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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1987/03/02 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Regular (2) 4b MINUTES 11111 CITY COUNCIL MEETING ST. LOUIS PARK, MINNESOTA March 2, 1987 1 . Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 7:30 p.m. by Mayor Lyle Hanks. 2. Presentations Mayor Hanks presented a proclama- tion to representatives of the local Girl Scouts organiza- tion in recognition of its 75th birthday. A group of Girl Scouts led those present in the pledge of allegiance to the flag. 3. Roll Call The following Council members were present at roll call : Ronald Backes Keith Meland Thomas Duffy Larry Mitchell Allen Friedman David Strand .Lyle Hanks 11111 Also present were the Assistant City Manager, City Attorney, Director of Public Works and Director of Planning. 4. Approval of Minutes It was moved by Councilman Mitchell , seconded by Councilman Strand, to approve the minutes of the February 17, 1987 City Council meeting. The motion passed 5-0-2 (Councilmen Duffy and Meland abstained) . 5. Approval of Agenda It was moved by Councilman Strand, seconded by Councilman Mitchell , to approve the consent agenda for March 2, 1987. The motion passed 7-0. It was moved by Councilman Mitchell , seconded by Councilman Backes, to approve the agenda for March 2, 1987. The motion passed 7-0. PUBLIC HEARINGS 6a. Costco Wholesale Corp. Liquor license Richard Reiss, Minnetonka, owner of Reiss' Restaurant, spoke in opposition to the granting of a liquor license. He felt that by a license being -48- City Council meeting minutes March 2, 1987 41111 issued to Costco, other liquor dealers in the City would be at an unfair disadvantage because the nature of Costco's business is wholesale and according to state law, you're not to use the word wholesale in one' s advertising. He said Costco is known as a wholesaler, and so advertises itself. Councilman Backes referred to Costco's brochure and asked why there was no evidence of beer, wine or liquor being offered for sale. He asked why, in the concept of their merchandising, the sale of beer, wine and liquor is necessary. - Ed Marin, from Costco's corporate headquarters, responded that in their membership warehouse clubs they try to offer for sale as wide a variety of products as possible for sale. They consider wine, beer, and distilled spirits as part of that assortment policy. In answer to a question from Councilman Backes, he responded that 50-60% of their facilities sell wine, beer and spirits. Councilman Strand asked about the volume of sales in the liquor area or what the volume is in other stores. Mr. Marin replied that an approximate guess would be two to three percent of the total volume and that in a mature warehouse that would be two to three percent of $1 million per week. Councilman Strand asked what was the split between business purchasers of liquor and individual purchasers. Mr. Marin responded that 20 percent of their members are businesses who purchase 60 percent of these products; 40 percent is purchased by group members. He added that the liquor is not for resale. Councilman Friedman said that when Costco first applied for a permit, he did not recall any indication that there was going to be a liquor outlet. Staff responded that it was their recollection there was not and Council members concurred. Councilman Friedman asked why now, after approval of everything, is Council just learning of the plan to have liquor sales. Mr. Marin said he was not aware that a request for liquor sales was not in the original presentation because Costco sells alcoholic beverages in every market they've—entered--as-part--of their--btlsi-ness --plan. —Tire--warehouse manager said it had been mentioned to the City Clerk in August of 1986 but the process was dropped due to difficulties with the site and they waited until those- were-- resolved._ They___did_ _not approach the City Clerk again until January. Mayor Hanks said as he understood it Costco is selling this concept as a club membership but the liquor cannot be sold under those circumstances because of the Liquor Control Commission, that iso it must be open to all customers, not just cardholders. He said he had a problem with the division in the membership - on one hand, a membership type of business and on the other, it has to be open to the public under Liquor Control Commission rules. In answer to a question from Councilman Duffy why the Minneapolis warehouse does not sell liquor, it was explained that the alderman in the warehouse's -49- City Council meeting minutes March 2, 1987 11111 ward has said that no liquor sales will be allowed in his ward. 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. Councilman Strand said he had no problem with this particular applicant. He said the City has a certain number of on-sale liquor licenses it grants. He assumed the Council has determined the number of licenses that ought to be permitted in the community. In the off-sale area, he didn't believe that has been the case. It seemed to him that at some point, the City has to step back and decide there are enough off-sale facilities and perhaps ought to consider putting a limit on what that number should be. He said he had difficulty voting on this matter when he doesn't have the ability to judge whether this application will be too much for the City. Councilman Meland said he had a similar problem. He believed the restriction on on-sale licenses is legislatively mandated. He said in cities of the first