Good evening and welcome to the planning commission's regular meeting for July 28th 2025. This time we'll move to roll call. Commissioner Fischer. >> Uh, Commissioner Bot >> here. >> Commissioner Britain >> here. >> Commissioner Fiser here. Chair Frasier >> here. >> Commissioner Canal. >> He's excused. Uh, Commissioner Steman >> here. and Commissioner Woodman. He's also excused. >> Thank you. Item three is approval of the agenda. I would look for a motion to approve. >> Motion to approve. >> I have a motion to approve from Commissioner Bot. Do I have a second? >> Second. >> Second from Commissioner Steman. All those in favor say I. >> I. >> I. Jose. Say nay. >> Motion carries. 5-0. >> Item four is open forum. This is a chance for anyone who's here tonight in the audience to speak to the commission on something that is not on tonight's agenda. Um the things we have that we will have separate uh spots for are the Grove Tobacco 61 Marine and Sports, Almar Village Parking, and Cedarhurst. If you would like to talk to us about something that is not on tonight's agenda, right now would be the time. So at this point, I will open open forum. Anyone wishing to speak to the commission can step up to the podium, state their name and address. All right, seeing none, we will close open forum. Item five is chair's explanation of the hearing process. The planning commission is a volunteer advisory group to the city council. One of the commission's functions is to hold public hearings and make recommendations on land use and zoning matters. The purpose of these public hearings is to provide an opportunity for each applicant and citizens to present information, ask questions, and express opinions. Since these proceedings are televised and recorded for the public record, anyone wishing to speak must step up to the podium and give their name and address before addressing the commission. Staff reports are prepared and provided to the applicant and planning commission in advance of the meeting. The first step in the hearing will be for staff to present a summary of the report. The applicant will then have the opportunity to briefly explain the proposal and provide additional information or comment. Anyone wanting to speak in favor or against the proposal will then be heard. Upon completion of the testimony, the hearing will be closed to the public comment. The planning commission will then discuss and act on the matter. Two complete agenda packets are available for viewing on the back table. Please do not remove those items. The city council will act on agenda items 6A, Grove Tobacco, and 6C, Elmar Village parking, at their meeting on Wednesday, August 6, 2025, which starts at 7 p.m. The city council will then act on agendum items 6B, 61 Marine and Sports, and 6D, Cedarhurst, at the meeting on Wednesday, August 20th, 2025, which starts at 700 p.m. With that, we'll move to item six. And 6A is Grove Tobacco with Sam presenting. >> Can we You're gonna keep talking. Can you go out? >> Oh. All righty. Good evening, Mr. Chair, members of the planning commission. Um, it is my pleasure tonight to bring you the Grove Tobacco application for a lower potency hemp edible conditional use permit. Um, the property is located in a multi-tenant build building at 8599 West Point Douglas Road, suite number 200. They currently are leasing space in the building and the applicant currently operates the Grove Tobacco Store in the space. The property is zoned planned business district and sales of low potency hemp edibles are a conditional use in this district. The property and the business must comply with city code title 11418 and the business um and the business will be over 1,000 ft from other cannabis and low potency uses as required. the applicant and the property does meet all other city codes and city standards for the low potency hemp edible uses. The applicant must also obtain a city registration and approval from the council and the office of cannabis management before conducting sales on site. The office of cannabis management has been overseeing the enactment of statute 342 since 2023. Low potency hemp edible retailers are required to register with the state and the applicant h already has a registration with the state um and is here for their conditional use permit and following this the city council will also need to approve their city registration. Um after all of that the the applicant may sell the low potency hemp edibles. Um there are going to be some changes to the state's registration process coming up this fall. Um, however, the applicant is already in the system, so it will be a quicker changeover for them. With that being said, the recommendation is on the screen for your consideration. Thank you. >> Great. Thank you. Uh, any questions for staff? >> I have one, >> Commissioner Fischer. >> Hi. I'm wondering I know that there were some I mean we're still trying to figure out all this cannabis stuff, right? But there was something about proximity to schools and things and the bus garage is like right next door. Does that have anything does that have any bearing on this at all? >> Yeah. So, Commissioner Fischer, uh very good question. Um so the low potency edibles do not need to meet those setbacks from schools, parks, treatment centers, all of that kind of stuff. Um, just kind of diving in even further here, the bus garage would not be considered a school structure by definition that a full potency cannabis business would need to meet the distance requirements for, but that is not what the applicant is here for tonight. It's just that low potency. So, >> thank you. >> Any further questions? >> All right. Thank you. >> Thank you. At this time, if the applicant is present, would like to add anything additional? >> Right up here. Sorry. >> We got to get you in front of a mic. >> Okay. >> If you could just state your name and and address, your work, your your business address is fine. >> Yes. Uh my name is um Mike Dal and I am a resident in uh at 6419 Edgemont Circle North in Brooklyn Park. I uh my business address is 8599 West Point Douglas Road and um that's sweet 200 in Grove uh Cottage Grove. I just wanted to um you know find out explain a little bit more about the low potency. Um it didn't seem like there was anybody on the um council uh on your member board that had any questions but uh the low potency is not um it let me just explain about myself. I am a student at St. PO college that is uh I'm in the process of getting certification for cannabis retail and so they have classes that help us understand how to um what is in our product and how it affects people and how to best um um explain the effect to people. And um the the uh the the the product itself is is probably controlled a lot more than than a lot of other product that is available out there in the stores that is not regulated currently by the state like you know um for example or uh you know things like that that are still u need to be uh regulated Um but uh again the the process the the what I I what I wanted to just share with you is that I'm not just somebody who's just decided to hey you know I'm going to sell this product and make money off of it and or you know and then I don't care about the community. That's completely opposite. It's uh um I really truly believe that uh this product can help a lot of people um that are um that are taking medications. For example, I know from a recent study that the highest increase in in consumption of low potency hemp uh was in senior in the senior population of Minnesota, 67% increase uh just last year since or since it's been passed. So, um just uh basically just an intro about myself and and that I I really know what I'm doing with this product. I'm not going to be reckless with it. So, that's about it. And if there's anybody that has any questions for me, I'll be more than happy to explain a little further. I don't want to go on on a rant here and and non-stop, but yeah. So, does anybody have any questions? >> All right. Thank you. Any questions for the applicant? Commissioner Bot. So my question is regarding uh what's the difference here? What when you refer as hemp is that cannabis in pure form or is it just um >> so it's an extraction of um >> good great question. Great question. Um it hemp is it. So cannabis is the marijuana plant and hemp is one of the um it's it's from the it's it's the plant itself but it's not there's there's levels of potency. So for example um so for example in alcohol you know how they sell 32 beer at a gas station for example and you get uh the regular beer at a liquor store. So, a hemp, this this low potency hemp is the type of is is that type of of marijuana plant that you would find at a three that's equivalent to the 32 beer that you would find at a gas station. the um again hemp is marijuana but it's not the it's not the the street type you know the stuff you can buy from a from someone off the street at the same time there are different to your question there are different levels not just levels but like there are different types of hemp so there's the THC the CBD is a form of hemp but it's a very um different plant and a different seed a strain of of seeds that is grown in the ground to give that potency. The the the the average potency of um a street marijuana plant is uh between 23 to 35%. So, um, that's the TSC that is contained in the flour. And with hemp, it it's it could be 2%. >> Yeah. Thank you. >> Is that good? Okay. >> Where's your segment? Uh, I was just curious, um, the lower potency hemp, um, is that sometimes referred to as delta 8 or delta 9 or something along that those lines? Great question. Yes. Yes, it is. It it's it's u referred to delta 8, sometimes referred to delta 9. It's sometimes referred to um, it's a it's also could be a combination of the two. So it could be CBD plus the delta 9 or delta 8 or even delta and then and I don't know if you remember there was a delta 7 back then and the there are certain grams of that um hemp that is required uh that is at uh that's the state allows the maximum to be in a product. So, uh, right now you can't get any product that has more than 10 milligrams of the of of THC or hemp or sorry or delta 8 or 9 and um, yeah, there's there's a delta 8 plus so and so. There's many acronyms to it that can get a little confusing here, >> but you're right. >> Thank you. >> Yeah, no problem. Any more questions? >> Any further questions? >> All right. Thank you. >> Great. Thank you very much. >> At this time, we'll open public hearing on the application. Anyone wishing to speak for or against the application can step to the podium. >> All right. Seeing none, we will close public hearing. Any further discussion by commission? >> Okay. Seeing none, I would look for a motion. Then >> I will make a motion to approve the conditional use permit subject to the stipulations in the staff report. >> All I have a motion to approve subject to conditions in the report by Commissioner Fischer. Do I have a second? >> Second. >> Second from Commissioner Steman. All the um any further discussion on the motion. >> All those in favor say I. >> I. Post say no. >> Motion carries 5-0. 6B tonight is 61 marine and sports cases SP and CUP205-018 with Sam again presenting. >> Yes, thank you. All right. Uh Mr. Chair, members of the commission, uh I am also bringing to you tonight 61 Marine and Sports, which has applied for a site plan review for a 50x 80 foot building addition and a CUP for a recreational vehicle business at their existing location um 11730 Point Douglas Drive on approximately 12 acres of land zoned B3 General Business District. Um this use has a lengthy history. As most would know, the use was a legal nonconformity with permit approvals dating back to 1984. In 2015, all of those previous approvals were rescended and a new cup was approved and site plan and minor subdivision. Uh between 2018 and 2021, there were various uh building additions, business expansions, and lot line adjustments. And with each of these changes, an amended permit was approved to expand that non-conforming use. Um, some commissioners may also recall re the reasonzoning and map updates of 2022. Um, this property was included in that to reszone the property from B2 to B3, that general business district where the use as it um with the recreational vehicles and boats and everything is a conditional use. So, with the proposed building addition, now is the right time for the owner to obtain that conditional use permit instead of a another um expansion of a legal nonconformity. The proposed addition would be for boat detailing and cleaning on the east side of an existing building and the materials of the buildings facing Highway 61 must all match. Um the materials should match the existing materials used on that existing building. Um there is no impervious being added to the site since this is being constructed over an existing parking lot. Uh there are three storm water basins on the property that were designed to handle the existing imperous surface coverage um when all of those permits were being approved. Um the 2019 cup required a 10- foot wide sideyard setback from that east property line uh where you see a majority of the boat storage and that vegetative screening be installed within that setback. um when the adjacent parcel to the east fully develops um staff would uh there's a condition included in the report that um if that existing burm and vegetation were to go away that new vegetation and screening be installed within that 10-ft setback. Um today the applicant is required and as proposed 11 coniferous trees down in that southeast corner there along 61 highway 61 and pond 2. With that the recommendation is on the screen for your consideration tonight. Thank you. >> Thank you. Any questions for staff? All right. Thank you. At this time of the applicant would like to approach and add anything additional. He's waving from the back that he's okay. All right. Um at this time, I will open public hearing on the application. Anyone wishing to speak for or against the application can step to the podium. All right. Seeing none, we will close public hearing. Any discussion by commission. Commissioner Britain. Um we have a letter that was given to us um from uh Terresa Williams. Could you comment on um the concern that they have about the lighting that currently exists and and how this may affect it or not? >> Sure, of course. Commissioner written, Mr. Chair, um the letter was in reference to the residential uh houses that are across Highway 61 from the property. Um it seems that some lighting that is not downward directed, that is kind of flooding the parking lot has been installed over the years. Um it is the city's code that all lighting in the commercial districts um not exceed a it's a 1-oot candle at properties adjoining commercial and industrial and a halfoot candle adjoining residential. Um however taking into consideration we do understand Highway 61 a four-lane road is in between these two. Um, however, all lights should be downward directed and that is included um in a condition in your packet that all lighting be um installed to city standards and we would require the applicant to do that with the existing lighting on the property at this time. