12-06-23 PC Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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ARDEN HILLS PLANNING COMMISSION – December 6, 2023 8 close to major highways. She stated this was a real issue and research has shown that living with this kind of air pollution increases the risk of asthma, cardiovascular disease, impaired lung development in children, preterm and low birth weight infants, childhood, leukemia and premature death. She reported these were serious things. She explained when these parcels were guided for commercial or office space use, it meant adults would be working for several hours five days per week within a sealed office space. She expressed concern with the fact the City was now proposing to place a large number of residential units or starter homes on this corner. She feared how the air quality on these parcels would impact these future tenants. She recommended that all residential developments be setback at least 600 feet from all major highways or be moved away from the highways altogether. She suggested staff further study this concern before recommending a large housing development be located adjacent to a major highway. She believed everyone deserved safe housing, no matter their income level. Commissioner Bjorklund explained there was a housing development very similar to what the Developer provided as examples just north of this development and it was very successful. He encouraged the Commissioners to visit this development. Chair Vijums stated he understood the development in Shoreview was successful, but he believed the Planning Commission had to consider how to do what was best for this 427 acre site. He explained he was excited for what would happen within the TCAAP development and he was for it. He appreciated the fact the City had the opportunity to mitigate issues and address potential concerns prior to launching into the development. He asked staff, of the 500 additional units, how many of those would be affordable and what types of housing units will be made affordable. Community Development Director Jagoe reported Alatus has identified 20% of the units will be at 60% AMI. She stated at this time, there is not the specificity of which housing types will be affordable and that the JDA would continue to work through this in a final development agreement. Chair Vijums stated he would like more information on this when it becomes available. He questioned if there was an agreed upon metric for affordable housing previously. Community Development Director Jagoe stated she did not recall if the JDA had an agreed upon metric in place previous to 2018, but noted the 20% of units at 60% AMI metric has been created to address affordable housing within the proposed housing density at 1,960 units. Chair Vijums indicated he would like to see a comparison of the previous standards to the proposed standards. He believed this was key information for the Commission to have. He reported the Commission was being asked to memorialize something, without fully knowing what was being memorialized. He wanted to better understand where things were and what the project was moving to. In addition, he wanted to better understand who gets to make the decisions and who gets to approve it. Community Development Director Jagoe reported the City has stated metrics for affordability in the term sheet with the Developer in 2021/2022 which had a set number of affordable units as part of that agreement. She added that the City does not zone for affordability, but was guided by the comprehensive plan and one of the goals of the Met Council was that the City provide for