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Minnetrista council discusses expanding notice for ag uses, favors converting farm-winery CUPs to IUPs
Summary
Council members reviewed public-notice radii after two residents missed a 500-foot conditional-use notice; staff ran parcel-count examples and members favored converting farm-winery CUPs to interim-use permits (1,500-foot notice) rather than raising notice for all CUPs.
Minnetrista City councilmembers reviewed whether the city should expand public-notice distances for certain land-use applications after two property owners said they were not included in a 500-foot notice for a farm-winery conditional use permit. Mayor Lisa Whalen opened the work session and turned the matter over to city staff to explain options.
City staff member David Abel told the council that the state-standard notice for CUPs is 500 feet, and that the planning commission had extended notice to 1,000 feet in the contested farm-winery case. He provided map examples showing how many parcels different radii would reach: for one ag-site, Abel said, 500 feet would include 17 parcels, 1,000 feet 40 parcels and 1,500 feet 69 parcels. Councilmembers discussed how developed neighborhoods and rural/ag areas differ — in subdivisions a 500-foot radius can already reach dozens of residents, while in agricultural areas neighbors may live far enough apart to miss a 500-foot notice.
Members weighed trade-offs including postage and staff workload. One councilmember noted the additional postage would likely be modest in dollar terms but would increase staff time and incoming calls. Rather than change the CUP notice for every use, the council and staff focused on a targeted change: converting the city’s farm-winery applications from conditional use permits to interim use permits, which carry a 1,500-foot notice radius. David Abel summarized that shift as a narrowly tailored fix "so we don't change this ordinance specifically" for all CUPs.
Councilmembers asked staff to review the list of uses that currently trigger CUP review to identify those better suited to an IUP process (examples discussed included uses that primarily raise noise or traffic concerns). Staff was asked to prepare ordinance language and bring the proposed amendment back to a future meeting for formal consideration. The council did not adopt ordinance language during the work session; they agreed on direction for staff to draft and return with specific language.
The next procedural step is for staff to prepare draft ordinance changes and a proposal for the regular council meeting so members can vote on any formal change.