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Thank you. And I did not see the front of that letter that indicated or front of that email that indicated it was an email. Um and so that'll be part of the record for this application as well. Um and same I guess the only other thing I was going to ask then about that is um so there's a condition that I see condition 15 that was added about out outdoor lighting shall be directed downward as part of city ordinance um going forward is that then um just incumbent on code enforcement then to make sure that that city code is being followed as with respect to this issue >> Mr. Um that would be correct. Um also there is the opportunity for us to require a lighting plan um or a phototric plan where the applicant would show us that that half foot candle is being met at property lines. So there are other things that we can also look into as well. >> Okay. Thank you. Any further discussion from commission? >> I guess I'll just add um I've been on city council or I've been on city council. I've been on the planning commission now for since 2018. Um, and so I've seen 61 Marine and Sports come um through several times as we saw in the application. Um, I'm glad they're a business in the in the community that's still growing and and doing more business and so um I'm glad to see them work out with the city um this application. So >> with that, I would look for a motion. Motion to approve subject to conditions stipulated in the staff report. >> I have a motion to approve subject to conditions by Commissioner Britain. Do I have a second? >> I'll second. >> Second from Commissioner Fischer. Any discussion on the motion? >> Seeing none, all those in favor say I. >> I. Post say no. >> Motion carries 5-0. 6C tonight is the Omar Village parking case V2025-017 with Sam again presenting. >> Yes, you can't get rid of me. All right. Uh, tonight, Kurt Hoffman on behalf of Elmar Village LLC has applied for variances for a parking lot expansion 2 feet from the east property line and an increase in imperous surface coverage on the Elmar Village commercial site. Um, the property owner owns only a 2.42 acre property, zoned B1, limited business district. And this entire property which is encompassed of five total parcels is located in a planned unit development the Elmar village development. The applicant as I mentioned me owns the 2.4 acre parcel which houses the multi-tenant building home to Carbon's um subway and future home to a Mexican restaurant in the two northern tenant spaces um as proposed by the applicant. Um, we also have the holiday gas station, a retail space, uh, and a vacant lot, um, there. So, the applicant owns the green box on your screen. There are a total of 155 parking spaces on site. Customers to any of the businesses may use any of the parking spaces to go to any of the businesses per their um, approved planned unit development, shared parking agreement. um 184 total spaces are required based on the uses and proposed use of a restaurant in this development. In 2016, Carbonis expanded into an a adjacent tenant space and there was a proof of parking shown at that time for 19 additional spaces 2 feet from the east property line along Keats Avenue. um that was approved as a variance in 2016 with the condition that the parking situation be looked at within one year and if parking was an issue that the additional parking spaces be added. Um that there are no documents saying that that was documented as an issue at the time. So the spaces were never constructed and the variance expired. Hence why we are here today. Um the applicant is proposing to install those 19 spaces two feet from the property line in the same location as was proposed in 2016. Impervious surface is limited to 70% of a site in the B1 district. So that would be on this single applicant's 2.4 acre parcel 70%. Currently there's 85% impervious surface and the additional parking will add 3.4%. Um, back in 2016 and, uh, around 2001 when this development was first, very first approved, there were no imperous surface standards in our zoning code. Um, however, the existing pond, which is located west of Jorgensson Lane, was designed to accommodate 6.3 acres of impervious. Adding this parking area of 19 spaces will equal 6.3 acres of impervious, so no additional storm water mitigation is needed. And with that, the recommendation is on the screen for you. Right. Thank you. Any questions for staff, >> Mr. Braden? The parking spaces that are in the souththeast corner of the property, which is not part of the 2.4 acres, if that parcel were to develop at some point in time, I know it's kind of small. Um, how would that impact if whatever business were to go on that parcel required the entire site have more parking spaces, >> right? So, >> what would happen? >> Commissioner Britain, very good question. So, uh, we're discussing this box in the red down in the southeast corner. um should a business or something come in there that requires more parking spaces than is currently provided on their individual piece. Um we would be looking at as you can see there is less fewer parking spaces than are required on the site today. Um so what we do is we look at their use and we look at things like peak hours of um business. So, for example, the two restaurants on site are going to need these parking spaces roughly at the same time of the day versus um say a hair salon or nail salon that is in there. Um if that were to go on this vacant parcel, they need the parking spaces at a different time of the day. So we are able to kind of look at peak hours and things like that, but technically each space or each tenant space needs to have parking to satisfy their particular use. So without knowing what somebody would come in and ask for, it's hard to say. It's very much a situationbased request. So, if it was a high parking need, then probably couldn't go in there, but it wouldn't prevent some type of use from going in there if it had a balance between the hours and that use. >> Yeah, Commissioner Britt. Very. Yes. >> Okay. Thank you, >> Sam. I'm sorry. If we can go back to Yeah, that photo >> right there. Um, so this is the this is a rendering then of what it would look like or what the approval was back when it was first approved. >> Um, and so the the green circle is kind of these are the uh parking spots that they want to add. And I know you said it was 2 feet from the property line is where these spots end. >> Yes. >> Um, and then there is the rightway. And within the rightway there is a walking trail that does bend towards the parking lot. How do we know how close >> the parking spots are going to be to that walking trail >> at its closest spot? >> Mr. Very good question. I did not measure that. Um, however, so the 2T plus I would only be guessing if I had to say the trail is maybe four or five feet off of that property line there. So I at least five feet, but that would only be be a guess. >> Thank you. And I I appreciate I don't want I don't like to play stump the planner but >> good job. just a concern of mine that it does bend towards the parking lot right where those spots are going to go. Um and it it doesn't sound like we're going to get any screening or any fencing or anything which makes sense because it would not fit the rest of the character of the area but >> um just a concern of mine that that it's going to be pretty close then to that walking trail. >> Any further questions by anyone else? Commissioner Fischer. Um, I was trying to find in here. I read that there's like a shared parking agreement amongst all of the businesses there. Is that going to change anything about that agreement? Because I know that there are other places that I won't name, but one near me where I know that there are like kind of fights between the establishments with parking, right? And there's I don't know if anyone's on the Facebook page, they know all about the drama. But I'm just wondering with two restaurants there and you think about peak time and you think about all of that, is the city going to require some sort of agreement amongst all of them to play nice or how does that work because I could see that becoming an issue? >> Yeah, Commissioner Fischer, very good question. I am not on the Facebook page. So um >> you're missing out apparently. >> Oh, okay. I mean, >> so, um, like I kind of mentioned, this owner owns the the two restaurants or will own the two restaurants which are kind of the the major parking gatherers, if you will, of the property. >> Um, with the gas station being the second one. Um, however, it's kind of more, as we all know, a transient come and go. And then the retail space, which is, as I mentioned before, the peak hours are going to be different. Um, in my conversations with the owner, unfortunately, he couldn't make it tonight. Um, you know, they are all they all work well together with this shared parking agreement. They all understand um that you can park on any of these parcels. Um, you can park on you will be able to park in his new spaces and go to the gas station if you really wanted to walk that far. Um, and there's been no issues with them as of yet with the with the current owners, I'll say. >> Okay. >> Thank you for the question, Mr. B. >> U regarding that vacant parcel, it seems to have some parking areas in it. So, why is it called vacant then? >> So, >> oh, Commissioner, good question. So I considered it vacant since there's not a commercial use or structure on the site. Um right now it's solely being used for parking and mostly people who are visiting the Carmon restaurant I would say are parking parking in that space. So right now there's not a structure or a commercial use taking place on the property. It's solely at grade parking. So if there is going to be a structure coming up there, >> can it occupy any of those uh parking areas? Sure. >> Um so they would be able to count those few parking spaces towards their use. However, then we would be taking away those parking spaces from the carbon this restaurant use. Um, and it kind of leads back to Commissioner Britain's question where we're talking about what type of use would go here. And without just spitballing various ideas, um, we would need to be looking at what are the peak hours of operation for for such a use. Um, what how much parking are they needed based on the use based on our ordinance. Um, it's very hard to kind of imagine what could ever possibly go there. And as mentioned it is a fairly small parcel as well. >> I guess my question was um can the that in that new parcel uh sorry in the vacant parcel >> can the build anything on the existing parking area so that those will be no longer parking spaces they would be some something else will come up on them. >> Mhm. >> So then you're short of parking areas. >> Okay. So I that would kind of lack they would then be taking away the parking from not only themselves but also from the other uses on the site. And so technically if they met all of the setbacks, all of our city ordinance requirements, you could construct a building that meets setbacks and everything like that on that vacant parcel. Um, however, again, it's just it's hard to envision something that isn't in front of us right now as a proposal. Yes, somebody could construct a building over those parking stalls and those would then be removed from the site. >> Thank you. >> I have a question about storm water maintenance. So maybe our city engineering department and since Commissioner Stevens isn't here, I'll I will talk about the storm water. Um so I I know Sam pointed out that the retaining basin that's on the other side of Jorgensson Lane um was set up to to accommodate 6.3 acres and this is going to get us to 6.3 acres. Um I'm assuming that is like a is that based on like the hundredyear estimates that would could keep the 6.3 acre amount of water that would be diverted from the site or >> Yeah, Mr. um chair. Uh yeah, that's a great question. Um the storm water design for this site is it's based on several different storms based on our uh surface water management plan. So yes, the 100red-year storm is evaluated in those conditions and that additional imperous acreage that would be included from these parking stalls was accounted for in that 100red-year calculation for the current storm water pond that's on the site. >> Okay. So even though even though we are getting up to the 6.3 acre limit, that's not a concern because it is built to handle a very unlikely scenario with respect to that area. >> Yeah, Mr. Chair, that is correct. Uh we're getting up to what it was designed to accommodate in the first place. