Debate continues over parking lot

Cloquet city council members had many questions at their Tuesday meeting, tabling two of five votes on the agenda because councilors wanted more time for research and more questions answered before voting.

Tabled for now were requests for zoning changes for a proposed parking lot from Sammy's Pizza owner Mike Acheson, and for nearly $100,000 for three different police vehicle purchases.

The most contentious issue was the parking lot request, as neighbors of Sammy's Pizza turned out to voice strong opposition to Acheson's plan to put a parking lot at the end of their street.

Boulder Drive resident Dana Sanders spoke first on behalf of the neighborhood, when Mayor Roger Maki invited both Acheson and a few neighbors to speak, even though it wasn't a public hearing.

Boulder Drive is a one-block, dead-end street located between the Cloquet Chamber of Commerce building and Sammy's. There are 13 homes on the road, and a grassy lot at one end where a home used to be but was torn down when the Minnesota Department of Transportation rebuilt Highway 33. Many trees separate the street from the Chamber building and nearby recreational trails.

Acheson purchased the vacant lot in 2010, and would now like to put an extension to his existing parking lot there. However, as the lot is currently in an R1 residential zone, the Sammy's Pizza owner is asking the city to rezone the lot to Highway-Commercial and also change the city's comprehensive plan, adopted in 2007, which identified the property as low-density residential, consistent with its use since it was platted for residential development in 1953. The comprehensive plan also identified nearby Highway Commercial properties both north and south of the St. Louis River.

Acheson said he would like to work with the neighbors to design the parking lot and that the only entry will be from his existing parking lot, not Boulder Drive.

In letters and spoken testimony, neighbors say they appreciate Sammy's Pizza and Acheson, but they oppose a parking lot - and changing the zoning to commercial - because of safety concerns (particularly when snow is piled high in winter and impedes sight lines), the erosion of the character of the neighborhood and a likely drop in property values for the nearest properties.

After a public hearing Tuesday, May 14, the planning commission - acting as an advisory board in this case - recommended the council deny both the comprehensive plan amendment and rezoning requests on a 4-1 vote.

Commissioners will get a chance to reconsider that vote Tuesday because the council voted to table its vote and send the issue back to the planning commission, citing numerous emails from residents and planning commission members, some of which appear to dispute the facts of the case as it was presented during the planning commission meeting last week.

The planning commission meeting starts at 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 28 at City Hall; it will not be another public hearing, city planning and zoning director Al Cottingham said.

Ward 1 councilor Bunn Carlson also said he would like to walk around the property in question and the neighborhood, and he hadn't done that yet.

Sanders suggested they meet there, and park cars in the lot to demonstrate how a parking lot would alter the character of the neighborhood.

Ward 2 councilor Sheila Lamb withdrew a request for a site plan to include parking spaces and landscaping after Cottingham explained that if the requests are approved by the council, the next stage of the process would require Acheson to come back with a site plan.

"I don't want to come up with drawing [now]," Acheson told the council. "I've always said I wanted input from neighbors. Their input is more important than yours."

Neighbors also pointed out that if the city approves the requests from Acheson, there is no guarantee that the lot would be limited to simply parking, as future owners or Acheson could decide to develop the lot in a different manner consistent with the Highway Commercial designation applied to Sammy's and Gordy's Hi-Hat and other businesses along Highway 33.

Police request

Councilors tabled a request from the police department to approve the purchase of two 2019 all-wheel-drive Dodge Chargers plus a leased squad car, with estimated total costs at $95,000 including equipment installation.

Ward 2 councilor Sheila Lamb said she'd like to wait until the recently approved study of the police department is completed before making such a significant purchase, pointing out that the department was well over budget last year and was over budget earlier this year.

Ward 4 councilor Kerry Kolodge, a retired police officer, said he realized that police vehicles get hard use, but didn't think waiting a few months would hurt.

"I think we should probably look citywide at how many vehicles we have and who they are assigned to," Kolodge said. "If we are to grow the fleet, it needs to be justified, whether it's the police department, public works or planning."

The final vote to table the request, at least until the city finds out how long the vehicle bids are good for, was 4-2, with Mayor Maki and Ward 3 councilor Dakota Koski dissenting.