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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-12-20 PACKET 07.City of Cottage Grove Planning Commission November 22, 2021 A meeting of the Planning Commission was held at Cottage Grove City Hall, 12800 Ravine Park- way South, Cottage Grove, Minnesota, on Monday, November 22, 2021, in the Council Chamber and telecast on Local Government Cable Channel 16. Call to Order Chair Frazier called the Planning Commission meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Roll Call Members Present: Ken Brittain, Jessica Fisher, Evan Frazier, Eric Knable, Jerrett Wright Members Absent: Derek Rasmussen Staff Present: Jennifer Levitt, City Administrator; Christine Costello, Community Develop- ment Director; Mike Mrosla, Senior Planner; Emily Schmitz, Senior Planner; Zac Dockter, Parks and Recreation Director; Ryan Burfeind, Public Works Director/City Engineer; Amanda Meyer, Assistant City Engineer; Greg Rinzel, Deputy Director of Public Safety; Amanda Johnson, City Attorney, Steve Dennis, Council Member Approval of Agenda Wright made a motion to approve the agenda. Fisher seconded. The motion was approved unanimously (5-to-0 vote). Open Forum Frazier opened the open forum and asked if anyone wished to address the Planning Commission on any non -agenda item. No one addressed the Commission. Frazier closed the open forum. Chair's Explanation of the Public Hearing Process Frazier explained the purpose of the Planning Commission, which serves in an advisory capacity to the City Council, and that the City Council makes all final decisions. In addition, he explained the process of conducting a public hearing and requested that any person wishing to speak should go to the microphone and state their full name and address for the public record. Public Hearings and Applications 6.1 MRCCA Ordinance Amendment — Case TA2021-019 The City of Cottage Grove has applied for a zoning text amendment to repeal and replace City Code Title 11-15, Mississippi River Corridor Critical Area (MRCCA) Overlay District. (Continued from October 25, 2021 Planning Commission Meeting.) Planning Commission Minutes November 22, 2021 Page 2 of 15 Mrosla summarized the staff report and recommended approval of the zoning text amendment. Frazier opened the public hearing. Colleen O'Connor Toberman, Friends of the Mississippi River (FMR), 101 5th Street East, #2000, St. Paul, stated FMR has worked very closely with all of the cities who have adopted the MRCCA Ordinances. She recommended two small changes to tweak the ordinance that she felt would ease the administration of the ordinance based on what FMR has seen in other cities: 1) The review process for granting variances and conditional use permits (CUP) requires written findings for granting a variance, but does not require written findings for granting a CUP. She encouraged the City to add one phrase requiring written findings for granting a CUP. 2) Notifying the DNR and National Park Service about public hearings for discretionary actions. The draft ordinance says the notification period for that is 10 days; she suggested lengthening that to 21 or 30 days. The DNR and National Park Service provide a lot of technical assistance during project reviews, and the DNR has some enforcement responsibilities of the MRCCA. When those agencies get short notice, they often step in too late with important information that affects the City's understanding of the project. There could be an impact when information is received at the last minute and often results in delayed decisions, which could increase the risk that a decision gets appealed. Adam Grams, 10655 Grey Cloud Trail South, asked if there was any delay to the MRCCA Ordinances that are currently in the works, would future projects, especially relating to the Mis- sissippi Dunes, get included in there if there is a delay, such as developers getting permits. He asked that the City ensures that any new permits are following these ordinances. No one else spoke. Frazier closed the public hearing. Frazier stated there was a comment made about written findings on CUPs versus variances. He noted that the City deals with those issues outside of the MRCCA Corridor. He asked if written findings are done for CUPs that are not in the MRCCA. Mrosla replied that the City currently does not require written findings for CUPs, but we could add that language if the Planning Commission deemed it necessary. Frazier asked regarding the 10-day notice period versus a longer time period, if staff saw any benefit to making that notice period longer. Levitt stated as most of our applications have a 30- day or 60-day window, they request state agencies respond in 10 days so we could address any concerns up front, to prevent an undue process for the applicant. Staff recommends that we stay with the 10-day process. Brittain asked if this is approved by the City Council, when it would take effect and how would it affect any ongoing processes. Johnson stated 30 days after the ordinance has been posted. Mrosla noted staff has been reviewing applications as they come in to ensure they are in accordance with the proposed MRCCA ordinance. Brittain made a motion to approve the repeal and replacement of the City Code Title 11, Chapter 15, Mississippi River Corridor Critical Area Overlay District. Wright seconded. Motion passed unanimously (5-to-0 vote). Planning Commission Minutes November 22, 2021 Page 3 of 15 6.2 Mississippi Dunes Master Plan — Case M2021-078 The City of Cottage Grove has applied for a Park and Land Use Master Plan for the former Mississippi Dunes Golf Course site, which is located south of 103rd Street and north of the Mississippi River. Schmitz summarized the following information from the staff report: location; site history; exist- ing site; land use history; master planning process; master plan specifics; master plan details including land use/land use options; parks, trails, and open space; special recreational fea- tures; park plan development with water access; potential partnerships; public engagement; and the Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW). She introduced Angie Smith, Senior Environmental Planner with Bolton & Menk, who will provide information about the EAW. Smith spoke about the concurrent EAW process for this proposed development, explaining that Bolton & Menk work closely with the City to review the EAW information provided by the devel- oper. The number of dwelling units in this residential development triggered a mandatory EAW worksheet per Minnesota Rules. She stated other review