PC Packet 07-19-2011 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Letter C above with regard to the criteria for determining a permitted use, requires consideration of the general health, safety and welfare findings of Zoning Code Section 8-130. Those criteria and staff responses (in italics) are provided below: (1) That the establishment, maintenance, or operations of the special use will not be detrimental to or endanger the public health, safety, morals, comfort or general welfare. There is little doubt that with all the various programs VOA operates they are having a positive overall benefit in helping certain populations better themselves. However, this particular residential reentry program is unique in that it essentially is a correctional facility serving prisoners during their last 60 days of their sentence. Staff believes the site at 1820 Old Highway 8 NW isn't the appropriate site for such a use. The fact that security measures require ankle bracelets, curfews, and cameras at doorways may negatively impact the area and people's sense of security and safety. This is especially important with a high concentration of vulnerable persons living so close at Applewood Pointe and the proximity of a regional park and regional trail system that sees countless users on a daily basis. Staff finds that these land use characteristics may be a detriment the public health, safety, morals, comfort or general welfare. (2) That the special use will not be injurious to the use and enjoyment of other property in the immediate vicinity for the purposes already permitted, nor substantially diminish and impair property values within the neighborhood. Staff has already mentioned that with a regional park and trail system and senior housing so close in proximity, those uses may find it more difficult to use and enjoy their properties in the manner they currently live today. While the applicant states there have been zero police calls to their current Roseville center, staff requested a copy of all calls for service to verify this claim. What staff found was numerous calls for service on a monthly basis. Some of those calls were medical related but many were not. A constant public safety presence affects use and enjoyment of other property in the immediate vicinity and can negatively impact an entire neighborhood. Not only does this impact the park and senior housing, but this can also negatively impact the retail uses and hotel uses across Old Highway 8 NW. The applicant also submitted two studies indicating that the presence of a correctional facility does not have a negative impact on property value, public safety, or the quality of life. However, these studies are not particularly helpful in the analysis of issues before the City for several reasons. First, they deal primarily with the effects of prisons where prisoners are held in secure facilities so that the primary safety risk evaluated is escaping prisoners. In the proposed facility, the prisoners will be allowed to leave the facility on a daily basis and go into the community. Second, the analysis looks at the impact of the prison facilities related primarily to the effect of prisons on the city or larger community, rather than the immediate neighborhood. Third, the emphasis of the studies seems to be on how to convince communities to accept the facilities rather than how to site or select an appropriate location for the facility. Where there is any reference to picking an appropriate location, many of the criteria listed (e.g. buffer zones between the use and residential areas, less than 1,000 people living within a two-mile radius, two miles or more from public schools, one half mile buffer between the fenced compound and other land uses) militate against locating the facility in this part of New Brighton. Fourth, the Literature Review notes that "Most of the existing research focuses on siting prisons, frequently without mention of types of prisons or security levels to be featured. Examples