This transcript is from a **Planning Commission** meeting. Based on the dialogue, roll calls, and the context provided, I have identified the speakers as **Chair Roddy**, Planning Commission members (**Teskey, Winshuttle, Later, McBee**), city staff (**Jared and Tony**), applicant **Sultan Hawk**, and consultant **Lance Bernard**. [0:00] [Music] [0:44] **Chair Roddy**: Meeting order. On behalf of the Planning Commission, I'd like to welcome our residents and viewers to this regular meeting of September 12, 2023. On tonight's agenda, we have two public hearings and one discussion item. We'll take the public hearings as shown on the agenda. Before we get into the public hearings, we have one housekeeping item: the minutes from our regular meeting of August 8, 2023. Are there any additions or corrections to those minutes? If not, is there a motion? I'll make a motion. I have a motion for approval. Is there a second? Motion and second. All in favor say aye. Aye. And the minutes are approved. With that, then, we'll move into the public hearings. We'll open both public meetings at this time. [1:29] **Chair Roddy**: Again, as I said, we'll take them in order shown on the agenda. The first public hearing is an ordinance amendment to Title 10, Chapter 3, Sections 3, 5, and 7 of the City Code, and this deals with administrative requirements for conditional and interim use permits. And Jared, I believe you're going to take this. [1:45] **Jared (Staff)**: Thank you, Chair, members of the Planning Commission. So, staff, with the help and direction of legal, is recommending several ordinance amendments to Title 10, Chapter 3, Sections 3, 5, and 7 of the City Code regarding administrative requirements for conditional and interim use permits. There are two main components to this proposed ordinance amendment. The first part of the amendment transfers authority from the Planning Commission to the City Council to approve interim use permits. Currently, the Planning Commission does not have statutory authority to approve or deny interim use permits; only the City Council can approve them. The existing code currently delegates the approval of interim use permits to the Planning Commission without needing City Council approval. So, in order to align with State Statute, the proposed ordinance amendment would transfer this duty from the Planning Commission back to the City Council. The Planning Commission would still hold a public hearing and give a recommendation to the City Council. And the second component adds a six-month timeframe before denied conditional or interim use permits can be reapplied for. Staff is recommending adding this timeframe to reduce redundancy and repeat applications, save time for staff and decision-makers, and allow for the applicant to make significant changes that are needed as a result of the initial denial. So, the action requested for you tonight is to recommend the City Council approve the attached ordinance and summary ordinance regarding CUP and IUP administrative requirements. [3:02] **Chair Roddy**: Thank you, Jared. Well, that's a good one to start out with. This is a public hearing. If anybody in our audience has comments or questions regarding this ordinance amendment, please raise your hand. [Pause] I didn't think it'd be well-talked about, but bring it back at the table. Commissioner Teskey? [3:44] **Commissioner Teskey**: I don't have [any comments]. [3:44] **Chair Roddy**: Commissioner Winshuttle? [3:44] **Commissioner Winshuttle**: No, nothing further. I think it makes sense and looks good. [3:44] **Chair Roddy**: Commissioner Later? [3:44] **Commissioner Later**: Looks good. No further questions or comments. Thank you. [3:44] **Chair Roddy**: Commissioner McBee? [3:44] **Commissioner McBee**: I don't really have anything either. Looks good. As far as my tenure on the Commission, I don't recall too many interim uses, only a couple. Jared, do you know how many are in already? Any still valid? [4:29] **Jared (Staff)**: I'll address that. We have—if you recall when we amended our home occupation permit a couple of years ago—we changed that process from a conditional use permit to an interim use. We have approved two of them in that time. One was for an in-home spa and fingernail salon, but they have since moved into an actual commercial building downtown, so that one's no longer active. The second one was for a two-chair salon out of a home. Other than that, those are really the only two active ones. We did do an IUP for the solar garden at the corner of Denmark and 50, the little solar array that's out there. That was done 10 or 12 years ago. So, but those are the only ones that are out there in my time here. [5:15] **Commissioner McBee**: Okay. And they're still valid? [5:15] **Jared (Staff)**: They are. [5:15] **Commissioner McBee**: Okay. Do you know, did the Commission ever have statutory authority to grant these? [5:15] **Jared (Staff)**: I don't know that. It never came up. It was just something that was caught from our legal team when we brought the proposal to add the six-month period. [5:15] **Chair Roddy**: All right. And I think the six months is a good idea, too, in my time. All right, seeing nothing, I'd look for a motion to close the public hearing. [5:58] **Commissioner Winshuttle**: Motion to close. [5:58] **Chair Roddy**: Is there a second? [5:58] **Commissioner Later**: Second. [5:58] **Chair Roddy**: In front of the Commission, then, is a recommendation to our City Council in regards to ordinance Title 10, Chapter 3 modification. Is there a motion? [5:58] **Commissioner