Based on the context provided and the dialogue within the transcript, here is the speaker-identified version of the townhall meeting. **Note:** As this is a **Planning Commission** meeting (not a City Council meeting), the "Chair" refers to the Planning Commission Chair. **Sophia** is the lead City Planner/Staff member presenting, though she was not on the initial provided list. *** [6:30] **Chair:** And with that, we will open the planning commission meeting for the city of Lake Elmo, Monday, March 9th. The meeting's open. And our first item of business is to stand and say the pledge of allegiance. [6:30] **All:** I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. [6:30] **Chair:** All right. Next item on the agenda is to approve the tonight's agenda. Do I have a motion? [6:30] **Commissioner:** Motion to approve the agenda as written. [6:30] **Commissioner:** Second. [6:30] **Chair:** Second. In favor? [6:30] **Commissioners:** I. I. [6:30] **Chair:** Opposed. None. The agenda has been approved. And with that, I should have jumped in. I would like to welcome our newest member of the planning commission, Matt. If you want to just introduce yourself and two seconds about who you are. [6:30] **Matthew Rasmmanson:** Um, Matthew Rasmmanson. I live over in the Northport development. Um, I've been a resident of the region my whole life. Grew up right on the border of Maplewood and Oakdale. Um, my day job is with the city of Minneapolis with the water treatment. [6:30] **Chair:** Awesome. Thank you. [6:30] **Commissioner:** Welcome. [6:30] **Chair:** All right. Next item is to approve the minutes from February 9th of 2026. [6:30] **Commissioner:** Motion to approve the minutes of February 9th, 2026. [6:30] **Chair:** Need a second. [6:30] **Commissioner:** Second. [6:30] **Chair:** Uh, all in favor? [6:30] **Commissioners:** I. [6:30] **Chair:** All right. The minutes are approved from our last meeting. And that moves us into item number four, which is the public hearing for the preliminary plat and open PUB. I think staff Sophia, you're going to start us out. [6:30] **Sophia (City Planner):** All right. Thank you, Mr. Chair. So, the applicant for tonight's applications is Twin Cities Land Development. The property owner is Landuchi Homes. The property is comprised of three PIDs at just over 110 acres... [Technical presentation of site context and zoning]... Sophia, could you adjust your mic a little bit? It's a little hard to hear you. [6:30] **Sophia (City Planner):** Is it hard to hear me? Okay. Um and then just a note, the last OPUD the city approved was in 2006. So, it's been a while since we've seen this type of development... [Continuation of technical presentation regarding setbacks, septic, and deviations]... And with that, I can stand for any questions. And we do have the developer here with their septic designer in case there's any questions for them. [6:30] **Chair:** Sophia, can you talk about the 40/60 or the 40%? How was that measured in the city standard? [6:30] **Sophia (City Planner):** Yeah, correct. So, it's the linear frontage of the facade. That is a new item within the OPUD code when it was amended last year. Um, so that is that the garage should not exceed 40% of that front facade. The developer is proposing to go up to 60%. [6:30] **Chair:** Okay. More of a blanket request. Any other questions for Sophia? [6:30] **Commissioner:** Um I want to go into a couple of the memos that we received. Um so it sounds like the landscape architect has concern over grading... has somebody reviewed and counted how many trees are in there? [6:30] **Sophia (City Planner):** So they're required to submit a landscape and tree preservation plan... that would get worked out in future submitts. [6:30] **Commissioner:** Seems like that's a concern then for Tamarak Farms Farm Estates as well. The tree preservation. [6:30] **Commissioner:** I did walk some of the area yesterday and it was a little muddy and hilly of course... in the wooded area in the north property boundary and really preserve a lot of the mature trees and vegetation because I've noticed in the past that those have been sacrificed and they shouldn't have been before. [6:30] **Commissioner:** I've got one more question. Why wasn't an environmental review needed for this specific site since there's so many wetlands and ponds on it? [6:30] **Sophia (City Planner):** It didn't trigger the threshold for an EAW or an EIS because of the number of units, but it did get reviewed by the watershed and was sent to the DNR for comments. [6:30] **Commissioner:** Could you talk a little bit about what would be normally required for sidewalks? [6:30] **Sophia (City Planner):** It would be a six foot wide concrete sidewalk. They're proposing an 8ft bituminous. [6:30] **Commissioner:** I had a question in that area too. It said the HOA would