The Northfield Planning Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals will meet Tuesday, February 14, at 7 pm to consider parking and density issues in C-1.

As previously noted in a blog entry, Downtown Parking and Density to be Discussed at Public Hearings, historically, the downtown district has not had parking requirements or density limits. It is our urban area and has developed as such for over 150 years. Then a few years ago consultants suggested that we impose parking requirements and density limits.

These new rules were put on the book…but the old rules were not taken off the books. Fortunately, when the Kjerland Building and the Larson Expansion were created, decisions were guided by the historic rules and the new rules were overlooked.

Mendota Homes is proposing to create a mixed-use building of a design, already approved by the HPC, that would fit into the character of downtown. The building would have underground parking, retail on the ground floor, office space on the second floor and moderately-priced condominiums on the 3rd and 4th floor. Under the new rules, the developer could not build these condominium units.

For many years the NDDC has been supportive of these types of mixed-use projects in downtown. We urge downtown stakeholders to attend the meeting and share their opinions during the Public Hearings.