class, they do mandate one off-sale license per 5,000 population. He said the City has used that figure when granting the nine existing licenses. He also believed Council should be made aware that in the recent past, four off-sale stores have closed, basically business failures. It was moved by Councilman Strand, seconded by Councilman Mitchell , to defer this matter so that Council can consider whether the number of off-sale 11111 licenses in the community is adequate or too extensive before any further action is taken on this item. The motion fai led 2-4 (Councilmen Duffy, Backes, Friednan, Noland and Mayor Hanks opposed) . It was moved by Councilman Meland, seconded by Councilman Duffy, to direct staff to prepare a resolution of denial incorporating the first class cities rules. Councilman Meland foresaw additional enforcement costs to be incurred by the City and he believed the present nine licenses adequately serve the community. Councilman Backes asked if the motion could contain a comment about the hol w esale connotation which could possibly be misleading to the general public. Councilman Friedman preferred the two issues remain separate for voting purposes. He agreed with Councilman Backes in that he also had a problem with the word wholesale. However, he said he would vote against the motion because Council sets the number of licenses to be issued at a given number. By doing that, he believes the value of those licenses are artificially inflated. He alluded to past discussions on taxicab licenses when it was opened up so anyone could apply. By doing this, nobody gets protected. He thought it bad public policy to artificially allow these kinds of licenses to gain value by limiting their number. He felt each case could be handled on the merits of the application and individual circumstances. -50- City Council meeting minutes March 2, 1987 Councilman Strand said he would oppose the motion on different grounds. He thought there should be a limit on the number of licenses issued, but did not know what that limit should be. Without further information, he couldn't vote to deny the application of Costco. Mayor Hanks said his problem was that the Costco representatives present should either get a yes or no that evening as they're getting ready to open the store. He didn't believe they were interested in being put off. Meland In reply to a question from Councilman Friedman, Councilman/ restated his motion, to wit, direct staff to prepare a resolution of denial that would incorporate the cities of first class rule, the fact that nine off-sale licenses adequately serve the community and the undesirability of the added law enforcement burden which would be placed on the City for a $200/year license. Councilman Mitchell asked for clarification of cities of the first class. Councilman Meland said cities of the first class are restricted by the state to issuance of one license per 5,000 population. Councilman Mitchell argued that St. Louis Park was a second class city. Councilman Backes said the rule would be used as a finding, as a guideline for basis of denial . Councilman Friedman asked the City Attorney whether or not Council can deny a license based on an ordinance the City doesn't have. Also, could he ask for a division on this issue: (1 ) as to whether Costco gets the license; and (2) whether an ordinance should be prepared. Mayor Hanks said -it--was—hi-s-_under_standing an ordinance was not required, rather a resolution of denial citing amongst other things the cities of the first class rule as a basis for denial . Councilman Friedman said he wanted to know if Council could deny Costco on the basis that we think we ought to have the same rules as a city of first class. He said the City does not have that rule and in that event, how can they be denied on the basis of something the City doesn't have. The City Attorney responded that the statutes and appellate decisions which govern this decision provide the City Council with broad discretion. The statute to which Mr. Meland referred provides that in cities of the first class, not more than one off-sale license can be issued for each 5,000 population. He said- this - statute also provides-th-at all other cities shall limit licenses based on determination of the governing body but does not prescribe a procedure for doing that. He alluded to a 1977 appellate court decision in which a City Council denied an off-sale application because it felt that three licenses were sufficient to serve that community. The court sustained that denial . He said the best answer he could give is that based on the appellate law he reviewed, the City does have the discretion to act in the procedure fashion which was being put forward. Councilman Friedman asked if, by using this rule, did it mean that each applica- tion is determined on its merits and each time an application is made, Council determines whether or not there are sufficient outlets in the community. -51- City Council meeting minutes March 2, 1987 Councilman Meland said he did not recall this question ever coming before Council before. To clarify, Councilman Friedman said it was his understanding that what the motion said is if we find that we're not going to grant this on the basis of using a guide that we should only have one license per 5,000 popula- tion, it seems it's still open and anybody -can come in and each time this Council could make the determination as to whether or not we want to stay with one license per 5,000 or 4,000 or whatever we want. The problem he was having was it does not seem to be very clear what Council is saying or where it's going. Councilman Meland said that's why he made his motion and the answer to his question was yes. Councilman Strand felt this motion was arbitrary without looking into the matter further and making a determination for time immemorium that X number is what the City is going to have. He supposed the applicant would be willing to wait if there were a possibility they might be granted a license at a laterP oint in time. The motion failed 3-4 (Councilmen Friedman, Mitchell , Strand, Mayor Hanks opposed) . 