HomeMy WebLinkAboutJuly 22, 2026 City Council Workshop Meeting MinutesC.
CITY OF FALCON HEIGHTS
City Council Workshop
City Hall
2077 West Larpenteur Avenue
MINUTES
July 22,2026
6:00 P.M.
A. CALL TO ORDER: 6:00 P.M.
Gustafson called to order
B. ROLLCALL:GUSTAFSON-X- MAY_X-
MIELKF,_X- MOGEN -X- WASSENBERG-X-
STAFF PRESENT: LINEHAN X
POLICY ITEMS:
1. Visioning Exercise for Future Redevelopment of 1,407 Larpenteur Avenue West (Get
Pressed) (6:00 P.M.)
Linehan introduced the item and Kristin Prososki of the Technical Assistance to Brownfields
(TAB) program through Kansas State University, noting that TAB had been engaged to provide
pro bono professional assistance, funded through the EPA, to help the city guide the future land
use of the recently acquired property at'1"407 Larpenteur Avenue West, formerly known as Get
Pressed.
Prososki provided an overview of the TAB program, explaining that itis a nationally funded
EPA initiative offering free, customized services to municipalities and tribes navigating
brownfield redevelopment challenges. Kansas State University serves as the TAB provider for
EPA Regions 5 through 8, covering 21 states including Minnesota. Services include strategic
plaruring, reuse visioning, community outreach supporf economic feasibility analysis, and
assistance with grant applications.
Prososki outlined the environmental due diligence completed on the site, commending the city
for taking a proactive approach that is less common among municipalities. Phase I and Phase II
Environmental Site Assessments were completed through the MPCA's Targeted Brownfield
Assessment Grant program in2024, confirming the presence of contaminants including PCE
and TCE from prior dry-cleaning operations, as well as lead, gasoline range organics (GRO),
and diesel range organics (DRO) associated with the site's former use as a gas station.
Approximately 945 cubic yards of contaminated material would require excavation from two
identified hotspot areas. A sealed underground fuel tank also remains on site and would need
to be removed. Asbestos was found in limited locations within the existing building, including
floor tiles and window caulking.
Linehan noted that the prior Response Action Plan (RAP) was developed in the context of a
proposal for 10 to 12 market-rate townhomes, at an estimated remediation cost of
o
approximately $370,000. He clarified that any new or different proposal would necessitate a
new use-specific RAP and updated cost estimate. Prososki confirmed that vapor mitigation
systems would likely be required regardless of the future use, given the site's history as a dry
cleaner.
Prososki identified several cleanup grant programs available to the city: the Minnesota
Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) Contamination Cleanup and
Investigation Grants, the Met Council Livable Communities Environmental Site Investigation
and Cleanup program, and the Ramsey County Environmental Response Fund. She noted that
grant applications are most competitive once a developer is identified and a project is ready to
proceed, with grant rounds occurring every six months. Wassenberg asked whether grants were
available for a public use such as a park, given that DEED funding is heavily weighted toward
economic development outcomes. Prososki acknowledged that DEED grants would be difficult
to obtain for a park use, but indicated that Met Council and Ramsey County programs may
offer more flexibility.
Council discussion centered on three broad categories of potential reuse: commercial, housing,
and a public pocket park. The council engaged in substantive debate about the merits and
feasibility of each.
Mielke raised the possibility of a pocket park, noting that the northeast quadrant of the city has
no public park and that the school playground in the area is inaccessible to the general public
during school hours. She acknowledged the site's location on a busy street would require
careful planning to ensure safety.
May expressed strong support for either a park or affordable housing, noting the city's ongoing
need for affordable housing as naturally occurring affordable rental units along the Larpenteur
corridor are lost over time. She indicated less enthusiasm for commercial redevelopment citing
concems about traffic impacts on neighboring Albert Street residents and the mixed track
record of isolated commercial uses along Larpenteur. She suggested the possibility of releasing
a broadly framed RFP open to both commercial and housing proposals, allowing the market to
determine the best fit.
Mogen raised fiscal concerns, cautioning the council that the property had already required
significant city investrnent and that combining cleanup costs, acquisition costs, and an
affordability objective would be extremely difficult to achieve simultaneously. He argued
strongly that the site's existing 8-L commercial zoning, its long history as a commercial
property, and its high traffic exposure on a corridor seeing approximately 25,000 vehicles per
day made a commercial use the most financially and strategically sound path forward. He
emphasized that the city has long recognized the need to diversify its tax base beyond
residential uses, and that dismissing the commercial potential of this site would be inconsistent
with that planning goal.
Wassenberg noted the absence of affordable ownership housing in Falcon Heights as a
legitimate gap, but agreed with Mogen that the financial assumptions required to achieve
affordable housing on a contaminated site would need to be carefully examined. He agreed that
the city should decide between the three broad use categories-park, housing, or commercial-
before releasing an RFP, in order to attract serious proposals.
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Prososki advised the council that if they wished to include housing as an option in an RFP, they
would need to be transparent with prospective developers about the willingness to pursue
rezoning from the current B-1 designation, as housing is not currently a permitted use. She also
cautioned that an overly open-ended RFP could introduce uncertainty that discourages
developer investrnent in preparing proposals. She recommended the council decide whether the
city intends to retain the property for a public use or dispose of it through the RFP process
before moving forward, as these represent distinct paths.
The council reached consensus that additional discussion was needed before proceeding to
community engagement or an RFP. Linehan proposed scheduling a follow-up workshop to
allow the council to continue narrowing down the preferred use and to obtain broad economic
scenarios for each option-park, housing, and commercial-to inform that deliberation.
Council members agreed. Mielke indicated she was not prepared to take the park option off the
table, while the broader discussion reflected a desire to understand the relative financial and
community implications of each path before committing to a direction.
The Mayor thanked Prososki for her presentation and acknowledged TAB's continued
involvement going forward.
D. ADIOURNMENT: 7:01P.M.
DISCLAIMER: Gty Council Workshops are held monthly 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 znorkshop should send them to mail@falconheights.org prior to the
meeting. Alternatiuel!, time is regularly allottedfor public comment during Regular City Council
Meetings (typtcally 2nd and 4thWednesdays) during the Community Forum.
Dated this 12th day of August, 2026
Randall C Mayor
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Jack City Administrator