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new school further south due to housing growth in the southern part of our district and the future impact on the student population. Based on all of these factors, the School District felt the best location for the new school was on the northwest corner of Lake Elmo Avenue and 10th Street. Voters were informed of the intent to build in that location, a sign was posted on the parcel, and the referendum passed. At this time, the School District has indicated that they do not have any other locations in Lake Elmo under consideration. It may seem as though this process is taking a long time. The process is being followed as it should with any development within the city to make sure that proper items are addressed between the developer and the city. Process & Role Clarity It is known there are concerns about traffic, the proximity to the Oakdale Gun Club, access to water and sewer, and a potential loss of trees on the corner of Lake Elmo Avenue and 10th Street. It is helpful to understand the responsibilities of the City and also the developer (The District) to provide role clarity. Not only does this help us proceed with intentional conversation, but it also aligns with our obligations to each other and the community. As the project owner, The District is responsible for assessing and mitigating issues related to their development project. This could include factors such as the layout of the building, proximity to the gun range, the up-front and on-going expenses of the project, etc. The city will, in turn, work with the school district through navigating the requirements to re-zone the land, how to comply with city ordinances just as it would be needed in any other municipality. While the City Staff and Council members can share insights about different parcels of land, it is ultimately the district’s decision about how to proceed – as long as the process steps are met. With that, there are a few complicating factors that we will need to work through together. It is important to me as the Mayor of Lake Elmo, to educate our community about the various agencies and processes that we need to comply with. This is challenging, that’s for sure. But it can be done. MUSA - In addition to City Zoning and City Code compliance, we also are governed by the Metro Utility Service Area (MUSA). The MUSA is governed by the MET council. They operate the sewer system for the entire metro area. To have a connection to sanitary sewer, as opposed to a self-contained septic system (Oakland Junior High runs on a septic system), a building needs to be within the MUSA boundary. Lake Elmo’s MUSA boundaries can be found in the 2040 Comprehensive Plan here: https://www.lakeelmo.org/departments/planning___zoning/comprehensive_plan.php#outer-28. Zoning - To build a new school, any parcel of land in consideration would need to be zoned as ‘Institutional.’ Right now, the parcel of land slated for the new elementary school is zoned as agricultural. For a zoning change or a MUSA boundary change, at the City Council level, there needs to be a motion and super majority vote to accomplish the changes at a City Council meeting. This means that the Lake Elmo City Council would need 4 out of 5 members to vote in the affirmative to make a change to the MUSA and/or the zoning designation. Please note the zoning change would be needed for any location that the district would have chosen for an elementary school site. Technical Considerations – If approved, the realities of the site and the complexities are something that the City and School District have been working on finding solutions to and work through. 1 - Roadway improvements to CSAH 17 (Lake Elmo Avenue) and CSAH 10 (10th Street) will need to be made to maintain safe traffic flow. Many schools throughout the country are on busy roadways. In fact, the average daily traffic on Stillwater Blvd, in front of the current school, is currently higher than the average daily traffic on 10th Street. With this potential development, Washington County does not have anything in their Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) for work on the roadways in that area at this time. 2 - Sewer hook-up (MUSA) or a septic solution (outside of MUSA), are not as easy as it may seem on the face of it. The sewer that was installed along Lake Elmo Avenue to serve the MUSA area in the Old Village area is active north of 30th Street and then is a force main to a manhole all the way south to 5th Avenue (south Cimarron). To bring sewer to the NW quadrant of CSAH 10/CSAH 17 about 4000’ of pipe and a lift station would need to be installed. This would be at a cost of about $1.1 Million and would be a developer cost. 3 - I don’t have an answer on how the School District plans on abating the noise from the Oakdale Gun Club. The primary note is to make sure that the development does not negatively affect the gun clubs ability to operate as they have for many years. 4 - The loss of trees has been discussed. From The City’s perspective, the development of that area would need to comply with the ordinances of the City just like any other development. Current State / Looking Ahead As previously mentioned, zoning change and MUSA boundary are the first two items to get determined by the city to make it possible for a public institution use. On Monday 2/12/24, after a lengthy discussion, the