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STAFF REPORT <br />DATE: May 5, 2026 <br />REGULAR <br />TO: Lake Elmo Planning Commission <br />FROM: Nathan Fuerst, Consulting Planner, Bolton & Menk <br />Jane Kansier, Consulting Planner, Bolton & Menk <br />AGENDA ITEM: Preliminary Plat, Rezoning, and Variances – Highpointe Crossing <br />REVIEWED BY: Jason Stopa, Community Development Director <br />Sophia Jensen, Senior City Planner <br />Jack Griffin, Senior Engineering Project Manager <br />CORE STRATEGIES: <br />☒Vibrant, inclusive, connected community <br />☒Responsive, transparent, adaptive governance <br />☒Managed Growth <br />☒Efficient, reliable, innovative services <br />☐Balanced Finances now and future <br />☒Resilient Infrastructure <br />BACKGROUND: <br />Rachel Development is requesting Preliminary Plat and variance approval for an 18-unit development on <br />approximately 80 acres of land. The project is to be called Highpointe Crossing and is located West of Inwood <br />Avenue between the Lake Elmo Heights and Torre Pines developments. The developer is requesting flexibility to <br />several city code standards by way of a variance application. <br />This project first received approval for an Open Space Planned Unit Development and preliminary plat in <br />September 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 cannot <br />support a communal wastewater treatment system while meeting state permitting criteria. <br />In 2025, the Developer applied to amend the City’s Comprehensive Plan to include this property in the <br />Metropolitan Urban Service Area (MUSA), and to extend public sewer service to serve the site. While reviewing <br />this request, the Met Council determined there was a potential sewer capacity constraint in the downstream Met <br />Council infrastructure that would require further evaluation and a potential upgrade before the Met Council could <br />support a MUSA expansion. A MUSA expansion for this property would likely be available, if needed, once Met <br />Council upgrades are fully completed in the next 3-5 years. The Developer subsequently withdrew the <br />Comprehensive Plan Amendment application in January, 2026. <br />The Developer recently submitted a revised preliminary plat for a rural development with 18 single family <br />homes on the nearly 80 acre site. This proposal includes a request to rezone the property to the Residential