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Record of Proceedings

Fargo Planning Commission Meeting - February 6, 2024

City Commission — Tuesday, February 6, 2024
BodyFargo, North Dakota
SessionCity Commission
DateTuesday, February 6, 2024
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:33:40

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4:47

Hi, we'll call the meeting of the planning commission to order.

4:51

Give everybody a minute to get situated.

4:55

Just a couple of uh announcements for everybody.

5:00

We have two of the cases on the agenda are being continued to the March 5th, 2024 Planning Commission agenda.

5:06

So items 3A and 3B, Cubby Ranch Third Edition, and items 5A and 5B on Reckies edition, they will be heard in March.

5:15

So we'll take no testimony today, and there's no staff presentations, and so those items will be continued.

5:21

Um if there's anyone here to testify on those items, is anybody here for three or five?

5:29

No.

5:29

Okay.

5:30

If that we'll move on.

5:32

Commission will take a motion to approve the order of agenda with those changes.

5:37

So I'll move.

5:38

Second.

5:39

Thank you, Scott and John.

5:42

Any discussion?

5:45

Seeing none.

5:47

Um all in favor say aye.

5:49

Aye.

5:50

Aye.

5:50

Any opposed?

5:52

Motion passes.

5:53

Moving on to the minutes from January 2nd.

5:59

Move to approve.

6:01

Second.

6:02

We have a motion and a second.

6:05

Any discussion.

6:07

All in favor say aye.

6:08

Aye.

6:09

Aye.

6:09

Aye.

6:10

Any opposed?

6:11

Motion passes.

6:12

Moving on to item number one.

6:15

We'll ask Donald to the podium to introduce it.

6:27

Good afternoon, Commissioners.

6:28

Donald Crest of the Department of Planning and Development.

6:30

Mr.

6:31

Chairman, you want to make sure that Commissioner Shuey is too.

6:33

Thank you.

6:34

Yeah, Commissioner Shuey, are you able to hear us?

6:37

Uh yes, I can.

6:38

Thank you.

6:39

And we can hear you just to confirm.

6:41

Thank you.

6:42

Thank you, sir.

6:44

Our first item today, as the chairman has stated, is uh North Point Industrial Edition.

6:49

Uh this property is located uh outside of the city of Fargo right now.

6:53

Item D1 relates to this project as well.

6:57

It's the uh review of the annexation, so that this property will have to be annexed before it's uh the plat is completed and before the property is developed.

7:05

But it's on the west side here of 57th Street, north of 19th Avenue.

7:09

Uh the proposal is to zone this to industrial here.

7:13

Um you may recall that you uh your commission approved or recommended for approval the uh veterans industrial subdivision across the street here last year.

7:23

Here's uh it is an undeveloped property at this time, drain 45, County Drain 45 is the uh western boundary at 57th Avenue is over here, or 57th Street, rather is over here, 19th Avenue North.

7:34

And then uh looking the other way, um back where here it's again just uh an undeveloped uh field at the time.

7:41

The zoning here as you see is agricultural, and the proposed zoning is LI Limited Industrial and then PI, public and institutional for the lots that are owned by the government entities, uh which is our usual practice.

7:53

Again, as you see in your staff report, this property is designated uh commercial and uh industrial uh as on the growth plan and uh limited industrial covers both of those, so there was no need to do a growth plan change on this project here.

8:08

Uh here's the plat.

8:10

There's a lot of lines on this plat here, Commissioner.

8:12

So I did uh darken them up here a little bit.

8:14

Pardon my uh always uh slightly misaligned drawing here.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Zoning█████████████████████████████████████████████55%
Procedural████████████████20%
Community Engagement███████8%
Engineering And Infrastructure█████6%
Environmental Protection████5%
Public Health██3%
Public Works██2%
Economic Development█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Fargo Planning Commission Meeting - February 6, 2024

