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Councilmember Hendriksen recommended designating the area, as a rail station site that would <br />include businesses that go along with the station and the offices that would be upstairs from that <br />and the residential that could potentially be upstairs as well. That is a concept he would not have <br />a problem with. What he thinks would be a bad use of the property would be to develop the site <br />with big townhomes and apartment buildings, which is what he thinks will happen if the <br />definition of mixed use is left as proposed. <br /> <br />Mayor Gamec stated that he does not think that there will be a lot of people living above <br />retail/commercial buildings, but a certain amount of residential has to be close to the site. <br /> <br />Councilmember Hendriksen stated that the Met Council has their interests that may not be the <br />best interest for Ramsey. Placing a bunch of residential units in close proximity to the rail <br />station is not in the best interest for Ramsey because it takes away the City's industrial area. <br />There are already 19,000 people in the City and he does not buy the argument that they need <br />21,000 people to accommodate light rail. The City needs good paying jobs long before they <br />need affordable housing. <br /> <br />Mayor Gamec replied that he had the feeling that most of the housing in the area will not be <br />considered affordable. <br /> <br />Councilmember Kurak stated that she did not think there was anything wrong with adding more <br />places to live in Ramsey. <br /> <br />Councilrnember Hendriksen reviewed the current land use identifying the current residential <br />development surrounding section 28. <br /> <br />Mr. Bakken inquired if the Council was at an impasse as to what should be a permitted use <br />within the mixed-use area because they have been discussing the issue for months and they are <br />still discussing the same issues. <br /> <br />Mayor Gamec stated that businesses in Ramsey are upset that the City does not have adequate <br />housing for their employees. The City has to have the support for the businesses, which includes <br />adequate housing. <br /> <br />Councilmember Hendriksen suggested designating a smaller area as mixed-use and if it is a great <br />success and the development expands then so be it. The reason the 100 acres was agreed to was <br />because he always envisioned the mixed-use site being located near Armstrong Boulevard. <br />Inside the 100 acres he does not have a problem with dry cleaners, retail, etc., but he does not <br />think the remainder of the industrial area should be filled-up with housing. <br /> <br />Councilmember Anderson replied that if there is not a certain amount of housing the businesses <br />do not come. <br /> <br />Staff presented an area on either side of Armstrong Boulevard that would include approximately <br />100 acres for the mixed-use site. <br /> <br />Councilmember Kurak stated that she did not think the area presented by staff would work. <br /> <br />City Council/October 15, 2001 <br /> Page 4 of 10 <br /> <br /> <br />