[00:00:00] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: All right, good evening. Uh, I did—I did it before I put on the mic, sorry. Uh, this is the August 16, 2023, Cottage Grove City Council meeting, which I'm calling to order. Our first order of business is the Pledge of Allegiance, so if you please rise. 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. All right, will the clerk please do the role? [00:00:45] **City Clerk Tammy Anderson**: Councilmember Garza? [00:00:47] **Councilmember Monique Garza**: Here. [00:00:48] **City Clerk Tammy Anderson**: Councilmember Clausen? [00:00:49] **Councilmember David Clausen**: Here. [00:00:50] **City Clerk Tammy Anderson**: Councilmember Thiede? [00:00:51] **Councilmember Dave Thiede**: Here. [00:00:52] **City Clerk Tammy Anderson**: Councilmember Olsen? [00:00:53] **Councilmember Justin Olsen**: Here. [00:00:54] **City Clerk Tammy Anderson**: Mayor Bailey? [00:00:55] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: Mayor Bailey here. Uh, next on our agenda this evening um is the uh open Forum. Uh, this is the opportunity for anybody that wants to speak on something that is not on tonight's agenda as welcome to do so at this time. We did have a sign-up sheet out in the entryway but nobody did sign up. So I'm just gonna look in the audience—is there anybody that wants to speak on open forum? Nobody? All right, we'll go ahead and close uh open Forum. We'll move to five which is adoption of the agenda. [00:01:25] **Councilmember Monique Garza**: Motion to adapt the agenda. [00:01:27] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: All right, motion by Councilmember Garza. [00:01:29] **Councilmember Dave Thiede**: Second. [00:01:30] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: Second by Councilmember Thiede. All those in favor signify by saying aye. (Aye). Opposed? Motion carries. Uh, six is presentations. We do not have none this evening. Seven uh is consent calendar. Is there anything Council would like to pull on consent? [00:01:45] **Councilmember Justin Olsen**: Item H, please. [00:01:47] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: Item H. And I will just mention that we are going to poll items B and C for a separate vote uh which we'll explain a little bit later um why we're just doing that separately. Uh, anything else Council? All right, so let's go ahead then and go to Councilmember Olsen. H is a grant that you want to recognize. [00:02:10] **Councilmember Justin Olsen**: Thank you, Mayor. Yes, I did want to recognize this um 2022 assistance to Firefighters fire prevention and safety Grant which the city of Cottage Grove received from FEMA in the amount of 124,000 and 22, which I'm sure will go to good use. I was hoping that our Director of Public Safety, Pete Kerner, would take a minute and tell us a little bit more about uh how this grant came to be and what exactly we may use it for. Or I see you have several members of the fire department here as well so if you wanted to delegate that task I'm sure you could do that. [00:02:40] **Director Pete Kerner**: That to our Deputy Chief Pritchard, he can come up with them too. Okay, perfect. [00:02:45] **Fire Chief Jon Pritchard**: Mayor Bailey, Council. We're very proud of the award from FEMA that they awarded us this past week for over $124,000. Researching just how successful folks are for this grant, we found out this is probably only one of a hundred awards nationwide. So we're incredibly privileged to be able to use this. Uh, the grant will be used for a very common request we get out through the community is for smoke alarm insulation and carbon monoxide installation. It will also allow us to use staff off-shift and pay those labor hours so we can kind of take that burden off our on-shift staff to do some fire prevention intervention and education. And then just another thanks to the council for first of all allowing us to apply for this grant earlier this year, and another thanks to representative Angie Craig, Senator Tina Smith, and Senator Amy Klobuchar. They're all part of the Congressional fire service caucus and they all work very hard to assure that we continue to get these opportunities. So thank you very much and I can answer any questions. [00:03:50] **Councilmember Justin Olsen**: Anything else? Thank you, Deputy Chief Pritchard. Um, I don't really have any questions but I do want to take advantage of the opportunity of having you stand there uh because it's my understanding that um The Cottage Grove Fire Department is going to be participating in an event for Teddy's Heart on August the 31st which is actually uh the Park High School football game against East Ridge. Could you tell us a little bit about that? [00:04:15] **Fire Chief Jon Pritchard**: Yes, and a very exciting thing for our community. Um, I've been in this community as both a resident for about three years now, so learning about how important Park High School football is to our community. It's actually the season opener for Park versus Eastridge, which I heard is a first that they played in a few years, is that we'll be joining Teddy's Heart at the Twin Cities Orthopedic Center for the Vikings um have all their facilities and we'll be there with Teddy's Heart at the football game to teach CPR to people in attendance and promote AED placement and learning those life-saving skills to save folks that might have a sudden cardiac arrest. [00:04:55] **Councilmember Justin Olsen**: Yeah, it's quite an honor for us to be invited to come out to the Vikings facility to actually attend that event and you know I know you guys are going to be doing quite a bit of training and stuff too. So since you were there I thought I would just give you a moment to plug that and thank you guys very much for participating in that. Uh, all of us up here such huge supporters of Teddy's Heart and I know that they're working very, very hard on their fundraising and making sure that they are getting those AEDs out and teaching those life-saving skills. So thank you. That's it for me, Mayor. [00:05:25] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: Awesome, thank you. And thank you, Councilmember Olsen, for bringing that up. Just a side note because I did happen to find out the reason that they're having it out there at the Vikings training facility is the Eastridge's