Eagan City Council Special Meeting - September 9, 2025: Community Conversations, APC Joint Meeting, Cannabis Policy, and 2050 Comp Plan
STREAMING COPY IN PREPARATION — RECORDING AVAILABLE FROM THE ORIGINAL SOURCE
Eagan City Council Special Meeting - September 9, 2025
The Eagan City Council held a special meeting on September 9, 2025, starting at 5:30 PM and lasting over four hours. The meeting covered four major agenda items: a presentation on the year-long Community Conversations series, a joint meeting with the Advisory Planning Commission (APC) to discuss the 2026 work plan and religious land use zoning, a review of cannabis policies and retail registration caps, and an initial discussion of the 2050 Comprehensive Plan. Each item included staff presentations, council discussion, and policy direction.
Community Conversations Summary Report and Presentation
- Sarah introduced the Community Conversations initiative, which emerged from the city's race equity work. Over the past year, the Finding Human Institute facilitated a series of conversations to explore what it means to thrive in Eagan, involving over 150 attendees at a spring summit, student conferences, neighborhood mini-conversations, a women's circle, and a barbershop conversation.
- Key themes included a desire for social connection, celebrating diversity, service opportunities, and improved information access. Recommendations included hosting an annual spring summit, creating volunteer pathways, and establishing a community investment fund to support race equity nonprofits.
- Council members expressed strong support for continuing the conversations, emphasizing the importance of authentic engagement and partnership with existing community organizations rather than the city acting alone. The mayor encouraged organic growth of smaller dialogues and noted the city's role as a connector. Council agreed to hold a follow-up open house on September 28 to share updates with participants.
APC Joint Meeting
2026 Work Plan
- Mike Schultz reviewed the APC's 2026 work plan, which includes the 2050 Comprehensive Plan, continued work on the Northwest Central Commons redevelopment, evaluations of data centers and cryptocurrency mining, minor code amendments (trash enclosures, administrative plan development changes), and potential use of AI to streamline staff reports.
- Council discussed data centers, noting Eagan already has four. Concerns about noise, water usage, and compatibility with residential areas were raised. Council directed staff to prioritize minor code amendments and loose ends over more urgent items. The mayor also suggested the APC could provide feedback on state legislative proposals affecting zoning and housing.
- No formal vote; council provided general direction.
Religious Land Use Zoning
- Staff proposed amendments to allow religious facilities in more zoning districts (neighborhood business, general business, business park) under specific conditions: congregations of fewer than 100 occupants and occupying less than 40% of a building would be a permitted use; larger facilities would require a conditional use permit (CUP). The APC recommended these changes to increase flexibility while maintaining local control.
- Council supported the proposal, with Councilmember Bachin emphasizing that the standards should apply per tax parcel, not just multi-tenant buildings. The mayor noted that broader permissiveness could avoid discriminatory outcomes. Council directed staff to research experiences from other cities and bring back draft ordinance amendments.
Cannabis Policy Review
- Staff reported that the city received eight retail registration applications on a first-come, first-served basis on July 23, 2025. Two were denied (one due to the 350-foot spacing requirement, one because the cap was reached). Six pre-approved registrations are in commercial zones, one in an industrial zone. Additionally, RISE dispensary was required by state law to receive a registration, bringing total effective approvals to seven.
- Council discussed options: removing the distinction between commercial and industrial caps, increasing the overall cap to nine, and modifying the spacing requirement to apply by different tax parcels rather than a strict distance. Consensus: flat cap of nine, removal of zone-specific limits, and spacing based on separate parcels. Staff will prepare ordinance amendments for council approval, with Chapter 11 changes requiring a public hearing. Council directed staff to expedite the process to assist applicants.
2050 Comprehensive Plan
- Jill Hood presented the initial framework for the 2050 plan, which must accommodate a forecast of 4,700 additional housing units by 2050. Existing approved plans already account for 3,000 units, leaving 1,700 units to be planned. Three strategies were proposed: (A) allow redevelopment of low-density parcels along major collectors, (B) permit housing redevelopment of class C office properties, and (C) expand residential density ranges and land use categories to enable more gradual transitions.
- Council expressed support for all three strategies, with caution about avoiding spot zoning and respecting existing neighborhoods. The mayor highlighted the importance of proactive local planning to counter state legislative efforts to impose uniform density rules. Council directed staff to prepare a consultant RFP incorporating these strategies and to launch public engagement in summer 2026.
Key Outcomes
- The Community Conversations initiative will continue, with a follow-up open house on September 28, and city staff will develop action plans based on the recommendations.
- The APC's 2026 work plan was generally endorsed, with priority on minor code amendments and legislative feedback.
- Amendments to the religious land use zoning ordinance are supported; staff will draft changes based on APC recommendations and council input.
- Cannabis retail registration caps will be modified to a flat cap of nine, eliminating commercial/industrial distinctions, and the 350-foot spacing requirement will be replaced by a by-parcel rule. Ordinance amendments will be prepared for council approval within two months.
- Council approved the three strategies for the 2050 Comprehensive Plan and directed staff to proceed with consultant selection and public engagement, with plan submission due by December 31, 2028.
Meeting Transcript
All right. Uh, we're gonna start the meeting that the mayor is running a little bit late. So I'm gonna start with roll call on adoption. Can I get a motion on adopting the agenda? I'll move to approve the agenda. All in favor? Good job. Any visitors to be heard. Seeing none. The next one we have is a community conversation summary report and presentation. I'll turn that over to Sarah. Thanks, Sarah. I will shortly be turning this presentation over to our wonderful facilitators. Um we have here Robin and Paula from the Finding Human Institute. And pride in the past year, I think we've accomplished something really special. Um we have community members here in the audience to attest to the fact that I think this was a powerful experience and lots of hope for for continuing to stay in connection. Um contact with each other. I've been running around to the printer, so I'm trying to catch my breath. Um to to wrap up um this preliminary series. She has been uh my key co-partner and collaborator. Um we've been a little project team of four um over the past year. Um and uh something's going on. Thank you. Um so as you know, we've we've visited um before Robin and Paula have been here twice before to give you updates on the series of community conversations. Um this is work that really emerged from our race equity initiative as a city. So we had spent a year, 18 months studying um the data. What did the data tell us about disparities in our community? How are they showing up in wealth, income, graduation rates, home ownership? Um, and so we knew that there are disparities based on race that exist and persist in this community. Um, but we didn't know what that meant for the lived experience. What does that mean for the people who are living here and working here, going to school here? Um the only way to find out is through conversations. So we wanted to build relationships, ask those questions, and also really work together with community to discover um what it takes to thrive here. Um so asking questions of times when you have thrived. What did that look like? What was going into it? Um, and then what are the things that got in the way? What can each of us do, and then what do you need from the city? We have uh some testimonials from participants in their own words, some of whom are in the room today and may feel surprised to see themselves. Um some really really beautiful words. Turn it over to them. And impressed that they were taking this initiative at the city level um as an official stance to have these conversations and be more inclusive and um taking into consideration all the residents or people who work or visit in Egan. So I was pleased that I live in such a city taking this kind of initiative. We all talked about the fact that we were um pleased and delighted that Egan is doing this. I mean, it doesn't happen all over. So the fact that Egan is asking for our ideas was very good. This experience overall has been uh very revealing. I'm learning things about myself, learning things about other people, and meeting new people as well, and you are able to connect outside of the meeting. Then now you see that person at the grocery store, and you're like, oh hi, how are you? I saw you at this like cafe, because I've had multiple people come up to me at places and be like, Oh, how are you?
openpublica.com