revenue and provide employment opportunities. The public also benefits from having access to goods and services in areas where they are accessible and visible. The second issue with the current ordinance language relates back to the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA). The Act contains two fundamental provisions pertaining to land use regulation and churches as follows: 1) No government shall impose or implement a land use regulation in a manner that imposes a substantial burden on the religious exercise of a person, including a religious assembly or institution, unless the government demonstrates that imposition of the burden . . . is in furtherance of a compelling governmental interest and is the least restrictive means of furthering that compelling governmental interest; and 2) No government shall impose or implement a land use regulation in a manner that treats a religious assembly or institution on less than equal terms with a nonreligious assembly or institution. What this language means in practice is that a city’s zoning regulations should not regulate church uses differently than other uses that function and operate in a similar fashion, and that a city cannot make it impossible for a religious organization to operate within the community (i.e. prohibit churches from all zoning districts). The proposed removal of “membership organizations” from the DT and C-4 district is intended to address the second provision, clarifying the intention of the ordinance regulations. The term membership organization is not defined in the ordinance and therefore its use as an assembly use, among others, provides ambiguity when administering zoning regulations. The inclusion of membership organizations is perplexing as it gets more to the organizational structure of the use, similar to an LLC or partnership and does not address impacts upon the property and surrounding area, which is the intention of the zoning ordinance. Therefore, staff believes that the membership organizations in the community can be classified as a restaurant or event center, rather than membership organization. Removal of the use will provide more clarity within the ordinance. PLANNING COMMISSION REVIEW At the November 27, 2018, meeting the Planning Commission reviewed and voted on this proposal. After the staff presentation, the Commission asked if this had any impact on any of the existing membership organizations in the community. Staff indicated the amendment does not negatively impact any of the existing membership organizations, and also reinforced that the amendment will allow regulating businesses based upon the use and land use impacts rather than upon the type of organizational structure. The Commissioners unanimously recommended approval of the text amendments. ORDINANCE REVIEW AND ANALYSIS Staff has prepared a brief chart documenting the zoning for various public/gathering/educational activities within the City to help evaluate the impact of removing membership organizations from the list of allowed uses. Membership organizations only show up in the DT and C-4 districts, thus the proposed amendment would completely remove this term from the zoning ordinance. Staff believes this action is justified because the uses that would currently be classified as a membership organization (the American Legion or Elks Club 3 for example) generally will fall under one of the other allowed uses in the zoning ordinance. Most will be regulated as an eating and drinking establishment since that is the primary function of their buildings. The amendment will also help the City focus on expected land use impacts of uses rather than the membership or ownership associated with the building operator. The proposed amendment therefore would not render any existing “membership organizations” as non-conforming: these uses will instead be reclassified as a use allowed with the City’s C-4 or DT zoning districts. The one existing building this ordinance change will not impact in any manner is the VFW facility located along the Eagan/Rosemount boundary on South Robert Trail. This site is zoned AG – Agricultural and the use is considered a non-conforming activity under present zoning regulations and will remain so regardless of the proposed amendments. As part of its zoning review, staff did review the current zoning ordinance as it pertains to churches and does not believe that the City’s regulations are structured in a manner that could be viewed as imposing a substantial burden on religious exercise. Seven of the City’s zoning districts allow churches as a conditional use, which opens up a large portion of the community for such uses. Most, if not all, of the City’s existing church facilities are located in either residential or Business Park zoning districts. The proposed text amendments are attached to this report; please note that the only changes proposed are to delete “membership organizations” from the list of permitted uses in the C-4 district and “membership organizations, including clubs, lodges, trade associations, unions, political and religious organizations” from the DT zoning district. CONCLUSION & RECOMMENDATION The Planning Commission and staff recommend approval of amendment to the C-4 General Commercial and DT Downtown zoning districts to remove “Membership Organizations” from the list of permitted uses in both of these districts. City of Rosemount Ordinance No. B-273 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ORDINANCE B CITY OF ROSEMOUNT ZONING ORDINANCE MEMBERSHIP ORGANIZATIONS THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ROSEMOUNT, MINNESOTA, ORDAINS that Ordinance B, adopted September 19, 1989 entitled “The Subdivision Ordinance of City of Rosemount” is hereby amended as follows: Section 1. Rosemount Zoning Ordinance B, Section 11-4-11.B: (DT Downtown District) Permitted Uses is hereby amended as follows: B. Permitted Uses: The following uses are permitted uses in the DT District: Apartments, condominiums, or multiple-family housing, subject to the following conditions: 1. No dwelling units shall be allowed on the first floor of any part of the building within one hundred fifty feet (150') of Trunk Highway 3. 