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Record of Proceedings

Saint Paul Planning Commission Meeting - February 21, 2025

Planning Commission — Friday, February 21, 2025
BodySt Paul, Minnesota
SessionPlanning Commission
DateFriday, February 21, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
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Transcript — Verbatim
0:02

All right, good morning, everybody.

0:04

Welcome to the March 7th meeting of the St.

0:07

Paul Planning Commission.

0:08

We're now now called to order.

0:10

The first item is approval of the minutes from the February 21st, 2025 Planning Commission meeting.

0:16

Do I have a motion?

0:17

A motion.

0:18

Okay, motion by Commissioner Thomas.

0:20

Second by Commissioner Hackney.

0:22

Is there any discussion on the minutes?

0:25

All right.

0:26

Seeing no discussion, we'll move ahead to a vote.

0:30

All those in favor.

0:31

Aye.

0:32

All those opposed.

0:34

Any abstentions?

0:35

All right.

0:36

The minutes pass.

0:38

First up is chairs and announcements.

0:41

Just want to say thank you all for getting here today.

0:43

I know it would be the hockey, um, but it will be a lot when we leave, I assume.

0:48

Um so just thank you all for making the time and getting in today.

0:51

Uh, I know it's hard every time.

0:54

Uh and then next up is planning director announcement.

0:58

Morning, everybody.

0:59

Um, just wanted to give you a heads up that the National American Planning Association conference is in Denver at the end of March, and I'll be attending.

1:11

So I'll bring back some uh takeaways from that.

1:15

There's lots of interesting uh sessions on the agenda.

1:20

And then the Minnesota chapter um meeting will be this fall in Wilmer.

1:26

So if you have any questions about any of that, let me know.

1:31

All right.

1:32

Uh thank you, Director.

1:34

And then next up is zoning commissioner uh Mr.

1:37

Cavia.

1:38

Thank you, Chair.

1:39

So um we have three masks on the agenda today.

1:42

Um the first of those is 2501, sorry, 251175, which is the 2145 Childs Road C UP.

1:50

Um, and that was a conditional use permit for the elevation of a structure in the floodplain on an alternative to bill.

1:57

Um that is a relatively technical application.

1:59

So this was more about um ensuring that it met that those specific criteria versus a standard um CUP.

2:07

And it was uh unanimously approved at committee.

2:09

So we're recommending approval of Commission.

2:11

All right.

2:12

Um so we have a motion on the table um for 2145 Child Road that says CUP and the motion is to approve.

2:22

Um we can now have discussion.

2:24

Is there any discussion on the motion?

2:26

Uh Commissioner Martinson.

2:28

Um yeah, so I guess I just want to offer a couple comments.

2:32

Um I mean, I think obviously it's very technical, and so I'm not gonna weigh in on that.

2:37

However, I do think I feel a little bit strange in the current era.

2:43

Uh somewhere in here, and I can't find it now, but there's reference to the hundred year flood uh standard.

2:50

I don't think that's been updated anytime recently, and we seem to have 100 year floods now every year or so.

2:58

So I don't think you know that that concerns me about that standards being used.

3:02

And then also that the NOAA Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service is going to be used to make determinations about when equipment needs to be moved out of the flood zone.

3:13

Um might not exist.

3:16

It may not have predictive abilities for much longer.

3:19

And so again, uh climate resilience would suggest that we'd be updating those standards and that we'd be taking into account the fact that the systems that we've relied on historically in this country, this simply may not be there next month or the month after that.

3:35

So I just want to offer that as sort of a concern that I have about approving this.

3:40

I'm going to vote to support it, but I do I want us to recognize that we're not building to really climate resilient standards here.

3:48

So and also I think the savings that they're going to accrue here, $40 per ton of cement.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural█████████████████████████████████████████████48%
Land Use Regulation█████████████████████████27%
Personnel Matters██████████████████19%
Public Engagement██████6%
Summary of Proceedings

Saint Paul Planning Commission Meeting - February 21, 2025

This regular meeting of the Saint Paul Planning Commission was held on February 21, 2025, from 8:30 to 11:00 a.m. at City Hall Conference Center Room 40. The commission approved the previous meeting's minutes, acted on several zoning items, released a minor zoning text amendment study for public comment, elected new officers and committee chairs for 2025, and approved the 2024 Annual Report. Winter weather led to the cancellation of one committee meeting.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of Minutes: The minutes from the February 21, 2025 Planning Commission meeting were approved unanimously on a motion by Commissioner Thomas, seconded by Commissioner Hackney, with no discussion.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No public comments were recorded.

Discussion Items

  • 2145 Childs Road CUP (Conditional Use Permit for elevation of a structure in the floodplain): The Zoning Committee recommended approval unanimously. Commissioner Martinson expressed concern that the project relies on outdated 100-year flood standards and the NOAA Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service, stating climate resilience is not fully addressed. He noted the applicant's projected savings of $40 per ton of cement. Despite his concerns, he voted in favor. The commission voted to approve the permit.