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Yep. >> Okay. >> That's for any other questions. Commissioner Ver and I don't know if you guys because the applicant isn't here so they may not you might not be able to answer but would there ever be a time when instead of considering expanding the parking lot the capacity of the restaurant that's coming in would be less because I mean that might be and like I said you may not be able to answer it because he's not here but >> so yeah Commissioner Fischer um good question so the capacity of the restaurant of course is how we calculate the the needed parking spaces. Um it was brought up to the applicant that the restaurant could reduce the number of seats to hit or get much closer to that required parking number without adding these parking spaces. Um however just of course as most of us know from a business standpoint reducing the number of seats um it was a very large number of seats they would have needed to reduce by um almost half just to get to the required parking number on site where they wouldn't need to add these. Sure, it makes sense. It just the part of the variance thing, the economic part of it is I guess what I'm hung up on like you know when you grant when we grant a variance economics are not supposed to be >> sure >> factored in, right? And so when you have a restaurant coming in and you have to have x amount of capacity in order for it to be economically viable. >> Yeah. >> You know, just have to consider that. >> Yeah. And so yeah, I'll just kind of piggyback. Uh restaurants are a permitted use and so you know had this met all the parking standards and everything um staff would have you know said go forth and open your restaurant and everything. Um, we are just really trying because we know as staff and as commissioners and that parking in this lot is quite challenging. And so now seemed like the time to with this 2016 variance to let's get that that added because we're going to be having another restaurant on the site. Is there any plan for because there's residential area right to the west of there. Is there any plan? Are there no parking signs on that street already? Or is there going to be measures taken to not hinder the residents either? Cuz I would assume that this parking lot would overflow at some point. I mean, >> um, Commissioner Fish, I'm not sure that there's I don't think there's no no parking signs on the on Jordan. >> Just thinking about, you know, where is the overflow going to go? It's going to go on those residential streets that are >> I can answer that question for you. There is nothing posted on Jorgensson that says no parking. >> Okay. >> There actually are overflow parkers who use that >> now. >> And uh one of the concerns under consideration is um the space that that would leave for emergency vehicles should they need to access that area. >> Um you know, you think about a bar and a restaurant sometimes that's something that you have to >> think about. So, but there's no posting on it now. It's certainly something that could be recommended, >> right? I was just going to say if maybe that's something that, >> you know, can be considered if it becomes a problem if things get jammed up there. I don't know how the city would go about keeping an eye on that or whatever, but just a thought. >> Mr. Pot, >> I have a quick question. >> So, where is the Mexican restaurant going to come? Is it in the big building or the one in front of the holiday station? >> Yes, it is in the big building. It's going to take up two tenant spaces. Um I can see if this pen right on the north side of the building here. So they will have the outdoor patio area accessible uh for them as well out there. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Any further questions? >> I was going to ask um >> Mr. Seman. >> Thank you. Um, so when exiting onto 70th Street from Jorgensson there, um, before at some point in time there was a pork chop that prevented people from turning left to head westbound on 70th Street. Right. >> That's correct. >> Okay. >> And uh, and that has since removed. So now that's more that restriction has kind of been removed and so people can turn either left or right onto 70th Street. >> Is that that's that's probably true. >> Mhm. the county took that out. >> Oh. Um so, um with the increased number of parking spaces and the increased demand for this space, um with the new restaurant coming in, is is there going to be concerns about um increased traffic spilling out onto 70th Street, especially with respect to the property that abutts it to um the north? >> Um yes. Uh Commissioner S, I will allow Crystal Rally, the assistant city engineer, to come up. I know she was preparing for this question. >> Okay. >> Commissioner Steppen, u members of the planning commission, yeah, this is a situation that will continue to be monitored by the county as additional developments go in and change the way that this is used. Um, currently their guidance uh regarding this intersection has been to and and we'll get to it with the Cedarhurst discussion, but to align this access from Jorgensson to the north with the Cedarhurst driveway. Um, that makes that intersection safer for a variety of reasons. By aligning that um those left turning movements can operate much more freely. Um, we also have the benefit of having a left turn lane into both of these properties. Um, so that stacking isn't, you know, on the main throughway. Uh, but the county does have the ability to limit this access if it does become problematic in the future. So, they could limit it to that right in right out in the future. >> Thank you. >> Yep. >> Any further questions? Sam, I do have just one more question for you. Um, and I have not been to this parking lot in a while, so I don't remember. I think, correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the entire lot is kind of surrounded by curb. So my question is is if that is the case, are these new spots going to have curb to prevent them from going onto the grass and and the right away >> um where Keats is, or is it just going to be pavement right up to like basically at level with the grass? >> Mr. Very good question. Um so they would need to be installing the curb and everything like that. Um per the city standards for parking lots and everything. >> Okay. All right. Thank you. >> Oops. >> And then you said applicant is not here tonight or >> correct. >> Okay. All right. Um with that then we will open public hearing on this application. Anyone wishing to speak for against the application can step to the podium. Seeing none, we will close public hearing on the application. Any further discussion by commission? I guess I kind of highlighted I have some real concerns with the parking abudding the walking trail um and just how close it's going to be. I think as um Council Member Olsen indicated, you know, bars and restaurants are sometimes places that uh emergency vehicles need to get to. Bars and restaurants are also places that serve alcohol and people then drive away from. Um and when they do that, they're not always the most careful drivers. And so I think getting that close to the public rightway, especially where there is a device designed for people to be walking on um I think is a concern um that I have about extending this parking um into that area. So I that is my personal concern about it. Anyone else who wish to discuss? >> I actually was going to say that. Um I'm wondering if there's any sort of instead of just a curb if if this does go through like is there some sort of something I don't know like outside Target there's the big red balls, right? Like is there something that can be put along that side of the parking lot to maybe help protect >> from cars going too far or I mean >> commercial something like like ballards or something like that? >> I don't know what they're called. Pork chops. I don't know. That's that's the one that's the term thing. >> I don't know. A steak. Something something that would stop a vehicle that's going where it's not supposed to be. Yeah, >> maybe that could be something added to it or >> that is the commission's perview could be to add that as a possible condition for the overall safety. >> Uh, Commissioner Ren. >> So, in regards to that, I could see there being some issues with with something along those lines, even though there might be value added in it. And you know, I would think that we'd want to evaluate whether moving the trail would be a better solution for that than putting in a guard rail, so to speak, whether it's bullards or not. Um, and maybe have staff evaluate what the best option for safety is there, >> versus forcing them into something with the particular application. >> You can't put that trail closer to Keats though. >> Well, it is closer to Keats on about 50% of it. That's that is significantly farther in than the rest of it. So, it's just a thought, >> right? >> Any further discussion? >> Yeah. I I mean I understand the commercial realities of the parking and needing it and you know if you're going to have now two restaurants in there in what is already a busy parking lot obviously you need to have places for people to park legally because then I think the issue on Jorgensson gets worse if you don't um because people aren't just going to not go there. They're just going to find other places to put their car that are probably not as a great place to to put it. Um, so I think if it does go through and and the commission votes to uh recommend city council to approve it, I would ask if if staff and and the applicant could work together on on what is a workable um way to make sure that pedestrians and and people who are on the walking trail are are protected. Um because I agree, but Ballards obviously that's the one that you know they stop cars because they're either metal or they're concrete but in this area, I think they would look odd and um you know, I don't know how effective or you know, they would be um but I think there should be some kind of consideration that that the applicant um should put forward and making sure that this is not going to become a nuisance or a problem. So, >> Commissioner Bren, >> uh I agree. And another option may be some of the standardized fencing that that we have around patios and things along those lines. While it wouldn't forcibly stop a vehicle from moving forward, but it would be an additional optical recognition from anybody getting in their car that there's something in front of them and maybe subconsciously have them think about that. But just to consider the different options that are available for making it as safe as possible. >> Yeah, it's a good idea. >> Anything else? Otherwise, I would look for a motion. >> A motion to approve based on the findings of fact subject to the conditions stipulated in the staff report with the additional request that staff review the trail placement and safety of that parking area. um and what can be done if anything to make it as safe as possible as it moves forward and then present that to the city council to get uh their consideration on that as well. >> All right. I have a motion to approve from Commissioner Britain subject to the conditions in the staff report as well as the added condition. Um do I have a second for that motion? >> Second. >> Second from Commissioner Steman. Any further discussion on that motion? >> Hearing none. All those in favor say I. I I post say no. Motion carries 5-0. Move to 6D which is Cedarhurst cases ZA HCU and SP2025- 020 with Emily presenting. >> Mr. Chair, members of the commission, we're going to switch it up here a little. Give Sam a little bit of break. Um I have quite the story to tell, so hang tight with me. Um we've kind of got a team effort here, but uh the Cedarhurst Mansion uh which is located at 70th Street and Keats Avenue, for those of you who are unaware, it is technically two separate parcels that the applicant is taking a look at. Uh the mansion parcel as well as the gardener's cottage. You'll learn more about that as I continue on uh with the presentation. Um so a little bit of background. There's a large history here and I am only going to scratch the very very very surface. Um however, uh the uh Cedarhurst Mansion was built sometime around the 1860s. Um obviously very prevalent here in the community. Um sometime around in the 70s, uh it was approved. We did dig up in our in our files that it was uh approved to uh be utilized as um a catering uh establishment per se. Um and then uh property owner after that uh did get approval um to operate events and weddings um which was most notably the recent activity at the mansion sometime around 2020 2021. The current property owner did purchase the site. Um uh they did propose a potential redevelopment of the site um which did fizzle out and they are now working with the applicant before you this evening uh Bella Gala on a proposal to