for all good evening I'm calling the Monday March 25th 2024 Planning Commission meeting to order will everyone please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance Al to the flag United States of America to the stands na justice for all thank you everyone all right first item on the agenda tonight is the approval of the agenda do we have any requests for changes seeing none to entertain a motion to approve the agenda so move second second all those in favor approving the agenda say I I I agenda is approved uh approval of the minutes from looks like our last meeting was February 12th do we have any concerns about the minutes or requests for edits seeing none entertain a motion to move the minutes move to approve all right do I have a second second all right all those in favor say I I I opposed all right minutes are approved we have two public hearings tonight uh the first one is Eden Prairie Public Schools UNFI request for approval for guide plan change to public semiu and parks and open space on 60.9 One Acres approval for zoning change to public and parks and open space on 60.9 One Acres Mr chairman I would like to respectfully recuse myself from this transaction as I am representing the school district in this uh transaction's duly noted thank you commissioner all right uh will the proponent of the project please come forward welcome good evening you would uh state your name for the record and please tell us about your request yes my name is Kyle fiser uh I am the director facility safety and grounds at Eden Prairie schools and if you would excuse me one one second yeah it's right there thank you very much um so yes uh Eden pre schools uh has signed into a purchase agreement uh for the property uh located at 11840 Valley View Road uh the UNFI building um I'd just like to start by saying that uh the mission of Eden pre schools uh is to inspire each student to learn continuously so that they are empowered to reach personal fulfillment and contribute purposefully to our everchanging world and our values are what drive that we believe that each person has intrinsic value we believe that each person has individual gifts interests and talents we believe that Community benefits When each person contributes and we believe that relationships flourish on a foundation of mutual trust and support and we believe that continuous learning is essential for personal fulfillment opportunity and success and I bring these things up because uh Eden pre schools um we support our earliest Learners through the adult education and I believe that our tassel transition program uh exemplifies both our mission and our values and if I could I'd like to take um a minute to talk about that tassel transition program because that is what we intend to house um at that location ation tassel transitions uh opens doors of opportunity for adults with special needs ages 18 to 22 um you'll notice in a upcoming video it it calls out 18 to 21 um state law actually changed to to 22 years of age um we provide special education programming for these students skill development and job support usually in a oneon-one uh scenario where we have need for a significant amount of square footage please hold and here we have a video uh talking about some of our students uh in that tassel program tassel helped me um PR much uh find what I really wanted to do because coming from in high school I didn't know what you know to do I had some communication problems like did not know how to communicate with some other people so I really kept stuff to myself they gave me some tools that really helped me in a long run tassel is a great opportunity for our students 18 to 21 years old um hopefully for students to find themselves a little bit that may need an extra cushion um of time they're open they're at a point in their life that they're open to discovering or exploring what they need but it's also if they can find some passion and find a career path but it's a place where they can try stuff and fail too you know he came to us last year um he's just so likable easygoing and has a quest for learning he's quiet so it's interesting kind of have to Pro him a little bit uh to see what he wants to do but he really kind of gravitated trying the Auto Body in Pathways I'm more of a Hands-On type of guy so they really uh said this might be a good path for you when I first started we did uh we did welding and Welding was fun you know I I never expected welding we went to a phys like a car and like it was a dented car and then we pulled out this like a dent looking back at it I was like I might see myself doing this you know like I could see myself doing uh aut body in the future so we try to meet the students where they're at and then the goals are what what you want to accomplish and again it can be for their career for a job but it could also be independent living um how could we think about you living independently with a roommate in a year or two years we hopefully get their resume in place with cover letter some of the basics you would do to get a job so my goals were pretty much to get down notes ask for a teacher try finding what you really like and I found why I really liked it's kind of it's worth it and then uh uh the things they taught me was a lot of things that I did not know like budgeting uh looking for a houses or cars you know if I want to move out and tassel is like they work only on you if tassel didn't come to me uh I don't know you know I don't know what I would be doing thank you and so at the end of this this summer um our tassel program which is currently located here in this building on the lower level um that lease is no longer being uh going to move forward so we need to find a new location for our students and we thought that this would be a a great opportunity uh for um an opportunity for for growth so during this time um and this is our our typical process here We Gather Community input um regarding our programs um specifically tassel program and and any others that that we