processes could include an Environ- mental Impact Statement (EIS) depending on the level of the proposed development, and an Alternative Urban Areawide Review (AUAR). Additional assessments done with the EAW include Geotechnical; Wetland Delineation on the proposed project site; Phase I Environmental Site Assessment for any potentially contaminated properties and hazardous materials; and a Traffic Impact Study. In addition, early coordination took place with state agencies including the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) and the DNR Natural Heritage Information Sys- tem (NHIS), which looks at rare, threatened, endangered species, and sensitive ecological resources. Close attention also will be paid to the adjacent Scientific Natural Area (SNA). Smith explained the EAW is a comprehensive review of all potential social, economic, and environmental impacts. She stated the Environmental Quality Board (EQB) website has infor- mation available for citizens and developers. She displayed the EAW process and timeline, noting that last week the City Council approved the draft EAW for distribution, and it is antici- pated that it will be published in the EQB Monitor. That will trigger the 30-day public comment period, which is expected to begin November 29 and end December 29. Comments from citi- zens and agencies should be provided to City staff for review. Bolton & Menk will work closely with City staff to look at all comments submitted and start a Record of Decision, which will determine if an EIS is required based on the level of review and information received. Substan- tive comments will receive a response. The declaration of whether an EIS is required or not will be forwarded for final City approval. Smith reviewed the EAW Outline and other areas of the EAW, including permits and approvals, Comprehensive Plan amendment, geology, water resources, ecological resources, transporta- tion, and Metropolitan Urban Service Area (MUSA). Due to groundwater contamination with PFAS, it is proposed to link this area to City water and sewer. With the SNA abutting the prop- erty, various buffers for potentially rare, threatened, or endangered species are being looked at. A recommendation from the DNR is that the developer will be required to do an ecological survey for rare, threatened, and endangered species and to look at presence, absence, and identifying proposed mitigation requirements. It would include everything from timing of tree removal and for rare bird species, in addition to location of the proposed development. Regard- ing the Traffic Impact Study, there is currently only one proposed improvement along Grey Cloud Trail, so realignment to improve safety in and out of this area is being looked at. She Planning Commission Minutes November 22, 2021 Page 4 of 15 stated they are encouraging the public and other agencies to review this EAW and provide comments. Schmitz stated this proposal is in the Master Plan process, with several more processes to take place, the EAW and the 2040 Comprehensive Plan Amendment processes needing to occur, before applications for the potential development can be submitted. Staff recommends ap- proval of the Mississippi Dunes Park and Land Use Master Plan. Frazier opened the public hearing. Lisa Mueller, N50001 810th Street, Ellsworth, WI, stated while she doesn't live in Cottage Grove, she's worked in Minnesota for the past 30 years in the field of land conservation, and has been part of many projects that led to the protection of thousands of acres of parks, trails, SNAs, and private conservation lands. She attended the dedication of the Grey Cloud Dunes SNA 23 years ago, and the area is a favorite to visit with family and friends. The common thread in all those conservation projects was the willingness on the part of project partners to set a bold vision and to imagine the possibility of creating a public open space on a grand scale; one project was the Glacial Ridge project in northwest Minnesota. It was comprised of 25,000 acres of prairies, wetlands, cropland, and gravel mining areas. Early conversations with the land- owner were about protecting only the native plant communities until at a planning session there was an idea of protecting the whole property and restoring the prairie and wetlands with the help of federal and state partners to create a new national wildlife refuge. That property is now the Glacial Ridge National Wildlife Refuge. She stated she'd toured the William H. Houlton Conservation Area near Elk River with Cottage Grove and Elk River officials. Spirits were high as it was envisioned how a similar park could be created along the banks of the Mississippi River in Cottage Grove. Yet, after many public input meetings, letters, and heartfelt messages from citizens about the desired future for the former Mississippi Dunes golf course, the current plan falls undeniably short. Housing developments are a dime a dozen, and many like this Pulte proposal are ill conceived. They fail to consider the intangibles and the value associated with preserving wild nature. She quoted author Barbara Kingsolver: People need wild places. Whether or not we think we do, we do. We need to be able to taste grace and know once again that we desire it. We need to experience a landscape that is timeless, whose agenda moves at the pace of speciation and glaciers. To be surrounded by a singing, mating, howling connec- tion commotion of other species, all of which love their lives as much as we do ours, and none of which could possibly care less about our economic status or our calendars. Wildness puts us in our place. It reminds us why, in those cases in which our plans might influence many future generations, we ought to choose carefully. Sarah Werz, 8642 Grospoint Avenue South, stated while she is not a professional in land con- servation or building houses, she is a community member, a wife, a mom to three little kids, who all love the outdoors. They would love to have a place like this property just a few miles from their home where they we can explore and experience wildlife, which she could traipse through with her kids, with maybe a natural playground and some low -maintenance trails easier to go on with four -year -old twins than the SNA. She is having a hard time with this process. She hasn't participated in City functions, politics, or any of that before. She started at the May Parks Commission meeting because this property is very important to her. She has attended a lot of meetings since. She asked how many Master Plans come with a memo from the City Attorney