Saint Paul Planning Commission Meeting - March 22, 2024
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Saint Paul Planning Commission Meeting - March 22, 2024
The Saint Paul Planning Commission met on March 22, 2024, to discuss a variety of items including zoning requests, a comprehensive plan amendment, and a drive-through zoning study. The meeting also included a resolution honoring outgoing Planning Director Luis Pereira and several committee reports.
Consent Calendar
- Approved the minutes from the March 15, 2024 meeting.
Discussion Items
- Director's Announcements: Luis Pereira announced his resignation as Planning Director, effective April 8, 2024, and that he will be joining Aeon, an affordable housing nonprofit. He noted that Robinson will serve as interim director. Pereira also provided an update on the EV zoning ordinance, which was introduced at the council meeting and may see amendments to focus more on multifamily uses.
- Resolution Honoring Luis Pereira: The commission unanimously passed a resolution thanking Pereira for his contributions, including work on the Highland Bridge Master Plan, Hillcrest Heights Master Plan, zoning studies, and navigating the commission through COVID-19.
- Zoning Committee – 1984 Marshall Rezoning (24-017-011): The committee recommended denial of a rezoning from RM1 to RM2 to allow seven townhomes. The commission voted to deny the rezoning, with a majority voting in favor of denial (Commissioners Tagia, Risberg, Hackney, Johnson Becker, Martinson, Ochoa, Starling, Presley, Taghioff, Houmas, Riley, Syed, and Chair Grill) and two opposed (Commissioners Hood and Holtz). Arguments for denial cited the community-based Marshall Avenue zoning study and the sufficiency of RM1 density; those in favor argued the project was consistent with missing middle goals along a transit corridor.
- Zoning Committee – 892 E. 7th Rezoning (24-016-929) and CUP (24-016-948): The committee recommended approval of a rezoning from B3 to T3 and a conditional use permit for an additional 5 feet of height (to 60 feet). The commission approved both items unanimously.
- Comprehensive and Neighborhood Planning Committee – Heights Comprehensive Plan Amendment: The commission approved a resolution recommending the comprehensive plan amendment, which updates the zoning map to align with already-approved zoning and allows the Metropolitan Council to process permits. No public testimony was received.
- Drive-Through Zoning Study: Staff presented a study recommending new restrictions on drive-throughs, including increased stacking space, proximity limits to transit stations, and pedestrian access requirements. After discussion, the commission voted to initiate the study and release it for public review, with a public hearing set for June 7, 2024. The motion passed with two opposed (Commissioners Tagia and Hackney). Some commissioners expressed concerns about equity, health impacts, and the need for more analysis, while others supported public input.
- Cannabis Zoning Study Update: The committee received an update on the upcoming cannabis zoning ordinance, which will align with state licensing and regulate locations. No action was taken.
Key Outcomes
- Approved minutes from March 15, 2024.
- Adopted a resolution honoring Luis Pereira.
- Denied the rezoning at 1984 Marshall Avenue (majority vote, with two opposed).
- Approved the rezoning and conditional use permit for 892 E. 7th Street (unanimous).
- Approved the Heights Comprehensive Plan Amendment recommendation.
- Initiated the Drive-Through Zoning Study and set a public hearing for June 7, 2024 (motion passed with two opposed).
- No action on the cannabis zoning study; it will return to the commission in two weeks.
Other Reports
- Transportation Committee reported an upcoming meeting on the Highway 3 Robert Street project.
- Communications-Nomination Committee reported no meeting; they are continuing to work on mission structure changes.
Meeting Transcript
Commissioner Rizberg. Yes. Chair, I'd like to add an item to the agenda. Item number four, perhaps. It's a resolution honoring upgoing director and Ms. Ferrero. All right. Vice Chair Rosberg has made a motion. So we have a second. Seconded by Commissioner Riley. All right. Do we have any discussion on the motion? All right. So we'll take a vote on the motion. The motion on the table is to add an additional item to the agenda as item number four, a resolution honoring Luis Ferrara. We'll now vote on the motion. All those in favor. All those opposed. All right, the motion passes. All right. Next order of business is approval of the minute from March 15th, 2024. Do I have a motion to approve the minutes? So we uh move motion made by Commissioner Presley. Do we have a second? Sorry. Seconded by Commissioner Humas. And any discussion on the motion. No discussion, we'll now vote. So we're gonna vote to approve the minutes from March 15th, 2024. All those in favor. And all those opposed. All right. Motion passive. The minutes are approved. Next up are the chair's announcements. I just want to let everyone know we've got quite a few things on the agenda today. We have an additional item added. And we know we have some commissioners that need to leave at about 10 o'clock. So folks can be mindful of the time as we're going through again today. That would appreciate it. And I will uh conclude my announcement and move on to the director, Dr. Ferrari. Okay, thank you. Good morning, everybody. Uh Luis. Um I uh first of all wanted to um mention that uh the um EV zoning ordinance uh was introduced first read uh at the council meeting this week. Um and so Bill was there to uh outline that for uh the council. Um and there's some some discussion about potential amendments uh to the draft uh ordinance uh to focus it maybe a little bit more on multifamily um uses as opposed to multifamily and sort of broader non-residential uses. Um so that that language is being um some some edits to that are being considered at the moment. Um and uh Bill is not entirely sure what direction they're gonna take with it, but um it would essentially um as I understand it potentially um reduce a little bit the uh EV capability requirement to a little bit lower percentage of uh the partner spaces, uh keep it higher for for multifamily uh and potentially uh focus the EV readiness more on just the multifamily.
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