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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-13-26-WSApproved: August 24, 2026 CITY OF ARDEN HILLS, MINNESOTA CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION JULY 13, 2026 5:00 P.M. - ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, Mayor Grant called to order the City Council Work Session at 5:00 p.m. Present: Mayor David Grant; Councilmembers Tena Monson, Emily Rousseau, Kurt Weber and Brenda Holden Absent: None Also present: City Administrator Jessica Jagoe, Public Works Director/City Engineer David Swearingen, Assistant to the City Administrator/City Clerk Julie Hanson and Community Development Director Jake Reilly 1. PUBLIC INQUIRIES/INFORMATIONAL Anders Sundberg- 4294 Colleen Circle — Before the discussion on broadband, he wanted to give some framing around the proposed fiber build out in the City of Arden Hills. He has looked into the franchise model. Typically they will build out 100% of the city but the catch is the fiber franchise fee they will propose can be directly charged to the end consumer. He looked at other possible options to get the same build out. One is a master lease agreement. You are leasing space in the public right of ways. That would keep that 5% from being billed to residents. The downside is this is a lease agreement and they would choose where they want to build. There is no legal way to force them to build out the whole city. Another option is a public/private partnership, know as a P3. This would include a commercial contract that would guarantee 100% build out. While this option avoids the complexity of the other two options, it requires the city to actively cooperate and provide engineering and zoning to keep the contract in its entirety. 2. RESPONSE TO PUBLIC INQUIRIES None. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — JULY 13, 2026 2 3. AGENDA ITEMS A. Broadband Franchising Discussion Michael Bradley from Bradley Warner said he was here to talk about broadband franchising. The first broadband franchise, in the State of Minnesota, was negotiated at the end of last year. The City of Woodbury created the South Washington County Telecommunications Commission (SWCTC). The franchise was established between SWCTC and a company called Intrepid. Intrepid operates an open access system. Their main client will be T-Mobile. That construction is beginning in the City of Woodbury this year. Mr. Bradley outlined the many benefits to franchising broadband. Minnesota state statute includes a build out requirement that will be followed. There will be annual meetings with the provider. He said the SWCTC franchise term is 15 years. There are strong customer service provisions. There are discounts available through the franchise for seniors and disabled residents at no less than 10%. The City's public right of way (ROW) is a valuable asset and the City should be compensated fairly for the use of that. Mr. Bradley said that providers would prefer permits be issued for whatever location they want to build. However, there is no guarantee the whole city would be built out. Permits limit the City to collecting permit fees to cover the cost of permitting. There is no fair consideration for use of the ROW. There is also no customer service benefits, no discounts, no mandatory build out and no quality of service guarantee. Mr. Bradley outlined some legal conclusions that ruled definitively that the broadband companies are information service companies, not telecommunications companies. Minnesota state law prohibits franchising telecommunication users. State law requires cities to franchise cable communication systems. Broadband systems fall under the definition of cable communication systems. Mr. Bradley said a common question is what if we already issued permits to some broadband companies. It's not too late. The choice to franchise can come after the facilities are already in the ROW. Mr. Bradley addressed the speaker during Public Comment who expressed concern about the franchise fees being passed through to users. That provision applies to cable television operators it doesn't apply to broadband providers. In the Woodbury franchise the City and Commission agreed to allow the operator to pass through. They didn't have to do that. The broadband provider said they didn't intend to pass it through because that's not part of their business plan. He outlined a case brought that seeks an order from the FCC that would preempt the City and the Commission from franchising broadband providers. That matter is currently pending. Another case was brought by an affiliate of AT&T against a commission after that affiliate purchased the fiber assets of another entity. Mr. Bradley said broadband franchising is the future of franchising for local governments. Cable subscriptions are declining rapidly. As a local government advocate, this is important long term. Mayor Grant said he heard as providers come into neighborhoods there are a lot of disruptions through borings to minimize a trench installation. Those disruptions increase in a cul-de-sac. Our ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — JULY 13, 2026 3 community has a lot of distinct neighborhoods. He said he is hearing that without a franchise agreement, companies can choose to avoid certain neighborhoods. Mr. Bradley confirmed. Without a franchise agreement, the broadband provider decides where to go. Councilmember Rousseau is concerned about underserved communities will not be serviced without a franchise agreement. She asked what revenue can be generated. Mr. Bradley said he doesn't have specific numbers for Arden Hills. There are over 20 cities who have started to require franchises. However, the only franchise that has been negotiated and approved is the SWCTC. To get an estimated number you would multiply the average cost of broadband service times the number of