and how many times does a City hold an open house and a public engagement period for something where it is almost a unanimous community response for more park space, less Planning Commission Minutes November 22, 2021 Page 5 of 15 or no houses, and the area to be kept natural. The City did not respond to that in any way that she can see in these documents. It says that they upped park land to 40 acres, but that is not an increase from what it was before the public engagement period. They heard from the public that we want more park space; she didn't see any feedback that said anyone loves this proposal or wants more standard single-family homes on this beautiful property. There are 37 trains per day coming through this property, and it's in the MSP flight path, and asked if people are going to want to live there. Are the values of those homes going to rise? Is that why it's just a standard Pulte home development and not a higher -end housing development on a riverfront area? She thinks that's something to consider. Adam Grams, 10655 Grey Cloud Trail South, noted after the open forums, he does not see any changes in the Master Plan, based on feedback and responses from the community. It seems that the direction has been set in stone from the beginning and asked what actually changed after the public open forums. One thing that the community and neighbors around that area have been saying is that we don't want a huge development there. Even with the rezoning of the property, he doesn't know a lot of people that want it rezoned into .4-acre size from the minimum of 3 acres, outside of the City Council, the developer, and the owner. That's quite a bit of difference, especially when we're looking at protecting the environment. Jamming more people in there does not seem like the right choice. He asked when residents were alerted to the goal to get everyone on Grey Cloud Trail on City water and sewer. He then requested if more utilities are being put in the area to try to also get higher internet service in that area, as DSL is not working well there. Even with looking at the PFAS and contaminants, many people down there have wells, including him; with carbon filters that are provided by the State to re- move PFAS. Going on City water and sewer is not a benefit to the residents as we have invested in our own septic tanks and have the filters down there. Frazier stated that after the public hearing closed, City staff will provide responses to any questions asked. Sharon O'Boyle, 9300 Grey Cloud Trail South, Grey Cloud Island Township, stated there have been comments made by some City Councilmembers that only people who live in 55016 have any say on this. This affects all of us; there are only two ways into the Mississippi Dunes, either through Cottage Grove or through St. Paul Park and Grey Cloud Island Township. That means any additional housing development would mean a lot more traffic on the roads, and she didn't see Cottage Grove offering to pick up the tab on all roads in St. Paul Park and Grey Cloud Island. Her grandma owned that land before it became Mississippi Dunes; her family did not sell it until they found a buyer who would not harm the environment but would enhance it. Mississippi Dunes was a Scottish -style golf course, which means that the land was not changed but kept natural. She then read from the Washington County Principles that local land use plans should help promote Washington County principles. "To preserve the existing natural re- sources, retain existing character, and provide a high quality of life." The Land and Water Leg- acy Program should also be taken into consideration; their goal is to protect and enhance and provide access to natural resources, land, water, and open space through conservation and stewardship. The biggest thing that we need to do with Mississippi Dunes is preserve that space; it is open space, and we know that there is climate change, so adding another housing development and more paved roads will just make that worse. The SNA is on one side of Mississippi Dunes and the Grey Cloud Island Regional Park is on the other side, so it makes sense for those 180 acres to be included into one whole parcel. That would be a fantastic gem Planning Commission Minutes November 22, 2021 Page 6 of 15 for Cottage Grove. It doesn't need to be financed by Cottage Grove; that can be collaborated with the County and the State. She's against any housing development. Jennifer Nedry, 7764 Jasmine Avenue South, stated she wasn't planning to speak this evening, but as she has at many meetings, she feels compelled to bring up some points that she thinks are relevant. She asked if the EAW has a 30-day review and comment period that runs from November 29 to December 29, and the City Council is set to vote on the Master Plan on De- cember 1, that seems to be a conflict. She doesn't understand how that can get resolved. The second thing is that the Cottage Grove Comprehensive Plan Land Use section states "Transi- tional Planning Areas: Areas designated Transitional Planning Areas need additional planning efforts prior to establishing future land use designations. Master Plans will be completed for each Transitional Planning Area, which includes the Mississippi Dunes, the area west of the golf course, the train tracks, and the lower Grey Cloud Island area. Allowable uses in areas designated Transitional Planning Areas include parks, commercial agriculture, and residential uses on lots of a minimum of 20 acres. Parks, commercial agriculture, and residential uses on lots of a minimum of 20 acres." She asked that this is taken into consideration. Marilyn Witzel, 10649 Grey Cloud Trail South, stated many people have spoken and sent emails about their feelings on the Mississippi Dunes property during this process. It is very apparent that we do not want high -density or medium -density housing on that property. It is now zoned for a house on every three acres and asked what is wrong with that. She has heard a number of times at various meetings concerns of the property owner and asked what about the concerns of the citizens down on Grey Cloud. Her concerns are the infrastructure in the area with 200 more homes will bring more traffic onto 103rd Street, going underneath the rail- road bridge. As we know from the clubhouse fire, fire trucks could not go under the bridge, so they all had to go through St. Paul Park to respond to that fire. That is a major problem for response time. She then asked how that investigation is going. She is very concerned about who will be paying for redoing 103rd Street, Grey