CCP 11-26-2001 - Laserfiche WebLink

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e e e ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL - OCTOBER 29, 2001 '..-',..,M: ',-- ;5 Councilmember Grant asked if this complex would only be used for a period of years and then turned over for public housing. Mr. Kunkle responded the property would not be owned by Bethel College. He stated the College would have a lease for a total of II years including the option periods. Councilmember Rem stated her concern about traffic. She asked about parking restrictions on campus. Mr. Kunkle responded all students must have parking permits. He stated the permits are color coded to allow parking on campus during certain hours. He noted there are instances where appeals may be made. Councilmember Rem stated after Bethel College's lease expires, there would be no controls on the traffic. She noted this could be an ongoing concern for the city and its residents. Mr. Loren Kjersten, President of Beacon Construction, stated that with the current business zoning the property could potentially have a more intense use than what is proposed. He noted that after the Bethel College lease, this would become market rate housing. He added that housing would require only two parking stalls per unit. He stated the owner could plow under the extra 30 spots. Councilmember Rem stated a business like Ken's Market generates a lot of traffic. She noted however, a neighborhood business zone contemplates a smaller amount of traffic since it would be a neighborhood business. She questioned whether someone would want to remove parking. Mr. Kjersten responded the only way to continue with that density was if Bethel College continues to lease it or the owner rents directly to Bethel students. He stated that if the Bethel College use does not continue the typical apartment use would require two parking stalls per unit. He noted he would rather plow the additional spaces under than to continue to maintain the extra spots at his expense. Mayor Probst stated he was not concerned about traffic. He noted he did feel this was too much for this site. He added the proposal would strip away most of the trees on the site. Mr. Kjersten oriented the Council on the site in response to the concern. He stated his goal here was to leave the biggest trees right along E2. He noted internal to the site the bigger trees were at the bottom of the slope. He added they would remove the junk trees. He stated they would leave any trees that they could. Mayor Probst asked for clarification. Mr. Kjersten responded that if this was a neighborhood commercial site, he would seek to remove more trees because visibility was important. He stated he thought it was a great fit, because visibility was not an issue. Mayor Probst stated his concern was that it would radically affect the neighborhood and not be invisible. Councilmember Larson stated he wanted the College to flourish, but always asswned it would do it within the bounds of its campus. He noted if the College grows too large, the infrastructure of Arden Hills could not handle the traffic. He added he would like to think Bethel College expands based on its ability to house its students on campus. He stated one of the resident's