The Crookston Planning Commission met Tuesday evening at the Crookston City Hall Council Chambers and had several items on the agenda.
202 2ND STREET WEST
The first item on the agenda was a conditional use request from Up North 
Investments LLC, represented by Randy Bosma. The request was to make 202 2nd Street West in Crookston a single apartment. The building used to be Skill Cutz Barbershop. The owner said he has not been able to rent the space as a commercial rental for the past two years and would like to convert it into a one-bedroom apartment. Crookston Building Official Greg Hefta said having it an apartment went against the comprehensive plan but agreed with getting more affordable housing. “We kind of have a conflict of interest between the two documents, but we do have a new comprehensive plan that is coming down the road,” said Hefta. “Within that reasoning, we have an extreme need for housing units, and the Planning Commission saw the need for it, and that street is somewhat off the main road, so that was their consensus to make their decision.” The commission approved moving it forward to the City Council for approval.
TRI-VALLEY BUILDING
The next item was land determination for the Tri-Valley building at 102 Broadway Street North. Tri-Valley CEO Jason Carlson said they are willing to donate the land 
and building to the City of Crookston for demolition and possible reuse in future development. “The City has been talking to Tri-Valley for several years since they knew they were going to relocate to the Fournet Building across the street,” said Hefta. “The old building is not being used and without it, we could create a safer corner when we redo the streets in 2027.”
The commission approved to move it forward to the City Council.
SOUTH FRONT STREET RAILROAD SPUR LAND DETERMINATION AND REZONING
Minnesota Northern Railroad and the City of Crookston have been in discussion about a possible donation of about 10.4 acres of land from the City to the railroad for future development of a railroad spur. The land is located at the south end of the industrial land along South Front Street. “The City wants to have economic development, and the best way to do that is to bring in transportation, and the railroad spur itself is an economic driver because you can offload and load cargo, agricultural products, and that sort of thing,” said Hefta. “The other reason is for liability reasons. We don’t want the City to have transportation issues and maintenance when an independent company can make use of it and take better care of it than we could as a city.”
The planning commission also approved the rezoning request of the land from an I-1 to an I-2 industrial. “I-1 is for the heavy industry, and I-2 is more for truck traffic and storage of agricultural products, trailers for semis,” said Hefta. “The change is to be more useful for the railroad spur.”
The commission approved to move it forward to the City Council.
SCOOTERS COFFEE AT 515 MAIN STREET NORTH
CRK Enterprise LLC, represented by John Robertson of Crookston, had requested a conditional use permit for a Scooters Coffee kiosk to be built on the northern portion of the former Arby’s and the current Opticare location. “There were a few items they changed, like the turning radius of the drive-through, and easements was the other issue,” said Hefta. “We wanted to make sure they were clear and above board and had everything set for the property, and it was all done.”
The commission approved to move it forward to the City Council.
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