This transcript appears to be a meeting of the **Planning Commission** for the City of Cannon Falls. Based on the names provided and the context of the dialogue, here is the identified transcript. **Note:** Some names of residents and commission members were not in your provided list but were identified phonetically or via their own introductions within the text. *** [6:34] **Chair (likely Brian Douglas):** Showtime. It's called the Nina Monday, July 13th Planning Commission meeting to order. Call to order. We'll call Daniels? [6:34] **Daniel:** I'm here. [6:34] **Chair:** Mr. Duncan? You're—Emma with us? Dylan? Bill—not with us. Glenn? [6:34] **Glenn:** Here. [6:34] **Chair:** Matt, are you with us tonight? [6:34] **Matt Montgomery (Mayor):** Yes sir, I'm here. [6:34] **Chair:** Okay, got that. Approval of the agenda. Motion to approve? [6:34] **Planning Commission Member:** So moved. [6:34] **Planning Commission Member:** I'll second it. [6:34] **Chair:** Motions moved and seconded to approve the agenda. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Approval of the minutes from the June 8th, 2020 meeting. [7:21] **Planning Commission Member:** I'll make a motion to approve those also. [7:21] **Planning Commission Member:** I'll second them. [7:21] **Chair:** Motions been made and seconded. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Any input from the citizens? Issues not on the agenda? Nobody in the crowd. Okay, let's move on to public hearings. Number one: conditional use for John Anderson at 201 Main Street West to allow a height variation of proposed accessory structure to be constructed on his property. Anybody here to voice their opinion on that? There’s no Mr. John Anderson here? I know, I thought it was kind of approved last... [8:06] **Planning Commission Member:** Thing—I'll make a motion we approve the conditional use permit for John Anderson. [8:06] **Chair:** Well, second. This is just part of the conditional use hearing. We'll do that in a public hearing. Yeah. Oh well, there's no—nobody wants to talk about Mr. Anderson's proposal. Okay, it's open and closed that meeting, the conditional use permit for Mr. Anderson. And move on to (B): conditional use for Valley View Recovery Center. Anybody here wants to speak up? We're limiting to three minutes this evening. Discussion, explanation? Going, going, gone. Yeah, go ahead. Stand up there and state your name and tell us what you think. You have three minutes. [9:11] **Jack Haugen:** All right. I'm Jack Haugen from Cannon Falls, 31815 Mile Trail. I stand strongly opposed to this. This is going right in our neighborhood in a residential area. I know it doesn't impact Cannon Falls a lot because it's on the other side of Highway 52, but it impacts us residents. It impacts the people in Cannon Falls Township and the people in Stanton Township. My neighbors are totally against it; Mike and Cathy Briggs, my neighbors, are totally against it. It was turned down in Red Wing because the residents spoke up there. I talked to some of the county commissioners and that's exactly, exactly why it was turned down in Red Wing—people spoke up against it. I know this is for a conditional use permit. I'd like to hear the Planning Commission's ideas on what conditions are going to put on this, because a conditional use permit, there are conditions. I have several I'd like to have. Where this treatment center has a regular cafeteria restaurant so these people can have three meals a day. They say they're going to be catered meals, but not all of us eat at the same time during the day. That's a concern of mine. One of the most important things when you go through treatment is a healthy diet. So I'd like to hear what the Planning Commission or anybody here has on conditions you'd like to put on this facility. I'd like to have a curfew where there's no walking in the neighborhood after dark. That's just some of my ideas, but I stand totally against this. If this was going in your residential area, you wouldn't want it. We have a lot of children out that area, so I'm totally against it. [10:45] **Chair:** Thanks, Jack. Anyone else like to step forward? State their name. [11:32] **John Peterson:** Good evening. John Peterson, Cannon Falls. I'm guessing I'm not the only one here for whom this feels a little like deja vu, and I'm not gonna repeat myself from last time. Most of you were here then. I just like to challenge one of the ideas that I know has been thrown out a few times both by the Planning Commission and by the council, and that's the notion that there's no room to put conditions on this facility because they're operating in their state license. To me, that's sort of a false argument. There are a lot of businesses, my own included, that require a state license to operate and yet we still have a conditional use that defines how we fit in the neighborhood, how we fit the zoning. And so I would ask that you not bypass the conditional step simply because they're required to get a state license. You know, Jack mentioned the commercial kitchen. As somebody in the food business, I