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OWATONNA PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES FOR MAY 14, 2024
The Owatonna Planning Commission met in regular session at 5:30 p.m. in the Charles S. Crandall Center
– Chambers at City Hall with Chairperson Kelly Rooks conducting the meeting. Present at roll call were
Commissioners Rachel Springer-Gasner, Kelly Rooks, John Eickhoff, Nick Peake, and David Effertz.
Commissioners Mark Meier and Mark Wilson were absent. Community Development Manager Greg
Kruschke, Planning Specialist Ashley Zidon, and Administrative Technician Kristen Kopp were also
present.
A motion was made by Springer-Gasner and seconded by Eickhoff to approve the minutes of the regular
meeting of April 23, 2024. All Commissioners voting Aye, the motion carried.
Preliminary Plat of Cashman Addition No. 3, which is a 0.56± acre tract of land zoned R-1 Single Family
Residential District and requested to be rezoned to R-6 High Density Residential District, requested City of
Owatonna and located at 285 22nd Street NW, was presented by Planning Specialist Ashley Zidon. (Refer
to report on file.) Public hearing opened at 5:36 pm. No comments were made regarding this request. Public
hearing closed at 5:37 pm. Eickhoff asked if there were any parks nearby and wondered if a pocket park
was a consideration for this lot. Zidon said we have Manthey Park to the east and Cashman Park to the north
and west. Kruschke said that one of the City’s goals is to get larger parks rather than the smaller parks as
they’re harder to maintain. Effertz asked how long the City has owned this lot. Kruschke said this was a
donation that came from the Cashman family. Springer-Gasner asked how big of a dwelling might fit—a
four-unit complex? Zidon said that density will be something that is looked at in the RFP. Kruschke said
we’ll have to go through the process. A motion was made by Effertz and seconded by Eickhoff to
recommend City Council approval of this preliminary plat of Cashman Addition No. 3, based on findings
of fact and the following conditions:
1) Future development needs to comply with all state and local requirements and codes at the time of
construction.
All Commissioners voting Aye, the motion carried.
Application No. RZ-7, which is a request by the City of Owatonna to rezone the subject property from R-1
Single Family Residential District to R-6 High Density Residential District for the purposes of residential
redevelopment for the subject property to be addressed 2285 22nd Street NW, was presented by Planning
Specialist Ashley Zidon. (Refer to report on file.) Public hearing opened at 5:45 pm. No comments were
made regarding this request. Public hearing closed at 5:46 pm. Effertz said this makes sense. A motion was
made by Effertz and seconded by Springer-Gasner to recommend approval of this rezoning of Lot 1, Block
1, Cashman Addition No. 3 from R-1 Single Family Residential District to R-6 High Density Residential
District based on findings of fact. All Commissioners voting Aye, the motion carried.
Kruschke said they’ve been meeting with a number of City Staff and presented to City Council on the 2050
Comprehensive Plan. They’ve got everything online. As of yesterday, the story map is online and
everything on the website is up to date. There have been some social media invites and an announcement
on Straight Talk. Following the open house on Thursday, we will have information available online and
will be taking comments through June, most likely. It will be closed out in the Fall with final adoption. He
said he hoped the Commissioners would be able to attend the open house.

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A motion was made by Springer-Gasner and seconded by Effertz to nominate Kelly Rooks as President.
All Commissioners voting Aye, the motion carried.
A motion was made by Peake and seconded by Eickhoff to nominate Rachel Springer-Gasner as Vice
President. All Commissioners voting Aye, the motion carried.
Kruschke gave an update on previous items and presented the April building permit reports. We’re almost
150 permits over last year at this time. Valuation should continue to be strong. We are at three single family
home permits compared to four at this time last year.
A motion was made by Eickhoff to adjourn and seconded by Peake at 5:53 pm. All Commissioners voting
Aye, the motion carried.
Respectfully Submitted,
________________________________
Greg Kruschke
Community Development Manager