new field is not ready yet and they did of course want to play at Park so they picked this off-site premise. So here I thought it was because Nick Arrigoni was going to be there and the crowd was going to be... well we are going to—we are going to have him manage it. It is purple and gold. Okay, perfect. Yeah, but that's all going—that's all good. We're glad—glad to be there. All right, uh since nothing else was pulled and again uh what I'll look for is a motion to approve consent minus B and C which would be a separate [vote]. [00:06:10] **Councilmember Justin Olsen**: So moved. [00:06:12] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: So we have a motion. We had a motion by Councilmember Olsen. [00:06:14] **Councilmember Monique Garza**: Second. [00:06:15] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: Second by Councilmember Garza. Any discussion? All those in favor signify by saying aye. (Aye). Opposed? Motion carries. And the other two items which is B and C: one is a tobacco license and a liquor license um for a uh what could be a new business called Wine Bourbon and More uh in both places. And uh the reason uh we're pulling this for a separate vote is uh as everybody was or may not may be aware uh Councilmember Clausen did operate a business in this location at one point and there's a new business looking to go in there and so he is recusing himself from this vote and so that the rest of us can vote on it just to be clean and clear. Even though his business is closed it's just let me see what I say um still the uh the owner of Milt legally and but uh to avoid any potential where people are being... right, yep. Yeah, so we'll do the right thing. [00:07:05] **Councilmember David Clausen**: So I'll kindly recuse myself with your permission. [00:07:07] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: You got it. Okay, so uh Council, look for a motion and a second. If you want to do um both—can we do both of them together? I think we can. Can we? Um, who would like to take the motion? It's B and C and consent. [00:07:20] **Councilmember Dave Thiede**: Can we ask some questions about it? Um, sure. [00:07:22] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: Well, let's do a motion and a second and then... [00:07:24] **Councilmember Justin Olsen**: Mayor, I'll make the motion that we approve items B and C: the tobacco license and the liquor license pending proof of lease agreement for a potential business uh named Wine Bourbon and More. [00:07:35] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: Okay, so we have a motion. Do I have a second? [00:07:37] **Councilmember Monique Garza**: Second. [00:07:38] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: Second by Councilmember Garza. Further discussion? Councilmember Thiede had a question. [00:07:42] **Councilmember Dave Thiede**: Okay. And I—I guess that's what I was asking that uh uh in terms of pending proof of lease agreement because I—I—I just had had heard... but uh so um I guess that'll be okay because then if they don't get the—don't get the lease then they don't get then they don't—yeah, it goes for the place. And since we don't have another meeting until like the what's the date? Sixth of—6th of September I think. If I heard right, and I can look at staff if they know this or not, the lease may be uh starting like September 1st and so they would not be able to operate their business uh without these two licenses if they start operating the business as of September 1st. So that's why it's contingent on their ability to get uh the lease on that spot. Okay, was that answer— [00:08:25] **Councilmember Dave Thiede**: Yeah, that's good. [00:08:26] **Councilmember Monique Garza**: As a—somebody wanted to go... the two things are are contingent on each other. They wouldn't want to sign a lease without having the city approval and so that's why these things have to run concurrently. [00:08:35] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: Okay. All right, all those in favor Council signify by saying aye. (Aye). Opposed? Motion carries. So if anybody was here for anything that was on this evening's consent calendar, all of those items have been approved. The next item is eight which is a approve disbursement. 8A is to pay the bills. [00:08:55] **Councilmember Monique Garza**: Motion to pay the bills. [00:08:57] **Councilmember Justin Olsen**: Second. [00:08:58] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: Councilmember Olsen. Any discussion on the bills? Seeing none, all those in favor saying aye. (Aye). Opposed? Motion carries. Uh, nine is a public hearing. We do have one this evening. Uh, it is adult use cannabis regulation moratorium. And our City Attorney, Corey Land, is actually going to walk us through this. Council, we've had this Workshop about a week—two weeks ago—week ago. It's all blending now um and we're kind of following suit with most cities it sounds like within the city so I'll turn it—or in the state I should say—so I'll turn it over to you. [00:09:30] **City Attorney Corey Land**: Thank you, your honor. Members of the Council, as we've had several discussions, the legislature passed a 200 or 320-page uh bill uh approving adult use cannabis, and in it are a lot of regulations, a lot of opportunities for the city, and some things that will not occur immediately. And so uh there—as you indicated—there's a lot of cities that are doing this right now: adopting an interim ordinance, what's called a moratorium on new cannabis businesses. Also, the legislation has some issues or some authority to adopt a penalty for public use and there's again an issue—sort of an open-ended question—on a penalty for underage use. So those are the three topics I'd like to cover uh briefly tonight. [00:10:15] As you know, in 2022—so let's go back in time a year ago—the legislature approved the CBD version, the hemp-related cannabis. And it's hemp-derived products only, no more than 0.3 percent THC. It's called low-dose or low potency and they had a lot of restrictions around the kinds of packaging that can—it can contain five milligrams per serving, 50 milligrams per package. So that was slightly amended in the new legislation, but based on the 2022 law, the city adopted some ordinances around that authorizing the sales uh both licensing and zoning. So we did adopt