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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1986/05/05 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Regular1. Call to Order 2. Presentations 3. Roll Call MINUTES CITY COUNCIL MEETING ST. LOUIS PARK, MINNESOTA May 5, 1986 The meeting at 7:30 Hanks None was called to order p.m. by Mayor Lyle The following Council present at roll call: Ronald Backes Thomas Duffy Allen Friedman members were Keith Meland David Strand Lyle Hanks Also present were the City Manager, City Attorney, Director of Public Works & Director of Planning. 4. Approval of Minutes 21, 1986 City Council meeting. The motion passed 6-0. 5. Approval of Agenda May 5, 1986. The motion passed 6-0. It was moved by Councilman Strand, seconded by Councilman Duffy, to approve the minutes of the April It was moved by Councilman Meland, seconded by Councilman Backes to approve the consent agenda for It was moved by Councilman Duffy, seconded by Councilman Strand to approve the agenda with the following additions: Ile. Community Education budget, 7g. Amhurst traffic study and llf. Temporary traffic control The motion passed 6-0. 6a. Airport Taxi PUBLIC HEARINGS Request of Airport Taxi for additional vehicle licenses Nathan Shaw, Airport Taxi, addressed Council with an increase in the number of licenses from 5 to 20. He said they receive requests daily to serve St. Louis Park, but are unable to do so because they can't promise timely service with only five cabs. He said demand for taxi service has steadily been increasing especially in areas with accelerated development such as St. Louis Park. He alluded to the volatile nature of the taxicab -82- mill T low :�� City Council meeting minutes f May 5, 1986 citing the formation of the Governor's Advisory Committee on Taxicabs and the Regional Transit Board Taxicab Advisory Committee as being set up to deal with the current problem and provide better service to the public. He briefly talked about the attempts of those two committees to resolve the metropolitan licensing problem which failed. Now they were back seeking to increase their licensing at the local level. Councilman Strand asked what substantiation Mr. Shaw had that would support their request. Mr. Shaw responded that they keep records on all business conducted by Airport Taxi, and that on average, they have in the area of 250 calls per week that they can't handle or handle in a timely manner, that is a 20 -minute response time. Mr. Shaw presented figures of number of licenses issued by surrounding communities. Bob Janecek, Town Taxi and other companies'official, said they had 40 licenses, 33 _oT which are presently being used. He felt that if business dictated, they would use 40 taxicabs on the streets, and therefore was in opposition to the applicants receiving additional licenses. He said he'd like to see a study done on reciprocity and what effect it would have on the taxicab businesses rather than just issuing additional licenses. Councilman Friedman felt customers could be calling another company, thus other companies' taxis were not being utilized. Relative to the survey, he questioned if it were sent to all people using taxicabs and felt that answers to questions such as who uses taxis, how often, what companies etc. were not sufficiently answered. Councilman Friedman asked Mr. Janecek if it was his position government should protect those in the private sector who arrive first from any competitive enterprise in the same business. Mr. Janacek said he supported the state and RTB studies and felt that further study was needed relative to taxicab ratios to population, to requests and requirements. He felt it was essential some type of ratio be maintained and cited deregulation of the airlines as an example. There being no one further wishing to speak, the Mayor declared the hearing closed with the right of Council to reopen and continue it at a future date. Councilman Backes wondered if the Taxicab Advisory Committee might be reactivated at the next Legislative session, to which the City Manager said it was really too hard to say at this point. He said it was his understand- ing that when it came to a vote, some of the area cab companies did not support the metropolitan -wide licensing concept which was very disappointing as they went into the whole matter assured of taxi companies' support. -83- Councilman Strand asked if staff was aware of receiving complaints because of insufficient taxi service available, to which the City Manager said he was not aware of complaints either to the City Clerk or the Police Department. Councilman Friedman felt there was insufficient information upon which to base his vote -- would people call City Hall relative to insufficient service; are people satisfied with the present service, etc. He felt it was unreasonable for St. Louis Park to have some 55 licenses while surrounding communities had in the range of 125 to 300 licenses depending upon the city. He said he certainly did not want to take anybody's job away, but he also can't stop anyone from being a private entrepeneur, that he felt that was not his job as a