households in the city. You then multiply it by the take rate of the company that comes in to build it out. Discussion ensued regarding the historic of court cases with the appeal process and prior rulings of the Supreme Court. Councilmember Monson said the FCC case has a lot of life left. Would the result of that case be a deal killer for franchise agreements? Mr. Bradley said they are asking for preemption of the city's franchise requirement and the commission's franchise requirement. It would have a negative impact on all Minnesota cities. He agrees the FFC decision could be a couple of weeks or many months once the comment periods are done. It will likely be appealed, regardless of the outcome. Councilmember Holden thought the providers will increase rates in order to recapture the franchise fee if they can't pass them through to the customer. Mr. Bradley said the SWCTC did not regulate the provider's rates. The provider may choose their own rate. He negotiated the franchise fee. In that instance the commission allowed the provider to pass through the franchise fee. Councilmember Holden asked if the plan is to put together a similar package as the SWCTC agreement. Mr. Bradley said it will be a similar process. They will talk to each city that is impacted by a potential franchise before talking to the provider. They would establish franchise priorities and the franchise fee, along with determining the pass through option. Councilmember Holden said we went with the North Suburban Cable Commission (NSCC) because they take care of negotiations. They have such a large pool that we will be able to do a lot more for our community. Councilmember Weber said we fund Nine North as a member of the Cable Commission through cable fees and PEG fees. He isn't sure how PEG fees play into the franchise fee discussion. A big factor is the franchise fee we get from cable. What are the trends for cable, in general, vs. broadband usage? ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — JULY 13, 2026 4 Mr. Bradley said when talking about PEG fees, the acronym stands for Public Education and Governmental access television fees. The Comcast franchise with Arden Hills is 3% gross revenue fee that was negotiated in 2014, that's in addition to the 5% franchise fee. The 5% goes almost entirely to the City, with a little going back to the commission for administrative things. The PEG fee goes entirely to the commission to fund Nine North and access television. That model has worked for many years. There is a change happening with those PEG fees and franchise fees on cable television. They have been declining over the last 10 years, at approximately 10% per year. It will significantly change the revenue that comes to the commission and the city. The future of franchising and fair ROW consideration is broadband franchising. Broadband will continue to expand. Mayor Grant said the city has no control over customer service. If we have a franchise agreement, we can hold the fiber provider to some level of customer service. Mr. Bradley confirmed. With no franchise agreement, customers are left to call the 1-800 number. With a franchise agreement we will have a local number where complaints are answered by Nine North. There would be penalties and liquidated damages to help with enforcement. Councilmember Monson appreciated all of the information. She asked about the resident who spoke during Public Comment. He mentioned three different structures. She asked for an explanation on why franchise is the option, over the other two. Mr. Bradley said the provider isn't interested in the other options. Councilmember Rousseau said if we have customer service issues and they were not complying with the contract, we would go to a judicial process vs. the Public Utilities Commission (PUC). Mr. Bradley confirmed. The PUC has zero authority over broadband. Councilmember Rousseau calculated a guess, based on the formula outlined earlier. It would be about $27,000 and she didn't calculate multi -family housing. Mr. Bradley reiterated that is only a guess but noted whatever the amount is, it's annual. So ten years out, we'll still be collecting those fees. Councilmember Weber noted that the buildout of Rice Creek Commons is an ideal place for this. There will be a significant number of homes there. He said discussions at the communications commission have surrounded Comcast eliminating a cable news channel. He tried relating that to broadband. He thinks of metering of data and data caps. There have been discussions on oversight over the services we have. He asked if there any provisions related to that in the SWCTC agreement. Mr. Bradley said it could be under the customer service provisions. There are also provisions in there that reserve the right to regulate rates. Each agreement is different, based on the needs of the community. Mayor Grant said a franchise agreement would allow the city to have standards in terms of construction and remediation after the digging. It gives us more control than just issuing a permit. