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Arden Hills Service Directory 1245 West Highway 96 Arden Hills, MN 55112-5734 www.cityofardenhills.org 651-792-7800 Office Hours Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sheriff and Fire 911 Water and Sewer Problems (During non-business hours) 651-767-0640 Mayor David Grant 651-538-0747 dgrant@cityofardenhills.org Councilmembers Brenda Holden 651-636-2987 bholden@cityofardenhills.org Fran Holmes 612-599-2457 fholmes@cityofardenhills.org Dave McClung 651-332-0352 davemcclung@cityofardenhills.org Steve Scott 651-604-0919 sscott@cityofardenhills.org City Administrator Dave Perrault 651-792-7824 dperrault@cityofardenhills.org Communications Coordinator Dawn Skelly 651-792-7817 dskelly@cityofardenhills.org Communications Committee Council Liaisons Brenda Holden Fran Holmes Council meetings are held at City Hall on the second and fourth Mondays of the month at 7:00 p.m. Meetings are televised live on Cable Channel 16. Meetings of the Planning Commis- sion are televised as well. Please visit cityofardenhills.org for information about archived meeting playbacks. Arden Hills Notes is the official news- letter of the City of Arden Hills, an equal-opportunity employer. Affordable housing and density The county’s goals related to affordable housing and density have changed since ap- proval of the TCAAP Redevelopment Code (TRC) in 2016. The TRC approves 1,460 housing units with a goal of 10 percent reserved for residents who make 80 percent of the area median income. Grant said the city is committed to providing the previously approved affordable housing and density. Current plans are in line with Metropolitan Council requirements for Arden Hills. “At our November public forum, we heard from residents, the majority of whom en- couraged the city to stick with the original goals for density and affordable housing,” said Grant. “As it is currently planned, there will already be increased traffic with the number of estimated vehicles coming in and out of the site, from both Highway 96 and County Road H. Increased density will only put more stress on these areas.” Site plans include varying levels of density with larger and smaller single family homes, attached and detached townhouses, senior living facilities, condominiums and apartments for rent. The density on the site will be significantly higher than the cur- rently developed Arden Hills. The most recent draft of the Master Development Agreement between the county and the developer seeks additional units reserved for those who make significantly less than 80 percent of the area median income. City fees and financing In 2012, the city and county agreed in a Joint Powers Agreement that the city would contribute an estimated $8.2 million towards infrastructure improvements, which the city is still willing to participate in; however, the county, in March of 2018, had unilaterally requested the city contribute an additional unspecified $1.8 million to fill a county budget gap. The city continues to work toward a mutual cooperative agreement, which details financing commitments and terms. The city held a special work session on January 16 to review the details of the draft agreement. Brian Holmes named JDA chair In January, Joint Development Authority (JDA) commissioners and the chair were up for reappointment. The city sought and interviewed applicants for the JDA chair posi- tion and selected Brian Holmes (no relation to Councilmember Fran Holmes) to serve as the new chair. He was to lead the January 7 JDA meeting, but the meeting was cancelled due to a lack of a quorum. The county representatives did not attend. Brian will serve through 2020. He is a resident of Arden Hills and the assistant vice president of real estate and facilities for Prime Therapeutics. Mayor Grant and Councilmember Brenda Holden will represent the city on the JDA through this term. Next steps A city Civic Site Task Force meeting that was scheduled for January 29 was resched- uled to February 5 due to the cold weather. The committee will remain a standing committee, but no additional meetings will be held until the county agrees to reengage with the project and the Joint Development Authority. Brian Holmes TCAAP Plans continued from front page