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<br /> STAFF REPORT <br />DATE: 2/17/2026 <br /> Workshop <br /> <br />TO: Lake Elmo City Council <br />FROM: Nathan Fuerst, Consulting Planner <br />AGENDA ITEM: Highpointe Crossing - Revised Concept Plan <br />REVIEWED BY: Jason Stopa, Community Development Director <br /> Sophia Jensen, Senior City Planner <br /> Jack Griffin, Senior Engineering Project Manager <br /> <br /> <br />CORE STRATEGIES: <br /> <br />☐ Vibrant, inclusive, connected community ☐ Efficient, reliable, innovative services <br />☐ Responsive, transparent, adaptive governance ☐ Balanced Finances now and future <br />☒ Managed Growth ☒ Resilient Infrastructure <br /> <br /> <br />BACKGROUND: <br />Rachel Development (the “Developer”) has re-applied for a concept plan review after refining the rural <br />lot concept presented in June, 2025. This project first received a preliminary plat approval in September <br />of 2024 following several concept plan reviews by the City’s staff and Council. After the initial approval, <br />the Developer’s consultants conducted further soil testing and investigations and confirmed the site <br />cannot support a communal wastewater treatment system while meeting state permitting criteria. <br /> <br />After confirming a community septic system would not work, the Developer applied to amend the City’s <br />Comprehensive Plan to bring this property into the Metropolitan Urban Service Area (MUSA) for public <br />sewer service. In a review of that request the Met Council determined that there was a potential sewer <br />capacity constraint in the downstream Met Council infrastructure that would need to be evaluated and <br />potentially upgraded before the Met Council could support a MUSA expansion. . A MUSA expansion for <br />this property would likely be available, if needed, once Met Council upgrades are fully completed in the <br />next 3-5 years. <br /> <br />The concept plan request now in front of the City Council is for a rural development with 18 single family <br />homes on the nearly 80 acre site. This comment memo and those attached provide an assessment of how <br />this concept does or does not meet the City’s existing standards for this type of development. <br /> <br />ISSUE BEFORE COUNCIL: <br />No development rights are granted at this stage of development review. The City Council is asked to <br />provide feedback, generally, and specific guidance on the Developer’s request for flexibility to allow <br />wetlands on private lots, and using a rural roadway. <br /> <br /> <br />