City Council Meeting Date: January 5, 2021
To: Mayor and City Council
City Administrator
From: Mikayla Schmidt, City Planner
Title
Consider Resolution for the Lot Consolidation of Several Parcels of land into Two Parcels, for properties west of Lincoln Street owned by St. Olaf College.
Body
Action Requested:
The Northfield City Council approves the attached resolution for a lot consolidation as proposed by St. Olaf College to plat Parcel A and Parcel B of Northfield, City of Northfield, Rice County Minnesota.
Summary Report:
The applicant, St. Olaf College, is requesting to consolidate nine parcels into two parcels, Parcel A and Parcel B as denoted on the attached map. Parcel A consists of 3.76 acres and Parcel B consists of 8.62 acres. Both are currently zoned R1-B Low Density Residential, but the second reading of the ordinance to rezone them to CD-S: College Development is before Council on the regular agenda.
All of the parcels are owned by the applicant and the consolidation will facilitate the proposed construction of a new 300-bed residence hall on the south side of St. Olaf Avenue and townhouse-style residences with 140 student beds on the north side. St. Olaf College plans to demolish the existing honors houses on the north side of St. Olaf Ave., and has already demolished the President’s House on the south side. The conditional use permit is still under review by Council and a formal site plan review will be completed to verify conformance with the Land Development Code once the Council has voted on the CUP.
According to City Code Section 8.5.11 Review Procedures, the City Council can approve a Minor Subdivision as a Lot Division or Lot Consolidation through a Type 5 Review Procedure upon review by the Development Review Committee (DRC). The DRC is the technical review body composed of city staff and others (i.g. city engineer, city planner, building official, fire chief, outside agencies and professionals, etc.) who are responsible for the initial review of applications submitted to the LDC (See Section 7.7 of the City Code). The DRC has met and discussed the project on several occasion in the last few months. No concerns were raised from the Engineering department or other members of the DRC on this portion of the project.
The Community Development department reviewed the approval criteria for lot consolidations. The consolidation is found to be in general compliance with the comprehensive plan, meet the purpose and intent of the Land Development Code, does not further increase the nonconformity of any lot dimension or structure, and results in a parcel generally conforming to the shape and character of the existing neighborhood as it sits between college campus and residential single-family housing.
A condition is included in the resolution to ensure nonconformance is not created by having multiple primary structures on a single parcel. The Mayor and City Clerk will not sign the plat until the demolition of the existing structures (through proper permitting) located on the north side of St. Olaf Ave. is deemed completed via inspection by Building Division staff.
Staff recommends approval of the lot consolidation as proposed by St. Olaf College to plat Parcel A and Parcel B.
Alternative Options:
The application has been determined to meet the approval criteria by staff. If a criteria is determined to be not met the Council could choose to deny the application.
Financial Impacts:
NA
Tentative Timelines:
The plat will be signed by the Mayor and City Clerk after the demolition of the structures on the north side of St. Olaf Ave. has been completed. Then the applicant will then record the plat.