Planning Commission - Regular Meeting

Good evening, everyone. I am calling the Monday, June 8th, 2026 Planning Commission meeting to order at 6.30 p.m. Tonight's meeting is being conducted both in person and online. Meetings that the public may attend in person or the public may also watch this meeting online at burnsvillemin.gov slash meetings or view us on Comcast Channel 16 or 859. The public can also join us on Zoom by going to zoom.us slash join. More information is available on our meetings webpage and in the agenda. Our first agenda topic tonight is the adoption of the agenda. Have we had an opportunity to review the agenda and can I get a motion?

Motion. Second.

All right, all those in favor say aye.

Aye. Aye.

All right, the motion carries. Our second agenda topic tonight is the approval of our minutes from the May 11th, 2026 meeting. Commissioner said we had an opportunity to review and can I get a motion?

Motion to approve. Second.

All those in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed say nay. Motion carries. Our third agenda topic tonight is a public hearing of the application of Blue Fire Brands, LLC, for a conditional use permit to allow a cannabis microbusiness at 12701 Sheridan Avenue South, being presented by Associate Planner Ms. Chapman.

Thank you, Chair, for that introduction. Yes, this afternoon I'm going to talk about the conditional use permit to allow a cannabis microbusiness at 12701 Sheridan Avenue South. by Blue Fire Brands LLC. The left-hand image is a pictometry or an aerial photo of the subject site. The principal structure is located in the northeastern portion of the property, and the right-hand image is a zoning map of the subject property and surrounding lots. The subject property is zoned I-1 Industrial Park and is guided as IND Industrial Office in the 2040 Conference of Plan. Directly to the west is zoned P for park and is Sue Fisher Memorial Park and in guided as PR Parks and Recreation. Directly to the north is the B4 Highway Commercial District and slightly to the east as well is also that district and guided BUS Business Retail Office. And directly to the south in a yellow color and hatched area is the R3B High Density Residential District and guided HDR high density residential. And this area to the south is significant in that last year in fall 2025 the planning commission and city council gave approval to writer Walton development, which was a 120 unit apartment complex, um, serving workforce housing. Um, they have started preparation work the past, few weeks they were issued a building permits, I think a few weeks ago to a month ago now, and they intend to do construction within, I'd say the next few weeks, sometime this summer. Um, and we, when we were formulating the conditions of approval for the CUP, we, um, consulted with our attorney and drafted these conditions with that, uh, that complex in mind. Um, and we have come to agreement with those conditions, and we'll get to that later in the report as well. Some background on this subject is that Blue Fire Brands LLC is seeking conditional use permit approval to allow a cannabis micro business at the subject property. The subject property, as mentioned previously, is zoned I-1 Industrial Park, and within that district, micro businesses are a conditional use. Micro businesses are defined as a person, entity, Licensed under Minnesota statutes chapter 342 to cultivate manufacture and sell cannabis products and related supplies to perform other activities authorized by the license The applicant is proposing to cultivate and manufacture cannabis And then in the report I also mentioned with the potential for retail sales, but after speaking with the applicant that is Very likely to occur as well so I just would like to mention that beforehand. The applicant would be occupying 11,000 square feet of space in the central tenant space in a 27,000 square foot building. Common procedures would include things such as cultivation, drying, trimming, curing, and storaging. There's no exterior modifications proposed for this project except the potential for the installation of signage. And, uh, originally there was talks about doing potentially a retail business at either this location or at another site. But as mentioned previously, this is likely to occur at this location. Uh, the purpose of the conditional use permit is to evaluate the use and the location as it is heavily regulated by the state. The subject property has been plotted several times over the past several years. In 1975, the property was plotted as outlawed a and Hedberg Burnsville first edition. And then in 1997, the property was a remnant of lot of outlaw pay through Hedberg Burnsville second edition, which is a two lot subdivision. And the adjacent parcel at the time was developed as a multi-tenant commercial building with before zoning. And as I was looking through those documents, I, between the years of 1970s to the 1990s, a lot of the subject proper, a lot of those properties were zoned. I won. Um, and then as it got closer to the nineties, a lot of those zoning, started to get rezoned to B4, higher commercial zoning. And I couldn't really glean the reasoning for keeping the exact zoning at this time. So from what I can gather from that information, it has basically retained its I-1 designation. So in other words, it is a legacy designation from previous platting. Most recently in 2001, the site was platted in a single lot subdivision known as Hedberg-Burnsville Third Edition. and received conditional use permit approval in that same year for outdoor storage boats, campers, recreational vehicles, trucks, and other vehicles on the west side of the property within that fenced-in area. And within that same year, the building was also constructed. And now I'm going to briefly talk about cannabis ordinances in regards to state as well as the Burnsville-specific ordinance. And this might be a recap for a lot of you. Um, but in 2023 at the Minnesota legislature passed Minnesota statute three 42, uh, which, which was later amended in 2024 to allow adult use cannabis, which, uh, which created the office of cannabis management, also known as OCM, which oversees cannabis licensing and enforcement. So these were given an opportunity to create ordinances that dictated time, place, and manner. They could also create buffers and caps. Um, buffers could be in regards to location of schools and daycares and parks. Um, when the city of Burnsville brought this to the city council, the city council gave direction to staff to, um, not initiate any buffers or caps on cannabis businesses because it was seen, seen as very similar to liquor and tobacco sales, which created ordinance number 1619, um, which, uh, resulted in city code 10, seven 53 adult use cannabis. Um, and within that zoning ordinance, it, discusses various cannabis business types and identifies them as either one of three things permitted, conditional or prohibited. This specific use is a conditional use. The applicant received notification in may or June last year in 2025 of preliminary license approval and has 18 months to secure the location and complete all state requirements. And this is the fifth conditional use permit that the city or that the planning commission has seen thus far. The primary function of the business will be to produce cannabis flower for sale for dispensaries and wholesale businesses. Much of the space, as I mentioned earlier, will be interior modifications, and much of this development is to have spaces dedicated towards cultivation, processing, and packaging. Four rooms will be dedicated to flowering rooms, which will make the majority of the space. And there will be a 760 square foot space dedicated to retail. And if it's not converted into a retail space, it will remain as an office, labeling, break room, and packaging