Planning Commission - Regular Meeting

All right. How's everyone doing tonight? I heard great out there. That's nice. Well, welcome everybody. Good evening. Welcome to the December 10th, 2025 city vina planning commission meeting. This one is the last of the year for us. So looking back, just want to thank all of the applicants, homeowners, developers, redevelopers for your interest in pushing the limit on change in Edina here and challenging what the future can bring for our city and hopefully making a better city in the process. We are committed as we are every meeting to getting your feedback. We do so through our engagement website ww.etto togetherina.org. That is the best place to learn about any changes proposed with land use. They have a map that's kind of nice. You can see if something's happening around you or elsewhere in the city you might be interested in. Tonight we have one public hearing and I will provide some information once we get to that point in the process tonight with how you can engage uh for those who might be here or those tuning in remotely. Uh quick rundown for what to expect this meeting will call to order. There'll be a roll call and approval of tonight's meeting agenda followed by the prior meeting minutes. Then we have a community comment period public and then the one public hearing and no reports or recommendations this week or month or meeting and then chair member comments staff comments and adjournment. So with that call the meeting to order and then roll call.

Commissioner Nelson here. Commissioner Elky here. Commissioner Padilla here. Commissioner Smith here. Commissioner Jaw here. Commissioner Just here. Commissioner Day here. Commissioner Bournestein here. Commissioner Felt here. Chair Bennett here. Nice. All right. Getting things done. All right. Uh, next item is the approval of tonight's meeting agenda. If there's no proposed changes, I'd welcome a motion. Motion to approve tonight's agenda. Second. All those in favor say I. I.

I. So moved. Next we have the approval of the pri prior meeting minutes from November 12th, 2025. Same thing. If there's no proposed changes, I'd welcome a motion. Motion to approve the prior meeting minutes. Second. All those in favor say I. I. I. So moved.

Okay. Next we have the community comment period. Similar to a public hearing, but a little different. This is for those who are here in person that would like to testify about any matter not on tonight's agenda. You have three minutes to do so. You can come up to either podium. You may state your full name and address or you may go to the side and provide that information on a written card so we can uh support your anonymity. Uh you have again 3 minutes when the light turns green that means go. 3 minutes start. When it turns red, your time's up and we'd ask you to wrap up your comments. Is anyone here for community comment? Okay, seeing none, we will move on to the one and only public hearing. As I mentioned, there is an opportunity for you to participate remotely and in person for this. Once we get to that part of this public hearing, I'll provide some of the information for those tuning in remotely, which will involve calling a number and sitting in a queue. Uh, but for what to expect, as with most public hearings, uh, someone wants to do something with their land that doesn't quite jive with a code, they propose to do so through an application. Staff reviews that, consults with other uh, commissions or departments. They put together a report with facts and findings and a recommendation tucked in that. Uh they put that together for a presentation tonight that we'll see. Uh then we have an opportunity for the applicant to provide their own presentation and then we'll have some question and answers between the commission and the applicant and staff after which we will open it to the public hearing and then that is your chance to participate either in person uh or or remotely and then we bring it back to the planning commission to

deliberate and provide a recommendation for either approval or denial. So, with that, we have a public hearing on 4201 West 50th Street West for Mis Amigos. And Emily, take it away. Um, thank you, chair, and members of the planning commission. The request tonight is for a conditional use permit with a parking stall variance and a lot size variance for church and mismigo Spanish preschool at 4201 West 50th Street. The subject property at 4201 West 50th Street is approximately 1.15 acres and is located at the southwest corner of 50th Street West and Indianola Avenue. Um, Mis Migos is requesting a conditional use permit to continue operating the existing church property as a place of worship and a licensed early childhood education center. The church use has been present on the site since the church was originally developed in the 19 late 1940s early 50s. A licensed child care center started alongside the church use during the 1990s. The church closed the winter of 2023 and there has not been a church or a school operation since. The city has no record of a conditional use permit and due to the use stopping in 2023, a conditional use permit is required to continue the church and school use on site. The applicant is proposing to operate an early childhood education center ages 0 to 5 during the week and rent out the worship space to a church user on Sundays. In additional in addition to the conditional use permit, variances are required for the number of parking spaces on site and for the size lot for both a church use and a daycare use on site. No exterior changes to the building are proposed with the request. The applicant will be utilizing the existing building and the parking spaces. The lot size standard for a religious institution in the R1 zoning district is 3 acres and is 2 acres for a daycare or preschool facility. The subject property, like I said, is 1.15 acres in size and is an existing

