Commission recommends PUD amendment and final site plan for Omni Orchards event center at 15675 Biscayne Avenue

The Rosemount Planning Commission recommended City Council approve a major amendment to the Omni Orchards Farm Winery planned unit development (PUD) agreement to add the parcel at 15675 Biscayne Avenue and approved a final site and building plan for an event center and winery production building on that property, subject to staff conditions.

Staff described two related requests: (1) a major PUD amendment to expand the existing Omni Orchards PUD to include the property immediately north of the current operation, and (2) a final site and building plan for the expansion area to include an event room (252 seats), winery production, a tasting room and a covered patio. The applicants intend to move winery production into the new building and convert their current space to additional beer production. The project would remove an existing pole barn and home and retain several significant existing trees.

The proposed building footprint and elevations meet the B-2 Employment District setback requirements. Staff reported the parcel’s site plan provides 32 parking stalls; code-required parking for a 252-seat event room is 33 stalls (1 stall per 2 people plus employees). Staff judged the overall Omni complex has sufficient parking capacity because there are an additional 26 stalls on the southern Omni property that can serve overflow. Staff recommended as a condition that the applicant either add trees to parking peninsulas or relocate trees on-site to meet the code requirement of one tree per 10 stalls (or provide the equivalent through tree placement).

The landscape plan calls for at least 20 orchard trees and several windbreak/parking plantings; applicants plan six rows of vines and to retain large existing trees between 10 and 24 inches diameter. Site lighting plans show 23-foot pole-mounted fixtures with photometrics within allowed illumination levels. The trash enclosure will be constructed of burnished concrete block and will be behind the building.

Applicants said they expect to open the new building by Oct. 1 to handle the 2025 wine harvest. Commissioners asked about overlap between tasting room and event operations; applicant representatives said they expect limited simultaneous use and modest tasting-room volumes. Staff noted no new public water or sewer infrastructure is required and that engineering will finalize stormwater pond design per city comments prior to construction.

The commission approved the PUD amendment and then approved the final site and building plan subject to the conditions listed in the staff report (conditions 1–3) and any additional items required by engineering and landscape compliance. Both recommendations will be forwarded to City Council; the PUD amendment and site plan will be on the council agenda tentatively March 18.