The Crookston Planning Commission Meeting took place Tuesday at City Hall with a RV and automobile storage facility and the Red River Valley Shows Building being discussed.
RV AND VEHICLE STORAGE ON COLLEGE AVENUE
The Conditional Use Permit Request for RV and Vehicle Storage at 0 College Ave in Crookston. The Planning Commission was asked to review and comment on the address and whether to allow the storage of RVs or vehicles on the open lots. Darrel and Diane LaCoursiere are the owners of the property and are the applicants for this Conditional Use Permit. The property had previously been an automobile junkyard. The property is in a 1-2 Light Industrial Zoning District, with land north of this location being in an IN Institutional Zone District. The land immediately to the east, west, and south is the same 1-2 Light Industrial Zoning District. To the immediate northeast is the Ottertail Office & Service Center; to the east is the Crookston Ambulance garage. Further north is the Altru Clinic and to the northeast is Riverview Hospital for reference. “The Commission decided to table this item until the owners are present to get some answers regarding what the intention is beyond the RV parking and how much traffic it would create additionally in this neighborhood, “said Hefta. “Beyond that, there were also some questions about whether there was a future use that may be more appropriate.” The conditional use permit was tabled because the owners were not at the meeting. The commission had some questions they wanted answered before deciding one way or the other.
RED RIVER VALLEY WINTER SHOWS PROPERTY
The final two agenda items were related to the Red River Valley Winter Shows property at 1811 University Avenue.
The City of Crookston Economic Development has been in discussion with the Red River Valley Winter Show & Board of Managers, Inc., as submitted by Curtis Zoller, Board Member, discussing the intent for the City of Crookston to purchase 11.94 acres of land within Parcels #82.00162.00 & #82.00162.15 & 82.00162.16 for future economic development. The first agenda items was a Rezoning Request for 11.94 Acres from R-C to C-3 Commercial. “They want to change from an R-C, which was a C-2 Commercial District, to a C-3, which is a Commercial Shopping District, more for stores, offices, professionals, a long list of items that could be probably more readily accessible and more useful for the potential client that the EDA has been looking at and working with, “said Hefta. “It seems to fit their usage far better than C-2.”
The final item was Land Determination for the Red River Valley Winter Show Parcels. “It’s just asking the Planning Commission whether it’s in the city’s interest to pursue the land purchase and or usage of that land for further economic development,” explained Hefta.
Crookston Economic Development will submit documentation for a Redevelopment Grant to purchase this property. A future TIF district is in consideration to further the demolition and basic reconstruction of the three parcels.
The main south building was constructed in 1961, with the addition of the north building in 1977. Structures are all connected but have five distinct sections of the building:
1.) The North section of the building, which is used for horse shows and rodeo-type events, is in poor condition overall.
2.) The South section is used for implement storage and is where asbestos is primarily located. Concerns about asbestos exist due to the lack of encapsulation of asbestos baits in walls.
3.) The Northwest section is a horse stable currently used as a barn and is in relatively decent condition.
4.) The center walkway is not used and is in poor but stable condition. It is also of pole building construction.
5.) The Southwest corral sections previously used as a barn area are not used, are in extremely poor condition, and were constructed using pole buildings. A portion of the roof has collapsed. Steel siding materials throughout the buildings are showing rust and corrosion. Overall, the buildings’ conditions are poor, with asbestos being the main negative (and being adjacent to the asbestos building), with other blighted areas as well.
The City of Crookston intends to abate the buildings of asbestos, which is primarily in the south building, followed by the demolishing of the overall structure. Once demolition is complete, the City’s intention is to build infrastructure, including water, sewer, stormwater systems, and a paved road with curb and gutter, and possibly gravel base roads. City of Crookston desires a portion of the property to be developed and sold to a future commercial business interest, with the City of Crookston retaining a portion of the site for further development.
The future anchor building’s primary structure of 7,000 square feet for commercial business usage is intended to be on a 4.5-acre portion of the east side of parcel 82.00161.00. Either an additional 7,000 to 8,000 square foot facility, or two 3,500 to 4,000 square foot facilities will be developed on the west side of parcel 82.00162.00.
The two smaller Parcels 82.00161.15 and 82.00161.16 will host facilities of 3,000 to 4,000 square feet of strip mall type storefronts, with potential for professional services, retail, or restaurant type usage. Any potential land acquisition requires Planning Commission approval.
Both items pertaining to the Red River Valley Winter Shows were approved.