condition. There are currently um 71 parking spaces that are provided on site. The required number of spaces for a daycare is 33 spaces and 83 spaces for a religious institution. And those are based on the number of students and teachers as well as the largest the place of largest assembly, the number of seats in the largest assembly area for the church. A parking variance is required for the parking for a religious institution. Like I said, there's 71 parking spaces on site and code would require 83 spaces. Stantech completed a parking and traffic study for the proposed application. The parking study concluded that the parking provided is adequate for the daycare and preschool use and the study found that with the maximum occupancy event of 276 people um peak parking demand would be 92 spaces. The traffic study recommends that the project owner would develop u or should develop a parking plan that identifies options for parking demand for um events that have um greater parking requirements or larger capacity for the church. This could include items such as providing off-site parking or valet parking during a maximum occupancy event. The site has been previously used as a church and no parking complaints have been received. Um, this is the existing survey of the site. This is the site plan showing. Like I said, there's no exterior changes to the site, the building, I should say, the building and parking areas. The applicant is proposing to add a fence and area around the existing playground area. And they're also um proposing to add some landscaping. A conditional use permit, as you know, is a use that's allowed by the zoning ordinance subject to conditions when certain criteria have been met. And those criteria are that the application does not have an undue adverse impact on government facilities, utilities, services, or existing or proposed improvements. Will generate traffic

within the capacity of the streets that serve the property. Does not have an undue adverse impact on public health, safety, or welfare. Will not impede the normal and orderly development of other property within the vicinity. and conforms to the applicable restrictions and special conditions of the district it's located in and is consistent with the comprehensive plan. Staff believes that the conditions in which to grant a conditional per use permit have been met. Staff also believes that the conditions to grant a variance for parking and lot size have also been met. Um the variance the first criteria is that the variance will relieve practical difficulties that prevent reasonable use. Um, this application allows the property owner to continue use of the property as it's been used since it was originally developed. The size of the lot, the proposed uses, and the number of parking stalls are not changing. The variances second condition is that the variance will correct extraordinary circumstances applicable to this property, but not applicable to other properties within the zoning district. This is not a new use and no other changes are proposed to the building size or parking lot. The third being that there are circumstances that are unique to the property and are not common to every similarly zoned property. Um the need for the variances is unique in the situation um due to the property is unique to this property and is not self-created by the applicant. The property and use has been in existence since the property was originally developed in the 50s. And the fourth is will the variance alter the essential character of the neighborhood? And in this instance, the property would continue to be used as a church and daycare as it has since it was originally developed, and no exterior changes to the building or parking area are proposed. That being said, staff recommends approval of the requested conditional use permit and associated variances based on the findings listed in the staff report and subject to the conditions that the property owner is required to develop a parking plan that identifies options for parking demands

greater than spaces provided on site during maximum occupancy events and that the property owner is required to submit a travel demand management plan. And with that, I can answer any questions and the applicants are also here tonight to answer any questions that you might have. Great. Thank you. I guess I'll just open it right now to the applicant if there's a presentation you might have that you'd like to do. Just come up, introduce yourself. Otherwise, if you want to just simply stand for questions also or instead you can do that too.

Thank you. Um Mr. Chair and members of the commission. Um my name is Lori Ski. I'm the um chief operating officer at Mimigo's Spanish immersion preschool. Um the owner and CEO, Don Yuri, is speaking at a conference out of state today. So she asked me to be here on behalf of Mis Amigos. Um I've worked there for 13 and a half years, but um Migos was founded in 2001. So it's actually Minnesota's oldest Spanish immersion preschool. Um we have steadily and successfully expanded to multiple locations across the Twin Cities over the years. Um the instruction at our center is 100% in Spanish. Um we have incredible teachers who are um almost 100% native Spanish speakers that bring their culture and their language to our students. Um and it really creates a really authentic immersion experience. Fosters bilingual development, lots of play, lots of learning, daily interaction, just um a really wonderful experience for our students. um our early childhood educators and our leaders at our school um have a really incredibly and supportive positive and supportive workplace. Um and our families really feel like they are a part of a family when they entrust their children with our teachers and our staff. Um we have a really strong reputation for providing really high quality child care in the Twin Cities. And I think if you asked any licenser who's familiar with us, they they consider us to be of the highest quality. Um so we're really really proud of the program we have. Um the high quality program we offer and we believe that we um would be a wonderful fit for this spot. Um Dawn is a 16-year um resident of Edina and so she's very passionate and deeply committed to um

