Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout1986/03/17 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - RegularMINUTES CITY COUNCIL MEETING ST. LOUIS PARK, MINNESOTA March 17, 1986 1. Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 7:30 p.m. by Mayor Lyle Hanks 2. Presentations None 3. Roll Call The following members were present at roll call: Ronald Backes Keith Meland Thomas Duffy Larry Mitchell Allen Friedman David Strand Lyle Hanks 4. Approval of Minutes It was moved by Councilman Backes, seconded by Councilman Duffy, to approve the minutes of the administrative hearing of March 3, 1986. The motion passed 6-0-1 (Councilman Mitchell abstained. It was moved by Councilman Friedman, seconded by Councilman Meland to approve the minutes of the March 3 City Council meeting with the following change: item 9f, after the word season insert "they park on the street" and after the word in insert "making it difficult if not impossible for the single family residents to get in and out of their driveways." The motion passed 7-0. It was moved by Councilman Duffy, seconded by Councilman Friedman to approve the minutes of the study session held March 10, 1986. The motion passed 5-0-2 (Councilmen Meland and Backes abstained). 5. Approval of agenda The motion passed 7-0. It was moved by Councilman Mitchell, seconded by Councilman Backes to approve the consent agenda for March 17, 1986. It was moved by Councilman Duffy, seconded by Councilman Friedman, to approve the agenda for March 17, 1986 The motion passed 7-0. 6a. Stone's Foods PUBLIC HEARINGS -50- Request of Stone's Foods, Inc., 8000 Minnetonka Blvd., for an off -sale non -intoxicating liquor license to sell 3.2 beer. City Council meeting minutes March 17, 1986 There being no one wishing to speak, the the right of Council to thereafter reopen date. Mayor closed the hearing with and continue it at a future It was moved by Councilman Mitchell, seconded by Councilman Meland to approve the application. The motion passed 7-0. 6b. Invespro Ltd. Partnership Fe—solutionBb-35 Request of Invespro Ltd. Partnership (Michael Halley Homes) for a special permit to grade and develop a one-story office building and parking lot in a flood plain area at 2460 Hwy. 100. There being no one wishing to speak, the Mayor closed the hearing with the right of Council to thereafter reopen and continue it at a future date. Councilman Strand asked why a use was being requested which was in conflict with the use stipulated in the Comprehensive Plan. Mayor Hanks said although the Comprehensive Plan has been changed in some respects, the zoning ordinance has not been changed and that it takes precedence. The Director of Planning explained that this use was considered generally acceptable with respect to the particulars involved in this area. Councilman Friedman asked what the impact will be of this building to the apartments south of the site. The Director said there will no doubt be an impact on the parking, wherein the apartment tenants used to parking on this property would have to park further away. He said since the project proposed was a one-story building, there should be a minimal effect on cutting off of light or air. Councilman Friedman said he did have some concerns relative to the parking. He asked if the apartment buildings had adequate off-street parking so that a problem will not be created here. The Director responded that this particular site meets the ordinance requirement and it has been his department's experience that when a project meets the ordinance requirement, there is rarely a problem. It was moved by Councilman Strand, seconded by Councilman Backes to -51- City Council meeting minutes March 17, 1986 waive reading and adopt Resolution 86-35 entitled, "A resolution granting special permit under Section 14-123.100(2) of the St. Louis Park ordinance code relating to zoning to permit grading and development in a floodplain area for property zoned R -B, residential business and F-2 floodplain district located at 2460 Highway 100." The motion passed 7-0. 6c. Miracle Mile Request of Intercity Investment Properties (Miracle Mile) to amend an approved special permit to permit site plan modifications allowing construction of a fence at 4995-5425 Excelsior Blvd. Mary Ranum, representing the owners of Miracle Mile shopping center, explained their request to construct a fence to define the property lines of the center and the Fresh Promise property. She said they were requesting this because patrons of B. Dalton Bookseller were parking primarily on the center's lot. She said her client was concerned about another property owner or the public acquiring permanent prescriptive easement rights to use the center's parking lot facilities and driveways for access. John Rice, attorney, appeared on behalf of the Braun family, owners of the B. Dalton building. He explained the Brauns oppose the special permit. He said one item in dispute was the degree of parking alleged by Miracle Mile occurring in their narking lot by customers of B. Dalton. He said no definitive sMieg9egone relative to this matter. He said Intercity Investment is hardly a helpless property owner with no means to protect their parking lot from unauthorized parking. He said the issue was not who was parking where, but a substantial proposed change in the accepted and enacted planned unit development and