Based on the context provided, here is the transcribed townhall meeting with speaker names identified through roll calls and context clues. **Note:** Several Planning Commission members mentioned in the roll call (**Desmi** and **Fox**) and the staff member **Zach** were not included in your initial list but are identified here based on the dialogue. *** [0:28] (Silence) [9:11] **Brian Douglas (Chair):** Welcome to the February 12th Planning Commission meeting. Um, roll call: Hemma, absent. Johnson? [9:24] **Chad Johnson:** Here. [9:25] **Planning Commission Member Desmi:** Here. [9:26] **Planning Commission Member Fox:** Here. [9:27] **Chris Nobach:** Here. [9:28] **Brian Douglas (Chair):** Uh, can I get the approval of the agenda? [9:32] **Chad Johnson:** So moved. [9:33] **Planning Commission Member Fox:** Second. [9:34] **Brian Douglas (Chair):** Moved by Johnson, second by Fox. All those in favor? [9:38] **Group:** Aye. [9:42] **Brian Douglas (Chair):** Motion carries. Can I get approval of the minutes from January 8th? [9:45] **Planning Commission Member Fox:** Move to accept minutes from January 8th. [9:49] **Chris Nobach:** Second. [9:50] **Brian Douglas (Chair):** Moved by Fox, second by Nobach to approve the minutes of January 8th. Is there any further discussion? All in favor? [9:55] **Group:** Aye. [9:56] **Brian Douglas (Chair):** Motion carries. Uh, there's no one here for public input tonight, so we'll just move down to—well, we have two public hearings. The first public hearing for the conditional use permit for Cars Under 10k LLC. Zach, you want to give us a background on that before I open the hearing? [10:43] **Zach (City Staff):** Yeah, for sure. Good evening guys. The two items tonight don't require as detailed of an introduction given that they were discussed at our last meeting. But starting with the CUP to operate a used car dealership at 1720 Highway 20, this agenda item is pretty straightforward. Commercial businesses are allowed via a conditional use permit to operate in the residential business zone. The applicant has provided the city with all the applicable forms and payment, so the last step is just Planning Commission approval and then City Council approval. Um, we're just kind of going through the proper steps here with this. A used car dealership used to operate at that same location before moving, but since there's new owners, a new permit has to be set in place. I just want to add too that the business owners are leasing the property; they're not buying it. So that's the backstory background on that. [11:31] **Brian Douglas (Chair):** Okay. Okay, with that in mind, I'm going to open up the public hearing. Anybody wishing to speak? Second call: anybody wishing to speak? And third call: anybody wishing to speak? Um, I will close the public hearing. Um, should we discuss that or should we just go to the other public hearing and then discuss? Okay, well why don't we just discuss this and get this out of the way and then we'll move on to the next public hearing. Uh, Commission, any comments? [12:44] **Diane Johnson:** I of course have one. You got to look up when you ask for comments, Steve. [12:48] **Brian Douglas (Chair):** Well, I was just waiting to hear—oh okay, because I knew it was coming from over here. [12:52] **Diane Johnson:** Um, in looking at the lot up there, and I think there's somewhere in our zoning that we're supposed to have everything paved, and it looks like at one point it might have kind of been paved. But I'm wondering if this would be a good opportunity to require—not first the company leasing, but the owner—to pave that prior to allowing the lease? And if they need help, maybe they can go to EDA, who's supposed to help our businesses. [13:30] **Brian Douglas (Chair):** You don't think it's paved now? [13:32] **Diane Johnson:** Oh, I know it's not. I just drove up there. Steve, I mean it—it looks like the concrete in front of the building is in good, fairly reasonable shape. Um, that does not look like it's in good shape to me. That's broken-up concrete and that's basically gravel/sand if anybody wants to see. But you know, it's one of those things where as long as like Kinkle has their unpaved thing that's been that way prior to the zoning or the ordinance, they get to keep it. But when there's transition, I thought that's when it gave us the opportunity to say now it should be brought up to code. [14:08] **Isaac Naatz:** Is there