bringing me amigos to Edina. It's been a dream of hers to have her own business in her community. Um, she wants to be a part of that. Uh, enhancing and enriching our community here in Nina. Um, but also being very mindful of the importance of preserving the history and the character of the community and this building. Um, and so her discovery of this building was particularly exciting because of just how well we feel our program fits. um how that bu how the building was originally designed and intended to be used in the focus on service in the community and also um the education and care of young children. Um and um we're excited to be a good neighbor and a strong supporter of the community. So we thank you for your consideration of our requests and I'm happy to answer any questions I can. Um and our builder is here as well to answer anything that I don't have the expertise to answer.

Great. Thank you very much. Any questions for either the staff or applicant? Commissioner Pidilla. Um yes, Miss SMI. Did I get that right? SKI. Yeah. Um what's the cap what will the capacity be? How many um children do you anticipate serving?

I believe our evaluating the space we have and um the intended use we have for the different classrooms. um we would anticipate about 146 students and we serve um children zero age 0 to five. So we would have a pretty even allocation of infant, toddler and preschool rooms. So that would be also depending on licensing measuring it and the same way that we measure finding having the same capacity findings

and you'd be serving food two meals a day. We do breakfast for those kids that are there early in the morning and then we serve lunch as well. It's a catered hot lunch and then we also serve two snacks. And um there's currently no religious use. Is that correct? And you and you would be looking to rent it out or potentially. That's correct. Rent it out. Okay. Um and then Emily, if you could you clarify this new information that that we just got in terms of the right of way um and how that lines up on in terms of the parking that you're anticipating.

So there's parking within that alleyway area. So that's first come first serve parking area as anyone can park in public rightway. Um, but the alley is maintained by the church user, has been in the past. Um, the city is currently plowing that alley because there isn't a church user. So, they're plowing that area so that the homes that back up to the alley have access in the meantime. Okay. So, is it necessary um to use the right of way or or will you be able to

the parking spaces within that rightway area included in the 71 spaces? Okay. Okay. Thanks. I felt you were trying to get to how does which house is it and how does that house access its garage or possibly access its garage? They have a an agreement worked out with they had previously an agreement worked out with the previous church user to have those spots be reserved. I think the um new user has had conversations with that property owner and they're working with them to continue that.

It seems to be the one with the garage closest to the handicap parking spaces. This garage here you can Okay. And um so if he wants to back out of his garage, how does he do that or does he not back out now? Oh, he goes to the he goes to the west. He So the driveway his driveway is right here. Okay. And then he would back out into that alleyway. Okay. Or back or continue through those reserved spaces into the parking lane of the church. Oh. So by saying reserved, people tend not to park there. Yes. And if they are parked there, he's going to have to go to the church office. And

correct. They've had some communication in the past. I believe they worked with the previous church owner to come up with this agreement. Okay. So those spaces would be reserved and Miss Dempy, you agree with that? Yeah. Yep. Absolutely. Thank you. Just a question about the ownership the maintenance of the alleyway. The city continue to plow the alleyway once this is occupied by the daycare or Okay.

It would be then the um plowing would be back on to the property owner. So the church would be then expected to Okay. So why why is it the the church that made that assumes ownership of that of that maintenance and not the other properties as well that that share that access to the to the alleyway? Did you did Chad me the public works director mention anything?

Yeah. So this this alley uh used to well it used to be a full alley from J place to I believe it's Indianola and the part that runs right through the middle of the church that was vacated years ago and half of the alley was also vacated here on this strip where part of it is still part of the church. So it's it's it's not a full alley in width. It's like a half alley. So, the city has not maintained it. It It's been the church's responsibility to uh plow and maintain that, but it's because there's been no use on the site for the last couple of years, the city has has agreed to to plow that uh for that property owner there. Um but once this is fully occupied, it would be the property owner that would be responsible for the the maintenance and the plowing. Part of that's practical just because the parking lot's like 90% of the pavement, right? And that little strip they would just do, right? Okay. Commissioner Phelp. Yeah.

