Vernon Avenue Townhouses Receive City Council Approval

A 16-unit townhouse development in the 5100 block of West 49th Street received support from the Edina City Council last week, after undergoing several changes gleaned from previous council feedback.

Mayor Jim Hovland said he wanted to ensure the final development plan matches the initial renderings shown during the meeting, saying the buildings "look terrific."

"Your architecture is very high quality in my opinion," Hovland said.

The project will see two existing apartment buildings and one single-family home already occupying 5109-5125 West 49th Street—a 1.43-acre site—demolished to allow space for the 16 new townhouses.

Council members voted 4-1 to approve the preliminary rezoning, development plan, platting and an amendment to the comprehensive plan to classify the parcel as medium density residential.

Council Member Joni Bennett cast the dissenting vote, saying she did not feel comfortable amending the Comprehensive Plan so arbitrarily.

"It's not the Dead Sea Scrolls, but you really shouldn't be changing it for every development that comes along," Bennett said.

Meanwhile, Council Member Josh Sprague said he appreciates the amount of community input that went into the Comprehensive Plan, but maintained it's impossible for the plan to literally be comprehensive.

"I can not possibly account for every possible development situation that reaches the dais," Sprague said. "There has to be some flexibility, as you've seen some of us in the past give that flexibility to a project that gives some benefit to the City and does not result in any major adverse impact to a neighborhood."

Sprague said it does not feel as though the development is out of place in the neighborhood, as there are presently five single-family units across the street from where five townhouses will be.

Hovland said the townhouses offer a "dramatic improvement" for the neighborhood, saying he did not see it as negatively impacting its surroundings in any way.

"I think every time we do something in our fully developed town, we're very cautious and careful about what we do," Hovland said. "If we think it's going to have an adverse impact to the neighborhood, we don't do it."

The project will come back before the City Council for a final rezoning and development plan in the future.

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