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Mounds View City Council December 12, 2022 Regular Meeting Page 8 Mounds View, such as well-developed trees and extremely affordable housing. He stated Mounds View was a very desirable community to live in that had major freeway access to both Minneapolis and St. Paul. He encouraged the Council to consider if the additional housing was necessary. He commented on how this neighborhood has been impacted in recent years and feared that the City did not care about this neighborhood. He discussed how the financial benefits offered to the developer would be put on the backs of all Mounds View residents and he did not believe this was fair. He encouraged the City to not support this development or the proposed TIF district. Pat Leary, 5250 O’Connell Drive, stated his parents moved to Mounds View in 1964 and he attended Edgewood and Mounds View High Schools. He reported these schools did not need more students as they were already full to capacity. He believed the City had enough rental property and he encouraged the City Council to not cram more people into the community on this small parcel of land. He indicated this was an unnecessary project that should not proceed. Bob King, 7408 Silver Lake Road, stated he has had the feeling that Mounds View puts the cart before the horse. He understood the City can continue to build apartment buildings, but questioned where these residents would find services such as restaurants and grocery stores. He anticipated these residents would move somewhere else in order to be closer to these services. He suggested the Council focus on developing its limited amount of land into the retail services the current residents of Mounds View need. Zack Lindstrom, 8378 Long Lake Road, thanked everyone for coming forward and voicing their concerns regarding this project. He stated when he was reviewing this project in the packet, it appears the original purpose was to have the property rezoned for a business. He discussed the City’s need for more jobs. He reported in the City’s goals the Council wanted to have a mix of housing types reflective of the needs and desires of the community. He commented, though it was not scientific, a poll was completed online and 214 of 236 people voted against this project. He stated this tells him this project was not something the community was desiring. He encouraged the Council to consider a precedent could be set if this project were approved with seven exceptions and TIF was offered. He asked that the Council be a good neighbor and realize this was not a good project for this neighborhood. Eileen Burns, 5109 Irondale Road, stated she moved to Mounds View 34 years ago. She indicated she loved the idea of greenspace, trees and wildlife. She encouraged the Council to hear the concerns of the neighbors noting this project was not the right fit for this property and was not right for Mounds View. She suggested the Council not rezone or change ordinances in order to accommodate this project. Natalie Grosam, 2255 County Road H2, explained she was concerned with the sense of community in Mounds View was being lost. She noted she has lived in Mounds View for less than 10 years and she was ready to move. She reported the teachers in the schools were overwhelmed and stated the City did not need more people and more traffic. She feared that her opinion and the opinion of the neighbors didn’t matter, which was a concern to her. She encouraged the Council to take into consideration how this type of development would impact their home if it was placed in their backyard.