by Dennis Dalman
A 48-unit affordable-housing apartment building might – just might – be built in Sartell in a year or two, but the operative word is “might.”
After an April 14 public hearing at the Sartell City Council meeting, council members voted 4-1 (with member Pat Lynch voting no) to approve a variance request for the parking facility at the proposed apartment building. If built, it will be located at 15th Street S. and Pinecone Road.
The variance request, submitted by TTT Development of Waite Park, was for an all-outdoor, uncovered parking lot for the apartment building. Sartell has an ordinance requiring apartment buildings to have at least 40 percent of their parking facilities as garages or built underground.
Speaking to the council, Sartell Supervisor Kari Haakonson explained the unusual reason for such a request, as did Megan Carr, an employee of Sand Development. That company is working with TTT Development, which is proposing to construct the multi-unit building in Sartell. That company has built similar affordable-housing apartment buildings in St. Joseph and Waite Park, as well as in many other Minnesota cities.
By obtaining a variance for uncovered parking, the application by TTT to the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency would possibly score more points and have a better chance of securing funding in the highly competitive process through that agency. By having only a large parking lot (instead of garages or underground parking), the project would be less expensive to build.
The Sartell Planning Commission voted at its last meeting to recommend the variance permit.
At the April 14 city council meeting, all five members agreed strongly there is a need for more options for affordable housing in Sartell as the city and its workforce continues to grow. “Affordable housing” means residents would pay for rent not more than 60 percent of the median income of residents in the area.
While the council members did acknowledge the need for such housing and that particular apartment-building project, all five members did express reservations about the request, such as:
• Would it set a precedent for other prospective developers?
• What about the need for snow removal on such a large parking lot?
• Is such an unusual parking variance request justified?
After nearly an hour of questions and answers about the proposal, the council voted 4-1 to approve the variance in hopes the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency would be more inclined to grant TTT Development’s application request. The grant, if accepted, would be announced sometime in August or September.
If constructed, the building would house 48 one- to four-bedroom apartment units. It would be designed specially for energy efficiency, with some solar panels on its roof and with an outdoor sport court and a playground.
