OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

St. Paul Planning Commission Meeting - April 23, 2026

Planning Commission — Thursday, April 23, 2026
BodySt Paul, Minnesota
SessionPlanning Commission
DateThursday, April 23, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 29:25

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

All right, I'm gonna call the May 1st meeting of the St.

0:02

Paul Planning Commission meeting.

0:04

St.

0:04

Paul Planning Commission to order.

0:06

The first order of business is roll call.

0:09

Commissioner Grill.

0:10

Here.

0:11

Commissioner Hackney.

0:12

Commissioner Holst.

0:15

Commissioner Johnson Becker.

0:17

Commissioner Martinson.

0:19

Commissioner Presley.

0:21

Here.

0:21

Commissioner Riley?

0:22

Here.

0:23

Commissioner Starling.

0:24

Here.

0:25

Commissioner Tagieff.

0:27

Commissioner Thomas.

0:29

Six present.

0:31

Thank you.

0:32

Next up is approval of the April 3rd, 2026 Planning Commission meeting minutes.

0:37

So minutes moved by Commissioner Martinson.

0:40

Second.

0:41

Seconded by Commissioner Riley.

0:42

Is there any discussion on the motion?

0:45

All right.

0:46

Seeing no discussion, we'll move forward with the vote.

0:48

All those in favor?

0:49

Aye.

0:50

All those post.

0:51

Any abstentions?

0:53

All right, the minutes pass.

0:56

Next up was gonna be the public hearing.

0:58

Um, but one of the staff members is uh running behind, and so we're gonna try to, if everyone is comfortable, switch to new business, the informational presentation on the Highland Bridge Development Udate.

1:15

Chair Commissioners, good morning.

1:17

I'll just get this going here.

1:21

Great.

1:21

I'm glad we have a slides because I have a fun map that like bounces around that I was looking forward to showing you.

1:27

So yay.

1:28

Um good morning, everybody.

1:29

Spencer Miller Johnson on the planning team.

1:32

Um I basically serve as like the planning rep for Highland Bridge from our team, but it's a really big team that's working on this project, obviously.

1:41

And this morning we actually have the main project manager of the Project Tia Anderson over here from Economic Development Division.

1:47

Um, so I didn't ask her beforehand, but I'm sure if you have any questions, she wouldn't mind answering them as well.

1:52

Um I just have a little informational update here.

1:54

I'll go through what's been going on in Highland Bridge.

1:57

We're excited to say that there's actually a reasonable amount happening.

2:00

So good stuff to talk about today.

2:02

Um, and then we can take any questions.

2:06

Um so as a refresher, Highland Bridge is governed by the Ford Site Zoning and Public Role Master Plan.

2:11

It's also governed by the zoning code.

2:13

So together those things work, um work to implement the site and build it out.

2:18

The master plan was originally adopted in September of 2017.

2:21

It's been amended a number of times, but um last time we made an amendment was about three years ago.

2:26

So we've actually got our like kind of longest track record so far of not amending it, which is nice.

2:31

Uh the master plan focuses on a mix of uses and activity, focuses on affordable housing, environmental sustainability, parks, a walkable street grid, and it includes zoning and design standards in it to help kind of build all that out.

2:47

The master plan also um well, the master plan priorities and vision are defined uh more clearly in the development plan.

2:54

And the development plan was put together by the master developer who's Ryan Companies.

2:58

Uh they did this, I think in 2019-2020.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural█████████████████████████████████████37%
Engineering And Infrastructure█████████████████████████████████████37%
Housing█████████████████████21%
Environmental Protection█████5%
Summary of Proceedings

St. Paul Planning Commission Meeting - April 23, 2026

The St. Paul Planning Commission met on April 23, 2026, to receive an informational update on the Highland Bridge development, hold a public hearing on a proposed salt storage ordinance, and discuss site plan review items. The meeting was called to order with six commissioners present.

Note: The raw transcript references a "May 1st meeting" and approval of "April 3rd, 2026 Planning Commission meeting minutes," which conflicts with the assigned meeting date of April 23, 2026. This summary follows the provided date.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of the April 3, 2026 Planning Commission meeting minutes was moved by Commissioner Martinson, seconded by Commissioner Riley, and passed unanimously.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No members of the public testified during the public hearing on the salt storage ordinance.

