St. Cloud Council Takes Action to Promote Southside Growth

ST. CLOUD -- The St. Cloud City Council passed two actions during their regular city council meeting on Monday night that they hope will help redevelop the city's southside neighborhood.

They approved a mixed-use district in the city's south side that runs along Highway 23 and the area just to the south of that.  They also created a Southside Conservation District in the area adjacent to the Historic District that already exists in that area.

Community Development Director Matt Glaesman says the purpose of the two actions to help redevelopment the neighborhood and manage its growth.

This is a 40 block area between Highway 23 and University Drive just to the west of St. Cloud State University.

City Councilmember Dave Masters says it's a catalyst for development on the southside.

City Councilmember Steve Laraway says it would be foolish and shortsighted to go backward by voting the changes down.

However, Councilmember Mike Conway was not supportive of the conservation overlay, saying it adds too many unnecessary restrictions to future development in the area.

There was a lot of discussion about the historic homes that were lost in that area in the 1970s and 80s to make way for apartment buildings and trying now to strike a balance between preserving the old homes that remain and yet promote future growth.

This project has been years in the making with the adoption of the master plan back in 2009.