This transcript is from a **White Bear Lake City Council** meeting. Based on the context provided, here is the formatted transcript with speaker identifications. *** **[00:00] Mayor Dan Belisle:** Thank you. Will the clerk please note those in attendance? All will be noted with the exception of Councilmember Hughes. Thank you. And I will note, I apologize for getting started late. Councilmember Hughes is at a choir concert for kiddos across the street, so I'm sure she'll be joining us soon. I trust you'll note that in the minutes when she arrives. Will you please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance? **[00:20] 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. **[00:35] Mayor Dan Belisle:** All right, jumping into item 2A: minutes of the regular City Council meeting on April 25th, 2023. I would entertain a motion to approve those minutes. **[00:42] Councilmember:** Motion. **[00:43] Councilmember:** Second. **[00:44] Mayor Dan Belisle:** Someone want to make a second? All those in favor say aye. **[00:46] Councilmembers:** Aye. **[00:47] Mayor Dan Belisle:** Any opposed? That’s motion—abstain? No one? One abstention. Motion carries, minutes pass. Item 2B: minutes of the City Council work session on April 25th, 2023. I'd entertain a motion to approve those minutes. **[01:00] Councilmember:** Second. **[01:01] Mayor Dan Belisle:** I have a motion and a second. All those in favor say aye. **[01:03] Councilmembers:** Aye. **[01:04] Mayor Dan Belisle:** Any opposed? Motion carries and the minutes are approved. Item 3: adoption of the agenda. Are there any corrections, movements, or additions to the agenda? Seeing none, I'd entertain a motion to adopt the agenda. **[01:15] Councilmember:** Motion. **[01:16] Councilmember:** Second. **[01:17] Mayor Dan Belisle:** All those in favor say aye. **[01:18] Councilmembers:** Aye. **[01:19] Mayor Dan Belisle:** Any opposed? We have an agenda. Item 4: consent agenda. I’d entertain a motion to approve the consent agenda. **[01:25] Councilmember:** So moved. **[01:26] Mayor Dan Belisle:** And all those in favor say aye. **[01:27] Councilmembers:** Aye. **[01:28] Mayor Dan Belisle:** Any opposed? Motion carries, the consent agenda is adopted. Item 5: visitors and presentations. We have the Law Enforcement Memorial Proclamation. Does anyone have anything to say on that, or should I just jump right in? All right, I have the esteemed honor of reading this Proclamation regarding law enforcement both here in White Bear and nationwide. So here goes: Whereas, there are approximately 800,000 Law Enforcement Officers serving in communities across the United States, including the dedicated members of the White Bear Lake Police Department. Whereas, since the first recorded death in 1786, almost 23,785 law enforcement officers in the United States have made the ultimate sacrifice and been killed in the line of duty. Whereas, the names of these dedicated public servants are engraved on the walls of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C. Whereas, 556 names of fallen heroes are being added to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial this spring, including 224 officers killed in 2022 and 332 officers killed in the previous years. Whereas, the service and sacrifice of all officers killed in the line of duty will be honored during the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund's 35th annual candlelight vigil on the evening of May 13, 2023. Whereas, the candlelight vigil is part of National Police Week, which will be observed this year from Tuesday, May 9 to Saturday, May 20. Whereas, May 15 is designated as Peace Officers Memorial Day in honor of all fallen officers and their families. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the White Bear Lake City Council will observe May 9 through 20, 2023 as Police Week in the city of White Bear Lake and publicly salutes the service of law enforcement officers in our community and in communities across the nation. Thank you. And you see that our Chief Swanson is here and we'll present this to you and thank you. **[03:45] (Applause)** **[03:50] Mayor Dan Belisle:** All right. Item 6: public hearings—we have nothing scheduled. Item 7: unfinished business—we have nothing scheduled. Item 8: new business, 2502 County Road E planned unit development and rezoning. Mr. Lindahl, I believe you're taking that. **[04:05] Jason Lindahl (Community Development Director):** Thank you, Mayor, members of the City Council. We begin this item by talking just quickly about the background. The applicant in this case is a company called Element Design Build. The property in question, as you mentioned, is 2502 County Road E. It's most notably known by the surrounding community as the vacant Petro-Wash station. There are two applications that are part of consideration before the Council tonight. The first one is the rezoning of the property to R6 Medium Density Residential, and the second one is a Planned Unit Development (PUD) application. The concept before the city tonight is 17 total residential units. 