may be interested in or would like to hear from the community uh regarding this space so this will all happen during the 2425 school year uh and this property is going to make make it possible for us to to think about new ideas and New Opportunities um where we can serve our community uh We've also reached out to the 9mile Creek Watershed District uh for partnership and educational and community building activities um been playing a little bit of phone tag with them um but messages that we've exchanged back and forth um are very positive and they're very interested in in connecting with us and at this point I'd like to invite uh Durk Tedman here to come speak thank you Kyle good evening Commissioners thank you for having us here to talk about this um space and what it can mean for students and for the community at large uh I'm Dirk Tedman our executive director of marketing and Communications for the school district and um I am excited to talk to you a little bit about what this space um can look like as we move to the Future and so um we went through a similar process about 10 years ago it was called designing Pathways if any of you remember that process to really Envision what does the future of Eden Pur schools look like um you know there's a lot of questions why would a district need such a large property for this program that currently is housed in the city center um and part of this is because we're trying to look to the Future and build what our community has deemed at needs whether that's our families our students our business partners um and we go through a really extensive engagement process to understand what their needs and wants are so that we can build a school system that delivers on what our community desires and uh prioritizes and in our designing Pathways um efforts you can see here that we started with an academic design process and then it led to facilities updates and eventually a bond for additional renovation such as the work that was done at the middle school and this is the same process we'll be going through um with this new property purchase as well uh we're celebrating our 100th year of inspiring each this year we appreciate the proclamation from the mayor um and the partnership with the city in that and this sort of facility allows us to really dream into the future we're anticipating enrollment increases over the next few years we're at a nine-year high of enrollment in Eden per schools unlike other districts that have faced declining enrollment the quality of what we offer the partnership with the city and the community all of these things are driving people into our schools which we think is a really beneficial to our community and to um the city as a whole and to the Future Workforce that'll be um available because of that and as we look to what facility needs are there we also know um you all have a plan over the next 10 years to add a thousand more units within the city you all being um the city not just the Planning Commission um which will also lead to increasing enrollment and that was part of a demographic study that we just uh did last year with a thirdparty research company to try and project what does our enrollment look like um the other thing that this uh property allows us to do is bring back students who currently need to be served elsewhere um we have to Outsource some of our special education services and programming for students in grade 6 through 12 before they get to that tassel transition program and this property gives us the space to be able to look at what that can mean for the future and bringing those students back which we estimate will be more than 200 students um who will be supported through programming and we need a space to do that and our current buildings are all at capacity and so um what we're excited about is this process where we know we have a need we don't know exactly what we need to use the space for but we know the space is needed and so this um academic visioning process that will go through similar to the designing Pathways process of 10 years ago will show us a path forward about what our community is looking for and allow us to then enact it right away and begin work so that we can have Future Ready students who have the skills that they need to succeed not only in school but in business and in life um so just wanted to bring that forward as an example of the community engagement process that in my role I help oversee to make sure um that we have buyin and participation and really make sure that we follow through them people are looking um for the education that we provide in in PR schools and with that I'll turn it back over to Kyle for the last couple of sides here and so as Durk talked about um this is about 165,000 expanded uh and added on to the Middle School created that Performing Art Center U to alleviate some of that pressure that was on the high school uh and we we're we're almost at capacity um each weekend uh at at Central Middle School um our school district I feel U is that Gathering Place is one of the gathering places uh within the city of Eden Prairie and we feel that this could be another one of those Gathering places and yes um we do have a lot of stuff uh in the district um so we do anticipate having a a centralized uh Warehouse area um that would be in the in the lowest level of the building uh it would not be utilizing any of that office space or things of things of that nature um that space would be dedicated for uh that forward- facing uh opportunities as I had just discussed and with that I think thank you very much for your time thank you any initial questions for commission Mr chairman thank you um appreciate that introduction and that really helped me uh get my head around a few of the questions that I had bouncing around inside of it um is this land you said you had a purchase agreement on it is this contingent upon getting your guide plan approval City and the M Cil uh yes it is okay all right so um we won't have to uh undo what we're