Planning commission votes 3–1 to recommend reclassifying Geneva Meadows to 2 units per acre

The Saint Paul Park Planning Commission on Oct. 13 voted 3–1 to recommend a comprehensive plan amendment that would reclassify the Geneva Meadows subdivision area from the 3–5 units-per-acre low-density category to a 2–5 units-per-acre band for this specific property.

City planning staff told the commission the change is being pursued because the Metropolitan Council, reviewing the subdivision’s sewer permit, used a different method for calculating gross developable acreage by including certain rights-of-way and easements (railroad right-of-way, pipeline easement and an unplatted Cottage Grove right-of-way) that city staff had not counted in earlier local calculations. Under the Met Council method, the subdivision no longer meets the 3 units-per-acre minimum tied to its current comp plan designation unless the developer adds roughly 30 additional units.

Planner Nate Sparks told the commission staff considered two options: require the developer to redesign and add units to meet the 3-unit minimum, or amend the comp plan to place the parcel in a lower-density bin — the 2–5 units-per-acre category — to align the plan with the subdivision approved by the city and avoid adding lots. Sparks said staff brought the amendment forward at the Met Council’s suggestion.

Sparks noted the site has engineering constraints — steep slopes, high bedrock and adjacent railroad right-of-way — and commissioners recalled earlier public preference for lower density at that location. Sparks said reclassifying the site would not reduce the city’s overall capacity to meet regional density targets; staff’s analysis shows the city’s remaining developable lands have sufficient capacity to meet current comprehensive-plan goals.

Commission discussion included procedural concerns about how rights-of-way and other nondevelopable areas are counted in density calculations and whether the city should require developers to resolve those differences before plat approval. One commissioner questioned whether project engineers should have foreseen the Met Council’s interpretation. Sparks replied staff had advised the developer to pursue the amendment rather than redesign the subdivision to add lots, following earlier direction from the planning commission and council to prefer lower density on that tract.

After public testimony was opened and closed with no additional speakers, a commissioner moved to amend the comp plan to allow 2 units per acre for Geneva Meadows; the motion was seconded and carried 3–1.

Sparks and commissioners noted that the amendment would apply only to this subdivision request; other areas of the city would remain subject to their existing comp plan designations unless amended through the normal process. Sparks added that if the Met Council rejected the amendment, the city could require a revised plat demonstrating required density or pursue other remedies.

The commission’s recommendation will go to the city council, which will decide whether to forward the change to the Met Council for final action on the comp plan designation and the subdivision’s sewer permit.