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<br />Gozola provided the Commission with an EDC related update. He explained MICOM applied for <br />a redevelopment grant. He commented on the Ramsey County Corridor Revitalization Grant. <br />He explained a Block B tour was scheduled for today. He indicated the Dominium final plat was <br />under review by the City. He reported BakerTilly was taking over as financial advisors for the <br />City and would be creating a 2019 TIF report. <br />VI. Business Items <br />A. Business Retention and Expansion Follow Up <br />Gozola stated using utility billing data, City Administrative staff prepared what looked like a <br />great listing of business in the City, but it was unfortunately found to be deficient upon <br />further examination. The problem is that companies located in a complex are not <br />represented. For example, the Spectacle Shoppe and Adagio’s Pizza pay rent to Inspire <br />Properties, so only Inspire Properties shows up via utility billing. He explained staff will <br />attempt to cross-reference the utility billing business list with other City Data sources to fill <br />the gaps in the data set. Staff reviewed a draft outreach letter with the Commission and <br />requested further discussion on next steps regarding how to proceed once the letter and <br />business lists are finalized. <br />Discussion included: <br /> The Commission suggested the wording in the last paragraph be reconsidered to make <br />clear the City will be following up with the business. <br /> It was recommended the website have an opt in page for local businesses or that a <br />google form be created to gather local business contact information. <br /> The Commission supported Gozola signing the letter as he would be the staff point of <br />contact for local business owners. <br />B. Zoning Ordinance Concerns and Update Process <br />Gozola reported no zoning ordinance lasts forever, and the City is long-overdue for a <br />reorganization and update to the current zoning document. Staff will utilize this meeting to <br />introduce the Commission to a draft update process for review and comment. The final <br />process and timeline will be determined by the City Council at a future point in time. <br />Currently we are envisioning the update will be divided into four main tasks which are <br />broken down into approximately eight (8) steps. Please note that the outlined process is <br />considered an aggressive timeline to complete this type of update (especially in-house), yet <br />following this pace still pushes the completion of the project into 2021. Staff commented <br />further on the process that would be followed to update the Zoning Code and stated the <br />process would begin with an annotated outline for the project. He explained it is more <br />important to complete this type of update thoughtfully and carefully than it is to complete <br />it quickly. <br /> <br /> <br />