doing here it sounds like if you opt not to proceed with the purchase because sounds like you're in Inc already I I don't see any reason why we would be backing out all right good good good thanks um you spoke to a couple of the other uses and that's really what I wanted to ask about most is your your letter that we got in our package talked about other you know unique opportunities for Community use space environmental learning outdoor spaces um a play area for the students I wasn't exactly sure what that meant because they're probably too old for playgrounds but you're going to take up some of the pavement for that um this is kind of a unique project for us to review because it's just a guide plan change sometimes I'll be asking I don't know if other will also maybe some deeper questions as though this was a site plan review but this may never come back to us as a site plan review so we're just kind of digging a little deeper sure um so it sounds like your program isn't set in stone more to the point it will evolve based upon the community's needs for the space so I'm not only hearing that there's going to be program space for students but also you're inviting in the community maybe for special events and things like this there's sounds like enough parking on the site to accommodate that but it'll just evolve I guess right yep um just like with any of our other program that we have uh at Eden prairy schools we we take the feedback from uh from our stakeholders uh so those are building occupants our students our family members our teaching staff um and our lead administrators um we're we don't don't operate in a vacuum U so we're always we're always evolving and and um meet working to meet the needs of of those who we serve okay okay and then again you answered another question of mine which was it seems like I always hear on the news about our enrollments dropping I guess around the state maybe around the country and I'm glad to hear that's not happening in our community uh thankfully yeah so that that was good to hear a lot of exit strategies trying to shed excess real estate for school districts is a really tough tough thing to do so so uh that's that's not our case right now so no that's why I was wondering getting 165,000 Square fet when you only need 60 right now and then all of that stuff I hear on the news so sure that's good um the Western most driveway off Valley View you have two driveways in that's just next to the second parcel that the seller wants to get rid of and you guys aren't interested in is that going to be used solely for you folks or you going to be interested in maybe having an access agreement to share with your future neighbor yeah I it's my understanding I'm not involved uh in the um in the the the legal aspect of it um with uh um with the seller uh or the other potential buyer but I do know uh I can confirm that there is conversation uh we are continuing dialogue uh okay about about use of that second Drive great great did you have anything to do with the traffic report that was prepared for the project um unfortunately uh design tree engineering uh is the our civil engineering firm um and John shudy um who who was heading that unfortunately he he's not able to to be present um he was up in got stuck in Alexandria okay so that's where he offices out of um but um we are um continually working on that um we're we're still navigating that that piece of the of the traffic study okay we haven't seen a I think I'll probably pose some questions to staff about that then about the different uses involved um good and then I see some audience members here tonight and again this is not our purview as Planning Commission but um again just uh there's probably going to be questions about taxes um we're taking an a taxable office parcel off the tax rooll for our city and putting it into public where probably don't pay taxes and then um U whether this is up for a referendum or not I'm not sure but I'm assuming your student students don't pay tuition or is this are we funding this Scholastic education through our tax base through real estate taxes Derk would you like to speak to this sport I'm just the facilities guy I can speak uh and I might also invite up Dr Sean Hoffman Bram who's our executive director of Community Education because um they also are involved in the space and can speak some to the funding mechanisms but um on the taxing um the district District was able to through its lease Levy purchase Authority um get this at a cost of less than a dollar a month to taxpayers so the tax on a a $550,000 home is only $11 a year so there is not going to be a major tax impact in the immediate term to people again as we go through that academic visioning process what we're calling um education jargon but that engagement process with the community about what are the skills you want in students what are the the knowledge that they need to gain apart from State Standards what are the things that businesses and career um Fields want those pieces will all help us determine what are the facility needs for the future and just like in the designing Pathways work um from that there may be future Bond or referendum campaigns if there's additional funding needed for those facility upgrades but that would be after that engagement process to determine what the needs are um to the question about funding um students and tassel do not pay tuition um it is funded through state and federal Aid dollars we also have money that comes um to The District in the form of Grants and then our community education programs have tuition based in fee service programs which Dr Hoffman Bram could speak a little bit more to uh but overall we are um fortunate to be in a position where this will not be a great expense to the taxpayers in the near- term and any future expense to the taxpayers would be after a robust engagement process uh as was done for the facilities upgrades that happen in the designing path Pathways process good evening welcome it's always