Planning Commission Meeting Date: March 19, 2026
To: Members of the Planning Commission
From: Mathias Hughey, Associate City Planner
Title
Consideration of a Conditional Use Permit for Carleton College to Make Transportation Facility Improvements within the Perimeter Transition Area North of 1st St. E.
Body
Action Requested:
The Northfield Planning Commission (PC) is asked to recommend approval of the Conditional Use Permit (CUP) to City Council for Carleton College to make specified transportation improvements within the Perimeter Transition Area (PTA) north of 1st St. E.
Summary Report:
The applicant, Carleton College, has applied for a CUP to close a privately-owned portion of College St. to vehicle traffic, reconfigure that street as a pedestrian- and bicycle-way, and expand a parking lot on the parcel at the northwest corner of 1st St. E. and Nevada St. where the bus stop and a portion of the lost parking will be relocated. The volume of pedestrian and bicycle traffic on College St. makes it difficult to safely and efficiently provide transit services and vehicle access via that route. The proposed new location for the bus stop puts 76% of the student body within a 5-minute walk of the bus stop, a distance typically considered the maximum that a transit user will walk before choosing another mode.
The existing parking lot includes an established landscape buffer along the perimeter facing the R1: Low Density Residential district to the south. It will include a reconfiguration as additional access and circulation is added.
The college intends that the regular bus routes that service the college, the Blue Route and Express Route, will use the new bus stop location. It is also intended to serve coach bus pickup and drop off for special events, or at semester breaks, when these buses provide students with access to the MSP airport. Coach buses for other campus events may use the bus stop as well.
In response to community concerns about the origina...
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