certain zoning restrictions on locations where these uses—these products—can be sold as well as some licensing requirements. So we do license any uh hemp-derived products and they must contain less than 0.3 THC. They cannot be sold at on-sale or off-sale liquor establishments, so no liquor stores, no bars or restaurants that have an on-sale liquor license. Uh, they can't be sold by transient merchants or Peddlers and what that means is they can't be sold at your special events out of a booth and they're only allowed in the B3, the PB, and the MU zoning districts. They are permitted uses so they don't require any additional approvals—they're permitted—but they can only be in those zoning districts. And the city has had one business come forward and apply for a license and they did obtain one and they are in the mixed-use zoning district. [00:11:45] So fast forward now to this last legislative session. They enacted adult use cannabis as I indicated, and instead of just the hemp-derived products, they came up with 16 types of business uses. We only cover in our ordinance the hemp-derived products. So there's a bunch of other businesses out there that could be operating. Um, the—the trick that the legislature uh hooker—I guess the hook is probably a better word—that they put on is any products with more—more than 0.3 percent THC have to be licensed by the state. The state will not be ready to issue any licenses until they have their office of cannabis management up and running, which will not occur until approximately January of 2025. So even though they have all of these different kinds of businesses that can operate, they can't technically until the state issues licenses for them. [00:12:35] However, there are some of the—the hemp-related products that can be operating today. And there are other cannabis-related uses such as products that contain probably less than 0.3 percent THC but are not products yet, such as the seeds and the plants that are completely unregulated on our ordinance. So there's all of this gray area and who can do what, when, and where. And so that's why a lot of cities are adopting these moratoriums to try to call a timeout, if you will, on any new businesses trying to establish under this gray area and fit within maybe a—some kind of a black hole that we don't have in our ordinance. Um, so because our ordinance is still in effect, it has not been preempted by the state because the state isn't ready to issue any licenses, so our CBD hemp-related products are still restricted in this city and how and where they can be sold. [00:13:30] So we are recommending tonight that you hold a public hearing and adopt a moratorium on businesses other than those that are covered by our CBD ordinance. So anybody that wants to apply for a CBD license still can—they must do so pursuant to our ordinances in the zoning districts where they're allowed and under all of the conditions and restrictions that we have until the Council decides to change those rules. So we are recommending a moratorium through what the legislation authorized, which is January 1st of 2025, or until you adopt ordinances that are compliant with the law, or you decide that you don't need to change anything in your ordinance and we'll just simply slide into letting the state preempt all of uh all of this jurisdiction when they get their office of cannabis management up and running. So whichever occurs first. [00:14:15] Um, so there's a lot of question that's—that's kind of the—the first uh item for you tonight. There's a lot of question about where people can be using adult use cannabis, and the law is very, very clear on this. There are only three locations where adult use cannabis is authorized: private homes, private property with the permission of the owner, or any place that has a license for on-site consumption, which we know will not happen until 2025. So we're really in the first two categories. And there are also some very serious exceptions to where they can be used. You can't use it in the presence of children and you can't use it where the Clean Indoor Air Act prohibits it. So there are very strict rules about where it can be used, but there are no penalties for using it anywhere. So the state did authorize cities to adopt a penalty, but before we do that, we are recommending—and I think you did this at—at the Workshop—that this go to a joint meeting of the Public Safety Committee and the um Parks Committee—sorry—and the Parks Commission, and let them sort of make a recommendation to you on where they think it's appropriate, whether or not they think it's appropriate to specifically ban the use in public places. And what that means—and we've sort of um defined what that can mean. Public place is a property that's generally open to the public, open to or accessible by the public including public property. And then public property is property owned by the city. So that can be anything from parks, your buildings, your parking lots, your rights-of-way, whether that be a trail, street, sidewalk. So that's kind of the general direction that we—you know—we'll be throwing at that commission/joint committee commission meeting to let them decide what they think is a good recommendation for you. So that isn't anything you need to decide today but just wanted to let you know that meeting is scheduled for September 11th. [00:16:10] And then finally, the last sort of area—gray area—that the legislature left is the—it—this adult use cannabis is prohibited if you are under the age of 21. So no one can use it, buy it, sell it if they are under the age of 21, but again there's no penalty in the law. So this is something I would—I would like to open up to the council for some discussion. Simply, it's similar to underage consumption of alcohol. However, in state law there's a penalty for that—they didn't impose a penalty for this. So this is just some language that I had seen another city draft and I felt like it was appropriate. So it would be a petty misdemeanor similar to what we're talking about if there's adult use cannabis somebody that uses it in public places. The—the penalty is a petty. So I think for this it could also be a petty, but then you need to determine what's the appropriate fine for that petty misdemeanor and it can be up to $300 but um my guess is it would be some—something