St. Cloud City Council to Discuss Land Rezoning for Dealership Expansion and Ordinance on Sex Offender Residency

(KNSI) — The St. Cloud City Council will discuss Monday night a request to rezone land near a car dealership to allow an expansion and an ordinance governing where sex offenders could live.

Gilleland Chevrolet went before the city council in April for rezoning approval, but the request was tabled after five neighbors complained about the plans during a public hearing.

The dealership purchased single-family homes on 31st Avenue North and planned to bulldoze them to create needed space to expand its parking lot to fit more cars and allow it to replace the old Quick Lube building with a new mechanic shop. The design calls for St. Cloud to vacate a nearby alley.

Neighbors claim they’ve had difficulty with Gilleland’s workers parking on the street in front of their homes despite having ample parking on its site. The neighbors also voiced concerns over flooding in the area due to the dealership’s snowpack melting on the land and car alarms going off randomly.

The council voted 7-0 to table a rezoning decision and suggested the dealership meet with those who live around the business to reach a solution.

The city plans to rezone the entire residential area north of the dealership from residential to commercial. No property owners would be assessed for the work if approved, and Gilleland would pay for the entire project.

The council will also discuss crafting a policy restricting where level three predatory offenders can live. Councilwoman Dr. Karen Larson brought up the topic during a work session last month saying she started thinking about a rule in 2022 when, within a month, two level three offenders moved in across the street from an elementary school. Level threes are considered most likely to re-offend.

It will start by reviewing Apple Valley’s ordinance, which prohibits level three predatory offenders from living within 1,500 feet of a school. That plan has been in effect since 2017 and has withstood court challenges. Any offender currently living near a school would be grandfathered in if approved. St. Cloud has nine level three offenders living in the city. Ninety-two cities in Minnesota have some restrictions on where they can live.

The meeting gets underway at 6:00 p.m.

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