Star Tribune
North Oaks seeks Met Council density rule exception for new neighborhood
The Ramsey County city of North Oaks is an island of relative tranquility in the densest Minnesota county, full of winding, privately owned streets, private parks and homes on generous lots.
The city wants to keep that character in its newest development — a 72-acre neighborhood with 23 lots — but also have it hooked up to region’s sewer system.
That would require require the Metropolitan Council to let the city stray from its rules requiring higher density for communities tied into regional sewer systems — something Met Council staff warn could set a precedent as the regional governing body prepares to vote on the issue April 10.
“When we think about putting a standard in place, when we start to allow for exceptions to that standard, that standard becomes meaningless,” said Lisa Barajas, the Met Council’s community development director.
Exception to the rule
The proposed subdivision, called “Red Forest Way South,” is now designated as “rural residential” in the city’s comprehensive plan, a category that denotes larger lots where homes are on septic systems. With roughly one home every three acres, the proposed density of Red Forest Way South works out to 0.3 homes per acre.
That’s far below the three to five homes per acre minimum the Met Council typically requires in a neighborhood considered “emerging suburban edge,” which allows homes to hook up to regional sewers.
North Oaks declined a request to comment on its proposal. At a public hearing last month, City Planner Kendra Lindahl asked the Met Council to consider allowing Red Forest Way South to become an emerging suburban edge neighborhood despite its low density, arguing the change would not set a precedent because North Oaks faces a unique set of circumstances.
The city says it’s the last subdivision it intends to develop, and deed restrictions covering almost the whole city designed to conserve natural areas prohibit further subdivision.
The land North Oaks sits on was purchased by railroad baron James J. Hill in the 1880s and operated as a research farm until Hill’s descendants developed it, starting in the 1950s. For many years, North Oaks was a gated community. In February, the median North Oaks home sold for $750,000, according to the Minneapolis Area Realtors, compared to $300,000 countywide.
Lindahl said a lift station for the regional sewage system is within 400 feet of the development, making connection easy, and she argued that limiting septic systems protects the water supply.
Lindahl argued North Oaks’ ask is not a substantial departure from Met Council policy. “It is our last subdivision, we won’t be back, but we think it makes sense to connect to the sanitary sewer for these final lots in the city when the pipe is literally right there,” she said.
Met Council staff members disagreed. In a report, they characterized North Oaks’ request as a substantial departure from policy.
Besides setting a precedent, staff members said it’s expensive for the whole system to to connect disparate homes to regional sewer. And allowing the change wouldn’t help the city reach its overall comprehensive plan density goal.
Big picture, Barajas said, the council’s responsibility is to manage growth in the region, making the most of land and infrastructure investments given expected growth.
“Once you allow it in one place, then it becomes something that must be allowed everywhere,” Barajas said. “And then that has a regional effect that certainly becomes unsustainable, both in our use of land but also in our ability to provide regional infrastructure that can support that in an economically feasible way.”
Met Council staff presented options for North Oaks. Among them: Build the neighborhood as proposed but on septic systems, or up the density to put Red Forest Way South on the regional sewer system.
Barajas said covenants on the land have been amended several times in the past and could likely be again to allow higher density.
If the Met Council votes to deny North Oaks’ request, the city could appeal.
Few weighed in during the public comment period on the change outside those with North Oaks affiliations. In letters, a representative of the Minnesota Land Trust and a North Oaks resident supported North Oaks’ proposal, arguing regional wastewater hookups better protect water, while several residents of the Twin Cities region asked the Council to oppose the change on account of the proposal not meeting regional density goals.
Star Tribune
Woman spared prison for after the fact role in fatal shooting at Twin Cities gas station
A woman was spared prison Monday and sentenced to probation for aiding a man accused in a fatal shooting 3½ years ago at a Minneapolis gas station.
Yalayna R. Butcher-Griffin, 25, of Oakdale, was sentenced in Hennepin County District Court to three years’ probation and given credit for the nearly six months she spent in jail after pleading guilty to aiding an offender after the fact in connection with the shooting of 19-year-old George F. Zeon, of Plymouth, on May 6, 2021, at the Amstar gas station on West Broadway between James and Knox avenues.
If she abides by the terms of probation, Butcher-Griffin’s conviction can be reduced from a felony to a misdemeanor.
Butcher-Griffin’s sentence also includes an agreement by her to cooperate with the prosecution and testify truthfully against the accused shooter, 21-year-old Albert J. Lucas, of St. Paul, who was 17 years old at the time of the shooting and has been charged in adult court with second-degree murder. He remains jailed in lieu of $1 million bail ahead of a Dec. 9 court date.
According to criminal complaint from the 2021 killing:
Surveillance video showed a vehicle pull up to Zeon as he pumped gas. Two males left the vehicle, entered the store, came out and confronted Zeon, whose girlfriend was with him.
She told police the suspects were asking Zeon about being in a gang, which confused her.
Star Tribune
Former youth leader for Duluth Vineyard church, Jackson Gatlin, sentenced to prison for sexual assault
Since Gatlin’s plea earlier this month, nine victims have filed civil charges against him — in addition to his parents, Duluth Vineyard and Vineyard USA, its governing body.
In the civil complaints filed November 6, Gatlin is accused of extended hugs, touching teenaged girls over and under their clothes, making them touch him, tackling them in the guise of playing games, and raping them. He is accused of tying a girl to his bedpost. In one case, Brenda Gatlin reportedly walked into her bedroom and found her son sexually assaulting a girl. Nothing came of it, according to the complaint.
Gatlin told several girls that he was going to teach them and show them the love of god, according to court documents. A parent found sexual text messages from Jackson Gatlin to their daughter and notified at least one of his parents.
The Gatlins, Duluth Vineyard and Vineyard USA are accused of continuing to give Jackson Gatlin access to minors, even though leadership had been told of his action, not providing proper training, covering up information and not going to the local police department, among other accusations.
Jackson Gatlin was fired from his position within the church in mid-February 2023 and was not allowed back on the church campus. Michael Gatlin resigned as senior pastor at Duluth Vineyard and from various positions and board tied to the church in February 2023. He had been with the church for 2 years. Brenda Gatlin, who was a super regional leader for Vineyard USA, followed suit.
Officials on Monday released the identity of a man who was killed late last week in St. Paul in a drive-by shooting.
Andre Lorenzo Mitchell, 26, of Minneapolis, was shot shortly after 1:30 p.m. Friday in the 600 block of Aurora Avenue, steps away from the Rondo Community Library and St. Albans Church of God. police said.
No arrests have been announced.
Mitchell was in a parked vehicle with another male and two small children when a second car drove by, shots were fired, and the car’s driver fled. No one else was injured in the shooting, and Mitchell died while being transported by ambulance.
Police are asking that anyone with information about the shooting to contact police at 651-266-5650.
There have been 10 homicides over the past two months in St. Paul, eight of them committed from gunfire, according to police reports.
So far this year, the homicide tally in St. Paul stands at 29, according to a Minnesota Star Tribune database. That’s the same number at this point last year in the city.