Cloud Trail, and the roads that go into the development. Residents have already paid their fair share with the assessment for Grey Cloud Trail when it was redone a few years ago. She has been told that the property owners on Grey Cloud will not be assessed for the sewer and water for the development, but is not sure she could totally believe that and would like to see that in writing. She just hopes the members of the Commission, City Council, and City officials listen to the citizens of Cottage Grove when they voice their concerns. You represent us, so hear what we have to say, and not just what the landowner or developer may want. Bonnie Matter, 6649 Inskip Avenue South, stated regarding context, she has seen so many maps related to this site. She thinks there needs to be an overall map of the entire site, Missis- sippi Dunes, SNA, and this new industrial site, and how they butt up against each other. The new industrial site would be 3.5 million square feet, with a 252-acre footprint. She did not know if they had the opportunity to go to the site and asked if they had been to the SNA site. If you walk the SNA site, you are going down a slope toward the river. This is going to butt up to the Mississippi Dunes site, and she asked if it is realistic to think that any amount of existing storm - water management or mitigation plan would be able to address the industrial site's future needs. The excess water will need to run somewhere, and usually that's downhill. The Missis- sippi Dunes land is serving as a natural buffer and is critical to this area. You will be building a new residential development in an industrial area. Regarding traffic, she has not seen docu- mented anywhere the anticipated daily counts for semis, truck trailers, trucks, and cars. This traffic will have an impact on the Mississippi Dunes residents. The traffic study provided for the Planning Commission Minutes November 22, 2021 Page 7 of 15 Mississippi Dunes Master Plan is not complete and does not contain anything related to this. Initially, the plan for traffic flow was to have the semi -trucks and trailers head south on 100th Street to Innovation Road, take the roundabout at Innovation Road, and exit onto Highway 61 where they will probably head north to the freeway. She doesn't know how realistic that is, but this may have an impact on that whole area. She noted that in the railroad corridor, 37 trains per day run through this area, according to something that she read in the Master Plan. She was able to watch one of the trains on Saturday at Innovation Road, that had double-decker freight cars with at least 75 to 100 cars. She reached her time limit, so Frazier told her she had to stop speaking. Ms. Matter asked if she could please claim someone else's time, but Frazier told her he'd have to ask her to take a seat and thanked her. Matter stated it was disrespectful not to give them more time. Christine Grams, 10655 Grey Cloud Trail South, stated her husband spoke and she normally doesn't do this, but in the beginning she was pretty neutral about this whole plan and wanted to have an open mind; she thought this might have a positive impact on their property values and they might even get better internet, and possibly get City water. But she started hearing a lot of concerns from people about the environmental impact. She grew up in a farming family and community, which was all about land conservation and how do to protect the land from erosion. She started reading and it was like the list for all the reasons why this is just a bad idea to build to this density of housing and it didn't make sense anymore. She asked that the City allow for more time to consider the impacts. A lot of times what is found when building on areas so close to the river, it is built to such a high extent that there's negative impacts five to ten years down the road, such as flooding downriver. She noted there is a community just on the other side of the SNA that could be impacted by this because they are on low land. We keep talking about how we want to preserve and help the environment, and looking at this plan, there is 6.9 acres of wooded forest that is going to be taken down and 3.8 acres of brush and grassland that is essential to the rusty patch bumblebee, which is disappearing very quickly. There hasn't been any talk about what the impact is of not just the houses but adding this density of people to an area that has very poor access to begin with, or the pollution that will be caused by those people living there and to the critical habitat that exists there, to the birds, to the bees, to the bats. This area is listed as critical habitat, not just by the DNR, but also by the National Audubon Society. She asked that the City look at areas like the Michigan Dunes and how the building was there; they've got a $15 million plan set in place for recommendations on how to build on dunes. Corrine Marz, 10647 Grey Cloud Trail South, stated she works as a historical researcher and author, focusing on 19th century American and Minnesota history. She also serves on Cottage Grove's Advisory Committee for Historic Preservation. Members of her family have lived in this area for more than 250 years; she provided details of her family history. Since that time, many things have changed; today, water filters are needed to make the water safe enough to drink. Her home has two large water filters, as do many of her neighbors and fellow residents, but it's the land that is especially scarce and precious. It is its precious commodity. The former Missis- sippi Dunes golf site should not have any houses or buildings on it. It should be left in the beautiful, natural state that it is today. In her opinion, this housing shouldn't even be considered as an option because it is not the best use of this scarce and precious commodity called land. Even though we know that there is going to be money made from this housing development, many of us who are neighbors are going to have their quality of life changed forever. This land needs to be protected as green park space with public access for boating, as a place of refuge for migratory birds and wildlife, and as a place to enjoy nature. In years to come, many more Planning Commission Minutes November 22, 2021 Page 8 of 15 will be able to enjoy this land more than whoever will be living in housing. It is a place of peace. If you've walked through there or just driven by it, you know just gazing down on it from the top of the hill by the old Mississippi Dunes practice center, it's a beautiful place to see. We need to protect it today, or