03-27-24 EDC Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION – MARCH 27, 2024 5 Community Development Director Jagoe asked the EDC to provide direction regarding its top priority for the work plan; is it the website that the Commission wants to work on then? She said the group needs to define what resources are most valuable and select a top priority. She again stated there may be some functions the Commission takes on and some that staff can do based on the timing for such. Chair Cupery asked the group to go around the circle and identify their top three strategies. Commissioner Bonine said what he’s hearing is there are two different audiences. Is the website meant to serve the existing businesses as a resource or is it meant to drive traffic for residents to know where to consume? He suggested there should be clarity on this in order to prioritize. He noted as a resident and for consumption, he was not going to the City’s website to see what he could consume, he was using Google or something else. Commissioner Murchie asked the business owners of the group what they felt was lacking and what was the vision for a website page. A discussion ensued regarding what the City’s website currently contains, what information pertaining to businesses could be changed or updated to include, who this avenue was going to serve, and could new businesses get information they need as far as potentially locating to Arden Hills. Commissioner Bonine asked about the situation with multiple car washes and if the City Council considered other car wash businesses in Arden Hills when reviewing the applications. Senior Planner Fransen said regarding the particular situation of car washes, the use would be permitted through a Conditional Use Permit and a particular applicant then applied for a different development standard, so a Planned Unit Development was required. She noted there could be restrictions on how many car washes there could be, but at this time there was no such limit. She said that businesses generally conduct market research when considering where they may want to locate. She noted knowing the current dynamic of the business community is helpful. Commissioner Williams said the City has this information and that it was a matter of the business licenses list. Senior Planner Fransen indicated the business license information is not specific to industry but rather is more general. A discussion ensued about revising the business license application, the benefits of having more details about the businesses operating in the city and how the information could be used in order to make recommendations to the City Council. Senior Planner Fransen asked if there were any other strategies or specifics that have not been mentioned that should be prioritized. Commissioner Brausen stated that the City Council should lead the Commission on this as well. He noted the Commissioners could help to clean up old thoughts and processes, and so it would be nice for the Council to provide a list of what it would like to see the Commission do.