Lake Elmo City Council — Transcript

Tuesday, April 14, 2026

Story

Lake Elmo Council Pursues Broadband Franchise, Updates Growth Plans

Community Forecast and 2050 Comprehensive Plan

Legion Avenue Properties

Votes (3)

Broadband Franchise Discussion

No formal vote taken; general council consensus to direct staff (City Manager) to work with Mike Bradley and Mary Klene on next steps, involve Council Member Sarah, and bring future discussions back to the council.

The discussion revolved around the necessity for Lake Elmo to adopt a broadband franchise. Mary Klene highlighted SEC's significant revenue decrease and the need for new funding models. Mike Bradley detailed the benefits of broadband franchising, including ensuring equal access, planned buildouts, improved customer service, and discounts for seniors/disabled. He explained the legal context, differentiating broadband as an 'information service' that cities can franchise, unlike telecommunications. Risks like litigation or companies refusing to build were acknowledged but presented as manageable. The successful implementation in Woodbury was cited as a model, and the council expressed strong support for pursuing this, recognizing it as an opportunity for better resident services and increased competition.

Community Forecast and 2050 Comprehensive Plan

No formal vote taken; general council consensus to pursue amending the 2040 plan to reflect updated population projections (19,200 for 2030, 21,400 for 2040), work with the Met Council to set a 2050 population number of 21,400 (or a range around it), engage with the DNR for appropriate water allocations based on these numbers, and for staff to explore land use guidance and phasing adjustments to manage growth toward this desired cap.

The core of this item was the Met Council's new, unexpectedly low population projections for Lake Elmo (e.g., 18,900 by 2050), which city staff demonstrated were significantly lower than current and entitled development. The 'White Bear Lake issue' was revealed as a primary cause for Met Council's conservative numbers, leading them to advise the city to amend its 2040 plan to higher, more accurate figures (19,200 for 2030, 21,400 for 2040), but still reluctant to project beyond 2040. The council expressed frustration with external control over local development, raised concerns about water allocations and fiscal impacts, and discussed strategies to proactively set a 2050 population cap or range (e.g., 21,400) to manage future growth and development densities.

Legion Avenue Properties

No formal vote taken; general council consensus to direct staff to move forward with discussions with the Valley Branch Watershed District to acquire all five properties for public open space, ensuring the District covers restoration, and to explore the feasibility of the proposed trail connection and cul-de-sac improvement.

The Valley Branch Watershed District offered Lake Elmo five parcels on Legion Avenue that they acquired due to chronic flooding around Legion Pond. The homes on these properties are being removed, and the District plans natural restoration. The city explored accepting these parcels for public open space, with staff specifically interested in one parcel to improve a cul-de-sac and another for a potential trail connection from the golf course to downtown. Concerns regarding maintenance bandwidth and restrictions on active recreational use (due to native restoration) were discussed. The council expressed broad support for acquiring all parcels, ensuring the District covers restoration costs, and using them for passive open space with potential for trail connectivity.

Notable Quotes (21)

We've seen a 43% decrease in revenue, and we simply need to modernize our funding model.

Broadband Franchise Discussion

in my view, the future of franchising really is in broadband.

Broadband Franchise Discussion

The state doesn't handle it, right? The FCC doesn't handle it. Who handles it? if you have a franchise, you handle it or Mary handles it for you actually.

Broadband Franchise Discussion

there's almost no regulations... affecting broadband systems and there's no cap. What we did in in Woodbury and South Washington County is we just did a balancing of of uh of sorts where we where we thought, okay, you know, maybe we could ask for more than 5%. But it seemed to us to make um sense that... it made some sense to go with 5%.

Broadband Franchise Discussion

I actually think it's going to create an opportunity for more of these information service providers to want to come and compete.

Broadband Franchise Discussion

this is one of the rare instances where government has the opportunity to help force customer services to be improved.