it will be gone forever. So, choose and act with political bravery and integrity to protect and preserve this unique property for Cottage Grove. We will not see another one like it because there are no more spots like this anywhere in Cottage Grove. Colleen O'Connor Toberman, Friends of the Mississippi River (FMR), 101 Fifth Street East, #2000, St. Paul, MN, 55101, stated like all the residents here tonight FMR would like to see the Mississippi Dunes Master Plan prioritize more public park land and less private development. The potential to provide recreational and ecological benefits is uniquely high. As the last speaker said, there's nothing else like this left in Cottage Grove, and it seems like a lot of the residents share the same vision. In the engagement process, the residents who want more park land and less development were nearly unanimous, and they're well founded in that belief. As you know, the site is the City's top priority in its River Access Strategy Report. For that kind of park to offer a full recreational experience along the river, it needs to be a large community park, not something so small that it won't serve people from across the City. We've been told many times that the City can't do anything to secure additional park land if the property owner prefers to develop housing here instead, but the City is not required to rezone this property to accommodate something a developer wants at this intensity of housing development. Your Comprehensive Plan doesn't guarantee a particular layout for this property; it states that more planning is needed. Now that the City is doing more planning, it seems to be ignoring resident feedback in that process. Compensating the owner at fair market value would be an important part of any process requiring more park land. FMR has made repeated offers over the last few years to help the City with this funding if it would choose to pursue it. However, we hear talk from the City instead about a distant hope for a park on Grey Cloud Island. We would love to see that park someday as well, but it might be decades before the mining ends and that site is cleaned up; the cleanup will be expensive, so that island will be subject to these same debates about housing versus park land. Grey Cloud Island is an industrial mine, whereas Mississippi Dunes could be restored with a relatively light touch. Rather than waiting decades for a river - front park, you could have one now. She also expressed concern that the City Council plans to vote on this Master Plan without getting feedback from the City's Parks Commission. At the last Parks Commission meeting, they requested more time so that they could hear feedback from the Planning Commission and see the draft EAW. She doesn't know if they realize that the Council doesn't plan to wait for their recommendation before moving ahead with their own vote on December 1. The Parks Commission doesn't meet again until December 13, and they were anticipating reviewing this plan then. She then noted that we are at the end of the planning process in which community feedback has been largely disregarded. The City's own Parks Commission hasn't taken a vote, so she encouraged them to not recommend approval of the Master Plan that is so out of sync with the community vision. Britney Dirtzu, 10417 Grey Cloud Trail South, stated she heard about this meeting at the last minute and wasn't planning to speak, but she has to say she's heartbroken. She grew up on and played on that land. She and her daughter now go out there to look at all the wildlife and the birds and walk to the river. There has been an increase in birds, and her daughter asked her about that to which she explained that all the land around there is getting developed so the birds and the deer were coming here, as they have nowhere else to go. She just can't stand the thought of another 210 houses behind her house on such beautiful, precious land. She heard others speak about the history of this land, and she thinks the history is important. She Planning Commission Minutes November 22, 2021 Page 9 of 15 thinks we should keep it natural and should listen to everybody else who has been speaking to keep it like it is, and vote a little bit more on the side of nature instead of on the side of money. You should look at what you have, listen to the lady from the FMR, and try to work with people. It sounds like we need more time, and that you guys need to level up your vision of the City, instead of just filling it with more houses. No one else spoke. Frazier closed the public hearing. Frazier thanked everyone who took the time to be here tonight and give their comments. He noted at this time the public hearing is closed, and there is no further comment on this applica- tion. He stated City staff would now address some of the questions that people had raised in their comments. Frazier stated there was an original plan, then workshops and community meetings were held, and now the question is what has changed based on the community comments, the Council workshops, and conversation staff has had with the community. Levitt stated Parks and Recreation Director Zac Dockter would speak about the park elements mentioned during the public comment process and could maybe address some of the residents' concerns. Dockter stated for the Parks and Recreation and Natural Resources Master Plan for this site, most public engagement revolved around the 40 acres that are preserved here. They tried to identify what people wanted in this community park. Some additional land was added to the west of the site, which improved access from the roadway, to keep access straightforward, as opposed to having to drive through neighborhoods to access the park. We tried to keep as much of the area to the west active and as condensed as possible, so everything to the east, connecting to the SNA area, was preserved as natural, open space. The majority of the acreage to the east is paved and natural trails. The key element of the Park Master Plan was to acquire all the land on the Mississippi River, so it is preserved as park and open space. The Parks Commission has been working on the 40 acres, with the MRCCA Ordinance and the Park Dedication Ordinance. We have worked with the DNR, and their priority was the 12 acres along the east side, as they've already been maintaining that as dry prairie. We will make our con- nection to that also, to preserve as much open space as possible. He stated he'd take any other questions from the Planning Commission. Brittan asked Dockter to comment on what is required in a typical development; it