Zoning Committee Moves Garbage Depot Forward in 5-0 vote
Despite overwhelming opposition from members of the community, the St. Paul Zoning Committee of the Planning Commission unanimously approved the site plan for the proposed garbage depot facility at 560 Randolph Ave on April 24.
The latest decision comes after an intense month of what comes next with the controversial site and what happens with trash collection in St. Paul.
During the public hearing for the site plan, 11 people spoke against the proposal, with another 25 providing letters of opposition to the Zoning Committee. Only one person provided a letter of support.
Kelsey Peterson, a resident of the Schmidt Artist Lofts, which is only about four blocks from the proposed site, said that, while she doesn’t believe 560 Randolph is the right place for the garbage depot, her opposition is about more than just whether it fits the neighborhood. It is about the plans the community has worked on with the City to develop a future vision for the area.
“I want to be very clear, these plans are not idle dreams. This is basic livability that we are speaking about today,” Peterson said. “St. Paul has done business this way, following plans for over half a century.”
West 7th/Fort Road Federation Executive Director Julia McColley echoed Peterson’s frustration over the use of official planning processes, but also raised concerns about the natural gas refueling station.
“CNG stations are not benign. They bring air pollution. The high pressure compressors operate with a loud, low frequency hum, one that may run continuously for hours and introduce new ambient noise pollution to the mixed use neighborhood,” she said. “A gas leak or mechanical failure at the site, which sits adjacent to the river and homes and businesses, poses real safety risks.”
McColley said that hazardous systems, like the CNG system proposed by FCC, would normally be zoned for I-2 or I-3, general or heavy industrial use.
Federation President Meg Duhr also pointed to multiple examples of zoning discrepancies in her testimony.
“The fact that we’re even here is ridiculous, Duhr said. “The city council already rejected this and the mayor has illegally vetoed it.”
For their part, FCC Environmental maintains that they have fulfilled every obligation the City has required of them.
After a brief discussion, which did not include any debate on whether the site plan met the comprehensive plan intent, the committee voted 5-0 to approve the site plan.
Committee Member Nate Hood, who also serves as a Planning Commissioner for the City, said that he empathized with those speaking out against the facility, but felt his hands were tied in voting to approve the site plan.
“I don’t blame anybody who lives near this site for opposing this. I understand that, and I absolutely empathize with that. And I would probably be doing the same,” Hood said. “But as this role that we have as a zoning committee is very narrowly looking at this by the guidelines that are set in front of us and it’s my opinion the staff has checked all the boxes and that this application should move legally forward.”
Listen to the Zoning Committee public hearing.
Alternate Sites Shot Down
On April 21, Axios reported that Councilmember Rebecca Noecker had reached out to City Staff at the request of the West 7th/Fort Road Federation to inquire about other potential locations for the garbage depot, only to be told that three sites, the former K-Mart near I-35E and Maryland, the City’s Police Impound Lot on the West Side and and industrial site on Pierce Butler Route were not viable solutions.
“The St. Paul Port Authority owns both the K-Mart site and the impound lot, and has bigger plans for both sites, Newton wrote,” according to the Axios story.
Axios said the three sites listed were owned by the City, but the list of three sites was in no way exhaustive and did not include any private parcels that may be available.
Mayor Vetoes Council’s Decision
On April 15, Mayor Carter vetoed the City Council’s overruling of the Planning Commission’s denial of the Federation’s Appeal of the site on March 19.
In a letter to the Council, Carter said he believed their decision to be outside the legal scope of their charge in determining zoning appeals, stating that FCC has done everything required to meet the zoning criteria for the existing site and their proposed use fits current zoning rules.
In a statement, the Fort Road Federation said they were disappointed by the Mayor’s veto, not only because it undermined the unanimous decision of the City Council, but also because they continue to avoid engaging the affected community directly.
“Despite repeated calls for transparency and collaboration, the administration has bypassed both community input and the Council’s clear and lawful action,’” their statement said, calling on Mayor Carter to meaningfully engage the community.
The timing of the veto did not allow the Council to take action to override the veto because state statute required that the final determination be reached within 60 days of the initial application, which expired on April 15.
State of Emergency
Following the City Council’s approval of the Federation’s appeal of the site on March 19, Carter issued a local state of emergency March 31, he said to ensure uninterrupted garbage pickup as FCC was set to begin their contract on April 1.
The emergency declaration allowed FCC to use 560 Randolph as their depot. The City Charter allows the Mayor to issue a local state of emergency for up to three days. The City Council extended the state of emergency to 90 days until the situation could be resolved.
The Fort Road Federation said that, while they agree that uninterrupted garbage service was a necessity, the City’s continued lack of engagement undermined decisions being made.
“Throughout this process, the City has emphasized that this is a private transaction between FCC and the property seller and that, moving forward, operations would remain private despite FCC’s contract with the City. However, the Mayor has acknowledged that the City has worked in close partnership with FCC since last June to advance this facility,” their statement read, in part. “During that time, community concerns were repeatedly overlooked, an incompatible zoning interpretation was approved, and now emergency powers are being used to address ‘remaining zoning issues’ rather than engaging in a transparent and collaborative process. This raises concerns about the neutrality of the City’s role in this decision.”
After being awarded the City’s garbage hauling contract last spring, FCC environmental bought 560 Randolph, as well as the adjoining 540 Randolph, in fall of 2024 with the intent of investing $25 million to turn it into their regional maintenance, dispatch and refueling facility.
With the emergency declaration, they have begun operating their initial 30 garbage trucks out of the site for their weekday collection of 90% of St. Paul’s garbage routes. FCC has said that they hope to grow their business in the Twin Cities, which could increase the garbage truck traffic to as many as 80 trucks rolling out on a daily basis.
At issue is whether the site meets the definition of a public works yard in the zoning code and whether the site should be zoned for light industrial use to begin with.
City code currently does not have a designation for a maintenance facility or garbage depot, and staff have said the closest definition within current code is a public works facility.
Neighbors have argued that, because of the volume of traffic and the planned natural gas refueling station, it exceeds the definition of a public works facility and does not meet the definition of “light industrial.”
They also say that the current zoning does not align with decades of city planning and community vision.
The Planning Commission agreed with City Staff and unanimously approved the designation on February 21, but that ruling was overturned by the City Council on March 19, in part because key testimony and documents were not provided to Planning Commissioners for their meeting and because members of the City Council did not believe City staff’s findings that the site conformed to the public works facility use based on needs and daily traffic.
What’s Next
The Site Plan goes before the full Planning Commission on May 2 for approval. Once approved, FCC will need additional permitting for construction and operation of the natural gas refueling station.
The West 7th/Fort Road Federation said they have not ruled out future appeals of the site.