utilize the site for uh events and weddings uh year round um navigating both inside the mansion as well as outside the mansion. Um Bellagala I believe was founded in Minnesota. I'm looking I got a thumbs up. Yes. Um, and they do operate, I believe, in 12 states. Uh, they just told me, uh, today, um, several, uh, boutique wedding and event centers throughout the Twin Cities area as well. Um, and so looking at the mansion, uh, they do in fact have a vision for the site. Um, uh, as I mentioned, uh, also the gardener's cottage, uh, next door on the other parcel. Um, I'm going to kind of separate this this presentation out just a little bit as there are a lot of moving parts and so I want to make sure um that I'm also I'm able to make clear um the use of the site versus the site improvements that are coming along with that. So, how do we get there? How do we get to the point where we can allow for events and weddings? We have to start um with uh aligning the zoning with a comprehensive plan. Um so those of you that have heard my spiel before, we do have the comm plan, the 20 240 land use plan that guides us, that tells us um where we are going. And so this particular site we've always uh generally envisioned as a little bit of a commercial node as you can see um on the image uh to to the left, you've got a little bit of pink there. That is our mixed use district, which allows um for a variety of different types of uses. That's what we've always envisioned on this corner. Um, and then you can see there's a little shade of yellow just next door to the pink in that uh northwest corner. That is the gardener's cottage site, excuse me, that is guided for residential. So, uh, one of the requests this evening is to reguide the mansion site to align with the 2040 comprehensive plan of mixed use and reguide the gardener's cottage site uh, to R3, which is single family residential, which aligns with uh, the comprehensive plan. >> Emily, can I just ask I I apologize. >> Okay. Yeah. >> Are we We're reszoning, not reuiding, right? Reszoning. Did I use the term reg? Thank you, Mr. Chair, for the clarification. We are reszoning uh from uh current agricultural to mixed use and to R3. Appreciate the clarification. Yes. So, once we've reszoned, um we need to look at how we can allow for this use within these uh two particular zoning districts. Um, so I'm actually going to work through the use of the site. Um, and then we'll get into, uh, the specifics of the improvements to the site, but um, uh, the request this evening is for historical conditional use permits. Um, uh, I'm trying to think of the last one we've done. It's been several years, but, um, it is a tool in our toolbox from a planning perspective, um, that allows us to recognize when we have historically significant properties. um typically they're on the national register or they're on the local uh historic register and it gives us the ability to say hey this is a unique property we want to make sure we have the opportunity to preserve it. Um how can we be creative in doing that and it might be uh a unique use on a site that you wouldn't necessarily see that use operate. Um so within the mixeduse zoning district event centers are a permitted use with a conditional use permit. However, they are requesting a historical conditional use permit in this particular situation and I'll give you the details of that uh a little bit further on in the presentation. Um an HCU is also uh would allow for uh the gardener's cottage to operate in conjunction with the mansion. Um from a historic perspective, uh the uh cottage is um on our priority list from a historic perspective. um we would love for it to be on our registry. Therefore, um uh as a part of this HCU request, that parcel would also need to be added to the local register. Um as I mentioned, I am only going to brush uh the surface of the restoration details uh of the mansion. Uh specifically, the applicant um has assembled a team that has done a deep dive into what that restoration would look like and they're actually going to provide uh some more specifics and details. Um but what I can tell you is a little bit of history here. Um if you recall back in uh 2021 2022 as we were looking at redevelopment of the site, New History who is a historic history consultant um uh helped us to create some guidelines that said hey we have all these significant components of the site uh both the mansion and the gardener's cottage. Um if we are to have someone uh redevelop or use the site here are the guidelines to follow for those components that should be preserved and maintained. So what I will say is as the applicant has worked through they are working on a submitt uh actually they've already submitted to Shipo for uh to apply for state historic tax credits. Um and that process um aligns very closely with the guidelines that new history provided as a guide for the city. Um so those are the interior and exterior uh improvements that will align with those guidelines. Most notably on the site they are proposing an addition to the mansion which they are calling the atrium. So you'll hear that term um but that is where they are proposing to host uh the receptions etc. As you can see it extends out and is connected uh to the mansion um in the image or the rendering I should say before you on the interior. Um, I don't know the last time you've all uh been in the mansion, but I can tell you uh it certainly does not meet ADA requirements to allow for everyone to come in and enjoy. Um, so I know that uh most specifically the improvements inside the mansion will be ensuring that folks are able to get in and out um from a safety perspective as well um with those fire sprinkler systems, widening some hallways um uh and ensuring that there is an elevator that is functionable. Uh, a huge topic of discussion as we evaluated the potential for redevelopment of the site was most notably ensuring that we could preserve the rose garden as well as the great lawn out in front of the mansion. So, I wanted to highlight the rose garden um will actually be uh one of the most notable ceremony locations proposed on the site. So, the applicant is proposing to restore the garden wall um and some of those unique uh aspects that do contribute to that historic nature of the rose garden. In addition to the rose garden, the applicant is proposing uh some additional outdoor ceremony locations. Um one kind of on the north side um and then one of course in that great lawn again. Um, as we evaluated these outdoor ceremony spaces, we wanted to make certain um that they were I'm going to say being protected and we were identifying um noise mitigation and any other uh impacts that that could have to adjacent properties. And so all of these are anywhere between 75 to 150 ft away from adjacent properties. Um, and we've got I think my next slide actually references um and provides a great image of that existing mature tree buffer that extends around um most notably uh the the west side and the north side. And then of course we've uh got the lilac bushes um and other vegetation on the south and east side. So, the applicant is uh maintaining all that tree buffer um and maintaining hours of operation that do align with our code ending at 10:00 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and midnight uh um Friday through Saturday. Um and of course, no outdoor receptions. Uh it's important to note, yes, there will be amplified music per se during the ceremonies. Um but again, no later than 10 PM and those receptions are actually taking place um all indoors on the site. Um and finally with the the site removal and reference to uh preservation of the historic nature, um there are several buildings um on the site um that have been there for quite some time. Obviously, notably uh like this barn does not look like this any longer. It has since collapsed. Um, but it's important to note that the barn, the chicken coupe, and the shed in the stable were identified in new histories uh report as contributing to the historic nature. However, to be practical in saying that it's just not realistic to preserve um these buildings, they will likely be removed. However, uh the garage the applicant uh does have uh some visions um for how that could be utilized um as uh part of perhaps a second phase um as they start to improve the site. So, as I mentioned, the gardener's cottage is a separate parcel. We're uh the applicant is proposing to reszone to R3, which is single family residential. However, um given the applicant is intending um to submit to have this parcel on the city's local historic register, an HCU is also being requested which would allow for the use to be in conjunction with the event center. The applicant is not proposing um huge renovations to the house at this given moment. Again, likely maybe a second phase to their renovations. um but they would like to utilize the house um kind of as a staff headquarters, a meeting location for their teams etc. Um uh but the bulk of the activity will be on the Cedar Hurst mansion site. So that limited commercial venture as proposed uh per our code is permitted with that historic conditional use permit. Okay. Adjustments to the site. So here is your overall site plan. As I mentioned, most notably, uh, the atrium, uh, addition is going to be your biggest adjustment to the site. Uh, we've got a shifting of a driveway. I'm going to get into the details of that, as well as some widening of the driveway through the through the site itself, um, for emergency service purposes, parking, uh, and then that utility connection as they, um, increase the intensity of the use on site. So access and actually in the previous application we actually touched on it which is great. Um but as you can see the site currently has access from 70th Street and has access on Keats Avenue. Um so the access on Keats Avenue is limited to a right in right out. There is a median that extends from the roundabout uh up north on 70th Street. Um it is actually currently a full access. However, the applicant in the county uh actually under the county's direction has indicated if that driveway shifts to the west to align with Jorgensson Avenue, um they will align and create that free flow as assistant city engineer Crystal had indicated uh previously. Um uh it's a better flow of traffic as folks are coming in and out of both Jorgensson and the driveway. So the applicant will be shifting uh ensuring that they're maintaining that 10-ft setback from that adjacent property line with the access as well as the driveway. um as they utilize this access over time. um if it is recognized um again by the county 70th and Keats are both county roads um that this needs to be a limited access again as assistant city engineer Chris Rally indicated um they could uh extend that mediate and limit that access at 70th um which would then trigger you can see up in the in the northeast corner there's that green outline would be a shifted driveway uh to provide perhaps a full access at Keats Avenue. Um given there is a right and left turn line there. Um but again at this given moment there are two left turn lanes on 70th that allow folks um in and out to Jorgensson as well as the mansion site. Therefore the access is supported uh by both the city and the county. As I mentioned they are proposing to widen the driveway through the site. Again if you haven't been out there lately um there are some parts that do get quite narrow. Um, so our public safety folks have guided um to ask that we have that 20 foot width that will support all of the equipment in the case of an emergency that could access out there. Parking on the site is being met to our minimum standard um which is 79 parking spaces when we do the calculation as outlined. What's unique is that we are proposing overflow overflow parking um as well as permanent parking. Permanent parking is being proposed uh in two different instances. I believe it's 24 parking spaces are proposed to be paved. Um but again when we look at the historic nature of the site, the applicant um has dedicated themselves to finding a unique way to preserve as much of the site as possible in more of a natural um way. Therefore, they have proposed um to keep the majority of the parking spaces as grass. However, don't panic. We've worked with them uh and there are products out there um that hold the top soil in space in in place while letting it still be a green surface for lack of a better way to put it. Um you can plow it, you can maintain it. Um the weather doesn't impact it as much. Um and so it allows for that parking space on more of a natural surface um without pavement andor class 5. Uh so the applicant is proposing as you can see kind of in that uh who would that be southeast corner of the site the majority of that parking um will be uh utilizing that turf reinforcement mat. And then you can see some overflow parking spaces that are proposed just along the driveway um uh just adjacent to the addition. Uh no proposed improvements there uh at this given moment. Again, the applicant will give some more details into the valet parking and other parking um uh processes that they utilize um as a part of their events to make sure that things are running smoothly and flow throughout the site. As I indicated, the applicant is proposing to connect to city sewer and water um which exists in 69th Street to the west. Um so they will connect to that stub and run a p private service to the mansion. Um they will crush uh the current septic um and cap the well. In this unique situation um both of these parcels will be uh under