PC Meeting Date: June 16, 2025
To: Members of the Planning Commission
From: Mikayla Schmidt, City Planner
Mathias Hughey, Associate City Planner
Title
Consideration of a Conditional Use Permit for St. Olaf College to add 26 Parking Stalls to the Lincoln St. Parking Lot within the Perimeter Transition Area.
Body
Action Requested:
The Northfield Planning Commission is asked to recommend denial of the conditional use permit (CUP) to City Council for St. Olaf College to add 26 Parking Stalls to the Lincoln St. Parking Lot within the Perimeter Transition Area.
Summary Report:
The applicant, St. Olaf College has applied for a CUP to add 26 parking stalls to the Lincoln St. Parking Lot within the Perimeter Transition Area. St. Olaf applied to have 28 additional parking spaces when they first constructed the new townhomes and residence halls in 2020. The existing parking lot was constructed in 2022 as part of a larger campus development that included expansion of student housing in the area. At that time, the amount of off-street parking permitted in the area was limited.
The applicant cites an increased number of staff and students on campus, a waitlist for student parking passes, event parking challenges, and periodic parking on neighborhood streets to justify the requested increase. In total, St. Olaf proposes to add 139 parking spaces on campus to accommodate the additional 100 faculty and staff, and 130 students added since 2020. 26 of these spaces are proposed for the parking lot located at 219 Lincoln St. W.
The site development standards for the CD-S: College Development zoning district require any development within the Perimeter Transition Area (PTA) to undergo a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) process, including a neighborhood meeting. The applicant must also provide a parking study that assesses the supply and demand of parking and mitigation strategies to reduce overall demand for surface parking. St. Olaf last conducted a parking study in 2020 (attached) and has submitted a memo (attached) providing an update to that study. The 2020 study concluded that St Olaf was providing adequate parking and recommended pursuing additional strategies to reduce demand as the campus population increased.
The Comprehensive Plan and Land Development Code guide surface parking to be carefully considered, especially in the PTA, where it negatively impacts the essential character of the adjacent residential neighborhoods. While enrollment and employment have increased, the number of student housing units served by the lot at 219 Lincoln St. have not. St. Olaf has adequate space to add additional parking in the IDA portion of its campus.
A CUP follows a Type 4 Review Procedure found in Section 8.4.7 of the land development code (LDC). Type 4 Review Procedures requires the Planning Commission (PC) to hold a public hearing and makes a recommendation to City Council. The City Council makes the final decision on the CUP.
In the approval of a CUP, the PC may recommend City Council impose conditions as necessary to make the use compatible with other uses allowed in the same district zone or vicinity. Criterion (a) must be met and criteria (b) through (n) shall be considered in the review of conditional use permit applications. The analysis of the criteria is provided in the PC resolution.
Staff Recommendation:
Staff recommend denial of the CUP to add 26 parking stalls to the lot within the Perimeter Transition Area at 219 Lincoln St. W.
Alternative Options:
If the proposed conditional use satisfies both the general and specific standards set forth in the zoning ordinance, the applicant is entitled to the conditional use permit. The Planning Commission may find that the proposed conditional use satisfies these standards and recommend approval or conditional approval to the City Council.
Financial Impacts:
Not applicable.
Timeline:
June 4, 2025: Public hearing notice published in the Northfield News
June 5, 2025: Public hearing notice mailed to property owners within 1500 ft.
June 16, 2025: Public hearing and recommendation by Planning Commission
July 1, 2025: Review by City Council