Fargo Planning Commission Meeting – September 7, 2023: Subdivision and Development Approvals
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Fargo Planning Commission Meeting – September 7, 2023
The Fargo Planning Commission met on Thursday, September 7, 2023, at 3:00 PM in the Commission Chambers at City Hall. Chair Rocky Schneider called the meeting to order with eight members present (John Gunkelman, Thomas Schmidt, Scott Stofferahn, Dawn Morgan, Art Rosenberg, Jennifer Holtz, Maranda Tasa, and Chair Schneider) and one absent (Brett Shewey). The meeting adjourned at 3:43 PM. All five public hearing items were approved unanimously by 8-0 votes.
Consent Calendar
- Approve Order of Agenda: Motion by Member Stofferahn, second by Member Gunkelman. All present voted aye; carried.
- Approve Minutes of August 1, 2023: Motion by Member Tasa, second by Member Schmidt. All present voted aye; carried.
Public Comments & Testimony
No public comments were offered during any of the public hearings. Each hearing was closed after no audience members wished to speak.
Discussion Items
1. TYKE Addition (Major Subdivision) – Located at 201 27th Street North and 2600 3rd Avenue North. Planning Coordinator Maegin Elshaug presented the staff report, noting all criteria met and recommending approval. The proposal includes a replat of Lots 1-9 and part of Lots 10-14, Teigen's Second Addition, dedication of 25th Street North, and vacation of a portion of 3rd Avenue North. Staff received one call of inquiry with no concern. No questions from commissioners or applicant. Motion by Member Morgan, second by Member Holtz, passed 8-0.
2. EOLA Second Addition (PUD Master Plan Amendment & Minor Subdivision) – Located at multiple addresses along 24th and 26th Avenues South. Ms. Elshaug presented updates since the July 6, 2023 meeting. The applicant, Blake Nybakken (EPIC Companies), spoke. Key discussion points:
- The parking ramp originally proposed is no longer part of the plan; surface parking is shown, but a dashed line indicates a potential future ramp location that could be built without further commission review.
- Concerns about building placement: Member Schmidt urged moving the north building closer to 24th Avenue South to align with the existing street design (angled parking, sidewalk, building). The applicant noted the current setback was engineered for a skyway connection to the now-removed ramp.
- Commissioner Rosenberg expressed concern about excessive paved surfaces and loss of green space; the applicant stated the ramp would reduce surface parking footprint.
- Questions about parking capacity for the water park (estimated 200+ patrons at a time, 700 visitors per day). The applicant stated that surface parking shown meets the needs based on a shared parking study reviewed by the city traffic engineer.
- The private drive configuration was discussed; the applicant noted it could be closed for events.
- Motion by Member Gunkelman, second by Member Rosenberg, to approve the subdivision plat and PUD amendment as recommended by staff. Passed 8-0.
3. Trollwood Land Three Addition (Minor Subdivision) – Located at 3123 and 3131 Broadway North and 504 32nd Avenue North. Planning Coordinator Donald Kress presented; applicant Rick Johnson (United Development Group) spoke via phone. The plat combines three lots into one for a proposed Dollar Tree retail store, which is going through the building permit process. Commissioner Holtz asked about the proposed use and its impact on the intersection. Staff noted the site plan review (separate process) will address landscaping and site distances. Motion by Member Stofferahn, second by Member Holtz, passed 8-0.
4. North Dakota R-1 Urban Renewal Addition (Vacation Plat) – Located near City Hall (101-225 4th Street North, etc.). Mr. Kress presented the vacation of portions of 3rd Street North and 3rd Avenue North, which are no longer needed as public rights-of-way. The city owns the block; adjacent property owners (City Centre Lofts) will have an easement for building maintenance. No public comments. Motion by Member Tasa, second by Member Schmidt, passed 8-0.
5. Larkin Second Addition (Minor Subdivision) – Located at 3600 39th Street South. Assistant Planner Alayna Espeseth presented; applicant representative Brian Pattengale (Houston Engineering) spoke. The replat of Lot 2, Block 1, Larkin Addition into three lots is intended to allow the owner to sell off existing warehouse assets while retaining the north block for future development. No questions. Motion by Member Gunkelman, second by Member Stofferahn, passed 8-0.
Key Outcomes
- All five agenda items were approved unanimously (8-0 votes) with no amendments or conditions beyond staff recommendations.
- The EOLA Second Addition approval includes flexibility for a future parking ramp without returning to the commission, provided building footprints remain consistent.
- The North Dakota R-1 Urban Renewal vacation plat will be recorded after utility easement clarifications.
- Chair Schneider noted the Downtown Fargo Home Tour on October 1, 2023, featuring an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) for public viewing.
Meeting Transcript
Hi, we'll call the meeting to order of the planning commission. Um looking to or there's no opening remarks, but I did just want to have one minute the for the commission's awareness is that there's a downtown home tour on October 1st. And I just thought this was interesting because there's an accessory dwelling unit on the home tour. And I know we've had that conversation about accessory dwelling units and probably will again as the land development code heats up, but it's a good opportunity to go see what one of those are. There's not many in town, I don't know of another one. But anyway, so if anybody's interested, October 1st, I think it starts at noon. Um the downtown home tour. So otherwise we'll go to Rocky. How many tour? How many homes in the tour? Um, I don't know a lot about it other than that. I think there's three or four on the but yeah, I just the ADU was assumed very interesting. So I wanted to go check it out. Otherwise, looking at the agenda, item A is the approve the order of agenda. Anybody have any changes or take a motion to approve? Move to approve. Motion and second, any discussion. All in favor say aye. All right. Any opposed? Motion passes. Moving on to B, the minutes from our August first meeting. So moved. Is there a second? Second. Any discussion. Seeing none. All in favor say aye. All right. Any opposed. Motion passes. Moving on to public hearing items. Hearing or item number one. And Megan is presenting. We'll ask Megan to come to the podium and introduce this. Item one is the type edition. This is a major subdivision, including a vacation of a portion of right of way. So open the aerial here, you can see this is twenty-fifth street where my cursor is, and then on the north side is Third Avenue North. So you're looking south into the property. And then in the image below, you're looking southwest into the property. Just a couple more pictures here. Up on your screen, you just see the zoning here. And one thing to note that the underlying subdivision is Tegan's second subdivision, not Teagan's second edition, which is how it is noted in the agenda. So I just wanted in the packet just to note that if there's any confusion. Here you can just see a close-up of the property lines with an underlaid aerial image, and just to show that this right-of-way on this block is a little bit wider than what's happening on the east and the west sides. The plat is up on your screen. You'll see the hatched area along Third Avenue North is a vacation of a portion of Third Avenue North. A southern the south approximate 10 feet will be is proposed to be vacated, and in that area, a public utility easement will be proposed is proposed as part of the plat. And then on the east side by 25th Street, you can see the hatch there is a is the proposed dedication of 25th Street's north, which is a public and utility easement today. Staff has received one call of inquiry with no noted concern.
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