St. Paul Planning Commission Meeting - August 22, 2025 (Note: Agenda indicates September 5, 2025) ## Summary The meeting covered approval of prior minutes, a rezoning item laid over for further review, and two major zoning studies: the Congregate Living Zoning Study and the Traditional Neighborhood District (T) Zoning Study. ### Approval of Minutes - The minutes from the August 22, 2025 meeting were approved by a voice vote with no discussion. ### Chair’s Announcements - Chair announced she will be absent for the next meeting and will arrange coverage. ### Planning Director’s Announcements - Director Newton’s last day with PED was noted; Melanie McNann will serve as interim director. ### Zoning Committee: 1059 Maryland Rezoning - **Item**: Rezone 1059 Maryland Ave from B2 (community business) to T2 (traditional neighborhood). The HRA applied to market the vacant property for development. - **Committee Recommendation**: Approval 5-0. - **Discussion**: Commissioner Riley challenged the staff report’s characterization of surrounding zoning, noting that adjacent parcels are primarily residential (single-family), not commercial. He expressed a preference for H2 zoning to allow more multi-family housing, given weak commercial demand in the area. Commissioner Ortega moved to lay the item over for two weeks to allow staff to correct the findings. The motion passed without objection. - **Outcome**: Item laid over for two weeks for revised findings. ### Comprehensive and Neighborhood Planning Committee: Congregate Living Zoning Study - **Presentation**: Bill Dermody presented draft code amendments addressing sober houses, supportive housing, shelters, minimum separation distances, and the reasonable accommodations process. Issues identified include: state law changes (recovery residences), funding shifts affecting classification, and concerns about large unsupervised sober houses (up to 40 residents). - **Proposed Amendments**: - Reduce minimum separation distances from 1,320 ft to 600 ft (or 300 ft with an arterial street) for supportive housing and similar facilities. - Amend reasonable accommodations process from automatic approval to a registration system aligned with federal law. - Cap sober house residents at 10 in all districts. - Delete automatic approval language and require individual evaluations. - **Discussion**: Commissioners discussed the definition of “arterial,” the appropriateness of separation distances, and conditional use permit requirements for battered person shelters. Commissioner Riley raised concerns about requiring conditional use permits for protected populations and suggested tying thresholds to family definitions. Commissioner Holst noted opportunities for language updates (e.g., outdated references to “mental retardation”). - **Outcome**: Motion to release draft amendments for public review and set a public hearing for October 17, 2025 passed. ### Comprehensive and Neighborhood Planning Committee: Traditional Neighborhood District (T) Zoning Study - **Presentation**: Spencer Miller-Johnson reported on the public hearing held in July 2025. 510 testimonies were received (46 written, 5 verbal); all but one supported the study. Key themes: support for the study, interest in rezoning more land to T, and calls to combine T1 and T2 districts. Staff did not recommend combining T1 and T2 but proposed four tweaks: update intent statements, exempt civic institutional uses from building facade continuity standards, update building materials list, and remove obsolete term “cabaret.” - **Discussion**: Commissioner Riley opposed exempting civic institutional uses, arguing that variances already exist for such cases and that the exemption undermines design standards. Commissioner Ortega noted that some testimony was conditional on affordability, which the city cannot guarantee. Staff clarified that the density bonus for affordable housing is tied to 60% AMI to avoid entering subsidy territory. - **Outcome**: Motion to recommend adoption of the text amendments to the City Council passed. ### Transportation Committee - No meeting held. Next meeting scheduled for September 15, 2025. The committee is seeking new members. ### Key Outcomes - Minutes approved. - 1059 Maryland rezoning laid over for two weeks. - Congregate Living Zoning Study: draft released for public review; public hearing set for October 17, 2025. - Traditional Neighborhood District Zoning Study: recommended to City Council for adoption.