The Rochester City Council is set to review an application for a plan to construct a new parking lot for employees working at the Mayo Clinic.
The Planning and Zoning Commission already approved of the plan with a majority vote of 3-2. The city council will go over the plan next month, however it is expected that the City Council will approve of the plan since it has the Planning and Zoning Commission’s blessing.
The site where the new parking lot will be placed used to be home to a Kmart. The plan comes from the Community Development department and it involves completing the new parking lot in two separate phases. Each phase will allow for approximately 600 parking spaces each. The second phase will be developed after the existing structure that used to house the Kmart is brought down.
The Planning and Zoning Commissions was told that the site would be used for workers at St. Mary’s Hospital nearby. The original plan for the lot was to install a Park and Ride, however current zoning laws for the area mean that the new parking lot would have to be kept open to the public. The proposal works around this restriction by allowing the city to lease the property from its owner and then sub-leasing it to the Mayo Clinic. Printing services are often used to inform the public about a change of user.
The Mayo Clinic was hoping for a 10-year agreement, however the commission suggested five years. The City Council will make the final decision.
