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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-03-25 JDAJoint Development Authority Monday, February 3, 2025 Arden Hills City Council Chambers Special Worksession Minutes 5:30 pm Roll Call Joint Development Authority: Chair Jon Wicklund, Commissioner Tara Jebens-Singh, Commissioner Kurt Weber, Commissioner Kelly Miller, Commissioner Tena Monson Also present: Jessica Jagoe (Arden Hills); Ella Mitchell (Ramsey County), Rachel Tierney (Kennedy & Graven) Roll call taken. Public Input Lyle Salmela, 1480 Arden Vista Court, congratulated resident Audrey Partridge for being appointed as a Public Utilities Commissioner. He discussed how requiring solar on every home with Rice Creek Commons may be burdensome for homeowners given the cost. He questioned if this requirement was prudent. He suggested residents be allowed to purchase their own batteries and grid energy from Xcel at the renewable rate. He commented further on the expense for geothermal heat pumps and suggested changes be made to the design criteria. He was of the opinion Scenario 3 was the best model for the project. New Business a. Review Communications Update Ms. Mitchell stated Goff Public is working with Ramsey County to develop content for a winter 2025 newsletter to be sent via email to the Rice Creek Commons subscriber list in February. The newsletter will share updates on Joint Development Authority board membership and organization, development updates and sustainability guidelines. Goff Public continues to discuss communications opportunities with county staff for future development updates. There have been no media inquiries since the December update. Rice Creek Commons development updates were featured in Ramsey County Board Chair Rafael Ortega’s January column in the Community Reporter. There have been two inquiries through the Rice Creek Commons microsite contact portal that staff responded to. Commissioner Monson requested further information on what was included in the recent column. Ms. Mitchell explained she had not read the column in full, but understood it provided a status update on the development. Commissioner Miller asked if the contract with Goff Public was paid for by the County. Ms. Mitchell reported this was the case, but noted County Communications staff works with Goff on communication efforts. b. Review JDA Annual Report Ms. Mitchell stated per the Joint Power Agreement (JPA), the JDA must prepare an annual report at the end of each calendar year and submit to the City and County no later than February 15 of the following year. The JDA Annual Report for 2024 was presented to the JDA for discussion. Chair Wicklund asked if the JDA members had comments or questions on the annual report. Commissioner Monson recommended the traffic report that was completed by the County for Highway 96 be referenced within the report. She suggested a small section speak to what was ongoing and what the JDA was working towards. Commissioner Miller agreed with this recommendation. Chair Wicklund recommended the financials be added as well. c. Discuss Sustainability and Clean Energy Ms. Mitchell stated to accommodate the implementation of the Sustainability Design Guidelines and community engagement around sustainability and clean energy, staff have worked with LHB to develop a new scope of work. The JDA will be asked to consider a budget amendment at the next meeting. As a follow-up from the approval of the Sustainability Design Guidelines at the January JDA meeting, staff would like further direction on the waiver process from the JDA. Planned topics of discussion: • Acceptable and unacceptable justifications for waivers • Threshold for staff approval of waivers • Waiver request rubric concept Ms. Mitchell reported a draft of the Sustainability Design Guidelines Documentation Package was provided to the JDA. It was noted this document further describes the compliance process and includes worksheets for developers to provide technical details on their proposed project and a waiver request form. Rick Carter, LHB, commented further on the sustainability and clean energy guidelines noting the exceptions were rare. He reported the goal would be to pursue LEED Silver Certification. He discussed the funding and that that would be needed to achieve the proposed goals. Commissioner Monson described on the work that has been done by the Energy Advisory Committee (EAC) since 2023. She explained sustainability and electrification was the main focus as well as figuring out how much carbon was on the site. She reported one of the main goals was to not heat the space with gas because it was carbon intensive. She stated a big decision will have to be made on whether or not to do a big district or small district heating system. Chair Wicklund asked if the TRC code lines up with the energy goals for the project. Commissioner Monson indicated the TRC code lines up with the energy goals but noted more efficient materials may be coming forward. She commented housing affordability issues with the TRC may have to be addressed in the future. Chair Wicklund questioned if the EAC was still meeting. Commissioner Monson indicated the EAC was meeting ad hoc. She indicated solar and waivers were being considered by this group. Mr. Carter reported the group has done the math and was working to get to zero carbon by having this project become all electric. Commissioner Monson reported if a district energy source were not pursued, the developer would have to consider how to provide energy. She indicated the EAC energy agnostic aside from the district energy. Chair Wicklund asked if the JDA had any further comments or questions regarding the waiver process. Commissioner Weber inquired if the EAC was an appointed group by the JDA. Commissioner Monson reported this was the case, noting at this time the group was comprised of herself and staff. Ms. Mitchell explained a Ramsey County member would be appointed to the EAC in March. Commissioner Jebens-Singh thanked staff for providing more detailed information on how the waivers will be considered and for having specific thresholds in place. Commissioner Monson questioned if programmatic waivers would be allowed for a business that brought in a ton of foot traffic and jobs, but was fully gas. Mr. Carter stated there were two over arching metrics, one being the score for LEED Communities and the other was the greenhouse gas balance. He indicated he would be able to tell what the impact of a project was when it was presented and he could provide the JDA with data points. Commissioner Weber stated he would be curious to know what the legal implications were for the JDA and City and if they could pick and choose which businesses go in. Commissioner Miller did not want to see the standards being hypocritical, noting the same standards should be followed for business owners and homeowners. Commissioner Jebens-Singh stated it appears there are two separate decisions that need to be made whether or not a project meets the sustainability guidelines and is it appropriate to take in consideration other goals. Chair