Council member. He asked if anyone on the Council could tell him why additional licenses should not be granted. Councilman Meland said that prior to licenses being issued to Yellow, Airport and Suburban, Town Taxi had the only licenses in St. Louis Park. They were the only provider for an approximate eight-year period when other providers had withdrawn their service. Councilman Duffy said he wanted to repeat his comments of two years ago when he questioned whether it was appropriate for Council to restrict licenses. Councilman Strand, quoting from the ordinance, felt there were some real judgment calls to be made on issuing of licenses. He felt it was difficult to make a decision without information relative to existing transportation being effective, probable effect of increased service on traffic conditions, and character, attitude and experience of applicants. He felt making this type of decision based to a large extent on the opinions of cab companies was not appropriate. Councilman Duffy said he didn't know what more information staff could possibly provide to help Council in making a decision. Mayor Hanks said prior to issuance of licenses to Yellow, Airport and Suburban, he did receive calls from residents complaining they could never get a taxi. Since the issuance of licenses to those companies, he's not received one call. He recalled that Council had asked the Legisla- ture to provide for metropolitan -wide licensing. He felt the policy in Minneapolis was wrong. He said he would like to know from the communities which have licensed 200 and 300 licenses how many are actually being used. It was moved by Councilman Friedman, seconded by Councilman Duffy to continue the public hearing to May 19, 1986. The motion passed 6-0. 6b.Yellow Taxi request Request of Yellow Taxi for vehicle licenses James LeTourneau, Yellow Taxi, spoke briefly to Council, mentioning that their opportunity to serve Metro Mobility was in jeopardy without additional licenses, There being no one wishing to speak, the Mayor declared the hearing closed with the right of Council to reopen and continue it at a future date. -84- It was moved by Councilman Friedman, to continue the hearing to May 19, 1986. seconded by Councilman Strand, The motion passed 6-0. 6c. Walker Place project Multifamily revenue bond document Reso u ion o. - amendment: Walker Place Apartments project (Dominium Group, Hwy. 7/Pennsylvania Ave./Walker Ave. There being no one 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 Backes, seconded by Councilman Strand, waive reading and adopt Resolution 86-55 entitled A resolution approving �� an amended finance program for a multifamily rental housing project under Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 462C." The motion passed 6-0. 6d.Holiday Inn-Shelard Request of Harry Johnson (Holiday Reso u 3—n--96--5-6— Inn, Shelard Park) to amend an existing special permit to permit expansion of the parking lot stalls at 9970 Wayzata Blvd. Rick Patron, 445 Shelard Parkway, said a conversation with MnDOT clarified where the I-394 freeway will be going but there will be to the proposed HolidayInn just minor changes seven stalls. Their request for 109thereforeseems excessive. Hein a loss of saidtheywill have the highest ratio compared to the Park Sheraton and Ambassador f or existing hotels of parking spaces to rooms. Councilman Strand asked for clarification of Coach Homes Homeowners' Association relative to the applicant's request. If Holiday loses 12-30 stalls and they are given another row for parking providing for approximately a 45 foot buffer between the parking and Coach Homes, they had indicated at the last meeting that would be acceptable. Mr. Patron indicated what Holiday Inn was losing in spaces did not justify their request. Jerry Romine, Holiday Inn, reiterated their point which is the volume of business they expect doing necessitating an extension of the parking lot. Councilman Strand could not understand how they came up with a request for 109 spaces when maximum 12 are going to be taken and since the floor plan of the hotel has not changed, what the justification for the request was. Steve Laufers, vice president of Shelard II condominiums, said he was ' not in favor of an additional 109 parking spaces. Vernon Beck, developer of the project, said with the cost of constructing a parking lot, he could guarantee no developer would put in more spaces than he felt was necessary. -85- 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 Strand to adopt the resolution with the following amendment: Item 6 would read as follows: "At the discretion of the applicant and provided there is a permanent taking of the parking stalls on the south, parking may be expanded to the north to allow the addition of not more than one additional row of parking containing no more than 60 spaces." The motion died for lack of a second It was moved by Councilman Duffy, seconded by Councilman Meland, to waive reading and adopt Resolution 86-56 as presented calling for the addition of 60-109 parking spaces as shown on Exhibit H, entitled "A resolution rescinding Resolution 85-49 adopted on April 15, 1985 