space. This dispensary would primarily sell cannabis flower cultivated on site and other products from other businesses. In accordance with the state statutes, security measures must also be followed. And that includes things like door alarms, motion detectors, and cameras. And then the applicant mentioned that staff would enter through the rear doors using a security code. And regardless of whether retail dispensary is established on site, public will not be able to access the cultivation spaces. With the dispensaries on site, customers would have to enter a secure vestibule with the security guard checking ID, and there would be a steel reinforced locked door separating the retail and cultivation spaces. And in terms of the odor suppression plans, they're very similar to the past conditional use permit odor suppression plans from other facilities as well. They will have an HVAC system with controlled temperature and humidity without introducing outside air. Each cultivation room will have a ductless air handling system to recirculate air. Recirculating air scrubbers will be shared in support areas to mitigate odors in the building and there will be no mechanical pathways that will direct air outdoors. They anticipate to have four to five employees specifically for the cultivation use and cultivation will be open between the hours of 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday with limited hours on Sunday. And if With retail sales, they would hire an additional five to six employees on site with hours of operation for retail from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday through Saturday. And here's a site plan that the applicant provided us. The left-hand image shows the subject property in those three tenant spaces. The applicant would be residing within the middle tenant space, which is highlighted in the green. The right-hand image is a breakdown of those spaces. And as mentioned previously, most of this space will be dedicated towards flowering rooms and mainly cultivation practices. And I'd like to highlight as well that the retail space will be located in the blue section on the screen, which is the northwestern portion of this picture. Under City Code 10-726, The city calculates the minimum number of parking stalls required based on the uses within the building. And as such, staff calculated it based off three tenants that would be residing in this building. So at this time, that would be Demcon Demolition, Crystal Fresh, which is a snow cone flavoring manufacturer, and then the applicant. If the applicant does not do any retail sales, then a total of 37 stalls are required for this project. If retail sales are... If the applicant likes to do retail sales, an additional two stalls are required for this project for a total of 39 parking stalls. The site currently has 46 parking stalls meeting the minimum requirement. And then as part of a cultivation business, they do receive some deliveries in regards to supplies for their business. And large shipments in terms of their cultivation will occur about every three weeks to every month. and these deliveries will occur through their rear roll-up doors behind their building. Smaller deliveries will come from USPS or FedEx and those will happen periodically. Most deliveries will occur on pallets containing cultivation supplies and the products produced on site will be collected from a licensed cannabis transportation business that will collect them from those same roll-up doors. And staff On site will seal the produced products and OCM approved bags and place them in totes These totes will collect it every three weeks between 8 a.m. And 5 p.m. And sprinter vans and small cube trucks The licensed cannabis transportation business will distribute to cannabis dispensaries and wholesalers The applicant does not have a transportation business and will not distribute these products The applicant mentioned that there is a dumpster on site that will be located behind the building and Under the screening requirements of our city code, there are three ways in which trash can be screened. One is to screen the private trash and recyclables by screening it on three sides. Or you can screen it from public view behind the principal structure. Otherwise, you can store them within the principal structure or an accessory structure. In this case, the applicant is elected to put the dumpster behind the building where there is no public visibility from Sheridan Avenue South. And the dumpster would be collected weekly and much of the waste generated on site would be office related. The applicant has also indicated to staff that they have not determined the rooftop utility plans at this time. As such, staff has generated a condition to safeguard this, requiring that all rooftop utilities must meet our screening requirements. In screening, specifically in our ordinance, states that all rooftop utility units must be screened from ground level view through parapet walls, penthouses, or other architecturally integrated features. The proposal is a use request since it is regulated by the state. The project meets the findings for approval of a conditional use permit. The proposal meets the intent of the zoning ordinance and comprehensive plan and meets Burnsville ordinance number 1619. Staff recommends that plan commission recommend to the city council approval of the conditional use permit to allow blue fire brands LLC to operate a cannabis micro business at one to seven Oh one Sheridan Avenue South subject to the 13 conditions of approval. The project shall be completed in accordance with the submitted plans and as amended by these conditions of approval, any significant changes to the plans as determined by the planning staff shall require review and approval by the planning commission and city council. Conditional use permit approval shall expire one year from the date of the City Council approval Unless the building permit has been requested and approved or the City Council grants the time extension The City Council may extend the expiration date upon written application by the person to whom the approval was granted The applicant shall complete pre-license inspections and other necessary steps required by the Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management to obtain a fully issued cannabis business license All private trash and recyclable materials shall be screened in accordance with City Code 10718B. All rooftop and mechanical equipment installed shall be screened in accordance with City Code 10231E. All new signage installed on site shall be in accordance with City Code 1030. All cannabis cultivation and manufacturing activities shall be fully contained within the principal structure. No outdoor activities or storage are permitted. Applicant shall submit proof of valid preliminary and final license from the Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management prior to operation and within one year of approval of the CUP. Otherwise, the CUP will automatically expire. The business shall maintain all required state licenses for the duration of the conditional use permit. Failure to operate in compliance with the Minnesota statutes and rules governing cannabis micro-businesses shall be grounds for termination of the conditional use permit. The business shall implement odor suppression measures, including but not limited to HVAC filtration or carbon scrubbers, to prevent detectable odors beyond the property line. Security measures shall be installed and maintained consistent with the Office of Cannabis Management's requirements and city code, including controlled access, exterior lighting, and surveillance cameras. If a dispensary is established on site, additional parking stalls shall be striped behind the building. A parking plan shall be submitted and reviewed by staff prior to striping.

