South metro briefs: Plans for Shakopee Hy-Vee advance

Plans for Hy-Vee store advance in City Council

Hy-Vee passed another round in its plans to open a second Scott County location in Shakopee.

The City Council approved the Iowa-based grocery chain's application to rezone a roughly 24-acre plot in the city's west end. The proposal includes a grocery store with attached liquor store and restaurant and gas station as well as a 10,000-square-foot medical office building and a 100-unit apartment building.

The council approved the new housing as medium-density residential, instead of high-density, after Council Member Matt Lehman posed an amendment to the initial request.

Hy-Vee entered the Twin Cities market last fall with two stores. Other Hy-Vees are coming soon to Eagan, to open late summer, Savage in spring 2017, and then Cottage Grove, Maple Grove and Shakopee. The latest location opened in Lakeville this month and boasts a fast-fashion department, juice/smoothie bar and a wider selection of grab-and-go foods.

NATALIE DAHER

The Inver Grove Heights City Council approved a moratorium Monday on licensing new trash haulers until September.

The resolution places a hold on new licenses until Sept. 12. The City Council will take up the completed study on Aug. 8.

EMMA NELSON

A stretch of northbound Hwy. 3 in Farmington will be closed next weekend as part of the construction project on that road.

The northbound lanes will be closed from Hwy. 50 to just south of 213th/Main Street starting 5 p.m. Friday, July 8, the Minnesota Department of Transportation said. The road will reopen with one lane in each direction by 5 a.m. Monday, July 11.

Traffic will be detoured along Hwy. 50, Pilot Knob Road and 195th Street. The closing allows workers to install a pipe beneath the road.

CASEY COMMON

Mendota Heights is moving forward with plans to plug up water intrusion in City Hall.

Staff is working on a multiphase project that would remediate mold and water intrusion in the Police Department in the lower level of City Hall. City officials will meet next Tuesday with a prospective contractor to offer the city guidance. The city anticipates starting on repairs toward the end of summer. The city estimates the cost of repairs could be up to $70,000.

To accommodate the Police Department, the drainage project will be completed in phases.

beatrice dupuy

The City Council unanimously approved on June 20 an ordinance that outlines performance standards to prospective solar energy providers looking to expand in the city of roughly 6,800 people. The final vote comes after the City Council asked its staff to create guidelines in January for the systems that have become a front-runner of the clean energy movement.

Cities and counties across the metro area have been fielding more requests from solar energy providers. Some municipalities, including Wright County in the west metro, have passed moratoriums on applications from solar companies to preserve remaining open farmland.

Natalie Daher

Burnsville residents can dispose of buckthorn plants at the city's compost site on weekends throughout the summer and fall.

The compost site, at 121st Street and Pleasant Avenue, will be open between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. on designated days through August 30.

For more information on the disposal program, visit www.burnsville.org/buckthorn.