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — JULY 13, 2026 5 Mr. Bradley confirmed. One thing SWCTC did was ensuring it applied to the franchisee as well as any subcontractors. Discussion ensued regarding how many boxes will be required to install. It is approximately every 2-3 houses. Further discussion ensued regarding satellite service. Satellite television is subject to different regulations because they don't occupy the public ROW. B. 3717 Lexington Avenue — Chase Bank Concept Review Community Development Director Reilly introduced Senior Planner Elena Fransen who was joined by Dan McAuley, Senior Designer with Colliers Engineering & Design, representing the property ownership and property management groups. Senior Planner Fransen said Council is being asked to review the concept plan for a Chase Bank located in the parking lot of the existing Cub Foods. The zoning is B-3, Service Business District. A Planned Unit Development (PUD) established the Cub Foods and the future land use for the site is commercial. The concept would subdivide the existing parcel for a single story, 3,276 square foot Chase Bank location, with a drive through lane and a bypass lane. The proposed location is the southeastern portion of the parking lot. Senior Planner Fransen said this proposal would reduce the parking spaces in the Cub Foods lot by 79 spaces. There is shared parking with Shannon Square Shopping Center. The parking calculations will include parking spaces that are shared between the different sites and this additional third site. Access would be through the Cub Foods parking lot to the north and from a shared entrance for Shannon Square to the south. There would be a curb island to separate the drive lane from parking spaces. She provided a graphic that shows how traffic will flow through the site. She outlined the elevations provided by the applicant, noting cement and stone veneer are the proposed building materials. Senior Planner Fransen said a subdivision will be required. It could be a subdivision or final plat, depending on how the parcel is created from the existing Cub Foods. A portion of the Shannon Square property could be allocated for this site as both sites are under the same ownership. A PUD is required for new developments in the B-3 zoning district. This could allow for additional performance standard flexibility. A Conditional Use Permit (CUP) is required for a drive -up window in the B-3 zoning district and the code criteria has been evaluated based on the concept materials. A site plan review is required for a PUD and CUP, requiring city approval. Councilmember Holden asked if this building would have its own water and sewer lines. Public Works Director Director/City Engineer Swearingen said it appears they are connecting to existing water and sewer that connects to the Cub building. Councilmember Holden said Cub has had problems with their water line several times. Those issues need to be resolved so the new building wouldn't flood. She has an issue with the look of the west side of the building. It faces restaurants. It should look nice. People sitting at restaurants aren't going to want to look at that. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — JULY 13, 2026 6 Mr. McAuley said he can discuss that with the Chase design partners prior to submitting the application. He said that area of the floor plan serves the "back of house" functions for security reasons. He asked if the request is transparency or architectural elements. Councilmember Holden said architectural elements. She said the Cub parking lot hosts a fireworks retailer and a garden center in the summer. Will that still be allowed? Senior Planner Fransen said Staff discussed that with the management company. If this moves forward, a full review of the plans would have to take place to make sure they are meeting the standards for outdoor sales. Discussion ensued on the size of the drive lane in front of Cub. It was noted the parking lot is busy and there is one stop sign and more may be required. Directional signs can be used to direct traffic in such a way that it is clear to drivers which way to go. Councilmember Weber said the water line will need to support fire suppression. He assumes that will be a part of the review. Staff confirmed. Mayor Grant said hours of operation will probably be standard banking hours. He asked if any parking lot usage will be permitted with Cub, for off hours. Mr. McAuley said the bank will have a drive through ATM and night deposit. There is typically a vestibule in buildings like this, with 24 hour access to an ATM. Mayor Grant asked if the spaces at the bank would be available for Cub customers when the bank is closed. Mr. McAuley will check to confirm. But it is his belief that there are no dedicated parking spaces specifically reserved for Chase Bank. Mayor Grant asked about the plan for snow removal. He doesn't need that answer today but would like to see it addressed during the site plan review. He said Cub was constructed with a sizable water run off facility under the parking lot. He said there are giant caverns under the parking lot. He asked if this development will tie into those. If not, how will water runoff be dealt with? Mr. McAuley said he will make a note to ensure the engineers summarize that plan. He said this project wouldn't increase the pervious coverage, it's being reduced slightly. The site would be graded to shed general water toward the existing storm structures. Discussion ensued that the Lake Johanna Fire Department would review this plan. Possibly the Sheriff, as well. The concept representatives have reached out to LJFD for the rules and regulations while they were looking at the site. Fire truck turn radiuses are part of a typical review. Discussion ensued regarding the property ownership group wants to effectively utilize the property. The parking lot is not consistently full. An empty lot doesn't generate revenue. Further discussion ensued that a national trend is that brick and mortar stores are under served and over parked, in ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — JULY 13, 2026 7 many places. Chase can come into a shopping center and take up a little bit more real estate and create a destination point that serves multiple purposes. Councilmember Rousseau asked how many employees a building like this would have. Mr. McAuley he thinks 4-6 at any given time during the day, depending on business need. Councilmember Rousseau said the Pace site is empty. Will there be any issues with traffic, if that site becomes fully functional 5 years from now. Senior Planner Fransen said the applicant provided a traffic study of existing intersections. Because there is no user for the Pace site it is difficult