| Northstar Office Park future vision of city |
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| Wednesday, 11 February 2009 | |
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Managing editor An ordinance designed to protect Federal Cartridge’s use of its property in Coon Rapids while addressing the city’s long-term vision for the site has been introduced by the Coon Rapids City Council. The ordinance, which creates a Northstar Office Park overlay zoning district on the 75 acres of property owned by Federal Cartridge, west of Round Lake Boulevard and south of Highway 10, will be considered by the council for adoption at its Feb. 17 meeting. Recommended for approval by the Coon Rapids Planning Commission, the ordinance has been many months and meetings in the making and has involved extensive discussions with Federal Cartridge officials. The final product presented to the council was acceptable to Federal Cartridge, according to Jim Persoon, Federal Cartridge environmental safety and security manager. “I appreciate all the work that city staff has put in to get to this point,” Persoon said. According to Planner Scott Harlicker, the Federal Cartridge property on the west end of Coon Rapids has been identified in the city’s recently updated comprehensive plan as a potential long-term redevelopment site for corporate headquarters and research and development facilities. But that’s only if Federal Cartridge vacates the site in the future, Harlicker said. The proposed overlay district will regulate development and redevelopment on the property, he said. But the underlying industrial zoning and land use on this site will not change at this time and “Federal Cartridge will maintain its present legal status pursuant to the underlying zoning district,” Harlicker said. The ordinance language has been crafted to ensure that it does not jeopardize the company’s present and future operations on the property, he said. Indeed, since the Planning Commission action in December 2008, further discussions between staff and Federal Cartridge tweaked the ordinance language. According to Harlicker, the existing industrial zoning allows outdoor storage as a permitted use and ammunition manufacturing as a conditional use. The language in the ordinance recommended for approval by the Planning Commission, while allowing some expansion on the site in the form of two buildings with a maximum size of 6,000 square feet each, limited the use of those buildings to storage only, not for ammunition assembly, Harlicker said. Discussions with Federal Cartridge resulted in modified language in the ordinance presented to the council, he said. “The proposed language allows those buildings to be used for outdoor storage as a permitted use and for ammunition assembly as a conditional use,” Harlicker said. “This language allows Federal Cartridge the flexibility it desires, while preserving the opportunity for the city to implement its long-range vision of the property.” Under the proposed ordinance, the overlay district will provide a campus-like setting for a mix of corporate and administrative offices, research and development facilities and other supportive uses, Harlicker said. Development standards incorporated into the ordinance address such issues as parking and loading areas, exterior building design, landscaping, sidewalk and trails, he said. The city currently does not have a zoning district covering corporate headquarters and research and development-type uses. “The type of uses allowed in this zoning district will increase and diversify the city tax base,” Harlicker said. “The creation of high wage jobs associated with these types of uses will also stimulate and support adjacent business activity.” The ordinance includes a development review process that will require a district master plan similar to those in place for the Port districts on Coon Rapids Boulevard, according to Harlicker. Permitted uses in the office park overlay district would include: • Corporate and administrative offices. • Research and development facilities. • Hotels. • Conference centers. • Restaurants located within a hotel or conference center. No conditional uses would be allowed, according to Harlicker. But the overlay district would allow accessory uses such as child care centers, recreation and fitness facilities, cafeterias, health care services, financial services and similar uses located within the principal buildings primarily for employee convenience. The ordinance calls for the minimum size for a master plan submission to be 75 acres with a 20-acre minimum lot size to encourage development of larger buildings with a floor to area ratio (FAR) of .75. Using a FAR of .75, Harlicker said a 20-acre site could be developed with a 653,400 square-foot building. By contrast the Medtronic complex at I-35W and Highway 10 in Mounds View, which covers 72 acres, has an FAR of .48 and a building size of 1.5 million square feet, according to Harlicker. Peter Bodley is at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it |
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