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ARDEN HILLS PLANNING COMMISSION – January 6, 2021 7 <br /> <br />Commissioner Weber inquired if the City had any other memory care units that were smaller <br />than 500 square feet. <br /> <br />Community Development Manager/City Planner Mrosla reported Summit Development was <br />proposing to build 120 memory care units on Parkshore Drive and their units were 400 square <br />feet. <br /> <br />Commissioner Weber questioned who owned the private drive. <br /> <br />Community Development Manager/City Planner Mrosla stated Bethel University owns and <br />would maintain the private drive. <br /> <br />Commissioner Weber asked if appropriate pedestrian crossings would be put in at some point in <br />the future. <br /> <br />Community Development Manager/City Planner Mrosla commented crossings would be <br />installed at the intersections and after Lot 1 was developed crosswalks would be installed. <br /> <br />Commissioner Vijums stated he was not concerned about tree mitigation. He discussed City <br />Code requirements regarding efficiency/studio units. He reported the size of the memory care <br />units were a concern to him, even if there was only 17 of them. He asked if the builders could <br />increase the size of these units to 400 to 450 square feet. He feared for the residents of these <br />units and wondered how much smaller developers would go. <br /> <br />Community Development Manager/City Planner Mrosla reported the Summit Development <br />was approved with 400 square foot memory care units. <br /> <br />Todd ____________ explained the research shows fewer steps and more familiarity is best for <br />dementia and Alzheimer patients. He stated this has led to smaller sized units for memory care <br />patients. He commented further on how the four memory care pods were surrounded by bright <br />and airy open spaces. <br /> <br />Commissioner Vijums thanked Mr. ___________ for the additional information on the memory <br />care unit design. He agreed with Commissioner Weber that the density was tight for the memory <br />care units. He asked if this building had received Fire Marshal approval. <br /> <br />Community Development Manager/City Planner Mrosla explained the Fire Marshal had <br />reviewed the building and provided comments to staff and the development team. He noted there <br />were no overall concerns to the request. He reported the Fire Marshal would take a closer look at <br />the plans when the developers requested a building permit. <br /> <br />Commissioner Subramanian thanked staff for the detailed report. He asked how much security <br />the memory care units had to ensure the residents did not wander away. He discussed how the <br />recent pandemic has impacted the elderly population. He questioned if this building had <br />restrictions or plans in place to address this concern. <br /> <br />Todd ___________ addressed the pod system that would be in place within the memory care <br />wing. He reported a resident would have to push on a panic bar for 15 continuous seconds in