to compare that against existing conditions. This project would not see a lot of changes for the intersections that would serve this site. Any user going into the Pace site would have to review the traffic impacts of that use. Councilmember Monson is generally okay with the proposal. She agrees with Councilmember Holden that the back side could be more aesthetically pleasing. She asked if we have an estimate on the tax revenue increase. Senior Planner Fransen said she doesn't have that information but can put something together. Councilmember Monson said that would be a good thing to include for all concept reviews. She noted a turn on the traffic flow graphic that isn't clear how cars move through there. She thinks the turn lane is a tight turn and it concerns her. She said there was a recent Council discussion that said PUDs were used for projects approved any later than 2008. She asked how this site will be handled. Community Development Director Reilly said this will be reevaluated since they are taking on a big chunk of parking lot. Councilmember Monson noted a criterion for drive -up windows is that the proposed location is not within 400 feet of a church or residential area. What is the intent of that provision? Senior Planner Fransen said that is related to drive -through businesses and drive -up windows. It has changed over time to manage traffic and impact to other uses. This case identified that there is a church and residential uses on the other side of Lexington Avenue. Councilmember Weber thought that there is a difference between a drive -through window where you are interacting and a drive -up window where you do business. Discussion ensued regarding stone vs. stone veneer. It is just a thinner stone. That's an acceptable construction material. The materials in this proposal include a limestone veneer stone and the darker brown and gray colors on the graphic are a fiber cement simulated wood siding. Councilmember Weber said this will create a separate parking lot. He thinks legally those parking spaces will belong to Chase unless there is a parking agreement. Mr. McAuley would need to review the lease agreement. Sometimes Chase has negotiated for a certain number of dedicated spaces. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — JULY 13, 2026 g Discussion ensued that this is a concept review and the building materials can be determined during application. Everyone agreed they want a high -quality building using superior materials. The applicant provided location information of a similar recent build so Councilmembers could tour the site to have a better understanding of what this will look like. Further discussion ensued that construction averages 220-230 days once they have approvals and permits in hand. Councilmember Holden asked how parking for Cub and Shannon Square will be accommodated during construction. Mr. McAuley said they submitted a plan to the ownership group that indicated the construction entrances. He indicated the flow of traffic on a graphic. There was general Council consensus with the concept plan. There are some design questions to be answered during the application process. C. Election Sign Policy Community Development Director Reilly said during the previous discussion he heard concerns regarding enforcement rather than the regulations of election signs. He put together a cover memo on the potential policy along with a handout that makes it clear where signs can go. There is no size limit. It needs to be built sturdily. Keep it clear of driver sight lines. Measure five feet from the roadway/curb edge to the sign edge. Councilmember Holden isn't sure if it should say any size works. She says this explains that it will have minimum impact to City Staff. She said Attachment C outlines that Staff will make an attempt to contact the right person if a sign is in violation. That seems like what they are doing now, except not taking the sign. It sounds like more work. She remembers there being conversation about placing information on the sign explaining the violation and the remedy. Community Development Director Reilly said attempts to contact the owner will be made when the sign needs to be removed. If it does not need to be removed there will be guidance document with it. There are going to be some cases when we have to take a sign due to safety concerns. Those signs will be held at City Hall and the owner can pick it up. Councilmember Monson walked through the steps. There is a complaint. The City Staff goes out to confirm if it is out of compliance. If yes, they make an attempt to notify the owner. If they can't, they remove the sign and leave it in a safe place by their primary entrance with direction on why it was pulled. It sounds like there is staff discretion. The sign would be brought back to City Hall if the sign is placed on land owned by the city or utility pole. She is okay with this proposal. She asked how to minimize the work on Staff if there is a complaint. How soon after a complaint is made, does someone go out? How long do we give before we follow up? Councilmember Rousseau said there were 100 calls during the last election. She would like Public Works to keep track of how many calls are received this election cycle. She likes the idea of placing educational information to let them know when they are not in compliance. She wants to avoid taking signs, if possible. Councilmember Holden she asked why bringing it to the primary entrance was suggested. She thinks laying the sign down in the yard and put a sticker on it would save Staff time. