City Council Meeting Date: April 2, 2024
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Lori Johnson, Consulting Planner, WSB
Jake Reilly, Community Development Director
Title
Consider Joint Resolution for Orderly Annexation with Bridgewater Township for property associated with St. Olaf College.
Body
Action Requested:
The Northfield City Council approve the attached Resolution for Orderly Annexation with Bridgewater Township.
Summary Report:
St. Olaf has presented a proposal to the City to construct a new maintenance facility adjacent to their existing facility on campus. The land on which the maintenance facility would be constructed is currently located within the limits of Bridgewater Township and the parcels/portion of parcels to be annexed are currently described as an agricultural use. In order for St. Olaf to construct the proposed maintenance facility, city sewer and water must be provided to the site. Since this site is not located within Northfield city limits, St. Olaf has requested that the land for the facility be annexed by Northfield so the maintenance parcels can be connected to the City’s water and wastewater infrastructure.
The Subject Area is described in Exhibit A and depicted in Exhibit B. All of one and part of a second parcel is being proposed for annexation. The annexation process involves the review of the proposal by the Planning Commission and the adoption of a joint resolution for the annexation by the Northfield City Council and the Bridgewater Township Board of Supervisors. Once the resolution has been passed by each entity, the request will be sent to the State of Minnesota for approval. Subsequently, the Planning Commission will be asked to consider rezoning the land to College Development District (CD-S) after the annexation process is complete. The zoning of the property, upon annexation, will be assigned an agricultural (A-S) designation. A post-secondary educational use is permitted in both the A-S and CD-S zoning classifications. The preliminary site plan for the maintenance facility has been provided for your review.
Annexations require a Type 4 Review Procedure as stated in Article 8 of the Land Development Code. That procedure requires the Planning Commission to make a motion to recommend approval or denial to the City Council. The Planning Commission recommended approval at the March 21, 2024 regular meeting.
The proposed joint resolution has been attached for your review. The Township has received the attached resolution and is scheduled to review at the April 10, 2024 meeting.
The current orderly annexation agreement that is still in effect with Bridgewater Township would allow the City to annex this property without a fee as it is tax exempt. The proposed joint resolution has been attached for your review.
Staff intends to start the process for site plan approvals. If the property is not in City incorporated limits Rice County would complete the review. Because the connections must be made to City infrastructure and therefore City engineering standards, it is preferred that development standards and reviews go through the City processes rather than the County.
Alternative Options:
The Council could pull this from the consent agenda for a discussion.
Financial Impacts:
Connecting to the municipal water and wastewater systems comes with a cost. That cost will be borne by the applicant, including the cost to build and connect to the existing system. The annexation itself has no financial impacts.
Tentative Timelines:
ü 03/21/24 Planning Commission Review
04/02/24 City Council
04/10/24 Bridgewater Township Board
Once approved by both the City Council and Northfield Township Board of Supervisors, staff will file the Orderly Annexation Agreement with the Office of Administrative Hearings. Subsequently, the Planning Commission and Council will entertain an application by St. Olaf College to rezone the parcels to College District (CD-S) zoning designation.