common ownership. However, we always have to think the whatifs, right? And given there are two separate parcels, we will require that an easement be over top of that private service because it does run through the gardener's cottage parcel. We want to make sure that whomever long-term owns that mansion parcel is able to maintain those that private utility that runs through that parcel. As with all of our projects that propose additional impervious, the storm water is required to be managed. The applicant is working through providing uh that filtration basin. This is within our wellhead protection area. So infiltration is not permitted. So, it will be more of a line pond. Um, but they'll be able to manage that runoff on site. As I had mentioned, there are a quite large amount of mature trees throughout the site that the applicant is proposing to preserve. Um, no mitigation is going to be required with the improvements to the site. Um, it is important to recognize uh the landscaping that they are proposing. Um when we calculate our landscaping uh we take a look at the area that they're technically improving on the site. We run our coefficient calculation for those commercial projects. And in this instance uh it is a minimal amount of landscaping that is required to be planted. But as you can see the applicant uh is planting above and beyond uh trees and shrubs within the site. And finally, I have to indicate uh the applicant did bring their request before the ACP or the advisory uh commission on historic preservation back in June um who did support with a 5 to0 vote um of their request to utilize the site as a wedding and event venue as well as the improvements to the site and to the mansion. The applicant also held a neighborhood meeting um on July 15th. Um I would say about 30 folks uh um came to the mansion. It was a great opportunity uh for them to actually see the mansion and be on the site um and help understand uh what the applicant was proposing. Overall it was a good turnout and a good conversation at that meeting. So with that I am going to leave the recommendation for just a brief moment. However, the applicant uh with Bella Gala JJ is also here and he's going to share some more details of the improvements as I had promised to understand better that restoration effort to the mansion. >> Right. Thank you. >> Natalie, can we do questions to you before we >> Sorry, JJ. >> Yeah. Commissioner Britain, >> question number one. Caretaker, cottage, and gardener's house. Are those the same thing? Uh technically, yes, Mr. Chair, Commissioner Britain. >> So, if if you could maybe be consistent because it got a little confusing in there. It almost sounded like the gardener's house, somebody just owned it and they were going to stay living there, but then this caretaker thing was going to potentially be utilized for some sort of function even though it wasn't owned. So, there was a little bit of confusion there um in regards to that. So that separate property that has the gardener's house on it has some potential use for it and is not owned by this entity that is buying the Cedarhurst part of it. >> Oh, Mr. Chair, members of the commission, the current land owner owns both parcels and the applicant is proposing to purchase both parcels. >> Yeah, that I didn't get that from the the staff report. So that's that is a good clarification. Um, with respect to the drainage, is that a little pond that's to the right, little holding area to the right of the impervious parking lot or is that it it wasn't quite Yeah, right there. >> Yeah. >> Is so that's that's for water storage there as well. Okay. And then Yeah. So, I was going to ask about ghost platting that other property, but if you're going to own it all and you don't there isn't somebody that's living there that's going to do something else with it, then uh I don't have a concern with that. So, that satisfies my questions at this time. Thank you. >> Thank any further questions for staff. Commissioner B. >> So, why are these two parcels zones differently like in the comprehensive plan and is there I mean can we amend it and then call both of them as mixeduse? >> Yes. instead of having that confusion. >> Sure, Mr. Chair, Commissioner Bot. Um, long-term it was always envisioned that this would remain as a single family home likely due to its historic nature. Um, it would give us the ability to preserve it as the home and preserve the home itself. However, uh yes, we could uh re-evaluate uh long-term as we think about our 2050 comprehensive plan to uh align both of those parcels with the same guidance of mixed use. >> I have a question. >> Commissioner Fischer, >> so about the the cottage house only being used as like a staff I don't know, sounds like a lunchroom kind of thing, right? But is there going to be a capacity assigned to that building because it's now going to become commercial use? Um capacity. What about like fire code things? Are they going to be able to rent that out for let's say somebody wants to have a meeting? Like what are because that house is changing from a dwelling basically into a commercial business use. >> Are any of those things being considered? >> Yep. Mr. Chair, Commissioner Fischer. So that would be specific to the building code right? >> So from a zoning perspective, we recognize that it is still a single family home, but we allow for this commercial use. As they apply for permits to do the improvements and what that use looks like and how they evaluate it uh from the state building code side, Mr. or Commissioner Fischer, they will align with those standards. >> Okay. Gotcha. >> Commissioner Br. So in with regards to that, if the gardener's cottage is still zoned as uh low f low residential, how does that fit into a business use? >> Uh Mr. Chair, Commissioner Britain, and so zoning is one standard, right? Uh for how it can be utilized. Um, but when you look at the building code, and I'm no building official, but I can tell you they do look at how it is being utilized and there are standards that align, even though it is technically a single family home, if it's being used for a different type of use, it does need to meet those standards. at at some point would they have the ability to not that they would want to do this but just so that we're prepared to subdivide that under its current zoning classification as low residential into more than one structure >> Mr. Mr. Chair, Commissioner Briter Britain, that is possible. They could submit for that application >> with the extension of the water and sewer from the culde-sac to the west. I'm assuming that would prelude building on that area. >> Mr. Chair, Commissioner Britain likely would impact how those lots may lay out. >> Okay. All right. Thank you, >> Question. Oh, sorry. You go first. So the uh storm water uh pond that was that is proposed that is for the additional impervious uh land coming from the parking lot and just parking lot alone or does it account for all the impervious land there? >> Uh Mr. Chair, Commissioner Bot, I'm going to turn it over to uh assistant city engineer Christo Raleigh to give just a little bit more of a detailed general overview of how the storm water is uh laid out and evaluated on the site. Thank you. >> Good evening, Mr. Chair. Commissioner Bot, uh you are so the storm water that is proposed on the site, which is just to the east of that new proposed impervious parking, that storm water is to take care of any additional impervious that's being added to the site. So that would include the parking lot, um the additional area on the driveway that's being added, as well as the roof for the 4,000 foot addition. So that storm water pond would be to accommodate all of the storm water from the additional impervious for the whole site. >> Thank you. >> Yep. >> Mr. Fisher, >> I don't know how to say my question. I'm trying to figure out how to word it. So, with the cottage house now, Ken's got me thinking about developing it in the future. So, it's going from egg 2 to R3. Is there a different R we can put it under to kind of keep it I don't know. I'm still trying to learn the new like >> Sure. The you know, >> Mr. Chair, Commissioner Fischer. So, uh it is a unique scenario and that we are proposing to reszone to R3 which is single family residential. We want to make sure that aligns with a comprehensive plan. Now, hypothetically, new property owner says, "I would like to sell it." Um, it would be a single family residence, right? Someone could live there. Is there the potential for redevelopment? Certainly. Um, the HCU, the historical conditional use permit is what gives us the ability to say, "Hey, we want to use it in conjunction with this other historic use." Um, which lays over top of it, right? it does run with the land. So, that opportunity is there. But we did uh want to be specific in our conditions um that the commercial use was just that limited within uh the gardener's cottage. >> Gotcha. Okay. Thank you, >> Comm. >> All right. I'm going to ask another question there because that's burned a thought. So the the driveway for the gardener's cottage is now coming off of the new drive lane. If for some unforeseen reason that parcel was sold off and developed as something, would that require a access point on 70th Street or would they still continue to use that shared new driveway access with the commercial use? >> Right, Mr. Chair, Commissioner Britain, likely if that parcel were to potentially, I'm going to say redevelop, um, it would take its access from 69th Street, the Culdeac. >> Okay. >> To the to the west. >> Okay. All right. Thank you. >> Yep. >> All right. Any further questions for staff? >> All right. Then I'm going to ask another one. >> All right. Commissioner Brad. >> All right. So, access from 70th Street. Um, I have some concern with Well, let me just ask you this. Coming east on 70th Street, um, we currently have a dedicated right into Almar, correct? >> And a through >> Mhm. >> to go to the to go to the roundabout. And then going west, we currently have a dedicated left into Almar and a through. So, two lanes going both directions. um what's going to happen with people going east on 70th Street since we don't have a dedicated left coming from that direction coming into the property and because you no longer have a through if if there if traffic stops in order to enter this property and there's a backup on 70 you know waiting for people coming through the roundabout then that's going to mean that traffic would potentially back up on 70th Correct, >> Mr. Chair. Commissioner Britain. So, there's currently if folks are headed east on 70th >> Yeah. >> and they're going to take a left into the site. >> Yep. >> There is currently a turn lane. >> So, there is a dedicated left and right going east. Okay, good. >> That that's what I wanted one of the things I wanted to clarify. So, that's great. Now going the other way, going west, is there going to potentially be a need for a right-hand dedicated turn because we have a dedicated left into Almar and through >> and my concern is if there might be a need for a dedicated right-hand turn lane into the property and the storm holding area that we currently have there could potentially prelude, if that were necessary, to move the trail over to add a dedicated right-hand turn lane. So, I guess my I would phrase it this way. If we feel that there's a safety concern from traffic perspective that would require a right-hand turn lane, does that automatically trigger the north entrance point being invoked as uh an in andout from the military culde-sac? or is there a way to do this and such that we don't if we don't feel we need a right-hand turn lane right now, which I'm concerned about cuz people whipping around that roundabout might not see people stopped or slowing down in order to turn right into this property. So, I have a concern about that. Um, so I see two solutions. One is a dedicated right-hand turn lane. And is there a way that we can make it feasible to add that if it we don't feel that it's added now but enable us to do it later. Um and keeping in mind that storm portion on the south part of the parking lot um the storm water pond if you put something there there might be a problem with moving the trail so that you can put in a turn lane. >> So or is it we see that there's a problem automatically we're going to have to put a new road in from the north. >> Mr. Mr. Chair, Commissioner Britain. Uh, two things. First, 70th is a is a county roadway and it will be up to the county to uh identify uh when this particular intersection needs to be limited to that right in right out on both the north and the south side. Uh, number two is folks uh heading into the site taking a right. They're not limited by anything as they're pulling into that site, right? So, that's a free flow of of traffic um into the seat or her site. No, there is not a dedicated right turn lane as folks are headed west turning into the site. However, there is nothing that stops them. So, likely that backup uh wouldn't be an issue on 70th Street. >> I'm I'm not necessarily worried about a backup. I'm worried about you're you're traveling at say 35 miles an hour by the time you're at that point and then you're slowing down to zero to make the turn. >> There's that transition point of I was flowing at one speed through the roundabout and it's like, oh, now I got to turn right. it's the guy behind him that you're not stopped, but you you also may not be paying attention because you're not. >> And so I just have a concern with the the proximity distance from the entrance to the