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — JULY 13, 2026 9 Community Development Director Reilly said placing a sign down on a lawn could harm the grass and it could blow away, depending on the weather. Councilmember Holden said a lot of people don't use their primary entrance but she's fine with that. If a sign is 4 feet 6 inches, it needs to be addressed if someone calls. City Administrator Jagoe recalls discussing that Staff may be attempting to make contact with the homeowner as an opportunity to educate them on the reason the sign is being pulled. If we are unsuccessful at engaging with the homeowner, it makes sense to place the pulled sign in a safe place until the homeowner can get that information. Mayor Grant said this is a policy for City ROW, not for County or State ROW. Community Development Director Reilly confirmed. We don't enforce those roadways. Discussion ensued on language that states a sign shall not be posted more than 70 days prior to an election. That is not intended to be 70 prior to the general election. The rules simply state "election" and does not specify general or primary. If no one complains, there is no City involvement. State Statute reads that signs must be removed 10 days after an election. Our code is silent on that requirement and defers to statute. Discussion ensued regarding Staff having discretion and that discretion being written into the document. There were some questions on what that entails. The rules need to apply to everyone and the rules need to be enforced. City Administrator Jagoe said there were over 100 complaints last election season, that City Staff followed up on. We have to go out to the site to verify the distance, if a complaint is made. If they were not in compliance, we would pull the signs and bring them back to City Hall. Then there were calls trying to determine if we pulled the signs or if someone else did. If we did have the sign, we had to coordinate returning them when the resident came to City Hall. The discretion part will be if there is a safety element or if it's on City property. We must respond and verify the distance, if there is a complaint. Perhaps there can be one day a week when election sign complaints are investigated. He can get through as many as possible in the allotted time and anything left would be investigated the next week. These calls wouldn't get priority over building inspections and other code enforcement. During the last cycle we were following up immediately as they came in. It felt like it became a daily enforcement. Having a structured planning process may limit the continuous cycle of being in election sign enforcement. Councilmember Weber said this is what he meant by staff discretion. He thinks Staff has a good grip on this in determining the best course of action. Councilmember Rousseau likes the idea of limiting enforcement to one day. She trusts the professional judgement of Staff. Councilmember Holden wants to verity that it is 5 feet. We can't let one candidate have theirs at 4' 6" while another has to stay at 5 feet. Community Development Director Reilly said a rule should be a rule. If there is room to move the sign, the fastest and easiest way would be for Staff to move it to the right distance. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — JULY 13, 2026 10 Councilmember Holden said it is up to the candidate to make sure their signs are placed properly. D. Rice Creek Commons Discussion Councilmember Holden said she wants the definition of phasing. If we are parceling, that's different than phasing. In talking with the Metropolitan Council, regarding SAC and WAC fees there may be an issue with moving the credits, depending on how we're doing it. Phasing could have one definition, but when we start splitting phases into parcels, parcels are different. Councilmember Monson asked if Councilmember Holden talked to the Met Council on her own. Councilmember Holden confirmed she has talked to Met Council about these credits for many years. Councilmember Monson asked if she spoke to Met Council in regards to this specific agenda item. Councilmember Holden said she didn't talk to them about this, specifically. Councilmember Monson wants to make sure that if those conversations are happening, she would like Staff to be a part of that. She wants her information about what Met Council says to come from Staff. It sounds like Councilmember Holden has a lot of historical information that she wants to make sure is checked. Councilmember Holden said if she has a question on SAC and WAC fees she has a right to call Met Council and ask questions. She isn't going to have Staff on every call because a lot of things happen with other Councilmembers that doesn't go through Staff. Councilmember Monson understands Councilmember Holden has full right to call Met Council. She just wants to make sure Staff has the same information, so when they speak to it, we all get the information. Councilmember Holden said knowing that the JDA doesn't really know what they are doing. Councilmember Weber interjected that was an absurd statement. Councilmember Holden asked if she could finish her sentence and indicated she has the floor. Councilmembers Holden and Weber continued to exchange words. Councilmember Holden asked again if she could finish her sentence. Councilmember Weber made two requests for decorum and two requests for a point of order. Mayor Grant commented multiple times that Councilmember Holden has the floor. Councilmember Holden said the JDA doesn't know how they're phasing it or how they're selling it to different developers. They are talking about things at advisory meetings. None of that is set in stone and those things have not been created. Is that true? ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — JULY 13, 2026 11 City Administrator Jagoe said Staff is seeking direction on if Council is interested in working with Met Council to combine these two parcels to use the SAC credits over the entire Rice Creek Commons development. If Council directs to proceed with this approach, she will work with Met Council to determine a phase development plan that meets their submittal requirements. Then Council would be asked to approve a resolution. She doesn't know what that development plan is today. She will have to put something together that meets Met Council's satisfaction to receive this combination of these two parcels. This may need to be amended as phases are built out and parcels change, but that is information to be confirmed with Met Council. Council recessed the Work Session at 6: 53 pm. Council reconvened the Work Session at 7. 