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May 12th, 2026 St. Anthony Council Work Session - 2 <br /> <br /> <br />Councilmember Jenson suggested beginning with page one, which overviews where the ordinance <br />will be applied. He asked if they would be interested in discussing whether the Council wants to <br />apply the ordinance to everything on the first page before discussing what will be applied. <br /> <br />Councilmember Jenson agreed with items one through five but had reservations about six. This <br />item stated that any building project that receives financial assistance from the City of St. Anthony <br />or HRA in the form of Tax-Increment Financing or other assistance will be subject to the clause. <br />Still, it may not apply to buildings that receive external assistance. He stated that this means that <br />everything will likely require TIF funding. He expressed that he felt this should not be a part of the <br />process. Mayor Webster highlighted the discussion from the previous Work Session on developing <br />a TIF policy and suggested developing it in tandem with this one. Councilmember Jenson stated <br />that these requirements would make compliance expensive and difficult. This will inspire <br />pushback in builders, and he does not feel the Council should allow areas where contractors can <br />push back. <br /> <br />Councilmember Doolan noted that she interpreted this item to mean that any builders who apply <br />for TIF will be subject to the ordinance. Councilmember Jenson highlighted that his forces <br />taxpayers to help builders improve their profit margin, and he is not supportive of this. <br /> <br />City Planner Grittman confirmed that the City is not implying that all builders will be eligible for TIF. <br />However, if a builder applies for assistance and it is granted, they must comply with the <br />sustainable building ordinance. <br /> <br />Councilmember Jenson asked whether builders typically ask for TIF because they know it is an <br />option. City Planner Grittman confirmed that builders typically request assistance immediately to <br />determine whether it is possible. However, their request does not obligate the Council to provide. <br />The goal of this item is to inform builders that if they request City assistance, they must do so <br />knowing they will have to follow these rules. <br /> <br />Councilmember Elnagdy confirmed with City Planner Grittman that this item not only includes TIF <br />but also any City assistance. <br /> <br />Councilmember Elnagdy expressed her general approval of the ordinance. She raised some <br />concerns about loose language use. Specifically, she cited that any projects receiving financial <br />assistance will be subject to these rules. She provided an example of a small project that could not <br />afford to comply with these rules and questioned whether they would also be obligated to follow <br />them. Councilmember Jenson noted that very small projects may be exempt from these rules <br />under the ordinance. <br /> <br />City Planner Grittman confirmed that the goal of the ordinance is to apply these rules to projects <br />consisting of four or more units or more than 10,000 square feet in area, or to projects that <br />renovate a building without an expansion below the 50 percent financial threshold. <br />Councilmember Elnagdy stated that these qualifiers should be added to item six. <br /> <br />City Manager Yunker noted that it is unlikely that a project small enough for this to be a concern will <br />not likely qualify for assistance. <br /> <br />Mayor Webster proposed adding any building project that is identified in numbers one through five <br />above to clarify item six. <br />3