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Gem Lake News Page 2 of 8 <br /> <br /> New Cannabis Ordinance <br />Established (continued from page 1) <br /> <br />Zoning powers are important to keep these businesses <br />away from areas where children are routinely located, <br />such as parks and schools. Gem Lake’s small business <br />district is already located in an area with no such <br />facilities. Cities can also regulate the hours that <br />cannabis businesses are open. Gem Lake decided to <br />mirror the City of White Bear Lake, establishing <br />permissible hours as 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily as the <br />maximum. Businesses that establish themselves in Gem <br />Lake can also decide to be open fewer hours or fewer <br />than 7 days a week. <br /> <br /> <br />Cities can also mandate that every cannabis business <br />within its borders must register with the city, can be <br />subjected to another background check and will be <br />subjected to at least one “sting” each year to be sure <br />age verification is being properly done. Gem Lake <br />established the registration fee as $500, modeling itself <br />after surrounding cities. A copy of the full ordinance is <br />available on the city website. <br /> <br />Over the coming months, the Gem Lake Planning <br />Commission will work to combine this ordinance with the <br />existing ordinance that covers Cannabis edibles. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Apartment Complex Proposed <br />for Land Adjacent to Gem Lake <br />(continued from page 1) <br /> <br />Conceptual plans were presented at an Open House on <br />January 22 at the Vadnais Heights City Hall. The Open <br />House was attended by eight residents of the City of <br />Gem Lake. Residents had the chance to express a <br />variety of questions and concerns, chiefly about traffic <br />safety. An initial review by the Vadnais Heights Planning <br />Commission occurred on January 28, followed by the <br />same type of review by the Vadnais City Council on <br />February 4. Neither body votes on the plans at this point. <br /> <br />Initial plans have also reviewed by the Vadnais Heights <br />Fire Department, the city’s public works and engineering <br />departments, the Vadnais Lake Area Watershed <br />Management Organization (VLAWMO) and the Ramsey <br />County Public Works Department. Feedback received <br />from these groups concerned things like access, <br />drainage, utilities, easements and traffic flow. All <br />feedback must be considered when drafting the final <br />plans, which the developer acknowledges may change <br />based on staff recommendations, public feedback and <br />approval by the various agencies that must weigh in on a <br />large project like this one. <br /> <br /> <br />The next steps will be to present a final Planned Unit <br />Development (PUD) application to the City of Vadnais <br />Heights, which is expected to happen sometime this <br />Spring. <br /> <br />Chase Real Estate is a well-known and experienced <br />player in the field of apartment complex development. <br />They have built approximately 3,000 apartment units and <br />3,000 single family homes in the Twin Cities area. These <br />include similar projects to the one being proposed <br />currently in cities such as Prior Lake, Chaska and Eagan. <br />Based on the review and approval process, Chase Real <br />Estate hopes to begin construction later this year, with <br />initial opening projected for early 2027. The second <br />phase of the project would begin based on market <br />demand. For more information on this project, consult the <br />City of Vadnais Heights website, city government section. <br /> <br />