Wicklund asked if the JDA was supportive of the proposed waiver process. The JDA was supportive of the proposed waiver process. Chair Wicklund stated he believed it would be helpful for Goff Public to create an article that helps the public understand what a waiver is and how a business or residential home would go through the waiver process. Ms. Mitchell stated she could work to address these expectations and prepare an article for an upcoming newsletter. Commissioner Jebens-Singh discussed how the proposed sustainability guidelines would be new to some developers and she wanted to see the JDA providing assistance with how to meet these guidelines. Mr. Carter stated this was a very good point noting he would be helping people accomplish the guidelines to the fullest extent, whether an individual or business owner. d. Review Developer Agreements Ms. Mitchell stated the JDA requested to review agreements in place with developers for Rice Creek Commons. She reported there are currently two agreements in place. • Outlot A: Purchase and Sale Agreement (PSA) o Parties: Ramsey County and Ryan Companies o Term: January 17, 2024 to March 31, 2025 o Status: amendment for Phase 1 development at Outlot A under negotiation • California Parcel: Preliminary Development Agreement (PDA) o Parties: JDA and Alatus LLC o Term: December 3, 2024 to June 30, 2025 o Status: currently in place Ms. Mitchell explained in addition, there is a term sheet that the JDA and Alatus agreed to in December 2023. This is a nonbinding document that outlines terms the parties agree should be included in a development agreement. Chair Wicklund discussed the timelines for the proposed agreements and asked if there were any questions from the JDA. Commissioner Weber questioned what would happen on June 30, 2025. Ms. Tierney reported the PDA agreement terminates, unless there was an extension. Commissioner Monson explained the County has been working for the past 13 months to negotiate an agreement with Alatus and now there was only five months left. She stated once a purchase agreement was reached, this would go to the County Board for approval. Ms. Mitchell reported this was the case and noted the JDA would not have an official role. Commissioner Monson discussed how the purchase agreement would assist the JDA in reaching the sustainability goals for this project. She was of the opinion it would be challenging to reach a purchase agreement in five months. Commissioner Jebens-Singh questioned what would have to happen in order to keep the project on the proposed timeline. Mr. Tierney stated an extension could be negotiated if the timeline needed to be extended. She reported this was quite common, especially for a project this complicated. Commissioner Monson asked if the JDA would want staff to make the JDA aware a substantial agreement has not been met in order to give the developer 30 days’ notice, or should the JDA push this. Chair Wicklund recommended the JDA bring this back for further discussion at the next meeting. Commissioner Weber indicated he would like to hear from the developer if it was feasible to reach a purchase agreement in five months. Commissioner Monson anticipated the developer wanted to make this work, but noted Commissioner Frethem made the JDA aware of the fact at the end of 2024 that she did not believe an agreement would be reached. Ms. Mitchell explained she had spoken with Alatus for a timeline on how to reach the agreements and noted she had received a draft timeline. Commissioner Miller reviewed the term sheet that was provided by Alatus and noted the items that had been completed to date. Chair Wicklund stated it appears the JDA should further discuss this item at the March meeting. Director Jagoe indicated staff could have the timeline refined and presented to the JDA in March. Ms. Tierney commented the JDA would have to direct staff to have a consultation with the developer in order to put the 30 day notice in place. She indicated the JDA could discuss this process further in March. She stated the JDA could give staff direction on the consultation at this meeting, unless the JDA wanted additional information from staff regarding this matter. Commissioner Monson stated this item could be dragged out until June or the JDA could drive this project. She questioned the manner in which the JDA should proceed. Chair Wicklund reported Alatus has given a purchase agreement to the County. Ms. Mitchell indicated the County was in negotiations with Alatus. Chair Wicklund explained the JDA was nearing the June 30 deadline and stated staff could have a consultation with Alatus to ensure this project was moving forward or the JDA could sit back and allow the negotiations to continue. Commissioner Monson stated she believed it was important for the JDA to understand how the next five months proceed. She did not want the JDA to just sit back and cross its fingers but rather wanted to see an agreement being reached. Commissioner Jebens-Singh questioned if discussions could be held between the JDA and the developer. Ms. Mitchell explained this was what the term sheet was. Ms. Tierney cautioned the JDA from going too far noting the County was tasked with negotiating in good faith and if this fails, then the JDA can move on. Commissioner Monson stated negotiations have been going on for so long, she wanted to see this project moving forward. She supported giving staff the direction to pursue the consultation with the developer and see what happens in March. Chair Wicklund commented he hears Commissioner Monson’s concerns. He indicated he brought this item forward to address the timeline and the impact of the timeline. He encouraged the City Council and County Board to fully understand the tone and demeanor of what has been discussed at this meeting because it could impact both elected bodies. Director Jagoe stated a presentation in March on the timeline might address some of the JDA’s concerns. e. Review Road Map Ms. Mitchell reviewed the updated Road Map with the JDA. Chair Wicklund asked if the JDA supported a community engagement event this spring and if so, what should be the purpose. Commissioner Monson suggested holding a community engagement open house event to address the sustainability efforts being proposed for this development. Commissioner Weber and Commissioner Miller supported this recommendation. Commissioner Jebens-Singh stated she was concerned about the timeline and messaging if this event were held in the spring. Ms. Mitchell explained Kimley-Horn also had information to pass along to the public regarding this development. Director Jagoe recommended the JDA discuss this matter further at the March JDA meeting. Administrative Director’s Report Ms. Mitchell stated she would be connecting with the County representatives regarding committee appointments. Development Director’s Report Director Jagoe stated City staff met with Ryan Companies today to discuss the specifics on their project. Commissioner Updates None. Adjournment Meeting adjourned at 7:05 pm. Approved _____________________________________ _______________________ Jon Wicklund, Chair Date 3/17/25