see that as a real win-win. I've heard at these meetings in the past, I've heard Mr. McGuire say that he's open to conditions and would welcome conditions. I believe that there's a win-win opportunity for you here to forge a path where you do put some conditions on—something like a kitchen. Like any of us would be required to do if we would open up a 54-bed hospital or 54-bed boarding school, we would probably be required to put in a commercial kitchen or that graduated in head count. Things like that have been mentioned. But I would ask you not to bypass the conditional step simply because they have a state license. I think there's an opportunity for you to do your job as the Planning Commission and put some conditions on that will appease both sides. Thank you. [13:08] **Chair:** Yep. Anyone else? [13:34] **Wendy Lacking:** Wendy Lacking, 31815. Jimmy, could you pull the microphone down a little? Such as—how's this? No? It can't help me. I'm here as a grandmother. I've been a resident for thirty years here and just strongly opposed to it, as well as the neighborhood—very opposed to this. And my concern is all the young children in the neighborhood. I counted probably a dozen starting within 300 feet to 600 feet to a quarter of a mile, and that's not including teenagers and grandkids and kids that might come in for a field trip to Ferndale or elsewhere. I'm just thinking this would never have been allowed—well, it is never allowed near a school or a church, so how can you say it's okay in a neighborhood like ours? I mean, there are safety concerns, and so I just wanted to point that out. I talked to a neighbor yesterday who's older than me; he's been here 35 years and always has felt safe, but he said, "Now I'm scared." And that's just—that's not good to put this fear in. And so I just wanted you to realize that. And thank you. [15:12] **Chair:** Anyone else? Opposed or in favor? [15:36] **Dick Peterson:** I am Dick Peterson, Cannon Falls as well. And I am not afraid, I have to say, of this venture. I think it's needed, but I do think the conditions are needed too. I think there's not another facility of this type that you wouldn't have a requirement of a commercial kitchen. As we heard the last time, the plan was to cater everything from Little Oscar’s, which I understand is now closed down. So I think that—and you wouldn't put a nursing home there without a commercial kitchen, you wouldn't put any facility like that without a commercial kitchen. And I just think in the public arena, that would be an important condition in my mind. Thank you. [16:26] **Ray Schuller:** Ray Schuller here. I own the property on both sides of the proposed venture here. My first thing is that I understand the residents, their concerns I guess, but as all you guys know, this is not a residentially zoned property. All of our property there is all business. I didn't state it; you guys were the ones that made it commercial. And like I said, I do totally understand the residents, but then again, that is zoned commercial. And I understand this is a conditional use hearing that, yes, if you want to call it—and I think that's what we should be talking about: not whether or not people want it or not, but the fact this is commercial-zoned property. It is totally within the rights of the city, and within the rights of the owners there, that it is a commercial property. So I just want you guys to be aware that it is. Thank you. [17:13] **Joe Hamburg:** My name is Joe Hamburg. I am the general manager of Cannon Power Sports. Again, I run the business that's neighboring to this. One of the things that I've heard over and over, talked about the last time I was here—I heard it too—is the concerns for the community and the kids in the community and stuff like that. I can appreciate that; it's a good argument, it's a solid argument, and it means a lot to a lot of people. But what occurs to me is on both sides of my property, I have hotels. You have people come in and out of those hotels every single solitary day. We don't know where they come from, we don't know where they're going afterwards. So we already live in a community on that side of the highway that has people that we don't understand where they're coming from and who they are. That happens every single solitary day. The advantage of having a facility like this is we will know who these people are. They'll have identities in terms of registrations, driver's licenses; we'll know where they came from and where they're going to. We have access to a lot more information about who's coming in then we do people visiting simple businesses on both sides of our property. And I think that's an important thing to remember: that this concern about who's coming into our neighborhood is something that's been taking place on that side of the highway since I started working down here. And rightfully so—the good businesses, and I think this one will be too. Thank you. [19:13] **Cheryl:** Cheryl, 31913 64th Avenue. In regards to the area that this is built in, again, this is kind of repetitive from the last meeting, but I