14 of those units are in an apartment building and the other three units are in a row-house style building. This application went before the Planning Commission at their April meeting and received a 7-0 vote to recommend that the Council approve the application. Just giving you some quick background here on the site again: 2502 County Road E, the southeast corner of County Road E and Bel Air Avenue. The site is nearly three-quarters of an acre or almost 30,000 square feet. It's been a gas station since at least 1971 based on city records. The existing building was constructed in 1985; it has been vacant since at least 2009 based on water service records. The review process began back in February as a concept plan review. As part of that, three meetings were held. A neighborhood meeting on February 2nd had 22 people in attendance. While a few spoke in support, most voiced concerns in opposition. Then the Planning Commission reviewed it on February 27th; eight people provided public comment—three in support, five opposed. The Planning Commission was generally supportive. Then on March 14th, it came to the City Council. Four people provided public comment, all in opposition. Council feedback at that time was four members generally supportive and one was not. Based on that feedback, the applicant revised their application. I'll summarize those revisions: they moved from 18 units down to 17. They brought the height down from 39 feet to just under 31 feet for the apartment and 29 feet for the townhomes. They revised the parking to meet the standard of two stalls per unit with at least one enclosed. They did an extensive redesign of the exterior materials to blend in better with the neighborhood. They increased landscaping for screening, added a sidewalk along Jansen Avenue, added interior bike storage, and submitted a detailed stormwater plan. The current proposal includes 14 apartments and 3 row-houses. The apartment building features a ground-floor internal parking structure. The row-houses have a tuck-under garage style. For the 17 units, they have 34 off-street stalls (22 enclosed, 12 surface). Looking at the renderings, you can see the redesign moved from a flat roof to a peaked roof with gables. They used stone around the base and masonry siding to create a residential character. They added wood column features to break up the building’s mass. Looking from Bel Air toward the East, you can see the townhomes move down to two-and-a-half stories. Looking from the southeast corner of Jansen, you can see the back of the townhomes and the green space for stormwater retention. At the April Planning Commission meeting, 13 people commented: 3 in support, 10 opposed. We received 11 written comments (3 in support, 8 opposed) and a petition with 39 signatures opposed. The major concerns remain density, setbacks, height, traffic, and stormwater impact on Peppertree Pond. Regarding rezoning to R6, staff found it consistent with the 2040 Comprehensive Plan, which guides this area as "Neighborhood Mixed Use." That category allows for 16 to 34 units per acre. This 17-unit proposal sits right at the median of that range. It’s also consistent with the County Road E Corridor Action Plan and the city's housing goals. Regarding zoning standards, it meets all except for setbacks along the street sides. This was a deliberate choice to move the building further away from the neighbors to the East. It does not encroach on sight distance triangles at the corners. The applicant has agreed as part of the PUD not to charge an additional fee for off-street parking to ensure residents don't park on the street. Staff finds the proposal will not depreciate surrounding areas; rather, it redevelops a blighted property. Traffic-wise, the site is on collector/arterial streets designed for this volume. Access will be moved off Jansen, closing conflict points near the intersection. At this point, I’ll turn it over to the City Engineer to talk about stormwater management. **[11:15] Paul Kopi (City Engineer):** Mayor, members of the Council. I’ll run through general stormwater for the