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08.b1 CC Staff Report Future Land Use Map Amendment TKDA | 444 Cedar Street Suite 1500 | Saint Paul, MN 55101 651.292.4400 • tkda.com An employee -owned company promoting affirmative action and equal opportunity. Memorandum To: Scandia Planning Commission Reference: Comprehensive Plan Amendment Request Copies To: Brenda Eklund, Clerk Ken Cammilleri, City Administrator Project No.: 18408.000 From: Evan Monson, Planner Routing: Date: August 11, 2022 SUBJECT: Comprehensive Plan Amendment request by the City of Scandia to amend the Future Land Use designation of 21820 Lofton Avenue North from Mining to General Rural MEETING DATE: August 16, 2022 LOCATION: 21820 Lofton Avenue North, PID 17.032.20.21.0004 OWNER: Evan Johnson ZONING: General Rural (GR), Mining Overlay DESCRIPTION OF THE REQUEST During a recent review of an amendment to the Future Land Use Map in the Comprehensive Plan, the commission moved to review an amendment to the future land use designation o f an adjacent parcel, 21820 Lofton Avenue North. The property is designated as ‘Mining’ in the 2040 Comprehensive Plan. The property is zoned GR while also being in the Mining Overlay. This property is currently occupied by a single family residence. Single Family residential is a permitted use in the GR zone, but is not permitted in the Mining Overlay. As a nonconforming use, the property owner would have additional red tape if adding onto or making changes to the house in the future. By amending the future land use designation of this parcel from ‘Mining’, the property could eventually be rezoned out of the Mining Overlay zone. An amendment of the Comprehensive Plan requires review by the Planning Commission, and approval by the City Council with a 2/3 majority. Any city approval would be contingent on approval by the Metropolitan Council, who would review the request for consistency with their regi onal 2040 Plan. The Planning Commission reviewed the request at their August 2nd meeting, and recommended approval of the comprehensive plan amendment. Future Land Use Map Amendment Staff Report August 16, 2022 Scandia City Council Page 2 PROPERTY INFORMATION Parcel description: The subject property is 6.81 acres in size, and is located at the northwest corner of the intersection of Lofton Avenue and 218th Street North. The property is east of the Dresel Mine operated by Martin Marietta (formerly operated by Tiller Corp.). The property has a house (built in 1915) and detached garage (built in 2004) on it. The site has some trees spread throughout, and has some slopes down towards Lofton Avenue. Apart from the mine, nearby properties are predominantly large-lot single family residential or agricultural in use. Land use: Single Family Residential Figure 1: Aerial of subject property and surrounding area, from Washington County GIS EVALUATION OF REQUEST Comments on the Request Martin Marietta/Tiller Mine Staff for the mine noted that the subject parcel is not included in future mining plans, and had no objections with the requested change of the future land use designation for the parcel. If the request is approved, the AOP and CUP for the mine will have to be updated at the time of renewal to no longer list this parcel as part of the mine. Future Land Use Map Amendment Staff Report August 16, 2022 Scandia City Council Page 3 Development Code Requirements Zoning District Requirements The base zoning of the subject parcel is General Rural (GR), which permits single -family residential and agricultural uses as permitted uses. As a result of being within the Mining Overlay zone, though, the parcel is not permitted to be used for single-family residential (Chapter Two, Section 2.12). This means the current residential use of the parcel is nonconforming, which would create a number of issues if the owner wishes to add onto or make changes to the residence on the property. Chapter One, Section 13.4 of the Development Code covers nonconforming uses. To resolve this issue, the lot will need to be rezoned out of the Mining Overlay zone. The Mining Overlay zone matches the extent of the Mining Zone in the Future Land Use Map in the city’s 2040 Comprehensive Plan. If the future land use designation is changed from Mining to General Rural, the lot can then be rezoned out of the Mining Overlay. The parcel meets the lot requirements of the Development Code (Chapter Two, Section 2.6) for the GR zone. The lot is over the minimum lot size and buildable area requirements, and has over 300 feet of frontage along both of the streets it fronts. Amending the Future Land Use Map of the 2040 Comprehensive Plan An amendment to the Comprehensive Plan follows a similar process as amending the Development Code. For this request, the proposed change would be to have the Future Land Use Map designate the subject parcel as ‘General Rural’. The Comprehensive Plan describes the General Rural future land use designation as: “The General Rural area land use category is a residential area of mixed lot sizes. It recognizes areas of Scandia that have been developed in the past at densities of ten acre or less and areas that have larger parcels still used for agriculture. The area includes 10-acre parcels, but also a number of existing smaller parcels and some parcels enrolled in the Agricultural Preserves Program. Single -family residential dwellings are the primary land use for the General Rural area at densities of 4 units per 40 acres. Secondary land uses include agricultural production, including small-scale production, parks and recreation, and public and private institutions. Recreational commercial uses are allowed as a conditional use. This designation corresponds with the General Rural District in the current zoning ordinance.” The current base zoning (GR), and current use of the site (single-family residential) are consistent with the General Rural future land use designation. The site’s use for mining is no longer applicable; the parcel itself is currently being used for a single-family residence, and the parcel to the west has already been reclaimed and is under the process to be removed from the Mining designation in the Future Land Use Map. In conversations with Martin Marietta staff, the subject parcel is not a part of their future mining plans. If the City approves of changing the future land use designation, the request would be reviewed by the Metropolitan Council for “conformance, consistency, and compatibility” with their regional 2040 Plan. If the Comprehensive Plan amendment is approved by the Metropolitan Council, the landowner could then request a rezoning to no longer be within the Mining Overlay zone. Future Land Use Map Amendment Staff Report August 16, 2022 Scandia City Council Page 4 ACTIONS REQUESTED The City Council can do one of the following: 1. Approve, with findings 2. Deny, with findings 3. Table the request RECOMMENDATION The Planning Commission recommended that the requested amendment to the Future Land Use Map be approved by the City Council, pending approval by the Metro politan Council. Findings for approval are: 1. The requested amendment would ensure consistency with the future use map and the current base zoning designation of the parcel of General Rural (GR). 2. The proposed amendment would be consistent with the designatio n of other adjacent and nearby properties. 3. The requested amendment would be consistent with the current residential use of the parcel. 4. The requested future land use designation amendment would not conflict with the future mining activity of the nearby Scandia Pit.