Planning commission: Several issues up for public comment

Talk about it

The Rosemount Planning Commission will be busy March 27. With four public hearings on the agenda, the commission will have a lot on its plate. The meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. at city hall. Here is a rundown of what they commissioners will talk about.

Continuation of rezoning

During the February planning commission meeting dozens of people showed up to protest zoning changes to the city’s parks and institutions. After listening to residents rail against rezoning the parks, the commission dropped the issue.

However, planner Eric Zweber said the commission still plans to recommend to the council that it rezone private properties including churches, the CAP Agency building and schools.

Rezoning the facilities reduces the city’s risk of litigation down the road if the properties are vacated. Additionally, the city can then regulate standards such as setbacks, parking, lighting and architecture, something the public/institutional zone lacks.

Zweber said removing the parks portion from the changes should have taken care of most of the concerns expressed. However, the commission will take feedback on the other changes still.

Gravel mining ordinance

The planning commission continued an open hearing on an ordinance that will pave the way for large-scale mining on the UMore Park property in the area west of Akron Avenue and south of County Road 42. During the February meeting a number of residents expressed concerns about dust, noise and traffic coming from the site.

Zweber said staff has discussed the concerns with representatives from Dakota Aggregates, the company partnering with the university to conduct the mining. He said there are several issues on which the company and city staff have not found a consensus.

City staff and representatives from the company are set to meet later this week to discuss the differences. Zweber said staff hope to come to some sort of agreement by time they present at the planning commission hearing March 27.

The issues that have not been resolved include building height standards for conveyors, the ability of the city to shut down the operation on windy days to mitigate dust issues and landscaping standards for the site including how much and where it will be appropriate.

The planning commission will reopen the public hearing and take additional comments if residents wish to give them.

Renewal of SKB mining permit

Last year the city of Rosemount permitted small-scale gravel mining by SKB Environmental on property owned by Otto Ped. The company is required to renew its permit annually. As part of that process the planning commission will conduct a public hearing for residents who may have concerns about the operation.

Site plan review for UMore ballfields

Lastly, the commission will take comment on athletic fields proposed to be built on the UMore Park property off of Akron Avenue. The University of Minnesota pre-dedicated 27-acres of land for the construction of the fields. The city hopes to move forward with construction of phase 1 of the project this summer.

The first phase will include a parking lot, two baseball/softball fields and the required infrastructure to go along with it. During the March 20 council meeting the council authorized the advertisement for bids for the project.

Tags: news, rosemount, government