seems like this proposal has a much larger percentage of developable area than we would normally have access to for a project of this size. Dockter stated 10 percent is the starting point with the MRCCA Ordinance; he believes we were working at about 14 acres right now. This current site is about 40 acres, and the Commission made a recommendation to City Council, who recom- mended a 40-acre park. He reiterated that is the Master Plan for the park, not for the entire development, so that's double of what a typical park would look like. The reason for that was because we wanted to make sure it was a community park; it was very clear from Council and the Parks Commission that this should be a community park, not a neighborhood park. That's why he spoke of the public access road; we want to make sure the community and visitors have easy access to this park, so 40 acres is a good number and is similar in size to other parks in the City. Brittain stated that doubling the size would require us to get funding from Planning Commission Minutes November 22, 2021 Page 10 of 15 other sources; Dockter confirmed that was correct; we would get 10 percent through park ded- ication, and the City would be responsible for funding the rest of the acquisition. Burfeind spoke about identified infrastructure concerns. He explained this is a Master Plan, so stormwater is one of the highest regulated things with a development by City rules, local watershed rules, and State rules through the MPCA. MPCA rules are status quo, to maintain existing. With the Watershed and the City, we require major reductions from the current existing state and phosphorus in the volume of water, not just the rate. There was mention of how the Mississippi River has gotten worse; development 20-30 years ago did not have those rules, but now we do. The Master Plan is more high level, so things are monitored during and after con- struction; the State is very clear on what we have to do as a City to make sure things stay in place and are maintained. We are audited to ensure that is happening; currently, we see im- provement in stormwater runoff. Burfeind responded to the question of who pays for roadway improvements, stating that devel- opment pays for itself. The developer will be responsible for realigning Grey Cloud Trail in the 103rd Street area and bringing water and sewer to this area. The City has some plans to over- size, which the City pays for through other development funds, not from the local residents. Burfeind stated that regarding local residents being hooked up to City water, in the staff presen- tation there was mention of the PFAS, which is specific to the wells in the area and the filters that the residents receive. He explained that those filters are funded by the State through the 3M Settlement. The State identified future neighborhoods to connect in the final plan, but this was not one of those neighborhoods; however, it was one that was deemed to need monitoring. The DNR and the PCA are the trustees of the settlement money, so if they determine it is more cost effective to connect to City water, they work with the City to implement that. There hasn't been discussion with the residents in this area yet because it's not in the final plan, but it's something that was identified to be monitored. Burfeind noted that flooding concerns are similar to the stormwater; we look at a reduction in the volume and the rates of that stormwater. He stated he'd be happy to answer questions. Brittain stated regarding stormwater, he knew the Watershed, as well as the City, have in- creased their strictness on the rules to help mitigate those things and asked Burfeind to high- light onsite storage and how things have changed, versus not letting water leave specific sites, as he knew things had changed drastically over the years. Burfeind stated there were two things they do to manage that: 1) Large stormwater ponds that actually allow water to come in and go out at a much -slower rate; and 2) Infiltration basins, which are probably the biggest key, as they actually allow water to go back into the groundwater to recharge it, which is a big goal of the local Watershed and the State. Phosphorus causes algae blooms, and the requires a 50 percent reduction from what leaves the site. He noted there was a specific question about flow from the industrial site, and stated that would not flow through the SNA; it would flow to the east, through 3M property, and eventually down to the river. The industrial property is held to the same rules, so they'd have to reduce the amount of water leaving the site and the amount of phosphorus. Fisher asked for a response to emergency vehicle access to the site as well as speak about the bridge and the response time for other Grey Cloud residents who might have emergency needs. Burfeind stated there was a memo in the packet from Public Safety, and he has also Planning Commission Minutes November 22, 2021 Page 11 of 15 worked with this over the years. Our fire engines and ambulances are able to go under the bridge; it's just the aerial ladder truck that has to go around. Rinzel stated he oversees the Police Division. He stated that if the development goes forward, there will be fire hydrants that will improve our fire safety ratings in that area. Currently, with any rural residential firefighting, fire trucks are dropping huge fire pools, then siphoning out of that pool into the truck to put out fires. If the development goes through and water and sewer are available, firefighting capacity and abilities will improve dramatically. As far as police services and response times, we cover 36.5 square miles, so our response times are spread out, just like our community is, and we ensure that we have appropriate personnel in those areas when they're needed. Wright asked what the process was to analyze if there's more coverage needed in a certain area of the City. Rinzel stated that there are different matrixes that can be used to determine citywide staffing. We review that on a regular basis and have used the "how many officers per thousand" ratio over the years. We use different ratios for a police -paramedic service; now that our firefighter/EMT paramedics are handling EMS, we have diminished that percentage. Things are based on a matrix, but we are constantly developing and implementing new ways to look at police services and what the real necessity is within an area. If there are more homes, we spread out our coverage. He's worked at the Police Department for over 27 years, and our patrol staffing hasn't changed dramatically; we've