City council tension threatens Canterbury project

Shakopee Valley News

A $400 million redevelopment plan for 130 acres near Canterbury Park is on shaky ground due to tensions on the Shakopee City Council.

In a letter to the editor of the Shakopee Valley News published Friday, Councilor Mike Luce wrote that he “is finding it almost impossible to vote in the affirmative on this project.”

Luce wrote that he wants more information and has tried to set up meetings with Mayor Bill Mars to speak privately about the project and a possible Tax Increment Financing district to build its infrastructure.

“I’m between a rock and a hard place,” Luce said in an interview. “If I can’t get information, how can they expect me to make an informed decision?”

But Mars said Luce’s letter was “not truthful.” Shortly after the letter was published, Mars wrote an email to Luce saying in the last 10 weeks, Mars has received no emails, voicemails or contact whatsoever from Luce.

“Mike is putting up more untruths,” Mars said in an interview. “I talk to him every two weeks at a council meeting and he never says anything. ... He hasn’t called me.”

In emails provided to the Shakopee Valley News by Luce, Luce sent an email to Mars on Sept. 26 that said “we need to talk face to face” but the email does not reference the project.

Mars said he left a voicemail for Luce on Friday and then talked to him briefly at Holiday Fest. Luce wrote another email to Mars on Saturday, saying “I’m not looking to repair any relationship with anyone on the council.”'

“You three destroyed any chance of any positive relationship long ago with your BS and misinformation,” Luce wrote in the email, provided to the Valley News by Mars. “For your information the council had police presence long before you became mayor and you had the balls to state in the paper that it was because of my misbehavior BS. I stand by what was printed. I too thought better of YOU.”

Mars said it’s just his “turn” for shots from Luce.

“He took shots at Councilor (Kathi) Mocol a couple years ago, so it’s my turn, unfortunately,” Mars said. “I’m just not going to get in the weeds with him. He lacks integrity. If people want to believe what he says, that’s fine. I stand on my word that he hasn’t tried to contact me to request any meeting.”

Canterbury Commons includes a $100 million luxury apartment complex, managed by Doran Companies, upscale townhomes and a 55+ housing co-op. But the residential segment requires a comprehensive plan amendment to allow housing in the zoning area surrounding Canterbury Park, which is currently zoned for entertainment, not housing.

Comprehensive plan amendments require a super-majority of the council, or four out of five votes. Luce is believed to be the swing vote as Councilor Matt Lehman has said he would not support a project of that density in that area.

Canterbury Park President and CEO Randall Sampson said the project as currently envisioned “would not be viable without residential.”

“That is the type of walkable community that a lot of people are looking for now and has become popular in the inner ring of the suburbs,” Sampson said. “It is something that makes sense that particularly young people, but also some of the baby boomers, that like the idea of that urban lifestyle.”

Luce said he has spoken with Sampson and has done tours of other properties constructed and managed by Doran Companies, which Luce said “builds quality.”

“I visited three of his developments and he does a very fine job — I can see that personally,” Luce said. “I could see my mom or sister living there with no problem. They’re secure, they’re well-designed, they’re luxury apartments.”

The project is scheduled to come before the council on Dec. 19. Luce said he still needs more information and does not know how he will vote.

“If I don’t get more information by then, I’ll have to weigh that option when it gets here,” Luce said. “We’ll cross that bridge when it comes.”

Mars said Luce has just as much information as any of the council members.

“We all have the same information,” Mars said. “If he feels that he doesn’t have all the information, I think he’s wrong.”

Luce has feuded with other council members in the past, including Mocol and Councilor Jay Whiting.

“His relationships are an effect of his actions,” Mars said. “He has caused all of this and this is the effect. He lacks integrity. He lacks honesty. He can’t be trusted with information. He has an axe to grind, I don’t know where that comes from.”

Having a developer like Doran Companies — whose project depends on that amendment — is likely to bring other developers to the area for the other portions of the project, Sampson said during a Nov. 21 presentation to the council.

“It’s a great catalyst for bringing in the rest of the development,” Sampson said.

The rest of the development includes a hotel and water park, family entertainment venues, specialty retail, restaurants and office spaces for a total private investment of $300 to $400 million.

“Every piece of our concept is something that revolves around actual conversations that we’ve had with potential developers,” Media Relations Manager Jeff Maday said. “This is a well-thought out plan.”

Company representatives have been trying to develop the area since 2008. In an unscientific Shakopee Valley News survey, more than 80 percent of respondents said they supported the project.

During the Nov. 21 meeting, Sampson said the development would increase Canterbury Park’s property taxes from $1 million dollars to more than $7 million dollars.

A preliminary plat would be brought to council in early 2018 whereas a Tax Increment Financing district would be voted on at a later point, possibly in February or March.