Canterbury Commons on hold

Shakopee Valley News

The proposed Canterbury Commons development is on hold while city officials try to secure enough votes to allow high-density housing to be built as part of the $48 million project planned near Canterbury Park.

“There’s nothing before us for Canterbury,” Planning and Development Director Michael Kerski said. “Everything is on hold.”

Canterbury Commons would bring over 600 apartments and 156 townhomes, with rents ranging from $1,300 for a one-bedroom to $2,200 for a four-bedroom.

Canterbury Park Holding Corporation President and CEO Randall Sampson said work on the project is moving forward.

“I wouldn’t say it’s on hold in terms of ‘there’s nothing happening’ but it is on hold in terms of moving it forward with any tangible progress,” Sampson said.

The project needs an amendment to the city’s 2030 Comprehensive Plan allowing the area to be re-zoned from a major recreation zone to R-4, which is higher density residential to accommodate an apartment complex. However, an amendment to the comprehensive plan requires a super-majority vote (four out of five) and Shakopee Councilors Mike Luce and Matt Lehman have generally been hesitant about the project in the past.

A text amendment to allow residential use was approved by the City Council 3-2 on July 5, which would have allowed residential use in the recreation zone that encompasses Canterbury Park and Valleyfair. But Lehman brought up concerns that the development wasn’t in line with the city’s comprehensive plan — a long-term guide to future development.

Lehman said in an interview he wouldn’t support “stack-and-pack” housing and the council decided on four areas during a February 2016 workshop for high-density residential — the area near Canterbury was included, but it was smaller.

“To me, it’s like this is exactly the opposite of what we all agreed to and what we had compromise on,” Lehman said. “It seems like once we had this compromise, it’s my responsibility to compromise more and more and more. You’re asking me to go somewhere I’m not comfortable going.”

Luce, however, said he has been meeting with Canterbury leaders and is still on the fence about the project.

“I’m still making up my mind,” Luce said. “When it comes forward, I will have to make a vote but until then, I’m sitting on the fence. I can see benefits to it and I can see negatives to it.”

The planning commission unanimously approved a preliminary plat for the project on July 6.

“It looks like a pretty unique development to add to our city,” Planning Commissioner Lori Brandon said. “It makes sense where it’s being placed and I’m happy to see this project move forward and add a lot to our city.”

Generally, a plat goes to the council right after being approved by the planning commission, but trouble brewed behind the scenes.

City Administrator Bill Reynolds emailed the council on July 14 saying the city’s actions were legally defensible, but city staff would take a step back on Canterbury Commons due to concerns from Lehman and Southbridge Crossings developer Steve Soltau.

“It is my belief that these rifts have the potential to cause this community issues in the future,” Reynolds wrote. “Absent doing so, I believe that all our proposed high density projects ... could be at risk. The risk could include legal action that in of itself would jeopardize at least the funding of the projects in Southbridge and Canterbury.”

Soltau said he was concerned about the process, since his development required an amendment to the comprehensive plan.

“I didn’t think it was procedurally being done the way it was talked about in the work sessions that the city had,” Soltau said. “That was the only thing I thought.”

Doran Companies, the developer for the Canterbury Commons apartment project, withdrew the preliminary plat to wait for a change in the comprehensive plan. Since then, discussions and workshops on the comprehensive plan amendment and high-density housing have come before the council on Aug. 29 and Sept. 19.

The community is growing and housing of the magnitude that Canterbury Commons would provide is necessary, Mayor Bill Mars said during the Sept. 19 meeting.

“This is a community of 40,000 that is growing and expanding and has different needs, different desires — that’s really how I look at it,” Mars said. “I would like to see all that land around there developed.”

Lehman said the increase in density causes him to worry about transportation, affordable housing, taxes and other issues that come with bigger developments.

“Shakopee is very special to me and it should be to everybody that’s here,” Lehman said. “I don’t want Shakopee to become Minneapolis.”

Lehman said he would not support a project with more than 250 or 300 units.

“That’s too many units,” Lehman said. “There’s a lot of saturation in the area already.”

The prospect of developing land near Canterbury Park has been discussed for years. To address some of the concerns from council members, Canterbury will bring an overall vision to the city before the comp plan amendment to show what the entire project would look like and how the residential would fit into the area.

“We believe we need to come forward sooner with the comprehensive plan for the development and we anticipate that the next thing we will ask the council to do is have a work session at a November city council meeting to talk about our overall development plan,” Sampson said.

Luce said more information, such as studies on traffic capacity and sewer studies, and a more definitive plan will help him make a decision on the amendment.

“When they come forward with the comp plan amendment there’s going to be all sorts of information thrown out,” Luce said. “At this point, it’s on my shoulders to make the decision one way or the other. When they bring it forward I will try to make that decision.”

Luce said he will make the decision that benefits Shakopee.

"In the end I only want the very best for Shakopee — it has been my home for my entire life and is now home to all of my children and grandchildren and to me, that puts it all in the proper perspective."

The planning commission opened a public hearing on the comprehensive plan amendment on Oct. 5, but moved to continue the hearing to Nov. 9.

Should the amendment not get enough votes, the entire Canterbury Commons project could change, Sampson said.

“The development as we currently envision it would not be viable without residential,” Sampson said. “The trend in development is mixed-use and higher-density ... there’s a trend that you want to have this live, work, play, all in one area.”

The area might still be developed but it would be back to the drawing board on what it would look like or what the company could do in the area, Sampson said.

“It would definitely be a significant setback and really change what we are currently envisioning as the development plan,” Sampson said. “A key component of the overall development plan is apartments."