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Regular City Council Meeting <br /> Monday,November 28, 2022 <br /> Page 12 <br /> Councilmember Etten understood the concern from neighbors that the additional <br /> units are a big change to the neighborhood, but this meets or beats all the require- <br /> ments, whether it is the parking, setbacks, whether it is the amount of pervious <br /> versus impervious surface, it meets or beats all the City's requirements so he did <br /> not know how he could vote against it. <br /> Councilmember Strahan indicated she would like to see the forty percent reflected <br /> because that is where her concern is. She did not see how, other than the setback <br /> from County Road B,there is any space that is green. She thought with one hundred <br /> fourteen bedrooms there is going to be a lot of potential people who need some <br /> green space on this, and she is not seeing it. <br /> Councilmember Willmus explained the Council is looking at the Conditional Use <br /> aspect of this and the consideration if it goes above and beyond Code with the Con- <br /> ditional Use. With that Conditional Use, several factors can come into play, cer- <br /> tainly taking into context concerns that were raised by neighbors, concerns that are <br /> potentially raised by staff long term, concerns with respect to the City's infrastruc- <br /> ture and ability to provide services when there is significant adding to some of these <br /> developments, which gives him pause. On the other side, there are factors that <br /> certainly would tie into some of the things the City is trying to do. He thought there <br /> was a middle ground and an opportunity for this property to develop more in line <br /> with the general guidance of HDR Zoning requirements and the number of units <br /> that come along with that. When they look significantly to ramp that up at a total <br /> of eighty-six units, from his perspective, that impact in the surrounding areas in- <br /> creasing a little bit beyond his comfort level so he did not know that he would <br /> support the motion. <br /> Councilmember Groff understood the concerns of the neighbors and that adding <br /> that much traffic will have an impact and is going to affect the street going out to <br /> Hamline. It is going to affect the light on the east side of the property as well. He <br /> indicated he has concerns;however, they must get back to the Conditional Use and <br /> it does meet the requirements that are required so he would be supporting the mo- <br /> tion. <br /> Mayor Roe agreed with Councilmember Strahan on her comment that the City does <br /> not own the property and believed,given the market value,it would be a significant <br /> challenge for the City to acquire for park purposes. Certainly, when the original <br /> use for that property was torn down,the intention all along was for it to be redevel- <br /> oped. It certainly has been nice for the neighborhood to have that open space during <br /> that time. It is not a question of approve the Conditional Use or acquire for a park, <br /> as that is not what is before the Council tonight. He thought there was also poten- <br /> tially some concern in the area of making decisions related to land use applications <br /> that might have the appearance of the City trying to force a park onto the site and <br /> is certainly not what the Council is trying to do here. He noted that the bonus is a <br /> part of City Code and available for developers to use, if the development meets the <br />