05-22-2023 CC (2) - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mounds View City Council May 22, 2023 Regular Meeting Page 3 Police Chief Zender commented on the positive impacts officers make on people’s lives on a daily basis. He stated many of these efforts go unnoticed by his officers or the public. He stated on March 30, 2023 his officers and local EMT’s saved a resident’s life after suffering a cardiac arrest. Chief Zender explained Sergeant Schultes and Officer Katzenmaier did what they were trained to do, along with the fire personnel and EMT’s when they arrived on scene. He recognized each of the first responders who responded to this call and commended all for their life saving efforts. Ben Hall, Allina Health, commended his EMT’s for their life-saving efforts. Fire Chief Retka, SBM Fire Department, recognized his fire personnel for their life-saving efforts. A round of applause was offered by all in attendance. 6. PUBLIC COMMENT Heather Schuchard, 7984 Woodlawn Drive, reported she was in attendance to speak on the Arden Park proposal. She explained she opposed this development because it does not match the neighborhood. In addition, the loss of the green space was a concern to her. She discussed how the children in the neighborhood use this green space and that it was filled with wildlife. She did not believe the City should be giving a break to a multi-billion corporation to earn money on this development. She did not agree with the cottages because they required too many variances. She expressed concern with the fact the units would not have garages. She made it clear to the Council that the community cares about what was occurring in Mounds View. She reported even if the public does not attend every meeting, they were following along with the events that were occurring. She stated the public puts its trust in the Council and right now there was a lack of trust because the public does not feel heard or seen. She feared there was a conflict of interest with the proposed development and this was very concerning to her. Maria Slabiak, 8135 Long Lake Road, reported the majority of the property the Arden Park development would be built on a floodplain in a wetland buffer zone. She explained a buffer zone was defined as essential protection for species that use a wetland habitat. She questioned if it was wise to destroy this buffer zone. She discussed how changing the zoning from R-1 to R-3 on this floodplain would add crowding, noise and would reduce property values to the adjacent homes. She feared adding a large number of units to the area would adversely impact the drainage for the area. She noted her neighbor’s backyard floods in wet weather. She stated residents were concerned about having wet basements and backyards. She reported she conducted a search on the developer and noted there were lawsuits against them for quality complaints and poor foundations in three different states. She stated the proposed yard homes do not meet minimum requirements for residential construction in Mounds View, nor did the townhomes meet the minimum zoning requirements for lot size or setback requirements. She questioned why the City would allow this many structures in such a small area. She feared this would be a fire safety concern. She asked how the community was benefiting from this development, when 98% of the residents did not support the project. She encouraged the City Council to properly represent the residents of Mounds View when it comes to this project. She did not believe it was right to put 87 units on seven residential lots. She stated this was not the time or location to experiment with expensive townhomes or yard homes. She noted the yard homes do not fit into the character of the