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ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — NOVEMBER 2, 2023 6 <br />they live and how they get around. They are building for a broad vision and the future, not for just <br />one person's particular preferences. <br />Councilmember Monson was glad the JDA was on the path to getting traffic concerns cleaned <br />up. She would be happy if they found a third entrance. She didn't want to lose the opportunity for <br />a grand view because somebody is worried about traffic on Hwy 96 and other cities are building <br />whatever they want on Hwy 96. She is interested to get the studies back, see what the County says <br />about Hwy 96. She continued to support 1,960 units. If they continue to delay it's going to cost <br />more so she supported moving it to the Planning Commission for approval. <br />Councilmember Fabel said when the reconstituted JDA started meeting in January they resolved <br />to look forward not back to the long-standing dispute between the City and the County. But he <br />thought it was important to know what the court order said. He believed it was time to direct staff <br />to move forward with 1,960 to prepare it for further consideration; moving on with the City Code <br />and Comprehensive Plan. <br />Councilmember Holden said the County didn't negotiate or talk to them, and wondered why he <br />wanted to keep wasting time talking about the past. She wondered why no-one stood up at the <br />open house and told the people it was going to be 1,960. <br />Mayor Grant stated he graduated from Chaska High School in 1975, the class motto was "My <br />interest lies in the future because that's where I'm going to spend the rest of my life." He <br />suggested they stay focused on what they need to focus on. <br />Councilmember Monson moved to affordability; currently the proposal is twenty percent of the <br />units will be affordable at a price range of sixty percent of the Area Median Income (AMI) or less, <br />she would like to consider going above the twenty percent and adding additional percentage to <br />cover the sixty to eighty percent. <br />Councilmember Holden said she didn't know why they were talking about affordable housing. <br />They do zoning as a city, they don't have a say in how much of it is affordable. <br />Councilmember Rousseau apologized for the harsh comments between Councilmembers. She <br />felt the open house was professionally done and well attended. Losing the flex office space wasn't <br />an issue for her, her bigger concern was to have room for remote workers to office from home. <br />She noted that with the military acreage next door they will never have traditional traffic patterns <br />in this location. <br />Mayor Grant agreed with Councilmember Holden's statement that they zone property and aren't <br />in the affordability business. He wondered if the County would put affordability into the term <br />sheet with the developer. <br />Mr. Lux said the term sheet will be between Alatus and the JDA. Affordability and sustainability <br />will be in the term sheet. Lot sizes and building materials will be controlled by the City. <br />Mayor Grant asked if there was any intent to ask for TIF financing for any part of the project. <br />