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Crookston Planning Commission approves permit for a tobacco shop, and street vacation for Tri-Valley

The Crookston Planning Commission met Tuesday evening at the City Hall Council Chambers. It approved a conditional use permit for a retail tobacco shop and a street vacation by Tri-Valley Opportunity Council.

TOBACCO SHOP
The planning commission unanimously approved a conditional use permit for a retail tobacco store at 1504 University Avenue in Crookston. Jeff Evers owns the building, and it will be leased by Radhwan Alwanan and Ali Alfureedy. “The conditional use permit is for retail tobacco sales,” said City of Crookston’s Zoning Administrator Greg Hefta. “The commission was looking at parking, how the business is related to the ordinances in the city and a conditional use is required for tobacco in that location.  The commission found that they are compatible and similar to other businesses in town.”

A tobacco and vape store looked into opening a business in the same location earlier this year, but they pulled out. This is a new business that will only sell cigarettes, cigars, and other tobacco products. “This is a totally new group of people, so we had to do the same process again,” said Hefta.

TRI-VALLEY  STREET VACATION REQUEST
Tri-Valley Opportunity Council CEO Jason Carlson was at the meeting to request a portion of 4th Avenue South and Vance Street be vacated to allow them to build a bus garage on their property. Carlson has appeared at several meetings with Polk County and the Crookston School District and now to the planning commission. “This is to facilitate the possible future development of the Carmen School site,” said Carlson. “This is all a part of a bus shed project that we have started, and those bids are getting ready to be let real soon with construction in 2025, and we think we will have an attractive facility out here with construction beginning in the spring.”

The bus garage will have seven stalls with the capacity to store 14 buses. “It will be storage only. There is a small lounge area for drivers and a meeting room, a place to wash the buses that will also be used for storage,” said Carlson. “No maintenance will be done there, everything else will be done at our facility on Fairfax. We think it will be a nice, quiet addition to the neighborhood.”

The project is being funded by the Minnesota Department of Transportation.

1504 University Avenue (The hold Cofe and Chickadee Coffee building)

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