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HomeMy WebLinkAboutJuly 22, 2026 City Council Special Workshop Meeting MinutesC CITY OF FALCON HEIGHTS City Council Special Workshop City Hall 207 7 W est Larpenteur Avenue AGENDA July 22,2026 7:30 P.M. A. CALL TO ORDER: 8:06 P.M. Gustafson called to order B. ROLLCALL:GUSTAFSON-X- MAY-X- MIELKE-X- MOGEN -X- WASSENBERG_X- STAFF PRESENT: LINEHAN POLICY ITEMS: 1,. Discussion and Recap of Joint City Council / Community Advisory Committee Special Workshop Meeting on the Les Bolstad Golf Course Preliminary Plans from Rachel Development Administrator Linehan introduced the item, noting that the joint workshop held the previous week with the Community Advisory Committee (CAC) was well-attended and gave the Council its first opportunity to view Rachel Development's preliminary plans submitted as part of their RFP to the University of Minnesota. Since that meeting, staff had published an update to the city website and newsletter, including the plans and relevant documents. Draft minutes from both the CAC's regular meeting and the joint workshop were included in the packet with the caveat that they had not yet been formally reviewed. Linehan noted that the CAC's next meeting was scheduled for August 19, at which point the committee would focus on developing a community engagement plan. Staff was also continuing to meet with Rachel to work toward aligning timelines, and initial outreach to technical partrers - including the school district, watershed districts, and county - was underway. The Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) was expected to begin meeting around October. Council members were invited to share their reactions to Rachel's preliminary presentation. Council Member Mogen opened discussion by suggesting that Council first acknowledge the positives of the plan, before focusing on the negatives. Council Member May opened by acknowledging that Rachel had made a genuine effort to respond to the city's visioning statement and that the plan was helpful in visualizing their thinking, particularly the breakdown of housing types across different areas of the 17 site. She appreciated that Rachel characterized the submission as preliminary and not final. Her primary concerns were the insufficiency of real, usable green space; the need for much stronger attention to walkability and bikeability both within and outside the developmenU and what she described as a dismissive tone regarding tree preservation. She emphasized that the site's old-growth oak trees - some estimated at200 years old - cannot be replaced within any realistic timeframe and must be treated with both respect and creativity. She also expressed concem about the absence of any affordable housing component in the plan, while acknowledging that extemal processes and funding mechanisms could potentially bring that in. Council Member Wassenberg noted appreciation for the density of the single-family homes - with narrow frontage lots well under 10,000 square feet - and the general connectivity framework, including the trail and sidewalk network. He identified opportunities for improvemenf including better physical connection to Cleveland Avenue, a closer look at energy efficiency and forwardJooking heating and cooling technologies (citing the upcoming geothermal development nearby as a model) , and a lack of sufficient information about stormwater and drainage management. He echoed the importance of creative thinking on green space. Mayor Gustafson offered a generally positive initial read, noting the plan was a good starting point with many details still to be worked out. He acknowledged that questions around trees and water flow could not be fully answered until a nafural resource inventory was completed. He recalled earlier planning exercises for this site dating back years and characterized the current proposal as fitting within a reasonable directiory while noting it would require significant refinement and time. Council Member Mielke (speaking as a council member) echoed the call for sustainability, specifically citing the geothermal approach being used in a nearby Heights development as something Rachel and Pulte should seriously evaluate. She also raised concerns about tree preservatiory the absence of a dedicated park in the plan, the use of tree islands in parking lots (which she noted rarely succeed), and the pricing and design character of the proposed homes, expressing a preference for housing that would attract residents drawn to walkability and urban amenity rather than an exurban aesthetic. She stated interest in a market study to evaluate whether senior care facilities were realistically viable given current staffing challenges. Council Member Mogen expressed appreciation for the density approach and the general grid connectivity, but raised significant concems about the concenhation of land uses in large, segregated blocks - all apartrnents in one corner, all single-family in another - rather than a more integrated mix. He was particularly troubled by how Rachel had addressed the Met Council's 14-units-per-acre density requirement: by removing commercial uses rather than converting lower-density residential to higher density, which he felt signaled an uphill battle for achieving the diverse land use mix the city sought. He strongly advocated for more commercial and light industrial uses on the site, emphasizingFalcon Heights's longstanding need to diversify its tax base beyond residential. He challenged the framing of the proposal as a "good start" needing tweaks, arguing instead that the Council needed a mechanism to proactively put forward its own master plan vision - working with Rachel rather than simply reacting to their 18 submission. He suggested this would likely require additional budget for Bolton & Menk to develop alternative concept plans for the Council to work from. The Council broadly agreed on the need for Bolton & Menk consultant Andrew Dresdner to attend a future workshop to discuss the alternative planning process and how the city could take a more proactive, proposal-driven role in shaping the final development plan. Administrator Linehan confirmed he would coordinate that meeting. Discussion also touched on the question of a potential connection to Cleveland Avenue, with council members noting the presence of University of Minnesota agriculfural land as a complicating factor, and the need for the county's involvement in any curb cut decisions. Council Member May raised the question of whether Ehlers Financial could provide market and economic analysis to help evaluate the viability and fiscal impacts of different development scenarios. Linehan confirmed that Ehlers had been consulted on whether they could offer pro forma and tax impact modeling, and a follow-up meeting was planned. He noted, however, that assessing market viability for specific product types would likely require a separate third-party market study. Council Member Mogen clarified the distinction: Ehlers would help analyze costs and revenues associated with a given proposal, while the city also needed a way to independently propose and test viable alternative scenarios - something Bolton & Menk would need to support. The Council affirmed consensus that the CAC process should continue and be respected, while also establishing a parallel mechanism for the Council itself to develop and advance altemative planning concepts in coordination with staff and consultants. Council members expressed interest in a future joint session with the CAC once the alternative concept work had progressed. D. ADJOURNMENT: 8:47 P.M. Mielke motioned to adjourn the meeting; Approved 5-0 DISCLAIMER: City CouncilWorkshops areheldmonthly as an opportunity for Council Members to discuss policy topics in greater detail pior to a formal meeting where a public hearing may be held and/or action may be taken. Members of the public thnt would like to make a comment or ask questions about an item on the agenda for an upcoming workshop should send them to mail@falconheights.org prior to the meeting. Alternatiaely, time is regularly allotted for public comment during Regular A$ Council Meetings (typically 2nd and thWednesdays) during the Community Forum. 19 Dated this 12tt day of Augrst,2026 Randall Mayor City AdministratorJ 20