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ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION – OCTOBER 27, 2025 2 cannabis products would be distributed to retailers. He noted that the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) have been through several iterations of operations. All cannabis uses in Arden Hills are subject to a Conditional Use Permit (CUP). The proposal is for Council to determine if this use is of interest. If the concept plan were to move forward, it would take a half- under-utilized building and make it fully useful building. Council interest will inform the applicants if they should proceed with a full CUP application. The goal would be to have the existing condition of not more than 90% of the space dedicated to warehousing remain the same. Offices would make up the other 10% of the building. Brandon Champeau introduced himself. He said his company acquired the building in January of 2025. It is a strategic partnership with Portal Warehousing. He outlined a previous tenant had a similar business model, but that business was operating at about 30% occupancy in the entire building. When his company acquired the building, that old business left, Portal Warehousing, took half of the building to continue the same type of operations. They have approximately 61,000 feet. They lease to about 60 companies. Portal’s business model is to lease small warehouse spaces to companies of all sizes. They support a lot of entrepreneurs and growing companies that can’t afford to take out a huge warehouse lease. Portal has been getting inquiries from cannabis tenants who are interested in leasing portions of the building to store product before distributing to retailers. This is new for him. There are banking restrictions at play. He is seeking feedback from Council about if the request is suitable for Arden Hills and he would come back with a formal application after receiving feedback. There will be no production or retail in the space. It is pre-packaged product that will be distributed to retailers. Mayor Grant asked if they are requesting to grow cannabis. Mr. Champeau said no. There would be no production of any kind; only warehousing. This would be already packaged product being stored until it is distributed to retailers. Councilmember Rousseau is in favor of this business, pending the traffic study. She thinks this is in line with other warehousing businesses. Councilmember Holden asked how high the ceilings are in that building. Chuck Button replied that the ceilings are 22 and 20 feet. The walls go up to 10 feet. Councilmember Holden asked how many employees would be employed. Mr. Button said it is believed that each member that comes in will bring in 5-15 staff per company for a warehouse space ranging from 250-2,000 square feet. Employees will need a fob to access the space. It is secured access. Councilmember Holden sought clarification. She thought Mr. Champeau had prepackaged items and Mr. Button has warehouse space. She asked if this is several companies renting small portals with office space and they take what is place in their space. Mr. Champeau said the reason they are asking for up to 50% of the building is that Portal occupies 61,000 square feet today. Within those 61,000 square feet, they lease to smaller companies. They believe they could fill 6,000-10,000 square feet with smaller companies.