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