River Heights adopts updated general plan after years of revisions; mayor casts tie-breaking vote

River Heights City Council on July 1 adopted an updated city general plan after a multi‑year revision process, approving the plan by a vote that required Mayor Blake Wright to cast a tie‑breaking vote.

The planning commission drafted the updates and presented them to the council; the revisions update population and land‑use figures, remove planned‑unit development (PUD) language in some sections, revise transportation language (including collectors and the Second East alignment), and refresh maps and projections last comprehensively reviewed in 2019. Planning‑staff and commission representatives said the changes reflect five years of incremental edits and the commission’s most recent public hearing.

Council members and planning staff discussed several substantive elements before voting, including whether to show some 800‑South parcels on the land‑use map as agricultural or as R‑11/12 residential; whether to retain language that would allow future collector streets to qualify for county or state funding; and how to display recently approved historic overlays. The council approved the plan subject to minor editorial corrections and a condition that staff confirm with the city attorney and county planner — Craig Lusk — whether historic overlays must be adopted by formal rezoning or may be reflected as an overlay on the plan map. The council’s motion approved the plan “as presented, pending the minor typos and changes discussed and pending Craig’s decision on the historic overlay zones.”

Heather (planning commission representative) and Noel (city planning staff) walked the council through numeric and map changes, which included updated acreage and revised build‑out numbers after the removal of the “Chug property” from the city’s assumed future development base. Staff told the council they calculated water service capacity, equivalent residential connections (ERC) and other infrastructure metrics to align with the updated land‑use assumptions; city staff warned those technical numbers show the system is adequate “on paper” but may strain during peak summer demand. The updated plan preserves language opposing an alternate Second East crossing and revises collector‑street standards to reflect existing street widths and engineering feedback.

Council debate focused mainly on one area along 800 South where several parcels are currently agricultural but adjoin R‑18 lots; some council members proposed showing the area on the plan as R‑11/12 to match adjacent development patterns, while others favored leaving it agricultural until a developer or landowner requests a formal zone change. That disagreement produced a tie on the final roll call; Mayor Blake Wright broke the tie by voting to adopt the plan.

The council instructed staff to work with Craig Lusk on the historic‑overlay map notation; if formal rezoning is required, staff will return the map for any required procedural actions. Planning staff said they will also format numeric tables (rent and income tables, population figures) for readability and update projection years where needed.

The council adoption finalizes a document the planning commission began updating in 2019 and which was delayed during the COVID period. Council and staff said the plan remains a long‑range policy document and can be amended as circumstances and development proposals arise.

Ending: With the plan approved and the historic‑overlay question referred to the city attorney and county planner, the council moved on to remaining business and adjourned.