less than that. It's more of trying to—to deter people from doing—from um—from using it underage as opposed to seriously financially penalizing them. So that is for a discussion item tonight. I'd like to gauge the Council's interest on whether or not you'd like me to draft this ordinance. We could bring it forward after the park—uh, Parks Commission and the Public Safety Committee make their recommendation to you and have them sync up at the—at whatever meeting um we determine is appropriate for that. So recommendation: of public use ordinance is wait till we uh have a recommendation from the joint meeting. Underage use ordinance—I would like to ask the council to discuss it and then discuss what the appropriate fine would be. And then finally, the next slide is that we will hold the public hearing on the interim ordinance. So if you wouldn't mind, your honor, I would—I would like to ask for your discussion on this item. [00:18:10] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: Absolutely. So uh Council, I know we did have some conversations in a workshop session uh a week or two ago. What is Council's thoughts on this? Councilmember Olsen, you want to start? [00:18:22] **Councilmember Justin Olsen**: I will, thank you. Um, good information here that encapsulated um a good portion of our discussion from the Workshop. So thank you, Corey, for—for bringing this forward to us. I very much appreciate the um consideration given to the Public Services Commission and to the Parks Commission. I think that when you look at what their purview is and the role that they play as advisory commissions in the city, this is exactly the sort of topic where we as a Council would very much appreciate you know their input and—and their advice. My personal opinion is that their input and advice on the underage use ordinance and potential penalties should coincide with the other conversation that they're going to have. I would prefer to hear from the um the two commissions as to their thoughts on this. And part of the reason for that is um you know when I think about underage use and—and controlled substances, I have a hard time reconciling um you know the difference between alcohol, tobacco, and now this new legislation. And tobacco use I think is permitted at age 18 or above and alcohol use is 21. Is that right? [00:19:35] **City Attorney Corey Land**: It's 21—no, it is 21 for tobacco. [00:19:38] **Councilmember Justin Olsen**: So there's a consistency there. Okay, good. That helps me. I appreciate that. I am not a smoker and I don't live with any smokers and I don't sell cigarettes in my business, so that is really good news. That being said, you know I think the idea that's presented about the petty misdemeanor as a deterrent as a way to hopefully change people's behavior certainly is logical, it's rational, it's reasonable. But um just from where I sit, I'd like the buy-in of the commissions on that as well first. And it's not that much of a time gap where you know it's going to make a huge difference whether we implement something now or you know three weeks from now. [00:20:15] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: Okay. I think Councilmember Olsen—Councilmember Thiede? [00:20:17] **Councilmember Dave Thiede**: I—I would agree with that. [00:20:19] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: Okay, good with that. Uh, Councilmember Clausen? [00:20:22] **Councilmember David Clausen**: Thank you, Mayor. I would—I would go with the uh recommendation from the attorney to uh put the moratorium on so that facts can be determined and do it in a reasonable way. Um, I think the penalty should be consistent with alcohol because it's a—an altering uh substance, if you will. And as far as appropriate fine, we can take that under advisement, take a look at what some other organization—or other cities—are doing. I think it's—it's reasonable at this point to try to be as much in line with what other cities are doing. I know many times we like to be you know cutting-edge, but not bleeding-edge, right? So I think it would be uh wise for us to follow in the steps of what most other cities are doing. [00:21:05] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: All right, sounds good. Thank you. Uh, Councilmember Garza? [00:21:09] **Councilmember Monique Garza**: I'm in favor of implementing a moratorium. My question for the moratorium is if we implement the moratorium, can we still implement the underage use ordinance? [00:21:19] **City Attorney Corey Land**: If—your honor, members of the Council—they're completely separate issues. So the—the moratorium is strictly on licenses and businesses and whether they can operate. The underage use is really targeting people that are using the product however they obtained it, because technically they can't buy it—they can grow it at this point but they can't buy it. But uh and then yeah, in terms of imposing uh the penalty, I think in keeping in step with uh the underage consumption of alcohol is a good measure. As far as the fine, I would—I would defer to whatever the um monetary value of the fine for you know underage consumption of alcohol is if we're—if we're considering the things to be similar and in their severity. However, I would be curious to see what the input is from the commissions regarding the efficacy of the underage drinking fine and penalty—if that's been an effective deterrent or you know if—if the fine needs to be higher or if the fine is too high and it's you know um causing an unnecessary burden to those who are you know being um cited. You know, if the fine is too high, if it's too low and—and you know kind of bringing everything into um a consistent um a level of enforcement. [00:22:30] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: Okay. Uh, Councilmember Olsen, had something else you want to add? [00:22:33] **Councilmember Justin Olsen**: Yeah, I did. Thank you very much, and I appreciate my colleague Councilmember Clausen making the comment about you know cutting-edge but not necessarily always bleeding-edge. I think that's a really wise uh way to pursue this is to ascertain and benchmark what other communities are doing. And so as part of that, I was going to ask if there has been any clear direction given by the League at this point on this legislation. I suspect I know the answer, but