Meeting the fourth Monday of the month in the Council chambers at City Hall, the Cottage Grove Plan Commission got down to business.

Following the usual once a month preliminaries of call to order, roll call, agenda approval, open forum comment and the Chair’s explanation of the hearing process, it was straight into the night’s business. With five applications up for public hearing before the Plan Commission Monday April , these are the need to know facts. First up before the Commission Monday was an application for a conditional use permit and site plan review for an addition to Leafline Labs, located at 8235 97th Street South in the city’s business park.

The business expansion including a 134,000 square feet building and proposed to take place in two stages, would roughly quadruple Leafline Labs existing space for growing state-approved medicinal cannabis products. Leafline was approved and first constructed in 2014 following legalization of the production and use of cannabis “for some medicinal purposes” within the state of Minnesota, the firm later proposing in 2020 during the pandemic to increase their production facilities. The building site is zoned I-2 General Industrial, with ‘pharmaceutical manufacturing’a conditionally permitted use in said zone district. Proposed in 2020 as a greenhouse, the switch to “traditional” required an amendment to the approvals, which would otherwise have been good via an extension through February of 2023. Phase one of the proposed expansion would call for a 70,000 square foot facility, with a 67,000 square foot add on later.

Next up on the meeting docket for Monday’s Plan Commission , meanwhile, was an application by Hemingway Industrial, for a proposed warehouse and distribution facility located at 97th Street and Hemingway Avenue. The total 240,000 square foot development would consist of two buildings, the site itself butting up against a tree line separating it from homes on Heath Avenue.

The site, with application made by Enclave Development, is identical to that which the City’s Economic Development Authority (EDA) entered into a purchase agreement with Syndica LLP in February. Lest you be confused by the seeming double site use, the key for explainging things is found in the fact that Syndica LLP and Enclave Development are related to one another, having the same principals.

Under the plan by Enclave Development the 25.3 acre site at 8235 97th Avenue South would see a 240,000 square foot building to support both warehouse and office uses on the site.

The third proposal up for consideration at Monday night’s Plan Commission was an application by homebuilder D. R. Horton for a zoning amendment to rezone property located on the northwest corner of Keats Avenue and 90th Street from AG-1, Agricultural Preservation, to R-4, otherwise known as low-density residential. The preliminary plat to include 80-detached single family homes and four outlets, would be located just across Keats Avenue from the Washington County Service Center in utility staging area 1 of the recently reworked 2040 Comp Plan for the City. Site specifics for R-4 zoning include a minimum lot area of 7,500 square feet, together with a minimum of 60 foot lot width on the front setback and a front yard setback (distance to house) being at least 30 feet.

As to the requirements for the sides of an R-4 lot, the City code calls for a 7.5 feet minimum side yard setback on the house portion, while for the garage that minimum side yard setback shrinks to five feet. Corner lot setbacks are 20 feet while the maximum principle structure height is 35 feet. The rear yard setback for R-4 is also 35 feet, but set horizontally as such.

Meanwhile and coming in fourth at Monday’s Plan Commission, but further south and west somewhat, was an application by Summergate Development for a 2040 Comp Plan amendment and rezone of land adjacent to the eastern border of Grey Cloud Dunes Scientific and Natural Area (SNA) from AG-2 – Agriculture, to R-4 complete with a PUD, or Planned Use Development to allow for some site flexibility on zoning matter for the long right-triangle shaped parcel that would take the development. The newly proposed residential neighborhood to be tentatively called Preserve Grey Cloud Dunes SNA, formed from glacial sands on a terrace above the mighty Mississippi.

Fifth and final for the Monday Plan Commission public hearings, meanwhile, was another housing application for a site just east of Preserve at Prairie Dunes, to be called Greymont Village.

The proposal by US Home LLC calls for rezoning land currently delineated as AG-2 to R-3, would see 207 single family homes built on where the city will continue the application review process for proposed developments. Keep an eye on that meeting calendar if this pertains to you, with more information at www.cottagegrovemn. gov. As to city meetings more generally, meanwhile, these are viewable online and in real time on YouTube at the CottageGroveMN YouTube channel, for those unable to make such meetings in person.

HOMES PROPOSED FOR AREA EAST OF GREY CLOUD DUNES AND OFF OF KEATS, WAREHOUSES AND BUILDING PROPOSED IN SOUTH BUSINESS PARK