gone from 25,000 residents to just under 40,000 now. We staff during our busy times by adding power shifts, so we have 24-hour cov- erage, but officers overlap during the busy times until 3.00 a.m. We also have a great relation- ship with Washington County, St. Paul Park, and Woodbury to provide mutual -aid assistance. We work seamlessly throughout the south metro to provide coverage. Brittain asked about the Transitional Planning area and what could be done there. He stated it is his understanding that is what we could do there when it's classified as a Transitional Plan- ning Area. Schmitz replied that is correct. Brittain stated that's not what they would be or some restriction of what that zoning could be changed to; Schmitz replied correct, that's the permitted use prior to a Master Plan being completed. Schmitz stated the Transitional Planning area is the start; then we work through the Master Plan, which is before the Commission tonight. Re- zoning is a completely separate application; the EAW, and any other subsequent applications will follow that process. Brittan stated there was a question about the City Council voting in December and the Parks Commission needing an opportunity to hear what they have to say. His understanding is this is the Master Plan review, the big picture, and there's a lot of work to refine the details that will go into this. The City Council would only be voting on the big picture concept to move forward so that the rest of the pieces could begin, the EAW could be completed, and anything in there could trigger other things that would be necessary. Right now, there wouldn't be enough defi- nition for the Parks Commission to really provide a solid opinion on the plan because it is too general. He anticipates, moving forward, the Parks Commission would also have the oppor- tunity to provide more detail for the next steps in the process. He asked if that was correct. Schmitz replied he is correct, and the process that will follow will provide a more detailed review. Knable asked with the SNA expansion, if the DNR wanted more than 12 acres. Levitt stated the City had a detailed conversation with the DNR; we asked them to specifically highlight the elements that had the highest priority and interest for them to obtain. Based upon images and Planning Commission Minutes November 22, 2021 Page 12 of 15 graphics that they provided in our dialogue, they only specified their desire for a 12.3-acre parcel. They didn't indicate a desire or willingness to acquire additional land. Frazier stated those were all the questions from the public that he had written down. He asked if there was any further discussion by the commission. Brittain stated this is the big picture. We need to get a better idea of road infrastructure, utility infrastructure, environmental assessments, etc. All of that needs to happen. In his opinion, a Master Plan gives us the ability to start focusing on those areas and set the general direction of what the property should be doing in the long term. It gives the developer an opportunity to come up with a refined plan to fit more with what our expectations are; it gives the other pro- cesses an opportunity to begin and provide enough detail to interlink with the others, such that they can provide value. The landowner needs to have the ability to make reasonable use of the property that they own; it's not in our purview to restrict or tell them what they can and can't do, but we can provide a guideline for what happens, what we feel would be appropriate and con- ducive to interaction with areas near there. The Master Plan process is an important step; we'll get more detail later. This property has been available for years so anybody could have gone in and bought it, including the DNR, the State, or the County; they have other areas where they want to potentially focus their interest, but they had that opportunity. He sees the benefit of the Master Plan as allowing us to acquire significantly more park land than what we would typically see; that's come from great work by the Parks Commission and their strategic planning. As a community, there needs to be a balance; we can only do so much in different areas. He sees this Master Plan as providing the ability to help make things agree with what the Comprehen- sive Plan has guided and directed, as well as providing the ability to fine tune it as things go forward. This is a good step in the process, but it is not the end of the process; there's a lot more work to be done. He doesn't see their attention to this going away at any point in time, and thinks we'll be looking at this harder as it goes. The input that we get from the community is very important. As we tweak and guide things, we don't have the ability to do everything that we want to do; there are limits, and it isn't ourjob or the City's job to micromanage every single detail. We can work together with ideas on how to coexist and make things work better for everybody. He suggests we put our energy and focus there to make a better end game for the whole project in the long term. Frazier thanked everybody for being here tonight. Regardless of how you feel on this issue, if it's the right thing or the wrong thing to do, this is democracy in action. Local government is going to have more impact on your lives than any other form of government. The fact that you showed up tonight means that you care, just like everybody else sitting on the dais. We are all members of this community who give up a Monday night, once a month, to come and do this, listen to citizens, and do what we think is right for the City. The fact that you showed up tonight, shows that you have the same goal in mind. We may differ on how we get there, but as long as we're respectful, like you all were tonight, and understand what the limits of government are, this can be a project he thinks everyone can get along with. Frazier stated Commissioner Rasmussen wasn't able to be here tonight, but he'd provided a response that he wanted read into the record: This is a special and unique property, and 1 am glad to see the city working on a Master Plan for this area. Parks and open space are one of my favorite features in the city, and 1 am happy to see the plan incorporated close to 40 acres of park space along the river frontage. This has the potential to be an amazing public space in our city. Regarding the residential uses shown on the conceptual plan, they appear to be con- Planning Commission Minutes November 22, 2021 Page 13 of 15 sistent with our current standards and conform to the Comprehensive Plan. 1 am reading plenty of public comments wanting to leave the property as is and restricting development. 