Staff Recommendation
Planning staff did not receive any outside agency comments or concerns. Staff supports this request, as there are no outstanding issues/concerns with the request and it will be consistent with the existing use and surrounding property; therefore, staff recommends approval of the request. 

This is an existing commercial use and the residential land use supports the adjacent property.

Planning Commission Recommendation
The Planning Commission reviewed this application at their August 9, 2018 meeting, and by a 4-0 vote, recommended approval of the request.

Introduction:

Ann Spanish with the Shakopee Veterinary Clinic has made an application to reguide the property to Commercial and Single Family Residential land use to support their continued operations on the property, a future expansion to accommodate increased business and maintain flexibility for future development. The subject property is approximately 4.78 acres, and is located east of Marystown Road and south of 17^th Avenue. It is directly across Marystown Road from the future Windermere South development which has prompted the veterinary clinic to move for annexation into the city. The reguiding is a necessary step for development on the site and is being done the same time as the annexation as the Metropolitan Council is requiring that comprehensive plan amendments to the 2030 plan be approved no later than September 30th.

The split in land use guiding will offer the applicant the flexibility to plat their property at a later date to create an outlot in the eastern half (250 feet by 300 feet) of the parcel that will be able to be sold when development is eventually proposed on the surrounding property.

Discussion:

When a property is annexed into the city, the City Council must establish a guiding for the property in the Comprehensive Plan. This parcel was anticipated to be developed wholly as single family residential by the 2030 Comprehensive Plan, however since it was not within the City limits, or part of a staging plan at the time of plan adoption, specific guiding was not approved. In addition, the 2030 Comprehensive Plan's unofficial guiding for this

parcel did not take into account that the veterinary clinic has been in operation since 1973 and is likely to remain at the site for the foreseeable future. The applicant’s proposal does not match the surrounding land use, but is an existing business that has been located at the property for many years and has been in harmony with existing surrounding uses since its first days of operation. This is not anticipated to change as a veterinary clinic is an important service for many area residents. The parcel will not be wholly guided for commercial. 

Staff, after discussing with the applicant, who is not planning to use the entire parcel for clinic purposes and requested guiding and zoning to allow for flexibility for potential future development, is looking to guide the eastern 75,000 square feet of the property as single family residential. This will better fit the parcel with the surrounding area which is unofficially guided for single family residential. This will also give the applicant the ability to plat the parcel at a later date and create an out lot for the eastern portion of the property which will allow the applicant to sell the out lot when the surrounding parcels are ready for development.