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somewhat close together. He commented that he grew up off Armstrong and 155th and played <br />sports at Central Park. He understands the want to keep the area the same but noted that the <br />pandemic has impacted churches and schools. He noted that this is a situation where the church <br />needs money for its future plans and the school needs land and has available funds, therefore the <br />uses would work together to benefit both nonprofit organizations that benefit the community. He <br />stated that a traffic study was done for Trott Brook North, and they redid the study during school <br />hours, and it was still deemed to be safe. He stated that if the land does not go through, the other <br />option would be for more homes with 80-foot lots. He stated that Central Park already has games <br />in that location with lights and noise, therefore adding this use would not change the characteristic <br />of the neighborhood as this would place a football field next to a football field. He stated that <br />PACT looked at land within The COR and at another parcel but those would not support the needs <br />of the school and meet the regulations of The COR. He commented that this is a great spot for the <br />school. He stated that PACT expanded 18 years ago, therefore it is unrealistic to say the school <br />would want to expand further in five years. He believed that PACT meets the values of the <br />community and has local control on its Board. He commented that while seven days for residents <br />to get their thoughts in order may not seem like a long time, PACT has been working on this with <br />its development team for a long time and has planned accordingly to meet the regulations of the <br />City. <br />Robert Buchannan, 6738 153rd Lane NW, stated that he supports a new PACT location as he has <br />four children at the school and a fifth that will also go to the school. He believed that this is a good <br />location because of the proximity to the existing location. He noted that once his oldest can drive, <br />she would be bringing the younger children to school as well. He did not believe that residents <br />were opposed to a school, or PACT, but concerned about the impact. <br />Ron Lindenberg, 7600 163rd Lane, stated that he believes PACT is a great school with a great <br />reputation but believes this issue is more of placing a square peg in a round hole. He asked if the <br />recently redone sewer for Variolite can support this use. He stated that he has lived on his property <br />for 25 years. He stated that there are six more acres above the land the church would propose to <br />use and what PACT would use and asked what the use would be for that land. He stated that <br />Variolite shrunk a little in its last improvement and was unsure if that road is capable of carrying <br />the capacity for the school and football field. He identified the marsh area, noting that if the hard <br />surface is not controlled, water would flood those homes out if not planned appropriately. He <br />stated that he moved to his property to have acreage for a reason and not to be next to a high school. <br />He stated that the residents in this area have gotten used to the sports activities of the park, but <br />they do not have a stadium with stadium lighting 40 feet from someone's property. He did not <br />believe 40 feet is a realistic buffer from an acreage lot for a school. He stated that his biggest <br />concern is related to traffic. He acknowledged that 161st needs to be redone but this would require <br />the road to have a different capacity. He stated that he has accepted the development that has come <br />over the years but did not believe this high school use would fit into this neighborhood area. <br />Samuel Maeder, 16410 Quartz Street, stated that from his home he can hear the activity from the <br />park on busy nights. He stated that he moved to his home about 18 months ago, noting that in <br />Fridley he lived about the same distance from the middle school and high school. He noted that <br />the roads were much wider and designed for the schools to be there, but there were still traffic <br />problems. He stated that while there is already noise from the park, the noise generated from a <br />