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Adopting the Hillcrest Master Plan.
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WHEREAS, the Land Use Chapter of the 2040 Saint Paul Comprehensive Plan (hereinafter, “2040 Plan”) identifies the former Hillcrest Golf Course site (hereinafter, “Hillcrest”) as an “opportunity site” which, under the 2040 Plan, are sites guided for redevelopment with “higher-density mixed-use development” or “employment centers with increased full-time living wage job intensity;” and
WHEREAS, in furtherance of the 2040 Plan, the City Council subsequently adopted Ordinance 19-39 which authorized the Saint Paul Port Authority to issue bonds to purchase Hillcrest and, further, set certain expectations for the redevelopment of Hillcrest as an opportunity site which would include the establishment of substantial industrial uses as employment centers; and
WHEREAS, the City, for the purpose of guiding redevelopment at Hillcrest, commenced a master planning process to identify future land uses and site layouts within Hillcrest in order to create a draft Hillcrest Master Plan (hereinafter, “HMP”); and
WHEREAS, on March 4, 2022, the Commission duly conducted a public hearing on a draft HMP and the following associated actions: an amendment to the 2040 Plan, certain zoning code amendments, and amendments to the City’s zoning map for rezoning purposes; and
WHEREAS, following the March 4, 2022, public hearing, the Commission reviewed the hearing comments and testimony and, following this review, the Commission recommended to the City Council and Mayor, approval of the draft HMP and the associated actions as set forth in Commission Resolution No. 22-21 dated April 15, 2022; and
WHEREAS, an updated draft HMP, dated April 20, 2022, incorporates certain changes recommended by the Commission to the earlier draft HMP dated January 13, 2022; and
WHEREAS, this updated HMP now includes certain relief from zoning regulations and certain additions to zoning regulations that, as a whole, result in improved implementation of the 2040 Plan and the intent of the zoning code as applied to Hillcrest; and
WHEREAS, the updated HMP also contains a site layout with block sizes that requires an amendment to the 2040 Plan which also requires review and approval by the Metropolitan Council before becoming final; and
WHEREAS, a duly noticed public hearing before the City Council having been conducted, at which all interested parties were given an opportunity to be heard, and having considered all the testimony and recommendations concerning the updated HMP and associated actions, including the Planning Commission resolution and the Comprehensive and Neighborhood Planning Committee’s memorandum and their rationale for the recommendations which the Council finds persuasive and thus hereby incorporates by reference into this action for the specific purpose of articulating the Council’s reasons and rationale for this action;
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Saint Paul City Council hereby adopts the said updated HMP dated April 20, 2022, as the master plan for development of the former Hillcrest Golf Course, contingent on Metropolitan Council approval of the associated 2040 Plan amendment, and subject to the additional amendment of Sustainability chapter, Topic 1, Policies S-6, at page 37 as follows:
S-6: Pursue the integration of ground source energy systems such as geothermal energy at the site and/or district scale to reduce energy demand. In the event such an energy system is proposed for any on-site use, the City will evaluate the feasibility of adopting, pursuant to Minn. Stat. § 103I.111, subd. 1 (2021), a Delegation Agreement to safeguard the sustainability and protection of groundwater resources.
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