Minutes - Council Work Session - 12/10/2024

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City Administrator Hagen shared that the City would need to receive a signed and stamped plan from a licensed architect, which they have received. He noted that both the building inspector and the fire inspector would need to look at the project. He added that they could expedite the building permit review due to the circumstances and they could get it reviewed as quickly as possible. He stated that if there are plan revisions, this would be outside of the City’s control and would have to be addressed by Green Valley. A representative from Green Valley stated they believe that they meet every criteria of an agricultural building. He noted that other than making the building 14 feet longer and closing off the mezzanine, it is just a modernized version of what they already had in place. He added that they were told in January that the building met the criteria of an agricultural building. He said they have not grown the project or made it bigger since then and they have only done what they said they were going to do. He shared that they had a similar situation about a year and a half ago which resulted in a $100,000 loss. He noted that he was told that they would not need a building permit for this building. He said they feel as though they are exempt as an agricultural building and it will be used to grow and ship their plants, nothing more. Councilmember Specht noted that because Green Valley was originally told that they would not need a building permit and since the project has moved so far along, it would be unfair to change their opinion now and require it to go through the building permit process. Councilmember Howell noted that this seems to her to be an agricultural building with primarily agricultural purposes which makes this enough of a unique situation to make an exception. She said she would support this moving forward with a corporate statute. Councilmember Olson asked if they have had any inspections done at the property. A representative from Green Valley stated they have had fire and electrical inspections completed. Community Development Director Hanson noted that the Fire Department did have some corrections that need to be made to the building. A representative from Green Valley said they made these corrections. Councilmember Olson said it is best to have safety in mind and this building is essentially the same as what was there before. He said he is okay with allowing this as an exception. Mayor Kuzma asked what plan was submitted in January when they spoke with the building inspector. A representative from Green Valley explained that they just had the dimensions of the project. Planning Manager Larson shared that he was present in this meeting, and they were presented with just a rectangular building which was slightly different from what was there before. He added that while he has not been in the new building, he has seen the floor plan, and this is not a concern from the zoning perspective. He noted that what was originally presented that they were told would not City Council Work Session / December 10, 2024 Page 3 of 5