The owner of a 100-year-old St. Paul restaurant received an extra two weeks to work on a storm-water management plan for a $10 million expansion of his pizzeria.
St. Paul City Council Member Dave Thune stalled the vote on the variance requested by Dave Cossetta, who owns the namesake restaurant on West 7th Street near the Xcel Energy Center.
Cossetta is seeking a waiver from his own proposed strategy for complying with city storm-water requirements. He initially agreed to build an underground holding tank under his expanded restaurant. The tank would collect and slowly release rainwater into the sewer system. The tank would have met city standards for controlling the flow of water into the sewers, but Cossetta now says it's too expensive.
Mayor Chris Coleman opposes the waiver, saying it would set a bad precedent and cause potential flooding at nearby buildings.
The council will continue to take public testimony at its meeting on July 3. Thune did not indicate what sort of compromise he was seeking.
ROCHELLE OLSON