both live and own a business on the same street that this is looking to be located. And I don't see it as a place to be frightened to live near. I do have one of the lodging establishments that, like he talked about, has the people that come in every day. And as long as you're managing your property, I think you avoid the problems that could come with that. And I guess that's part of the planning for our city. I mean, I see at least one business to the right of me empty, across the highway from me empty—I hate to see another one on the same side as us empty. If we can find a business who can come into this property and fill our tax base and help us with our water bills and all the stuff that this can do for our community, I see that as all pluses. You know, and if Bhavesh has an opportunity to find a business that can use his property as the best use and it fits most all of the needs... you know, it's been made pretty obvious the last few years that we just don't have the commerce in Cannon Falls to support three lodging establishments very well. So if he can find someone who could come in and use this as best use, I see that as another plus—that we don't have another empty business and building sitting in town. Thank you. [21:09] **Andrea Taji:** Hello again. My name is Andrea Taji and I am a Cannon Falls resident in Stanton Township as well. Again, we're reiterating a lot of the things already discussed, and I just want to acknowledge and validate people that are quite honestly scared of the unknown. It's something that's fallen to them, they're not aware of these things, and I just want you guys to hear that. A lot of the things we said are assumptions and opinions; they're not based on facts. There are treatment centers that are located—I worked at one two blocks from a school. There are programs that have catering and have for years; that's completely okayed by the state. This is a really great opportunity to provide jobs and stimulate the economy and it is gonna be well-regulated. We're gonna have staff 24/7, we're gonna have curfews, all of those things. But again, really none of that matters. What matters tonight is zoning specifically. It's not whether or not the community wants this; it's specifically about zoning. So just so you guys know that, but I think it's important for us to remember why we're here tonight. Thank you. [22:42] **Chair:** Thank you. Anyone else? Last call. Alright, let's close the public hearing with the Valley View conditional use. Move on to discussion items. Take care of number (A) first: John Anderson. Any discussion with the Commission? Hearing none. Motion to accept or deny? [22:42] **Planning Commission Member:** I'll make a motion we accept the conditional use permit for John Anderson. [22:42] **Planning Commission Member:** I'll second. [22:42] **Chair:** Motions been made and seconded. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Next: resolution for the Valley View Recovery Center. Discussion on the Commission? [23:28] **Planning Commission Member:** Yeah, I’ll start out. I understand the concerns of those that are opposed to this. However, at the end of the day, both the Planning Commission and the Council next week—our only job is to look at the zoning and land use. Period. Nothing else. And if it meets that criteria, which we have findings of facts which show that they do meet all the criteria, we are virtually legally obligated to approve it. And that's where I stand on it. However, I believe we can add stipulations that the City Council can listen to and take for what it's worth. Certain ones that were talked about last month... and Dave Kendall was—Andrea's here tonight, but Dave Kendall was here last month and he explained some of the things like limiting number of people there. What was some of the other ones? He tried to narrow it down to, like I said, zoning—property road parking. There were basically four categories that we could address. But operations, the number within their property, that would be something that would have to honestly just come to an agreement. If they said that they want to build a kitchen, we'd have to take them at their word; I don't think we could hold them to that as far as the conditional use permit. Andrea, could you weigh in on this please? Can't hear you—got about the button. [25:06] **Andrea Taji:** Operational standards are things that you really can't provide conditions on. It really has to be related to the impact on the surrounding community: public health and welfare, traffic, do they have sufficient parking, landscaping, lighting, any sort of noise that's generated. But it really can't be operational or limiting. I don't see any basis for limiting the number when you have a hotel that already had served that many people. [25:06] **Planning Commission Member:** Can we ask questions? Would you guys be willing to answer if we asked: were there any compromises that you guys thought of bringing to the table about the issues? [25:52] **Jacob McGuire (Owner, Valley View):** I’m Jacob McGuire, Owner and CEO of Valley View Recovery Center. I