McBee**: I'll make a motion to approve. [5:58] **Chair Roddy**: We have a favorable recommendation to our City Council. Is there a second? [5:58] **Commissioner Teskey**: Second. [5:58] **Chair Roddy**: Motion and a second. Any more discussion? If not, call the roll, please. [5:58] **Staff**: Roddy? Yes. Later? Yes. Teskey? Yes. McBee? Yes. Winshuttle? Yes. [6:43] **Chair Roddy**: All right, thank you. We'll move into our second public hearing. This is a conditional use permit for a grocery store within the B1 zoning district. The address is 705 A Street. The applicant is Mr. Sultan Hawk. Thank you, sir. Tony, you'll take this? [6:43] **Tony (Staff)**: I will. All right, thank you, Mr. Chair, Commission members. Before us tonight is the application for a conditional use permit for a grocery store to be located at 705 A Street. The applicant is Mr. Sultan Hawk. He is the owner of Farmington Food and Spice House. This would occupy the southern half of the existing building, which is located at 705 A Street. Again, this would be for a grocery store. The offerings that would be included include meat, frozen fish, dairy products, Halal slaughtered animals, fresh produce, dry foods, canned foods, spices, tea, coffee, beverages, and ethnic personal care and beauty products. It would also include a delicatessen where you could get cold cut meats, sliced cheese, sandwiches, heroes, grill items, salads, and fries—so pretty much anything you could get at any of your other grocery stores. [7:45] **Tony (Staff)**: The property is zoned B1, which is our Highway Business zoning district, in which grocery stores are a conditional use. The property is guided within our 2040 Comprehensive Plan for Commercial. The property is 1.34 acres in size and is located at the northeast intersection of 190th Street and A Street. The site contains a 5,059-square-foot office/retail building and a 1,200-square-foot building that was the former car wash building when it was the old Oasis Market. The space has historically been used as a convenience store with gas. The current use of at least the southern half of that building is an overstock outlet. As part of the convenience store with gas, the underground gas tanks were removed in 2013 as part of cleaning up that site. The northern half of the existing building is currently occupied by JG Legend Inc., which is a tattoo shop. The former car wash building located at the southeast corner of the site is currently being utilized as a car detailing business. [9:04] **Tony (Staff)**: As far as the interior of the space, Farmington Food and Spice is looking to utilize the southern half of the existing building by renovating the interior. There would be no additions to the building proposed with this. The renovated space would be arranged in an open floor concept with shelving in the center, a deli in the northwest corner, coolers and freezers along the eastern and southern walls, and then the checkout counter along the western wall. As shown on the site plan, the existing bituminous area would be utilized for parking. Largely, the site is blacktop and building; there's very little green space on the site. The site plan does show 23 off-street parking stalls. These are located along the western and southern side of the building. The code requires a minimum of 25 stalls based on the proposed uses; two additional stalls will be required to be provided. Trash container location is shown in the northeast corner. A screening plan for this container will have to be submitted to and approved by planning staff. Screening can consist of either a six-foot-high privacy fence or masonry walls. I do want to mention that the northern and eastern side of the site currently does have a privacy fence in place. [10:39] **Tony (Staff)**: As the Commission is aware, there are six criteria for approval of a conditional use permit. Staff does believe that the proposed use meets those criteria. The action requested this evening is to approve the requested CUP for the establishment of a grocery store at 705 A Street contingent on the following: 1) all necessary building permits are obtained; 2) sign permits shall be obtained; 3) a revised site plan showing two additional stalls; 4) the parking lot shall be striped; and 5) a screening plan for the trash container must be submitted. [11:24] **Chair Roddy**: Thank you, Tony. Mr. Hawk is with us tonight. Did you have anything to add to the staff report or anything you'd like to mention to the Commission? If you do, can you please come over here. Thank you. [11:32] **Sultan Hawk**: We don't have a grocery store at this moment in the city, so we are thinking if we can provide a grocery store for the Farmington community. Plus, you know, I was thinking if we can bring in different ethnic communities living in and around Farmington. Basically, we are thinking completely for the Farmington community for this grocery store. We shall try our best to support the community and succeed in helping the public. [12:10] **Chair Roddy**: Mr. Hawk, we always like to have our residents know: what is your timing on building this or converting this, and what are your hours? [12:10] **Sultan Hawk**: We are planning to do it from 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM. [12:10] **Chair Roddy**: Those are the hours of operation. How about the timing of opening your business? [12:10] **Sultan Hawk**: As soon as we get the permit. We have done some work. Mostly the structure is existing; it before has been a gas station and grocery store, so it is very similar. Since we have