The Fargo Planning Commission met on February 6, 2024, at 9:00 AM to consider several agenda items, including zoning changes, subdivisions, and annexations. Two items were continued to the March 5, 2024 meeting. The commission approved the consent agenda, minutes, and all development proposals after public testimony and discussion.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved the order of the agenda with the continuation of items 3A and 3B (Cubby Ranch Third Edition) and 5A and 5B (Reckies Edition) to the March 5, 2024 meeting.
  • Approved the minutes from the January 2, 2024 meeting.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Item 2 (Interstate Business District Edition):
    • Paula Peterson (Prairie Estates resident) and Kyla Duboard (resident on 45th Street North) expressed strong opposition, citing concerns about industrial zoning adjacent to existing residential areas, potential property value loss, health risks from manufacturing emissions, and lack of alignment with the growth plan. They requested all general commercial instead of limited industrial.
    • Dr. Joshua Morrell (Riley's Acres resident and physician) opposed the development, arguing that industrial waste poses cumulative health risks and that the application lacked specificity about future businesses.
    • Maria Goriecheva (UND professor) testified that manufacturing operations generate hazardous emissions and that 1,000 feet is insufficient distance for safety.
    • Trent Duda (applicant, ARD Properties) and Tom Nelson (Swan Real Estate) supported the proposal, highlighting compromises (removal of concrete crushing, increased buffer with berm and trees, shift of lot 9 to general commercial) and arguing the development meets all criteria and is appropriate for the interstate corridor.
    • Lance Ziebarth (developer) and Jeff Wooden (Riley's Ninth resident) also spoke in support, noting that similar developments exist closer to residences and that the buffer and drain provide adequate separation.

Discussion Items

  • Item 1: North Point Industrial Edition – Staff presented a request to annex and zone 122 acres west of 57th Street North to Limited Industrial (LI) and Public/Institutional (PI). The property is in Fargo's extraterritorial jurisdiction but designated for commercial/industrial use in the 2007 growth plan. No public comments. The commission unanimously approved the staff recommendation.
  • Item 2: Interstate Business District Edition – A new application for a 122-acre parcel west of I-29 north of 40th Avenue North, proposing a growth plan amendment, zoning change to General Commercial (GC) and Limited Industrial (LI) with a conditional overlay. Changes from the prior application included reclassifying lot 9 to GC and refining buffer requirements (evergreen and deciduous trees, minimum size/spacing). Discussion centered on billboard limits: staff clarified that the overlay allows no more than four billboards, with three being digital. After public testimony, the commission voted to approve the staff recommendation.
  • Item 4: Autumn Fields Edition – A minor plat to formally combine several parcels into one subdivision lot. No opposition. The commission unanimously approved.
  • Item 6: Laverne's Fourth Edition – A minor subdivision to combine three lots into one lot (Block 3 of Laverne's Second Edition). No opposition. The commission unanimously approved.
  • Annexation (North Point Industrial Edition) – As a non-hearing item, staff presented the annexation of portions of sections 29 and 32 for the North Point Industrial Edition. The property is in Fargo's ETJ and is consistent with the 2007 growth plan. The commission approved the annexation as consistent with the growth plan.

Key Outcomes

  • Items 3A, 3B, 5A, and 5B continued to the March 5, 2024 Planning Commission meeting.
  • North Point Industrial Edition (Item 1): Motion to approve per staff recommendation passed unanimously (7-0).
  • Interstate Business District Edition (Item 2): Motion to approve with findings of staff, including the corrected billboard language (no more than four, three may be digital), passed unanimously (7-0).
  • Autumn Fields Edition (Item 4): Motion to approve per staff recommendation passed unanimously.
  • Laverne's Fourth Edition (Item 6): Motion to approve per staff recommendation passed unanimously.
  • Annexation (North Point Industrial Edition): Motion to approve as consistent with the 2007 growth plan passed unanimously.

Meeting Transcript

Hi, we'll call the meeting of the planning commission to order. Give everybody a minute to get situated. Just a couple of uh announcements for everybody. We have two of the cases on the agenda are being continued to the March 5th, 2024 Planning Commission agenda. So items 3A and 3B, Cubby Ranch Third Edition, and items 5A and 5B on Reckies edition, they will be heard in March. So we'll take no testimony today, and there's no staff presentations, and so those items will be continued. Um if there's anyone here to testify on those items, is anybody here for three or five? No. Okay. If that we'll move on. Commission will take a motion to approve the order of agenda with those changes. So I'll move. Second. Thank you, Scott and John. Any discussion? Seeing none. Um all in favor say aye. Aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion passes. Moving on to the minutes from January 2nd. Move to approve. Second. We have a motion and a second. Any discussion. All in favor say aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion passes. Moving on to item number one. We'll ask Donald to the podium to introduce it. Good afternoon, Commissioners. Donald Crest of the Department of Planning and Development. Mr. Chairman, you want to make sure that Commissioner Shuey is too. Thank you. Yeah, Commissioner Shuey, are you able to hear us? Uh yes, I can. Thank you. And we can hear you just to confirm. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Our first item today, as the chairman has stated, is uh North Point Industrial Edition. Uh this property is located uh outside of the city of Fargo right now. Item D1 relates to this project as well. It's the uh review of the annexation, so that this property will have to be annexed before it's uh the plat is completed and before the property is developed. But it's on the west side here of 57th Street, north of 19th Avenue.

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