site. Starting with the history, the 1940 air photos show the area was undeveloped. By the 80s, it was fully developed. Peppertree Pond and Heiners Pond are classified as public waters. This area was developed before modern stormwater requirements were in place, meaning everything currently drains directly into Peppertree Pond with zero treatment. The subject site is 0.67 acres, which is about 1.2% of the 55-acre drainage area for the pond. Currently, water flows to County Road E and Jansen into pipes. The existing site has about 19,000 square feet of impervious surface with no treatment. In the proposed plan, the impervious area increases by only 50 square feet, but we are adding a bio-filtration basin. This basin collects water, filters it through soil and plant roots to remove nutrients and sediment, and then slowly discharges it. We are going from zero treatment to a system that meets or exceeds city and Watershed District standards. The developer will be required to enter into an operations and maintenance agreement for periodic inspections. We looked at 2, 10, and 100-year storm events. The basin is sized to reduce the rate of flow compared to the current condition. Even during snowmelt when the ground is frozen, the basin is sized to hold that water. I’ll turn it back over to Jason. **[13:50] Jason Lindahl:** Thank you. To sum up the PUD: the developer is asking for flexibility on building count and setbacks in exchange for higher quality. They are offering walk-up apartments, enhanced materials, a pitched roof, interior bike storage, a Jansen Avenue sidewalk, and conduit for future EV charging. Staff recommends approval of the first reading. The applicant, Ryan McKilligan, is here and has a presentation. **[14:20] Mayor Dan Belisle:** Thank you, Mr. Lindahl. Why don't we hear next from the applicant? Please come forward. **[14:30] Ryan McKilligan (Applicant, Element Design Build):** Good evening, Mayor and members of City Council. I’m Ryan McKilligan. First off, I want to say thanks to the citizens, staff, and Commission. We recognize infill projects are difficult and stressful for neighbors. Why do this? There is a purpose to infill. We want to find places not serving their neighborhood well and create improvement. We’ve heard the feedback. On parking: we moved to a 2-to-1 ratio and 1 enclosed stall per unit. We changed the townhomes to a three-story tuck-under concept. This allowed us to shrink the building depth and add tandem stalls for guests. We’ve agreed in the PUD not to charge for parking to keep cars off the street. On height: the tallest part is 8 feet shorter than the original concept. At 31 feet, it is allowable by current code. On stormwater: we understand the anxiety. We are using a bio-swale on the east side to direct and filter all water. On landscaping: we are providing a 360-degree planting schedule, including a robust buffer for the neighbors and screening for the parking lot. We’ve met with immediate neighbors and are willing to provide a higher privacy fence than the 6-foot city ordinance requires. Architecturally, we wanted something unique to White Bear Lake—Craftsman and shingle-type elements to give it a residential feel. We believe this serves a meaningful purpose. I look forward to moving forward. **[18:15] Mayor Dan Belisle:** Thank you, Mr. McKilligan. I suspect the Council will have questions, but let's put a pin in that. At this time, I’m going to open it up for public comment. We’ll limit it to two minutes a piece. Please state your name and address. I'll start with the sign-up list. Joel Pavkovic? **[18:50] Joel Pavkovic (3517 Belair Avenue):** Thank you all for hearing me out. I've lived here since 1976. This is a bad concept, compressing too much into one space. That Jansen Avenue slide looks like 100 feet of setback, but it’s only 25. It doesn't paint the real picture. Traffic in the winter will be terrible. I was told at the Commission that projects like this are meant to decrease values so younger people can afford homes. If that's the concept, you're sticking it to the taxpayers. We don’t want it in this form. **[20:10] Larry Behm (3511 Belair Avenue):** I’ve lived here since 1995. I understand something needs to go on that corner, but this is just too much. It’s like building a 30x40 pole barn in a small backyard. I’m against it. **[21:00] El Rivard (3590 Glen Oaks Avenue):** I brought the petition around. Nobody I talked to was for this project. People in favor don’t live in the area. We are going from single-family homes directly to apartments. I’m concerned about water coming down