56 pm. Councilmember Monson would like Administrator Jagoe to present exactly what she is looking for so that we're all working from the same page. Councilmember Holden asked if the construction of Micro Control began the 5-year phasing clock. City Administrator Jagoe said no. She said the Rice Creek Commons (RCC) discussion about the drafting the cooperative agreement language is ongoing with City and County Staff. One of the items is with regards to the Outlot A parcel and the California parcel. The Met Council charges a SAC fee for new residential, commercial, industrial or institutional development or redevelopment. This is for wastewater going into the regional wastewater sewer system. Met Council has a formula that they use to determine what equals one unit. If a building is demoed there are typically credits attached to that parcel that can be allocated towards future development. When the larger TCAAP area was demoed there were over 300 buildings. There is a site map that has been approved by Met Council that shows where the credit parcels are. Outlot A had credits specific to that land. The California parcel has credits specific to it. City Administrator Jagoe said Council is being asked to discuss the RCC property. The memo outlines the site -specific allocation of those credits. Using the 2024 Alternative Urban Areawide Review (AUAR) maximum development scenario we can estimate what Met Council will estimate future SAC development charges. The City collects those fees as part of our building permit process. We serve as a pass through. That money is remitted to Met Council. With the SAC credits we can keep the revenue dollars to fund public infrastructure items. There are about 4,500 total credits between Outlot A and the California Parcel. The majority of them being attached to the California parcel. We can submit a phased development plan to Met Council. That would require resolution from the Council. It would allow for the combination of these two parcels and those credits can be dispersed across the entire development area. We would be able to use credits from the California parcel on to future development of Outlot A. Staff estimates with a maximum number of residential units in the AUAR we would have about 3,400 credits that would be used for those development scenarios. If we combine these parcels there would be 4,500 credits. Does Council want Staff to proceed with putting together what would be a development plan? We would review that with Met Council Staff to ensure we've met their criteria. Then we'd bring that back to Council for consideration and adoption of a resolution. This would be a policy direction that says we are going to use these credits but are going to still charge the developer the SAC fees. The City would keep the revenue dollars and Staff would bring back for discussion for how we would use those fees to fund which public infrastructure items. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — JULY 13, 2026 12 Discussion ensued that there are 4,550 credits. Staff anticipates we would only use 3,400 of the credits at the AUAR maximum build out. That would be the revenue that would come to us. If we didn't completely build it out, we would collect less. A SAC charge is roughly $2,500. That calculates to approximately $8.5 million. Councilmember Holden said it used to be that the phasing had to be done in five years in order to use the credits like that. Has that changed? City Administrator Jagoe will go back and confirm that and will include it in the future memo. Her understanding is there is a 5 year phase development plan but she isn't sure how that is triggered if it's at the time of the first building permit. Then you continue to renew that with Met Council. She will get that information for the future resolution memo. Councilmember Holden said there are different areas within the California parcel where the credits can be used. She asked how it got combined. City Administrator Jagoe indicated the only map the Met Council has given her shows the California parcel as one. She'll include that map as part of future discussion. Councilmember Holden asked for confirmation that we are going to bill a developer for the WAC charge and then just keep the money. City Administrator Jagoe confirmed. If Council adopted this resolution and we submitted it to Met Council for approval, a future developer will apply for their building permit and go through the determination process with Met Council. This is standard. Developers are familiar with the process. Met Council will provide a determination letter that says how many SAC units will be added to the system. That will be added to the building permit and we can use those dollars as a revenue source to fund public infrastructure at Rice Creek Commons. Councilmember Holden asked if we are legally allowed to keep money that is supposed to be for something else. City Administrator Jagoe confirmed. Councilmember Monson said if we don't extend these credits into Outlot A, then Outlot A doesn't have any credits anymore. If we don't do this, any further development would pay Met Council and we would pass through the money and not be able to use the excess credits. This seems like the most revenue maximizing process. She supports it. Discussion ensued that the proposed buildout for infrastructure shows the County will pay for trunk utilities but the water tower is not part of the cooperative agreement. Could the SAC credits could be used to pay