roundabout. I understand it's the county's decision, but we can squeak enough that if we feel that it's important that they at least evaluate it. And I guess what I'm trying to do here is what I see is a potential solution being prevented by the current location of the southern portion of that holding pond. Maybe I don't know the city engineer would be able to say better. But my concern is that we might need something there. And if the simple solution is it's just going to trigger a road through the woods up to the military thing, then okay, you know, that would be the way to go. But it would be nice to preserve the option of not forcing it to have to happen right now, but if we felt it was necessary to add one later, that you could add one later without putting infrastructure in place that would prevent that from moving. >> So that would be my thought on that particular part of it. And granted, I would expect it to be fully evaluated by staff because you guys do a great job about that, but this may not have been considered up to this point in time. >> Mr. Chair, Commissioner Briter Britain, I would also add if at such time uh a right turn lane in were to be warranted, uh I imagine likely at that point uh it would be warranted to shift the driveway to the full access to be at Keats Avenue, right? And so that right turn lane um wouldn't be necessary, but we will follow the guidance of the county. Absolutely. >> Okay. Thank you, >> Mr. Cher. Segment. >> Thanks. Just to follow up. So, uh do I understand correctly that the county has kind of like the exclusive jurisdiction to decide whether or not this is becomes a safety hazard on 70th Street? because um I thought that I read somewhere in the packet that it could be either the county engineer or the city engineer that could initiate whatever is necessary, a traffic study or reporting of the number of crashes or other types of evidence to establish that there needs to be some um measures taken to improve the safety. Um I drove this today and it was during my lunch hour so it wasn't a big deal for me to go around the roundabout and come back heading westbound and 70th Street. I didn't encounter that and of course it wasn't open so nobody was turning right into the property but I can foresee on a Saturday at 6 p.m. you know people coming through there and like uh Mr. Britain said Commissioner Britain uh said that people are you know accelerating from this roundabout heading westbound and then suddenly they encounter brake lights in front of them and they have to then like decelerate perhaps after they've had a few well at some other establishment. So, that's that's my concern is is I guess is the the county the exclusive arbiter of whether or not there needs to be either a uh a dedicated right turn lane or if there needs to be the the northern access to military. >> Mr. Chair, Commissioner Seekman, um the city and the county will continue to work together on the safety of this intersection, you know, into its future. Um, we always we're we're frequently communicating with them. Um, and we communicate our concerns on county corridors often and they are, you know, taken seriously and we'll continue to work with them. Um, I think Emily was correct in saying that uh the second option really is that military access. uh if if we get into a situation where a right turn lane would be needed, I do think that we would get to we'd be going up to military rather than constructing that right turn lane. But um this will be continued to be worked on with the county. Uh one thing I also wanted to mention too is that the internal site itself has a significant amount of stacking in the driveway. Uh, so you know, it's not like they're turning right and then they're waiting for somebody to back out of a parking stall before they can get into the parking lot. There's a significant amount of stacking within the driveway before they're turning down into the parking lot as well. So, we don't anticipate traffic sitting out there on 70th Street, but uh there is some unknown here with this type of use and exactly how many people we're going to have coming in here. I mean, we know we don't anticipate that it's going to cause stacking out on 70th, but that's the reason why we'll continue to plan for that access at military if needed. >> Okay. I I did May I continue? Yeah. >> Oh, yeah. Um, I did notice in um maybe one of the other um uh figures that was included in the packet, not this one, um that the entrance to the proposed parking lot was awfully close to the um driveway entrance on 70th Street, but it appears now in this drawing that the entrance to the parking lot is further north. And is that the additional buffer zone or distance that would allow the stacking to occur on site instead of on 70th Street? >> I don't really understand your question. Can you state that again? Okay. So, um when I was looking through the packet, um I saw that um a a motorist that would drive from 70th Street and enter to the property um using the driveway. I thought on one of the diagrams it showed that in order to go from the driveway into the um >> relocated they're moving it to the >> jungle. Yep. So I thought that the entrance from the driveway into the parking lot was on uh what would be the let's see west the south side of the parking lot instead of the north side of the parking lot. So, is it in fact the case that the entrance to the parking lot will be on the north side of the parking lot and not the south, thereby to prevent the stacking from occurring on the 70th Street? >> Mr. Chair, Commissioner Steman, you're correct. The entrance has moved to the north side of that parking lot and um we've required that alignment with the driveway to the gardener's cottage. Um it was I guess a later change in the site plan when the county guided us to align the driveway with Jorgensson. With that in mind, we needed to move the driveway to the gardener's cottage. And the best design then is to have those two coming together at the same point on the north side of the parking lot. >> Great. Thank you. >> All right. I think that's it for questions for staff. The applicant would like to approach and add anything additional >> at the arrows. >> Good evening. My name is JJ Malitzky. Address 6940 Keats Avenue South, Cottage Grove, Minnesota 55016. Hopefully. Uh Emily. Wow. Geez. Great job. tough crowd to follow here, but uh she kind of took a lot of my thunder here. I'm just going to tell you a little bit, I guess, about, you know, who we are. Um to, uh just kind of show you the behind the screen here, behind the curtain. 28 years in business. Uh not me. I've just been with the company for three years. Uh Tim George started this business as a DJ company. Uh almost three decades ago, and we're up to six venues. This could be number seven. As you stated, we're in uh 12 other cities actually outside of uh here. So, lucky number 13 technically here. Uh we've got an old historic building, Vandus and Mansion in downtown Minneapolis. Uh Abu Le Venereay also uh got uh uh historic building in downtown St. Paul. Uh we've also got uh over 200 acres in Chaska with three locations out there, Edward Anstate, Equestria West, and Woodland Glass House. Uh the part of the business that is actually in the other markets as well as here where we do all the wedding services, photo, video, DJ, etc. is called Bellagala. And uh our our goal is to host worldclass events. You know, we consider ourselves one of the premier wedding venues uh in the state of Minnesota and hoping to uh expand that a bit here too. Uh you kind of hit all the highlights of what the uh uh mansion is all about, but yeah, built in the 1860s, expanded once in the 1917. Uh multiple remodels since then. Uh it is on the historic registry. Uh this is kind of unique. This is basically the spiel that I gave um a few weeks back to the neighborhood to try and educate them about us as well as them. I'll try to go a little more high level since you guys are uh knowledgeable on it. But um you know it's the biggest uh notable historic things are um a the agricultural significance but also the people that stayed there. um Cordinho uh Severance for instance uh Cass Gilbert the mansion hosted many occasions uh US presidents Teddy Roosevelt William H Taft uh Warren Harding Calvin Kulage and so on. Um our plan uh is simply to kind of mirror what we did at the Van Dusen mansion. We want to respect the history of Cedarhurst. We want to as you had said creep as keep as much green space as possible. Uh do as little disruption as we can. Obviously adding a 4,000 ft² building, the atrium is not small disruption, but um knowing that we're trying to uh limit it as much as possible, focusing on important pieces like the Rose Garden, focusing on that Cass Gilbert building as soon as we can and kind of in a phase two and uh trying to keep the grounds, the yard, the inside spaces as original as possible. again rehabilitate wherever we can and whatever we can and to create a luxury wedding experience with a rich history uh with obviously some modern amenities and ADA compliance uh proper restrooms new elevators all those things and um you know something that Bellagala and then our venue side of the company does is it gives our couples an all-inclusive wedding experience uh marketing would kill me but it's kind of a one-stop shop if you want you know you have the ability to get all those services the location the food the beverage um everything on site And uh number five, this is true to us too, you know, to be a steward of our community. Uh not just uh our neighborhood, the people that live right around us, but you know, Cottage Grove, the the cities that we uh obviously have business in. You'll notice uh a lot has happened in the last 5 years since they had not done business. These are just a few uh low lightss of what the place looks like. Uh but our plan is to again keep as much as we can, windows, siding, all of these things. Uh but obviously bringing it back to life, uh if this thing sits for too many more years, I'm afraid it's going to turn to uh rubble. And so our goal is to uh reverse that. Um inside as much as the flooring as we can keep, as much of the original lighting that's some odd years old, uh we want to keep we want to rewire, we want to bring back and bring back to life. Um basement scary, probably haunted, but uh we're going to definitely go in there. And uh I'm not going to he's going to go in there and uh do everything that we can from new wiring, new plumbing, HVAC, everything. Bring it up to code again to keep the uh life of this building going. So uh a little bit of the build, this is pretty darn high level, but uh our hope uh you know uh hoping for approval here and the the next couple of hoops we got to jump through too is to potentially plan to start in late August if possible. uh goal would be to get a lot of the outdoor stuff done this year which will allow kind of that uh winter spring and then uh midsummer next year to kind of help it grow and help it settle and so on. Uh obviously in the winter time we can do a lot of the indoor remodels. Uh and then spring of 2026 plantings, all the finishes, all the fine details that um those couples really really fall in love with. Uh again, our goal opening August of 2026. Uh, this is at or around probably an 11month bid. Uh, excuse me, 11month um project that it would take to actually get this thing to the finish line. Uh, he says 12, but I bet you we can get them at 11. So, it's on the record now. Uh, grand opening uh would be a few weeks after the first event. Uh, we said that in the neighborhood. We would love the city. We'd love everybody to come join and be part of it. Uh, as we said, we want to be stewards of the community and and let you guys come and uh enjoy something on us, too. So, um, you had kind of shown already, Emily. Thank you for that. But kind of the vibe, the the picture, the view of this. Um part of what we're attempting to do here is you'll notice the shed style edition. Uh our goal uh especially from the recommendations of the historic channels uh is to not uh we don't want to match this. We don't want to make it look like Cedarhurst Mansion. We want to make it look a little bit different. Um and obviously that is what we have chosen to do here. Um but what you'll notice also notice kind of in that top right picture uh notice the floor to ceiling windows basically. Um in that little area that you see those little mini uh people walking around uh that is the rose garden. Our goal is to make that rose garden really the centerpiece uh of this entire thing. It's one of the most uh beautiful things about this history. Um and our goal is to kind of bring that outdoor space uh inside as well. Um you'll notice too is our neighborhoods are kind of going west and north for the for the most part. Um this area is where the majority of the activity is actually going to take place which really acts as a physical barrier when it comes to sound when it comes to light noise pollution and stuff like that. So that was by no mistake that was uh by design to again uh make sure our neighbors love us uh not only today but uh years from now as well. Uh again, just kind of a highle uh overview what this is going to look like. Uh overview. Emily had already gone through some of this, but you will notice like our goal on the inside of this building is to do whatever we can to maintain. Uh obviously, we're going to have to rehabilitate a lot, but whatever we can do to sand down floors, whatever we can do to keep uh existing original wallpaper, lighting, etc., we're going to