I have been thinking about a possible alternative to vacating Duluth Avenue that would still largely accomplish what Billion Automotive desires, which is more parking. The last time this was presented to the council, they were given a binary choice, vacate and later get a petition to rezone one massive parcel into commercial, combining the current Billion lot, the vacated right of way (Duluth Ave) and the block of houses Billion currently owns. All of this would be rezoned into one giant commercial parcel. The council denied the vacation, largely over concerns of the impacts vacating Duluth Avenue would have on Norton Avenue (specifically increased traffic) and the impacts on neighbors (particularly on Norton Ave). Or, deny the vacation and Billion does nothing.
A third option occurred to me, which I plan to present to the council unless it becomes clear that this will not satisfy what Billion desires. Note that I have not discussed this with the applicant nor the neighbors. I do not know if this would satisfy the needs of Billion, but it could be a good option, and a compromise to give them at least some of what they need, while protecting the neighbors and eliminating the concern about increased traffic on Norton Ave. This third option is an accessory off-site parking lot, which is an option for certain zoning districts, including commercially zoned property. An accessory off-site parking lot is simply a parking lot that serves the principal use (in this case Billions) that is not located on the same legal parcel (it would sit across the street) with Duluth Ave NOT vacated. An accessory parking lot must be within 250 feet of the parcel it serves, which is true in this case (Duluth is an approximately 60 ft. right-of-way). The parking lot across the street could be used for parking of employee and customer vehicles. It may be useable to park operable vehicles waiting for repair or with repairs completed. What it could not be used for would be cars for display and sales. In other words, new cars for sale could not be on this lot. That is my reading of the zoning ordinance at least. Motor vehicles sales is not listed as something that can be done off-site. I do not know what Billions is looking for in terms of car sales space vs. employee/customer parking, but this accessory off-site parking lot would allow them to move their employee parking across the street and customer parking as well if they wished, thus freeing up space on the primary lot. This lot would have to be rezoned commercial so it matches the zoning of the primary use (this is/was the stated policy of Planning the last I knew) and it would have to be zoned regional commercial (C-4) to allow this much parking.
 I would stipulate the following as conditions on the rezone (which is allowed with Shape Places and has been done multiple times in the last year):
1. This parcel/block could only be used for parking – no structures are allowed.
2. OPTIONAL: I would specify that the Level D Buffer Yard (which requires a 45 foot setback when adjacent to residential) could not be reduced. The zoning ordinance allows the buffer yard to be reduced by 50% when a right-of-way separates the use requiring separation and the sensitive use it must buffer from. In this case, this block would require two buffer yards – one on the north (with 39th Street between it and the single family homes to the north) and one on the west (with Norton Ave between it and the single family homes to the west). If the buffer yard was not reduced, they would have to provide a 45 foot buffer yard with 6 foot berm or fence and extensive landscaping on the north and west sides of the block which would provide a very large buffer between the parking lot and the single family homes to the north and west. A berm that high and/or a fence would shield the single family homes from the parking lot quite effectively. If this condition was not stipulated, the code would allow Billion to cut the buffer yard in half on the north and west (to 22.5 feet) because the code allows a right of way to serve as half of the buffer yard (when the right of way is a local or collector).
3. OPTIONAL: I would specify that ingress/egress must be off of Duluth Ave and that no access be allowed off of Norton Ave or 39th Street. Additionally, I would possibly specify there could be no off-street parking on Norton Ave.
I have created two different diagrams showing a concept with and without the buffer yard reduction. I calculated the number of parking spaces that could fit using assumptions that included 90 degree parking, standard width and length parking stalls, and standard width access aisles. The numbers I came up with are only rough estimates, but demonstrate an extensive amount of parking could be created on these two city blocks even with extensive buffering.
Note that even if the rezone is successful (with or without conditions), Billion would have to obtain a conditional use permit because an accessory off-site parking lot located closer than 250 feet to a sensitive use would be required to obtain a conditional use permit. Shape Places does not address a case like this, where you could add conditions at a rezone and then have a conditional use permit required right after it (where MORE conditions could be added).
The pros of my approach is that Duluth Ave is not vacated, which means there are no new impacts to Norton Ave from increased traffic load or on-street parking by Billions employees. In addition, with the extensive buffering required, the neighbors will be protected. The cons of my approach are that by not vacating Duluth Ave, you do not remove an access onto 41st that will continue to cause traffic issues in the future. This intersection in a newer part of town would not exist to begin with because 41st and Minnesota is at the intersection of two arterials, so access points should be a quarter mile away. In a newer development, Duluth Ave would never be allowed. This could possibly be mitigated through other options Billon could be required to do like a deceleration lane or some other transition onto Duluth Ave. The other down side (for Billions) is that the lot could only be used for parking of employee and customer vehicles. It could not be used for auto sales and display. If the street were vacated and the entire area turned into one massive parcel, they could use the area for auto sales and display.
This proposal may provide a way to give Billions some extra room to grow, while also protecting the neighbors.
Thanks,
Greg Neitzert
