12-02-09 Special Meeting Council and Planning
December 2, 2009
A special joint meeting of the Scandia City Council and Planning Commission was held on the
above date. Mayor Dennis Seefeldt called the meeting to order at 6:02 p.m. The following were
present: Council members Pete Crum, John Lindell, Dolores Peterson, and Mayor Dennis
Seefeldt; Planning Commission Chairman Chris Ness, Commissioners Tom Krinke, Christine
Maefsky, Susan Rodsjo and Peter Schwarz. Staff present: Administrator Anne Hurlburt, City
Attorney David Hebert and City Planner Sherri Buss.
Administrator Hurlburt explained that the purpose of the meeting was to begin discussion of the
Development Code update necessitated by the adoption of the new Comprehensive Plan. Staff
prepared a work plan for a two-phase approach to the project that recognizes the limited
resources available in the 2010 budget. Staff and consultants need direction on several key
issues before beginning to draft ordinance amendments.
The group discussed who should be involved in the update. Since the Planning Commission and
Council will be responsible for recommending and adopting the new code, then need to be
involved throughout the process. The consensus was that the Commission and Council should
meet in joint sessions as necessary, possibly monthly, and add the project to regular monthly
agendas when the work load permits. The public will be informed about proposed changes
through the website and other communications channels as the project progresses. A public
meeting prior to a formal public hearing may also be scheduled.
The group reviewed the various options for development now provided within the code. The
consensus was that, while some modifications may be necessary to be consistent with the new
plan, the basic concepts of the current conventional subdivision, lot averaging and open space
conservation subdivisions (OSCS) will be retained in the new code. The current density transfer
option is duplicative of the lot average option so it will be eliminated. The PUD (planned unit
development) option will be retained, but the current language will be replaced with simpler,
updated provisions.
The recommendations from the TDR (Transfer of Development Rights) Committee were
reviewed. After much discussion, the consensus was that a TDR option would not be included in
the new Development Code.
How the Future Land Use Areas described in the Comprehensive Plan would be translated into
new zoning districts was discussed. The current agricultural (AG) and Semi-Rural (SR) districts
will be replaced with new Agriculture-Core, Ag Preserves and General Rural districts for the
AG-C and GR planning areas. New VN (Village Neighborhood), Village Mixed Use (VMU)
and Rural Commercial (R COMM) districts will be created. The REC Protected (Recreation
Area Protected) and REC Planned (Recreation Area Planned) land use areas do not need to be
separate zoning districts, as recreation will be an allowed use in all zones. Natural Resource
Protection Areas will not be a mapped zoning district; natural resource performance standards
will be developed to apply to all zones. A new city St. Croix River Corridor Overlay district will
replace the county shoreland regulations for the river, now adopted by reference. There will be
a new overlay district for Mining. In Phase 2 of the code update, the Shoreland Overlay District
December 2, 2009
Scandia City Council and Planning Commission
Special Joint Meeting
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will be updated to provide for the LT (Lakeshore Traditional) and LCO (Lakeshore Conservation
Overlay) land use areas. Scenic Roads and Viewsheds will not be mapped on the zoning map,
but performance standards will be prepared in Phase 2 of the update.
A special meeting was set for Tuesday, January 12, 2010 at 6:00 p.m. to continue discussion of
the Development Code update.
The meeting adjourned at 9:07 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Anne Hurlburt
Administrator/ Clerk