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CITY OF COLUMBIA HEIGHTS PLANNING REPORT
CASE NUMBER: 2006-1002
DATE: October 3, 2006
TO: Columbia Heights Planning Commission
APPLICANT: City of Columbia Heights
REQUEST: Zoning Amendment to the Zoning Code as it relates to
Transitional Housing.
PREPARED BY: Jeff Sargent, City Planner
BACKGROUND:
On March 8, 2006, a group called ATTIC approached the City with a request to place a
halfway house in the City. ATTIC specializes in placing ex-convicts into halfway homes
in residential areas, as part of the transition for these individuals back into society.
ATTIC worked in conjunction with the Minnesota Department of Corrections to locate a
transitional housing unit at 1008 Gould Avenue. It was discovered that the proposed
housing unit would be located adjacent to an existing residential facility used to house
people with drug and alcohol dependencies.
The Council indicated that locating these types of uses next to each other would not be
appropriate in a predominately single-family neighborhood, and imposed a moratorium
regarding transitional housing on March 13, 2006 for a one-year period. At this time,
Staff proposes an amendment to the Zoning Code to address the Council’s concern.
The current zoning code directly addresses the halfway home type of housing, referring
to this type of housing as a “Correctional Residential Care Facility”. The Code,
however, only addresses this type of housing in Section 9.107, which is the Specific
Development Standards section of the Code. There is no other reference to this type of
housing anywhere else throughout the code and it is also not defined in the definitions
section.
Staff proposes modifying the Correctional Residential Care Facility Section, by defining
the term and permitting this type of use in the “I-1” and “I-2” Industrial Districts through
the Conditional Use Permit process. Essentially, these types of facilities shall only be
located in the “I” and “I-2” Districts and cannot be located within ¼ mile, or 1,320 feet
from another similar facility.
City of Columbia Heights Planning Commission October 3, 2006
Text Amendment, Transitional Housing Case # 2006-1002
CONSISTENCY WITH COMPREHENSIVE PLAN:
The Comprehensive Plan would not be affected with the proposed zoning amendment,
as there will be no rezoning of any parcel in the City.
FINDINGS OF FACT:
The City Council shall make the following findings before granting approval of a request
to amend the City Code. These findings are as follows:
a) The amendment is consistent with the comprehensive plan.
The Comprehensive Plan would not be affected with the proposed zoning
amendment, as there will be no rezoning of any parcel in the City.
b) The amendment is in the public interest and is not solely for the benefit of a
single property owner.
It is in the public interest to locate these types of housing units in an area in
the City that would have the least influence on the residential neighborhoods
in the City. One of the major goals of the Comprehensive Plan is to preserve
the character of the residential areas throughout the City and the proposed
amendment would help accomplish this.
c) Where the amendment is to change the zoning classification of a particular
property, the existing use of the property and the zoning classification of
property within the general area of the property in question are compatible
with the proposed zoning classification.
The proposed zoning amendment would not change the zoning classification
of any parcel in the City.
d) Where the amendment is to change the zoning classification of a particular
property, there has been a change in the character or trend of development in
the general area of the property in question, which has taken place since
such property was placed in its current zoning classification.
The proposed zoning amendment would not change the zoning classification
of any parcel in the City.
RECOMMENDATION:
City Staff recommends that the Planning and Zoning Commission recommend approval
of the proposed zoning amendment as outlined in the attached draft ordinance. This
ordinance amendment would limit the location of Correctional Residential Care Facilities
to the Industrially zoned parcels in the City.
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City of Columbia Heights Planning Commission October 3, 2006
Text Amendment, Transitional Housing Case # 2006-1002
Motion:
The Planning Commission recommends that the City Council approve the text
amendments as outlined in the attached draft ordinance.
Attachments
Draft Ordinance
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