2. A minimum of one underground or structured parking stall is provided per dwelling unit. Arcade parlors, billiard halls, and dance clubs. Brew on premises and wine on premises stores. Brewpubs. Business services and offices, including accounting, advertising, auditing, commercial art, computer services, mailing, photocopying, photography, and public relations. Communications businesses. Eating and drinking establishments, excluding drive-through facilities. Essential service facilities. Financial institutions, excluding currency exchanges, payday loans, check cashing, or drive- through facilities. General repair services, including appliance repair, furniture reupholstery and repair, jewelry, clock and watch repair, radio repair, small electronics repair, and television repair, but excluding uses that involve hazardous materials or corrosives or result in hazardous wastes or noxious fumes in its processes. Hotels. Membership organizations, including clubs, lodges, trade associations, unions, political and religious organizations. Microbreweries, with or without associated taprooms. Microdistilleries, with or without associated cocktail rooms. Museums and art galleries. Personal services, including barber and beauty shops, laundry services, shoe repair and photography, excluding body piercing, tattoo and pawn shops. Professional services, including architects and attorney offices, dental and medical clinics, financial services, insurance providers, and real estate businesses. Public or governmental services, including libraries, City offices, auditoriums, public administration buildings and civic centers. Public parking lots and transit stations. Public parks, owned and operated by a government unit, including recreational facilities and structures consistent with the public area. Retail sales, including books and stationery, clothing, drug, gifts and novelties, groceries, furniture and hardware, hobby, jewelry, and sporting goods stores, or other retail establishments of a community nature, but excluding used parts and pawn shops, automobile and related equipment sales, services, parts sales and gasoline and fuel sales. New auto parts sales are allowable provided that auto parts sales activity results in no more than ten percent (10%) of store revenue or comprises no more than ten percent (10%) of the floor space. Single-family attached dwellings, subject to the following conditions: 1. No dwelling units, common areas, or parking stalls shall be allowed within one hundred fifty feet (150') of Trunk Highway 3. 2. Standards set forth in section 11-2-18 of this title. Small wireless facilities within right-of-way, subject to the regulations contained in title 4, chapter 2 of this Code. Veterinary clinic, not including outdoor runs or kennels. Subject to the regulations regarding the care and keeping of animals within the City contained in title 7, chapter 4 of this Code. (Ord. B-211, 1-4-2011; amd. Ord. B-243, 5-20-2015; Ord. B-265, 11-21-2017) Section 2. Rosemount Zoning Ordinance B, Section 11-4-14.B: (C-4 General Commercial District) Permitted Uses is hereby amended as follows: B. Permitted Uses: The following uses are permitted uses in the C-4 district: Brew on premises and wine on premises stores. Brewpubs, excluding drive-through facilities. Child and adult daycare. Communications businesses. Eating and drinking establishments without drive-through facilities. Essential service facilities. Financial institutions without drive-through facilities. General repair services, including appliance repair, furniture reupholstery and repair, jewelry, clock, watch, radio, small electronics, small engine and television repair occurring within an enclosed building. Hotels and motels. Indoor amusement and recreation services, including video arcades subject to the following restrictions: 1. Any arcade with fifteen (15) or more machines shall have an adult supervisor on duty during all hours of operation. 2. No arcade shall be operated within five hundred feet (500') of a school, church, or residence unless it is an integral part of a shopping center and does not have an entrance except from within the shopping center. Membership organizations. Microbreweries, with or without associated taprooms. Microdistilleries, with or without associated cocktail rooms. Personal services, including barber and beauty shops, fitness centers, funeral services and mortuaries, facilities, laundry services, shoe repair, photography and video rental. Professional services and offices, including architects and attorney offices, dental and medical clinics, financial services, insurance providers, real estate businesses and the like. Public or governmental services. Public parking lots and transit stations. Public parks, owned and operated by a government unit, including recreational facilities and structures consistent with the public area. Retail sales, including automobile parts, books and stationery, clothing, drug, gifts and novelties, groceries, furniture and hardware, hobby, video sales, jewelry, and sporting goods stores or the like. Automobile sales, new and used, are prohibited. Small wireless facilities within right-of-way, subject to the regulations contained in title 4, chapter 2 of this Code. Theaters, excluding drive-in theaters. Veterinary services, not including outdoor runs or kennels. (Ord. B-161, 11-1-2005; amd. Ord. B-243, 5-20-2015; Ord. B-265, 11-21-2017) Section 3. This Ordinance shall be effective immediately upon its passage and publication according to law. [Underlined material is new. Stricken material is deleted.] ENACTED AND ORDAINED into an Ordinance this 18th day of December, 2018. CITY OF ROSEMOUNT William H. Droste, Mayor ATTEST: Erin Fasbender, City Clerk Published in the Dakota County Tribune this _______ day of _________,2019. Use Comparison Chart Public Assembly, School, and Religious Uses - Rosemount Zoning Ordinance District AG RR RL R-1 R-1A R-2 R-3 R-4 C-1 DT C-3 C-4 BP LI GI HI PI Commercial Event Centers C Churches and Places of Worship C C C C C C C Child Daycares, Montessory or Nursey Facilities within a Church or Place of Worship or School C C C C C Elementary and middle or special needs schools C C C C C Educatonal Services C C Membership Organizations P P Public or Government Services including libraries, city offices, auditoriums, public administrative buildings and civic centers P P P Theaters, excluding drive-in theaters P Public Buildings and Uses P P Arenas, Convention Centers and Stadiums C Business Trade and Vocataional Schools C P Colleges or Universities P Public Auditoriums, Civic Centers, Community Centers or the like P Secondary Schools P P - Permitted C - Condtional Use (Blank - Not Allowed) 5.d. Request by City of Rosemount for a Text Amendment to Zoning Ordinance to Remove Membership Organizations from the DT and C-4 Zoning Districts. (18-53-TA) Senior Planner Klatt gave a brief summary of the staff report for the Planning Commission. Community Development Director added that through recent work on the Comprehensive Plan this issue became more apparent. Commissioner VanderWiel inquired what the objection is to having Membership Organizations in the Zoning Districts. Community Development Director Lindquist explained that the regulation addresses the ownership structure rather than the land use impacts of the use, which is not appropriate for the zoning ordinance. Commissioner Reed inquired if there are current membership organizations within the affected zoning district. Klatt stated that there is not in the commercial district and in the Downtown district, the city would classify the use, the American Legion, more as a restaurant bar for zoning purposes. . The public hearing opened at 7:18 pm. Public Comments: None. MOTION by Freeman to close the public hearing. Second by Reed. Ayes: 5. Nays: 0. Motion Passes. The public hearing was closed at 7:19 pm. Additional Comments: None. MOTION by Freeman to recommend the City Council approve the Text Amendments amending the DT and C-4 Zoning Districts. Second by VanderWiel. Ayes: 5. Nays: 0. Motion Passes.