09-12-2018 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES CITY COUNCIL SEPTEMBER 12, 2018 PRESENTATION Keis stated that the City is receiving a donation from the Little Canada Recreation Association for the improvements at Gilbertson Field. Jon Joriman, President of the Little Canada Recreation Association, announced that the LCRA will be 60 years old and they were established to support the youth in Little Canada and .they help pay down the costs for Little Canada youth to participate in sports and activities, along with special events, such as helping pay for city park improvements. He explained that they have worked with the City Staff to determine improvements needed at Gilbertson Field. He stated that they are donating $51,408.60 for a new pitching mound, new fencing, improve grading on the field and new concrete, bleachers and players benches. Keis thanked the LCRA for everything they have done for the City for many years. PUBLIC HEARING — Keis re -opened the public hearing from August 22, 2018 to hear the request TEXT AMENDMENT for a text amendment and Planned Unit Development amendment for 2925 & PLANNED UNIT Country Drive. He stated that the issue tonight is not whether the school is DEVELOPMENT good, it is more whether a school is a good fit in this location and whether AMENDMENT FOR Country Drive can handle this traffic. 2925 COUNTRY DRIVE; APPLICANT: AFSA BUILDING COMPANY The Associate Planner reported that the Academy for Sciences & Agriculture (AFSA) is requesting a Planned Unit Development Amendment at 2925 County Drive that would allow for a charter school to be a permitted use within this district. She noted that the property to the north and south are commercial and to the west is residential. She explained that this building was constructed for commercial office use and schools are not a permitted use under the property's current Planned Unit Development (PUD) zoning classification. She stated that schools are only permitted uses in the Public District. She reported that the applicants are requesting a text amendment to the PUD District to either allow charter schools as a permitted use or by special PUD District designation that would be specific to this parcel. The Associate Planner explained that AFSA plans to use the building mostly as -is, with minor modifications to the parking lot to accommodate traffic and bus flow and add an outside play area, along with interior remodeling. She explained that AFSA is currently operating out of two locations, and both are at maximum capacity. They own a location in Vadnais Heights which is used for grades 7-12, and they are renting temporary space at a church in Maplewood for grades 5-6. The Associate Planner stated that AFSA was approved for expansion and will be adding grades PreK-4 and this has caused the school to look for alternate locations. She reported that 2