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ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION – MARCH 10, 2025 9 Councilmember Weber asked if we want to do a joint work session with the Planning Commission. He thinks that would be a good idea. Councilmember Monson said yes. It’s also a question if we can do it at the same time as Staff is doing this or if we need to stagger them. She would prefer they are discussed at the same time. Councilmember Weber thinks a comprehensive review of what is possible and reasonable for our city in a joint session with the Planning Commission would be useful in getting everyone on the same page. Mayor Grant wants to discuss ADUs. He has looked at other cities that permit ADUs. None of them are the size of Arden Hills. ADUs come in a lot of different flavors. This has been touted as expanding housing and they’ll solve the housing shortage problem. It didn’t work well for Minneapolis. If we allow detached, the best placement would be in the front yard because utilities are accessible rather than running to the back yard. He asked if Staff agreed. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen said yes, most are in the front yard. Councilmember Monson asked if that is an attached structure or two structures. Mayor Grant said a detached structure. City Administrator Jagoe clarified the utilities are out front. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen said the availability of the utility infrastructure is in front, in the street. Mayor Grant said if you go by the average resident and say your neighbor ordered a tiny house and it will be in the front yard. The neighbor will ask why we allow that. He doesn’t think there are very many residents that would take advantage of that. We’re a small city. We aren’t going to solve the housing shortage by allowing ADUs. He thinks it opens a can of worms that we don’t want to open. Then when talking about attached ADUs, it’s a way to violate setbacks. Councilmember Weber said the Planning Commission had a short discussion about this recently. That discussion focused on basement ADUs. He doesn’t think front yard ADUs is reasonable for Arden Hills. He understands that access to utilities is easier from the front yard, however, utilities can run under buildings. He doesn’t think it is unreasonable to allow a detached rear ADU. He thinks the primary focus for Arden Hills is going to be the basement ADUs. He thinks that is a huge benefit for the aging population. Younger families move into these homes and maintain them and seniors don’t need to move out of their homes. He thinks it would be huge benefit to the City. He is interested in continuing to learn more about ADUs. Councilmember Monson thinks we can ban front yard ADUs. She likes ADUs because they allow for incremental growth. She doesn’t know if it will solve the housing shortage but it’s not just another 200-unit senior living complex. This allows us to have something in between. She strongly believes in personal property rights and thinks if people want to have multi-generations, whether a parent or a college student, they should have a right to do that. In the world today, it is very difficult to buy a home. There are people who simply can’t purchase. It might be nice to have a detached option.