St. Cloud City Council on Jan. 9 approved a package of ordinances and resolutions, voting 5–0 on annexations and land‑use changes, adopting a budget amendment and authorizing a right‑of‑way purchase needed for the Orange Avenue extension.

The council approved two voluntary annexations — ordinance 2024‑71 (Palm Properties) and ordinance 2024‑82 (Tavares Santiago) — and later approved two city‑initiated land‑use and zoning changes to add park and open space and OR (open space and recreation) zoning for Hopkins Park improvements (ordinances 2024‑83 and 2024‑84). Council also adopted a land‑development code amendment intended to speed final plat and easement vacation approvals (ordinance 2024‑86) and approved budget amendment Resolution 2025‑003R to appropriate funds for projects including Orange Avenue extension and 17th Street ball fields. Separately the council approved Resolution 2025‑012R to buy approximately 3.25 acres on Nolte Road for the Orange Avenue extension.

Why it matters: The bundle of approvals advances several near‑term construction and planning projects: annexations bring properties into city service and zoning jurisdiction; Hopkins Park will be formally marked for park use; the code change reduces council review steps for plats and certain easement vacations; and the right‑of‑way purchase clears a land‑acquisition step tied to a broader subdivision and road extension plan.

Key votes and short details

- Resolution 2025‑012R (right‑of‑way purchase, 3.25 acres; purchase price $959,865): motion by Council member Jennifer A. Paul? (mover recorded as Council member Paul in roll call), second by Council member Urban; roll call vote: Deputy Mayor Fletcher — Aye; Council member Paul — Aye; Council member Urban — Aye; Council member Gilbert — Aye; Mayor Robertson — Aye. Motion carries 5–0.

- Ordinance 2024‑71 (annexation — Palm Properties, ~1.64 acres): motion by Deputy Mayor Fletcher; second by Council member Urban; roll call: carries 5–0.

- Ordinance 2024‑82 (annexation — Tavares Santiago, ~1.13 acres): motion by Council member Urban; second by Deputy Mayor Fletcher; roll call: carries 5–0.

- Ordinance 2024‑83 and 2024‑84 (Hopkins Park future land use and zoning amendments, ~6.61 acres): motions and roll calls recorded separately for each ordinance — each carried 5–0.

- Ordinance 2024‑86 (land‑development code amendment to streamline final plats and allow city manager/designee to approve qualifying easement vacations): motion by Council member Urban; second by Deputy Mayor Fletcher; roll call: carries 5–0.

- Resolution 2025‑003R (budget amendment #2 to FY2024‑25): motion by Council member Urban; second by Council member Paul; roll call: carries 5–0. The amendment included $1,000,000 in the mobility impact fee fund for land purchase related to the Orange Avenue extension and other allocations noted in the presented packet.

- First readings/introduction (publication authorized): Ordinance 2025‑01 (boundary correction re LaSalle Avenue parcels) and Ordinance 2025‑02 (utilities/code update) were introduced and approved for publication for final hearing.

Context and council comments

Council members and staff framed the code amendment (2024‑86) as a business‑friendly change intended to cut 60–90 days from project timelines by removing duplicate council steps when plats substantially comply with approved preliminary plans. Staff said two of three subdivision approval steps currently require council action, and the proposed change would allow the Development Review Committee to finalize plats that conform to the preliminary approval.

Finance Director Jeff Cooper summarized the budget amendment and identified projects and impact‑fee allocations. Staff also noted that some advertised agenda numbers were corrected during the meeting: an item on the printed agenda showed a higher roof cost; the printed agenda was corrected during the meeting (see the transcript for the in‑meeting clarifications).

What the council did not decide tonight

Several items noted by the city manager were removed or continued: public hearings numbered 2 and 3 were withdrawn and public hearing 8 was continued to the Feb. 13 council meeting at the owner’s request (motion to continue carried 4–0 with one recusal/abstention recorded earlier in that sequence).

Votes at a glance is a factual roundup of recorded motions and roll calls in the Jan. 9 meeting. For the full text of each ordinance or resolution, see the published agenda packet or contact City Hall.