be responsible for maintaining that. What about snow removal? [6:30] **Sophia (City Planner):** So, the HOA would maintain it, which includes snow removal. Correct. [6:30] **Commissioner:** I think the other good point that was brought up—I travel that way quite often and I do see that there are blind spots on 50th when you come over the crest there. So, that is a legitimate concern for safety. [6:30] **Commissioner:** I've got one more quick thing... I know I always hate to see drinking water being used for irrigation... but if the ponds go to a certain level, then they'll supplement it with drinking water. [6:30] **Sophia (City Planner):** Correct. That is the city standard. Northstar and I think Wildflower also have that same setup. [6:30] **Commissioner:** When Landuic had he had like 48 homes on the same parcel... and now there's 58. [6:30] **Sophia (City Planner):** It's gone through a few iterations. Since the last one I saw it had more than 58. [6:30] **Chair:** All right. Thank you, Sophia. Does the developer want to present? [6:30] **Ben Schmidt (Twin Cities Land Development):** Uh, excuse me, chair. Ben Schmidt, Twin Cities Land Development. You can—I filled out a card you can throw it away... Staff did a nice job laying out what our project is... [Technical presentation on why the developer is asking for flexibility on trails, garage facades, and impervious surfaces]... Happy to stand for any questions if you've got them. [6:30] **Commissioner:** I understand your point on the asphalt. I just want to know, have you lived in a house with an asphalt path in front of it that cuts through your yard and what it looks like in five years? [6:30] **Ben Schmidt:** Certainly, there's some pros and cons and I will tell you that's one we're not going to die on that hill, right? If you guys say you want to be concrete, concrete it'll be. [6:30] **Commissioner:** Do you know what lots would require the impervious? [6:30] **Ben Schmidt:** Don't know exact. I mean it would depend on who wants a pool or whatever it might be. [6:30] **Commissioner:** I would rather my thought is to dive down and identify the lots that you want this variance on and we can apply that. [6:30] **Ben Schmidt:** Understood. [6:30] **Commissioner:** Would the HOA be open to having a gravel trail versus paved? [6:30] **Ben Schmidt:** I'm certainly open to that idea. I would not want that instead of a concrete sidewalk or a bituminous trail along the road, but in terms of for the yellow trail, I'd be certainly open to that. [6:30] **Sophia (City Planner):** Mr. Chair, just a reminder that the trail proposed meets the city standards... gravel is also seen as impervious. [6:30] **Commissioner:** Would there be any change in HOA rules regarding flexibility for low-water use lawns? [6:30] **Ben Schmidt:** Yeah, I got to tell you, it's a thorny issue for me... We're certainly open to that idea... [Calls engineer to the podium]. [6:30] **Mitch Johnson (Civil Engineer for Developer):** Hi, I'm Mitch Johnson, civil engineer on the project... Typically what we put down is 6 inches of topsoil... there should be an abundance of topsoil on the site. [6:30] **Chair:** So then one of my favorite questions is before we get into the public meeting is have you talked to the neighbors? [6:30] **Ben Schmidt:** Uh we did not have a neighborhood meeting... I generally air on the side of having more neighborhood meetings... I think this fits well within the neighborhood. [6:30] **Chair:** All right. Thank you. [7:00] **Chair:** All right. With that it's 7 o'clock and we will open—oh I need a motion to open the public hearing. [7:00] **Commissioner:** I'll make a motion to open the public hearing. [7:00] **Commissioner:** Second that. [7:00] **Chair:** All right. In favor? [7:00] **Commissioners:** I. [7:01] **Chair:** And it's 7:01. We will open the public hearing... First person I have is Nathan Campbell. [7:01] **Nathan Campbell:** I am Nathan Campbell. My address is 5308 Lynen Trail North. Um I'm in the Tamarack Farms Estate neighborhood. I'm the current HOA president... [Expresses concerns regarding traffic safety on 50th Street and trail connections]. [7:01] **Chair:** All right. Thank you, Nathan. Next I have Neil Krueger. [7:01] **Neil Krueger:** Hello. I'm Neil Krueger, 4452 Lake Elmo Avenue. Um, this is a farm that I'm very familiar with... My main concern is that that tamarack swamp gets protected so it can continue for years to come. Thank you. [7:01] **Chair:** Thanks Neil. And last up, Ben Schmidt. Oh, well, you didn't need to. [7:01] **Ben Schmidt:** Some municipalities made you fill it out or you can't talk. [7:01] **Chair:** Do you guys want to read the two emails into the record? Let's go ahead and read the whole thing out loud. [7:01] **Commissioner:** [Reads lengthy email from Tamarak Farms HOA outlining concerns about