(KNSI) — At tonight’s meeting, the St. Cloud City Council will likely approve asking voters to give the green light to build a new fire station and hold a public hearing on a policy to create more housing.
The council will ask residents to give the thumbs up to spend up to $43.5 million for a fire facility in the growing south St. Cloud neighborhood around Tech High School. Voting yes would lead to a property tax increase.
City staff argue the fire station is needed to keep response times to under six minutes. The fire department says it was called out to around 10,000 emergency calls a year, a 32% increase over the last four years. If approved, it would be the city’s sixth station.
The public will also have a chance to speak to the council about an ordinance change that would allow single-family lots to be converted to multifamily units. This model called a light touch density model, would let people add a second structure to their property or convert homes for tenants. The number of rentals would be determined by building and lot size. Experts say it will increase the housing supply in urbanized areas.
More than a dozen communities allow accessory dwellings: Minneapolis, St. Paul, Richfield, St. Louis Park, Golden Valley, White Bear Lake, Wayzata, Burnsville Rochester, Edina, Minnetonka, and Eagan.
The meeting starts at 6:00 p.m. inside city hall.
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