dangerous to invite Community ad to the table because we're kind of like parks and wreck and we just want to take it all over so um so I I always have my ear to the new initiatives and prospects in the district because we are sometimes that first connection with community members rentals groups that constantly want to have programming more access to facilities different things like that so in our programs our primarily fee based so when you talk about renters when you talk about um our preschool programs our summer enrichment camp opportunities many of those are tuition-based and we see ourselves being able to find some great more expanded opportunities for Learners in the summer over non-school days different things like that so we're very excited about um serving the community talking and working with the city as my department very um closely does and then finding what we can do that kind of fills those voids and gaps for here for people in Eden Prairie wonderful thank you so much sounds like a wonderful fit thank you thank you chair any other initial questions commission hi because I live on Bryant Lake I have to ask a question yes sir do you have any plans or consideration about using the lake Beyond for programs you know not officially there there's been um when we've taken tours of the property um and we when we've walked the grounds um and even looked out the windows um that's always always the the top comment is what can we do how can we um provide engagement uh for our students and our community members so um we would love to we don't know uh in what capacity yet which is why um I reached out to uh the 9mile Creek Watershed District initially uh to start that partnership thank you thank you very much Jeremy you'll take us through this planners report this evening sure and I'll try to address as many comments or questions as I can um from a from a staff perspective uh we see this as really it's a map change uh from the comprehensive plan and our zoning map the use uh is for an educational um Pro property um requires a um specific land use guidance and a specific zoning and and what we're proposed to do here is or what their applicant is asking for is to change basically change our Maps um to allow that type of use as Mr far alluded to this is a unique uh request we usually see some building associated with the project um so you know some something tangible to look at so we don't have that here yet um we uh this is really almost a first step to use the property from a school perspective if there's any changes to the exterior of the building uh any new development new grading new tree removal that will require some review whether it goes to the Planning Commission or Council or just stays at the STA level depends on the scope of what that work is um but um this is not the only time you'll ever see this this project or this building here um Miss Grody you mentioned about use of the lake um in 2008 uh um and even as far back as 1978 when the original development agreement was approved for this property there were certain stipulations and restrictions on the use of the lake in terms of construction docks moing um things of that nature those still are in place um eventually the city council will review a compreh or development agreement amendment that will change primarily the the owner of the building uh the reference to the owner of the building but there's been no suggestion to add lake side or lake improvements um as part of this use so um the commission should feel comfortable that those standards that were applied in 78 and in 2000 uh 2008 excuse me um those will hold um as we move forward um development agreement Amendment if that was to ever be changed would go through a public process likely the city council would have to react to that so just by changing the UNFI user to the school district user you shouldn't expect to see rampant development there there'll still be a public review process for that um when we review a comp plan Amendment um you know CH primarily changing uses we do we do want to take care and it kind of recognize what's the what's the uses around the property of this propert property is a unique one again it's right on the lake but it's also kind of on its own little island there's one undeveloped parcel to the West there's industrial properties to the South across Valley View and then across the lake there's a single family residential we don't see this change in land use from office to um public or or semi-public schools churches as being a negative U from a traffic perspective from a noise perspective from a utility impact perspective so our our general standards when we're considering as uh land use change and a zoning change we feel that they're being met with a request because there isn't known changes um and again if there are proposed changes in the future 5 10 20 25 years from now um all properties evolve and there will be a a public review process if if things change in that in that respect um I mentioned the further review I mentioned the building prohibition for docks and moing and things the active uses of the lake which have been a concern and and really from from a respect of Lake protection and and Environmental Protection U the proposed use really I think is a strong candidate for that because there's no no commercial need for the uh for the lake you know for boating um residential likely would have a lot a strong desire for Lake access and Lake um dockage um which I think would be maybe detrimental to maybe the some of the goals of the neighboring Property Owners um so from those perspective you know impact um impact to the comprehensive plan impact of the zoning District staff is supporting this this uh these changes as proposed recognizing that um the comp plan Amendment needs to be approved by the Met Council um and that is a process also um but we do recommend approval of the of the changes U proposed here thank you Jeremy do we have questions for the city I have a quick question I noticed on