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Staff Report:
Staff recently received an inquiry about locating a
technical school within the planned Mill Run Business Park
located off Route 29 in New Baltimore, which is Zoned
I-2/Industrial. The particular proposal in this case was
for a physical training school, where a personal trainer
intensively trains up to four individuals at a time, by
appointment only. The training is not generally on
machines, as in a gym, but would typically involve running
and jumping and working in a large indoor space with fitness
balls. The activity could be potentially noisy, and the
potential operator concluded that warehouse type space would
best suit the operation. However, the I-2 Zoning would not
allow the use in this case.
Generally, Technical Schools have been omitted from the I-2
District because I-2 uses are generally heavier type uses
where operation and/or significant storage is outdoors and
where there is potentially significant heavy truck traffic.
Generally, public access uses are discouraged in the
district because of the nature of these heavier permitted
uses. The specific proposal in this case raised the
broader question of whether or not there may be certain
types of technical schools that would be better suited, on
balance, to an I-2 areas; for example, a welding school.
The specific proposal in this case also raised the question
of whether there are some I-2 zoned locations, such as the
Mill Run Business Park, where some or most of the planned
uses are more akin to those found in the I-1 district (i.e.,
light industry, warehousing, etc.) Since technical schools
are allowed in the I-1 district with a special permit,
allowing a technical school in the I-2 district where the
nearby uses are more akin to I-1 seems reasonable to
consider.
The proposal is to allow such schools to be approved through
the special exception process. Clearly, not all technical
schools would be appropriate in all I-2 locations. The
special exception process would allow the Planning
Commission and Board to carefully consider the unique
characteristics of the proposed location as well as the
unique characteristics of the proposed technical school on a
case-by-case basis. Additional special exception
standards are proposed to assure that no technical school
serving small children would be located in the I-2 district
and to assure that potential conflicts between the school
and other potential uses in the I-2 district are carefully
considered.
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