Waite Park planning panel approves Metro Bus transfer center despite neighborhood concerns

The Waite Park Planning Commission approved a conditional-use permit on Sept. 12, 2025, clearing the way for a Metro Bus transfer facility in West St. Cloud after hearing several hours of public comment and a presentation by the applicant.

Gail Jacobson, a resident of 468 2nd Avenue South, told commissioners the project had already depressed her home's resale value and said increased traffic, noise and security concerns could harm neighbors if mitigations are insufficient. "There's going to be road cost, there's going to be security cost," Jacobson said, adding that she and neighbors worry about driveway access and the planned midblock crosswalk.

The applicants and Metro Bus officials addressed those concerns in turn. Andrew Cooper, design architect with Ortell Architects, and Michael Jysky, landscape architect with SRF Consulting Group, described stormwater design features for the site, including a shallow "safety bench" where the wet pond meets shore and a draw-down filtration basin intended to hold standing water for short periods. Cooper said those features and native shore vegetation are part of meeting the watershed district's stormwater treatment requirements and state sustainable-building guidelines.

"One of the things that we do when we design a pond of this nature is we design in a safety bench," Jysky said, explaining the gradual slope and vegetated edge.

Dave Green, chief operations officer at Metro Bus, outlined security and operations measures the agency says will limit disorder: internal and external cameras, a rider conduct policy, coordination with the St. Cloud Police Department, and a three-strike approach to serious misconduct. Green said Metro Bus has added street supervisors and other staff to manage operations and that the agency would continue working with police if problems arise.

Green also provided incident figures, saying Metro Bus received 52 calls for service in St. Cloud through Sept. 2025 and that an earlier single-year tally was about 192 calls in 2019, a decline he described as evidence of improved security and operational practices.

On traffic and access, applicants said the primary entrance was sited to minimize total site disturbance and construction costs. The team said Stearns County granted a 40-foot driveway for the access point in this case and that a routing study is still determining which four routes will serve the facility. Metro Bus staff characterized a "worst-case" service pattern as four routes running at 15-minute frequency, which would translate to roughly 16 bus movements per hour.

Commissioners and staff confirmed the site is planned as a transfer facility rather than a park-and-ride: there will be no public long-term parking stalls, only parking for staff, operations and deliveries. Metro Bus said the majority of rider traffic will be transfers between routes.

Residents pressed the commission for assurances on loitering and neighborhood impacts. Metro Bus said typical enforcement will rely on street supervisors, operations managers and coordination with police rather than a permanent on-site police presence. The agency also described design strategies used at its downtown facility to reduce loitering and crime, including landscaping, physical barriers and community partnerships.

After commissioners reviewed findings of fact on compatibility with the comprehensive plan, public safety and traffic requirements, a motion to approve the conditional-use request with the nine conditions on the record was made and seconded. The commission voted to approve the request "with conditions." The application will next go to the city council for final action; staff said a council date had not yet been scheduled and advised interested parties to monitor the city's agenda postings.

The commission adjourned at 7:45 p.m.