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ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL — JANUARY 8, 2024 14 developers. She understood it will be great to have affordable housing on TCAAP, but she questioned if 1,960 was the right number for this development. She stated the financials for this project show it will take 30 years to develop. She feared how the current residents of Arden Hills would be impacted by the increased tax burden that would be brought on as this project begins to develop. She questioned why the financials for this project were unknown. She questioned what the rate of return would be for the developer. She commented on how she did not want Arden Hills residents to get stuck with a bill from this development, if it were not to be fully completed. She stated she was here to project the residents of Arden Hills and she feared no one was doing this at this time. She recommended that additional time be spent vetting this project before moving it forward. She indicated her vision for this development was for it to be inclusive with housing varieties inter -mixed throughout the neighborhoods. Councilmember Holden discussed how Minneapolis and St. Paul would not survive without businesses recalling their employees back into their communities. She explained there was a need for improved transit in Arden Hills, and especially in TCAAP given the proposed density. She noted the City does not have any commitments from Met Council on any new bus lines. She feared how people living on TCAAP would get to work downtown. She indicated there were discussions about bringing a Costco to TCAAP. She reported Costco would bring one million trips to the site and asked if this had been taken into consideration within the traffic study. She indicated the North Heights potential housing project had also not been taken into consideration. Councilmember Holden stated when Bob Lux and Alatus was brought on, it was the hope to create something unique and wonderful. She indicated the proposed development would now look like every other development in the metro area. She commented on Building 118 and how the JDA needed to work with the Army to maintain access. She explained she would like to have more information on the TCAAP financials and how the City would pay for this project. She wanted to know if TIF would be required for this development. She questioned how the businesses on TCAAP would survive given the surrounding traffic issues. She indicated she was concerned about the existing residents of Arden Hills and how they would be impacted by this project. Councilmember Holden commented on the amount of affordable housing that was already present in Arden Hills, which included a manufactured home community. She indicated the City previously moved this project forward through open and efforts of the City Council. She stated the continued to hold JDA meetings for 23 months, leaving the door open for the County to participate. She questioned again where the transparency was with the process that has been followed in the past year. She noted questions from the bench were not being answered. She inquired how this project would be funded and how would it flow. She expressed concern with the fact the Council has held no discussions regarding TCAAP. She noted an open house was being held, but instead of taking feedback, the project was presented as this is how it is. She believed there had been a total lack of transparency on this TCAAP project and there has been no tolerance for the people who do not agree with the three slate candidates. She expressed concern with the fact there was no information available on how the infrastructure would be funded. While she stated she had no problem with the 1,960 number, she recommended that vetting and data be provided to show that this was the right number. She commented on how the Planning Commission Chair had paid dearly by raising questions about the 1,960 number as he was no longer the Chair. She stated she would not be offering her support to the 1,960 number until it was properly vetted.