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STAFF REPORT <br />DATE: 5/21/24 <br />REGULAR <br />Motion <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />TO: Lake Elmo City Council <br />FROM: Nathan Fuerst, AICP, Consulting Planner <br />AGENDA ITEM: Bridgewater Village Final Plat and Bridgewater Bank Zoning Text <br />Amendment <br />REVIEWED BY: Jason Stopa, Community Development Director <br /> Clark Schroeder, City Administrator <br /> <br /> <br />BACKGROUND: <br />Bridgewater Bancshares, Inc. (Applicant/Property Owner), represented by North Shore <br />Development, has requested Final Plat approval for the Bridgewater Village development. A <br />Zoning Text Amendment is requested to reduce the overall number of parking stalls associated <br />with a financial institution. The development contains four commercial lots and four outlots. Two <br />outlots, Outlots E and D are planned for medium density residential use when developed in the <br />future. <br /> <br />On January 2, 2024 the City Council voted to approve the comprehensive plan amendment, <br />rezoning, and conditional use permit requests. <br /> <br />On February 6, 2024 the City Council voted to approve the preliminary plat. No requests for <br />flexibility to City standards were approved with the preliminary plans. <br /> <br />After the preliminary plat approval, the Applicant contacted the City with a request to build fewer <br />parking stalls than are currently required for a financial institution. The rationale for the request is <br />that modern banks need fewer stalls to fully park the use. Staff have suggested a zoning text <br />amendment to allow review of the parking requirement for existing or new banks in the City. <br /> <br />Of the four lots to be platted at this time, two lots are proposed with Office buildings, one a Bank <br />(Bridgewater Bank), and one a retail building. The approved conditional use permit is for the bank <br />property to contain a drive through serving the bank use. The Comprehensive Plan Amendment <br />and Rezoning were approved by the City to ensure the development complies with the City’s <br />adopted plans and policies. <br /> <br />ISSUE BEFORE THE COUNCIL: <br /> <br />The City Council should review and act on the Final Plat and Zoning Text Amendment requests.