08-26-2024 City Council Agenda Packet (2)

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Council Minutes -5- July 8, 2024 Mr. Muhammad said that when he moved to his house 17 years ago, he could close his eyes and make a left turn and go to the main street. Today, he has to stop for over five minutes to make a left turn. Hundreds of new homes have been built and still are being built. He stated that he doesn't have any right to stop it. He stated that he has never been to any City Council meeting, or opposed any project because he owns his house only not the whole city. He said when Madinah Lake is built and occupied most Lino Lakes residents may not even notice any traffic increases, because most people will go towards Lexington/1-35. So, there's going to be hardly any impact as far as the traffic is concerned. He said one of the most important things that no one has mentioned is the is the revenue that's going to come from property taxes to the city. Mr. Muhammad stated that he knows the City Council will pass this moratorium tonight because it is pre -planned. But he urged each Council Member to do some soul searching and do the right thing for the city and not look for their prospects for the next election. Sam Bennett, 6841 Lakeview Drive, Lino Lakes, stated that he wanted to talk about a different subject. He said that he felt like there's not a lot of small businesses, not nearly as many as he would like to see in the area. He believes that a lot of that is the result of the design of the city that we're building. He said obviously factors like Walmart and Amazon did a lot to hurt small businesses. But he feels like decisions that are made in rooms like this all across America are making sure that small businesses can never come back. Mr. Bennett stated that current big business design is not intended for people to actually spend time there. It is a model designed to get what you want and get out. He would much rather see something like the White Bear Lake business development with shops like, Cup and Cone. He said that he wants to see development but he wants to see it done right. He said that we should do a better job of promoting small businesses and in growth along the corridor. Councilmember Stoesz thanked Mr. Bennett for organizing the County Road 49 clean-up. Mr. Bennett said that there is another clean-up being organized, sometime around the third weekend in September. Farooq Rizvi, 1271 1181h Avenue NW, Coon Rapids, stated that every municipality, every county has an obligation to look after the growth. And not only the growth, but make sure the growth is well planned. It is important that the city considers all the infrastructure needs and everything else. But it cannot stop progress. He has seen city after city, including Coon Rapids, Maple Grove, Woodbury, and others that have benefited tremendously from growth. From well planned, well -orchestrated growth that has led to their tremendous increase in strength in their tax base. He said that he understands there have been concerns raised about small businesses, but small businesses don't thrive in a culture where there isn't a good and strong tax base. Mr. Rizvi stated that he supports the Madinah Lakes development for several reasons. Number one, it's not being promoted and, and pushed by a fly by night group who just want to make a fast buck. They will not do anything to harm the Lino Lakes community and its beautiful city and surrounds. He said e likes to think of the City of Lino Lake as a garden. All they are saying is add some more flowers to the garden. And everywhere that there has been growth in a well -planned manner, has resulted in positive growth. It is the way of the future. Mr. Rizvi recommend that the City Council not adopt the moratorium. He stated that he is not saying throw caution to the four winds and just let the development go crazy. This is not a development that is going to go crazy. It's well planned and it is going to be in compliance with all the city regulations