With that in mind, I will turn it over to the planning commission for any comments or questions that you may have. Thank you, Ms Chapman. All right, commissioners, do you have any questions for staff?

Commissioner low question on the other CPS of the building. Is there anything else that is impacted that needs to be changed or altered at this point?

When I was looking through it, I didn't see anything that required or impacted anything that conditional use permit is specific to outdoor storage, which would be on the west side of the property. Um, The only thing I could see is if the applicant was requesting outdoor storage, then that would require a conditional use permit amendment.

All right. Uh, it may provide a retail component either on this site or another site if I understood it correctly.

Yep. So originally I wrote the report with the thought there's, there was potential for retail sales, but after I spoke with the applicant, there's a large possibility of having retail sales on site.

Okay. Does this authorize the retail also, or do they need to come back?

It does. Yes. It allows retail with this conditionally as permit.

I can just add clarification to that one. So the applicant has a, um, primary approval for a cannabis micro business underneath that cannabis micro business umbrella retails within that. So it's very similar to some of the other applications we have seen here in this Sony district. Standalone retail will not be permitted. Um, then the I one district. Um, however, since this is a cannabis micro business, like, Underneath that umbrella, they can do retail, cultivation, manufacturing, all that falls underneath this conditional use permit. So, kind of add a little more detail to that.

Commissioner Anderson?

Will they have to build out all the security for the retail right now when they modify for, you know, the manufacturing and growing, or can they do that later?

So I know that we, earlier this year we had a different business that was going to do, um, cultivation and manufacturing before retail. And so we stated to them if they wanted to do the Colton or for the retail first, they would have to meet those requirements and then later the manufacturing. So it depends on how the applicant would like to proceed. If this would be something they want to complete, you know, operate all at once. If they strictly just want to do cultivation at the beginning, then they need to have that in place. Um, regardless, they need to meet state requirements on cannabis and security measures.