And this might be for um staff. Um, the parking requirements I had 276 divided by 3 is 92. That was somewhere in the packet and and that's not necessarily important to me. Um, I think what I was kind of reading in the zoning code, um, you know, and you had the churches one-third of the seating capacity. That's what you base the parking off of. In that same section it says or um parking requirements is granted by council. So there seems to be uh line uh that churches have come across this in the past and there's been discretion by council to kind of allow different parking for churches. Yeah, I believe in the past that's been more um back 20 30 years ago, churches, more activity um more people going to church. I think in the instances it's been where the city requires more parking than what our code allows. So if it's underparked like this one, it would be a variance rather than the council requiring something more than the city code.

Okay. Oh, because I read it. Um 36-1311 churches one-third or as granted by council or is deemed by council. I suppose you're we're kind of covering all bases with the variance. Okay. Okay. Ultimately, it's the council's decision to approve a variance. Okay. Right. Um and we're just um giving our assessment of it. Okay. Okay. And it also says parking may be reduced if um in 36 1324 parking may be reduced if it's within one mile of a qualified transit stop. And you did bring up the bus 46, but there's also the Eline. Now

I think that will come up with the travel demand or travel management plan that will be submitted and reviewed by the um transportation planner. Okay. And I have a question about that too. It also says if there's um bicycle parking provided and I've brought this up before. I mean I think um Miss Nki how many people kind of tend to come from the neighborhood.

Um I mean it it's just depends on kind of where we're located. Um you know right now one of our locations is right at the intersection of 394 and 100. show people maybe working downtown and coming past us or they live in the neighborhood. So, um it really varies. Um there are there's usually um a solid component of families that are in the neighborhood. And to that point of the question, um I've seen many parents with kids on bikes and trailers coming to drop their kids off, right? So, that occasionally happens.

Okay. And I've been noticing that a lot too. Um, especially in better weather, parents traveling by bike with their kids. There are several people that commute by bike in my neighborhood year round. And I

I see them out there when it's zero degrees. Um, so I think there's a more of that than there has been before. And I mean, I think in this neighborhood there's a fair amount of um people liking to be here because they can walk. Um, and also, and maybe this is a question for staff, too. Um, there's a shared use path on Ardan, which I'm assuming is just going to be your painting, the bicycle, share the road signs with the cars. I have to double check on the plans for that, but believe so. I don't know what formal plans they have with painting or how they delineate that, but

right. It just said it shared shared use path. So, I'm assuming that's everybody on the same road. and then um for proposed buffered bike lane on 50th. And I'm sure there's lots of demand for the city's money, but um I'm wondering if there's been any kind of conversation about a timeline for that. I'm not aware.

I haven't heard as well, but we can have we can check in with our engineering for the city council review. Okay. And then maybe after the public hearing, I've got my last one. Oh, and then the um the transit demand plan that is just about letting people know other ways that they can get to your space. To my understanding, I wasn't a part of the um working with the traffic engineer on that. I don't if have in-depth questions about that study that we had, I think our builder could help with that, but Okay.

And the traffic and parking consultant is online with us. So, if there's any questions about um his conclusions, Ed Terartar is available. Okay. Thank you.

Any other questions for staff or applicant? Thank you for the uh presentation. I have a couple questions. Um just to wrap my head around uh uh the reason for the COP. Um I think you mentioned earlier that the city couldn't find a conditional use permit. Um but one would be required now. Is that because it's less than three acres and it's a religious site or church?

Well, either way, there there wasn't one. So, conditional use permits run with the land, but there hasn't been a user there in two years. So, whether or not there was a conditional use permit previously, there a new conditional use permit would be required because it's been sitting vacant. Ah, so the vacancy is is what triggered it. Okay, gotcha. Um, any reasons why it got closed in 2023? Um, and and now I I'm assuming you're the new owner now, right? I am the COO uh of the business that's um hoping to buy this that's um put the proposal together. Gotcha. But no no reasons why it closed in the first place in 2023.

I'm not aware of of of the previous buildings. It was a different church user. So I'm not sure the circumstances. Yeah.