had thought of this really hard and after the attorney at the last week's meeting opened my eyes to what is limited to enforce for conditions, I've had a very hard time coming up with a single condition. I meet all four requirements. I follow everything that the state—whether it's a food license or lodging license or whatever license it is—I have to follow it strictly by the state. So all the conditions that can be put on me are by about ten different state agencies already. [26:41] **Planning Commission Member:** Jacob, in the parking lot on the—think about this here—the north side, the biggest part of the parking lot. Does your property line only run to where the parking ends? [26:41] **Jacob McGuire:** No, there's about a 50-foot grass area on the other side. There's fifty feet past the parking lot to the north of green space. [26:41] **Planning Commission Member:** Right, because I drove out there again this afternoon to take a look. Would you be possibly open to maybe putting some sort of screening—trees, bushes, or something—for a sight thing? Obviously you can't on the other side because Cannon Power Sports is there. [27:27] **Jacob McGuire:** Other—yeah, they have the fence. I have talked to the current owner and I have talked about possibly purchasing that property in the future. Those talks didn't... you know, we just kind of felt that it would be a possibility in the future. We wanted to see where this meeting went before going any further into that talk. But I'm not sure what the stipulations would be and what kind of—whether it's a privacy fence or trees or what. [28:13] **Planning Commission Member:** Right, because our zoning does talk about screening, which could be a fence or probably the easier of course is planting trees and bushes and that kind of thing. [28:13] **Jacob McGuire:** The zoning talks about it when it's adjacent to a residential property or a residential zone. And I would be open to some talks about it; I'd like to know more specifics. And the lighting situation isn't changing—I know that was also a category—so it'll be the exact same. [28:13] **Planning Commission Member:** Have you found anybody else to do your catering? Explored that issue? [28:58] **Jacob McGuire:** So they are still open; they want to cater to us fully. I haven't talked to any other restaurants about maybe taking up like one meal a day to help lighten the load on Little Oscar’s. But she has chosen to close just because of all the stipulations to provide... she wants to make sure that she can be there for us instead of getting closed down for a COVID thing. [28:58] **Planning Commission Member:** As Andrea explained earlier, that's an operational issue which we cannot correct. [28:58] **Jacob McGuire:** I have really thought about the menu. The nutritional value in the menu has been went over by the Minnesota Department of Health health survey team. There's a state licensed RN that they hire to make sure that your menu is up to what it needs to be or exceeds the nutritional value. So between the food pool and lodging, the Minnesota Department of Health, and then also the health survey team—anyone that deals with my food has already been through it and agrees that it's good to go. [28:58] **Planning Commission Member:** Would you have any plans in the future of having your own kitchen instead of having it contracted out? [29:44] **Jacob McGuire:** Right, I would still contract out the labor. I believe—you know, I'm not in the business of creating menus and serving food and hiring cooks and stuff like that. So I would contract out the kitchen, most likely to someone like Little Oscar’s, so then there's not as much of a back and forth with food. And I do would like to see how it goes with them and maybe if they want a few days off a week, diversify the amount of the different kinds of businesses bringing food into the facility so you don't have all eggs in one basket. But I think that that would be best for the community. I think it would be best for me and for Little Oscar’s to maybe take a couple days to diversify the caterers. [30:31] **Planning Commission Member:** Yeah, we don't have any control over that, but do you have something like if there's a snowstorm where they wouldn't get down, that you've got some food back up? [30:31] **Jacob McGuire:** Yeah, we definitely have fridges and stock of dry food. It's limited to what we can produce being on a limited food license, so things like sandwiches we have on-site at all times. Cereal, sandwiches—we would definitely have enough to feed people to get past the snow line. [31:16] **Planning Commission Member:** Okay. I guess I've got one question that's probably not so pertinent, but what are you gonna do with the smokers? I'm guessing they can't smoke on the facility so they're gonna have to leave, or you're gonna supply them with an area? [31:16] **Jacob McGuire:** Everything out back. So near that tree line up on the west side, there's gonna be a smoking area. No one can smoke out in the front or the side of the building. Anytime someone steps foot outside of our facility, it