Staff Update

The following is a brief summary of actions taken in June that may be of interest to the Planning Commission:

Adopt Ordinance to Amend City Code Section 117-90 “Map” of Chapter 117 Related to the 2030 Comprehensive Plan. The City Council adopted the ordinance to the amendment to the City’s Official Zoning Map to re-zone properties currently zoned Central Rural Reserve to Rural Developing.

Adopt Ordinance to Amend City Code Section 117-349 (Accessory uses and buildings). The City Council adopted the ordinance to amend the City’s accessory structure regulations. The ordinance is planned to be published in the June 24th Anoka County Union, meaning the ordinance becomes effective July 24th. Staff may review permits under the new standards, but cannot issue permits that require the amendment until the ordinance becomes effective.

Adopt Ordinance to Amend City Code Chapter 117 Relating to Required Depth of Topsoil. The City Council adopted the ordinance to reduce the required depth of topsoil from six (6) inches to four (4) inches.

Request for an Extension and Amendment to an Interim Use Permit for Grading and Mining Activities. As some of the Planning Commission may recall, the City recently approved an IUP for grading and mining activities to allow for contaminated soil in the BNSF railway related to a 1960s derailment. Due to delays in negotiations with the adjacent property owner, the Applicant has not been able to commence work until this July. Required remediation will take completion beyond the original expiration of the IUP. Additionally, after locating property lines, it became apparent that the agreed use of City (HRA) property is no longer needed. City Council approved the extension and amendment to eliminate the use of the City property.

Continuing to Refine the Review Process. You may have noticed in at least one of this month’s cases City Staff continues to refine and improve the review process and review documents. Staff has also begun to include notifications for complete applications to increase communication with Applicants. Staff is using this as an opportunity to keep Applicants informed of timelines and status of review processes on a more frequent basis. Finally, Staff is in the process of researching electronic submittals of applications to streamline the submittal, tracking, and review process for land use applications.

Legacy Christian Academy. Legacy Christian Academy has informed the City that construction on the future campus will now tentatively commence in April of 2012, with opening tentatively scheduled for the 2013-2014 school year. Some site preparation is anticipated to commence this summer. The public improvement project approved by the City Council is scheduled to commence this summer (utility work underway currently). This project includes upgrading the intersection of Armstrong and Bunker Lake Boulevards, extending Bunker Lake Boulevard to Puma Street, and partial paving of Puma Street to Alpine Drive. Trails will also be constructed in various locations.

Training Opportunities. As a reminder, the following training opportunities are available. Contact Senior Planner Gladhill for more information.