Roseville City Council — Transcript
Monday, April 21, 2025
Housing Affordability and Zoning Reform
Votes (12)
Proclamation of April 2025 as Volunteer Month
Dissent: None
Moved by Council member Strong [00:13:30] · Seconded by Council member Schroeder [00:13:34]
Council members expressed gratitude for Roseville's strong volunteer ethic, acknowledging the significant hours contributed by volunteers to various city programs and community events. It was noted that the reported hours likely underestimate the full extent of volunteerism.
Proclamation of May 2025 as Mental Health Awareness Month
Dissent: None
Moved by Council member Grath [00:17:15] · Seconded by Council member Schroeder [00:17:18]
The importance of mental health as part of overall well-being and the need for early identification and treatment of mental illness were emphasized. Council members highlighted the city's active commitment to mental health through initiatives like the CAT team, social workers in the police department, and financial support for services.
Proclamation of May 2025 as Asian-American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
Dissent: None
Moved by Council member Strong [00:24:00] · Seconded by Council member Grath [00:24:04]
The proclamation recognized the historical contributions and challenges faced by Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders, including Japanese immigration, Chinese immigrant labor on the transcontinental railroad, Japanese American internment, and refugee communities from Southeast Asia. It highlighted Roseville's diverse population, particularly Hmong and Karen communities, and called for renewed commitment to cultural humility and racial equality.
Proclamation of May 2025 as Older Adults Month
Dissent: None
Moved by Council member Sharter [00:26:30] · Seconded by Council member Bower [00:26:34]
The council recognized the significant contributions of Roseville's older adults as sources of wisdom, insight, and community strength. The proclamation emphasized the city's commitment to supporting older adults' health, community engagement, and providing services to foster connections.
Proclamation of April 23rd-30th as Days of Remembrance
Dissent: None
Moved by Council member Strong [00:28:15] · Seconded by Council member Bower [00:28:18]
The proclamation served as a solemn reminder of the Holocaust, the systematic persecution of Jews and other marginalized groups, and the moral responsibility to prevent such atrocities. Council members stressed the importance of remembering historical events to combat hatred, persecution, and tyranny.
Public Hearing and Resolutions related to approving vacation of multiple street easements and rights of way
Dissent: N/A
Moved by N/A · Seconded by N/A
The council considered vacating four separate sections of street easements and rights-of-way, a continuation of a city-initiated process to return unused road corridors to adjacent property owners while retaining utility easements. Public Works Director Mr. Fryhammer presented each case, detailing history, utility presence, and potential implications for property owners.
Resolution Attachment One: Vacation K (South of County Road C)
Dissent: None
Moved by Council member Schroeder [00:30:10] · Seconded by Council member Grath [00:30:13]
This vacation concerned an existing right-of-way that was dedicated to the city but never constructed as a road. Public utilities are present, and the city plans to maintain easements for them. No public comments were received on this item.
Resolution Attachment Two: Vacation U (Aldine Place within Ridgewood Plat)
Dissent: None
Moved by Council member Strong [00:32:00] · Seconded by Council member Bower [00:32:04]
This item proposed vacating excess right-of-way on Aldine Place, which was originally intended as a through street but only has a pedestrian sidewalk connection. The city intends to maintain the pathway and utility easements. A council member expressed regular use and appreciation for the pathway.
Resolution Attachment Three: Vacation V (Aldine within Mid Oaks Plat)
Dissent: None
Moved by Council member Strong [00:46:12] · Seconded by Council member Grath [00:46:17]
This proposed vacation of a 50-foot right-of-way, partially platted and partially acquired by condemnation, generated significant public comment. Residents were divided between those who use the informal wooded path for pedestrian connection and those adjacent property owners who desire the land to be returned to them for privacy, maintenance, and planned improvements to their yards. Concerns were raised about the impact of a formal pathway on mature trees, safety at street crossings, and the precise wording of the utility easement retention in the resolution. The council discussed options including tabling to research pathway potential and clarify legal language.
Resolution Attachment Four: Vacation W (Wheeler Street within Woodside Plat)
Dissent: None
Moved by Council member Grath [00:52:43] · Seconded by Council member Bower [00:52:46]
This item proposed vacating excess right-of-way on Wheeler Street to 'right size' the corridor, as a narrower right-of-way exists nearby. Public commenters, including parents and residents, expressed strong support for maintaining the existing sidewalk as a crucial pedestrian connection to Brimhall Elementary. Questions were raised about responsibility for tree maintenance in the vacated areas and potential property tax impacts on receiving landowners. Staff clarified that the sidewalk itself would remain city property and maintained, but the vacated strips on either side would revert to property owners.
Feedback on Commission Interview Process
Dissent: None
Moved by N/A · Seconded by N/A
Assistant City Manager Rebecca Olsson presented survey feedback from commission applicants, noting that interviews can feel short and applicants desire feedback or clear position descriptions. Council members acknowledged the challenges of providing individual feedback due to public meeting constraints and the subjective nature of selecting a diverse body. There was general consensus that the current process, including providing questions in advance, is effective and has improved, leading to a large number of qualified applicants.
Consider Changes to Massage Therapy Establishment Regulations
Dissent: None
Moved by N/A · Seconded by N/A
Staff presented concerns regarding the increasing number of massage therapy establishments (29 currently, plus 2 chiropractor clinics), which places a significant burden on staff for due diligence, background checks, and combating potential human trafficking. Roseville has a high number of establishments per capita compared to other cities. Staff also identified issues with the ordinance's clarity on accredited schools for therapists and state licensing/registration for certificate programs. Guidance was sought from the council on revisiting a cap on establishments and amending the ordinance related to therapist schooling requirements.