I wanted to ask anyway. [00:23:05] **City Attorney Corey Land**: Yeah, your honor, members of the Council, there's nothing clear about anything in this legislation other than there's going to be more discussion, right? But they did point out this issue at the legislative update that I attended in June, that there's no penalty for underage use. And so they—they did indicate that we should bring it up to our councils to see how you know as you as policymakers whether or not this is something you want to impose, keeping in mind as I said with the use in public you know all we can do is wag our finger at people and ask them to stop unless you have a penalty that you can actually impose. So whether we impose it or not obviously is discretionary on the officers, but it does at least give them something to impose as opposed to saying "please stop." [00:23:50] **Councilmember Justin Olsen**: And you're referencing this as a—as a criminal act versus a civil? [00:23:54] **City Attorney Corey Land**: Right, correct. It is—it's a crime. [00:23:57] **Councilmember Justin Olsen**: Okay. And the reason I asked the question about the League is you know it's—it's pretty um illuminating that the legislature gave themselves some wiggle room until the—the first of January in 2025, because as with lots of legislation that comes down the pipeline, sometimes there's that unintended consequence that people just don't see or they don't anticipate. And so they gave themselves some time to make some adjustments in the next legislative session. And I would guess that the League is going to have um something to say about that through their lobbying and probably Metro Cities and several other organizations. And I would certainly recommend that as we move forward that we continue to engage with our legislative contingent at the state to make sure that they clearly understand what our hopes and dreams are as it relates to this particular piece of legislation because it—uh, it's already put us in a little bit of a weird space. [00:24:50] **City Attorney Corey Land**: So your honor, if I could just uh go to the last slide, which is this is an interim ordinance. The legislation does require that you hold a public hearing before you can adopt it. So it was published appropriately. So I ask that you hold the public hearing, I think you know if there's any testimony from the public, uh and then I would recommend that you adopt the ordinance that we've included in the packet. [00:25:10] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: Okay. Uh, one—one of the things I'd like to ask so real quick um on the—and by the way I—I concur with what—what my colleagues were saying. Um, the intent though with the—the two commissions getting together and coming up with the—the idea of mainly within parks and open spaces, correct? So you talked about on here um uh putting a fine towards um underage consumption that would be similar, and I agree with my colleagues here on that. So as—is it also our intent that depending on what they come back with as a recommendation, that if somebody is smoking—let's say they come back and say nothing in the parks, you can't do it in the parks, you can't do open space—if somebody is doing it there would be a possible fine attached to that too? Is that correct? [00:25:55] **City Attorney Corey Land**: That is correct. And Councilmember Olsen, I did—I did misspeak a little bit. It's not a crime because it's a petty misdemeanor, right? It's enough—but it's a—it's a criminal—but it goes to criminal court. That's what it is, thank you. [00:26:10] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: The other thing, and I'll just throw this out there because I mean I'll open the public hearing here in a second—I by chance had before coming in here tonight um there's some again more confusion out there that somewhere supposedly in the state's constitution it states that if you are an individual and you decide you want to—I don't know what's going on with her speakers—if you want to grow it and you want to sell it, according to the constitution that's approved. So I'm sure you will have to deal with that at some point in time, but I did find it interesting that question was asked of the governor and the governor said uh probably for this year for like 25 years ahead going ahead they're going to have to tweak it every single year is what he said on a—in a press conference earlier today. And they would—but the belief is that it is not um allowed that you can sell—grow and sell your own even though you're not a business—without a license. So I just want to mention that I saw that on the—on the news before I came in. All right, so any other comments before I open the public hearing? Okay, so I'm gonna go ahead and open the public hearing. Is there anybody in the audience that would like to speak on this particular topic? Just a few of you. [00:27:20] **Bonnie Matter**: Hello, my name is Bonnie Matter, 6649 Inskip Avenue South, Cottage Grove. Thank you. And uh Mayor, Commissioners, thank you very much. All I'd like to say is this: I guess I'd like to know what Washington County is doing, if they have any plans, um because they have the park here. And so I guess whatever they would say, I would hope are consistent. That's number one. Number two, um I'm concerned about um putting—making a kid be a criminal. And if there was a way that they could do community service and it not go on their long-term record, I think that that might be the way to do it. So that's just my opinion, thank you. [00:28:05] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: Two—two things I can answer maybe both. Uh, one regarding the—the fine or whatever, I do know that with underage situations, and I only know this because I'm part of the Youth Service Bureau as I'm looking at our Director of Public Safety back there, there is the opportunity for diversion. Uh, so let's both um teaching them the bet—why it's not good to do that, but also doing some type of community service. So that is something that we work with all of our local police departments and Washington County. With regards to Washington County, at this moment I have—I did happen to talk to our County Commissioner uh Carla Bingham, and uh basically at the moment what the County is going to do is whatever the cities decide for the uh the uh even