been working on this for one year to plan everything, we have everything equipped. It will take us three to six months maximum. We have a target of three months. [14:28] **Chair Roddy**: That'd be good. If you could stay available, we're going to open this up to members of the audience to see if they have any questions. [Pause] This is a public hearing. If you have any questions regarding this conditional use, please raise your hand. All right, how about we go through the Commission members. Commissioner Winshuttle? [15:14] **Commissioner Winshuttle**: I think it's a welcome to the community. It's something that's needed. A couple of general questions: how many employees do you plan to have? [15:14] **Sultan Hawk**: We are thinking at least three to five, plus we will be putting in our time as a family—me and my wife. [15:14] **Commissioner Winshuttle**: Then as far as the front of the building, Tony, are there any bollards or anything by that door scheduled to be put in there? [15:14] **Tony (Staff)**: As of right now, no, there aren't any. That certainly could be a condition. [16:00] **Commissioner Winshuttle**: It's always concerning at the doors with cars pulling up. It's certainly a safety issue. Mr. Hawk, do you understand the question regarding the recommendation for the safety of your employees and customers? [16:00] **Sultan Hawk**: If you can repeat one more time? [16:00] **Tony (Staff)**: Essentially, he is asking on the western side of the building where you have the drive-in parking, whether or not you'd be amenable to putting bollards or some sort of safety precaution to try to stop any rogue vehicles from going into the building. [16:45] **Sultan Hawk**: Yeah, I mean, we can have that. It wouldn't be a big problem for us to provide that. We always care for safety. [16:45] **Commissioner Winshuttle**: I would recommend placing that as a condition. That's it. [17:31] **Chair Roddy**: Commissioner Later? [17:31] **Commissioner Later**: I think it looks really good. I appreciate the hard work. You have a really comprehensive business plan. My question is: do you have an idea where those additional parking spots are going to go? [18:18] **Tony (Staff)**: At this time, no. My guess is it's going to be towards the east side of the site where there's adequate space. We'll review that internally to make sure circulation works. [18:18] **Commissioner McBee**: Welcome to the community. There's a big need and interest in a grocery store here. [18:18] **Commissioner Teskey**: I do have one question with regard to the loading dock. Are you intending to use that? And when do you expect deliveries? [18:18] **Sultan Hawk**: Yes, we need it for unloading inventory. Mostly during the day. [19:04] **Chair Roddy**: Mr. Hawk, were there any changes in the lighting out there that could affect neighbors? Are you going to add or change any lighting in your parking lot? [19:04] **Sultan Hawk**: We would like to do some spotlighting with sensors. We have already installed cameras. A couple of months ago, a police officer requested footage because a car scratched someone's car across the street. We would like to add adequate lighting for the parking spot that is helpful for vision. [20:38] **Chair Roddy**: Tony, is the lighting something the planning staff could review? [21:24] **Tony (Staff)**: Absolutely. [21:24] **Chair Roddy**: We want you to have adequate lighting, but we don't want you to light up the whole neighborhood. Mr. Hawk, I'm just going to go through the contingencies: sign permits, two additional parking stalls, screening the trash container, and adding bollards in front of the west entry doors. Do you agree to all those? [21:24] **Sultan Hawk**: Yes. [22:10] **Chair Roddy**: I would welcome you to the community. I think this would be a great addition. I look for a motion to close the public hearing. [22:10] **Commissioner Later**: Motion to close. [22:10] **Commissioner McBee**: Second. [22:10] **Staff**: Roddy? Yes. Later? Yes. McBee? Yes. Winshuttle? Yes. Teskey? Yes. [22:55] **Chair Roddy**: In front of the Commission, then, is a conditional use permit for a grocery store at 705 A Street with the six contingencies Mr. Hawk agreed to. Is there a motion? [22:55] **Commissioner Winshuttle**: Motion to approve. [22:55] **Commissioner Teskey**: Second. [22:55] **Staff**: Later? Yes. McBee? Yes. Winshuttle? Yes. Teskey? Yes. Roddy? Yes. [22:55] [Applause] [22:58] **Chair Roddy**: All right, we'll move into our last item. This is a 2040 Comp Plan Amendment update. Mr. Bernard from Hoisington is here to join us. [23:25] **Tony (Staff)**: I will do a quick introduction. Lance Bernard is with us; he is our consultant from Hoisington Koegler Group on the 2040 visioning and Comprehensive Plan update. This evening he is here to provide the Commission with an update as to the work completed and where we're going. [23:42] **Lance Bernard**: Well, thank you, Chair, members of the Planning Commission. We want to provide you an update on where we are. Our process started early on in creating that Community Vision. We kicked off this project in May. Now we're moving into the update phase of the land use plan and understanding where there may be tweaks to your 2040 land use plan map. We've been working closely with larger property owners to understand their long-term plans. [25:15] **Lance Bernard**: When we kicked off, we wanted to create excitement with the brand "Celebrating our past, boldly defining our future." We did a lot of online engagement and pop-up events at festivals. We used interactive maps and surveys. A