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ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL MARCH 31, 20147 and authorizing the publication of a notice of the hearing (PHS/Lake Minnetonka Campus Project). The motion carried (5-0). C. Planning Case 14-009 Multi-Family Design Standards City Planner Streff stated that in January 2013, the City Council requested that staff review the -family dwelling units. Currently, these standards require multi-family dwelling units to be a minimum of 600 square feet, with an additional 100 square feet required for each bedroom. The Council expressed concerns that the standards could permit multi-bedroom apartments that do not provide adequate floor area per resident. City Planner Streff noted that staff collected information from seven cities in the metro region that have adopted minimum unit size standards. The cities included New Brighton, Blaine, White Bear Lake, Maplewood, Fridley, Coon Rapids, and Bloomington. An analysis was completed Staff also looked at ten multi-family development projects that have recently been completed or that are under construction in outer-ring suburban communities to evaluate the average unit sizes currently being built in the private market. These projects are located in the communities of New Brighton, White Bear Lake, Arden Hills, Elk River, Apple Valley, Ramsey, Eagan, Osseo, and Maple Grove. City Planner Streff commented that at the City Council work session on January 13, 2014, staff reviewed this data with the Council. Based on the comments provided by the Council, staff drafted Ordinance 2014-003, which would revise the minimum unit size standards for multi- family dwelling units. City Planner Streff reported that the amendment to the multi-family design standards would decrease the required square footage for efficiency apartment units and increase the required square footage for two-bedroom and three-bedroom units, as well as the additional floor area required for each additional bedroom. The City Council directed staff to make these changes so being constructed by the private market. City Planner Streff explained that the Planning Commission reviewed Section 1325.045, Subd. 1 of the Multi-family Dwelling Units Additional Conditional Use Permit Criteria of the Zoning Ordinance during their meeting on March 5, 2014. The proposed changes to the Multi-family Design Standards were discussed by the Commission and the consensus was that the current standards for multi-family units do not need to be revised as they are sufficient for future development. However, the Commission believed that a reduction in size for efficiency units was reasonable. The Commission supported a change to between 450-550 square feet for efficiency units. City Planner Streff indicated that the Planning Commission thought the City should not be too restrictive with the multi-family design standards and that the market should be allowed to control the size of units built. It was also a concern that if a change did occur a significant amount of variances would be requested in the future to satisfy the needs of developers. The Commission did