Maplewood City Council — Transcript
Sunday, September 27, 2026
New Business Openings
Administrative Updates and Upcoming Events
Street Assessments for 2026 Maplewood Street Improvement Project
Ordinance Amending Chapter Ten: Regulation of Dogs and Cats per Dwelling Unit
Votes (3)
Administrative Presentations
Mr. Sable, the City Manager, updated the council on upcoming events and schedule changes. This included a closed legal briefing concerning the City of Saint Paul, rescheduling of rental housing training, a firefighter swearing-in ceremony, the annual Trunk or Treat event, and future legislative program discussions. No formal action or vote was taken on these informational items.
Public Hearing: Street Assessments for 2026 Maplewood Street Improvement Project (City Project 2521)
Moved by Councilmember Lee [00:28:31,670] · Seconded by Councilmember Villavicencio [00:28:44,770]
Mr. Jarosz presented the details of the 2026 Maplewood Street Improvement Project, highlighting pavement rehabilitation in the Walter Beam area and full reconstruction in the County Road C area. He explained assessment funding, rates (e.g., $3,450 for rehabilitation, $6,600 for full reconstruction), payment, and deferral options, noting assessments cover 17% of total costs. Residents Stacy Coburn, Neil Perlstein, and Michael Pearson raised objections, questioning the basis and timing of the appraisal, the actual benefit to properties, and the impact of current housing market trends on property values. Staff reaffirmed that assessments were based on appraiser-verified direct benefit and offered to provide the appraisal report.
Ordinance Amending Chapter Ten Regulating the Number of Dogs and Cats per Dwelling Unit
Moved by Councilmember Cabe [00:33:40,970] · Seconded by Councilmember Gentleman [00:33:51,100]
Ms. Parr presented the proposed amendments to Chapter Ten, which sets limits on household pets. The discussion stemmed from previous meetings and a homeowner's association request for clearer, more flexible, and potentially higher limits. The updated ordinance aimed to provide clarity, be reasonable, and retain zoning distinctions (R1, R2, R3) for pet limits. It also explicitly stated that HOAs and management companies retain the right to establish lower pet limits than the city's ordinance, ensuring local control within larger frameworks. Councilmember Cabe thanked staff for the solution, and the Mayor acknowledged the HOA's input.
Notable Quotes (10)
We are going to schedule a closed legal briefing at 530 to discuss a civil matter that we have with the City of Saint Paul and the law firm of Hofbrau will provide legal counsel to provide a briefing.
on October 26th, we are going to do a firefighter, uh, swearing in ceremony and badge ceremony for the new firefighters that have passed through their probationary period.
The other thing I’ll forecast as we are going to put forward our legislative program. Uh, also on November 9th, uh, so we can talk about legislative session because I think we will have a clearer picture of who will be, uh, our new leadership at the state level.
So assessments are just one of the funding sources the city uses to finance these public improvement projects. The properties that are directly adjacent to the project are asked to pay an assessment for the direct benefit that their property receives from the project.
So I am really concerned about this, and I’m asking for that information so that I can better understand the basis for determining that my property received this special benefit that was equal to or at the proposed assessment amount.
This whole notion that this project is increased the value of my home by $3,450, as well as my neighbors and everybody else in the area, is, to me, utterly fatuous.
So the question is, if you did your assessment at the beginning of the year in these homes were listed in the spring and have dropped in price over the summer, is it possible that the assessment is incorrect?
Clearly, when I listened to all of you give us feedback, one is you wanted an ordinance that provided clarity. You wanted it to be reasonable, and you wanted it to continue to use zoning as a distinguishing feature between, uh, we didn’t want to get rid of that R1, R2, R3.
They have the right to say less. They just can’t say more. And so we provided that clarity as well.
I. Just have a comment. I want to thank you guys for putting this together. Um, and council, from the last meeting that we had, you know, we had a robust discussion about it, and you came up with a wonderful solution.
Ordinances & Resolutions (6)
Resolution for the 2026 Maplewood Street Improvements
Identifier for the 2026 Maplewood Street Improvement Project
Ordinance regulating the number of dogs and cats per dwelling unit
Document used by appraisers to understand before/after conditions of street improvements
Independent report determining direct benefit to properties for street assessments
Mailed document to property owners detailing assessment amount and payment options