Laserfiche WebLink
ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — AUGUST 11, 2025 12 <br />Jason Zimmerman said ADA requirements is one of the things that have to be met. There may <br />be ways to encourage or request more. <br />Rita Trapp said there is a rule that says can't ask for things that are above and beyond the State <br />Building Code. Since ADA is in the building code, they are hesitant to say you can add to it. <br />Councilmember Monson wondered if there is a way to require parking spots for veterans, <br />pregnant women and small children. <br />Councilmember Weber supports additional handicap spots. His take is that you are allowed to <br />be more restrictive than state law when deciding what building materials are allowed. He thinks it <br />means restricting rights. He can't think of an example. <br />Rita Trapp said an example she's seen lately is Electric Vehicle (EV) charging. It used to be <br />cities would require EV chargers inside the building. It was determined that we couldn't do that <br />because it was not part of the State Building Code. There have been examples of where you <br />wouldn't think the building code and zoning are related, but they were. You can require EV <br />chargers, but you can't require them to be inside a building. <br />Mayor Grant said we are allowed to be more restrictive than State Statute but can't be more <br />permissive than State Statute otherwise we'd be in violation. We can't be more permissive with <br />zoning than what the building code allows. <br />Councilmember Holden asked how the consultants are going to recommend anything regarding <br />cannabis, being there is a lawsuit. <br />Jason Zimmerman said their direction is the City has settled on the cannabis use in the districts <br />and they aren't going to dive back into that as part of this process. <br />City Administrator Jagoe said that is a topic for the Community Development Director to look <br />into. <br />Jason Zimmerman said he thinks this was a helpful conversation. In terms of timing, they will <br />start to roll out the draft text that they have been working on. It will go before Planning <br />Commission first and will be forwarded to Council after that. There is a public adoption process <br />after that. <br />Councilmember Weber thanked the consultants and the Planning Commission for their hard <br />work on this. <br />C. Conduit Bond Debt Financing Discussion <br />Finance Director Yang said that the City was recently approached by a private entity regarding <br />the City's interest and capacity for issuance of conduit debt financing. She pointed to the City's <br />policy on private activity bond financing, which is the most common form of conduit debt <br />financing. Conduit debt financing is a way for the City to help a private entity like a hospital or <br />non-profit organization borrow money at a lower, tax-exempt interest rate. The City acts as a <br />pass -through entity to issue those bonds on behalf of the private entity. <br />