Discussion Items

  • Highland Bridge Development Update: Spencer Miller Johnson (Planning) and Tia Anderson (Economic Development) presented an update on construction progress. Key points included:
    • Block 2: A four-story mixed-use building with 97 units, three commercial retail buildings, a daycare, and a diagonal pedestrian connection to the civic plaza. Under construction, completion expected in 2026.
    • Block 5: Final phase of the Marvella senior living campus—four stories, 70 units. Received variances from the BZA (one for a pedestrian bridge setback, another for a utility easement—the latter was laid over due to a noticing error).
    • Block 11: Widener Homes plans a six-story, 176-unit mixed-use project (primarily residential) with one commercial space. Conditional site plan approval granted in January; timeline slowed after founder Dean Widener's death in March, but permits are under review.
    • Block 16: Widener Homes is exploring a similar four- to five-story development, still in pre-application.
    • Block 25: MI Homes (St. Louis Park) proposing 12 row homes; site plan and plat applications under review.
  • Commissioners asked about developer ownership (Ryan Companies retains some parcels; Widener owns most remaining undeveloped land east of the central water feature; Marvella owns Block 5; University of St. Thomas purchased the CP Rail spur). The overall unit target has decreased from 3,200 (2017 plan) to about 2,600–2,800 units. Commissioners expressed support for the plan and appreciated the update.
  • Salt Storage Ordinance: Staff introduced the proposed text amendment to regulate salt storage, required by the city's MS4 permit under the Clean Water Act. The language is based on a model from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. Commissioner Martinson asked about the city's current compliance; staff confirmed the city is in compliance with the proposed language. No public testimony was received.

Key Outcomes

  • The Planning Commission voted unanimously to close the public hearing (motion by Commissioner Riley, second by Commissioner Starling).
  • The Commission voted unanimously to recommend adoption of the salt storage ordinance text amendments to the Mayor and City Council (motion by Commissioner Holt, second by Commissioner Martinson).
  • The site plan review committee reported two items: 2450 Child's Road (addition to the incinerator solids management building) and 966 Mississippi River Boulevard South (Highland Bridge row homes, 8th edition). The May 5, 2026 site plan review committee meeting was canceled.
  • Chair announced she would be on vacation from April 23 to May 15; Commissioner Starling will chair the May 15 meeting.

Meeting Transcript

All right, I'm gonna call the May 1st meeting of the St. Paul Planning Commission meeting. St. Paul Planning Commission to order. The first order of business is roll call. Commissioner Grill. Here. Commissioner Hackney. Commissioner Holst. Commissioner Johnson Becker. Commissioner Martinson. Commissioner Presley. Here. Commissioner Riley? Here. Commissioner Starling. Here. Commissioner Tagieff. Commissioner Thomas. Six present. Thank you. Next up is approval of the April 3rd, 2026 Planning Commission meeting minutes. So minutes moved by Commissioner Martinson. Second. Seconded by Commissioner Riley. Is there any discussion on the motion? All right. Seeing no discussion, we'll move forward with the vote. All those in favor? Aye. All those post. Any abstentions? All right, the minutes pass. Next up was gonna be the public hearing. Um, but one of the staff members is uh running behind, and so we're gonna try to, if everyone is comfortable, switch to new business, the informational presentation on the Highland Bridge Development Udate. Chair Commissioners, good morning. I'll just get this going here. Great. I'm glad we have a slides because I have a fun map that like bounces around that I was looking forward to showing you. So yay. Um good morning, everybody. Spencer Miller Johnson on the planning team. Um I basically serve as like the planning rep for Highland Bridge from our team, but it's a really big team that's working on this project, obviously. And this morning we actually have the main project manager of the Project Tia Anderson over here from Economic Development Division. Um, so I didn't ask her beforehand, but I'm sure if you have any questions, she wouldn't mind answering them as well. Um I just have a little informational update here. I'll go through what's been going on in Highland Bridge. We're excited to say that there's actually a reasonable amount happening. So good stuff to talk about today. Um, and then we can take any questions.

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