Request for an Interim Use Permit to Allow for the Operation of a Church in the H-1 Highway 10 Business District on the Property Located at 6937 Highway 10 NW; Case of Freedom Christian Church

The City has received an application from Freedom Christian Church to renew an Interim Use Permit for the operation of church facility in an area zoned H-1 Highway 10 Business District. The temporary church facility is in a multi-tenant building located at 6937 Hwy 10. The Applicant is currently operating at this site with a three (3) year interim use permit that is set to expire at the end of June, 2012.

In accordance with State Statute and City Code, Staff attempted to notify all property owners within 350 feet of the Subject Property of the Public Hearing via Standard US Mail. A Notice of Public Hearing was also published in the Anoka County Union.

The Applicant is utilizing 5,500 square feet of the building located at 6937 Hwy 10 for a worship area as well as for offices, classrooms, lunchroom and bathrooms. The Applicant's original proposal in 2009 stated that they hoped to grow to about 150 members at this location and would then begin actively looking for a property in Ramsey to construct a permanent facility. The Applicant has stated that presently, membership hasn't grown as desired and is still at about seventy-five (75) people for their larger service (Sunday morning).

The property is located in the H-1 Highway 10 Business Zoning District, which does not expressly permit churches or other places of worship. The H-1 Highway 10 Business Zoning District does allow for offices as a permitted use. The Applicant is requesting the interim use permit for the full five (5) years permitted by City Code.

The activities offered by the Applicant mainly occur on Sundays, with a service in the morning and a service in the evening. There is also some evening activities, most notably a weekly bible study on Wednesday evenings with attendances typically ranging between fifteen (15) and thirty (30) people. There are two existing tenants in the building, Fastenal and B & B Carpet, both of which are closed on Sundays. Thus, the use appears to be compatible with the surrounding area and the additional activities do not appear to conflict with the existing businesses.

The initial IUP was approved for a maximum of three (3) years to coincide with the original lease, but also allow the City the opportunity to review the use after three (3) years to ensure there would remain adequate parking. As part of the 2009 Interim Use Permit, the parking lot was re-striped to provide 110 parking stalls, including four (4) handicap spaces. As previously noted, the Sunday morning service, which is the most attended, has a combined attendance of about seventy-five (75) people and the hope is that that number will grow to about 150 people. Under City Code, places of assembly require a parking space for every three seats. Therefore, a total of fifty (50) parking stalls would need to be provided to meet the built out requirement for 150 people. There appears to be sufficient parking to accommodate both the church operation as well as the other building tenants.

Due to the fact that the property is on Highway 10, Staff did forward the request to Mn/DOT for review. Mn/DOT has stated that they have no concerns related to this request.

The Planning Commission held a public hearing regarding this request at their June 7, 2012 meeting.  There were no written or verbal comments submitted.

In reviewing this request, the Planning Commission noted that the applicant has gone through this process once already and the City is not aware of any issues related to the use in question, which is why Staff was recommending approval of the request.  Rather than have the applicant go through this process and expense again in five (5) years, the Planning Commission expressed a desire to either process this request administratively in the future, streamline the process to eliminate as much time and expense as possible for the applicant, or extend the term of the permit beyond five (5) years.  

The Planning Commission recommended that the City Council approve the request for an interim use permit and directed Staff to research potential options to extend the term of the interim use permit or at least streamline the process for the applicant in the future based on the fact that they have been operating on the Subject Property for three (3) years already with no concerns or issues that have been brought to the City's attention.  The Planning Commission also recommended that the interim use permit allow the applicant to expand into an adjacent suite as long as all other terms of the permit remain unchanged and in effect.

City Code does state that an Interim Use Permit shall terminate upon a date or event that can be identified with certainty, with the maximum duration of five (5) years from the date of approval, unless otherwise approved by the City Council.  Since the Subject Property is within the officially mapped portion of Highway 10, the City Council could, if desired, extend the term of the permit beyond five (5) years and tie it to the expansion of Highway 10.  Based on the Planning Commission's recommendation, the Findings of Fact have been revised to include their recommendation of an extended term for the permit (Finding #11) and, more importantly, Conditions #4 and #5 of the Interim Use Permit have been amended/added to state that the permit will expire upon the award of Highway 10 expansion project and that the applicant shall be permitted to expand into an adjacent suite as long as all other terms of the permit are unchanged and upheld.

The Applicant is responsible for all City costs incurred in administering and enforcing this Permit.

Motion to adopt Resolution #_______ adopting Findings of Fact relating to the request for an Interim Use Permit.

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Motion to adopt Resolution #________ approving the request for an Interim Use Permit that will expire upon the awarding of the Highway 10 expansion project and declaring the terms as proposed, subject to review of the City Attorney and contingent upon receiving written consent of the Subject Property owner.