The commission voted 5-0 to recommend that the City Council amend the city code to make athletic and sports training facilities a permitted use in the FD-2 Freeway Development zoning district. The privately initiated change would let the dance studio Just for Kicks occupy space in a roughly 8,000-square-foot portion of an office/flex building at 1321 American Blvd. E., just west of Highway 77. Staff said the use is already permitted in most industrial districts without problems and that parking compliance will be checked during building permit review. The property owner said the site has roughly 200-250 parking spaces and that office vacancies had driven the search for new tenants.
Decided: The Planning Commission recommended that the City Council allow athletic training facilities in the FD2 freeway zoning district, which would let a dance studio open at 1321 American Boulevard East.
Result: Approved, 5 to 0, by voice vote
The meeting video doesn't make clear how each member voted. The city posts official voting results once the minutes are approved.
During the public hearing, a speaker identified as a city council member asked how many students and instructors would be on site at once, whether competitions would be held there, and whether added traffic could affect nearby freeway ramps. The studio director estimated peak attendance at about 60 people per hour across several groups. Commissioner Summers, a Ward 4 resident, supported the use as a family amenity in an area with a lot of housing, but urged staff to watch parking and traffic congestion on American Boulevard. The buyers of the building, Steve and Cindy Klugh, said they operate studios in several other Minnesota cities.
The commission voted 5-0 to recommend ordinances C through J and L through Q from the city's annual miscellaneous-items package. Staff identified 16 cleanup items for 2026. Examples include updating corner-lot references, applying housing occupancy standards to the new 'missing middle' housing types, and removing airport hotel parking from several conditional-use lists. Items A, B and K were outside the commission's purview and go directly to the council. These include a sick and safe leave reference and a sheep and goat grazing licensing item. The City Council will hold a public hearing on Sept. 28.
Decided: The commission recommended that the City Council approve this year's package of small zoning code fixes and clarifications, leaving out three items the commission doesn't weigh in on; the council takes it up September 28.
Result: Approved, 5 to 0, by voice vote
The meeting video doesn't make clear how each member voted. The city posts official voting results once the minutes are approved.
The commission voted 5-0 to recommend five minor policy ordinances, R through V. Cannabis cultivation, manufacturing and combination businesses within 150 feet of residential property would be required in code to have odor mitigation. Car detailing would become a use separate from car washes, allowed in the B-2, I-1, I-2 and I-3 districts. Tree preservation standards would apply to missing-middle housing such as townhouses and cottage homes in the R-1, R-1A and RS-1 districts. Trailers could again park on grass in side and rear yards with a 5-foot setback, and minimum submission requirements would be set for rezoning applications. The council hearing is set for Sept. 28.
Decided: The commission recommended that the City Council adopt five zoning policy changes: odor control for cannabis businesses near homes, a new car-detailing use separate from car washes, tree-preservation rules for new housing types, relaxed trailer parking on side and back yards, and clearer requirement
Result: Approved, 5 to 0, by voice vote
The meeting video doesn't make clear how each member voted. The city posts official voting results once the minutes are approved.
Staff said the commission's Sept. 17 meeting will include two public hearings. One is on renaming a portion of a road to Mission Road, and the other is on an off-street parking requirements ordinance. On Oct. 1 the commission will hear a conditional use permit request for remote airport parking at 3601 American Blvd. E. It will also hold a study session on rules for sports training facilities, fitness clubs and indoor recreation.
Staff said the first phase of public engagement on the Bloomington 2050 comprehensive plan is complete. Boards and commissions will review draft value statements and guiding principles in late October. Broader public engagement is expected to resume around January 2027.
Sept. 17 · Public hearing
The Planning Commission held hearings on renaming part of Hopkins Road to Mission Road and on the off-street parking ordinance; it recommended the rename 5-0 and the parking ordinance 4-1, and approved these Sept. 3 minutes.
Sept. 21 · Meeting
Board and commission members were invited to a Boards and Commissions Connect gathering with the council, 6 to 8 p.m. at Civic Plaza; we found no public account of how it went.
Sept. 28 · Vote
The City Council adopted all three items 5-0: sports training in the FD-2 district (Ordinance No. 2026-31), the cleanup ordinances (Nos. 2026-32 to 2026-47) and the minor policy ordinances on cannabis odor, car detailing, tree preservation, trailer parking and rezoning applications (Nos. 2026-48 to 2026-52), according to the draft minutes.
Oct. 1 · Meeting
The Planning Commission held its hearing on remote airport parking at 3601 American Blvd. East and a study session on sports training, health club and indoor recreation uses; both took place.
Oct. 12 · Public hearing
The City Council holds a public hearing on the off-street parking ordinance, which would ease minimums for many uses, including health clubs.
