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ARDEN HILLS PLANNING COMMISSION – March 4, 2015 4 <br /> <br /> <br />City Planner Streff stated CSM owned this parcel. <br /> <br />Commissioner Holewa moved and Commissioner Hames seconded a motion to recommend <br />approval of Planning Case 15-003 for a Site Plan and Variance to expand the existing <br />parking lot at 4293 Lexington Avenue North, based on the findings of fact and the <br />submitted plans, as amended by the four (4) conditions in the March 4, 2015, report to the <br />Planning Commission. The motion carried unanimously (7-0). <br /> <br />B. Planning Case 15-004; Preliminary and Final Plat, Rezoning and Comprehensive <br />Plan Amendment – 1941 & 1901 County Road E2 – Public Hearing <br /> <br />City Planner Streff stated that the applicant is requesting approval of the Valentine Bluff <br />redevelopment project for a Preliminary & Final Plat, Rezoning, and Comprehensive Plan <br />Amendment for the property located at 1941 & 1901 County Road E2 in order to subdivide the <br />two (2) parcels into seven (7) single-family lots. <br /> <br />City Planner Streff explained that Landmark of Arden Hills has a purchase agreement with <br />Bethel University for approximately 4.77 acres of land consisting of two contiguous parcels at <br />1941 and 1901 County Road E2. The property at 1941 County Road E2 is the site of the former <br />Ramsey County library, which closed in December of 2010. The Minnesota Baptist Conference <br />occupied the facility at 1901 County Road E2 for a number of years beginning in the early 1970s, <br />but this structure is also currently vacant. The applicant is requesting approval for a project that <br />would result in the redevelopment of both properties for seven (7) single-family homes. <br /> <br />City Planner Streff commented that the property at 1941 County Road E2 is zoned R-1 Single <br />Family Residential and is guided for Public Institutional uses in the City’s 2030 Comprehensive <br />Plan. The adjacent property at 1901 County Road E2 is now zoned N-B Neighborhood Business <br />and is also guided for Neighborhood Business uses in the Comprehensive Plan. The site is <br />bordered to the north and east by a system of wetlands within Tony Schmidt Regional Park, <br />managed by Ramsey County. Generally, the topography of the properties is relatively flat around <br />where the existing structures are located, but slopes down more significantly along the northern <br />and eastern edges of the site. Small wetland areas are present in the far northeast and southeast <br />corners of the site and are currently protected by easements held by the Rice Creek Watershed <br />District. The Ramsey County Parks and Recreation Department has a sixty-eight (68) foot wide <br />easement across the western portion of the 1941 County Road E2 property for the purpose of a <br />future trail connection through the wetland complex in Tony Schmidt Regional Park. <br /> <br />City Planner Streff indicated that the site is approximately 4.77 gross acres in size and located <br />near the intersection of New Brighton Road and County Road E2 and bordered by Tony Schmidt <br />Regional Park to the north. The site is comprised of two contiguous parcels, both of which have <br />existing structures on them that would be demolished as part of the project. Three separate <br />driveways on County Road E2 currently provide access to the properties. After accounting for the <br />right-of-way area that extends into County Road E2 and the flood plain/wetlands areas located on <br />the site, 4.54 acres of net buildable area exists on the site. The applicant is requesting approval to <br />subdivide the site into seven (7) single-family lots. In this case, the applicant is proposing four <br />(4) driveways from County Road E2 in order to provide access to the residential lots. This is an <br />increase of one (1) additional driveway from the existing conditions. Limiting driveways from