do. And uh some of that stuff is a little TBD. We've had a lot of uh construction uh PMI has brought in tons of contractors to make sure that they can give it the best assessment and from the um you know uh current approach it feels like we're going to be able to save a lot of it which is awesome. Uh same thing for the uh upstairs and the addition. Um you know something that's always important is is traffic parking. How do we manage it? Uh obviously a controlled entry and access uh and exit. Our goal uh from a business standpoint, from location to the parking lot, uh the ideal is going to be off of 70th. It just makes the most sense. Uh it's going to allow for that grand entrance when people go into the parking lot, walk through the really nice pathway to get them to either the mansion, the rose garden, or the atrium. Uh we do understand that who knows what's to come in the future and that's why we're working with Emily and the city to determine uh a plan you know B hopefully plan Z but uh way way down there if we do have to make uh something happen uh we want to make it happen. So uh but what we're also pros at is you know we've got three locations on 200 acres in Chaska. All of which come in the same single road driveway. We've got what we call air traffic controllers out there that are actually getting people in and out. Oh, you're here with the Jones party. We escort them. We do this thing again for being a a high-end, for lack of a better term, exclusive wedding experience. Our clients come to expect that. And so, a yeah, it's on the face. It shows as, you know, high-end luxury, but at the same time, too, it's also protecting the little things. I don't want people sitting and waiting in parking lots, not knowing where they're going, backing up traffic on the main road. So, there's some the the cosmetic beauty up front is cool, high-end luxury. The reality on the back end is uh we're doing it because we've got flow, we've got function, we've got things that we need to do uh from a operation standpoint too. Um obviously designated areas for staffing, vendor parking, client parking, um which you would see all the way in the bottom right. Can you see a mouse? You sure can. Here we go. Uh so we would have over here in our um this is not necessarily the over it's overflow kind. It's like the 24 spots is 1 A and then 1B is the spot I'm highlighting right here. You know, if you ever go to, you know, Home Depot or whatever, everybody parks in the back. That's kind of the same thing that we would do. So, the people that are coming in for the event would obviously filter into the front area. Um, we do also from a parking standpoint build relationships. Not there yet. We always wait obviously until everything is done, but uh local hotels, local shuttles, local limousines etc. um to um identify opportunities for people to do more than the average three car three person per car typical usage. Um also we have done uh internally when we see uh extremely high guest counts more more towards the max of our uh capacity. Uh there are times that we'll actually implement in-house uh valet parking which would allow us to in those 23 spots you can usually get close to three times actually if you're kind of parking them like sardines if you will but we'd have licensed insured uh valet parkers bring that in which would alleviate that parking issue. And uh I don't have the updated one. sent this before. You were so kind to adjust that, but um Emily had shown the updated parking is actually going to be here um not here. This is the code red though 911 parking stuff that we don't plan to use. We would only use in a situation that uh we you know had to make it happen. So how do we manage sound and light? These are two of those pollutions too that obviously I think really impact the the neighbors. The building itself, as I showed, is a massive uh blocking agent, I guess, for um both sound and light. Um Emily had also mentioned that, you know, our stuff uh any amplified sound wouldn't be after 10 p.m. That would include the rose garden. That would be included on any of our porches or patios. Um you know, the majority of our uh ceremonies are typically like that 4 to 530 give or take. Um, so usually, uh, any of those things that she had stated were 150 plus feet away from any of the other properties would usually be done by dinnertime. Um, so then they would move back into the mansion and spend the majority of their time in that uh, Rose Garden area. Uh, again, the parking lot is a little bit more, it's closer to the um, uh, 70th area and uh, what she had showed the amount of trees that we're bringing in. This is also one of those two-part things. Clients love it, but it's also really, really functional. You know, our goal is to we are still going to be taking out a decent amount of stuff, expanding the driveway, obviously adding a 4,000 square foot establishment. We want to make it beautiful. Uh, but we also know from a functional standpoint that these are great sound barriers when we're putting up trees, we're putting up bushes. Um, removing actually some of the uh dirt. um if there are any areas that we want to actually make any of those type of uh sound barriers, you know, little 4- foot slopes uh on the exteriors, especially to the north and potentially to the uh west um blocking those homes. Uh we've actually considered that as well. And that's about it for that. Again, just another little high view overview. She did a great job about talking about trees and all that fun stuff. And uh if you really want to get crazy granular, these are actually a great deal of the things that we plan to add in. And then just a little overview, you know, uh we've been working with the same uh designer for the last 15 years. He's uh his goal uh at Hawkford, he his goal is to really embody, I think, the the nature, you know, or excuse me, not the nature, the history, pardon me, uh of what Cedarhurst is all about. So, our goal is to bring in as much um you know, old-fashioned furniture utilizing a lot of the stuff that still is there because it a lot of it is actually decent and uh in good shape. This is just a picture uh drawing or sketch of the uh bridal suite or one of our getting ready suites and the groom suite. The other getting ready suite is going to be a a little bit more interactive, you know, pool table. Uh the bathtub that uh Mr. President Roosevelt actually bathed in. Apparently, we have no photos to prove this, but uh we're going to have that actually in the groom suite as kind of a photo op thing. It won't be functioning, but more of a piece of art. Uh even the uh elevators, the inserts of the elevators, our plan is to find a really cool wall to kind of place those on. Uh will not be functioning, but we want to pay homage to a lot of these things that maybe aren't going to work anymore, but can still tell that story. Uh the bar, this is uh probably the biggest addition or uh change inside the mansion itself. Uh the current bar just isn't going to work functionally. That flow isn't going to be possible. Um there used to be actually a hole behind the bar uh historically that was filled in in one of those 1917 to whenever expansions or um uh renovations. Uh we're actually just going to reopen that wall uh having the same entrance to where it used to be before and then close to where the kitchen is is where that bar is going to be. So from a functionality standpoint, it's going to make a lot more sense. Uh but also from a flow standpoint, just a safety of congestion and stuff, uh also going to make a lot more sense. What this will allow people to do is head out to the atrium, head back into the mansion and so on, creating a great flow, obviously a good experience uh for our clients, keeping all those fireplaces that uh were built 100 plus years ago, as you can see one in the sketch on the left there. Um and then the uh atrium, kind of our uh ballroom, if you will. You know, we do want to bring just a tiny bit of that history in here. You'll see some of the lattice uh etc. We're actually toying with bringing an actual fountain in there. Uh not a plumbed one, so we're not going to have to go there, but something that can be uh decorated, something that people can put uh you know, floral and things like that on, but again, finding something that is from that period of the late 1800s, early 1900s uh to really uh bring back the history of that location. Just another vibe. And the Cedarhurst Mansion, we uh want to keep the name. Uh, we did update just a touch the logo, but uh that's about it. Not as good as Emily's, but hey, >> questions. >> Any questions? >> And thank you for your consideration. First of all, >> absolutely, >> Mr. Bob. >> So, I do see that in some of these uh pictures or uh uh diagrams, you have the driveway not aligned with the Jensen Street, and in some you have it aligned with the Jensen Street. So, which one is it going to be? Commissioner Bot aligned. Yeah. So Tim, we had about nine emergency meetings I feel like in the last 10 days. And I had gotten this prior to Thursday over to uh uh these ladies to to for for you guys to be prepared. And on Thursday, Tim uh one of our architects was able to provide uh the updated version uh to Emily. So that can be at so it would be aligned. And we actually hadn't had county confirmation prior to me uh submitting this as well. So, she's right, I'm wrong. >> Thank you. >> You're welcome. Thank you. >> Any further questions? Commissioner Fish, >> I don't have a question, but I just think it's really cool to see this being renovated. >> Awesome. >> I'm a big >> house geek and I just cannot wait to see this done. I think it's going to be awesome. >> Very cool. >> That's all I have to say. >> I'll take that. Very nice. Commissioner Bot, do you want to second that? >> I will. >> All right. Nice, >> Commissioner Steman. >> I'm very happy that this property is uh coming into greater use and it's a beautiful property and I'm happy to see this. Um and yeah, it's all I have to say. Thank you, Commissioner Steman. >> All right. Thank you very much. >> Appreciate you. Thank you. >> At this time, we'll open public hearing on the application. Anyone wishing to speak for or against the application can step to the podium. All right. Seeing none, we will close public hearing on the application. Any further discussion by commission? >> I do have one question. >> Um, it was mentioned that there was a community meeting and it said mostly >> unobjectionable. >> Unobjectionable. I'm wondering why it doesn't say 100% unobjectionable. What were the what were the concerns, if any, that were brought up um by the people surrounding the property? So, full transparency, you know, there was one couple that was in there that was kind of busting me up a little bit and asking every single question. It was a lot like what Emily had to go through up here a few minutes ago. And at the end of it, they stayed the entire time. They were one of the first groups there and they stayed the entire time. And um and they were on board. every single person, multiple people were talking, what you said, and it's like we witnessed, we saw what this place was going to become. Uh it was shopping center, it was a strip mall, it was uh apartment complexes, it was our neighboring uh on the west, sorry, get my directions right, were nervous about they're like, "You're not going to bring the, you know, the the entire uh staff aren't going to come here through the culde-sac." Correct. And so they saw what this place could be and what this place still might be and they were so happy with this. Um I think they were appreciative. So to me from my aspect uh I felt like 100% of the people 90% were happy when they got there 100% were were happy when they left. And so you know the I think I don't want to say in even for the that that that last 10% uh was the lesser of two evils maybe. Um but they liked what we talked about. They they investigated what our brand was about. Uh who we were. They read our reviews and they said, you know, if I got to have a neighbor that's going to do something here, I'd like it to be you. >> Okay. Thank you. >> You're welcome. >> I just I would agree. I mean, the lack of public comment right now too says that it sounds like you the meeting was, you know, >> was well attended and lots of questions were answered. So, >> my estimate was closer to 40 people, by the way. Just throwing it out there. Thank you. >> I didn't have a clicker either. >> Any further discussion by commission? >> Yeah, I guess I'll add in my two cents. I'm I'm thankful that someone is willing to take on what sounds like a very big job. I'm I'm assuming it's going to be closer to 12 months. I agree. Um uh to to do this work because I think this is a very important um piece of uh the city's history that we want to make sure we can keep. Um, and the best way to do that is by having somebody come in and and be able to use it for commercial venture and make money off it because that means they'll take care of it. Um, and so I'm excited to see um, how it turns out. I think this is a very good proposal to have in the community and it sounds like uh, the applicant is willing to keep the historical aspect of this property um, intact so that we can remember what it was like but also use it going on in the future. So, >> Commissioner Britain, >> well, I'll say that from a planning perspective, I think you guys are dotting all the eyes and crossing the tees, and you know, that's what goes into recommendation, yay or nay. From personal perspective, I've seen what's been proposed here in the past, and