Minutes - 03/27/2012 Joint MeetingJOINT MEETING MINUTES
March 27, 2012
A joint meeting of the City Council and Zoning and Planning Commission was held on March
27, 2012 6:30 p.m. in the Raspberry Room Hopkins City Hall.
Present were Mayor Gene Maxwell, City Council members Molly Cummings, Jason Gadd,
Cheryl Youakim, Kristi Halverson, Commission Members Doug Datta, Andrew Fisher, Andrea
Naef, Aaron Kuznia, Jennifer Allard, Scott Kerssen, and Charles Firth. Park Board member
Norman Teigen arrived at approximately 7:40.
Also present were staff members Mike Mornson, Kersten Elverum, Steve Stadler, Nancy
Anderson, Tara Beard and John Bradford.
Also present was James Wisker from the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District (MCWD)
CALL TO ORDER
Mayor Maxwell called the meeting to order at 6:45 p.m.
HOPKINS COLD STORAGE SITE
Ms. Elverum gave an overview of the evening. Mr. Wisker reviewed the Watershed District's
activities in Hopkins and St. Louis Park. Tara Beard provided an overview of the Blake Road
Small Area Plan and the recommendations from the plan. Nancy Anderson provided a brief
overview of the City of Hopkins' Comprehensive Plan and zoning designation for the Cold
Storage site.
Mr. Wisker then reviewed the following Urban Creek Policies/Objectives:
• Stormwater Management
• Restore Nature
• Parks/open space
• Recreation/public access
• Transportation
• Economic Development/Housing
• Community Participation
Mr. Wisker stated that the Watershed would use 4-6 acres of the Cold Storage site. Mr. Wisker
also went over the MCWD timeline for the site.
Ms. Elverum reviewed the site characteristics of the Cold Storage site and the City involvement.
The group divided into three groups to review goals for the site. The task for each group was to
determine the top three goals of the group. The groups returned to one large group. There was a
spoke person for the groups and the top goals are the following:
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MINUTES OF THE JOINT WORK SESSION March 27, 2012
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1. Retail to serve the neighborhood
2. Enhance tax generation
3. Regional designation — put Hopkins on the map (1)
4. Create living wage jobs (2)
5. Incorporate development into creek, park, greenspace
6. Catalyst for redevelopment beyond the site (3)
There was overlap in the group's top goals, the above are the top goals. The group voted on the
top three. Numbers three, four and six were the top goals of the group.
After this exercise Ms. Elverum asked the group what uses that are unacceptable for the site.
The group determined the following uses are unacceptable for the site:
• Parking ramp
• Fast food
• Big box
• Station/platform
The group was asked to state some uses that would meet the goals above.
The following are the uses that were discussed and then determined how they meet the above
goals:
Office sharing (2)
Urban/global market (1,2)
Senior housing (3 and a small 2)
Incubator/office (2)
Education (1,3)
Hi tech/biomedical (2,3)
Commons, Community space
Corporate campus (1,3)
Surley brewery (1,3)
Curling rink (1)
The meeting was adjourned at 8:55 p.m.