the temporary situation uh they will follow the lead of that particular city. So for example, to your point: if the Ravine Park is in control, which it is, whatever we end up passing will be the rules for that park. The County doesn't supersede us. So they'll—and they're going to do that with everyone. We talk about Lake Elmo Park, uh uh St. Croix Bluffs—I mean, we—I spoke with her specifically about all the different uh parks and such that—and open space—that they have for the County. So they're going to follow the city's leads. Okay, anybody else that want to speak on this topic? All right, I will go ahead and close the public hearing and um Council, before us you do have a bullet point for recommendation and a second. [00:29:40] **Councilmember Dave Thiede**: I would move Ordinance prohibiting the establishment of adult use cannabis businesses in the establishment of unlicensed CBD businesses. It was a little different than the one that you have on the screen but it covers it. [00:29:50] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: You're fine, you're fine, I think you're—it's off the packet. So we have a motion by Councilmember Thiede. Do you have a second? [00:29:55] **Councilmember Monique Garza**: I'll second that. [00:29:56] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: All right, second by Councilmember Garza. Council, any other discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor signify by saying aye. (Aye). Opposed? Motion carries. All right, thank you. [00:30:10] All right, uh next—10 is Bid Awards or iron on this evening. 11 is a regular agenda. Uh, we do have uh one item on our regular agenda this evening, and that is a zoning definition text amendment and the keeping of bees ordinance. And uh Connor Jakes, our Associate Planner, is actually going to walk us through this. So, welcome. [00:30:30] **Associate Planner Connor Jakes**: Thanks Mr. Mayor, members of the Council, it's great to be with you this evening. Uh, before you tonight are two text amendments: uh one is a text amendment to the agricultural use livestock definition, and one is a text amendment to allow for the keeping of bees on residential and agricultural properties. Little background on the proposals before you tonight: the city's 2040 Comprehensive Plan does state that the city should investigate the policy and ordinance opportunities for residential animal keeping to promote healthy food at home. You recall in 2022 you adopted an ordinance that allowed for the keeping of chickens and ducks on both residential and agricultural properties throughout the community, which made great strides towards the achievement of this goal. However, recently you directed staff to conduct additional research related to ordinance opportunities for the keeping of bees on both residential and agricultural properties to further meet this goal, which is why the two proposals are before you tonight. [00:31:30] Uh, note that the agricultural use definition is within Title 11 which is the zoning code, the zoning title of the city code. Staff is proposing to delete both Bees and Honey from this definition so there's no contradictions with the proposed keeping of bees ordinance. That specific ordinance would then be placed within Title V, more specifically Section 4 which is the Animal Control section, which is where all the city's specific animal-related ordinances are placed, as well as that recent chicken and duck ordinance from 2022. So the proposed agricultural use definition is on screen before you. Again, staff is just proposing to delete both Bees and Honey from this definition. I will note that at the Planning Commission meeting they made a recommendation to also delete chickens from this current definition. However, with further discussion from the City Attorney, the recommendation is just to delete bees and honeys as chickens should be allowed agricultural use within residential districts. [00:32:30] Moving into the keeping of bees ordinance and specifics of the proposed ordinance: if you were to apply to keep bees on your property you'd be required to apply for a permit. That permit would be valid for a period of two years and it would be non-transferable, meaning that permit is not transferable between property owners and it does not run with the land. The City Clerk would be the issuing body of those permits and they would be done administratively. It would follow the same or similar process as the chicken and duck permits that are currently being issued by the City Clerk. Also note that an inspection would be required with the initial permit application. If that property owner receives that initial permit, that inspection be conducted and approved. If they apply for a second, third, fourth, etc., permit, there wouldn't be an inspection required. However, the proposed ordinance would allow the city to conduct an inspection under any circumstances, including if there's a complaint for whatever reason relating to the keeping of bees. And sales of products are also allowed pursuant to city code title 11-4-3 which is the home occupation section of the city code. [00:33:40] In terms of where the keeping of bees would be allowed, I mean the ordinance proposes that the allowable lots are agricultural lots and single-family residential lots zoned R1 through R4. I just wanted to note that the R4 district is our new transitional zoning district which allows for both townhomes as well as single-family lots. So within this R4 district, only the single-family lots will be permitted to keep bees. A good example of this would be the currently under construction Hinton Woods development that has both townhomes and single-family lots—only the single-family lots within that development would be allowed to keep bees. Continuing with more specifics of the ordinance: Colony density is called out specifically. Two colonies for one half-acre lot or less would be permitted. A good example is on screen before you in the top right. One colony lives within one hive. So the hive is here and as well as the lower image. So by adding—by requiring a limit on the colonies, we're requiring or putting a maximum on the number of hives that would be on a lot. And then as your lot size increases, you're allowed more colonies on that property. [00:34:50] In addition to Colony density requirements, uh