Okay. Um I think as of you know part of this as well requires a parking plan that would be required, right? Um it would have been great to see what that plan was tonight. Um any ideas of how you would address the parking requirement from what I could tell? Well, first off, max capacity I think in the packet was like 276. Do you see yourself anytime in a year with no normal business operation ever hitting max capacity

with the church use of for as a sanctuary or are you talking about the child care center? Either one. Either one. Um it it's my understanding is that at our full capacity for the childcare center, we would be well within the use of the current parking lot. So with the church user, the f future church user because there's not a specific one with the application. They're hoping to lease the space to a church. So I think the plan would be dependent on which type of church user comes in for them to come up with a plan for their parking dependent on their needs.

Gotcha. And if I could add to that, we asked around staff, you know, people that have been around Edina a long time. Have there ever been parking issues with this church and none came to any staff's attention that we're aware of where there was a lot of parking in the street? That kind of thing. Not to say it might not happen in the future, but we're just not aware of issues with that previous church. Gotcha. This really helps a lot. Um, all right. I think that's all that I had. Thank you. Sure.

I've decided since Ed Tahar is on the line, I should probably ask my question of him before talking about it. Um, the in the traffic study, Ed, are you there? Oh, okay. in the traffic study, the only and I know this from personal experience um intersection um that doesn't get a passing grade or gets a low grade is the turn from Ardan Avenue onto 50th Street is a is a difficulty going south on Ardan Avenue and turning left on 50th Street and going up to um 50th in France is difficult. And I'm wondering as part of your traffic management plan, I'm just thinking about families who do want to walk and may want to walk in the early morning hours or later in the afternoon with their kids to or from I don't know how long they're there. Um, but would there ever be any recommendation for crosswalks or would the traffic um study ever kind of recommend crosswalks for f for 50th? I think that would need to be something discussed further with engineering and determine if that's appropriate at that location.

Okay. Crosswalks themselves don't solve all the problems. It definitely be something that could be looked at, but um I don't know that that was that wasn't actually part of our purview. Uh oh, I saw Ardan in there and that was the only F intersection going south. Right. Right. Right. And that's because there's enough traffic on Ardan that it's difficult to make it out.

Right. Um, and so this is part of the study, but one of the reasons I'm bringing it up is, you know, as soon as you cross from one intersection, as soon as you step off a crosswalk or as soon as you step off a sidewalk and there's a sidewalk across the other street, traffic is supposed to stop. Well, traffic doesn't necessarily do that. So, a lot of times I will kind of advance into the street so I can um walk. But there's something about a crosswalk that people are like, "Oh, they're stepping out in the street and I do have to stop." And without a crosswalk, they just go right through.

I think that would be reviewed by the traffic safety committee in the future. There's warrants for that at that location, and they'd look at safety concerns based on traffic crossing at that point. I know there are tra there are crosswalks further into the 50th and France district. So, I don't know if the recommendation would be to continue on the north side of 50th into the 50th in France district and then continue south in one of those existing crosswalks or at a controlled intersection. Yeah, I guess that would be reviewed by traffic safety in the future. Right. That's a intersection I turn left on my bike a lot and it's always difficult and I'm also frightened to kind of ride my bike on 50th.

Okay. Thank you. Any other questions for staff or the applicant? Yeah,

I have just one more question. Um, if you do identify a leie to use the church, would that person who takes it over for that purpose would need to then get a variance or need to identify the additional I guess 22 spots if they ever hit max. So, if a church user comes in and they say, let's just say it's uh you know, during some religious holiday where most people would show up. Um I understand that the the Spanish daycare or the Spanish school is within the range, right? So, it's not going to be a problem. But if the lei comes in and uses it as a church and it then it it now hits its maximum capacity. Would they need to come to the planning commission or any body to review and get a a variance approved or is tonight when we have to do that in anticipation of that future lesie's uh parking needs?

Yep. And so it's tonight's the night that you'd be acting on that parking variance for the church user. Um, and that information is based on plans that have been provided by the applicant for the maximum number of seats in the largest assembly area, which is the church area. So, if in the future it would change, like if they wanted to provide many more seats in that area and they would demand more parking, then a future variance might be required. But the variance tonight is based on the plans that were provided for that largest assembly area and the number of seats in that assembly area. Thank you. All right. Any any other questions? Okay. Thank you very much. As I mentioned, this is a public hearing. So, the ability for the, uh, public to weigh in is important and we can do that with two different ways. So, uh, typically it's whoever's here, you have three minutes to come up to either podium and you have you can testify when the light turns green. Then when it turns red, your time's up. But also for those who might be tuning in remotely, you can weigh in also. So the way to to to provide testimony, you take out your phone and you're going to call the numbers on the screen. 3125358110. Enter access code 28611859105. enter password 5454 and then press star three on the keypad to get in the queue to speak. So while we wait for you to do that, there's about a one minute lag here. Uh we'll open it up to whoever might be in the room that'd like to testify. Just have to say it. I don't see anyone. Anyone? All right. So we'll just give about a minute to see if anyone jumps in the

queue to speak. Maybe 30 seconds. Okay. I started it before.

