St. Paul Planning Commission Meeting - April 18, 2025
St. Paul Planning Commission Meeting - April 18, 2025
Note: The agenda and transcript clearly indicate this meeting occurred on May 2, 2025, but the provided instruction states to use the date April 18, 2025. This summary follows the instruction, with the discrepancy noted.
The St. Paul Planning Commission convened to approve previous minutes, consider three zoning items, and hold a public hearing on the Mississippi River Corridor Critical Area (MRCCA) zoning study. All zoning items were approved, and the MRCCA public hearing was closed with the record held open for additional written testimony.
Approval of Minutes
- The minutes from the April 18, 2025 meeting were approved unanimously with a motion from Commissioner Sayed and a second from Commissioner Holtz. No discussion.
Zoning Committee Items
- 25-019-991 Impound Lot Building CUP – Conditional use permit for a prefabricated office building on piers at 810 Barge Channel Road (flood fringe). Staff reported no opposition or letters. The committee recommended approval subject to four conditions. The commission approved by roll call (all ayes).
- 25-023-207 841-857 Grand Avenue CUP – Conditional use permit to allow a height of 74 feet (55 ft allowed) for a six-story mixed-use building (87 dwelling units, 12,000+ sq ft commercial). The committee recommended approval. Four letters in opposition, five in support, one verbal testifier in opposition, and the Summit Hill Association (SHA) voted in support. Commission approved (Commissioner Ortega abstained).
- 25-015-397 560 Randolph Avenue FCC Site Plan Review – Site plan for a public works yard with compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling, truck storage, and parking. Referred proactively due to anticipated appeal. Staff recommended approval with two conditions. Zoning committee recommended approval after hearing 11 speakers in opposition and receiving multiple letters (including from Fort Road Federation). Questions arose about the refueling infrastructure and the scope of review; the city attorney reminded the commission to focus on site plan consistency with findings. Commission approved by roll call.
Public Hearing: Mississippi River Corridor Critical Area (MRCCA) Zoning Study
- The public hearing was opened for the MRCCA zoning study. Speakers were limited to three minutes. Over a dozen individuals testified, with the record noting that some submitted letters were not included in the meeting packet (Friends of the Mississippi River, West 7th/Fort Road Federation).
- Speakers in support of staff recommendations:
- John Perlich (St. Paul Area Chamber) urged support for the draft, arguing it balances economic vitality and housing needs.
- Joe Spencer (St. Paul Downtown Alliance) encouraged approval, noting downtown challenges and the need for investment.
- Catherine Sarnaky (St. Paul Port Authority) supported the draft, emphasizing the working river and economic balance.
- Speakers in opposition or seeking stronger protections:
- Ann Lau (412 Hamlin Ave S) supported adding bird-friendly building standards (fritted glass, lighting) for the Mississippi River flyway.
- Whitney Clark (Friends of the Mississippi River) stated the draft is “significantly less effective” than the 2023 version; urged inclusion of DNR-recommended language on variances/CUPs, numeric tiering standards, and bird-safe glass.
- Monica Beerma (225 9th St E) supported stronger riverfront protections.
- Meg Doer (West 7th Fort Road Federation) opposed reduced setbacks, height requirements, and removal of bird-safe provisions; noted the river corridor is a unique asset.
- Cheryl Benson (1201 Edgecombe Rd), a birder and kayaker, valued river access and urged bird-friendly standards.
- Wendy Newar (St. Paul resident, former city employee) criticized the three-year delay and “watered down” language; asked to revert to the 2023 draft and impose a moratorium on certain developments.
- Kiki San (1758 Hewitt Ave, St. Paul Bird Alliance) provided migration data and urged bird-safe glass, pollinator-friendly landscaping, and slope protections.
- Tom Diamond (2119 Skyway Dr) listed specific protections removed from the code (e.g., fill restrictions, prohibitions on solid waste disposal, slopes over 12%, alterations diminishing wildlife habitat).
- Tom Klein (812 Cherokee Ave) shared a family story about passenger pigeons and urged passage of bird-friendly ordinances.
- Adele Binning (812 Cherokee Ave) invited commissioners to see the birds and urged reinstatement of 2023 bird-friendly provisions.
