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Council Meeting Minutes for May 6, 2024 <br />Page 10 of 12 <br /> <br />there was a law that required electric companies to purchase electric from these types of <br />facilities, which had created a market for them. There was no mandate that requires cities to <br />approve these applications. <br /> <br />John Udstuen requested Council show the video and pics they put together. <br /> <br />Arnie Triemert, 1522 Everton Avenue, said he wanted Council to consider how it did not fit in <br />the neighborhood at all. <br /> <br />The Mayor granted Udstuen’s request and the photos were shown to Council. Laura Syring <br />explained they hired a drone company to take these pictures depicting the feeling and flavor of <br />the area to show that the solar farm does not fit the character of the neighborhood. A drone <br />video was also presented. She thanked the Council for viewing them. <br /> <br />Evan Carlson commented that the image does a good job demonstrating what people are <br />concerned about, but that was not his plan. He said his plan preserved the trees and had setbacks <br />and greenspace. Had the City not done such a robust job enacting its ordinance, he said his <br />project may have looked like that. <br /> <br />Bear noted that the photos and video would become part of the record. <br /> <br />Weidt talked about the neighborhood being unique and set aside after multiple discussions in <br />1989 and again in 2006. It was the largest undeveloped piece of land in a high and medium <br />density residential neighborhood in that part of town. He said there can certainly be a case made <br />on the effect it would have on a neighborhood, and it would change the intention of why it was <br />set aside. He talked about not knowing if a solar farm would have met the intention of the <br />Council so many years ago, but he has seen many examples of how the character is changed by a <br />project like this. He talked about the solar ordinance and the original intent of having solar farms <br />allowed in agricultural zones was to have it on larger open pieces of land that make it easier to <br />hide solar farms from neighboring residents as compared to what it does on this long narrow strip <br />of land. A lot of townhomes abut this project, and he said he was not sure how you would screen <br />the solar project from tall buildings. He said it would alter the area for the next 20 years. <br /> <br />Klein agreed the ordinance was very robust. He sat on the Ordinance Review Committee with <br />Council Member Miron, and they wanted it to be more robust. He said he agreed with the <br />mayor; it was a unique area with residential buildings all around it. The MUSA was also close <br />by, and that could be hooked into very quickly if the property owners decided to change the <br />zoning. He recalled discussions at the Ordinance Review Committee, and it was not the intent to <br />have a solar farm in the middle of town. He said it was a unique property and thought a solar <br />farm would be better located somewhere else in the community. He said Evan did an excellent <br />job preparing his site plan, and he could understand why the Planning Commission <br />recommended approval, but from a characteristic standpoint, he thought the developer should <br />find a different location in the community. <br /> <br />Petryk was around in 1998 and said it had been a struggle for the residents. She said they <br />sacrificed a great deal of money by being removed from the MUSA and did it because they <br />believed in the area and believed it should be kept preserved. It was very generous with the <br />townhomes for their views. She talked about the green corridor and said 160 acres goes a long <br />way for animals. She said the area has history, functions as parkland for a lot of people, and has <br />done exactly what she hoped it would do. She stated it was not the intent to have something like