Rochester Planning & Zoning Commission Meeting – 2026-10-01

The Rochester Planning & Zoning Commission met in the Council/Board Chambers at the Government Center. The agenda and minutes are dated September 30, 2026, with a 5:00 p.m. start listed; the designated meeting timestamp is October 1, 2026, at 11:00:00 UTC, and this summary uses that date. Commissioner Ruchi Gupta chaired. Commissioners present were Jeremy C Andrist, Jens P Boyum, John Eischen, Ruchi Gupta, Jonathon P Krull, and Nicolas B.C. Yost; Abdimajid (Axe) M Ahmed, Robert A Cline, and Lisa Ross were absent. The Commission approved the order of agenda and consent calendar unanimously, then by unanimous votes forwarded recommendations to the City Council on all five reports-and-recommendations items and the zone change, adopted one conditional use permit, and adjourned.

Consent Calendar

• Approved the minutes and video of the September 16, 2026 Planning & Zoning Commission meeting as the official record. Motion by Jens P Boyum, second by Jonathon P Krull, passed unanimously.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Kelly Rae Kirkpatrick (1107 East Center Street) spoke during the open comment period. She expressed support for using land stewardship as the starting point for development and requested that the Commission bring forward legislative changes on land stewardship before development. She said Rochester is the second largest city in the state geographically with roughly one-third of Minneapolis's population, and questioned who pays for infrastructure and why suburban sprawl continues. She cited the 2026 surface water management plan, Olmsted County soil and environment resources, and the recently amended Unified Development Code as available tools. She advocated designing with the watershed, evaluating downstream and cumulative impacts, and using an avoid, minimize, and mitigate hierarchy. She referenced London Brook Ponds, the Manor Hills lawsuit, and the Dell Web senior housing development as case studies. She stated the goal was not to prevent development, because housing is desperately needed, but to prevent avoidable environmental problems by making the land itself the starting point.
• Richard Nohner, whose property is immediately east of the Eastwood zone-change site, spoke at the 6A public hearing. He did not oppose the zone change but expressed concern about traffic conditions on Eastwood Road, citing increased traffic from the 230-unit Rosewood apartments across the street, no shoulders, hills, near-miss accidents about once a week, speeding, and poor visibility at the Felty Way intersection. He asked the city to examine speed control, safety improvements, and related access issues.
• Matt Kuehl (8192 County Road 5, Pine Island, representing Kuehl LLC) spoke at the 6B public hearing regarding Birchwood Cottages. He stated his LLC owns 10 acres and VOA owns 40 acres north of the subject parcel. He expressed concern that the development plan leaves his property without access because a cell tower blocked the normal property-line access and the water main alignment shifted access. He said he had raised the issue at a July 30 public meeting and received no further correspondence. He said he would be watching the development to ensure access is maintained.