the letter there was a mentioning of the phase one being completed but I didn't see what the results were if if anyone can share that a phase one yeah in the letter um from uh don psome the engineering this is a phase one environmental assessment has been completed for the transaction and it's including the submitt sure um commissioner um we didn't require a phase one at this stage we typically do when there's a building uh project being proposed uh you can certainly turn it over to the applicant if they're if they'd like to speak to that phase one results yes thank you uh we did complete a phase one environmental assessment uh and the only finding uh or area of uh potential concern was there is an underground storage tank uh 10,000g um that um we we had questions about uh so we conducted a phase two environmental assessment um those tests uh have not come back from the lab yet uh but initial uh reports uh indicate that there's no um there's no leakage from that 10,000g uh diesel tank into the into the groundwater or the soils at this point thank you thank you other questions for C Mr chair I follow up on my traffic report question that I had earlier for the applicant um with the evolution of program changes uh as well as the ones that were itemized here I just wondered how the traffic engineer addressed uh all of those different potential uses and variable Square footages without being too conservative or um Carter will speak to this probably more detail but what I've learned from talking with the engineering team is is based on the information known um the traffic doesn't generate any concern as with any property where we see an evolution uses um we do ask the traffic question um and that's an opportunity for additional information but maybe Carter want to speak more to that sure thank you chair and Commissioners um just to get to your point specifically the goal of the study was to really document the existing condition what's out there today in the office use and and understanding what that traffic demand was and then compare it to what we knew at the time which was the tassel and the um Alternative Learning Center you know students that may be there and what that traffic demand was and really see that the difference um and that's kind of where we saw that that that gap between office and the and the students there wasn't a um an estimated program accelerated you know uh change there because it wasn't it that wasn't known as you kind of heard today there they're not sure of what that is um just based on you know simple math of using that 60,000 square feet even if you triple it you know with same type similar programs you know we're not even close to the uh the office use uh traffic demand uh as Jeremy alluded to we're pretty comfortable with the you know the amount of traffic that may or may not be on Valley View today with that t same type of traffic going through that signal and the four lane divided you know essentially Highway through there so uh not a lot of concerns but if anything major came through would go through our process again which was also noted in their uh their review um documents as a comment to be part of that review if there were major changes to any transportation circulation or things that affected uh the roadway and also include the county in that as well so since it's their it's their roadway and their signal thank you very much yep okay questions okay this is a public hearing if anyone would like to come forward and speak in favor or against this project or request please do so now not seeing anyone I'd entertain a motion to close the public hearing so move all right motion to close the public hearing do I have a second second I have a second all those in favor Clos public hearing say I I I public hearing is Clos further discussion commission M um overall you know I'm I'm in support of this I I I think it um traffic's definitely not a concern and office use there would be the most intense um uh uh you know parking and and and trip generator um and uh I think the for me the only down side of this whole thing is it is taking uh a you know tax paying property off of the tax roles it's about I think $380,000 a year right now in uh tax revenue for that one parcel um so my my only suggestion would be um and I hope um I I think it makes sense for the school district to go forward with this transaction but to uh keep in mind um by maybe engaging with with with a broker or something um to explore maybe selling off some of the excess land I think they're probably is still some even within this parcel um um in order to help you know put some uh potential money back on the payroll and frankly also help raise funds to do any sort of major renovation or project that that they would have planned here so I think that could be a win-win so but that's just a suggestion but otherwise um yeah I'm I'm in support of this thank you I second commissioner Med's support I think uh it looks like kind of a win-win to me I don't see a I don't see any real big I don't see any real downsides at all and uh and I believe you know the public processes and the processes that the school district goes through will allow appropriate input and and uh to to give us something that that will be good other comments discussion I just have one more small comment going back to my phase uh one and two just as long as the phase two comes back cleared in any you know you know recommended remediation by the engineering firm that's that's the only concern I had no other discussion I would entertain a motion Mr chairman move to recommend approval for comprehensive plan Amendment zoning District change all on 60.9 one Acres as represented in the March 25th 2024 staff report I have a motion from commissioner Kirk for approval do I have a second second second for commissioner Weber all those in favor say I I I opposed anyone else like to abstain okay I abstained you abstain yeah okay commissioner Gro abstains all right uh thank you congratulations moving forward nice