actually transition of property, I guess? I mean, I get that they're leasing it, but... [14:14] **Brian Douglas (Chair):** Yeah, and that's I think you're talking about when there's a transition of property sale. It's a sale. If the transition is to be done, this guy that's looking for this conditional use has got nothing to do with the blacktopping. [14:24] **Diane Johnson:** I understand. But what we're talking about tonight is a conditional use permit for a car dealership that's leasing the property. But it doesn't mean we can't require that it be up to what the zoning requires. [14:53] **Brian Douglas (Chair):** The City or we would have to check that out. I know it's not a sale of the property; however, it is a new business coming in. And used cars can leak. [15:09] **Chris Nobach:** I would caution against it, I guess. I'm just kind of unsure about that property history. I think it used to be that old gas station, right? And if you're going to start digging up, I would assume to pave it you'd probably have to dig up that subbase and then there's some issues there with potentially contaminated soils and stuff like that too. I don't know, you're probably going down a wormhole. I think for a lease of a business, I would probably support that with the change of property, but I think right now... I guess that's just a side point. I think that is—there's probably a worthwhile investment there I guess to just pave it potentially. [16:03] **Brian Douglas (Chair):** So you're saying you will not approve it without resurfacing the lot? [16:10] **Diane Johnson:** I think you just put words into my mouth. I brought it up as an opportunity for us to bring a lot up to compliance with the current codes in the city. And I agree with Chris that we're probably looking at contaminated soil from the gas company that was there all those years. But at some point these things need to be dealt with, and you know, the current owner could just keep leasing it for the next 100 years. But it always is a costly process and it doesn't get cheaper when you wait. But as I'm assuming, the new business probably was not going to be able to foot the bill. [17:31] **Brian Douglas (Chair):** Well, I think it would be a deterrent to anybody going in there if we required them to resurface it, is what I'm thinking. How long has the current owner owned the land? [17:48] **Zach (City Staff):** Oh boy, not sure. [17:50] **Isaac Naatz:** Any other comments? I'm curious about the double entrance there. I don't have any issues with it, I'm just surprised just knowing the way that that would be a County highway, right? [18:14] **Zach (City Staff):** That's a State highway. [18:16] **Isaac Naatz:** It's a State highway, okay. Yeah, I'm surprised that nobody's come across and that maybe that goes with transfer ownership too. I'm surprised nobody's gone in with a single entrance there, but I don't know, nothing to do with this I guess. [18:32] **Brian Douglas (Chair):** I know in the past that last dealer always had one entrance blocked. [18:36] **Isaac Naatz:** Okay, so you only get in—yeah. And the only reason I bring that up is just because under Section K here, the subdivision says vehicular entrances to parking or service areas should create a minimum of conflict with through traffic movement. Just something to point out, I guess, but I don't think it's going to—I mean it's operated that way for X number of years and there hasn't been any issues. [18:48] **Brian Douglas (Chair):** I think with entrances, anytime you talk about a State highway, you hang on to the entrances you got because once they close them, they're gone forever. And I can see, as long as the length of this property is, I can see that maybe someday being split and both them entrances being used at that time. I see there's one up towards the top too, but I could see where that could get used if they ever split that lot. What's your feelings? [19:51] **Planning Commission Member Desmi:** I'm going to make a motion that we approve the conditional use permit. There was a car dealer there before, and I understand Diane's point also, but I think if we don't allow it, it's just going to sit empty and just sit there. So this way it'll be used, and maybe that can be revisited at another time. [20:17] **Chris Nobach:** I would second that motion. [20:38] **Brian Douglas (Chair):** Motion by Desmi, second by Nobach to approve the conditional use permit for Cars Under 10k