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ARDEN HILLS PLANNING COMMISSION – August 7, 2024 2 North Heights Lutheran Church property at 1700 West Highway 96. Trident Development was proposing a 115-125 unit senior apartment development (apartments only, the proposed will not have an assisted living or memory care component). The Applicant indicated their intention would be to subdivide and purchase approximately 10.27 acres in the northwest corner of the Subject Property. In preparation for the February 22, 2022 meeting, the Developer had held a neighborhood meeting to garner resident feedback. At the meeting, residents voiced concerns regarding traffic, additional park demand, and noise concerns. Senior Planner Fransen reported for a residential project to be feasible on the site, the Applicant needed to amend the Comprehensive Plan. In April 2022, Trident Development submitted an application for amendments to the Arden Hills 2040 Comprehensive Plan. The proposed amendments included amending Chapter 6, Land Use to change the future land use designation of approximately 10.74 acres in the northwest corner of the Subject Property from P/I, Public and Institutional to be guided as HDR, High Density Residential and to amend Section 6.4.10 to increase the maximum housing unit density as part of a Planned Unit Development. The City Council approved and adopted the requested Comprehensive Plan Amendments on July 11, 2022. Senior Planner Fransen stated that in this land use application, the Applicant has included a request to subdivide the 10.74 acres guided as High Density Residential from the developed portion of the site (i.e. Church use, approximately 30 acres), which remains under the Public and Institutional land use designation, and to rezone the subdivided property to R-4, Multiple Dwelling District to be consistent with the Comprehensive Plan. The 10.74 acre parcel would be established as Lot 2, Block 1 Arden Heights Addition and the 30.36 acre parcel would be established as Lot 1, Block 1 Arden Heights Addition. The Applicant’s provided narrative refers to the 10.74 acre parcel as Lot 1 yet this lot is referred to as Lot 2 on the submitted preliminary plat document. Senior Planner Fransen stated at this stage, the Planning Commission is being asked to make a recommendation to the City Council based on the evaluation of the proposed preliminary plat and the proposed rezoning of the newly created lot to align with the previously amended future land use designation for this property. A subsequent land use application will be submitted for the final plat as well as the proposed development plans for this property would be brought forward at a future meeting for review. The Comprehensive Plan is the planning tool that guides the future development of land irrespective of a specific project and the City is required to amend the Zoning Code to comply with the Comprehensive Plan. Senior Planner Fransen reviewed the Plan Evaluation and provided the Findings of Fact for review: 1. The Subject Property at 1700 West Highway 96 is located in the B-1 – Limited Business District and R-1 – Single Family Residential Zoning District. 2. The Arden Hills 2040 Comprehensive Plan designates future land use for the Subject Property as HDR, High Density Residential and as P/I, Public and Institutional. 3. The Applicant has submitted a land use application for a preliminary plat to subdivide the Subject Property into two (2) lots. 4. The proposed subdivided lots would meet the size requirements for lots in their designated zoning classification.