presentation good luck all right moving on this evening we have a another public hearing uh this a code Amendment office use and Industrial Flex Tech request for amending city code section 11.30 to allow for more office use by percentage in parcel zoned I2 and I5 jerem you would take us through this request yes thank you um relatively um hopefully simple uh compreh or text Amendment here trying to incorporate some of the goals of the Aspire 2040 which talked about which introduced the industrial Flex Tech land use category it really applied it to a lot of our Industrial Area much of the property in the Golden Triangle area and some other Pockets kind of throughout town we identified for this industrial Flex Tech land use and it really is a it's a combination of of of our I I2 and I5 zoning districts are some of our office districts some of our kind of our employment kind of goals um have been identified as this industrial Flex Tech area what we're proposing to do recognizing that we want to capitalize in as much employment in these areas as possible um what we what we're proposing to do is recommend is remove that 50% cap currently in the I2 and the I5 zoning District also in the I but we're not going to change that one yet but in the I2 and the I5 there's a limit of 50% of the gross floor area of the building can be used for office and while we don't have a huge number of um of waivers over the years we've had 15 20 um where we've asked for extensions beyond that 50% we see it as an opportunity uh to just remove a really an unnecessary burden is a strong term but an unnecessary regulation that doesn't necessarily jive with what our goals are from a from a comprehensive plan perspective so you're not going to see a a steady stream of of businesses coming forward to to expand you know beyond the 50% but we think it's a good good statement to make to the business Community to try to to add more um um employment in in an area we think it's appropriate for um Without Really any negative impacts um you will uh in terms of use you may see some parking waivers if they can't meet the parking requirement because manufacturing has a less parking uh requirement than an office use but we can cross those bridges when we get to it we just see this as a good positive movement move forward towards implementing our our indust or our comprehensive plan um I I want to point out that this does not change the I um U use distribution where there's a still a cap for 50% office the ienas usually are more robust industrial areas sometimes there's outside storage in those areas um and we we didn't want to kind of combine that while office is still appropriate there we we don't want to promote that to the extent that it may detract from the usability of some of the uh more robust industrial areas so that's really I want to make that very clear upfront um staff is recommending uh the change as proposed in our staff report and I stand for any questions thank you Jeremy any questions for the city right away all right this is a public hearing if anyone like to come forward and speak for or against the proposed changes please do so now all right seeing none I would entertain a motion to close the public hearing I'll move to close the public hearing all right move to close do I have a second I'll second second all those in favor of Clos public hearing say I I I opposed public hearings closed further discussion on this item Mr chair um I can vouch for the demand for this change in the zoning Ordnance we've been hired a number of times over the last 10 years to compute precise percentages of office occupancy versus Warehouse occupancy in this Golden Triangle area uh from landlords especially in multi-tenant buildings where they're leases come and go and some people want a little bit more office space some people want a little bit little and they're always on the threshold of that and it's been a problem for them in the past I think that'll relieve this burden sorry for the word again but um I strongly support this yeah I'd like to say it makes sense to me too it just gives a little flexibility in the employment aspects the employment locations in our community and and I think that's a good thing yep Comm um I I agree um I think it helps uh just reiterate uh the reason why this Flex you know industrial was created in the first place because you have kind of changing business needs um um and even I I think it helps support small business and um the growth cycle of a business too because I think you might start out and then a a business might not even really know how their needs will shift within a space so I think it let gives people that flexibility all right at entertaining motion Mr chair commissioner far I'd like to make a motion I move to recommend approval for the amendment to chapter 11 11.30 as represented in the March 25th 202024 staff report all right motion commissioner far do you have a second second second from commissioner Sherwood all those in favor say I I opposed would anyone like to obstain okay thank you Jeremy uh any planners reports this evening okay uh somewhat of a su evening I believe commissioner medy is this your last meeting is that the case yes um so I'll do a brief little thank thank you all this is my La this my term is expiring so um really enjoyed surveying on the commission um I hope maybe one day I'm back we'll see um keep an eye on things and um good luck with uh to all of you and thank you so much for letting me be part of this well thank you for your service you were you've been on for six years and it's been a pleasure serving with you so thank you so much [Applause] thanks all right do we have any other members reports no I think we'll just stay here until commissioner Med wants to make a motion to adjourn then I will move to adjourn the March 25th 2024 Planning Commission meeting all right I have a motion to adjourn do I have a second second and it was a good motion all right all those in favor say I I weour thank thank you everyone for