and granting special permit under Section 14-155(3)(q) and Section 14-195(l) of the St. Louis Park ordinance code relating to zoning to allow the construction of a 198 -unit hotel and Class I restaurant on property zoned B-2 business district at 9970 Wayzata Blvd." Councilman Friedman asked if the City Planner had any statistics on ratios of rooms/facilities to parking stalls. The Planner responded that those ratios are set forth in the ordinance and all requests are figured on a parking space per unit 0.5 currently). Then accessory uses, including restaurants, are compared to the ordinance requirements (currently 1-25 spaces). Thisworks out to more than 1.5 spaces per unit. Councilma%t%999ed if a significant problem has been experienced by hotels, such as the Sheraton Park Place. The Planner said they are experiencing crowding, but to some extent overflow uses Honeywell's parking lot. The motion passed 4-1-1 (Councilman Strand opposed; Councilman Backes abstained). 6 e Sign ordinance Sign ordinance amendment: Project information signs There being no one wishing to speak, the Mayor declared the hearing closed with the right of Council to thereafter reopen and continue it at a later date. It was moved by Councilman Duffy, seconded by Councilman Friedman, to waive first reading, set second reading for May 19 and authorize summary publication. The motion passed 6-0. PETITIONS, REQUESTS, COMMUNICATIONS 7a. Norwestern Tennis raffle Request of Northwestern Tennis Association for a one -day raffle Jerry Noyce, Northwest Tennis Assoc., explained that the association is the regional arm of the U.S. Tennis Assoc., a non-profit organization. The raffle is in support of a women's 35-and—over indoor championship tournament. The raffle prize is a mink coat. wo The purpose of the raffle is to raise money to operate the tournament. It was moved by Councilman Duffy, seconded by Councilman Backes to receive the report for filing The motion passed 4-1-1 (Councilman Strand opposed; Councilman Friedman abstained). 7b. VFW gambling license Request of VFW Auxiliary for renewal of its gambling license Councilman Backes asked if this was just pulltabs to which the City Manager said that was correct. Councilman Friedman asked if it were correct that it was up to the state to make sure an operation conforms to state law and does the City have any obligation to enforce state statutes. The City Attorney said enforcement of the state statutes is up to the Charitable Gambling Board. Councilman Friedman asked if the state accepts what the City says and then just issuesa license or does the state see that they conform. The City Attorney said perhaps the best way to express the City's role is as a veto. P 1 It was moved by Councilman Duffy, seconded by Councilman Meland to receive the report for filing. The motion passed 4-2 (Councilmen Backes and Strand opposed). 7c. Suburban Taxi Request of Suburban Taxi for additional licenses It was moved by Councilman Meland, seconded by Councilman Strand, to set the public hearing for May 19, 1986. The motion passed 6-0. 7d. Centurion request Request from Centurion Company for detachment of St. Louis Park property at Amhurst Len Thiel addressed Council to explain Centurion's request for detachment of two lots located adjacent to Amhurst and their annexation by Minnetonka for the purpose of building two single-family homes. He said the Amhurst Homeowners Association was not interested in having its property used for access. Mayor Hanks asked if the property was owned by Centurion when Amhurst was developed, to which Mr. Thiel said it was not. The land was part of a settlement with the County when the highway interchange was constructed. It was moved by Councilman Meland, seconded by Councilman Duffy, to refer -87- the matter to staff to work with Centurion to try to work something out and return with a report to Council on May 19. The motion passed 6-0. 7e. Saltzman request Request of Neil Saltzman to amend the City's zoning ordinance Mr. Saltzman appeared to explain his request to build a single—family residence to provide a board/lodging facility for the elderly. Mayor Hanks said this would involve a rezoning and therefore must go to the Planning Commission for review. Councilman Friedman asked why the matter had not gone to the Planning Commission first. The City Manager said in items such as this that are in no way covered by the zoning ordinance it has been past practice to come to Council first to see if the Council sees any merit in even exploring a request, thereby saving time all around if no merit was found. It was moved by Councilman Strand, seconded by Councilman Friedman, to refer the matter to the Planning Commission for review. The motion passed 6-0. 