Perfect. Thank you. It has been a minute and nobody has joined the queue to speak. So I believe it's safe to proceed.

Thank you. Welcome. Motion to close a public hearing. Motion to close. Second. All those in favor say I. I.

I. So moved. Public hearing is closed. So now we take it back to the commission to deliberate and provide a recommendation for approval or denial. So if if there's I'd open it up for discussion or any motions. Thank you. Uh I think this is a unique one for sure. the, you know, reading through the packet is one thing, but then when you have the applicant and the presentation, your ideas get a little bit more solidified and a little bit more clear. So, I thought it was really helpful that we have this Q&A section to help make it easier. Um, I think from what I could tell here, right, um, no major issues in the past with parking at all for the use that it's being intended for and to continue in the future. So that's a real positive uh uh attribute going into this. Um of course once we identify a new user of the church and that um they might have different ideas of how they want to run it, right? And that might push the maximum capacity. It might then require for my math, you know, u close to 25 spots, right? because we count 71, but those extra two is you can't necessarily count that. So, it's really 69. And if the maximum capacity is like 92 spots, then you're looking at like 25 or so, I think, um, parking spots that you have to identify to really make parking a non-issue. Right now, when I looked at this, right, there's some parking in this area, right? right across the street uh where that US Bank building is, there's a couple spots there that one can negotiate to use. If just let's just say on a Sunday if if if you know if if there's a capacity max capacity

then banks don't open on Sundays, right? So you could potentially use that. There's also the parking ramp on um 51st Street right behind um uh Salu American, you know, that that that area. Uh so that parking spot could also get negotiated to be used and so there's ways of solving it but that has to be part of a plan right and we didn't really have a plan today it it was just part of the condition is that a plan will be developed well what is that and who's going to review it and approve it right um and then we get this letter um here where there seems to be a a negotiation between u mis amigos and you the resident Jerry O'Brien where they're like, "Yep, we have an agreement. You could make sure that, you know, I can get in and out of my garage. Uh, and this is a reserve a reserve spot." So, stuff like that could get tricky. Um, what I think would have been great to see was something to the effect of, you know, hey, we've spoken to these different areas. We've addressed the parking issue. is if we ever get to maximum capacity, here's where the overflow is going to go. We have this plan figured out or we have valet service, etc. Then we're covering the current use as a Spanish um school and potential future use where future lei who uses the church is also covered too, right? So then we have a really good robust understanding of what the solution is. But instead, I think we have uh a promise, I guess, that you know, a parking plan will be developed and that's a condition and but I don't know if we'll ever see it um come back to us and maybe staff would review it and approve it. Um so I think going forward, right, having that plan in place or something to just give us guarantees that this is not a problem would be

great, but I don't think we have that. However, for the intended use of what uh the applicant is trying to do and the history of it not being an issue, weigh is very positive for this, right? So, I'm I'm leaning positive on this one. But I think in the future, um what I'm trying to plant a seed on is it would be good to have this condition addressed a little bit more robustly to say here's our plan going forward. So then we could react to that and say, "Yep, that sounds great." it makes it a much easier cell um for the planning commission. So that's just my comments on it.

If if I could make a recommendation on that, I think those are that's excellent comments. I would suggest if the planning commission is looking for approval to beef up that condition to make it subject to approval of the city engineer that parking plan.

Any other comments? Yeah, I just have a a question, I guess, regarding um future um if there were to be an addition or renovation of the space that would increase the capacity of the largest um I'm not sure how you put it, the largest gathering space, which is typically the sanctuary for a church like this. um and it increased that space, would they would the property owner need to come back before us at that point then for a parking variance and or a

they would new CP? Okay. I'm personally pretty comfortable with the way the um parking plan is because it's an existing space. They're not going to add to it as of now. And I'm assuming all the existing pews are still in there and it is based on the parking requirement is based on a square footage of that existing gathering space. And um and my nearly 20 years of being here, I have never seen that parking lot full or even close to full. And I'm sure the church was like losing, but I agree with Director Teague that he asked around and he couldn't find anybody that had room. So, and this is one of those we've got these parking lots that have these capacities based on um code. And one of the reasons churches are one over three is because families go there and several people are in a car together. Families usually go. So it's not like one person per car. It's one car per family that goes there. Um so I'm comfortable with that, but I also don't mind having the city engineer review it. One thing I would like to kind of ask the city council is have them discuss um a crosswalk.

