Cannon Falls council agrees to lead environmental review for large development; debates gravel-driveway variance and approves outdoor sales permit

The Cannon Falls City Council voted Tuesday to serve as the responsible government unit, or RGU, to oversee an Alternative Urban Area-Wide Review, or AUAR, for a large development proposed on land partly in Randolph Township and partly in the city.

Why it matters: The AUAR is an environmental review process that will evaluate multiple development scenarios for the property and identify mitigation measures the developer must meet if the project proceeds. Making the city the RGU gives Cannon Falls the lead role in receiving the draft documents, conducting public comment periods and bringing the final environmental review and mitigation plan back to the council for adoption.

City staff described the process and timeline. A city staff member said the purchaser would fund the consultant, attorney and engineering costs through an escrow arrangement the city previously approved. Ashley Payne, a consultant with Kimley Horn, said the AUAR will include two public-comment periods — first for a scoping document that describes what will be studied, and then a 30-day public-comment period on the draft AUAR and mitigation plan — and will be returned to the council twice: once to order preparation of the AUAR and again for final adoption of the environmental review and mitigation plan. “What’s in front of you tonight is just to approve the City of Cannon Falls to be the responsible government unit or the RGU for the environmental review document,” Payne said.

Council members asked who would be responsible for required mitigation and whether the city would be liable if the developer failed to implement required measures. City staff said mitigation responsibility would be spelled out in the AUAR and later in development agreements; those agreements typically allocate tasks and costs between the developer and the city and can require the developer to pay for or complete mitigation items.

Action: Council member Diane Johnson moved to approve the RGU agreement; Council member Chris (last name not provided in the transcript) seconded. The council voted in favor and the motion passed.

Variance request: gravel driveways and future ordinance review

The council spent extensive time on an Enders Group request — filed as an application by Endress Cannon Falls LLC — asking for variances to allow long gravel driveways on several large “estate” lots in a rural portion of the Timber Ridge/Sandstone Ridge area. Mark Sondesgaard, a consultant for the Enders Group, explained the developer’s history on the parcels and said buyers had objected to the cost of immediately paving 300–500-foot driveways.

Sondesgaard described the development background and engineering work, including grading and culvert installation, and said the developer had mapped where water currently drains and how planned drainage would function. “So that’s basically a quick history,” Sondesgaard said of the work completed and marketing of the lots.

Council members pressed on whether a legal hardship existed (a standard for variances), how drainage would be affected, and when city water and sewer lines would be extended to the area. City staff said the parcels currently rely on wells and septic systems under an existing variance and that a city engineer estimated water and sewer extension to the area would likely be many years out — closer to a 20-year timeframe than five to 10 years unless demand changes.

Council consensus and applicant withdrawal: Planning Commission had unanimously recommended denial. During the council discussion the developer decided to withdraw the variance application; a city staff member told the council the developer would pull the application so no vote would be required on that request. The council discussed whether the city should revisit its driveway-paving ordinance in a future policy or workshop setting and suggested if the council wished to consider exceptions, staff and the Planning Commission should review ordinance language and possible conditions (for example, allowing gravel driveways only until water and sewer are available or under specific rural conditions).

Conditional use permit for outdoor sales at Cannon Falls Mall

The council approved Resolution 28100 granting a conditional-use permit for an outdoor sales lot at Cannon Falls Mall. Council member Lisa moved to approve and Council member Chris seconded; the motion passed by voice vote.

Council members asked staff whether similar outdoor-sales operations should require separate business licenses and whether it was fair to require improvements for one operator but not another. City staff replied that existing city licensing requirements enumerate specific activities (for example alcohol, tobacco, refuse haulers and peddlers) but that the ordinances do not include a distinct, city-issued license category for outdoor sales like the units currently sited on grass at the mall; staff advised sellers should confirm state-level business filings and licenses.

Other notes and next steps

- Staff and consultants said the AUAR process will include outreach to state agencies and a public hearing opportunity during each 30-day comment window; the council will see the AUAR twice (order to prepare, and final adoption with mitigation plan) if the project proceeds. - On the gravel-driveway question, the council asked staff to pursue next steps only if the council formally wants to open the ordinance for revision; staff suggested Planning Commission review ahead of any council workshop.

The meeting concluded with routine reports from staff and boards and the council’s adjournment.