Edina City Council — Transcript
Saturday, March 15, 2025
Story
Edina Council Weighs Major Mixed-Use Development at Former Macy's Site
Preliminary Rezoning and Mixed-Use Development - 7235 France Avenue
Public Input and Engagement Process
Traffic Study and Roadway Impacts - 7235 France Avenue
Votes (5)
Approval of Meeting Agenda
Dissent: None
Moved by Unknown [Early in meeting] · Seconded by Unknown [Early in meeting]
Routine procedural item; no substantive discussion.
Approval of Meeting Minutes (April 11, 2024 Special Work Session and May 8, 2024 Regular Meeting)
Dissent: None
Moved by Unknown [Early in meeting] · Seconded by Unknown [Early in meeting]
Routine procedural item; no substantive discussion.
Community Comment - Public Input on Non-Agenda Items
Dissent: N/A
David Frankle (4510 Lake Drive, Edina) provided testimony comparing Edina's planning practices unfavorably to Reston, Virginia and Columbia, Maryland. He criticized the city's lack of data-driven decision-making, absence of a data analytics position, and use of Tax Increment Financing (TIF) districts. Frankle noted that TIF has negatively impacted Edina Public Schools (running a deficit) and cited specific examples including the Grand View area remaining vacant for 15 years and a bridge project under federal investigation for ADA non-compliance. He recommended the city adopt evidence-based planning practices consistent with National League of Cities guidance.
Public Hearing and Variance Approval - Front Yard Setback Variance, 4619 Town Circle
Dissent: None
Moved by Unknown Commissioner [Deliberation] · Seconded by Unknown Commissioner [Deliberation]
Chris Aer (City Staff) presented a request for a 15.7-foot front yard setback variance for a garage addition to an existing non-conforming 1939 home. The property has an unusual lot configuration with a cul-de-sac on the east side, creating an average front yard setback requirement of 35.7 feet (based on neighboring properties at 21.8 feet and 49.6 feet). The existing home is set back 21.7 feet; the proposed garage would be set back 20 feet. Staff noted practical difficulties: (1) the property's non-conforming status predating current ordinance; (2) significant topography (28-30 feet grade change from front to back); and (3) the need to preserve mature trees. The applicant (Dan Dees, Murphy and Code Design) explained that pushing the garage further back would require excessive excavation and tree removal. Commissioners noted the addition matches the existing house setback, includes water runoff controls, and does not alter neighborhood character. All adjacent neighbors supported the request. No public testimony was provided.
Public Hearing and Preliminary Rezoning/PUD - Mixed-Use Development, 7235 France Avenue
Dissent: Multiple Commissioners expressed concerns regarding traffic adequacy, parking necessity, pedestrian experience, logistics, and height/TIF relationship, but no formal dissent recorded as no vote occurred.
Carrie T (Community Development Director) presented a major mixed-use development proposal for the 7.97-acre former Macy's furniture store site. The project includes four buildings: (1) Southwest: 11-story, 155-foot mixed-use building with 47,000 sq ft office, 49 senior condos (10% affordable at 80% AMI), 9,000 sq ft retail/restaurant, 280-stall parking garage; (2) Northwest: 7-story mixed-use with 20,000 sq ft office, 124 apartments, 8,000 sq ft retail, 318 stalls; (3) Northeast: 7-story with 223 rental apartments, underground parking; (4) Southeast: 7-story with 176 units, 4,000 sq ft retail/restaurant, 380-stall garage. Total: 572 units, 1,300 parking stalls (vs. 1,117 required; WSB study recommends 1,041). The applicant (Patrick, Enclave Development; Ben Landauer, Lifestyle Communities; Lucas Vantin and Christopher Wette, ESG Architecture) emphasized: (1) 45% of site dedicated to public realm; (2) extension of Promenade through site to France Avenue; (3) public dog park on northeast corner; (4) restaurants on prominade; (5) 53 rental units + 5 for-sale condos affordable; (6) all parking underground (no surface parking); (7) compliance with Sustainable Buildings Policy (5% EV charging, solar panels); (8) flexibility to accommodate future France Avenue crossing (above or below grade). The applicant requested PUD rezoning from PCD-3 to allow: (1) 11-story building (vs. 8-story code limit); (2) reduced setbacks to R1 district (800 feet vs. 930 feet required); (3) reduced ground-floor transparency (60-75% vs. 75% required); (4) reduced first-floor height (15 feet vs. 20 feet required); (5) increased floor area ratio. Commissioners raised extensive concerns: (1) Traffic: While WSB concluded no roadway improvements needed, Commissioners questioned adequacy given 4,500 daily trips, limited left-turn access from site, and potential queuing on Gallagher Drive. Traffic engineer Mallerie (WSB) noted level-of-service D (acceptable delay under 55 seconds) at France/Gallagher intersection. (2) Parking: Commissioners questioned why 1,300 stalls were needed when city standard is 1,117 and consultant recommends 1,041. Applicant acknowledged reviewing reduction options. Concerns raised about curb parking in central Promenade area and whether it would be filled by residents rather than serving intended short-term uses. (3) Pedestrian Experience: Commissioner expressed concern that residential units facing the central East-West street would make it feel private rather than public, and questioned whether sufficient commercial/office uses were oriented to activate the street. Applicant clarified that West two buildings have 100% commercial ground floors; East buildings have residential with commercial lobbies. (4) Logistics: Commissioners questioned how trash, grease traps, restaurant deliveries, and resident move-ins/move-outs would function in dense environment. Applicant provided plan sheets showing trash collection in parking garages, vertical shafts for restaurant exhaust, and designated loading zones. (5) Height and TIF: Commissioner questioned connection between height request and TIF funding, noting that additional height was needed to generate revenue to offset affordable housing and structured parking costs. Applicant acknowledged TIF request would be formally submitted with detailed financial analysis. (6) Setbacks to R1: Commissioner questioned why 11-story building requires 930-foot setback (9x height) vs. 7-story building requiring 328 feet (4x height), noting the discrepancy seems arbitrary. Staff explained setback standards are designed to minimize shadow/sun impact on single-family homes. (7) Public Parking: Commissioners sought clarification on whether first-floor parking would be genuinely public or primarily serve residents/tenants. Applicant confirmed first floor of all four buildings intended for public use with shared parking strategy. (8) Senior Housing: Commissioner questioned whether 55+ senior condos with no on-site services would attract intended demographic and whether units would be marketed appropriately. Applicant confirmed age qualification (55+) with 20% flexibility for younger buyers; wellness studio but no active aging services. (9) Bike Infrastructure: Commissioner noted lack of separated bike lane on central East-West street; applicant noted Nine Mile Creek Trail on south side provides dedicated bike route. (10) School District: Clarification made that project is in Richfield School District, not Edina. (11) Playground: Commissioner noted no playground programmed on site despite family-sized units (3-bedroom). (12) Promenade Maintenance: Commissioner questioned why city no longer owns Promenade extension (as with existing Promenade) but instead relies on private easements and developer maintenance. Staff explained original Promenade was intended as transit corridor (rubber-tire circulator) that was never built; city changed direction. (13) Edinburgh Golf Course Access: Commissioner questioned whether residents would gain special access to Edinburgh facilities; clarification provided that residents would have same access as any Edina resident (no special privileges). (14) Convertible Parking: Applicant confirmed design includes flexibility to convert parking stalls to residential/office if demand is lower than projected. (15) Raised Pedestrian Crossing: Commissioner requested that central East-West pedestrian crossing be raised relative to vehicle traffic. Applicant confirmed this is design intent. (16) Fire/Emergency Access: Applicant clarified that east-west Promenade is designed as emergency fire access lane with turnaround; no regular vehicle traffic intended. No vote was taken during this session; further deliberation anticipated.
