Roseville City Council Briefing

As the Sept. 19 future planning-focused Roseville City Council meeting approaches, actions taken by the Council last week deserve  mention.

One city, one pawn shop

Council members approved amending language in Roseville city ordinance governing pawn shops to limit the number of such operations to one.

Language added to the existing city law reads, “No more than one pawn broker license shall be issued by the city at any time, and priority shall be given to qualified applicants of (the) existing license.”

That’s good news for Pawn America, which holds the city’s current license. It’s bad news for Yellow Dog Holdings LLC, which earlier this year requested a conditional use permit to operate a pawn shop at 2057 Snelling Ave.

City officials earlier this summer recommended denying Yellow Dog’s request before last Monday’s action by the Council.

HRA vacancy filled

Debora Battisto has been appointed to fill a vacancy on Roseville Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA). Battisto replaces Susan Elkins, who recently resigned from the board. Elkins’ term on the HRA runs through Sept. 23, 2015.

Battisto is a licensed commercial real estate broker, and has worked in commercial and residential real estate in California, Nevada and Texas in addition to Minnesota. Earlier this year, Battisto graduated from the University of California-Irvine with an International Certified Facilities Management specialization.

She was interviewed by Council members Aug. 22 after submitting an application for the volunteer post.

Preliminary plat of western land approved

The Council also approved a preliminary plat of “Outlot A,” a large industrial tract of land bordering Hennepin County on Roseville’s western flank.

There, Meritex Enterprises plans to develop the land at 2285 Walnut St., north of the Highcrest Park Addition plat. A 120,000-square-foot FedEx office and warehouse facility is planned at the site.