Rochester council will take a second look at zoning change near Saint Marys

Nov. 19—ROCHESTER — A

modified version of proposed zoning changes

surrounding Mayo Clinic's Saint Marys campus will be reviewed by the Rochester City Council on Monday.

The scaled-back changes were

spurred by a Oct. 2 council decision

following a public hearing dominated by residents opposing potential changes in the Pill Hill Historic District.

The original proposed revision to the city's zoning map marked 484 residential properties for rezoning, which would allow fourplexes and small apartments on properties currently dedicated to single-family homes. It would also allow some neighborhood-based commercial uses.

Property owners in the nationally recognized Pill Hill district said the proposed changes would be detrimental to the neighborhood.

"We cherish the heritage and character the community has," Kenneth Philbrick told the City Council on Oct. 2, adding: "If we choose to throw this away, we can't get it back. We won't rebuild it again."

The concern led to a call for a compromise to allow some added housing density near Saint Marys while leaving other areas untouched.

"My hope tonight is that we can find space for some middle ground," Rochester City Council President Brooke Carlson said at the time.

The changes made in the proposal to be reviewed Monday largely reflect a rough proposal presented during the Oct. 2 meeting.

While all the proposed Kutzky Park neighborhood changes remain on the map update, several changes in the Folwell and Historic Southwest have been scaled back.

Deputy Director of Community Development Ryan Yetzer said the nearly two dozen properties proposed for a zoning change in the Historic Southwest Neighborhood are currently bordered by areas that allow higher residential density, in some cases large apartment buildings.

"It's not that out of the blue," he said of the revised proposal that would allow small apartment buildings. "It sort of fits what was zoned there already."

Yetzer said the proposed changes to more than 60 Folwell Neighborhood apartments are also based on existing zoning. The changes are near the west side of Saint Marys and parallel to Second Street Southwest, where larger residential and commercial buildings exist.

"In a sort of perfect world, you like to have your more dense commercial uses followed by some higher density residential uses, which are followed by some lower density residential uses," he said.

As a result, the proposed zoning changes increase the potential housing density next to commercial uses to serve as a buffer to the rest of the Folwell Neighborhood.

The Rochester Planning and Zoning Commission reviewed the revised plan on Nov. 8 and recommended its approval, which will be considered by the City Council following a public hearing during its 7 p.m. meeting Monday in the city-county Government Center.

Meetings scheduled to be held during the week of Nov. 20 include:

—City Council study session, 3:30 p.m. Monday in council chambers of the city-county Government Center, 151 Fourth St. SE. The meeting will livestream at

www.rochestermn.gov/meetings/council-meetings

and be available on Spectrum cable channel 180 or 188.

—City Council, 7 p.m. Monday in council chambers of the city-county Government Center. The meeting will livestream at

www.rochestermn.gov/meetings/council-meetings

and be available on Spectrum cable channel 180 or 188.

—Fire Civil Service Commission, 3:15 p.m. Tuesday in room 104 of City Hall, 201 Fourth St. SE.

—Administrative Committee, 1 p.m. Tuesday in board chambers of the city-county Government Center, 151 Fourth St. SE.

—Health, Housing and Human Services Committee, 2:15 p.m. Tuesday in conference room 1 of the Government Center.

—Physical Development Committee, 2:15 p.m. Tuesday in conference room 2 of the Government Center.

—Housing and Redevelopment Authority, 4 p.m. Tuesday in board chambers of the Government Center.

—Board of County Commissioners, 6 p.m. Tuesday in the board chambers of the Government Center.

—Building Authority, 7 p.m. Tuesday in the board chambers of the Government Center.

—School Board study session, 5 p.m. Tuesday in the boardroom of the Edison Building, 615 Seventh St. SW.