Minutes - Council - 08/22/2017 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Councilmember LeTourneau stated that he cannot provide an opinion at this point and would like more time to process all the information to understand what the underlying reasons are for the concerns. Councilmember Riley stated that this seems to fit pretty well with what was approved with Capstone and would seem to be an extension of that. He noted that the decision for Capstone was not slaved over, most likely because of the lack of neighbors that came forward. Councilmember LeTourneau agreed that is what he is struggling with. Community Development Director Gladhill noted that the super majority of the Capstone parcel was already zoned correctly for that development but acknowledged that a Comprehensive Plan amendment was needed for a portion of that site that was designated commercial. Councilmember Kuzma stated that the landowner has land that he wants to sell to a developer and acknowledged the concern of the neighbors but noted that there is a balance there. Lonnie Brock asked if there could be a signal light at Alpine and Highway 10, noting that you cannot get onto Highway 10 from Alpine because of the traffic. Mayor Strommen replied that the City is in the business of eliminating the lights on Highway 10 rather than putting more lights onto the highway. Community Development Director Gladhill noted that there is a Highway 10 planning study which identifies an improvement for that intersection outside of a stoplight. 7.06: Review Inland Group Proposed Project City Administrator Ulrich reviewed the staff report. He noted that the Planning Commission and EDA have reviewed this information and based on the input from the developer, EDA and Planning Commission, Concept Layout C appears to be the preferred site. He asked for input from the Council. Keith James, Inland Group, thanked the Council for their time. He noted that this is his third time out to meet a body of the Ramsey government and stated that he continues to be impressed. He stated that Inland began about 30 years ago with a focus on multi-family construction. He stated that they branched out into affordable senior housing as well as traditional retirement housing. He stated that there seemed to be a gap in the affordable senior housing and the traditional retirement housing which left a gap for seniors in the middle of those two groups that did not qualify for the income limits of the affordable product and did not need the service provided in traditional retirement communities/assisted living. He stated that the Affinity brand was then born. He stated that they came to Minnesota with their product and they like to have a node within a market. He provided a summary of the units that would be available at the development. He noted that the Affinity product does not use an activities staff person to draw people out and instead use a grassroots effort. He explained that there are many residents with gardening knowledge and therefore they are beneficial to the gardening program. He noted that City Council/August 22, 2017 Page 12 of 15