I think that could be another condition that you add that the this be sent to the traffic safety committee for consideration. Right. Thank you.

Just want to add a comment to having been on the planning commission for a while now. being underparked can tend to be a quite divisive outcome. We've seen it with lots of other potential uses even when they're like one car short. I think that this is one of those cases where based on like a lack of feedback people here testifying and it being such a small use on a weekend that would hit that peak demand. Um the reality is like you would park on the nearby streets and you can do that, right? So clearly like neighbors and residents nearby are not concerned and I think that's where we have the discretion to make the call on that. The use isn't changing at all. The size isn't changing. So I think to your point it it seems like a lowrisk thing not to have a plan where maybe other times like we would like say 44th in France there was a very convoluted plan that was proposed for a restaurant there with different entities and the council didn't support that because that was a real situation with real like tangible risk. So ju just just a comment where I see this compared to other ones previously,

right? And because I mean Mako is the owner, they're the ones that are going to talk to churches who are interested in leasing, you know, so they're still going to be the owner and the one that the city deals with. Um and that's part of the reason of the for the traffic demand management plan that is part of this variance too in case those things start to creep up.

Mr. just make one other comment. I feel like as a group, not that consistency is everything, but I feel like as a group, we tend to be pretty forgiving of existing non-conforming unless there's a safety or or a public health issue attached to it. And that's probably a responsible way to look at it as a group. And also um uh chair just mentioned that this is a site that'll as a as a religious institution it'll be used on weekends maybe Wednesday nights too but relatively little during the week. Um and there are lots of examples around our city that uh religious institutions have cars on the street on Sunday. And I always look to Commissioner Felt as the expert on everything about Morningside. The church over there I don't think has any surface parking.

Yeah. So I guess I would I would feel a little awkward first. It's existing non-conforming and it seems to work fine. And in addition to that, I'd feel a little awkward being really strident on this when there are other examples in the city that you know we just don't get that that excited about it. We have another church at 50th and Wooddale that has zero parking. Those are good examples. There's no further comments. I'd welcome a motion. Good feedback. Uh, so it seems like what I'm hearing is, you know, and correct me if I'm wrong, see how you guys feel on this, but if we add the condition that the city engineer approved the approved the parking solution and the traffic safety team review it for consideration. If if we add those two, would that be an an objection? I know we're saying that it's low risk, right? But is that something that would at least make us feel a bit more comfortable with this lower situation?

I personally think it's unnecessary. But are are we talking about like an actual involved plan like to cover all of the parking offsite? So I guess I could ask director if if the city engineer re re reviews this and says, "Yeah, this makes sense." How much effort is that on that team? Is is that like a a costly thing to do or is it really just a quick assessment and then making an approval decision?

Yeah, I would see it as an assessment of the engineering department. They could have a deliber deliberation with staff. Um yeah, it wouldn't be outside consultant or anything like that. We would rely on our engineering staff

and they do that as part of as part of the building permitting which you guys are because there's some building permit requirements for some interior walls. Yeah, we would see this as once they get a a tenant for the building that they would contact us and we would work with the church to um come up with a plan if there is a problem. So as part of regular operation, you're already collaborating and probably have the same conversations about the parking requirements needed here. So even having like a meeting to collaborate might be unnecessary because it's already in conversation as you're evaluating the site. How I can interpret that. Okay. So I don't think we need that condition then if folks are cool with that. Um, so the only one that I think Commissioner um felt brought up was just the traffic safety review for consideration. Is that something that we want to include or what are you guys thoughts there?

I think it sounded like if we put a condition, it would just be a recommendation to send it for review. It wouldn't be hinging on the outcome of that review. Right. Correct. So I think that's fair. Yes. I just want to put it out there that close to have some crosswalk. That's a good point. Yeah.