Jansen. I also never see cars parked on Belair now, but with these sidewalks, you’re encouraging them to park there. In winter, it’s going to be unsafe for snow removal. **[22:45] Mark Biak (3594 Glen Oaks Avenue):** I’m the third house south. The renderings don’t show the hill properly. At 30 feet tall at the highest point of the county, that building is going to look like a tower. I’m also concerned about lighting. **[23:30] Lisa S. (3537 Glen Oaks Avenue):** It’s a beautiful design, but the traffic concerns me. There are many schools nearby. In 2021, I was hit by a car walking across the street there and fractured my kneecap. Adding more people to that scary corner is a concern. **[24:15] Chris Green (3587 Glen Oaks Avenue):** Regarding traffic, I’m confused why the entry is on Jansen. If the entry were moved to Belair and the project scaled back, it would alleviate many concerns. **[25:00] Lee Branwell (3583 Glen Oaks Avenue):** When the developer talks about height, he means the midpoint of the gable. The peak will be another six feet higher. Also, the letters in support—do those people even live here? Everyone in the neighborhood is against this. We aren’t against change, just this proposal. **[26:30] Kathy Pavoni (3527 Glen Oaks Avenue):** That Jansen rendering is out of proportion. My concern is college students from Century College renting these. If four students share an apartment, they won’t have enough parking and will end up on Jansen. It’s a safety issue for kids on bikes. **[27:45] Callie Longandyke (2579 Elm Drive):** I look out my window at Peppertree Pond every day. That gas station is a blighted entrance to our neighborhood. I’m a young professional who struggled to buy a home here. We need options for people who want to live in White Bear Lake. If this is denied, we might get something worse that doesn't require a public hearing. The developer listened and changed the design. I welcome the activation of this corridor. **[30:20] John Noel (2571 Elm Drive):** This is all about density. The R6 zoning I read says a maximum of 9 to 12 units. I don’t know where 16 to 34 units is coming from. 17 units on two-thirds of an acre is just too much. Six to eight units would make sense. **[31:30] Matt Rivard (2276 Lake Ridge Drive):** My biggest concern is the setbacks. Coming east on Jansen, it will be hard to see around that building. Also, does the city own the north lot? This might fit better there. **[32:00] Richard Opseth (2564 Mayfair Avenue):** Where exactly is the bio-filter? And what's to prevent a future owner from charging for parking and pushing cars onto the street? **[32:45] Frank Watson (3569 Glen Oaks Avenue):** I’m a meteorologist. One inch of rain on this lot is 18,000 gallons. If we don’t have exact capacity numbers for that basin, we are setting up the neighbors for flooding. We aren’t "Urban," we are "Suburbia." Don't make this corner the guinea pig. **[34:10] Mayor Dan Belisle:** Thank you all for your comments. I want to separate some fact from fiction. Council, any questions for staff or the developer? **[34:25] Councilmember Bill Jones:** Mr. Watson, it’s actually 24,416 gallons, by the way. My question is for Mr. Kopi. Does the street stormwater currently dump into Peppertree Pond? **[34:40] Paul Kopi:** Yes, the entire current site drains into the pond via Jansen or County Road E with no treatment. This proposal actually helps by providing retention and treatment. **[35:05] Councilmember Bill Jones:** Was this designed for 100-year storms? **[35:10] Paul Kopi:** Yes, we looked at the 2, 10, and 100-year events. **[35:30] Councilmember Bill Jones:** Mr. Lindahl, what is the average residential lot size here? **[35:35] Jason Lindahl:** About 10,000 square feet, or a quarter-acre. **[35:45] Councilmember Bill Jones:** If we just built a single-family house on this lot, would we require any stormwater management? **[35:50] Paul Kopi:** No, a single-family home likely wouldn't trigger those requirements. **[36:00] Councilmember Kevin Walsh:** Mr. Mayor, Al asked about water flowing north to County Road E. Can we clarify how that works? **[36:15] Paul Kopi:** Most of the site flows north into a pipe system that goes to the pond. The bio-filtration basin intercepts that water first. **[36:35] Councilmember Kevin Walsh:** And Chris asked about the "least busy road" rule for traffic. Is that a factor? **[36:45] Paul Kopi:** From a safety standpoint, exiting onto a less busy road like Jansen is generally preferred over exiting onto a high-volume road like Belair, which handles over 5,000 vehicles a day.