Do they have to come back for a separate building permit to do the retail to build out the retail if they don't do it now?

Correct. If they just submit a building permit and they're just doing, if the building permit was only for cultivation, they would need another building permit. For that retail space, unless they do one building permit that includes both, then they wouldn't need to come back for another one.

Just so I'm clear, this is the only product that would be allowed to have retail in that district.

Yeah. Um, commissioner. So underneath the cannabis micro business licensure from the state of Minnesota within this zoning district, and then all zoning districts, cannabis micro businesses require a conditional use permit. So by in general, generally in the I one district, we don't do not allow retail. However, with the conditional use permit for a micro business kind of similar to like a brewery, it would trigger that the conditional use covers that or allows permits for it.

And that was going to be my next question. So if I say a brew pub came in, they might be able to get approval for something like that. The reason I'm asking these questions is it goes back, when the council originally talked about whether there would be any restrictions on these cannabis business. And part of the reason was they, they wanted it to be treated like any other business. So I want to make sure they're not getting special treatments simply because we're giving them a conditional use permit simply because they sell cannabis.

No, that's a good, good point there, commissioner. So we have, it's come to our attention that we have aired in this code and we'll probably bring this before you at a later date. Um, the original intent from the council was to allow, cannabis uses where we allow similar uses, other uses, tobacco breweries and such. Well, we didn't think about breweries and THC. A lot of breweries allow for hemp tea, produce hemp THC products. We didn't think about that when we did it. So we had to go back and do that. However, to complicate things, the federal government does have a ban beginning in November on hemp based THC beverages. And we reached out to the state of Minnesota on that one. They were able to give us clear guidance at this time. So we're kind of putting the pause button on that one because if the federal government moves forward with this legislative change, all hemp-deprived THC will have to go back to the drawing board on that one. So that's where we're kind of in the pause, but like do we do an ordinance amendment now or do we wait and see what happens? We're kind of in that wait and see approach, but we either way, that's something we didn't think about when we did this. We didn't think breweries and the THC. So that's something we have to go back and take a look at. So we're making sure we're consistent where we're treating everyone fair. That was the intent or the direction I should say.

Thank you.

Mr. Anderson. It,

you noted the employees would enter from the back, but there really isn't any outline parking in the back. Is it, is that allowable that they could park back there?

Yes, they can park back there and they were planning to park right near one of the roll up doors that they would not be using. Um, we didn't ask for that diagram or plan, but if they're going to be doing retail sales, we want to make sure that there is enough parking on site, um, for those employees. back there. So we had a condition back in the, I think it was condition 13 that stated that striping needed to be added to accommodate any additional parking.

It's also worth knowing two commissioners that the, the rear of the building is fenced into. So it's a little additional security measure on that. So is this something else is Kira and I were looking at this application. Um, you know, so that's fenced in. So it's additional and there's a gate to limit access back there if needed.

All right commissioners that there's no more questions for staff All right, then before we open the public hearing if the applicant is in the room. I invite you to join the podium make an introduction and Let the commissioners ask some questions John Robertson blue firebrands Can you state your address for the record?

1 2 7 0 1 Sheridan Avenue South

Alright commissioners, did you have any questions for the applicant? Commissioner Long?

Can you give us a little bit more clarity on the retail portion of this? I'll say I have some concerns because it feels like, I mean that's the one thing that's holding me back from a yes vote right now would be the fact that we're unclear on whether you're going to do retail or not, and if so, how long?

So it's my plan right now to not do retail there because of capital and the location. And I've also learned that there's another dispensary that's coming up across from 13. So probably we're leaning towards not doing a retail at this point at that location. And we need the room for what we're doing. We're going to use that space for office and for other things, for packaging and We're really leaning towards not using it as a dispensary. If it helps to not add this, if that makes it an easier decision to not have this as part of my micro license at this time, then we don't have to put it on there. I'm okay with that.

And I'm not asking you to remove it. I just have, that would be up to others, but I just had that concern. Until the ordinance is rewritten and it is kind of inclusive of other businesses as well,

that would be my, but the one thing to add to commissioners under the micro business, they can do a retail at a different site. So you can cultivate at one place, manufacturing stuff. And I think they're allowed one or two.

You can do both. You can do all three if you want.

Yeah. But I think you can do the retail at every site. It doesn't have to be at the subject site. It can be at a different location.