Comprehensive Plan for the Excelsior Blvd./Miracle Mile area. He said it would seriously affect pedestrian traffic and safety and interrupt the orderly flow of traffic. He said the plan is inconsistent with the pedestrian walkway proposal previously approved by the City Council. Brad Felski, representing B. Dalton, spoke in opposition to the proposed special permit. Gil Braun, owner of the B. Dalton building, said he would be able to answer any questions with respect to the ownership of the building. Councilman Strand asked if there were no other way to avoid a prescriptive easement other than building the fence. Ms. Ranum felt that posting and towing could be utilized, but that her client would not chose those means. -52- City Council meeting minutes March 17, 1986 Councilman Strand asked the City Attorney if a claim for perscriptive easement could be avoided by posting the property and making an appearance such as Ms. Ranum had that evening. The City Attorney responded that one of the elements in establishing a prescriptive right is open, hostile and continuous use. He felt posting the property would counterindicate permission for that kind of use. He said he would hesitate to give a legal opinion as to whether that would be sufficient. Councilman Strand felt the proposed remedy was wholly disproportionate to the problem, and that the problem could be solved by some means other than putting a fence around the property. Councilman Meland wondered who was getting a prescriptive right? Random customers? It was the City Attorney's opinion that customers of B. Dalton parking on Miracle Mile's property would be relevant to B. Dalton's right to acquire prescriptive easement. Councilman Friedman felt the Council should .not be sitting as a court to determine prescriptive rights. It appeared to him this matter was a dispute between two property owners and that the Council would be better directed to decided whether or not to grant a special permit in accordance with City ordinances. Councilman Duffy suggested Ms. Ranum might want to discuss with her client what the driveway in front of B. Dalton was like when it was a three-way driveway and how difficult it was for people to get in and out of Miracle Mile, that it was a nightmare. Mr. Braun felt Miracle Mile should be doing everything possible to strengthen its position on that side of Excelsior Blvd. based on the proposals for the Lilac Lane area. There being no one further wishing to speak, the Mayor declared the hearing closed with the right of Council to thereafter reopen and continue it at a future date. It was moved by Councilman Meland, seconded by Councilman Backes, to authorize preparation of a resolution of denial with findings. Councilman Mitchell asked that the resolution be thoroughly reviewed by the City Attorney before coming to Council for passage. The motion passed 7-0. None. PETITIONS, REQUESTS, COMMUNICATIONS -53- City Council meeting minutes March 17, 1986 8a. Depository RESOLUTIONS AND ORDINANCES No action required. 8b. Securities for collateral Resolution 86-36 Resolution approving securities for collateral from Citizens State Bank It was moved by Councilman Meland, seconded by Councilman Strand to waive reading and adopt Resolution 86-36 entitled "Resolution approving securities for collateral from Citizens State Bank, St. Louis Park, MN" The motion passed 7-0. 8c. Indemnification ordinance Second reading of an indemnification ordinance No. 1676-86 ordinance indemnifying City Council and City employees It was moved by Councilman Strand, seconded by Councilman Duffy to waive reading b adopt Ordinance No. 1676-86 entitled, "An ordinance relating to indemnification of City officers and employees: Amending the St. Louis Park Municipal Code by adding Section 1-207. It was moved by Councilman Strand, seconded by Councilman Duffy to waive second reading and adopt the ordinance. The motion passed 7-0. 9a. Parking permit REPORTS FROM OFFICERS, BOARDS, COMMITTEES Neighborhood meeting on parking permit 3200/3300 block of Edgewood b Florida It was moved by Councilman Meland, seconded by Councilman Duffy to receive the report for filing. Councilman Strand asked if staff had any comment relative to a long-term solution to this problem, this parking permit experiment being a short-term solution. The City Manager said he was meeting with the Superintendent of Schools the next morning and he would discuss the timeframe with him. The motion passed 7-0. 9b. Traffic study 350 Resolution86-37 -54- Traffic Study No. 350: Parking restrictions establishing an experimental parking permit program along W. 35th St. between Wooddale and Alabama Aves. from March to June 6 City Council meeting minutes March 17, 1986 It was moved by Councilman Friedman, seconded by Councilman Strand, to waive reading and adopt Resolution 86-37 entitled, "Resolution authorizing parking restrictions on W. 35th St. between Wooddale and Alabama Avenues, Traffic Study No. 350." The motion passed 7-0. 