Reports and Recommendations

• 5.A Graham Acres (CD2026-021PLAT) – DR Horton, Inc. – Minnesota: Staff recommended approval with two conditions. The request is a major land subdivision on 185 acres into 580 single-family residential lots and six outlots in the R-2 Low Density Residential Small Lot district. The project's lot mix includes 177 lots at 65 feet wide, 245 at 50 feet wide, and 158 at 40 feet wide, totaling 580. The plan also includes a nine-acre city park to be dedicated to the Rochester Parks Department. DR Horton representative Mike Suel expressed agreement with the staff report and noted the company is currently building in Badger Hills. The Commission unanimously forwarded a recommendation of approval with conditions.
• 5.B Westbury Second (CD2026-022PLAT) – Bigelow Homes: Staff recommended approval with five conditions to subdivide 24.6 acres into 115 residential lots and one outlot. Applicant representative Kyle Skov (WHKS & Co.) said the first Westbury subdivision is under construction, Bigelow Homes expects to start construction next year, and the company is partnering with the city on funding. The Commission unanimously forwarded a recommendation of approval with five conditions.
• 5.C Danielson Farm (CD2026-023PLAT) – Anthony Properties: Staff recommended approval with four conditions to subdivide 26.56 acres at the northeast corner of 55th Street NW and 18th Avenue NW into one lot, two outlots, and right-of-way for 18th Avenue NW and an internal collector road. The conditions include completion of public facilities or a development agreement, civil grading and stormwater plan approvals, discussion with the city engineer about a 72-foot right-of-way for Lemongrass Drive NW, and dedication of a 30-foot sanitary sewer utility easement adjacent to the south property line of Lot 1, Block 1 and Outlot B. Applicant representative Ryan Schoenfelder (WSE Engineering) said Anthony Properties accepts the conditions. The Commission unanimously forwarded a recommendation of approval.
• 5.D Pebble Creek Seventh (CD2026-024PLAT) – DRP MN 3, LLC/Lennar Homes: Staff recommended approval as a final plat with two conditions. The agenda and minutes describe 100 single-family residential lots on 14.98 acres in R-2 and MXS districts; the transcript specifies 5 single-family lots and 95 townhome lots, for 100 total lots. Staff reported the overall Pebble Creek development is estimated at 1,080 units, or about 2.8 dwelling units per acre. Conditions require a city-prepared maintenance declaration as specified in the development agreement and dedication of 6.9 acres of parkland/easement to the satisfaction of Parks and Recreation. Ryan Schoenfelder, representing the applicant, said wetlands on the site were determined incidental in November 2025 and are not protected, and said construction plans for this phase are approved. The Commission unanimously forwarded a recommendation of approval.
• 5.E Vacation Petition (CD2026-006VAC) – DRP MN 3, LLC: Staff recommended approval to vacate an approximately 440-foot-long segment of Town Square Place NW and adjoining public utility easements platted as part of Pebble Creek Fourth. Applicant representative Ryan Schoenfelder said the vacation is needed to facilitate a utility easement along 61st Avenue and realign the road for future development. The Commission unanimously forwarded a recommendation of approval.

Public Hearings

• 6.A Zone Change CD2026-003ZC – Joseph Sveen: Staff recommended approval of a request to rezone an approximately 15,000-square-foot lot at the southeast intersection of Eastwood Road SE and Hillcrest Court SE from R-1 Mixed Single-Family to R-2 Single-Family Small Lot. Staff found the request was not spot zoning, was consistent with R-2 to the east, permitted low-density residential uses, and furthered comprehensive plan goals for housing diversity and infill development. The applicant was not present. Richard Nohner's public testimony is summarized above. The Commission unanimously forwarded a recommendation of approval to the City Council. Note: the motion as transcribed reads 59,000 square feet, while the agenda and staff materials state approximately 15,000 square feet.
• 6.B Conditional Use Permit CD2026-014CUP – Widseth (Birchwood Cottages): Staff recommended approval with conditions for construction of a 230-bed memory care facility in an R-2 zoning district at the southeast intersection of 50th Avenue NW and Feather Grass Place NW. The Planning & Zoning Commission is the approval body. Staff recommended 10 conditions, including striking a bike-parking condition because bike parking was included in the site plan, and replacing a required traffic study with a condition requiring an updated site plan showing a new right-of-way easement for a public road on the northern portion of the site, as requested by Public Works. Applicant representative Vanessa Hines (Widseth) said the city requested an easement for a future road, not immediate construction, and cost and responsibility would be addressed in the development agreement. Matt Kuehl's public testimony is summarized above. After discussion, the Commission unanimously adopted the resolution approving the CUP with the facts and findings outlined in the September 30, 2026 Community Development presentation.

Other Business

• Desmond McGeough gave a City Council recap from the September 21, 2026 meeting: the proposed airport quarry conditional use permit was continued to mid-November after the applicant agreed to allow more time to develop specific answers.
• The next Planning & Zoning Commission meeting will be held October 28, 2026; no applications were scheduled for October 14.
• A brief discussion was held about the cell tower referenced in the 6B access issue; staff explained that the tower caused the access offset.

Key Outcomes

• All votes were unanimous among the six commissioners present; Commissioners Ahmed, Cline, and Ross were absent.
• The Commission forwarded recommendations of approval to the City Council for Graham Acres (2 conditions), Westbury Second (5 conditions), Danielson Farm (4 conditions), Pebble Creek Seventh (2 conditions), the Town Square Place NW vacation, and the Eastwood zone change.
• The Commission adopted the conditional use permit for Birchwood Cottages with conditions.
• The meeting adjourned unanimously after the other business.