7f. Apple Valley Red -E -Mix Request of Apple Valley Red -E -Mix to permit construction of a new facility Jeff Stephenson, representing Apple Valley addressed Council. He discussed briefly the site on Cedar Lake Rd. which had been discussed as a possible site for relocation of the plant. It was Apple Valley's understanding the City was concerned about left-hand turns into and out of the proposed site. It was his position AVR was willing to work out some sort of restrict- ions on these turning movements. He was therefore confused as to why this alternative was no longer viable. He viewed the recommentation in staff's report of placing a new building on the present site provided there be amortization of the new facility as new to them, and they were not in a position to discuss it at this point. He felt the relocation to the new site could be termed a settlement of litigation. Councilman Strand asked if it were correct that Apple Valley was not interested in rebuilding at the current site. Mr. Stephenson said it was his clients understanding that discussions were on-going, that nothing definite had been decided at this point. He particularly was not in a position to discuss rebuilding on the present site relative to amortization of the plant. Councilman Friedman asked if Mr. Stephenson was under the impression the City Manager did not adequately inform him as to what was going on and that the Council was not aware. Mr. Stephenson denied this indicating that he was only saying he would have preferred earlier input as to what was contained in Council's report from staff. -At- Councilman Friedman said he wanted to make it clear to anyone who was not aware of it that Council has spent a good deal of time discussing this issue in recent months and was indeed fully aware of all aspects of the matter. It was moved by Councilman Friedman, seconded by Councilman Meland, that staff and the City Attorney work with representatives of Apple Valley Red -E -Mix to implement alternative No. 3 which does not preclude any further discussion on alternative sites. Councilman Strand asked the City Attorney to as expediently as possible respond to Council as to whether or not the amortization will allow termina- tion of the use and what the likelihood of success would be if challenged. The motion passed 6-0. 19. Amhurst traffic study Councilman Backes said the Amhurst Association has some ideas relative to traffic control signs and some parking restrictions to help resolve some problems the complex is experiencing. They would appreciate the assistance of staff to evaluate those suggestions and provide input. It was moved by Councilman Backes, seconded by Councilman Meland, to authorize staff to work with the Amhurst Association on traffic control measures and parking and to authorize staff participation in a neighborhood meeting. The motion passed 6-0. RESOLUTIONS AND ORDINANCES 8a. Variance: 3100 Nevada It was moved by Councilman eso u on - Meland, seconded by Councilman nd adopt Resolution 86-21 entitled "A resolution granting ve toovaria variance readyin side yard setback from Section 14-133(3) of the ordinance code relating to zoning to permit the construction of a garage in a side yard abutting a street having a setback of 1.5 feet instead of the required 15 feet for property located in the R-2 single family residence district at 3100 Nevada Ave." The motion passed 5-1 (Councilman Backes opposed). 8b. Traffic -signal assessments eso u on8V-58 Resolution establishing traffic signal assessment policy It was moved by Councilman Duffy, seconded by Councilman Backes, to waive reading and adopt Resolution 86-58 entitled "Resolution establishing a special assessment policy for traffic signal improvement projects." The motion passed 6-0. -89- 8c. DABCO final plat It was moved by Councilman Resolut—i-o—n-W-759 Duffy, seconded by Councilman Meland, to waive reading and adopt Resolution 86-59 entitled "Resolution giving approval for final plat of DABCO Addition." The motion passed 6-0. REPORTS FROM OFFICERS, BOARDS, COMMITTEES 9a. PUD: Shelard Park Request for a preliminary PUD, planned unit development, for Shelard Park Councilman Backes said he would abstain from this item. It was moved by Councilman Meland, seconded by Councilman Strand to approve the preliminary PUD plan for further evaluation. The motion passed 5-0-1 (Councilman Backes abstained). 9b. Time transfer station Report on neighborhood meeting regarding a time transfer station Residents of the immediate neighborhood, Mike Hinden, 7708 13J Lane, Catherine Beckman, 1428 Texas and Howard Voight, 7709 13} Lane spoke in opposition to this plan. The main concerns were safety of the neighbor- hood's children, their desire to maintain a residential environment and undesirable traffic that would be generated. Mr. Voight spoke of the cost considerations of the neighborhood site vs. the Jim Lupient property in which the MnDOT and RTB's figure for the Lupient property was virtually identical to that of the property containing the homes. He said they were told the Lupient property was rejected because it was exorbitantly priced and therefore, the 131 Lane site was selected. Councilman Strand said there were two inconsistencies in the plan presented at the neighborhood meeting: 1) The cost estimate of the Lupient site, which it is now determined cost no more than the St. Louis Park site; 2) The designation of preference first off was the Lupient site. Then at the next meeting, the preferred site became the St. Louis Park site. He felt the appropriate action would be for the Mayor or City Manager write a letter to the relevant agencies involved and request answers to the questions raised by the neighborhood and Council and that no action be taken prior to returning to Council with those answers. It was moved by Councilman Strand, seconded by Councilman Friedman, to table consideration of the proposed time transfer station and request that the Mayor or City Manager send a letter to the relevant agencies requesting answers to the questions that have been raised, especially as relates to the inconsistencies in site preference and that we presume no action will be taken until those questions are answered. The motion passed 5-1 (Mayor Hanks opposed). 