9c. Traffic Study 351 Traffic study 351: Alabama Ave. north of Excelsior Blvd. re a request for the establishment of parking restrictions Councilman Duffy referred to staff's report and said although there is a pole on the west side of Alabama Ave., there is not a No parking sign on it. He said the employees and customers of Park Pantry have virtually no place for parking from 3:00 until they close at 7:00. He suggested that the 4 or 5 parking spots on the east side of Alabama, north of the no parking zone be signed with restricted parking and see if that doesn't remedy the situation. He also suggested the City enforce the two hour parking across Alabama in the municipal lot. Councilman Duffy so moved which was seconded by Councilman Strand with a parking restriction of one-half hour. The motion passed 7-0. 9d. T -alley paving Settlement of appeal of Project 85-31: T -alley paving, 3700 block of Pennsylvania Ave. and Quebec Ave. It was moved by Councilman Strand, seconded by Councilman Meland to accts appelant's offer and that the appropriate City officials be authorized to execute a settlement. The motion passed 7-0. 9e. Proposed sign ordinance It was moved by Councilman Meland, seconded by Councilman Duffy, to direct staff to proceed with the process for amending the sign ordinance to allow for project information signs and develop a process and standards for the approval of such signs. Councilman Strand suggested removing the word "major" in front of road construction as the intent of this ordinance revision was to alleviate signage problems for businesses wherever the inconvenience of road construct- ion might occur. The motion with Councilman Strand's suggestion passed 7-0. 9f. Traffic signal assessment policy It was moved by Councilman Mitchell, seconded by Councilman Backes, to accept the report for filing. The motion passed 7-0. -55- City Council meeting minutes March 17, 1986 99. 1986 tree trust It was moved by Councilman Meland, seconded by Councilman Duffy, to to and federal legislators re funding of the Treeect Trusttaff program. contact state Councilman Strand wondered if the City could do more than that and felt the Council might want to discuss it in more depth. He suggested it be scheduled for a study session. He felt the goals of the program to be very legitimate and perhaps funding might come out of City coffers. The motion passed 7-0. 9h. February financial re ort 9i. HKA minutes 9j*Cable TV minutes 9k, e a ommun� y ions Com1111,111,11, ,mission minutes 91, annin� conmiss�on menu es 91m. BOZA minutes The above reports were ordered filed by consent. UNFINISHED Business 10a. Board and Commissions It was moved by Councilman Strand, seconded by Councilman Friedman to the Planning Commission. The motion passed 7-0. point Stanley Barton to lOb. Front end loader Tom Reddin, Ziegler Caterpillar buy back tractor dealer, explained the Y policy. He said it is a legal, highly acceptable method of purchasing equipment, that it had been in wide practice for over 25 years in the State of Minnesota. It involves a performance guarantee for five years. It was moved by Councilman Friedman, seconded by Councilman Mitchell to reject the bid submitted by Ziegler and authorize staff to readvertise for bids using alternative bid approach. The motion passed 6-0-1 (Councilman Strand abstained). lOc. Reception area It was moved by Councilman Duffy, seconded by Councilman Backes, to t the Volkmann and authorize staff to enter into accontract for $7,1451. of David Councilman Friedman recalled that a Council member ha at the study session whether or not we needed a performance/q�ntsked this project or that the City could find other contractors to bid beside the four vendors who were asked to make proposals. -56- City Council meeting minutes March 17, 1986 It was Councilman Strand's recollection that was discussed at the previous Council meeting. Councilman Friedman asked the City Manager if it were necessary under statute that the City have a performance bond on this amount. The City Manager responded the minimum for performance bond was $10,000. The City Attorney said it was the attorney's position that all contracts for public work under the Statutes needed to be bonded whether or not they are bid. Councilman Friedman said he would oppose this for a number of reasons. One, adequate bids have not been received, since only one contractor could post the bond and that the proposal was only sent to four sources. Secondly, the bid was $2,145 over the budget. Finally, rather than a discussion of the need for the remodeling, colors were discussed and how the project would beautify the area. He felt in the light of food shelves program and budget cuts, there was no justification for spending over the budget on this matter. Councilman Strand felt there had been sufficient discussion by staff at the study session of the need for this improvement and felt this project made sense for the City to undertake. The motion passed 6-1 (Councilman Friedman opposed). NEW BUSINESS lla. Well abandonment It was moved by Councilman Meland, seconded by Councilman Duffy, to designate Layne Minnesota Company as the lowest responsible bidder and authorize staff to execute a contract for $14,726.32. The motion passed 7-0. llb. Feiges property to authorize the Mayor and City waive first reading of the ordinance, and authorize summary publication. The motion passed 7-0. It was moved by Councilman Friedman, seconded by Councilman Strand, Manager to execute the agreement, to set second reading for April 7, 1986 llc. Bid tabulation:Aerial lift It was moved by Councilman Duffy, seconded by Councilman Mitchell, to designate ABM as the lowest responsible bidder and authorize execution of a contract for $11,881. The motion passed 7-0. -57-