And that's where we're leaning at this point. We're kind of waiting to see how many pop up and where and find in a location that maybe isn't one right across the highway there.

Thank you.

So if you have retail at another location, does that need to come back to us or is that all covered under one umbrella?

It depends where they're going. So if they're going at a different location, we would want to look at the zoning to see whether it's a conditional or permitted use. Um, and then we could provide direction from there. But if they, let's say they did want to opt to do, you know, retail at this location later on, they're still given that ability to, they just need to make sure they're meeting the ordinance requirement or the the conditions that we listed in this conditional use permit and then submit a building permit for retail sale or to do the building permit changes to the site to do retail at that location so your strategy is is to operate also as a wholesaler to sell to other

Cannabis distributors if I understood it correctly yes to other dispensaries that are up and running, okay? So are there particular? transportation requirements yes Now would you?

Contract with it with a carrier or use your own vehicles No, we're not allowed to the OCM doesn't allow you to do that at all you have to use a licensed carrier He's right there, okay? They have their own business with it and it all has to be scanned through the metric system. Wade put in totes, put in licensed transportation vehicles and Trent and brought to other locations. We're not allowed to touch anything else. Nothing goes out of that building except for if they take it. Thank you.

Any more questions for the applicant? All right. Thank you.

Okay.

With that, I will open the public hearing at 6 58 PM. Anyone who wishes to speak to this can approach the podium.

Did you say that the person doing the transportation is also here tonight? Come on down.

Hey guys, uh, Jared Schroeder, uh, with meta commercial as well as green Haven logistics. My address is one nine three two five Clearwater loop and that's in Farmington, Minnesota But yeah, so like you saying all product in Minnesota has to be transported by a licensed carrier We contain a transportation license to statute 342 and governed by the OCM as well All of our vehicles are GPS tracked They are on cameras at all times They leave our facility they are tracked through the cameras of our facility cameras on our vehicle when the product is loaded up we have cameras both external and internal and All of our vehicles have a segregated ability, so the cab is separated from the actual storage, so they cannot access it directly. And they are tracked and monitored through the OCM's metric system. So all orders are placed through our website through metric. Everything is done. Our drivers are listed. All employees have to be background checked. standard through the OCM practices and basically any product within the state has to be run through us. It cannot be run through any individual licenses. So cultivators, manufacturers, retail cannot move their own product. Micros and mesos can only move their product to their own facility. However, they are subject to the exact same rules and regulations that we have to follow as well. And that's why realistically nobody actually does that in this industry. So we've been up and running since April. We've moved about just under 3,000 packages now over that period of time. We prefer, as he stated, we use plastic totes, so they are zip-tied and serial-tied, so that way they are completely sealed and tracked the entire way. Once they get to the facility, they are checked in at the dispensary, checked to make sure that the coding is done correctly before anything is accepted and transferred out of our system.

Thank you. Any questions? No?

All right.

Thank you. Yep. Right. If anyone else wishes to speak, they can step to the podium and or do we have anyone online? All right. I will close the public hearing at 7 0 1 PM. Turn it over to commissioners for discussion and or we'll entertain any motions.

they appear to have covered all the questions, all the stipulations the city has imposed or has suggested a number of conditions. So if anyone wants to present a motion, yeah, I can present a motion.

Motion for us to recommend to the City Council the approval of the CUP to allow Blue Fire Brands LLC to operate a cannabis micro business at 12702 Sheraton Avenue South subject to the 13 conditions of approval noted.

We have a motion.

Second.

All those in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed say nay. All right the motion carries. Congratulations. All right. Our next agenda topic is updates.

Yeah. The only update is, um, the city council did select a new commissioner as commissioner Ali has turned out. So we do have one new commissioner joining, um, joining us. Um, he will be at the train next week. Um, don't know his name off the top of my head right now, so I apologize. But, uh, we welcome him. Uh, we'll miss all the, in his time on this commission. However, I believe he did get appointed to the EDC. So economic development mission. So all he will continue to serve the community update for zoning. Um, the zoning ordinance that this body approved, um, did get approved by the city council. Um, it will be published in the newspaper this coming Friday. And then the codified and, um, the following week. So I'll be live online. So I thank everyone for the other time and effort on that one. And, uh, we're excited to see that finally go live.

Absolutely. That's it.

Awesome.

Any updates from commissioners? I skipped you. No. All right. Then the last agenda topic tonight is adjournment. Who'd like to make a motion? Can I get a second? Second all those in favor say aye opposed any and the motion carries That's a wrap