9c. Belt Line Business Park Resolution86-54 Agreement waiving special assessment hearing requirement for Belt Line Business Park It was moved by Councilman Meland, seconded by Councilman Backes, to waive reading and adopt Resolution 86-54 entitled "Resolution approving agreement concerning assessment for Improvement Project 85-05, Sanitary sewer at 36th St. from Belt Line Blvd. to Monterey Ave." The motion passed 6-0. 9d. Lenox Community Center Traffic study 353: Lenox Community Center It was moved by Councilman Meland, seconded by Councilman Duffy to set a neighborhood meeting. The motion passed 6-0. 9e. Parking: Lake/Dakota/Library Lane Summary of parking restrictions from Lake St., between Dakota and Library Lane It was moved by Councilman Meland, seconded by Councilman Duffy, to set a neighborhood meeting and direct further study. The motion passed 6-0. 9f. Park and Recreation Commission minutes g. Cable TV Advisory Commission minutes h. Planning Commission minutes i. HRA special meeting minutes j. 1985 Financial Report Items f thru j ordered filed by consent. UNFINISHED BUSINESS 10a. Boards and Commissions NEW BUSINESS Ila. Bid tab: Front end loader sible bid of Ziegler, Inc. in the amount and production option package. None It was moved by Councilman Backes, seconded by Councilman Duffy to accept lowest respon- of $84,755 for equipment costs The motion passed 5-0-1 (Councilman Strand abstained) llb. Canned pop machine licensing Amendment to ordinance code related to canned pop machine licensing It was moved by Councilman Duffy, seconded by Councilman Friedman, to waive first reading of the ordinance, set second reading for May 19, 1986 and authorize summary publication. The motion passed 6-0. llc. Cable TV proposed transfer Proposed transfer of cable system to Nortel Associates It was moved by Councilman Duffy, seconded by Councilman Backes, to determine that St. Louis Park subscribers could be adversely affected by the transfer and set a public hearing for June 2, 1986. The motion passed 6-0. lld. Bid tab: Recycling It was moved by Councilman Duffy, seconded by Councilman Meland, to designate Watkins Su as the most responsible bidder and authorizeAircraft execution of anport agreementoducts The motion passed 6-0. Ile. Community Education budget Education budget. The motion passed 6-0. llf. Brookside traffic controls signs be placed on Colorado Ave. and be placed on W. 41st and Brunswick work is completed in September 1986. The motion passed 6-0. 12a. Claims 12b. Communications from Mayor on the May 12 study session. It was moved by Councilman Meland, seconded by Councilman Strand, to adopt the Community It was moved by Councilman Duffy, seconded by Councilman Backes, that three-way stop W. 41st St. and two-way stop signs and that the signs be removed when MISCELLANEOUS The study session agenda was discussed. None Mayor Hanks suggested discussion of the HRA matter be placed It was moved by Councilman Backes, seconded by Councilman Meland that any Council members wishing to attend the AMM conference be reimbursed. The motion passed 6-0. He said the Rotary dedication of the Showmobile to the City would occur on Monday, May 12 at 12:45. 12c. Communications from the City Manager The City Manager said he and the Mayor would be on a panel at the Duluth conference re Council/City Manager relations. -92- CLAIMS, APPROPRIATIONS, CONTRACT PAYMENTS 13a. Verified claims It was moved by Councilman Meland, seconded by Councilman , Eoof verified claims prepared by the Director offfy Finance ap dated prove tMay he 1i5, 1986 in the amount of $508,656.34 for vendor claims and $6,458.27 for payroll claims and that the City Manager and City Treasurer be authorized to issue checks in the appropriate amounts. The motion passed 6-0. 13b. Contract payments Final It was moved by Councilman Meland, seconded by Councilman Strand, to waive reading and adopt Resolution 86-60 entitled "Resolution accepting work on access for the Handicapped", David Volkmann Construction in the amount of $17,263.35. The motion passed 6-0. It was moved by Councilman Meland, seconded by Councilman Duffy to approve the following partial payments: Layne Minnesota, Nell No. 1 abandonment. Amount: $20,133.88 Tenyre Coatings, water tower reconditioning. Amount: $38,000 The motion passed 6-0. 14. Ad ournment a. , dc�®rg et�eary -93- It was moved by Councilman Friedman, seconded by Councilman Duffy to adjourn the meeting at 10:17 p.m. 0 or