Planning Commission recommends rezoning for proposed YMCA site amid floodplain scrutiny
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Summary
On a 4-1 vote, the Planning Commission recommended City Council rezone 799 W. 12th Ave from RSS/AG to Commercial General to allow a YMCA and future recreation uses; staff and the applicant described compensatory storage, a borrow pit and finished-floor elevations to mitigate impacts in the 100-year floodplain, while some commissioners expressed concern about using CG instead of a civic designation.
The Stillwater Planning Commission voted 4-1 to recommend City Council approve a map amendment to rezone 799 West 12th Avenue from RSS/AG to Commercial General (MA205-16) to allow a proposed YMCA recreation facility and potential future recreation uses.
Henry Bibelheimer of Development Services said the property sits near the Stillwater Medical Campus and is currently partly designated in the comprehensive plan as "public and civic." Staff said the YMCA project is a partnership with the city and recommended rezoning to CG because recreation uses are allowed in that district; staff also noted third-party review of drainage by WSB engineering.
Several commissioners pressed staff and the applicant on floodplain and drainage details. David Barth, development services director, said the blue hatch on the map shows the 100‑year floodplain and that the city’s code requires finished floors be at least 1 foot above base flood elevation; staff said the project is planning above that minimum. Barth said the city sent the flood and detention studies to WSB, its third‑party reviewer, and the engineer addressed reviewer comments.
Austin Burton, civil engineer of record for Kimley‑Horn Associates, described the applicant’s flood-mitigation approach: the building pad will be raised about 9 feet above existing grades, existing soils from a borrow pit on the same property will be used (so no import fill), and the borrow pit plus a large reinforced‑concrete box structure (about 8 feet by 4 feet) will provide compensatory storage and allow the creek to back into the borrow pit during flood events. Burton said the project is coordinating with FEMA and WSB and that the proposed finished floor target is roughly two feet above base flood elevation (staff earlier described aiming above the 1‑foot code minimum).
Wayne Smith, a resident who said he lives about 300 feet from the site, told the commission he has experienced multiple floods over decades and supports the YMCA concept "if flood control is done right," urging continued engineer oversight.
Commissioners debated whether rezoning to CG — a broad commercial district — is the best fit for a nonprofit recreation use that some view as civic. Several commissioners said a PUD or a specific‑use permit could limit future uses if the YMCA does not build, but legal counsel said the commission’s role was to determine whether CG is appropriate for the map amendment before them. On the motion to recommend approval, the commission voted 4-1 in favor.
The rezoning recommendation will be forwarded to City Council for final action; the commission recorded concerns on flood mitigation and land‑use fit in the public record.