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ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL NOVEMBER 25, 201313 <br /> <br />space should be allowed to be used for classrooms and the remainder of the space should be slated <br />for office and administrative space. <br /> <br />AMENDMENT: Councilmember Holden moved and Councilmember McClung <br />seconded a motion to allow for only 16,000 square feet of classroom <br />space in the existing office building located at 2 Pine Tree Drive. <br /> <br />Kathleen Nelson <br />, Senior Vice President for Finance at Bethel University, discussed the phasing <br />chart with the Council stating that there are likely maximum uses for the building. It is her desire <br />to have the flexibility to determine what works best in the building after a campus master plan is <br />completed by Bethel University. She explained that the traffic consultant reported classroom uses <br />will generate less traffic than office or administrative space. <br /> <br />Mayor Grant <br /> questioned how much space will be used for classroom space. <br /> <br />Ms. Nelson <br /> reviewed Attachment I stating that 19,000 <br />square feet will be used for classroom space. However, the mix of academic space is still yet to <br />be determined. This matter will be further resolved by the campus master plan. <br /> <br />Councilmember Holden <br /> expressed concern that Bethel does not have a master plan in place for <br />this location. For this reason, she wants to see the classroom square footage capped. <br /> <br />Councilmember Werner <br />stated that 16,000 square feet of space is only 7% of the building. He is <br />in favor of allowing Bethel University to have some level of flexibility with regard to how the <br />building will be used. <br /> <br />Councilmember Holmes <br /> agreed stating that she did not support the proposed amendment. She <br />does not feel it is fair to limit Bethel University to only be able to use 7% of the Pine Tree <br />building for classroom space. <br /> <br />Councilmember McClung <br /> expressed concern with how the proposed conditional use permit will <br />impact the community. He supported limiting the classroom space and noted that the proposed <br />that Bethel University could <br />always request an amendment to the conditional use permit. <br /> <br />Mayor Grant <br /> asked if the conditional use permit for Bethel University could be expanded and/or <br />amended. He requested comment from the City Attorney on this matter. <br /> <br />City Attorney Jamnik <br /> explained that the current space is zoned for office space and the proposed <br />conditional use permit would allow for a higher education use in the entire building. He indicated <br />that the property owner could request a conditional use permit amendment if additional classroom <br />space is required beyond the proposed 16,000 square feet. <br /> <br />Mayor Grant <br /> commented that the proposed CUP does leave the space open ended. <br /> <br />