10-21-25 City Council Meeting Packet

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Location: 2298 Inwood Avenue N, Lake Elmo (PID#: 2102921320001) Request: Comprehensive Plan Amendment Deadline: Application Complete – 6/27/2025 120 Day Deadline – 10/25/25 90 Day Extension Requested by Applicant – 1/23/2026 REVIEW AND ANALYSIS: Background The City’s Planning Commission reviewed and recommended approval of the Highpointe Crossing Preliminary Plat and Open Space Planned Unit Development (OP PUD) in July 2024. The City Council approved the Highpointe Crossing Preliminary Plat and OP PUD in September of 2024. Since that time, Rachel Development (the “Applicant”) found that the community septic system proposed for the Highpointe Crossing project cannot meet criteria established for such systems by the State of Minnesota. The primary issue is the soils present on site. After reevaluating the available options to continue with this development, the Applicant discussed the possibility of bringing public sewer forward to serve the property, and the Council found that option to be a preferred alternative to large lots with individual septic systems. In order to serve this property with public sewer, the City must amend its comprehensive plan to add this property to the MUSA (Metropolitan Urban Service Area). In consideration of how to best fit this project into the City’s Future Land Use guidance, and at the City Council’s direction, staff recommended that a new Future Land Use category be created to support this type of development. The Applicant produced an amendment request accordingly. The proposed amendments have implications beyond just this one project. If approved, the new future land use category may be used elsewhere in the City where found appropriate. If the Comprehensive Plan Amendments requested by the Applicant are approved, the Highpointe Crossing development could be constructed in a manner largely consistent with how it was originally approved. Evaluation of the Comprehensive Plan Amendment For a detailed analysis of the Comprehensive Plan Amendment proposed, staff suggest review of the Staff Report produced for the Planning Commission’s regular meeting on July 28. A web link can be found here, or a copy of the report can be provided by staff. No action is requested from the City Council on the Comprehensive Plan Amendment request at this time. Non-MUSA Alternatives With the possibility that sewer capacity is not available in the near term, the Applicant has provided two separate alternatives for consideration of a non-sewered development. If the conclusion of the Engineering evaluation rules out near term sewer capacity, the Applicant may rescind their comprehensive plan amendment request and seek to reapply for a rural development and has provided a narrative with two concepts appended to this report. Those concepts are generally described below with a high-level evaluation of what it could mean if they are approved.