lot of that input helped us refine your vision statement, which in your current plan is quite long. We wanted to make it more strategic. Common words from the community included "family-friendly," "connected neighborhoods," and "small-town feel," while recognizing we are growing. People also value parks, trails, and natural resources like the river. [30:35] **Lance Bernard**: We unveiled this to the City Council at a workshop a month ago. The new vision statement states: "In the City of Farmington, people and neighborhoods are valued, natural resources matter, and businesses and traditions are celebrated. We are bold in pursuing opportunities and investments that support quality and sustainable growth, a vibrant and resilient economy, and a complete and connected community." We've been working to funnel down your 150+ goal statements into specific guiding principles and policies. [33:41] **Chair Roddy**: Any questions from the Commission at this point? [34:28] **Lance Bernard**: Knowing that a lot has changed in the last five to ten years, we've been talking to property owners about large tracts currently guided for agriculture. One area in particular is roughly 40 acres on the southwest corner of Pilot Knob and County Road 50. This is currently guided for agriculture, and there’s consideration to guide it for mixed-use commercial. [37:16] **Chair Roddy**: Lance, you had mentioned you had conversations with property owners. Have you spoken with this group? [38:03] **Lance Bernard**: Yes, we talked to them one-on-one. One unique thing is this property is part of an Agricultural Preserve program, which requires an eight-year window to come out. So this would be more of a 2030-2040 area for development. Another swath of land is east of Flagstaff, just north of 190th Street, for potential residential development. [39:34] **Tony (Staff)**: There are a number of properties in that program scheduled to come out; many have already petitioned. [39:34] **Lance Bernard**: This one expires in 2026 or 2027. On the eastern edge of the community, there is development pressure. These are large tracts historically guided for agriculture. We also have to coordinate this with the Metropolitan Council. They don't see your forecast changing much through 2040. The next round of full updates is due in 2028. [43:24] **Tony (Staff)**: A lot of what Lance is talking about involves the annexation area from Empire Township—about 570 acres we acquired last year. [44:08] **Lance Bernard**: Another area is downtown. Right now, downtown is guided Commercial, which is broad. Do we want to recognize this as a mixed-use area supporting residential? Many similar downtowns have a special land use designation to support that commercial/residential mix while protecting character. [48:46] **Chair Roddy**: Questions by the Commission? [49:32] **Tony (Staff)**: I would like the Commission to weigh in on the vision to get consensus. [49:32] **Chair Roddy**: Let's go through it. "In the city of Farmington, people and neighborhoods are valued"—that’s a given. "Natural resources matter"—river, ag land. "Businesses and traditions are celebrated"—expand on that? [50:18] **Lance Bernard**: That builds off the history of your downtown, agriculture, and festivals like Dew Days. [51:04] **Chair Roddy**: "Pursuing opportunities and investments to support quality and sustainable growth." "A vibrant and resilient economy." "Complete and connected community"—does that mean roads and trails? [51:51] **Lance Bernard**: Yes, connections between neighborhoods and downtown. [51:51] **Commissioner Winshuttle**: I think it's a good vision. It's important that the council and city actually do something with it. The statement that we're "bold"—well, if you talk to the community, we haven't always been bold. We're trying to flip that narrative. It's important we follow through. [54:10] **Commissioner McBee**: I like the way you developed the vision statement through outreach. I personally like the second half a bit more than the first because I hope it's a given that people are valued. [54:10] **Commissioner Later**: I agree. I like the structure with the guiding principles and policies. [55:44] **Chair Roddy**: I support this. Tony, you mentioned our City Council reviewed this. Anything they liked or didn't like? [56:10] **Tony (Staff)**: This is a revised version based on their comments; they have generally given us the thumbs up. [56:31] **Chair Roddy**: Tony or Lance, could you give a little explanation of timing? [57:06] **Lance Bernard**: Our goal is to get through land use discussions in September and October. We’ll look for a recommendation by the Planning Commission in early 2024, with City Council adoption in February 2024. [57:52] **Commissioner Winshuttle**: Do we look at adjacent communities like Rosemount, Empire, and Lakeville? [58:38] **Lance Bernard**: Yes, we are looking at what's happening around Farmington while adhering to Met Council forecasts. [59:25] **Chair Roddy**: If the staff feels a workshop is necessary for the Commission and Council, we'd be open to that. [59:25] **Tony (Staff)**: Once we get further into land use, it may be appropriate to have a joint session. [1:00:10] **Chair Roddy**: I appreciate the time, Lance. Very informative. If there is nothing else from staff, the next regular meeting is October 10th. I'd look for a motion to adjourn. [1:00:56] **Commissioner McBee**: I'll make a motion. [1:00:56] **Commissioner Later**: Second. [1:00:56] **Chair Roddy**: All in favor say aye. Aye. We're officially adjourned. [1:01:49] [Music]