location requirements are also provided. The colony must be located in the rear yard, not adjacent to the street; must be set back 10 feet from any property line and 25 feet from any residents both on the lot or any adjacent lots. And in addition, fencing would be required around the hives to deter any unauthorized access. If a property has an existing perimeter fence that basically encloses the property, that would be sufficient for meeting the intent of the ordinance. In addition to the location and density requirements, there are also maintenance requirements. The colonies must be kept in hives with removable frames and those hives must be kept in sound in good condition. A convenient water source must be immediately available for the colonies, and all beekeeping equipment and other materials must be placed within a building or a vermin-proof container. In addition, that beekeeping equipment must be kept in good condition and any unused equipment would have to be stored in an area that's secure from the weather. And with that, I'll leave the two recommendations on screen before you. Staff is available for any questions, thank you. [00:36:00] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: Okay, thank you. And I would just mention good job to the—to our staff for kind of working—I know we had a—one particular citizen that provided us with lots of data from other communities that are are approving bees. So it was great, and I'm sure he's going to be excited along with his—the different partners you know should we pass this this evening. Council, any questions for staff at this point? Yeah, Councilmember Thiede? [00:36:25] **Councilmember Dave Thiede**: Edward—um, I guess at what point do we—in terms of administering this and if we start getting a lot of—a lot of people want to do this and we get—to start getting a lot of calls of—of bees uh you know problems and things like that—uh um who's—who's taking care of that? [00:36:45] **Associate Planner Connor Jakes**: Mayor, members of the Council. Currently under this the City Clerk is the one who is the licensing authority on that, so she would be collecting any nuisance complaints to then working with Code Enforcement in regards to those—investigating them. [00:37:00] **Councilmember Dave Thiede**: I was trying to remember from some of that other information what—what there was relative to things like complaints and—and that from—from other adjacent home—more neighbors and things like that. [00:37:12] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: I—I the one that—that's coming to mind I think was Stillwater, and I think there when I saw when that gentleman sent us the data, I mean it was straightforward with it—I think there was two complaints but it was over a two-year period. Do you remember that at all? [00:37:25] **Associate Planner Connor Jakes**: Yeah, Mr. Mayor, members of the Council. I believe it was um I also we—staff did contact the Stillwater planners and staff there, and I believe both of those complaints were relating to not obtaining a permit and then those property owners did go forth and get the permit. So that was the complaints there, and they were resolved by obtaining a permit. [00:37:45] **Councilmember Monique Garza**: When you were speaking to the Stillwater planners and um City staff, did they give any indication of approximately how many permits they issue for this type of activity? [00:37:55] **Associate Planner Connor Jakes**: Yeah, Mr. Mayor, Councilmember Garza. In talking with Stillwater, I believe they've issued 12 permits over the last 13 years since they adopted that—the bee ordinance. [00:38:05] **Councilmember Monique Garza**: Thank you. [00:38:06] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: Okay, good question. All right, seeing no other questions, we have two separate motions before us. If Council would like to uh move forward with one of them, I'll entertain a motion. [00:38:15] **Councilmember Justin Olsen**: Mayor, I'll move that we adopt Ordinance 1068 amending the agricultural use definition in city code title 11-1-3. [00:38:25] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: All right, we have a motion by Councilmember Olsen. Do you have a second? [00:38:28] **Councilmember Monique Garza**: Second. [00:38:29] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: Second by Councilmember Garza. Any other discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor signify by saying aye. (Aye). Opposed? Motion carries. And then number two? [00:38:40] **Councilmember Monique Garza**: I would move to adopt Ordinance number 1076 enacting city code title 5-4-14 allowing the keeping of bees on Agricultural AG1, AG2 and single family R1, R2, R3, R4 lots. [00:38:55] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: All right, so we have a motion by Councilmember Garza. Have a second? [00:38:58] **Councilmember Justin Olsen**: Second. [00:38:59] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: Second by Councilmember Olsen. Again, any discussion? Yes, Councilmember Clausen. [00:39:05] **Councilmember David Clausen**: Thank you, Mayor. Uh, well I certainly don't want to impinge upon anybody's rights to use their property in a fashion they would like to do. Um, I've also had a number of individuals reach out to me um with concerns—people especially that are—that have allergies to bees. And so I'm going to choose not to support this by virtue of the fact that putting a fence up isn't going to keep bees and flying across the property line or from stinging someone and then having that person potentially go into shock and perish. I know it could happen just being out in the yard anyhow, but uh I think there needs to be a voice for those people who are concerned about that issue as well. [00:39:45] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: Okay. All right, any other comments? [00:39:47] **Councilmember Dave Thiede**: I guess I'd probably have a little bit of a concern too on—on smaller lots. The thing that pops into my mind—I'm trying to—trying to take a look at that 25 feet from a residence and 10 feet from a property line and—and kind of get a visual of how small a lot could actually have um you know the bees on it and—and uh you know I can—I can see you know some bigger lots I would think that it should uh actually I—I think it should