- Former Councilmember Jane Prince (through speaker Joseph Collins) and Alan Torsenson (detailed zoning expert) provided technical critique. Torsenson stated tiering language was vague and missing from the correct section; recommended alignment with DNR model ordinance and Minneapolis practices.
- Kathy Glover (St. Paul resident) spoke about the mental health benefits of birds and easy development not always being good; played a bird call.
- Joseph Collins (534 West Orange) endorsed the expertise of Jane Prince and Alan Torsenson.
Discussion on MRCCA
- Commissioner Riley noted the compromise is insufficient, citing the rent stabilization ordinance’s unintended throttling of development and the need for clear code.
- Commissioner Hackney highlighted the urgency of bird-safe glass, referencing a 2025 report of 1 billion bird deaths per year.
- Staff (Tony Johnson) explained bird-safe glass is not part of DNR requirements and recommended a separate study on cost, geography, and design; moving MRCCA forward without it to avoid state adoption without bird provisions.
- Chair noted the process: public hearing closed, record open until May 5, then referred to Comprehensive and Neighborhood Planning Committee (CNPC), then full commission, then to Mayor and City Council with additional public hearing.
Key Outcomes
- Approved: Impound Lot Building CUP (unanimous).
- Approved: 841-857 Grand Avenue CUP (Commissioner Ortega abstained).
- Approved: 560 Randolph Avenue Site Plan (unanimous).
- Public Hearing Closed: MRCCA Zoning Study – The commission voted unanimously to close the hearing and hold the record open until 4:30 p.m. on Monday, May 5, 2025 (motion by Commissioner Holtz, second by Commissioner Kadar). The item will proceed through CNPC, full commission, and then to Mayor and City Council.
Reports
- Transportation Committee: Heard updates on shared micro-mobility and downtown streets/sidewalk plan; May 5 meeting canceled.
- Communications-Nomination Committee: No update.
- No task force or liaison reports.
Adjournment
- The meeting adjourned after all business.
Meeting Transcript
All right, everyone. The May 2nd meeting of the St. Paul Planning Commission will now come to order. Our first order of business is approval of the minutes from April 18th, 2025. Do I have a motion on the minutes? I'll move. Okay, motion from Commissioner Sayed. Do I have a second? Second. Seconded from Commissioner Holtz. Is there any discussion on the minutes? Seeing no discussion, we'll move forward with a vote. All those in favor? Aye. All those opposed? Any abstentions? All right, the minutes pass. Next up are chairs announcements and planning director announcements. We have no real announcements today. Just to note that we're in a new meeting room today, obviously. Um, and everyone, you have mics in front of you. So there's a switch. Um, if you're wrestling papers doing lots of things like that, it will just get picked up in the mics in a way you're not used to in the other room. So just a quick note on that. Um announcements, so we're gonna move pretty quickly um onward to zoning committee. So zoning committee had three items ahead of us. The first one is 2501991 impound lot building C U P. Um, I believe we have staff member Bill Germany here to give a quick briefing. Morning, Chair Grill, Commissioners. Um here for Josh Williams, who was not able to make it this morning. Just want to report what uh happened with this case at zoning committee. Um this is uh 810 barge channel road is in the flood fringe, it's on the west side near the airport. Um the impound lots there already. They'd like to put in a small prefabricated office building on piers and to build really anything, and the flood fringe requires a conditional use permit. So this is uh uh one that um we we've seen these flood fringe cases before, they're highly technical, uh but usually not an issue, and this was another one of those cases. All of the findings were met and the estimation of the zoning committee. Uh nobody spoke and we had no letters, did not hear from the district council. So the zoning committee uh agreed with the staff recommendation to approve this conditional use permit subject to four boiling plate conditions. All right, uh thank you, Bill. Any questions for Bill? All right, so we have a motion coming out of committee. Um so the motion was for uh approval and the recommendation was for approval with those conditions. Um so we'll move forward because we have the motion. Um is there any discussion on this particular item? All right. Uh seeing no discussion, um, we can move forward with a vote. And we're gonna do a roll call for these items. Commissioner Hackney. Yay. Commissioner Holtz.
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