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The City Council approved a second and final cannabis dispensary, set a new direction for the 424 Butler townhouse project in a partnership with Habitat for Humanity, and failed to approve a salary increase for the first time in at least a decade.
City’s Second Cannabis Dispensary Approved
Council unanimously approved a conditional use permit (CUP) to allow a cannabis disensary at the former Camelot Cleaners on Smith Avenue. Known as Camelot Cannabis, the proposal comes from a Mendota Heights resident with long-time ties to the community. This would be the city’s second cannabis dispensary and hit the cap.
- Specific issues: Concerns include meeting parking requirements, proximity to Clover Montessori School, and environmental issues. The parking issue should be addressed with the removal of the drive through and re-striping. Cannabis dispensaries are not allowed within 1,000 feet of schools, though the city’s definition of a school does not include Clover Montessori. As a former dry cleaner, the site likely needs environmental cleanup, though it’s unclear how much with a re-use versus new construction. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency will likely require some remediation and staff recommended including those requirements as a part of the approval.
- General issues: Wider concerns from the community seemed to focus on larger issues with legalization, including economic impacts and public nuisance. Multiple Council members said they had heard from a lot of residents, but the input was evenly split between support and opposition.
- Planning Commission: Four people spoke during the public hearing at Planning Commission, three opposed and one supportive but with concerns. Planning Commission unanimously approved the CUP with a few minor conditions.
- Council response:
- Mayor Dave Napier: “I really don’t support this, I know there are limited things we can do to say no. But I heard a lot of residents and I appreciate their concerns.” (The mayor doesn’t get a vote.)
- Robyn Gulley: “I’m not nearly as worried about having a legitimate business run by folks from the community as having a vacant building that’s been sitting unused.”
- John Justen: “My concern from the beginning with dispensaries was nationwide chain dispensaries coming in that has no interest in the community. To me, this is about as good a possibility as you can get for a dispensary.”
- Pat Armon: “At this stage to move the goal post is not a good precedent to set, so I’m in support.”
- Lisa Eng-Sarne: “It is hard to drive past that every day with the windows shattered and siding falling off. It’s blight.” She cited examples of cannabis in other states prompting economic revitalization. “I’m not saying that this is going to change everything for West St. Paul or change everything for Ward 3 or Smith/Dodd, but I do think some tender loving care for that property will go a long way.”
- Wendy Berry: “What I’m most concerned about is the false rhetoric people are creating around cannabis. I’m hopeful that if this goes through and opens, people will see that cannabis doesn’t create a treacherous neighborhood or create crime. There’s no proof of that and there won’t be.”
- Doug Fromm: “I’ve been in a few of these places, I’ll admit that, and most of these places there’s a security check. You’re checked multiple times, you’re checked just going in the door and you’re checked when you buy. These places know the concerns the neighborhoods have and they’re doing what they can to mitigate it.”
- Timing: Camelot Cannabis will still need to get state approval and then likely come back to the city for site plan approval.
New Direction for 424 Butler Townhouse Project
A funding gap stalled the proposed townhouse project at 424 Butler that was approved earlier this year. The city bought the property to prevent a developer from building a large apartment building. During the Open Council Work Session (OCWS), Council considered options.
- Gap: While the city expected to break even or take a small loss on the project, the current proposal has a $2 million funding gap.
- Options: Staff presented four options—selling the property, continuing to develop it, partnering with Habitat for Humanity, or sitting on the property and waiting for conditions to change.
- Partnership: Council was generally in favor of the potential partnership with Habitat for Humanity. Their expertise would shift it to a smaller project (from 13 units to 8) and they were confident they could find grants to close the funding gap. It would also likely take an additional two years to secure grants and fit into Habitat’s construction timeline.
- Concerns: Council members wanted to make sure the Economic Development Authority’s investment in the land would be repaid and that the existing single family home could be demolished sooner rather than later.
Council Salary Increase Fails
A vote on modest salary increases for Council members and the mayor failed 6-1, with Napier the lone no vote.
- Process: By law, the Charter Commission has to consider salary increases every two years. Council then has to approve any increases unanimously, and the mayor gets a vote.
- Proposal: Charter Commission recommended a 3% increase for 2027 and a 2.5% increase for 2028. That brings total salaries for the mayor to $14,935 for 2027 and $15,308 for 2028, and for Council members to $12,875 for 2027 and $13,197 for 2028.
- Justification: City Attorney Pam Whitmore summarized the Charter Commission discussion, noting they spent significant time consider how many hours Council members put into the job and much of the debate focused on an even higher increase. They were also concerned about equity, making serving in public office accessible to people who need might need to step away from jobs or get childcare in order serve.
- Public input: No one spoke during the public hearing.
- Council stance: The Council members unanimously supported the increase, with Napier the lone voice in opposition.
- Council Member Berry said early in their first term they were a “hard pass” on increases, but then Council Member Dick Vitelli argued for the importance of incremental raises to avoid forcing future Councils to make a larger increase. Berry voted for the increase in 2020, and supported it now.
- Napier cited complaints from residents about rising taxes and said he couldn’t support it. “This isn’t a huge amount of money, but it sends a message to our community,” said Napier.
- History: Going back to 2018, Council salaries have been routinely approved, including a 26% increase in 2024. Before 2018, the previous increase came in 2011, according to a 2018 Council report.
Gender Neutral Language in the City Charter
Council also considered a change to update the entire City Charter to reflect gender neutral language, mostly changing “he” or “he/she” language to “they”.
- Why: “It’s a meaningful change to those impacted by it, but functionally it’s innocuous,” said Council Member Fromm.
- Process: In a confusing procedural move, an initial vote on the gender neutral language and one other change failed when Napier voted no. He said he had questions about it and wanted to hear more from staff.
- Re-vote: After some explanation from Fromm and others, Council considered the gender neutral language on its own and it passed unanimously.
Other Items on the Agenda
- 70th anniversary: The Council honored Mike and Jean DeFranco on their 70th anniversary, declaring April 14, 2026 to be Mike and Jean DeFranco 70th Wedding Anniversary Day. The DeFrancos were married on April 14, 1956 in Bristol, Pennsylvania, and have lived in West St. Paul since 1970.
- Appointment: Due to a resignation on the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee, Council appointed Jiman Isaac Lee, recently appointed to the Environmental Committee, to fill the open position. They also appointed Rob Eller to the Environmental Committee to fill Lee’s position.
- Home improvement: During the OCWS, Council discussed expanding the NeighborWorks home improvement loan program to broaden appeal. Only two loans were approved since 2023. The changes expand what work is eligible among other tweaks, though Council Member John Justen had concerns about moving away from code and exterior improvements only.
- Charter amendment: Council unanimously approved a small language tweak to the Charter, fixing an error.
- Cannabis limits: Council unanimously approved limiting cannabis dispensaries to two, including Native-shops, which were previously not included in the limit. No one spoke during the public hearing.
- Snow emergencies: Council unanimously approved a final reading on tweaks to the snow emergency ordinance.
- Arbor Day: The City Council proclaimed April to be Arbor Month and April 25 to be Arbor Day
Engage
- Watch: City Council and OCWS meetings are archived online.
- Learn more: Guide to West St. Paul City Council.
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