Memo Screening Of Storage Areas
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To: City Council
From: Nancy Anderson
Date: Friday, December 2, 1994
Subject: Screening of Storage Areas
I. Purpose of Discussion
To discuss with the City Council the existing ordinance regarding screening of open storage areas.
Staff desires direction on whether the City Council wants to initiate amendments to improve the
City's requirements regarding the screening of existing open storage lots in the industrial districts.
II. Background
e a. Existing Ordinance Requirements.
The Zoning Ordinance requires all new open storage areas to be screened in the
industrial districts. A conditional use permit is required for an open storage lot.
Storage areas are not allowed in the Business Districts. Also Section 555.15
requires screening for open storage if the open storage abuts an R district or a
street. However a question arises as to whether the City can apply this to uses
which existed before the ordinance.
b. Existing Open Storage Areas
There are several existing open storage areas that are not screened. These open
storage areas are not screened because they existed before the ordinance was
passed. When a new ordinance is passed any existing situation is grandfathered.
The uses that do not conform with the existing ordinances become
non-conforming.
c. Examples of Non-conforming Properties
Some examples of non-conforming properties are the Hennepin County site and
EBCO. These two are the most visible and the largest. The staff recently
inventoried the unscreened open storage areas in Hopkins and found relatively
few. The staff contacted Return Inc. recently regarding the open storage on
. their site. They have decided to remove all the storage from their lot. They will
be doing this during the month of Decemher.
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. III. Possible Solutions
The Zoning Ordinance can be amended to require all existing open storage areas to be screened.
This would require an amortization period of one or two years before the screening would be
required.
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