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ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—APRIL 22, 2024 4 <br /> Councilmember Fabel inquired if the analysis had considered the cultural change of decreased <br /> commuting because more people were working from home. <br /> Mr. Rojer reported the AM and PM peak were analyzed pre-COVID and since then, daily traffic <br /> volumes have returned to normal. He explained the AM and PM peaks were not as significant <br /> because commuters were allowed to have more flexible hours. <br /> Councilmember Fabel asked if judgements were made about people cutting back on trips in 10 <br /> years or so. <br /> Mr. Rojer indicated he did make some assumptions, based on Ramsey County's 2040 plan. He <br /> then commented further on the assumptions that were made for the development scenario that <br /> included the retail superstore. <br /> Councilmember Monson stated Costco is one of the potential users and they produce 1,000,000 <br /> car trips per year. She asked if this number was used within the AUAR. <br /> Mr. Rojer described how the AUAR was calculated in trips per day and not per year. He <br /> indicated 1,000,000 trips per year equates to 3,000 additional trips per day. <br /> Ms. Haase reported there were no new mitigation measures that were identified for cover types, <br /> land use, water resources, contamination/hazardous materials and visual. She stated additional <br /> mitigation measures were recommended by the DNR for sensitive ecological resources. In <br /> addition, new mitigation measures were recommended for transportation which required the <br /> intersection of Mounds View Boulevard/County Road H to be monitored and for the southbound <br /> lanes of CSAH 96 &Northern Heights to be restriped. She reviewed the next steps for the AUAR <br /> along with the anticipated timeline for adoption. <br /> Councilmember Monson asked when the building heights within Campus Commercial and <br /> Town Center changed from seven stories to 15 and 10 stories, respectably. She reported to date, <br /> the City had only discussed seven stories. <br /> City Administrator Perrault stated the seven stories was what Alatus had presented previously, <br /> but the maximum the developer could build to was 10 and 15 stories, which was part of an <br /> amendment that was approved in 2016. <br /> Councilmember Holden indicated this property was a superfund site due to the water and she <br /> believed this should be stated within the AUAR. She reported the Met Council had a problem <br /> with modeling used within the last AUAR model. She questioned how the modeling was fixed. <br /> Ms. Haase stated she did not recall this comment from 2019. She indicated the traffic analysis <br /> was not changed in 2019 from the 2014 AUAR. She explained if the Met Council made <br /> comments in 2014, she had no recollection but this was something she could look into. <br /> Councilmember Holden reported Maplewood was getting over 1.5 million trips to their Costco <br /> per year. She questioned if this should be the number used within the AUAR. <br /> Mr. Rojer explained with the adjustments made to retail, he anticipated the ATD was closer to <br /> 1.5 million total. <br />