traffic, site access, and utility connections]. [7:01] **Commissioner:** [Reads email from Mark Zetsity and Connie Ospec requesting specific tree species for screening along the Carriage Station property line]. [7:01] **Danny Hecker:** Step up. I know who you are. Danny Hecker. I have the 10 acres there off 50th. I think the development looks good... would love to see some landscape consideration on our side, especially where the road comes closest to our land. [7:11] **Chair:** All right. If there are no other public comments, we will close—I need a motion to close the public hearing. [7:11] **Commissioner:** I move we close the public hearing. [7:11] **Commissioner:** Second that. [7:11] **Chair:** In favor? [7:11] **Commissioners:** I. [7:11] **Chair:** All right. And with that, at 7:11, we will close the public hearing. Next, we need a motion to discuss. [7:11] **Susie (Commissioner):** Recommendation to council for conditional approval. [7:11] **Chair:** Susie, can I have you speak up far into the mic? Thank you. Let's start with the recommendation that's on the table and then we can discuss and adjust it from there. [7:11] **Commissioner:** Move to recommend approval of a preliminary plat and PUD requested by Twin Cities Land Development on the subject property based on the findings of fact and the recommended conditions of approval listed in the staff report. [7:11] **Chair:** Do I have a second? [7:11] **Commissioner:** I'll second. [7:11] **Commissioner:** I'd like to hear more about the wetland of concern... Sophia, do you know whereabouts that is? [7:11] **Ben Schmidt:** Certainly in general... all the other wetlands are no touch. We're staying away from them. There'll be wetland buffers that are maintained. [7:11] **Chair:** Nate, you can wave me off. It's okay. [To Nate Stanley]. [7:11] **Nate Stanley (City Engineer):** Uh, I'll just tell you what I was telling Sophia. So, right now there's no turn lanes included on 50th... the city will in the future have an opportunity to work on 50th and at that time could revisit access to both properties. [7:11] **Chair:** My recommendation then would be that we change the three conditions. My request would be is that we require that the asphalt sidewalk be a concrete sidewalk and that the variances for impervious on the plots be identified. [7:11] **Chair:** All right. Let's put the recommendation that's on the table to vote... Move to recommend approval of the preliminary plat requested by Twin Cities Land Development... [7:11] **Commissioners:** Nay. [7:11] **Chair:** The motion does not pass. I would propose a motion to recommend approval with the conditions of changing the sidewalks to concrete and that impervious land variations over 30% be identified on each individual house parcel. [7:11] **Commissioner:** Second that. All in favor? [7:11] **Commissioners:** I. [7:11] **Chair:** The amended recommendation passes. All right. This will be going to city council April 7th. [7:11] **Sophia (City Staff):** Hello. Um I'm in front of you tonight to give a brief presentation or refresher on the Green Step Cities and Gold Leaf programs... [Technical presentation on sustainability awards and the 2026 work plan including pumpkin composting, Tree City USA, and the boulevard tree program]. [7:11] **Commissioner:** Well done. Thank you. I had a question for you... under transportation, what are living streets? [7:11] **Sophia (City Staff):** I'm not sure of the specifics... you can shoot me those emails. I'll find the answers for you. [7:11] **Chair:** And we had a tree city program last Thursday... for the tree stewards. [7:11] **Sophia (City Staff):** Yeah. So, we did that. And we should have more opportunities for you probably in April and May with public works and pruning if you want to get out there with us. [7:11] **Commissioner:** I'm glad to see that happen because we lost so many mature trees with all the road construction. [7:11] **Sophia (City Staff):** Awesome. Thank you. Next item is new communication updates... the public hearing notice zoning text amendment which increased the mailing distances from 350 ft to 500 is now in effect... Upcoming meetings is March 23rd and April 13th. [7:11] **Commissioner:** I just received a letter from the city that was about maybe the storm sewer... could we include in there that these things are available and maybe direct them how they can find them? [7:11] **Sophia (City Staff):** Yeah. I'll talk to communications and see if there's any other avenues we can take. [7:11] **Chair:** All right. Anything else for you? [7:11] **Sophia (City Staff):** Just that we have the training after this. [7:11] **Chair:** Yes, we have training. Our next meeting is March 23rd... and with that, we are going to relocate to the training room... this portion will not be televised. Thank you. Kick the chief out. So, hey Sophia.