Notable Quotes (14)
I the one thing I did want to add is I would say that I would think that the hours are underestimated and I think there's a lot of volunteering that's happening. People just get out and do this even without logging the hours. So, I think we have even more than that. So, again, I wanted to say thank you to the community.
sometimes it seems like the comments or the proclamations are not rooted in um action and I think it's important for the community to be aware of our commitment as a council and as a city in the mental health um of our citizens. So, um, we have our CAT team embedded in our, um, in our, uh, police department, which works on community action, uh, and social workers embedded as well as the North Youth Youth and Family Service and our commitment, uh, financial commitment to Tubman services and other and many other things that um, work toward the mental health of our residents.
this particular proclamation is especially important in a time when some people have chosen to ignore history and the p persecution and attempted annihilation and extermination by Nazis. May we remember these important events and work to prevent them from ever happening again uh in any corner of our world and that we may remember and learn from our history and uh take our um days of remembrance seriously.
So we're back uh for a fifth time talking about easement vacations. So as you recall, we've done uh kind of four phases. So we're bringing back another set of these. Um but these were all kind of started back in I believe 2022.
I use this pathway quite regularly. So, um I'm sure the neighbors will appreciate I think the neighbors are largely respectful of that property, not realizing how wide it is at the moment. So, it'll be nice to have it uh delineated.
I was just so um enchanted to find this quiet wooden path that wooded path you know either you go to Snelling or you go to Fair View and it's congested and noisy but there was this you know it was a hot day and it was cool along the path and it was shaded and and it almost seemed magical. And so I, you know, I I use the path uh few few times a week and it's always um just enchanting to to walk through it and then come out into the farm fields where you can see the the full sky.
I'm speaking on behalf of the eight property owners um who don't use this this space for a three minute walk by once or twice a week or even every day. This is our property 247. This these are our backyards. This is our sideyard. And yes, I have been absolutely gracious and kind to people who walk by as I unload my groceries and swing my children on the swing in the backyard, but it's it's 293 feet of my property where people just walk by and you know whenever they want and um and it's really it's really intrusive and um so for so but to close I want to thank people I want to thank the eight um the series of eight property owners who we've been learning so much about how what a rightaway is and what an easement is and so and we've really been working together as a community to understand how we would use our property once it's returned back to us.
I think the challenge I have with the way it's written is that it seems to say that we will maintain an easement for utility purposes only if the property contains a right-of-way easement because it just says if as the qualifier to that statement. And so I I just want to make sure if we do go ahead with this that we are very clear on what we mean uh and we understand what we're voting on and the public understands what's what's happening here, especially property owners.
My two children are now, you know, in their 30s, but they uh use that pathway every day to go to school. And there are numerous children that I see walk past my um big picture window every day to go to school. And I think some of them are even from across Fair View that decide they want to walk to school and use that pathway or that sidewalk. Um I would be very um very upset if it was not maintained as a sidewalk.
So uh the purpose of this is not to get rid of the pathway or the sidewalk. Uh that it the purpose of this is to not hold on to the property on each side that the city isn't going to use to do a wider road through there. That's kind of what this whole general process is is a lot of places in the city, we've maintained these wide strips of land o for years and years and years under the thought that initially somebody thought that there would be a road built there and the city has determined over that time that there's not a purpose to put a road there.
I don't think they're asking to have feedback is a reasonable request. I don't think that would be very productive. I think it could be more harmful than productive actually on that side of it. Um, we did get a lot of people who applied. And so I guess I'm why fix something that's not broken. I guess if if we're getting that many people to it seemed like the process last time around if we had that many people apply something worked.
I think it's important for people to realize that we're making up a body and we have to take who's already on the body. So, we already have to take the people who are already there. So, if it's six women, maybe we feel like it'd be great to maybe have someone who's not a woman, you know, but it could be a commission that's exactly the opposite. It's just we want to have different voices saying, you know, sharing different things.
We do know that there is a recognized issue in the massage therapy establishment that human trafficking is is um an issue that there have been studies done that really state that massage establishments are among the types of businesses that have been used to conceal trafficking operations and um you know Minnesota is not immune to that. We have uh there is a lot of time and resources that is spent uh researching schools um employees uh history, reaching out to other jurisdictions, doing background checks. Um before we get to the actual licensing of therapists. Um, and so what we're finding is that it is becoming increasingly more difficult to do our due diligence and making sure that all of these therapists and establishments are um, I guess, for lack of better term, on the up and up because as those human trafficking and um, other issues come up, they become more sophisticated and we're having a hard time keeping up with that sophistication.
we're not doing compliance checks, correct? which makes no sense to me that we have requirements and not check them because it we check applications. We do the research on those. We don't do on-site compliance checks like we do with smoking and liquor. I think that's we have in our ordinance that they have to have it displayed and all that, but we don't actually check that. So, it doesn't seem to be a good uh tool if we're not you, you know.
Ordinances & Resolutions (10)
Congress law passed in 1992, annually designating May as Asian Pacific Islander, Asian-American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
Available in the Office of City Engineer, verifying public hearing notices.
Resolution for vacation of right-of-way for Area K.
Resolution for vacation of right-of-way for Area U.
Resolution for vacation of right-of-way for Area V.
Resolution for vacation of right-of-way for Area W.
City plan referenced during discussion of potential pathways in vacated easements.
City plan mentioned in relation to pedestrian connections and network goals.
Document for city commissioners, currently being updated.
City ordinance governing massage therapy establishments and therapists, under review for potential changes.