ROCHESTER — A North Broadway Avenue property owner is taking a second swing in

an attempt to carve out more space for his growing business.

Marvin Sawyer, owner of Pro Cut Firewood, has modified a plan to excavate nearly 6,000 cubic yards of earth from the bluff behind his business at 2660 N. Broadway Ave.

The plan would provide space for offices, storage areas and a kiln for drying firewood, but an early proposal was met with concerns from city staff and failed to get support from the Rochester Planning and Zoning Commission.

“Following the planning commission’s denial recommendation, the owner requested a continuation of the project to allow additional time to meet with City Engineers to discuss development options,” states a report to the Rochester City Council prepared by Community Development Planning Supervisor Allison Sosa.

The result is a modified plan that reduces the harshness of the angles cut into the bluff and increases the width of buffers that allow more vegetation to remain in place.

The council will hold a public hearing on the revised request during its regular meeting at 7 p.m. Monday in council chambers of the city-county Government Center.

The revised plan was made possible by using an adjacent piece of property Sawyer purchased earlier this year. With the extended property line, the new proposal reduces the depth of the planned cut into the bluff by 24 feet and widens it by 142 feet.

Community development staff said the proposed change is more in line with expectations for the permit required to excavate the area.

In addition to increasing the stability of the site, the change is expected to improve the visual impact of the proposed project by reducing the sharp angles cut into the bluff visible from North Broadway Avenue.

“Staff views this revision as a significant improvement to the overall project,” states the report presented to the council ahead of Monday’s meeting. “By incorporating the adjoining parcel and extending the cut, the revised design is more stable by avoiding the sharp ganged corners of the initial plan.”

The proposed change comes with a staff recommendation for approval of the permit to excavate the site.

Meetings scheduled to be held during the week of Oct. 2 include:

• City Council study session, 3:30 p.m. Monday in council chambers of the city-county Government Center, 151 Fourth St. SE. The meeting will livestream at

www.rochestermn.gov/meetings/council-meetings

and be available on Spectrum cable channel 180 or 188 and Metronet channel 80.

• City Council, 7 p.m. Wednesday in council chambers of the city-county Government Center. The meeting will livestream at

www.rochestermn.gov/meetings/council-meetings

and be available on Spectrum cable channel 180 or 188 and Metronet channel 80.

• Park Board, 4:30 p.m. Tuesday in room 104 of City Hall, 201 Fourth St. SE.

• Housing and Redevelopment Authority board retreat, 8:30 a.m. Monday, Oxbow Nature Center, 5731 County Road 105 NW, Byron.

• Administrative Committee, 7:30 a.m. Tuesday in conference room 2 of the city-county Government Center, 151 Fourth St. SE.

• Physical Development Committee, 8:45 a.m. Tuesday in conference room 4 of the Government Center.

• Health, Housing and Human Services Committee, 8:45 a.m. Tuesday in conference room 2 for the Government Center.

• Board of County Commissioners, 10 a.m. Tuesday in the board chambers of the Government Center.

• School Board, 5:30 p.m. Tuesday in the boardroom of the Edison Building, 615 Seventh St. SW.