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02-12-24-R
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ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL — JANUARY 8, 2024 15 <br />Mayor Grant stated as this project started out this past year, it was put out there that the Council <br />needed to compromise. He was of the opinion the City did not compromise, but rather the City <br />capitulated. He understood the County supported the proposal, which was a good thing. He did <br />not believe the County was asked to compromise, but he wouldn't know any of this because all of <br />the meetings were held behind closed doors and he wasn't allowed to attend. He was told at one <br />point that he could attend and upon trying to attend, he was told he could not attend. <br />Mayor Grant commented on how 2024 would be the year when people are asked to go back to <br />work. He understood that the pandemic led to many people working from home, but noted the <br />pendulum was going to swing back the other direction. He discussed the parks plan that was <br />previously completed. He understood the Council was being asked to consider zoning changes, <br />but noted there were other aspects of this project that were not working, such as the financials. He <br />reported one of the plans was to ask the State to chip in $25 million for this project. He stated this <br />may happen, but this may not. He explained at this time, the financials for this project were not <br />good. <br />Mayor Grant stated he understood the 1,960 units was a rallying cry and people wanted to see <br />this project done. He noted there was some value in this. However, he supported the City looking <br />before leaping, or properly vetting this project before moving it forward. He indicated it was hard <br />to visualize 1,960 units on this piece of property. He stated this was a lot of units on 190 acres. <br />He noted this would lead to approximately 10 units per acre throughout the development. He <br />explained this project would not resemble Arden Hills, but rather would look like a small version <br />of St. Paul. He believed the residents of Arden Hills moved to this community because they <br />wanted to have some space. <br />Mayor Grant indicated 1,960 may be the right number, but he did not have this information. He <br />commented on how other uses or zoning changes could have been considered in order to protect <br />jobs within the development. He discussed how this project was not slated to begin until 2026, at <br />which time grading and infrastructure would be completed. <br />Mayor Grant explained a comp plan amendment was being proposed and generally these <br />amendments required four votes, except if 20% affordable housing was within the proposed <br />changes. He noted the matter before the Council only required three votes. He stated after <br />speaking with public safety individuals he had concerns with the amount of high density housing <br />being proposed within this development. He was pleased to see the AMI would be at least 60%. <br />He reiterated that he did not believe this project was properly vetted and he wanted to protect the <br />City from a poorly designed, poorly planned project from a risk perspective. <br />Mayor Grant noted Bob Lux from Alatus was selected for this project and he believed Mr. Lux <br />had innovative and creative ideas. He was of the opinion it was a mistake to remove the <br />businesses in the southwest corner. He commented on how the project needed to be a vibrant mix <br />of retail, housing, shopping and restaurants. He indicated the development does not get made <br />special by adding more housing. He stated again that his biggest concern was with the financials, <br />but this was not being addressed because this was a rezoning. He explained he wanted the project <br />to move forward, but he questioned if this should be done without proper vetting. <br />Mayor Grant reported he does not have an answer on if an agreement was in place on the Civic <br />Center or if the proper utilities were in place. He stated if the rezonings were approved at this <br />meeting, the decisions down the road get increasingly difficult. He indicated remediation work <br />
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