City staff and Jefferson High School softball players thanked Council for recent capital improvements at Dred Scott Playfields, including new irrigation, drainage, field lighting and expanded warning tracks, done in partnership with Toro and the Bloomington Fastpitch Association. This was a recognition item, not a new funding vote.
After a continued debate over height limits and use classifications, Council voted 7-0 to adopt ordinance option B, making cottage court dwellings and detached townhouse dwellings permitted (not just conditional) uses in R1 single-family districts, provided they meet the same height standards (max 2 stories/40 ft) as single-family homes. Council member Nelson, who had raised concerns at a prior meeting, said he was satisfied with the compromise. The ordinance amends Chapter 21 of the city code.
Following a public hearing with no opposition, Council voted 7-0 to authorize temporarily lowering water levels at Woodbridge Marsh and Polly's Pond so crews can replace deteriorating, frequently-clogged outlet control structures with new 'skimmer' structures designed to reduce debris plugging and wildlife hazards. Each site is expected to take about three weeks; staff will now seek required DNR permits. A resident suggested the drawdown could be an opportunity for habitat/invasive species restoration work.
After emotional public testimony — including a resident's account of witnessing a neighbor's detention by ICE and speakers citing property-value and mental-health impacts of detention centers — Council voted 6-1 (Rivas opposed) to adopt a one-year interim ordinance pausing approval of any 'certain government facilities,' defined as secure detention/holding facilities for 25+ people, publicly or privately operated. City staff will use the year to study zoning standards, since current code has no specific provisions for such facilities; the moratorium expires April 2, 2027. One caller urged Council to reject the measure and 'table' it, citing unrelated fraud allegations against a local nonprofit.
Staff presented a privately-initiated (Rose Development) ordinance to end remote airport parking's status as a temporary/interim use and instead make it a conditionally permitted use under rezoned CX2 designation for the Park and Fly and Park and Go lots near MSP Airport. The deal would let existing surface lots continue operating but require each site to set aside 2.75 acres for future development along American Boulevard East by 2036. Staff recommended approval; the Mayor noted this follows a 2024 moratorium and years of negotiation, and a public hearing was opened at the end of the meeting excerpt with no resolution captured.