Notable Quotes (18)
I see very little data being used very little evidence it's a lot of we need it we want it let's do it it's not a way to run any organization... we have no data person we don't have any data analytics we don't use data enough in our decision making
there's absolutely no reason the city of Edina should be using Tiff it's had an impact on the Edina Public Schools who are now running a deficit
the topography along the back wall of the structure the South part combined with the larger setback requirements or average of the abutting structures at cul-de-sac presents a practical difficulty
the further we push this into the hill the more excavating that has to happen on the backside and the more we impact the trees that are kind of the great big old growth trees that are on the back side of this property because of the steep slope
there's a practical difficulty the steepness of the lot um the existing garage is smaller than average um and I think this is a perfectly good use of the variant setback
the comprehensive plan calls this a community Activity Center maximum density allowed here is up to 150 units an acre... the objective is to maximize pedestrian activity throughout the district with the public realm as the connective tissue that gives the district its unique identity
45% of this all of this public all of the area where the the trails the the connection through the site that makes up 45% of this entire site that would all be dedicated for public use
we don't want the public to not feel welcomed in this development and not have the feeling that oh I'm walking out of public right of way into a private development maybe I'm welcome here maybe I'm not... the intention is here is that this is a welcoming place for the entire public
France Avenue is has very heavy traffic um just in like one peak hour of the day it's about 2,000 Vehicles along France Avenue um so if you look at our our peak hour traffic we're only adding about 400 um so really France Avenue can handle quite a bit more
I have 1,349 off street parking spots in the facility 20% more than Edina recommends or requires and Edina is usually pretty expansive 30% more than the consultant recommends and I'm still parking cars on the middle of this beautiful place and I just can't believe it it has to be that way
the activated Street room is not just a place for people to walk through but for people to interact with the building um and um and a lot of a lot of that street is faced with residences which are private um so I was starting to feel that the street was becoming more private than your prominade was starting to become more private than than public
if you're in that Center prominade and you're looking at the first floor of the West two buildings there is zero uh residential at the first two levels it's actually even above on the Southwest Building so when you're sending sending that Center prominade between the two West buildings it's all commercial office lobby type uses that spill into that area
we also need the additional height right again so you're just trying to generate additional Revenue that's what you're saying I mean because what I'm trying to hit on is feedback from the community that that I've seen so far about the height and the concern about the height here
we actually had higher buildings uh both buildings were higher at one point um and we went I think we went back through some of the boards and commissions even a couple times and um this is my anecdotal feedback was that it was mentioned several times that isn't the concern in fact we recommend pushing height uh that's not the main concern that the city has
I'm struggling a little bit with the logistics for all the uses um for trash huling drop off pick up move in big trucks fire uh access emergency access... I'm concerned about it bifurcating that prominade the way it I mean I just it feels like a lot in a little space
it is and it's one of the it's you know Patrick spoke about trying to strike balance between all of this right it's this is trying to find The Sweet Spot between making this about pedestrians first and not about Vehicles everywhere and so as we limit the number of roads in and around this trying to pinch those zones down into where these things happen it it does get limiting of where we can where we can achieve for sure
can you raise that pedestrian walkway going east west when it crosses that road in the middle... that is the intention of the design right now
admittedly we're looking at the parking here too and wondering if we can ratchet it back a little bit so we're actually going through that process right now to see if we can take out more so I want you to know that we're on the same page if we can reduce more parking we want to
Ordinances & Resolutions (9)
City of Edina comprehensive plan designating the 7235 France Avenue area as a Community Activity Center with maximum density of 150 units per acre
District-specific planning guidelines emphasizing walkable blocks, human-scale street rooms, neighborhood connectivity, pedestrian-first infrastructure, and public space expansion
Setback requirements for buildings of varying heights relative to R1 residential districts (5-6 stories: 2x height; 7-8 stories: 4x height; 9+ stories: 6x height)
City policy requiring sustainable design standards including EV charging stations (5% minimum, upgradeable to 10%), solar panels, and green building practices
Request to rezone 7235 France Avenue from PCD-3 (Planned Commercial District) to PUD to allow flexibility on setbacks, height, parking ratios, and building material transparency
Professional traffic analysis concluding 4,500 daily trips generated by project with negligible impact to France Avenue; minor signal timing adjustments recommended at France/Gallagher intersection
Analysis of building shadows on the Promenade and surrounding areas; available in project submittal materials
$5,000 per unit collected at building permit stage; approximately $2.86 million total for 572 units; used for non-operating expenses of city parks
Formal application to be submitted; developer cited structured parking costs, affordable housing (53 rental units + 5 for-sale condos), enhanced public realm, and sustainable building standards as justification