Council approves Big Woods Business Park Phase 1 and rezoning after developer, Amazon briefings

Chaska’s City Council on Monday approved preliminary site and building plans, a rezoning and a comprehensive‑plan amendment to allow Phase 1 of the Big Woods Business Park to move forward, including a proposed 218,000‑square‑foot distribution center and supporting roads and utilities.

The project, brought by Scanel Properties with an identified end user, includes a preliminary plat for roughly 44 acres, a plan to extend city utilities across a ravine, and a spine collector road with new roundabout intersections. Planning staff told council the first phase would disturb about 9 acres of an approximate 30‑acre green‑belt edge (about 31% of that green‑belt area), and identified refinements needed for view‑shed screening, vehicle access spacing and wetland mitigation.

Liz, the city’s planner, said the package includes a rezoning to a planned multi‑use district and three linked requests: the site/building plan and plat (Resolution 2026‑59), the rezoning ordinance (No. 1081) and a comprehensive plan amendment to expand the metropolitan urban service area (MUSA) and allow limited cluster development in the green belt. After staff presentations and extended council and public questions, council voted to adopt all three items.

Developer and end‑user sessions drew the sharpest public attention. Jake Kurt of Scanel Properties and a representative from the end user described site layout, landscaping exhibits and timing for grading and utilities. Amazon, represented by Jason Vangless, described the employment model for the facility: "about up to 300 new jobs" inside the facility and roughly 450 driver jobs supplied by locally recruited Delivery Service Partners (DSPs). Vangless said starting wages in the market typically average "about $20 to $21 an hour," rising with total compensation to about "$29 to $30 an hour," and noted benefits such as immediate enrollment in health benefits and access to the company's Career Choice education program.

Traffic and neighborhood impacts were the main focus of questioning. Staff and the developer said heavy truck routing will use the new spine road and future roundabout connections; right‑in/right‑out access to County Road 11 was proposed for the site. A traffic impact analysis (TIA) presented to council estimated roughly 3,000 daily trips generated by the building, concentrated in off‑peak hours for heavy truck movements and overnight shifts. Staff emphasized that semi‑traffic would primarily use major collector roads and that a full interchange build‑out on Highway 212 (a separate county project) would improve connectivity in future years.

Council members pressed the applicant and Amazon on site security, building design, parking and environmental mitigation. The developer highlighted screening measures, tree preservation and a multi‑year landscaping plan to protect view sheds along Big Woods Boulevard and Jonathan Carver Parkway. Amazon noted sustainability efforts including a no‑idling policy and an initial portion of electric delivery vehicles where vendor availability permits.

Council votes accepted the preliminary site/building plan (Resolution 2026‑59), rezoned the site to Planned Multi‑Use District 24 (Ordinance 1081) and approved the comprehensive plan amendment expanding the MUSA and allowing the proposed green‑belt cluster impacts (Resolution 2026‑60). Staff said final approvals must still address spacing for access points on the collector, Carver County coordination on roundabout designs, wetland permitting and Met Council review of the comp‑plan amendment.

What’s next: the applicant will refine engineering and landscaping details, continue county coordination on intersection designs, resolve wetland permits and return for final permitting and civil approvals. Council members asked staff to keep neighbors updated on road‑improvement timing and staging.