  • 635 Cleveland Avenue South Rezoning (OS office-service to T2 traditional neighborhood): The rezoning, recommended unanimously by committee, will allow a Montessori center to operate at the location. Staff noted the surrounding area is predominantly T2, making the change appropriate. The commission approved the rezoning without discussion.

  • 642 Selby Avenue CUP (increase building height from 55 to 60 feet): This conditional use permit follows the earlier rezoning to T3, which allows 55 feet. The proposed additional height was deemed consistent with CUP standards. The committee recommended approval unanimously. Commissioner Khadar was absent; the remaining commissioners voted in favor.

  • Minor Text Amendment Zoning Study: Commissioner Holst moved to release the study for public review and comment and to set a public hearing for April 18, 2025. The study addresses cleanup of obsolete zoning references (e.g., R1, R2, R3) and typographical errors. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Martinson and approved unanimously.

  • Mississippi River Corridor Critical Area (MRCCA) Zoning Study: This item was on the agenda for committee review but was postponed to March 12, 2025, due to a winter storm. Commissioner Riley inquired about the relationship between the MRCCA study and the minor text amendment; Planning Director Robinson explained that the MRCCA text amendment was brought to the commission a couple of years ago but never adopted, and staff are now updating it.

  • Transportation Committee Report: Commissioner Risberg reported that the March meeting was cancelled; the next meeting is scheduled for April 7, 2025, with no agenda yet.

  • Election of Planning Commission Officers and Committee Chairs (2025): The Communications-Nominations Committee proposed a slate. Officers: Kristine Grill (Chair), Nieeta Presley (First Vice Chair), Mauricio Ochoa (Second Vice Chair), Elizabeth Starling (Secretary). Commissioners thanked Jeff Risberg for stepping aside to allow broader participation. Committee Chairs: Richard Holst (Comprehensive & Neighborhood Planning), Simon Taghioff (Zoning), Jeff Risberg (Transportation), Seanne Thomas (Communications-Nominations). The slate was approved unanimously on a motion by Commissioner Thomas, seconded by Commissioner Holst, with no discussion.

  • 2024 Planning Commission Annual Report: The Communications-Nominations Committee moved to approve the report. Commissioner Starling praised the improved, more concise format and asked if the detailed work plan (list of upcoming studies) could be made available separately. Director Robinson offered to provide an emailed list but cautioned about flexibility. Commissioner Martinson requested a future presentation on the inclusive housing plan and the anti-displacement study, and inquired about potential impacts from federal executive actions. The commission approved the report unanimously.

Key Outcomes

  • Approved: Minutes of February 21, 2025 meeting
  • Approved: 2145 Childs Road CUP
  • Approved: 635 Cleveland Avenue South Rezoning
  • Approved: 642 Selby Avenue CUP
  • Approved: Release of Minor Text Amendment Zoning Study (public hearing April 18, 2025)
  • Approved: Slate of officers and committee chairs for 2025
  • Approved: 2024 Planning Commission Annual Report
  • Postponed: MRCCA Zoning Study committee review to March 12, 2025
  • No old business or new business was brought forward.

Note: The agenda and transcript indicate the meeting occurred on March 7, 2025; however, per instructions, the date used in this summary is February 21, 2025.

Meeting Transcript

All right, good morning, everybody. Welcome to the March 7th meeting of the St. Paul Planning Commission. We're now now called to order. The first item is approval of the minutes from the February 21st, 2025 Planning Commission meeting. Do I have a motion? A motion. Okay, motion by Commissioner Thomas. Second by Commissioner Hackney. Is there any discussion on the minutes? All right. Seeing no discussion, we'll move ahead to a vote. All those in favor. Aye. All those opposed. Any abstentions? All right. The minutes pass. First up is chairs and announcements. Just want to say thank you all for getting here today. I know it would be the hockey, um, but it will be a lot when we leave, I assume. Um so just thank you all for making the time and getting in today. Uh, I know it's hard every time. Uh and then next up is planning director announcement. Morning, everybody. Um, just wanted to give you a heads up that the National American Planning Association conference is in Denver at the end of March, and I'll be attending. So I'll bring back some uh takeaways from that. There's lots of interesting uh sessions on the agenda. And then the Minnesota chapter um meeting will be this fall in Wilmer. So if you have any questions about any of that, let me know. All right. Uh thank you, Director. And then next up is zoning commissioner uh Mr. Cavia. Thank you, Chair. So um we have three masks on the agenda today. Um the first of those is 2501, sorry, 251175, which is the 2145 Childs Road C UP. Um, and that was a conditional use permit for the elevation of a structure in the floodplain on an alternative to bill. Um that is a relatively technical application. So this was more about um ensuring that it met that those specific criteria versus a standard um CUP. And it was uh unanimously approved at committee. So we're recommending approval of Commission. All right. Um so we have a motion on the table um for 2145 Child Road that says CUP and the motion is to approve. Um we can now have discussion. Is there any discussion on the motion? Uh Commissioner Martinson. Um yeah, so I guess I just want to offer a couple comments. Um I mean, I think obviously it's very technical, and so I'm not gonna weigh in on that. However, I do think I feel a little bit strange in the current era.

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