LLC. Is there any further discussion? All in favor? [21:10] **Group:** Aye. [21:11] **Brian Douglas (Chair):** Oppose? (Silence) Motion carries, 4 to 1. Let's move on to our next public hearing. Zach, do you want to give us a background on that? [21:24] **Zach (City Staff):** Yeah, for sure. Second item is an ordinance text amendment amending portions of our city code relating to residential treatment facilities. If you recall, a new definition was put in place that separated facilities that dealt with emotional disturbance/drugs from actual residential facilities. The new term was coined "rehab centers" and language was added to remove them from operating in residential areas. Finally, these rehab centers were allowed and continue to be allowed in the B2 District, but there's some more conditions that have to be met for this to happen. [22:29] **Brian Douglas (Chair):** So at this time I'm going to open the public hearing. Anyone wishing to address the ordinance? (Silence) I'll close the hearing and turn it over to the Commission. Any discussion? [22:40] **Diane Johnson:** Couple just points of clarification. We have "fence to be installed around the rehab center." Is that on the property line? We don't care where? [22:52] **Zach (City Staff):** Um, didn't want to be too specific, but yeah, I mean any fence is allowed on a property. It depends if it's a maintenance-free fence or the type of material the fence is made out of, but if it's a maintenance fence, it has to be backed off—I believe it's 2 to 5 feet if I recall—off the property line. But any fence is allowed on the property line. [23:18] **Diane Johnson:** And the green belt planting strip—inside the fence? Outside the fence? [23:24] **Zach (City Staff):** Doesn't matter. Yeah, it's just a way to give more screening to the property from people leaving or just residents driving by. I mean, those green belts are already required anyway. It wouldn't even matter if it was a rehab center; it's required for any business that abuts a residential area anyway. So this is just extra screening, if you will, given the rehab center. [24:15] **Diane Johnson:** Thank you. [24:16] **Brian Douglas (Chair):** Any other comments from the Commission? [24:26] **Diane Johnson:** Um, and our plan is to maybe change that section name in there. Under number one, it refers to the "rehab center." Do we care if the next one says "hospital" or not? [25:01] **Zach (City Staff):** We can change that too to make it more clear. Um, I think that'd probably be a good idea. Under Y2, is that what you're saying? [25:11] **Diane Johnson:** Yes, under Y2. [25:16] **Brian Douglas (Chair):** And also Zach, this has been reviewed and updated with the help of our City Attorney, correct? [25:21] **Zach (City Staff):** Yep, she looked at it. I did a lot of research actually before this just because I know some questions—like "can we actually enforce this?" A lot of other cities actually have something very similar; it's allowed via conditional use to separate it from residential areas. And under Minnesota Statute 462, we are allowed to enforce local zoning laws for this—residential facilities, that sort of thing. So we're well within our rights to do this. But yes, our attorney Shelley did look at this. [26:07] **Brian Douglas (Chair):** Good job. Any discussion, or does somebody want to make a motion? [26:08] **Chad Johnson:** I move that we recommend for approval to the Council ordinance text amendment relating to zoning of residential treatment facilities. [26:24] **Planning Commission Member Fox:** Second. [26:26] **Brian Douglas (Chair):** Motion by Johnson, second by Fox to introduce Ordinance Number 2024—the motion carries. Thanks for all your work with that, Zach. I know your feet were to the fire; you haven't been here that long and we're really pushing you hard. [27:01] **Zach (City Staff):** Yeah, it was interesting to see other cities into kind of the same things. There's always some sort of screening. [27:12] **Brian Douglas (Chair):** Okay. Anybody else have anything else to come before the Commission tonight? Any questions on anything else? If not, we know what comes next. [27:42] **Chad Johnson:** Move to adjourn. [27:43] **Chris Nobach:** I second. [27:44] **Brian Douglas (Chair):** Motion by Johnson, second by Nobach to adjourn. Any further discussion? All in favor? [27:51] **Group:** Aye. [27:52] **Brian Douglas (Chair):** Motion carries. This is adjourned.