I've seen what's been implemented here in the past, and I haven't seen anybody take it to the level that you're proposing to take it. And it's it's exciting to see what you're proposing. It it's something it's never our purview to consider whether you're going to be successful or not. That's just not our job. Our job is is to focus on the zoning. But from what I've seen in the past, there's never been enough investment in what was trying to be done in order to make it successful and therefore it was never sustainable. So, I am excited to see the atrium, the rose garden, and all the things that you're adding that in my opinion from seeing all these other things give it a a very high chance of success versus what we've seen happen in the past. >> Thank you. Anything else? Otherwise, I would look for a motion at this time then. >> Okay. It's a big motion, right? >> It's going to be a long one. >> Okay. I will make a motion to approve the zoning amendment. Do we need to do it per parcel or can we just do the whole thing together? Okay, Emily says listed zoning to uh do the zoning amendment for the Keats Avenue from egg to mixed use, the HCU, the zoning amendment for the 70th Street property, right from egg 2 to R3 and the HCU for that parcel as well. Approval uh conditioned or oh my gosh, subject to the conditions in the staff report. Does that also that include C which is on your screen the site plan review as well? >> Yeah, all of the things. >> All right. Um so I have a motion to approve uh the zoning amendment for both parcels, the HCU for both parcels as well as the site plan review uh subject to the conditions in the staff report. Is there a second for that motion? >> I'll second it. >> Second from Commissioner or Commissioner Steman. Uh any further discussion on that motion? >> Seeing none, all those in favor say I. I. I. Post say no. >> Motion carries 5-0. Number seven tonight is approval of the minutes. Unless there are any additions or corrections, I would look for a motion to approve. >> Minutes from last meeting. Uh motion to approve from Commissioner Bot. Do >> you have a second? >> Second. >> Second from Commissioner Britain. All those in favor say I. >> I. >> I. Post say no. Motion carries. 5-0. >> Uh eight is reports. A is a recap of the July 16th city council meeting. >> Emily, >> Mr. Mr. Chair, members of the commission, just a brief uh uh overview. We only had one meeting in July with the holiday. Um and I would just like to highlight um our park and recck department. They uh were awarded um two awards uh by the Minnesota Recreation and Park association. One for their work on the Glacial Valley Park building as well as one for their uh work establishing and maintaining the pickle ball program here in Kaj Grove. So, I think it's always worth uh giving just a little shout out to those other departments in this organization that work hard as well. Um, and then the uh only other item that I wanted to note uh was the conditional use permit and the variance for the property on Hadley um that you all saw in June. Um the council did um approve that request um for that accessory structure as well. U Mr. Council Member Justin Olsen, uh anything else to add on your end? Yes. So, we followed your recommendations, I think, is what she's trying to say. Uh on that property, >> that was for that building, the the residential building or the rural. Yeah. Okay. >> Correct. >> Yep. >> Yep. Um the only thing I would add is uh we are neck deep now in budget. So, um you know, we're meeting every week at this point. Um we'll meet again. It's today, Monday. They all run together now. Uh we'll meet again this coming Wednesday. Um and we'll go through uh last week was public safety and Emily's department and general government, some other things. And this week will be public works and equipment and then we'll revisit some of the things that we talked about last week. And then the week after that, uh we have a regular council meeting, but we have a before council meeting um workshop and an after council meeting workshop. after council meeting workshop is for the capital improvement plan which is where we put in big projects um you know park buildings and um road projects and those kinds of things and uh we have a 5-year capital improvement plan that we work on and of course that's a moving five-year plan but we re-evaluate it every year so that we can slot in um what we need to do when we need to do it based upon when we can afford it and then we have to circ circulate that amongst our partners, particularly the county, as you mentioned earlier, um to make sure that their capital improvement plans and ours merge. So, it's a heavy lift, but um it's sort of the most important thing we do. So, uh we're in the midst of that right now, and hopefully we'll have a budget for uh the next two years put to bed here by the end of August. Uh with respect to your question, Commissioner Steman, about is the county the sole arbiter on uh county roads, the answer to that question is yes. We have the ability to make noise or squeak, I think, as uh Commissioner Britain said, and we're pretty good at it, and we're lucky that we have a county commissioner who works very closely with us um and and is responsive to our uh requests and our needs and things like that. That isn't always the case. Sometimes you have that and sometimes you don't. Um, the county staff is very good and their county engineer Wayne Sandberg is exceptional. To give you a perfect example of your question in real life, there was a pork chop that was on that road that was removed and uh it was removed at the behest of the city in partnership with the county and we had a county commissioner who um didn't really work with us too closely on that, but but the county staff, the engineer Wayne Sandberg worked closely with us on that. And uh the caveat when that was taken out is that if anything were to change in terms of the demographic of that intersection and or traffic patterns to your point, Commissioner Britain, we may relook at that. So, I would not be surprised if there's some additional dialogue um if the uh Cedarhurst project continues to progress um with regard to that access point and uh some of the details that you mentioned here tonight and you did a great job with that. Thank you. Those are lots of questions that we as a city council will also ask and so since they've been asked and answered already, we'll just simply follow up on those. So, thank you for that. But yes, the county is in charge. It's their road. Um, the last thing I wanted to mention is, if you haven't already heard, uh, this was a year where we did a community survey. We do these, uh, every 3 to 5 years. Uh, we did a different type of survey this year. We went with a national survey organization called PCO, PCO. And the reason we chose to do that is PCO does community surveys across the country. And so we were able to benchmark Cottage Grove's responses to responses from across the country, different demographics, different states, different cities, different climates, etc. So, I'll just give you a few highlights. Um, 79% of the residents in the city of Cottage Grove ranked their quality of life as excellent or good. That was great to see. That's 8 and 10. Um, if you went to Park High School, that's why I said that. 8 and 10. Yep. Um, by the way, 1988 grad, just FYI, uh, 86% um, gave a very positive rating to our, uh, path and trail system, people being able to walk and use the pathways and the trails. Um, this one will be good for you, Commissioner Fiser. Variety of housing options, 63% positive, and availability of affordable housing options, 89% positive. Now, keep in mind, you and I think of affordable housing differently perhaps than a standard person would because there are definitions to that, but still that's a pretty impressive response I think. Um, overall government ready 56% I'll take it gave us a gives a positive response although 68% said they were happy with their level of taxes, good or excellent. So, that was good. Um, public safety got an unbelievably positive rating, which doesn't surprise me cuz we spend a lot of time, energy, effort, and investment on public safety in this community. 86% positive, which I was gratified to see. You don't have public safety, you don't have a community. It's just the way it is. And, uh, we also had 86% rate the community as a good place to raise a family. So, some really nice highlights there. There's more information on the survey on the city's website. There was also a lot of information that was shared on the city's uh social media, Facebook page, etc. Um, but if you go to the city's website, you can download the PDF of the entire survey. And the survey was done in two separate ways. So, it was um targeted to certain residents. We did direct mailings and things like that. And then there was an open survey where anybody who lived in the community could respond. And so they blended those together, which is something that Poco does that I've never seen done before. And the representative sample size uh was about 493 residents between the two um responded. So according to PCO, that's a statistically relevant number. I would have liked to see more, but they're the experts, so we're going to go with that. And then they extrapolate those answers out across the entirety of the community's population by demographic. Uh so all in all, good news there. And uh like I said before, um not going to be a lot of sleep in the next month or so till we get through the budget. But uh you know, this is the time of year we live for. It's it's very important. and these survey results are a direct correlation to what we put as priorities in our budget. So, it was good to have this information going into the budget dialogue. With that, Mr. Chair, I'll turn it back to you if there's any questions. I'm happy to answer it. >> Thank you, Councilman Olsson. And I know in a in a year in a climate uh that we're in right now that the budget um is going to be probably trickier than ever to try to to make sure we balance levy versus getting services to the to the city who who needs it and the people who are in the city. So, >> it's tough. Yeah, we we've had a lot of uh uh federal government funds that have been committed to us over the last couple of years for different projects that we're not certain we're going to get. So, we're trying to find different ways to um balance the budget while still funding those major projects that we've been planning for like 80th Street reconstruction and those kinds of things. So, I appreciate your acknowledgement of that. It's it's it's a very uh difficult period for local government at the minute. >> Any questions for Council Member Olson? >> Mr. Bob? >> Uh I'm just curious. So, when this survey was conducted, when was this conducted? Uh it started in May and it or March rather and it went through May, end of May. >> Okay. And uh do they have uh statistics showing that which areas were picked for the survey? >> Absolutely. Yep. It's all available on the PDF report that's available on the city's website. Yeah. And if you'd like it emailed to you, send me a note uh my city email and I'll happily get it to you. >> Okay. Thank you. Yeah, our communications department, uh, Phil Jentz, who some of you have met, he he's ultimately the one who, uh, was responsible for executing that. >> Okay. Thank you. And one last follow-up question on the >> management of roads or >> Yes. Who who is the arbiter? >> Mhm. >> So, it's only the So, I know now that the county road is the county is the arbiter. So, other than the county roads, we just have city roads. There are nothing in between. >> Yeah. The city operates uh all of the city streets, the city roadways, the collectors, those kinds of things. We have the county that also operates county roads like um uh County State Aid Highway 22 is 70th Street. So that's a that's a county road. Uh sometimes, believe it or not, we trade. Um so a few years ago, we traded a portion of 65th Street from the county to the city for the city to operate because uh it wasn't really feasible for the county to continue operating it when it was being used for city traffic. But don't forget, we also have uh state highway 61. So if you look at Highway 61 that intersects the city, that's a state highway. So anything we do with that road has to be done through mindot. The city does not control that. And the same is true of the bridge decks. >> Okay. And the sidewalks in the neighborhood, they are cityowned or are they neighborhood owned? The sidewalks. Um, so if you have uh a a community uh in your neighborhood where you have sidewalks and you have a um HA um you know your HA may actually be responsible for your sidewalks. However, a homeowners association. So um uh if you live in a neighborhood like mine where I don't have a homeowners association and their sidewalks, then the city maintains those. >> Okay. Thank you. >> You're welcome. Any further questions? >> All right. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> B was response to planning commission inquiries. We had two inquiries that were both answered at the last meeting, so we didn't have any more to follow up on. C is planning commission requests. Any requests for staff tonight. Seeing none, we will move to nine, which is adjournment. So, I will look for a motion to adjurnn. >> Motion to adjurnn. >> I have a motion to adjurnn from Commissioner Fischer. Do I have a second? Second. >> Second from Commissioner Britain. All those in favor say I. I. Post say no. Motion carries 5-0. We are adjourned.