12-02-2002 Planning Commission Meeting

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STAFF REPORT Application: Ordinance revisions to Section 60 to allow Residential Planned Unit Developments in the Commercial zone. ApplicYnt: City of Pequot Lakes Background Information: Last month the Planning Commission considered the concept plan presented by Carl Smith that would put up to 12 residential units on a commercially zoned property. We discussed that this type of development would need to be done as a Planned Unit Development (PUD). Since this type of use is currently not allowed in the commercial zone,the Planning Commission indicated that they would like the Staff to return with an amendment to the Ordinance to allow this type of development. Applicable Statutes: When examining a Ordinance revision request, the burden is higher than in most other land use applications. Our Ordinance dictates that a 4/5ths majority of the Council is required to revise the Ordinance, where a simple majority is needed in most other instances. The proposed Ordinance change would allow"Planned Unit Developments" as a conditional use under Section 60.030. Planning Commission Direction: The Commission can recommend to the Council that they make this modification to the Ordinance. The Commission can vote to not recommend this change. The Commission may also table the chjges for further consideration. Staff Recommendation: This is a difficult issue as the Commission has preliminarily agreed that the concept being proposed by Mr. Smith was sound. Before making a decision, your Staff wants to make sure that you understand the ramifications of this action. From a market standpoint, land that is developable as a residential PUD at commercial densities will have a much higher value than land where this is not an option. A developer that can sell 12 residential units almost always will realize a higher margin than one who can sell only one or two commercial units. Adopting this amendment will likely result in an inflated value of commercial property as the potential residential PUD gains are factored into the raw land sale price. This will slow commercial growth in the commercial zones in Pequot Lakes. It will also likely mean that more commercial property will be developed as residential. Although duplex units are not a poor development option, highly accessible commercial property served by utilities may provide a greater benefit to the City and its residents developed commercially(jobs and economic development) as opposed to a location of residential dwellings, which could be successfully located in many other areas.