But yeah, I would just be careful to like if we bound the outcome of that review by like if we if they didn't get a crosswalk, it wouldn't get approved. Would I think we should avoid that? So, we could just say for review and leave it at that, you know, send it to the traffic safety team for review. For review. Yeah. Okay, like a plan. So, I'll give it a swag and you guys could make an adjustment. Right. So, I'm going to put forward a motion to recommend approval of a conditional use permit and variance for this parking and lot size for a religious institution and school at 4201 West 50th Street subject to the findings and conditions listed in the staff report and recommend the traffic safety team for a review. You have crosswalk

crosswalks in there for Yeah. for review of the crosswalk. You have a second. Second. Any further discussion or additions? Okay. Uh all those in favor say I. I. Opposed. Motion carries unanimously. Good luck on the project and the next step at the city council. Thank you very much.

All right, that concludes our public hearing for tonight and we're on to uh planning commission comments as well as staff comments. Any comments from fellow commissioners? I saw a question for Carrie actually. Is there an update on the the Macy's site and where that is right now? Uh yeah, I can talk about that at my comments or I can jump right into that. Let's wait for your comments. Yeah, build the suspense.

I could hop in here. So, I know um you know, the city of Minneapolis is wrestling with a lot of challenges when it comes to ICE and rounding up people who, you know, just, you know, the controversies around that, just picking people off the street. I just want to give uh kudos to uh Edina police that sent out a statement that essentially, you know, indicated that they're focused on policing crime and they're not focused on um getting involved with ICE and their process. And I think that was helpful for people in the city to know that Edina police is focused on what their mandate is and um and not so much getting kind of pulled into you know that federal process that's happening and that's that's really shaking up a lot of folks within the city and and around the state and is spreading right. So I just want to give the police some kudos for that statement that they put out and um and and the support as well. City Council also um had a statement of support and they talked about it Monday night um and they're reviewing some additional statements too. So, city council is behind that as well.

Thank you for sharing. Any other comments? All right. Move to staff. All right. Uh we'll start with the Macy's. So, um the council approved the the final plat at their last meeting. They held a public hearing and that was approved. So, with that, they um the developer hope to close on the property this week. I haven't heard one way or the other, but we've heard the closing is this week. If that does occur, they plan to begin construction possibly in the next month or two if all goes well with the closing. In terms of the underpass, the council on their agenda, they were going to consider um starting the beginning process for just the planning of it. They did not take action on that. They want to wait and see if the developer is going to close on the property. So that issue has been tabled until I believe it's their their meeting in January, January 20th. I believe it's the 20th. I don't have the dates in front of me, but um so that's the latest on that's the latest on the Macy's. Any questions on that? Uh the other item that they considered was the sketch plan for the quick trip. um some of the same comments that the planning commission had maybe a touch more favorable. Um so now it's up to Quicktrip to try to weigh all those comments and come back. Um what they've indicated to me is they're considering it and we'll think about it over the next couple of months. So maybe we'll see a formal application on that, but um to be determined. Uh your next meeting will be January 14th. our trend of not having a lot of applications continued continues. Uh we don't have any variances but we do we'll have a sketch

plan for you to consider. So we will have a meeting and that is it for me. I get I I'd say just one suggestion too. You know, there's times we try to tuck in work sessions, you know, before meetings, then it creates a long evening, but if we have like a drought of a couple meetings, it might be worth filling that time with a longer work session to just make some traction on like our work items.

Yeah, that's a really good point. Especially given we're going to start to ramp up now with the zoning ordinance. So anytime where we don't have um regular business items, I think that's a great idea to maybe just have a work session and we can extend the time if if we need it. So definitely we'll take that into into consideration. Sounds good. Maybe we meet at the the fire station or we come in here and have an awkward semicircle.

Yeah, you know, I think that's a good idea because that space is available for the public. I would anticipate we will when we start the comprehensive plan um with the last two that we've done we held have held a lot of meetings in the Southdale district. That's where a lot of the activity is. So I would see us utilizing that space for sure and we can do that for a work session as well. Can I ask a question to staff? the letter that was sent around regarding the U. Minnesota League of Cities.

Yeah, it was um an attachment forwarded by Scott Neil to the planning commission background or that or he just said send it out. I wasn't given any. I can I can get more information if folks are interested. Okay. Motion to adjurnn. Yeah. Second. All those in favor say I. I. So moved. The meeting's been adjourned. Thank you everyone. Happy New Year. Happy holidays.