has to be supervised. So, let's say the men are on even smoking times—like 10 o'clock—women would be on odd smoking times. One of the behavioral health technicians would go out there and supervise the people smoking. They'd get a 10-15 minute smoke break, have them go back in the building. And if they're going to get their smoking tobacco, lighters, whatever it is—a family member or someone would have to bring it to the facility for them. We're not going out shopping for their cigarettes and stuff like that. [32:03] **Planning Commission Member:** Okay, 'cause it can be an annoying issue, the smoking... it just doesn't look so good when you're out in the front of a facility or people standing on the edge of the road. [32:03] **Jacob McGuire:** Right, but he's puffing... and all the butts end up on the ground. I’m thinking about putting a small privacy fence out back just so they know exactly where their boundaries are—out of sight, out of mind. [32:49] **Planning Commission Member:** Any other questions on the Commission? I don't. Just the one citizen who had brought up curfew—obviously you have in-room lights out? I assume that's enforced with security? [32:49] **Jacob McGuire:** Yes. Yeah, okay. Just to... that's a non-issue, most definitely. [32:49] **Chair:** Okay. Diane, can you think of anything we haven't covered here? [33:18] **Diane Johnson (Council Member):** No, I think you have. I think you'll need to determine if you think of any conditions and what those specifics of those might be. With respect to the landscaping, the concern there, I think, is they'd have to develop a landscape plan that they would have to stick to, and that landscape plan has to be approved by the City Council. And you don't have anything like that at this point. And I think as he noted, it's typically something you would require in connection with an abutting neighborhood as opposed to another business. And so if you intend to approve this, my recommendation is that your motion would be a motion to recommend approval to City Council and approval of the findings of fact by the Planning Commission that have been brought before you. [34:06] **Chair:** Any other discussion? You want to break that down into two motions then? [34:06] **Planning Commission Member:** Well, I'll make one motion to approve resolution 2020-4 along with the findings of fact that we have to support this. [34:06] **Diane Johnson:** Can I just ask one thing? I think the findings of facts mentioned landscaping. Is that something you want in there? Because it's really not very detailed about what that is for a requirement. We'd want to describe what particular area we would want to put the screening on, and if you want a screening at all. [35:01] **Planning Commission Member:** I'm trying to think if we... I don't necessarily want to force them. I don't know if anybody that's been out there on the northern side of their property—there's nothing from the edge of their parking lot until the road basically, which has got to be close to a hundred feet. [35:01] **Jacob McGuire:** Closer to 150-175 feet from the property over to the abutting property line. [35:01] **Planning Commission Member:** Right, and the building right to the property line. Right now it's pretty open. I know on the other side of the road there's a fair amount of trees and stuff on the Peterson property. To the west, there's those trees in the back, and on the north side of the property, there's that one big tree just outside the parking lot on that side. But other than that, it's pretty open. [35:48] **Planning Commission Member:** Well, and we didn't require the owner before to have the fence there, and there's more cars there than there probably will be. No? Ryan thinks so? I just don't see any real reason to require it. If he wants to, why—I think it would be just a suggestion for us as a committee, and that would be up to the City Council to make that decision whether or not... [36:35] **Diane Johnson:** You can do as you please. If you want to make it a recommended condition in your conditional use permit... if you want to delete that condition and just recommend to the Council that's something they may want to consider, you can do that as well. [36:35] **Planning Commission Member:** Would you like to rephrase your motion, mister? [36:35] **Planning Commission Member:** I will amend my motion to eliminate the landscape requirement with the thought that the Council can discuss that next week if they wish to add that in. Otherwise, my motion will stand. [36:35] **Chair:** Motion has been made. Is there a second? [36:35] **Planning Commission Member:** I'll second it. [37:21] **Chair:** Motions been made and seconded. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Hearing none. Any other topics in the Commission for discussion? No? Nothing on the agenda. Everything's good. Okay, motion to adjourn. [37:21] **Planning Commission Member:** I'll make a motion we adjourn. [37:21] **Chair:** Has been made. Second? [37:21] **Planning Commission Member:** Second. [37:21] **Chair:** All in favor? Aye. Good evening.