Title
Preserving the status quo within a specified area in the vicinity of the University of St. Thomas pending the completion and report of a zoning study and possible action on that study, including amending the City's official controls to regulate the conversion of one- and two- and three-family homes into student housing.
Body
The Council of the City of Saint Paul does hereby ordain:
Section 1.
Statement of Legislative Intent and Findings of the City Council: The Council of the City of Saint Paul, in Resolution 11-1406, requested the planning commission to undertake a zoning study regarding the conversion of residential structures in the City's traditional neighborhoods surrounding the campus of the University of St. Thomas ("UST") which describes itself as Minnesota's largest non-public institution of higher learning having, as of Fall, 2009, 5,943 undergraduates enrolled on its Saint Paul Campus.
As Minnesota's largest non-public institution of higher learning, UST presently provides on-campus housing for 44% of its undergraduate students: accordingly, the remaining 56% - approximately 3,325 students - reside off-campus. It is further estimated that 50% - approximately 1684 students - reside in "off-campus" housing in that general area surrounding the UST campus bounded by St. Clair Avenue on the south, and Fairview Avenue on the east. The Mississippi River is the western border south of Marshall Avenue, and Cretin Avenue is the western border north of Marshall Avenue. Interstate Highway 94 is the northern border east of Cretin Avenue, and Marshall is the northern border west of Cretin Avenue; and
The City's zoning ordinance, duly adopted pursuant to the City's delegated police powers under the Municipal Planning Act, contains various land-use district classifications including several classifications for residential-use districts established upon the Council's legislative determinations that zoning use classifications promote "public health, we...
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