St. Paul City Council Policy Committee Meeting - May 20, 2026
St. Paul City Council Policy Committee Meeting - May 20, 2026
The St. Paul City Council Policy Committee met on May 20, 2026, to hear three major agenda items: a presentation on the Port Authority's industrial land study, a discussion on mobile sauna pilot programs in city parks, and a legislative update from the intergovernmental relations director. The meeting highlighted the value of industrial land for tax base and jobs, explored innovative park programming, and reviewed state legislative outcomes.
Industrial Land Study Presentation (Port Authority)
- Todd Hurley (President/CEO, St. Paul Port Authority) and Ashley Aram (SVP of Communications) presented findings of a year-long study of all industrially zoned land in St. Paul, conducted with North Span.
- Key findings: industrial land is a finite resource; 12% of the city is zoned industrial, but only half (6%) is developable; 1.9% of city parcels generate 9.3% of property taxes; industrial land generates $1.80 in property taxes for every $1 of city services consumed (net tax contributor).
- Statistics: 31,000 jobs supported, $2.8 billion in income, $9 billion direct economic output, over $1 billion in annual tax contributions; median industrial wage $37/hour ($76,000/year).
- Examples: Westminster Junction (900 jobs, $2.6M in property taxes), Williams Hill (450 jobs, $2.4M property taxes), Energy Park (5,700 jobs, $8.5M property taxes).
- Councilmembers asked about policy recommendations to preserve industrial land, identify underdeveloped parcels, and incentivize high-quality industrial development. Mr. Hurley declined to recommend a "no net loss" ordinance but urged awareness and opportunity-readiness, citing the need for 10-acre parcels.
Public Comments & Testimony
- No public comments were made during the meeting.
Discussion Items
- Council President Naker questioned how to preserve industrial land when competing with affordable housing interests. Mr. Hurley suggested not rezoning arbitrarily and focusing on acquisition of larger parcels.
- Councilmember Johnson requested data on how much developable industrial land is currently developed/underutilized. Mr. Hurley noted most industrial land is privately owned and may be underutilized.
- Council Vice President Yang asked about maximizing tax potential from developable industrial land and about AI data centers (considered light industrial). Mr. Hurley expressed interest in being part of data center discussions due to trade-offs between tax base and job creation.
- Councilmember Coleman asked about regional comparisons of industrial zoning and policies to incentivize best-case industrial development.
Mobile Sauna Pilot Program (Parks & DSI)
- Andy Rodriguez (Parks Director) and Dan Nazelek (DSI) proposed a mobile sauna program on parkland, with licensing through DSI and permits through Parks.
- Three pilot locations: Como Regional Park, Lillydale Regional Park, and Sphalen Regional Park.
- Revenue share: 10% of gross revenue; vendors required to carry $1.5M insurance.
- Council Vice President Yang asked if saunas could be on public streets – answer: no, only parks property initially.
- Councilmember Johnson asked about city liability – city is self-insured, vendor insurance required.
- Councilmember Joost asked about Highland Park interest and city ownership – no city ownership planned.
- Councilmember Coleman asked about pricing – typical sessions $25-$60 for 90 minutes.
- Council President Naker stressed that revenue share should cover costs and be competitive with other municipalities. Mr. Greenfield noted a joint sauna in Minnetonka/Hopkins charges $25/individual session.
Legislative Update (Jennifer O'Rourke, IGR Director)
- Session ended on time; 46 legislators retiring (~20%).
- Bonding bill wins: $13M for West 7th utilities, $12M for Como Zoo, $10M for Metropolitan Parks, $2.5M extension for St. Paul Inclusive Playground, $1.3M for Penn Ave, $1M for the Heights parks, $400K for Latino Museum.
- Other wins: $40M for family homelessness prevention, $15M for lead line replacement (far below $80-90M expected), funding for RE Center study of human waste contamination.
- Disappointments: no half-cent sales tax extension for Roy Wilkins, no STAR program changes, no LGA increase, no downtown redevelopment policies, no Metro Surge operations bills, no non-fatal shooting clearance program expansion.
- Councilmembers expressed gratitude but also disappointment on gun violence prevention, downtown investment, and lead line replacement.
Key Outcomes
- The Port Authority will follow up with policy recommendations and data on developable industrial land.
- Councilmember Kim will advance a mobile sauna ordinance; council directed staff to bring proposals back.
- The IGR office will begin developing the 2027 legislative platform in summer 2026.
- Meeting adjourned without formal votes.
Meeting Transcript
St. Paul City Council Policy Committee to order. Roll call, please. Councilmember Bowie. Council President Naker. Councilmember Joost. Councilmember Coleman. Councilmember Kim. Council Vice President Yang. Councilmember Johnson. Seeing five present, two absent. Councilmember Bowie is excused for the first thirty minutes of the meeting. And we have three items on our agenda today. Um, and the first one, uh, we're really excited to welcome the Port Authority. Um, I think Mr. Hurley, uh oh, Ms. Arm to tag team effort to uh present on the Portland uh Port Authority's industrial land study. This is something I know all of us have expressed a lot of interest in as we talk about expanding our tax base, which is a priority for this whole council. Um, and the timing couldn't be better as we approach budget season, so welcome up. And we have a new uh innovation at the council, which is a timer for presentations. So we're gonna set it for 45 minutes and it will at some point and it'll be counting down, but you can start. Wonderful. Well, good morning, and thanks for having us here today. I'm Ashley Aram. I'm Senior Vice President of Communications and External Affairs at the Port Authority. Um we are very excited to be here today to walk through our findings of the industrial land study that we commissioned last year. Uh, we worked with North Span, who is a nonprofit um agency who works in the upper midwest on economic development. Uh and we really um wanted to make sure that this was something that would be able to paint a pick a picture of all of St. Paul's industrial land. So um different from prior studies we've done at the Port Authority. This looks at all of the industrially zone land in St. Paul and not just our business centers through the port. Um, when we kind of put this study together, we met with key stakeholders to walk through this study. Um, and we also have a lot of presentations planned in communities, our district councils and others. That being said, um, if you see this presentation today and you think there are community groups or folks you think would be interested in this information, please reach out to me. I would love to get on their calendars. We really want to make sure we're sharing this with folks and um making sure this information is really considered in land use decisions and that community members understand uh kind of the data and facts behind industrial land in St. Paul. Um, with that, I will turn it over to our president Todd Hurley, who's going to walk through the findings of our city with you today. Welcome. Good morning. Uh thank you, Ashley. Council President Acre, members of the City Council. My name is Todd Hurley, and I'm the president and CEO of the St. Paul Port Authority. I have with me today here also Mike Solomon, who is the chief financial officer of the Port Authority, and Christine Williams, who is our chief development officer. And again, reasons for having them here is this study uh at the St. Paul Port Authority has really been an all hands-on deck. Uh there are there are conversations we have across our our organization around the development in St. Paul, around the financing in St.
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