1 under- stand their ask although fully understand this is private property, and the owner has every right to use as they like assuming they stay within the city guidelines. With this property recently being on the market, all private parties and organizations had an opportunity to purchase this property and to use as they feel fit. 1 am glad to see this plan maximizing the amount of park and open spaces and placing these areas along the waterfront. Frazier stated Ms. O'Connor Toberman was nice enough to come and give her opinion tonight, but in the future, we are not required to rezone. The problem is if we don't have a legal basis to not rezone, that's where we get in trouble. Just like Brittain said, the landowner has a Con- stitutional Right; the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution says that a landowner has due pro- cess rights. If the city decides these are the rules, but we don't like the rules right now so we're just going to ignore them, then that's a violation of someone's Constitutional Rights. Frazier thinks we'd all like to see more public space and natural areas, but we also have to make sure that we follow the laws of this country and the rules of the city when we do these applications. That means respecting people's property rights, whether or not you agree with what they want to do with their property. We can have a hand in this and get some more park land like we've had on the Master Plan; we can help guide and say this is what we'd like to see; or we could go the other route, and say we're not going to do this at all and maybe we lose all ability to have a park there or maybe we lose all ability to have any indication as to what we'd like to have on this property. Based on what he's seeing right now, he believes this is a good starting point; he will be interested to see what happens. He wants more public comment to see if we can make some changes to make more people happy, to make sure the developer has a good idea of what this land is going to turn into, but he thinks at this point we're at a good starting spot. Fisher thanked everyone who was here tonight. She spent hours reading through everybody's letters and survey responses and appreciates the community's input. She's also proud of our city and our staff and the amount of work that has gone into this. She's proud to live in Cottage Grove and to be a part of this community. She thanked everybody who put all this information together and for everybody's input. She appreciates that and is proud to sit here with the City of Cottage Grove. Knable echoed Fisher's comments. He spent quite a few hours going through the staff report, and he thanked them for that information. He thanked everyone for coming out and speaking tonight, as it gives us more vision to what we're looking at on paper and appreciates that. Wright stated what a lot of people don't see is some of the diligence that's put into all of this in the background. It's easy to come here and see some of the work, but there's a lot of research done by the staff and by others. He dedicates his Sundays to these issues because he owes it to you, and the other commissioners owe it you. He really likes this plan, and you probably don't want to hear that, but it protects the shoreline; this is deliberate, and he thinks this is a good way forward. Brittain stated that the previous owner of this property had grandiose plans of all the different things that could happen there, including an event center to possibly host WE Fest, but he sees this as a better direction. What it could have been would have been significantly different than Planning Commission Minutes November 22, 2021 Page 14 of 15 what we're seeing here today. He sees this as definitely something more in conjunction with the way that our community has been developing and the things that work well together. Wright told the residents to keep doing what they're doing, be involved. He's seen time and time again where the City Councilmembers and the staff see things morph into different things. This isn't an end all, say all tonight at all. With you coming here and giving your feedback, you are being heard. You might not feel like it sometimes, but you are. That will drive future deci- sions as we go forward with this in the various next steps. Brittain made a motion to approve the Mississippi Dunes Park and Land Use Master Plan. Wright seconded. Motion passed unanimously (5-to-0 vote). Approval of Planning Commission Minutes of October 25, 2021 Fisher made a motion to approve the minutes of the October 25, 2021 Planning Commis- sion meeting. Knable seconded. Motion passed unanimously (5-to-0 vote). Reports 8.1 Recap of November 2021 City Council Meetings Costello provided a summary of actions taken at the City Council meetings in November, 2021. Dennis thanked the Commissioners for the great work that they do. He also thanked the resi- dents who spoke during the public hearings and stated that we are committed to working together to do everything possible within the means available to us to make Cottage Grove the best place to live. He wished everyone a safe and happy Thanksgiving. He then reviewed the upcoming Community Calendar of Events, which includes Hale to the Bird 5K Race fundraising event on November 25; Holiday Lights Tour begins on November 29; Cottage Grove Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony at City Hall on December 1; and the Santa Breakfast at River Oaks Golf Course on December 12. Dennis reported the Finance Department rebid a number of our General Obligation Bonds to reduce the interest rate that saved the City over $330,000. Dennis announced that former Planning Commission Chair Tony Khambata was appointed to the City Council on November 17. Councilmember Khambata addressed the Planning Commission thanking them for their volunteerism, time, and effort. 8.2 Response to Planning Commission Inquiries None 8.3 Planning Commission Requests 8.4 Election of Vice Chair Frazier asked if there were any nominations for the Planning Commission Vice Chair. If there were none, Rasmussen suggested nominating Brittain. Planning Commission Minutes November 22, 2021 Page 15 of 15 Fisher made a motion to nominate Brittain as Vice Chair of the Planning Commission. Wright seconded. Motion passed unanimously (5-to-0). Adjournment Brittain made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Wright seconded. Motion passed unani- mously (5-to-0 vote). The meeting was adjourned at 8:59 p.m.