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In 2017 and 2018, the City Council considered two Concept Plan Review applications for the <br />development of senior living housing which would have comprised of independent, assisted, and <br />memory care units on this same property. Both of those concept proposals had the placement of <br />the building on the south side of the property with the primary access to the site from Snelling <br />Avenue north of the intersection with Royal Hills Drive. At that time, the Council expressed <br />concerns about building height, massing, traffic, and the required property rezoning. <br />Additionally, the Council provided direction that the northwest corner of the property should be <br />considered for the development. The minutes from those two Work Sessions are included with <br />this report as Attachments E and F. The former Applicant evaluated this site and determined that <br />development would not be feasible due to the presence of several large wetlands and additional <br />construction costs. In the end, the former Developer made the decision not to move forward with <br />a formal land use application. <br />Most recently, the Applicant received City Council feedback on this proposal at a prior work <br />session on February 22, 2022. At this work session, the City Council noted their support of the <br />project but expressed concerns over building height, site access, stormwater management, and <br />floor area ratio. The Council also encouraged the Applicant to investigate including affordable <br />units and outdoor amenities in the proposal. Following this meeting, the Applicant applied for <br />two Comprehensive Plan Amendments to Chapter 6, Land Use. The Applicant requested to <br />change the future land use designation of approximately 10.75 acres in the northwest corner of <br />the Subject Property to High Density Residential (HDR). The 30+/- acres of development land <br />on the Subject Property remains guided as Public and Institutional (P/I). The Applicant also <br />requested a Comprehensive Plan Text Amendment to Section 6.4.10 to increase the maximum <br />housing unit density as part of a Planned Unit Development. The Planning Commission had <br />concerns with traffic, access, noise, neighborhood character, and the potential for additional high <br />density units in this neighborhood and recommended denial by a 5-1 vote. Both Comprehensive <br />Plan Amendments were approved and adopted as requested by the City Council on July 11, <br />2022. <br />Discussion <br />Existing Conditions <br />North Heights Lutheran Church owns the approximately 41 acre parcel with an address of 1700 <br />Highway 96 West located on the south side of Highway 96 and directly east of U.S. Highway 10. <br />The church chapel and education wing are located roughly in the center of the property. The <br />chapel of the North Heights Lutheran Church was constructed in 1986 and the education wing <br />was completed in 1998. Two large surface parking areas are located on the north and east side of <br />the chapel and educational wing. The remainder of the site is wooded and includes wetland <br />areas and stormwater infrastructure required for the existing development. <br />Page 2 of 8 <br />