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I/I <br />Toll Free 866.900.3064 i Fax 866.924.1928 <br />June 22, 2010 <br />Mayor and City Council <br />City of Pequot Lakes <br />4638 County Road 11 <br />Pequot Lakes, MN 56472 <br />Re: Planning Commission Report <br />Dear Mayor and City Council, <br />The Planning Commission met for their regularly scheduled June meeting at which they <br />held three public hearings, and a special session on the Comprehensive Plan's Economic <br />Development, Housing and Infrastructure Sections. They are forwarding you two <br />ordinance amendments that they have recommended for approval. <br />1. Ordinance Amendment Regarding Retail Uses. The Ordinance <br />Amendment was created to include "Retail Use" in the land use matrix. The <br />amendment defines "Retail Use" and also permits the use in the Downtown <br />Mixed Use, Commercial, Retail, and Urban Residential Zones. The amendment <br />allows the use as a conditional use in the Shoreline Commercial and Light <br />Industrial Zones. Retail uses are excluded in every other zone with the <br />amendment. <br />Current the code regulates retail uses by specifically describing them. This is <br />inefficient and burdensome for potential applicants as we can't possibly <br />contemplate every potential desirable retail use and list it. This amendment <br />streamlines the process for retail uses to locate to Pequot Lakes. It should be <br />noted, however, that in streamlining the process it also allows a wider array of <br />retail operations to open without any city oversight. If there are specific retail <br />uses we want excluded or subject to a more thorough review (as we have done <br />with adult uses), we would need to identify those and add them to the code. <br />2. Ordinance Amendment to Clarify Metes and Bounds Process. The <br />Planning Commission approved the Ordinance Amendment to clarify metes and <br />bounds subdivisions within the Transition Residential Zone. The amendment <br />includes new language for metes and bounds subdivisions under the definition of <br />"Conventional Subdivision ". Then, consistent with the Transition Residential <br />WWW.COMMUNITYGROWTH.COM WWW.STRONGTOWNS.ORG <br />