The Hastings City Council moved two pieces of the proposed Pleasant Valley Farms development forward Monday, Aug. 3, approving distribution of a major environmental review for public comment and endorsing plans for a new public neighborhood park.
The council also received its regular PFAS update, with construction continuing on the city’s central water treatment plant and preparations advancing for a second treatment facility on the east side of Hastings.
The meeting lasted less than 20 minutes, but much of the discussion centered on Pleasant Valley Farms, a large residential development proposed for approximately 158 acres on the northwest side of Hastings between Featherstone Road and County Road 42, along the future extension of General Sieben Drive.
Pleasant Valley environmental review moves ahead
Community Development Director John Hinzman presented the council with the Environmental Assessment Worksheet, or EAW, prepared for Pleasant Valley Farms.
Hinzman emphasized that the council's action did not constitute approval of the development. Instead, the council authorized distribution of the environmental document for a 30-day public review and comment period.
“We had a private consulting firm prepare the EAW,” Hinzman said. “It takes a look at a number of different aspects of impact for this residential development, including transportation, environment, other things related to that.”
An EAW is required under state rules because of the size of the proposed residential development. It is intended to determine whether potential environmental impacts are significant enough to require the more extensive Environmental Impact Statement process. It also provides information that can be used as the city considers future land-use decisions.
The EAW itself evaluates issues ranging from land use, geology and soils to water resources, wildlife, historic properties, greenhouse gas emissions, noise and transportation.
Mayor Mary Fasbender asked what triggered the environmental review.
“It’s because the number of homes exceeded, I think, 350 altogether,” Hinzman said.
The concept discussed at the meeting calls for approximately 387 units — 321 single-family homes and 66 townhomes. The EAW was prepared with a somewhat larger potential buildout to provide flexibility as the development moves through the approval process.
Hinzman said the review examines transportation and traffic impacts, geology, environmental conditions and historic and cultural resources.
The EAW document uses a maximum development scenario of up to 407 homes — 341 detached single-family homes and 66 townhomes — on the 158-acre site. The property is currently primarily agricultural land and would be annexed from Nininger Township into Hastings as development proceeds.
Council members also asked where the environmental document would be distributed.
Hinzman said neighboring communities, Dakota County, state agencies, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and watershed organizations are among those receiving notice.
The city will also make the EAW available on its website. The document is scheduled for publication in the state's Environmental Quality Board Monitor Aug. 11, beginning a comment period that runs through Sept. 10. The council will later consider the comments and determine whether an Environmental Impact Statement is necessary.
The council unanimously authorized distribution.
The project still has several steps ahead. Hinzman said a neighborhood meeting is expected, followed later by formal development applications and public hearings.
New neighborhood park planned
Council members then considered how Pleasant Valley Farms would satisfy the city's park dedication requirements.
Under city subdivision regulations, developers generally provide land for parks, make a cash payment in lieu of land or use some combination of the two.
For Pleasant Valley Farms, the developer is proposing something considerably more tangible: approximately 13 acres consisting of a three-acre developed neighborhood park and roughly 10 acres of open space.
The developer would also construct the park and trail improvements rather than simply turning over undeveloped land for the city to improve.
“The city would not be obligated to pay for the design or the park equipment,” Hinzman said. “That would be constructed at the developer’s expense.”
The proposed park would be located generally on the western portion of Pleasant Valley Farms. Trails would connect the park internally with the development and extend through the site toward the existing Presidents Addition.
Hinzman said the Hastings Parks and Recreation Commission reviewed the proposal and unanimously recommended it.
Exactly what will eventually be built in the three-acre developed portion remains undecided. Ideas discussed include a shelter, playground equipment and open-space areas, with a design intended to take advantage of the site's natural features.
Councilmember Lisa Leifeld welcomed the proposal, noting that developers more commonly meet their park dedication requirements by paying cash rather than actually constructing a park.
“I think I could count on less than one hand how many times we have a development where they’re putting the park in instead of giving cash in lieu of,” Leifeld said. “And I love this.”
She noted that existing parks such as Crestview and Eagle Bluff are a considerable distance from the proposed neighborhood and require residents to cross or travel along busy roads.
“I’m super excited to see that piece of it,” Leifeld said before making the motion to approve the park dedication method.
Fasbender asked when the park would actually be constructed, since Pleasant Valley Farms is expected to develop in phases.
Hinzman said construction is expected to begin near Featherstone Road and proceed north along the General Sieben Drive extension. The park is in a later phase of the project and likely would not be constructed for several years.
Specific deadlines would eventually be incorporated into a development agreement between the developer and city, he said.
The broader EAW anticipates grading beginning in spring 2027, home construction starting in fall 2027 and the neighborhood developing in four phases over roughly a decade.
Hinzman added that the developer also anticipates constructing a private community amenity for Pleasant Valley Farms residents during an earlier phase. The neighborhood park approved by the council, however, will be open to the general public.
“The park will be public,” Hinzman confirmed.
The council unanimously approved the park dedication method.
PFAS construction progressing
City Administrator Dan Wietecha closed out the major business of the meeting with an update on Hastings' ongoing effort to remove PFAS contaminants from the city's drinking water.
Construction continues on the central treatment plant, Wietecha said, with crews putting the roof on the building.
By mid-August, work is expected to move to pouring concrete floors inside the building and constructing pads for the filtration vessels.
“So construction proceeds,” Wietecha said, adding that the city continues to anticipate substantial completion by the end of the calendar year.
The city's planned eastern treatment plant is also moving toward construction. Bids were opened in late July, with Rice Lake Construction Group identified as the apparent low bidder.
Wietecha characterized the pricing as competitive and said the city hopes construction can begin around September.
One remaining obstacle is finalizing state funding paperwork.
The Minnesota Legislature earlier this year approved $17.5 million for the project, but the state agency administering the money was still waiting for instructions needed to complete the grant agreement.
“We can’t really enter a contract until we get the grant agreements in place,” Wietecha said.
City officials recently met with Sen. Judy Seeberger and Rep. Tom Dippel about the delay.
Wietecha said he expected the lawmakers would press state officials to move the process along, particularly because the Hastings project is essentially ready to begin.
The city also recently met with a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency representative concerning congressionally directed federal funding approved for Hastings. Wietecha said that grant agreement remains several months away, but communication with federal officials is underway.
The PFAS discussion followed a closed City Council workshop earlier in the evening in which council members met with city attorneys regarding potential environmental litigation.
With no public speakers and little other business, the council adjourned following announcements, bringing one of its shortest meetings of the year to a close.