for the water tower? Rate increases are built into the water fee to pay for that. Further discussion ensued that there are public improvements in town center, public works facility and a number of other public infrastructure items, including the water tower, that need to be discussed. Council will hold off on discussion how the money will be used until Council has a full list of what the options are. Discussion ensued that the County Board may object to us keeping the SAC fees. Staff has been in ongoing discussion with County Staff. There is no objection from County Staff to this process of ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — JULY 13, 2026 13 the City submitting a phased development plan to the Met Council. This resolution wouldn't require County Board approval but the cooperative agreement would. Councilmember Weber asked who owns the credits. City Administrator Jagoe said they are credits that Met Council has issued to those properties. If we did not take this action, those properties will develop and they would submit to Met Council. They will make a determination if a parcel gets credits or owes for additional SAC charges. Councilmember Weber said the credits are ready to be applied. City Administrator Jagoe confirmed. Met Council is looking for direction from the City on how to apply those credits. We would then adopt the formal policy outlining that the costs will be paid by the developer and we will keep the revenue dollars. Councilmember Weber asked for confirmation that this has been explicitly discussed with the County and there are no objections. City Administrator Jagoe confirmed. Councilmember Weber said he thinks we've done our due diligence. Councilmember Holden asked if the money can only be used for utilities. City Administrator Jagoe does not think so. She will get confirmation from our financial advisors and the City Attorney. Councilmember Holden said the County Board must know about this and they will consider it when they are negotiating land prices. They just won't charge for the SAC and then we forfeit it. Discussion ensued that this will be part of the cooperative agreement, which will need approval from the City and County. Part of this application requires the City to submit a development phase plan. Council will see the completed application, the resolution and the submittal documents. Staff will be in conversation with City and County Staff to ensure the application will meet the satisfaction of Met Council. Council agreed to proceed with this action item and Staff will bring something back for review at a future regular meeting. E. Zoning and Subdivision Ordinance Updates Community Development Director Reilly said the information from previous discussions have been incorporated. He asked if Council thinks this is ready for Planning Commission review or if there are any clarifications he can offer. He said fees associated with park dedication had to change in order to follow state law changes. Discussion ensued regarding the clause describing determining fair market value when requested in lieu of Park Dedication Fees. A negotiated price is on the list but Staff recommends removing that as an option and sticking to an appraisal by a qualified appraiser. Further discussion ensued on ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — JULY 13, 2026 14 how the park dedication percentage of fair market value is calculated. The percentage of cash in lieu of land dedication is established in the ordinance. Previously there was a park dedication fee and a development fee. The proposed language includes only the park dedication fee in response to changes to the legal framework around fees. Councilmember Holden said there was litigation on percentages for park dedication. She asked where that is. Community Development Director Reilly said the language changes are in response to that. The percentages result in the same amount as what was previously two separate fees. This could change upon City Attorney review. It may be a little lower to be more in line with the actual documented nexus between the impact of the development to the parks based on the kind of development. Councilmember Holden is trying to think if it matters where a location is. City Administrator Jagoe said as Staff reviews this item with the City Attorney, they will look at what our park dedication fees are in existing Arden Hills vs. park dedication fees in the ordinance today are equivalent to the dollar amount needed for park dedication in RCC. We can look at the structure. Community Development Director Reilly said similar to how the water rates will be different in RCC, the park dedication fees can be different, as well. Council agreed to strike the option where the City and developer agree on a fair market value. City Administrator Jagoe said based off of feedback during a previous ordinance review, a change was made for procedures in 1150.02 for subdivisions. The administrative review for lot line adjustments was added. This pertains to simple subdivision processes that had previously triggered the minor subdivision review through the Planning Commission and Council. Through this ordinance, that subdivision action would not trigger reviews. Councilmember Holden asked if this would include a property that had a nonconformance? Community Development Director Reilly said if the action would make the property conforming, yes, but it will always be a case -by -case determination. Discussion ensued regarding a case where a resident wanted to expand their garage, but it was too close to the rear property line so they were told no. If someone wanted to move a lot line to build a structure, but the structure doesn't comply, we wouldn't review that. They would have to apply for a variance. Further discussion ensued regarding if it could be used to make a non -conforming parcel, less non -conforming, but still non -conforming. The language is "Applicant proposed to relocate a property line without increasing or decreasing the number of parcels and where all parcels meet the applicable zoning code requirements." If something is non -conforming and it would still be non- conforming at the end, it would need to go before the Planning Commission and Council. Council directed that this could go to the City Attorney and then be reviewed by the Planning Commission, assuming the Attorney changes aren't substantial. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — JULY 13, 2026 15 F. Code of Conduct Not Discussed. G. G1 Use of City Property and G2. Immigration Enforcement Discussion City Administrator Jagoe said this item is a follow up from the February 9 work session discussion regarding topics specific to immigration enforcement. At the May 11 work session Council directed Staff to bring back language that would regulate use of City owned parking lots for staging areas. The City Attorney recommended draft language. It states a permit would be required for that activity. There is no permit fee. Councilmember Holden asked if they are there for two hours and don't get a permit, do we fine them? This may appease the residents but it doesn't to anything for the City. She also asked about impeding the normal course of public activity. What if they're at Perry Park and taking up some of the parking lot, but there's still plenty of room for other public activity. City Administrator Jagoe said she can work with the City Attorney to see what additional language could be added for enforcement. Councilmember Rousseau said this can create a false sense of safety for people. Her interest here, it to try to quantify if staging is happening. Councilmember Weber said we knew when we originally discussed this, that there wasn't any teeth behind it. There never has been. The point is Metro Surge happened and it very well could happen again. We need to be ready, in that case. It would still be a recorded violation of our ordinance. He understands it can cause a false sense of security but he is willing to take this step now, in case we need it in the future. Councilmember Monson agrees enforcement will be challenging. We didn't have Ramsey County Sheriff's Office (RCSO) tracking the immigration calls until the tail end of Metro Surge. She feels that created a gap in our ability to talk about the impacts of calls that actually happened in our city at the peak of it. This would allow us to define impacts. She agreed with Councilmember Holden about the impeding public activity. She asked if we could say "impede the normal course of public activity and safety." Put language in there that this activity makes people feel unsafe. Mayor Grant agrees we aren't out of the woods. ICE is still out there. They could come here. He thinks this is a reasonable step. Councilmember Holden said we allow the park pavilion rental contracts to go until 10:00 but the posted closing time for parks is sunset. That needs to be resolved. Discussion ensued if 14 days prior is too long. Seven days would make people more likely to complete the process. Further discussion ensued about what the process will be. City Administrator Jagoe said the ordinance says the permit is subject to the administrative review and approval. We have yet to develop the permit form and get it on the website. The process will be the form will be submitted and it will go to the City Administrator. It can certainly be turned around in a week. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — JULY 13, 2026 16 Councilmember Rousseau said she has seen Army activity at Cummings Park. She thought we should give them a heads up that this is coming. Mayor Grant said this is related to parking lots. We've already determined they wouldn't be allowed in Staff areas at City Hall or at the Public Works Shop. Councilmember Holden said it should say public land. City Administrator Jagoe said tonight's discussion is about city owned parking lots. The second part of this discussion was regarding sharing of data and access to City buildings policy. We outlined that if federal agents came into a City building they could access public spaces. Without a warrant, they would not be allowed to enter non-public spaces. That has always been the procedure, however Council gave direction to bring forth a policy for adoption. That part of this discussion will be brought back to a future work session. Discussion ensued regarding if we can deny a request if agents entered City Hall and wanted to use the council chamber for a meeting. The current policy allows them into public spaces but using our public building for a meeting is different. Staff will make sure that policy is looked at with the review. Councilmember Holden asked if there was any open land that may not be a parking lot where groups could gather. She thought it should be city property, not just parking lots. Staff will look at ways to expand the definition. Council agreed that Staff should bring this to a council meeting for adoption. H. Agenda Planning Councilmember Monson said she would like to have the Mounds View High School parking discussion prior to the school year starting. That may need more than one discussion. A resident is looking for Council to suggest another solution. City Administrator Jagoe said her understanding is that Council wants to know what is currently in place for on street parking, adjacent to Mounds View High School. Councilmember Monson confirmed. The resident is looking for some ideas that will be effective. Discussion ensued about what some options may be. Council directed Staff to bring that discussion to the next work session. 4. COUNCIL/STAFF COMMENTS None. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — JULY 13, 2026 17 ADJOURN Mayor Grant adjourned the City Council Work Session at 9:02 p.m. Deputy Cler Z11j,4d David Grant Mayor