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6/29/2019 Suburban leaders allowing larger, denser developments in this building boom - StarTribune.com "If someone wants to break the rules, so to speak, all they had to do is get the council to approve a PUD," said Roseville Mayor Dan Roe. "It was completely unpredictable for surrounding neighbors. That kind of thing left a bad taste in residents' mouths." Instead, Roseville overhauled its city codes and zoning to better reflect the market, which makes the process more straightforward for residents and developers. "The last major rewrite had been in 1950s. We had a lot of outdated provisions," Roe said. Roseville did reinstate the use of PUDs in 2015 but with strict limits, the mayor said. So far, not one has been approved. ANTHONYSOUFFLE Other communities have joined Roseville in adding new restrictions. Individual and small group seating spaces filled the common area at the Loden. This spring, the city of Vadnais Heights added more requirements for developers seeking PUDs, including public meetings. The issue came to a head in 2017 when Mendota Heights approved (httP://www.startribune.com/mendota-heights-residents-battle-city-over-apartment- project/462942083/) two 70 -unit apartment buildings on Hwy. 13, prompting a lawsuit by a group of residents. They argued that the project's size, limited parking, proximity to wetlands and large swaths of paved surfaces violated city ordinances. But they lost in the Minnesota Court of Appeals, and the apartments are now under construction. Suburban leaders say they are also making longer-term changes to their codes to accommodate new, denser kinds of development. In recent years, several suburbs changed their local comprehensive plans to permit more density and allow some commercial areas to become residential neighborhoods. Cities are now finishing up their 2040 comprehensive plans and more changes could come, said Lisa Barajas, the Metropolitan Council's director of community development. Kane said suburban development is in the middle of a much-needed course correction after decades of antiquated planning and land -use policies. "After World War II, planners really liked to separate things — residential here, jobs here, commercial and recreational here," she said. "Planners now recognize it was forced separation and not how humans want to live. They want walkable, mixed-use communities." Shannon Prather covers Ramsey County for the Star Tribune. Previously, she covered philanthropy and nonprofits. Prather has two decades of experience reporting for newspapers in Minnesota, California, Idaho, Wisconsin and North Dakota. She has covered a variety of topics including the legal system, law enforcement, education, municipal government and slice -of -life community news. Shannon.Prather@startribune.com 612-673-4804 ShannonMPrather www.startribune.com/suburban-leaders-allowing-larger-denser-developments-in-this-building-boom/5l O7l3362/ 3/3