Broadband Franchise Discussion

I find it absolutely abhorentt in the year 2026 that we have areas that don't have it when we're a second ring suburb. Like, that's just inexcusable. So, I think this is a very good vehicle for it.

Broadband Franchise Discussion

should the city amend its 2040 plan to adopt new projections. So we have a current plan.

Community Forecast and 2050 Comprehensive Plan

our population numbers at we knew they were seem low, but that they were um low because of the White Bear Lake case that the Met Council took that into consideration and lowered numbers for a few cities around the area.

Community Forecast and 2050 Comprehensive Plan

what they advised was for us to amend our 2040 plan so that we could use our updated numbers that we feel are very accurate and to adjust that which would essentially increase the number for 2030 and 2040

Community Forecast and 2050 Comprehensive Plan

the Met Council determined it's prudent to withhold its consent of additional growth in local jurisdictions affected by the White Bear Lake Area court decision until the council is assured additional growth does not conflict with court orders that cities must abide.

Community Forecast and 2050 Comprehensive Plan

I think the residents would be pissed off if we don't try to minimize it as much as possible just given the history of of how hard we've worked to make sure that number doesn't go up.

Community Forecast and 2050 Comprehensive Plan

what we have seen in the last two comp plan cycles is that density requirements for communities have risen.

Community Forecast and 2050 Comprehensive Plan

I'd rather have a bigger allocation and not use it than have an allocation that stops and all of a sudden what do you do?

Community Forecast and 2050 Comprehensive Plan

why do we have to I know some of the answers to this but why do we have to be told when to develop, how to develop from a from a from a different level. The city should decide that, right?

Community Forecast and 2050 Comprehensive Plan

Legion Pond, which is adjacent to Legion Avenue, is a 17 acre body of water without an outlet. Over the last 10 years, the Valley Branch has done several amendments to improve the shoreline to minimize flooding in these properties.

Legion Avenue Properties

The district is offering the property to the city for potential use as a public amenity or open space. If the city declines, the district plans to sell the par the parcels to on public auction with um with conservation easements which place um which will will restrict any building on those sites.

Legion Avenue Properties

staff does believe that improving that to a culde-sac would benefit traffic flow through that area. uh especially for emergency vehicles.

Legion Avenue Properties

This would possibly a trail connection or an access way from um from the golf course area down to um Blue Legion area to the Reed area where there's actually sidewalks on 30th to get you to the downtown area.

Legion Avenue Properties

I'll just say straight up, I think it would be all the parcels, do it all at once, but they do all the restoration.

Legion Avenue Properties

So with with a concept like this there'll be very minimal um very minimal. Our mowing contractor currently mows our lift station down uh just south or sorry to the north of this park or this proposed area. Um likely they would do any type of mowing if we did do anything there. Likely it just be right along the curb edge to make a curb appeal.

Legion Avenue Properties

Ordinances & Resolutions (11)

2040 Comp PlanPlan

City's current comprehensive plan, which Met Council advised amending to update population projections.

2050 Comp PlanPlan

Upcoming comprehensive plan that needs to align with Met Council forecasts and city growth objectives.

Thrive 2040Plan

Met Council's regional development guide, part of the context for comprehensive planning.

System StatementOther

Document released by the Met Council outlining regional growth targets and requirements for comprehensive plans.

White Bear Lake Methodology MemoOther

Memo from Met Council that influenced the lowering of population forecasts for several cities, including Lake Elmo.

Parks Master PlanPlan

City document referenced in discussion about acquiring small park land parcels.

Broadband FranchiseOrdinance

A unique document that is both an ordinance and a contract, granting privilege to a company to operate within the city's right-of-way.

Joint Powers AgreementOther

The agreement that established and governs the Ramsey Washington Suburban Cable Commission (SEC).

Title SixOther

Federal law classification for cable television services, which restricts local government regulation of non-cable services.

Title OneOther

Federal law classification for broadband systems (information services), which has fewer regulations and no cap on franchise fees.

PermitPermit

A standard city approval process, which broadband franchising would complement rather than replace.

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