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Oakdale council approves Forefront and Oakdale Marketplace amendments, adopts 20-year park plan
Summary
At its Aug. 12 meeting the Oakdale City Council approved a comprehensive-plan amendment and PUD amendment to allow up to 220 residential units at the Forefront campus, approved an Oakdale Marketplace horizontal-mixed-use plan (including plats and site plan), adopted a 20-year Park System Plan, authorized a Gold Line BRT signals agreement, and signed an ISD 622 school resource officer agreement.
The Oakdale City Council on Aug. 12 approved multiple land-use and budget-related actions that together shape development and public services in the city for years to come.
The council unanimously adopted resolution 2025-78 to approve a comprehensive-plan amendment that would allow conversion of part of the Forefront Technology and Office Campus to residential use, and passed ordinance 952 to amend the planned-unit development for that site. Community Development Director Andy Gislav told the council staff worked with SEH to confirm sufficient sewer capacity to support up to 220 new residential units and outlined seven conditions, including a minimum 100-foot setback for apartment buildings from 36th Street North, adherence to R‑4 standards for high-density residential development, and satisfaction of park-dedication requirements.
Council member Moore moved and Council member Severson seconded the resolution and ordinance; both measures passed by voice vote.
The council also approved a PUD amendment and related plats and site plan for Harlan Phase 2 in the Oakdale Marketplace area. Community development specialist Max Losey and a developer representative described a horizontal mixed-use proposal that would include a 160-unit market-rate apartment building and a commercial building of between 10,000 and 12,000 square feet. Staff recommended and the council adopted ordinance 953 to allow the horizontal mixed-use configuration, then approved resolutions 2025‑79 (preliminary and final plats) and 2025‑80 (site plan) subject to conditions. Conditions included a park-dedication payment of $452,000 (with $320.83 prior to recording noted in the staff summary), a sewer-availability surcharge of $300 per unit for increased flow to the lift station, required sidewalks, fire-department approval for hydrant locations, and other engineering and site-plan revisions.
Council discussion touched on alternative vertical mixed-use designs, parking, and minimum commercial-square-footage guarantees. Council member Morcom voiced concern that the adopted approvals leaned toward more residential than commercial and said he would vote no on the resolution, but the council adopted ordinance 953 and accompanying resolutions by voice vote with one expressed opposition during discussion.
The council approved the final Oakdale Park System Plan — a 20-year roadmap developed with SRF Consulting that compiles concept plans, cost estimates and a prioritization/phasing matrix for park investments. Community development specialist Hannah Dunn said the plan is intended to guide capital-improvement planning and prioritize projects across neighborhoods; council members praised the plan’s extensive public engagement and encouraged continued resident input as projects move toward implementation.
In other business the council authorized the mayor and city administrator to execute a tri-party ownership/operation/maintenance agreement for seven traffic signals installed as part of the Gold Line BRT project (an agreement among Washington County, the Metropolitan Council and the City of Oakdale). Engineering staff noted that of the seven intersections, four are being paid for by the Met Council, one is a city signal, and two are jointly shared; some infrastructure-ownership and storm-sewer terms remain to be finalized but the council authorized signature to proceed.
The council also authorized the mayor and city administrator to sign a school resource officer agreement with Independent School District 622 to station a fully licensed peace officer at Tartan High School from Sept. 1, 2025, through Aug. 31, 2027, with funding provided by the school district.
Staff brought forward a late correction to the 2025 fee schedule to restore several building-permit fees to valuation-based pricing and to reduce a fire‑suppression (sprinkler) permit fee back to its 2024 level. The council adopted ordinance 951 amending the fee schedule and a related resolution authorizing publication by title and summary.
The council approved a noise-variance request for JW Bierstube’s Oktoberfest event in the Bergen Plaza parking lot with a modified condition that the amplified sound on Sunday, Sept. 7, end at 10 p.m. (Sept. 5–6 remain 6–11 p.m.). Council member Moore moved to table a separate consent item g for workshop consideration.
Finance staff presented the claims roster (07/23/2025–08/12/2025) totaling roughly $5.22 million; the council approved the claims and adjourned.
Throughout the meeting a resident, Dan Zimlich of Anna’s Grove, urged the council to preserve commercial land and seek more businesses in parts of the city that residents had expected to be mixed-use. Council members acknowledged those concerns during deliberations on the Oakdale Marketplace items.
What’s next: the Forefront comp plan amendment will be submitted to the Metropolitan Council as part of the adopted resolution process. Several development approvals include post-approval conditions that require developer agreements, engineering approvals and permits from external regulatory agencies before final plat recording or building permits are issued.
