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MEMORANDUM To: Nicole Miller, City Administrator, Lake Elmo From: Paul Aplikowski | PA Date: August 23, 2024 Comm. No: 232224 Subject: Independent School District #834 Submittal to City of Lake Elmo on behalf of Stillwater Area Public Schools, for the proposed New Lake Elmo Elementary School project, located at the intersection of Lake Elmo Avenue North and 10th Street North, Lake Elmo, Minnesota (Property ID #2602921440001) Conditional Use Permit, Preliminary Plat, and Variance Submittal Narrative: On behalf of Stillwater Area Public Schools, we are submitting for City staff review a Conditional Use Permit, Preliminary Plat, and Variance application for the proposed new Lake Elmo Elementary School. Stillwater Area Public Schools is excited to continue to serve elementary-aged students at a larger school within the city of Lake Elmo. The proposed 1,100-student elementary school building would replace the current Lake Elmo Elementary School located at 11030 Stillwater Boulevard, Lake Elmo, Minnesota. The new building is proposed to be a total of 148,700 square feet and will be predominately a two-story structure. The building will staff about 130 employees. The anticipated school day schedule is currently planned to be from 7:45 a.m. – 2:15 p.m. Projected mobilization, ground-breaking, and building construction is planned to commence in Spring of 2025. Construction is expected to be completed by August 2026. Since the initial sketch plat application, the zoning of the parcel has been revised from Agricultural (A) to Public Facilities (PF) and the comprehensive plan has been updated to amend future land use from Rural Area Development (RAD) to Institutional (INST) as well as adjusting the MUSA boundary to include this site. As the subject site to be developed is over the maximum size of 20 acres, we are now requesting a variance to develop the entire 47.6-acre parcel. In reaction to the city and county comments that were received on the initial sketch plat application, the proposed site plan has gone through several iterations. Included in these changes are the addition of trails on the south and east sides of the parcel and moving the bus parking entry further north to comply with the required quarter-mile separation from an intersection. Also, based on the submitted traffic study, the internal vehicle stacking has been increased to keep car queuing off the adjacent roads. As requested, a sound study of the site has been conducted and the site has been found to be in compliance with sound codes. Given the receptor type, the modified MPCA code criterion is that the sound level at the property line (or anywhere on the project) cannot exceed a sound level of 63 dBA when measured over a period of one hour. The loudest hourly sound level that was measured was 55 dBA attributable to gun club activities at the closest measurement location at the property line. As sound decays with distance, the decibel level continues to drop the further the observer gets from the source. Additionally, all locations of all sound sensors were reviewed and approved by city staff prior to the start of sound data collection. Also included in this submittal is the completed traffic study which was previously submitted to the City along with the Oak-Land Middle School submittal currently under review.