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Approving the Snelling-Midway Redevelopment Site Master Plan and Design Guidelines pursuant to Leg.Code §66.344(b). (Public hearing held August 3)
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WHEREAS, a 10-acre site at the northeast corner of Snelling and St. Anthony Avenues and owned by the Metropolitan Council was selected by the Minnesota United FC (“Team”) as its desired location for a major league soccer stadium (“Stadium Site”); and
WHEREAS, abutting the 10-acre Stadium Site to the north is a 25-acre parcel owned by RK Midway (“RKM”) which is presently used for a number of commercial uses commonly known as the Midway Shopping Center (“MSC Site”);
WHEREAS, RKM has also expressed a desire to redevelop the MSC Site; and
WHEREAS, the Team and RKM desired to integrate their redevelopment plans for the Stadium Site and the MSC Site in order to create a 35-acre mixed-use neighborhood bounded by Interstate-94, Snelling and University Avenues, and Pascal Street; and
WHEREAS, the City determined that a Master Plan, approved pursuant to Leg. Code §66.344(b) for the entire 35-acre site, will facilitate the development goals of the Team and RKM as well as the land use and planning goals of the City and, to that end, the Snelling-Midway Community Advisory Committee (“SMCAC”) was created to provide feedback on the Master Plan for the entire 35-acre site and the Stadium Site Plan; and
WHEREAS, in addition to the work of the SMCAC, additional input on the Master Plan and the Site Plan was gathered through four community “open houses” and through the City’s on-line
public input platform; and
WHEREAS, community input was also gathered at engagement events at Skyline Tower apartment building, Gordon Parks High School, Central High School, Union Park District Council, Community Action Partnership of Ramsey and Washington Counties, and a workshop hosted by Little Africa Business & Cultural District; and
WHEREAS, a technical advisory committee comprising City staff from PED, Public Works, Parks and Recreation, Safety and Inspections, Fire, Water, Financial Services, Mayor’s Office, City Council, and the public artist; and staff from the Saint Paul Design Center, MnDOT, and the Metropolitan Council was created to guide the work of architects, designers, and consultants throughout the planning process; and
WHEREAS, an Alternative Urban Areawide Review (“AUAR”) was prepared for the Stadium Site and MSC Site, collectively known as the Snelling-Midway Redevelopment Site ("SMRS"), to analyze potential impacts and was subsequently approved by the City on August 9, 2016; the AUAR includes a mitigation plan that specifies measures or procedures that will be used to avoid, minimize, or mitigate potential environmental impacts; and
WHEREAS, the Planning Commission determined that the full Commission would review the Master Plan and Site Plan and that the Commission, upon the conclusion of a public hearing, would assign to its Comprehensive Planning Committee the task of reviewing the Master Plan and Site Plan in light of all the testimony received in response thereto and to subsequently return to the Commission with any recommendations regarding each for the Commission’s consideration as final recommendations to the City Council regarding the Master Plan and the Stadium Site Plan; and
WHEREAS, the Planning Commission on June 10, 2016 held a public hearing at which all interested parties were given an opportunity to be heard and, after receiving the recommendations of its Comprehensive Planning Committee, subsequently approved on July 8, 2016 resolutions 16-37 and 16-38 recommending approval of the Snelling-Midway Redevelopment Site Master Plan and Design Guidelines ("redevelopment site master plan") and Stadium Site Plan respectively and those recommendations were forwarded to the City Council; and
WHEREAS, the City Council on August 3, 2016 held a public hearing, notice of which was published in the St. Paul Legal Ledger on July 21, 2016, at which all interested parties were given an opportunity to be heard; and
WHEREAS, the City Council, having considered all of the testimony, the Planning Commission's recommendations, and the report of the SMCAC; does
HEREBY RESOLVE, that the City Council pursuant to Leg. Code §66.344(b) hereby accepts the recommendation of the Planning Commission as set forth in Planning Commission resolution 16-37 and approves the Snelling-Midway Redevelopment Site Master Plan and Design Guidelines as the master plan for the T4M district within the SMRS, subject to the following conditions:
1. New development within the redevelopment site master plan boundary must have a minimum floor area ratio (FAR) of 2.0. The single story buildings planned for the “Shops in the Green” area are part of the master plan and may be excepted from the FAR requirement.
2. Minimum requirements at maximum build out for office uses shall be 250,000 square feet, retail uses shall be 168,400 square feet, and residential uses shall be 248 units.
3. All new buildings within the master plan boundary must have a primary pedestrian building entrance on arterial, collector, and/or local streets. All new commercial and civic buildings, shall have window and door openings that comprise at least 50 percent of the length and at least 30 percent of the area around the ground floor along arterial, collector, and/or local street facades.
4. Residential buildings may be allowed without retail on the first floor, provided first floor residential units shall have exterior entrances facing the street.
5. Surface parking should not exceed 20 spaces per development block, except for the surface lot at the southeast corner of the site. Free standing parking ramps are not permitted unless wrapped with active first floor uses on all street frontages. Above ground structured parking is permitted provided, at a minimum, that the entire ground floor of the structure contains active uses with entrances on all street frontages. Underground parking is permitted in any structure. Structured parking must be designed with level parking floors and adequate floor to ceiling clearance height to allow the space to be converted to finished floor area if parking is no longer needed in the future. Any parking lot west of the stadium approved by interim use permit shall be removed no later than the five (5) years after establishment. Minimal improvements to the lot may be allowed but significant investment is discouraged and will not constitute a justification for long term use.
6. The redevelopment site master plan and stadium design proposal shall take precedence over the following traditional neighborhood design standards as articualted in Leg. Code §66.343(a), §66.343(3) block length; §66.343(13) b, c, and d window design, glass, shape, size, and pattern; §66.343(14) a, materials and detailing; and §66.343(18) b surface parking in proximity to a corner.
7. Public realm - the street pattern, block layout, and park or open spaces shall be as shown on the redevelopment site master plan. New public streets or removal of a public street segment, park or open space, or entire block shall be considered a major modification of the redevelopment site master plan and shall require amending the redevelopment site master plan.
8. An open space plan, including a preliminary design treatment for open space, shall be included in the redevelopment site master plan when an open space agreement is negotiated in conjunction with meeting the City’s parkland dedication requirements. The open space must be publicly accessible even if privately developed and maintained.
9. A preliminary landscape plan indicating street trees and landscape treatment of streets, public spaces shall be provided in the redevelopment site master plan.
10. A preliminary stormwater plan identifying preliminary locations of structures and methods to be used in managing stormwater and surface water on the site must be provided in the redevelopment site master plan.
11. All development within the redevelopment site master plan boundary is subject to implementation of all relevant mitigation measures as defined or described in the AUAR Mitigation Plan.
12. Conduit must be installed during construction of new public streets to ensure the Snelling-Midway site is ready for installation of fiber optic cable.