The Cottage Grove Planning Commission approved repurposing the property at 7404 Lamar Ave. for a new restaurant at its April 24 meeting. Primary issues involved the rezoning of the property for use as a restaurant, as well as absorbing a portion of land from the neighboring 7400 Lamar Ave. property and Furber Farm to complete the new lot. A side yard parking lot variance was also requested to accommodate the new land use.

Once the site of a post office and general store in the late 1930s, the property has since been home to a landscaping business, among other iterations over the years. The property was purchased in 2021 by local resident Wayne Butt, and a patio permit was applied for and issued in 2022.

The project requires a minor subdivision of the property, due to well and septic issues, along with procuring some of the existing 7400 Lamar Ave. property and a remnant parcel from Furber Farm at the northwest corner. This necessitates that the property be rezoned as one new parcel as 7404 Lamar Ave.

The proposed use of the building will be a restaurant with 90 indoor seats and a maximum capacity of 100 persons, due to the lack of a sprinkler system in the building. The patio will accommodate up to 30 seats, per the recently issued permit. If a liquor license is applied for and approved, a privacy fence will be required. A 6-foot fence is planned to enclose the patio area.

Extensive landscaping plans have been submitted, including juniper and arbor vitae trees and over 106 perennials for the property; 36 parking stalls are planned behind the building, as well as five stalls on the street, two of which will be handicap accessible.

Commissioner Eric Knable asked about planned lighting for the property.

Cottage Grove Senior Planner Mike Mrosla said, “There will be 19 foot-tall downward-facing light poles around the parking lot.”

He confirmed that there will be sufficient lighting for the new driveway access corridor.

Property owner Wayne Butt said, “I’m just happy to be here again, bringing excitement back to Old Cottage Grove.”

Addressing potential noise concerns, he added, “We’re trying to prevent a wedding venue out there in Old Cottage Grove, because we already have one. No public address system or external music, live or recorded, shall be audible from the property line, and I think we’ll be fine with that. I toured Cottage Grove, and everyone has speaker systems mounted outside on their patio, so I think we’ll be fine there. If acoustic guitar shows up and plays music for the wine drinkers, we’ll have a good time out there.”

Commissioner Derek Rasmussen said, “Mr. Butt, thank you for continuing to invest in the neighborhood, and the improvements you’ve made so far look really good. I just want to confirm, because there’s been some confusion about possibly having a catering place or event center here. Now it sounds like we’re talking about the restaurant, and I just want to confirm with you that your intentions are to have a public restaurant versus a catering or event center.”

Butt replied, “It sounds like everyone wants a restaurant in this town, and they’re arguing for it.” He noted, “We never wanted to be a restaurant owner, but that’s what the folks are asking for.”

Commissioner Jessica Fisher made a motion to approve the plan, subject to stipulations and conditions listed in the staff report. Commissioner Emily Stephens seconded, and the motion carried 7-0