be more than—more than that. Uh, usually when you see bees they're kind of you know a big open spot you know um so I'm real hesitant of myself also. [00:40:25] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: Okay. Well, I would just mention that two things: one is we kind of went through the same process when we were talking about chickens and ducks—how far distance should be from the property line, how big are the lots. Um, I—I guess I was going to ask—I mean it would be something for a future uh update to the Council—but how many actual uh chicken permits, if you will, or duck permits have actually been um requested within the city? It'd be kind of interesting to know. I don't believe that we've had any complaints that I'm aware of anyway at this point. The second thing is, and though I do totally understand the concerns that some people may have regarding bees, but I also know that there's people allergic to ducks, there's people allergic to cats and dogs. And so, I mean, it's you have to just kind of look at what's the majority or what's the best for the majority. And that's how kind of I'm—I'm looking at it in this case. Am I going to put bees in my backyard? No, and nor am I doing chickens. But uh in this particular case, I think there's a similarity between the two. Other questions? [00:41:25] **Councilmember Dave Thiede**: So if—if we—if we go ahead and approve this and find that we're having issues with small lots or certain size lots, we can certainly revisit it and change it to larger lots, correct? [00:41:40] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: All right. Okay. All right, any other comments? [00:41:42] **Councilmember Monique Garza**: Councilmember question: the way I interpreted the ordinance is anything less than a half acre would be ineligible. Is that accurate? It said—it said two—two hives per half acre. [00:41:54] **Associate Planner Connor Jakes**: Councilmember Garza, a half-acre lot or less would be—or less, yeah. [00:42:00] **Councilmember Monique Garza**: Okay. [00:42:01] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: Okay. All right, so no further discussion. All those in favor of the ordinance signify by saying aye. (Aye). Opposed? (No). Motion carries four to one. Uh, thank you. [00:42:15] All right, uh we are now down to um Council comments and requests. Thank you, Connor. I'll start with Councilmember Garza. [00:42:25] **Councilmember Monique Garza**: I will seed my time tonight. [00:42:27] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: Oh okay. And now we're going to move on to Councilmember Clausen. [00:42:31] **Councilmember David Clausen**: All right, thank you, Mayor. I'm going to share with the rest of the Council what you already know, and that is that I will not be attending the Workshop tonight. I do however want to make sure that my 20 percent of the vote is represented, and I'll do it as following: uh, we certified uh earlier this year through a multi-step process a Financial Management Plan. The Financial Management Plan was something that was absolutely instrumental in us achieving our AAA bond rating. Therefore it carries a lot of weight and is a very important uh consideration relative to how we run our finances. Uh, I have no um issues relative to anything that's being asked for—as sought by the staff—tools uh uh staff members etc. that are necessary to effectively run a high-quality level of business for people and do it in a way that people are happy getting that service. So just for my 20 [percent], I do support what's being asked for but will unfortunately not be able to be in the room tonight. [00:43:30] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: Okay, sounds good. Uh, Councilmember Thiede? [00:43:34] **Councilmember Dave Thiede**: Well I guess uh one of the things that I would mention is that uh August 22nd there's a cable commission—the SWCTC is having a 40th anniversary party. It's a party. And uh just kind of going to be going over uh some different uh history and things of that nature and showing off some of their—their equipment everything. It's over at the cable offices and that's at 6939 Pine Arbor Drive, kind of right there next to Junction 70. And so that's August 22nd and it's from 4:00 to 8:00 PM. So be there! [00:44:10] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: Be there! Yep, that'll be good. Uh, Councilmember Olsen? [00:44:13] **Councilmember Justin Olsen**: Nothing. [00:44:14] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: All right, I have uh two things—well, one thing now real quick. Unfortunately, I won't be able to be at that event because I'll be out of town on—on business. But um we do appreciate obviously the uh SWCTC uh group and obviously they're televising us right now. So we do appreciate all the work they're doing and want to congratulate them on their uh 40th anniversary. Uh, the other thing I thought I would just share real quick—it's kind of neat. I did receive a—a letter today from the League of Minnesota Cities and I will just basically mention that they are recognizing our local Senator Matt Klein, which they call—the actual um term that they use—uh is selected as a League of Minnesota Cities Legislator of Distinction for 2023. And basically, the League Board of Directors recognizes a total of 35 legislators this year including 20 House members and 15 Senators. And the purpose of recognizing them this way is for their actions and leaderships on a wide variety of legislative issues of importance to cities across the state. And so they're going to be sending out a press release and obviously us as a city I think we'll send a letter to Senator Matt Klein thanking him for his contributions to all the success that he has helped with our city as well as the—I believe there's 838 member cities for the League of Minnesota Cities—and look forward to continuing to work with him in the future. So that—that is it on my notes. For the public, there is a workshop—Workshop session—which Councilmember Clausen had just mentioned earlier, which is open to the public and it is um our CIP Workshop. And then after that there is not a workshop that is closed uh to the public. So we are going to be moving into the—are we going to the Training Room? Training Room uh here at City Hall. So if you're watching on TV uh have a good evening.