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Approved above. The applicants have also requested a Comprehensive Plan Amendment as the property is currently guided in the New Brighton Comprehensive Plan for Light Industrial and the proposed use is considered Heavy Industrial. The Comprehensive Plan indicates that many of the industrial uses along the Old Highway 8 corridor are interim-type uses due to the level of contamination that exists on many of these properties. As noted within the applicants’ submittal materials the property in question contains contamination and thus “there is no economical means” of developing the site in accordance with I-1 zoning requirements. The intention of the Comprehensive Plan is not whether the use can at any given time period be economically developed into the desired use. Because the zoning and guide plan must be consistent, the rezoning cannot be considered without first amending the Comprehensive Plan. This is in accordance with state law that requires official zoning and land use maps to be compatible. Both applications must either be approved or denied together. O’Brien asked if staff knew the length of the lease. Fernelius replied that he does not know the terms of the lease. Schiferl asked what companies signed the petition for the rezoning of the property, since the Commission has received letters of opposition to the rezoning. Fernelius read off the signer’s names, which are a mix of New Brighton and Mounds View companies. An audience member stated that one of the signer’s did not understand what the rezoning of the property was for, did not realize that the Comprehensive Plan was going to be amended. Fernelius replied that the Applicant submitted the following statement for the petition: “We the under sign respectfully petition for the rezoning of property located at 2200 Old Hwy 8 NW.” He added that is all that is required by the code, since the petition applies only to the rezoning. John Stiengline, 2200 Old Hwy 8 NW, Vice President of Belair Excavating, approached the Council to answer questions and gave a brief history of the site. He stated that the Murlowski Company has explored potential uses for the site since their current operation only covers thirty to forty percent of the property. Since the history of the site makes it impossible to place a building on the site, it used to be a dump, the company decided to look at companies that did similar work. They had received a proposal from Midwest Asphalt and it seemed to be the best fit. Diane Speckter, Environmental and Water Resources Planner with Wank and Associates, stated that the site is currently being used in a heavy industrial manner, which is incompatible with a light industrial use. She added that the area just north of the site in Mounds View is zoned for light and heavy industrial uses. She stated that the site is unique for a number of reasons: there limited visibility of the site from the road, the adjacent properties and the parks, its history as a former landfill constrains is use as a light industrial site and make it more feasible as a heavy industrial use, power line towers on the site have a wide easement, and there is a storm sewer pipe that runs across the site. However, they believe that with the proposed use can these constrain can be worked around. There are perception problems with the site since it is a capped landfill the site is I:\COMMISSIONS\PLANNING\Minutes\2006\10-17-2006.docPage 2 of 9