Late October · Meeting
Staff plan a formal Bloomington 2050 presentation to the Planning Commission, with draft value statements and guiding principles; the Oct. 1 meeting placed a 2050 update on the Oct. 29 agenda.
Early 2027 · Meeting
Bloomington 2050's Vision & Values phase opens with more public engagement.
No date yet · Takes effect
The FD-2 change takes effect once its summary is published; as of Oct. 12 the online city code didn't yet list sports training as allowed in FD-2.
No date yet · Follow-up
The dance studio needs a building permit, and staff will check minimum parking and site items such as exterior lighting then.
No date yet · Follow-up
Commissioner Coleman said he might propose studying residential care facilities in townhouses for the 2027 work plan.
What was asked, what the room said, and what the public record answers. Times are from the captions and approximate.
Asked by Chair Cunningham
In the room
Staff said a general parking analysis found enough parking, since the studio's busy hours differ from the offices'. The applicants put the site at 200 to 250 spaces. Planning Supervisor Kastenday said the studio must still meet minimum parking rules at building permit review or seek a separate approval, and Assistant City Attorney Toskey said the vote was only on whether the use belongs in the district.
What the record says
The code's parking table has no line for sports training facilities, so the city sets the requirement from similar uses. The closest listed use, health club, needs 1 space per 250 square feet, which the parking ordinance before the council Oct. 12 would ease to 1 per 300. Uses with different peak hours can share parking within 500 feet.
Asked by Councilmember Victor Rivas (speaking in the public hearing)
In the room
A studio representative estimated the busiest hour at about 60 people in three groups and the slowest at about 20. No one answered the competition question.
What the record says
Still open. The applicant's written narrative describes recreational and competitive dance classes, rehearsals and performances, mostly on evenings and weekends, but doesn't say whether competitions would be held there. City code lets a sports training facility host large group classes and competitions only as side activities, and only with sufficient parking.
Asked by Councilmember Victor Rivas (speaking in the public hearing)
In the room
An applicant said the site reaches both Highway 77 and I-494 and American Boulevard is already busy, so the studio wouldn't affect traffic. Commissioner Summers, who drives that stretch daily, asked staff to watch parking and traffic on American Boulevard closely.
What the record says
Still open. The FD-2 district is meant in part to keep heavy traffic generators from congesting the freeways. The staff report cites no traffic study; it says staff aren't concerned because FD-2 sits along high-volume roads.
Asked by Commissioner Munster
In the room
Assistant City Attorney Toskey said they're rented from companies that lease goats and sheep to public and private landowners to clear buckthorn and other invasive plants, and that the city has used them a few times. He didn't know how many private landowners hold licenses.
What the record says
The staff report says the city already uses goats for grazing on city-owned land, and Park Maintenance asked to add sheep and double the herd limit. It doesn't say who owns the animals. Anyone grazing needs a commercial animal license, sites must be at least an acre, and grazing isn't allowed December through March.
Asked by Commissioner Coleman
In the room
Planning Supervisor Kastenday said the city already requires that for duplexes and apartment buildings and the change only extends it to the new "missing middle" types, adding that state licensing may limit splitting a building. Staff said attached townhouses could be added if the commission recommended it. Coleman said he would think about it and might raise it for the 2027 work plan.
What the record says
Still open. The ordinance the council took up Sept. 28 bars care facilities from two-family through multiple-family buildings unless they occupy the whole structure; townhouses aren't on the list. State law treats a licensed home for six or fewer people as a single-family use for zoning, and one for 7 to 16 as a multifamily use. We couldn't confirm whether state licensing limits sharing a building.
Asked by Commissioner Linnee
In the room
Planner Hestbech said staff believe detailing uses less water than a car wash. Planning Supervisor Kastenday said building permit review checks floor drains and sanitary sewer connections, and that detailing shops would still need to handle things like oil-water separation, though not necessarily the exact car-wash standards.
What the record says
City code now treats detailing as low-volume hand work, separate from high-throughput car washes. The state plumbing code sends floor drains in vehicle wash bays to the sanitary sewer and requires oil interceptors at vehicle wash facilities, and the city counts car wash water in storm drains as an illicit discharge.
Asked by Commissioner Summers
In the room
Planning Supervisor Kastenday said the first phase of public engagement was done. In October staff would take draft value statements and guiding principles to the city's boards and commissions, with a formal presentation to this commission at the end of October and more public engagement in 2027.
What the record says
That matches the city's project page: the first phase wrapped up by September with 608 resident interactions, the Vision & Values phase starts in early 2027, and a third phase follows in summer and fall 2027. State law requires the update every 10 years, and the City Council and Met Council must review the final plan.
