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Chisago City Council on June 25 cleared the path for construction of three apartment buildings on seven acres of land, at the northwest corner of Sportsman Drive and Highway 8. Acting Mayor Jeremy Dresel once again presided over the meeting in the absence of Mayor Bob Gustafson.  (Administrator John Pechman said Gustafson, who also missed the May council meeting,  requested medical leave.)

The planned unit development, known as Chisago Lakes Apartments, will be built on land the city had previously approved for a new street and a possible Dollar Store. That plat has been abandoned.

The new project will consist of 121 apartment units in three buildings with both garage and surface parking, a dog park, outdoor pool, play area and pickle ball court on site. Each building reportedly will include a library, exercise facility, common room, and manager’s office. 

Developer Chris Rainmann of Kuepers Inc., Brainerd, submitted the preliminary plat, variance and design review applications. The developer’s purchase of the property from the owner, AMH Chisago LLC, is pending awaiting the necessary planning and zoning approvals. Pechman mentioned AMH Chisago LLC includes the original property developer Larry Abdo. 

Actions taken by the city council June 25 included: 

- vacating the 60-foot right of way for a proposed street. No objections were heard to vacating the undeveloped street that would have connected Gateway Ave. and Sportsman Dr.

- rezoning the three parcels of land, previously zoned as Highway Commercial and R4, Mobile Home Residential, to R3 (medium density residential).  City planner Leah Nelson and Administrator Pechman explained that the R4 mobile home designation had been discovered to be an error made by the city’s planning consultant. 

The council passed the R-3 rezoning unanimously saying the property is urban in character and the proposed rezoning is compliant with the area.

- approving the preliminary plat/planned unit development for Chisago Lakes Apartments with a number of variances. The city planning commission had voted to approve the plat at its June 6 meeting saying housing is needed, and the proposed apartments looked nice. The city council agreed that the apartment development is conveniently located to several local businesses, banks and a walking/bike path under Highway 8. The project does not require an environmental assessment worksheet, and is not in a shoreland district.

Variances unanimously approved by the city council include:  

- elimination of a required tree survey for the entire property. Two of the apartment buildings would be located on the portion of property currently covered by trees, The developer has agreed to plant 106 new trees on the property which significantly exceeds the city zoning requirement of 10 trees per acre.

- reducing the number of required garages from 121 to 60 and increasing surface parking spaces from the required 121 to 186. 

- allowing a building height of 40 feet 4 inches to accommodate gabled roof peaks, which were deemed more aesthetically pleasing than flat roofs.  Ordinance restricts roof heights in the city to 35 feet. Fire Chief Zach Reed, who was present, noted the city does not have a vehicle to fight fires at that height and relies on aid from neighboring cities.

- a 20 percent discount from the usual Water and Sewer Access charges per unit. This will reduce the fees for this project from $363,000 to $290,400 for water access and from $471,900 to $377,520 for sewer access. Pechman told the Press that a survey of nearby communities found that apartment complexes that included a variety of apartment sizes often received this type of accommodation to adjust for number of occupants per unit. 

- The project does not meet required lot area per unit and density requirements. The city’s required minimum lot area per unit is 3,500 sq. ft. The proposed 121-unit development only affords 2,253 sq. ft. of lot space per unit. Administrator Pechman had explained to the planning commission that Chisago City currently does not have a zoning code for this type of plan, which is why the developer has applied for a planned unit development (PUD.)  At 16.66 units per acre, the project also substantially exceeds the city’s maximum zoning density of 8 units per acre.  The project also exceeds residential impervious surface limitations but meets those for commercial developments.

Pechman explained to the Chisago County Press that Chisago City currently does not have a zone specifically for apartments, and that he and City Planner Nelson will be working on creating new zoning designations in which R4 will become high density residential, and R5 could be for mobile home parks. Chisago City’s highest zoning designation is currently R3, which is medium density residential.

The council approved all  variances for the apartment project unanimously.

     

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