The City Council held a regular meeting on Monday, February 24, 2025. Below are the highlights of the meeting.
To view the agenda, and minutes when available, visit the Agenda Center.
To watch the recorded meeting, stream it online or tune in on cable channel 12 (FiberNet & TDS subscribers) or channel 180 (Charter subscribers). The rebroadcast schedule is available here.
Public Service Announcements
Visit the DMV for your Fishing License
Stop by the Monticello DMV to get your 2025-2026 fishing license. Licenses are valid March 1, 2025, through Feb. 28, 2026. The DMV is open Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Spring Tree Sale Continues
The Parks, Arts, and Recreation Department Spring Tree Sale continues! There are 7 types of trees to choose from at $50 each. Quantities are limited. Orders are filled first come, first served. Order your trees in person at City Hall, online, or by mail with the order form found on the City website.
Last Indoor Farmers Market of the Season
Join us on Saturday, March 8, for the final indoor farmers market of the season! We'll be at the Monticello Community Center from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. As always, there will be a great variety of vendors.
Department Updates
Communications Department
The City of Monticello’s Communications Department provides community members with a variety of resources to stay up to date on City announcements, events, projects, and initiatives. At the meeting, the department provided an overview of the resources, including:
These resources are meant to meet the needs of the community, whether that is in digital or print formats. Visit the Communications Department for more information.
City Council Decisions
Block 34 Redevelopment – Right of Entry for Studies (Item 2D)
The City of Monticello and its Economic Development Authority (EDA) are making progress toward redeveloping Block 34. This is a key block identified in the overall revitalization effort guided by the City’s Downtown Small Area Plan.
Block 34 is located at the southeast corner of Pine Street (Highway 25) and Broadway Street (County Road 75). The City and EDA have gradually acquired property within the block to facilitate redevelopment. Over 85% of the block is currently in public ownership. The EDA sought out concept proposals from regional developers to understand the block’s development potential. Following City Council direction from a 2024 meeting, the EDA will lead the block’s redevelopment efforts and has engaged in discussions with Kraus-Anderson Development.
To facilitate redevelopment efforts, specific studies must be conducted first. The EDA authorized a Blight and Substandard Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Analysis. This study will determine if a TIF Redevelopment District can be established in Block 34. Tax Increment Funding is a financial tool available to cities to encourage development in areas that may not attract development on their own. TIF districts use future property tax revenue to assist with development costs. A Phase II Environmental Site Assessment study was also authorized for EDA and City-owned parcels in Block 34. The Phase II ESA will provide information about potential site contaminants and any steps for appropriate mitigation. Ultimately, the results of these studies will guide the next steps and timeline for redevelopment.
At this meeting, the City Council authorized the professional consultants right-of-entry to City-owned Block 34 properties for the purpose of completing the studies.
Preliminary Plat Approved for Single-Family Residential Development (Item 2F)
More single-family housing may be coming to Monticello. The City Council approved a Development Stage Planned Unit Development, Rezoning and Preliminary Plat for Meadowbrook. This follows a unanimous recommendation by the Planning Commission on February 4, 2025, following a January public hearing.
The proposed site for the development is a 56-acre area of undeveloped land east of Edmonson Avenue NE, west of the Hunters Crossing neighborhood. Though this is a recent action, the property was originally platted as part of Hunters Crossing.
The approval of the PUD allows for flexibility in lot size and mix, providing for a wider variety of housing in Monticello. Monticello’s 2040 Plan indicates a need to address “missing middle housing” by allowing for variety of lot and home sizes. The proposed development details for Meadowbrook are consistent with these goals. Overall, the project includes 182 units with 109 detached single-family lots and 73 attached townhouse units.
Nearby residents submitted a petition against the connection of 87th Street between the proposed Meadowbrook neighborhood and Hunters Crossing, sharing traffic concerns. The street connection was planned in the original plat for the Hunters Crossing development, which included Meadowbrook at the time. City Engineering staff recommend completing the connection to 87th Street for several reasons. Street connections play a vital part in creating a safer, more accessible neighborhood. The 87th Street connection allows for improved emergency response, by reducing the distance to the Monticello Fire Station by approximately a half mile. It would also enhance utility services between the two neighborhoods and ease traffic flow, preventing congestion at other exits.
Monticello 2040 Vision + Plan Amendment for Technology Industry Land Uses
The Monticello 2040 Vision + Plan is the primary guide for Monticello’s future, like a blueprint. It is the foundation for all development and land use decisions. The process of creating a comprehensive plan also considers public input, by incorporating the community’s shared concerns and aspirations, while anticipating future growth and development, and a shared goal of supporting a thriving, healthy city.
Recently, the City of Monticello has received inquiries regarding potential data center development. To address these inquiries, the City Council amended the City’s Monticello 2040 Vision + Plan (comprehensive plan) to better address land use for this type of development. The goal of amending the comprehensive plan is to allow the City to set its land use goals and priorities for data center development independently of any private development application.
Data centers are commonly described as concentrations of computer servers that store data and software applications. A data center facility generally consists of multiple computer servers, cooling systems, electrical infrastructure systems, back-up power generation, and related functions and equipment. Data Centers may serve single, multiple, or even large tech users such as Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Meta and similar corporations.
The amendment to the 2040 Plan accommodates data centers as an allowable use within the Light Industrial land use designation; however, due to the specialized impacts that data centers may present, the amendment calls for additional language to provide the conditions under which data centers may be an acceptable land use. This includes conditions such as consideration for impacts to other land uses; possible shortages in land supply, utility and electric services; the ability to mitigate its burden on municipal services and infrastructure; and efforts to ensure it will not inhibit future growth. Clarifying the City’s land use ordinances in upcoming action will be another tool to address proximity to residential areas, utility demands, transportation impacts, land supply, economic issues, power usage, and site design standards.
The City Council unanimously approved the text amendment. This follows the Planning Commission’s unanimous recommendation for approval at their regular meeting on February 4, 2025 (watch the meeting here.)
For more information, review Agenda Item 4A from the February 24 City Council meeting.
Approval of Parcels to be Re-guided to Light Industrial Park Designation
The City Council unanimously approved an application by Monticello Tech LLC to re-guide certain properties to a Light Industrial Park designation. This follows Planning Commission’s recommendation for approval at their regular meeting on February 4.
The area in the request covers approximately 253 acres located south of the City. This area abuts approximately 300 acres to the north that is already guided for Light Industrial Park. Monticello Tech LLC has previously presented an initial concept for the development of a data center technology campus on these parcels during a joint workshop of the City Council and Planning Commission on December 3, 2024.
While the applicant previously presented this preliminary concept to the City, development of a data center requires additional review. In the re-guidance of the land use designation for the parcels, the Planning Commission and the City Council may only consider whether the designation of Light Industrial Park is appropriate, given the City’s growth and land use goals outlined in the comprehensive plan.