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Council approves Lake Elmo Medical Center expansion and a reduced side‑yard setback
Summary
The council approved a conditional use permit and a variance to allow an approximately 114,100‑square‑foot medical facility expansion at 8650 Hudson Boulevard North (High Point campus), including 195 additional parking stalls and a reduced west-side setback to 27 feet, subject to standard site/permitting and landscaping conditions.
The Lake Elmo City Council voted May 19 to approve both a conditional use permit and a variance allowing a major expansion of the High Point Health campus at 8650 Hudson Boulevard North.
Planning staff presented a proposal by AMCOM Construction and Lake Elmo Medical Center to expand the existing 65,000‑square‑foot building to roughly 114,100 square feet, split between about 26,000 square feet for medical facility uses and roughly 88,100 square feet of medical office space. The applicant also proposed adding approximately 195 parking stalls for a total of about 435 stalls, exceeding the city minimum of 396. Proposed hours would be roughly 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., and the facility anticipates employing between 100 and 125 full‑time staff.
Because a neighboring parcel was rezoned in 2022 and raised setback requirements on the west side, the applicant requested a variance to reduce the west side yard setback to 27 feet; staff said the request met the four statutory variance criteria, that the proposed expansion largely preserved onsite wetlands and landscaping, and that conditional approvals would be subject to specified stormwater, sign plan and permitting conditions. The planning commission had recommended approval and staff recommended the council adopt the findings and conditions in the staff report.
Council members asked clarifying questions about landscape and stormwater review, signage and whether notices to residents were mailed; staff said notices were sent to property owners and agency reviewers had provided comments to be addressed as conditions. The council approved resolution 2026‑037 (the CUP) and resolution 2026‑038 (the variance) by voice vote.
