St. Paul Planning Commission Special Meeting Summary - September 26, 2025
St. Paul Planning Commission Special Meeting - September 26, 2025
The St. Paul Planning Commission held a special meeting on September 26, 2025, to consider two conditional use permit (CUP) applications. The first involved an outdoor trade school at 0 Empire Drive, and the second concerned a rental hall event center at 1003 Arcade Street. Both items came to the full commission with recommendations from the Zoning Committee.
Public Comments & Testimony
- 0 Empire Drive CUP: Three people spoke in support of the outdoor trade school. One nearby property owner spoke in opposition, expressing concerns about not receiving the public hearing notice and about potential dust and other negative effects from the site. The zoning secretary verified that a notice had been sent.
- 1003 Arcade CUP: No public comments or testimony were submitted or given at the committee or full commission hearing.
Discussion Items
- 0 Empire Drive CUP (Outdoor Trade School): The application by St. Paul Public Schools proposes a heavy machinery sandbox training facility for high school students on a parcel (I2 zoning) acquired from the Port Authority. A conditional use permit is required for trade schools in I2. Commissioners discussed potential noise impacts on a nearby plaza, noting that noise limits are higher in industrial districts and that compliance with the noise ordinance is mandatory. Questions were raised about the heights of a proposed berm and fencing, which were not specified in the preliminary site plan. Staff clarified that the berm is primarily for stormwater and that the site plan review process (required for outdoor storage) will address such details before a building permit is issued. Commissioners also discussed parking for students; staff noted that students are expected to be bused from their schools, and the adjacent Local 49 union hall has offered use of its large parking lot.
- 1003 Arcade CUP (Rental Hall Event Center): The applicant plans to host events such as weddings, cultural events, and business meetings at a former church building. Conditions attached by staff include submission of a transportation management plan for events over 100 people and a site plan showing 20 parking spaces. Commissioner Riley voiced strong opposition, arguing that the proposal does not meet comprehensive plan goals, would create congestion on Arcade Street (a busy corridor with a bus route and limited on-street parking), and conflicts with the potential for housing development on adjacent HRA‑owned land. Commissioner Riley also noted the site is constrained by the HRA parcel and a middle school. Commissioner Martinson questioned the staff report’s reference to the Arcade Street Small Area Plan, stating the site falls outside the identified development nodes. Commissioner Hood supported approval, emphasizing that the event center would add vitality and that the HRA lot to the north could still be developed for housing. The initial motion for approval (from committee) failed on a voice vote (three in favor, more than three opposed). A subsequent motion to lay the item over to the next regular meeting was made by Commissioner Riley, seconded by Commissioner Hackney, and passed with a majority in favor; Commissioners Presley, Hood, Starling, and Syed opposed.
Key Outcomes
- 0 Empire Drive CUP (Item 1): Approved unanimously. The motion from the Zoning Committee passed with no opposition or abstentions. The outdoor trade school will proceed, subject to site plan review (required before a building permit is issued).
- 1003 Arcade CUP (Item 2): Laid over to the next regular meeting on October 17, 2025, at 8:30 a.m. The commission requested staff to provide additional information on the history of the parcel and to correct the record regarding the cited small area plan strategy.
Meeting Transcript
The uh October 9th meeting of the St. Paul Planning Commission will now come to order. Um our special meeting. Uh so we have two zoning cases on our agenda today. The first one is zero empire drive, CUP and our planning staff, uh Chris Hong will provide a brief report. Hello. Um for those of you who are not in attendance. Um the zoning application is for um St. Paul Public Schools, which is um we see a parcel from the port authority to construct a proposed heavy machinery sandbox training facility, and it will provide heavy equipment training for high school students. Um and uh a CUP is required for trade schools in the I2 zoning district. Um we did not receive any written testimony, but at the public hearing we had three people speak in support, and um one speaker four people speak in um in support and one in opposition. All right, uh thanks, Chris. Uh so the motion at a committee was for approval. Um and we have the motion already coming out of committee, so we can move forward um to discussion. All right, Christian. Um just wondering what was the uh what was the comment? What was the opposition? Um the opposition was from a uh nearby property owner. They said that they did not receive the public hearing notice, and they were concerned about um uh dust and some various other um um negative effects from the um from the site. And um the zoning secretary was able to verify that we did send a public hearing notice. That was the comment I heard. And um there will be a site plan review process which is required um of them to assure that there won't be issues with dust. Any other questions or items for discussion? Uh so the site plan review process that the outdoor school contingent upon that being completed. Um, process before they can start. Yes. It it's required in order to obtain a building permit. Okay. And and that's it's not required for um all construction, but it is for um this because they are including outdoor storage. Because there's quite a rush to get the school started, right? Right. So that it still needs to wait for that process to conclude. Correct. I think um, yes, that that is correct. One one comment, and this wasn't enough to kind of displace my my opinion on this, but um there was a sense that the noise could potentially be disrupted to where to that plaza they've just constructed outside, you know, it would get to the to the criterion of disrupting the normal and orderly use and development of the surrounding property criterion potentially. So it sounds like that kind of condition about noise and impact on plausible usage, wherever that plaza is, is something that could be potentially addressed during site plan. It could. Um however, they do need to you know comply with the the noise ordinance and the noise um limit is higher in industrial uh districts. Um, but but that is required regardless of site plan review. Thank you, Trigo. Yeah, on that comment. One, this was really reading this application was the first I heard of this. I thought this was a great effort by the operating engineers and SPPS, and this is a really cool creative thing. This parcel is right by that uh the Rice Street Bridge in an I2 zone. So really, if you want to think about it, this is actually a low intensive use for I2. So if we say no to this, I mean, you know, you could there are a lot of things that you could do on I2 that would be significantly more disruptive to the plaza of the MTIC or that organization. So that would be my comment. Yeah, sure. So relative to these questions, I see on the diagram we have a berm that's identified and we have fencing that's identified. I don't see heights of those at all.
openpublica.com