11111 Councilman Friedman said he could support Councilman Strand's motion to continue the matter until Council has a chance to look at what they want to do and come up with some logical answer. It was moved by Councilman Friedman, seconded by Councilman STrand to defer the matter until Council has had an opportunity to discuss implementation of a policy with respect to the number of olf-sale intoxicating liquor licenses that will be permitted in the City of St. Louis Park. Mayor Hanks asked what kind of information Council was looking for to make this type of decision. He questioned how Council will get this information, i .e. call other cities and see how many they have per thousand, or what. He did agree that restricting licenses puts a higher value on those few available. The motion failed 3-4 (Councilmen Backes, Duffy, Meland, Mayor Hanks opposed) . Mayor Hanks said he was having a problem with a wholesale club selling liquor. He said previously--the--City—had--a--liquor--warehouse- and they had to change their method of doing business by order of the Liquor Control Commission. He also had a problem with liquor being sold in a membership type operation. He was also opposed to deferring the matter and not letting the applicant know where they stand. He did not agree with setting a definite figure for number of licenses to be issued. Councilman Backes asked if a resolution was necessary or is the record of the minutes sufficient if there was just a motion to deny. The City Attorney responded that the decisions he had reviewed did not require resolutions. Decisions in other casesuirelated to off-sale licenses, particularly from the new court of appeals would indicate that a resolution might be desirable but appellate decisions pertaining to new off-sale license 52- City Council meeting minutes March 2, 1987 41111 applications which he had reviewed do not mandate resolutions. It was moved by Councilman Duffy, seconded by Councilman Backes to deny the application. The motion passed 5-2 (Councilmen Strand and Mitchell opposed) . 6b. CDBG funding Community Development Block Grant Year XIII Grace Morris, Greater Minneapolis Daycare Association, told Council she hoped they would vote in favor of giving money for child care subsidy. Councilman Strand asked if $15,000 would be adequate. Ms. Morris said of course they'd like more, but she was well aware of the many organizations seeking funding. Councilman Strand asked if the 20 people on the waiting list would qualify. Ms. Morris said she believed all 20 would; however, they are checked out to see if they still qualify at the time of funding distribution. Councilman Friedman asked if the monies had to be distributed as shown 4111/ on staff's report. Staff responded the division of monies is largely historical with the bulk going to housing rehabilitation. Child care subsidy has only been looked at for the past couple of years. And now that the Highway 7 corridor redevelop- ment program is gearing -up, -some -funds are targeted there for Allemomr ] _of slum and blight. Councilman Friedman felt that if more money is needed for day care as opposed to rehabilitation of Hwy. 7, then the latter program will have to be funded from other sources. He would like to see the money go to services that allow people who need these funds to get them. He didn't see how the rehabili- tation of Hwy. 7 benefits people who need to put children in day care in order to earn a living. Councilman Strand questioned if the day care program were properly funded by the City or should the state be funding it. Although he supported day care funding, he wondered if it were the City's obligation to take care of other programs than daycare and that state funding be increased to take care of day care funding. Mayor Hanks said Community Development Block Grant funding is being wiped out next year. He said it has been Council 's effort not to get any programs going too strongly with CDBG funding in the event the funding is stopped. He said it has been Council 's policy to fund programs that potentially won't come back year after year seeking increased funding. He didn't want any group to get a false sense of security which might happen should the full amount be targeted for one special program. -53- City Council meeting minutes March 2, 1987 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 Duffy, seconded by Councilman Strand, to direct staff to submit CDBG Year XIII application to Hennepin County Board of Commissioners and the Citizen Advisory Committee. The motion passed 7-0. PETITIONS, REQUESTS, COMMUNICATIONS None. RESOLUTIONS AND ORDINANCES 8a. Ordinance transferring funds Second reading of an ordinance Ordinance No. 1710-87 transferring funds for 1987 salary adjustments It was moved by Councilman Mitchell , seconded by Councilman Friedman, to waive reading and adopt ordinance No. 1710-87 entitled "An ordinance authorizing the transfer of funds and providing appropriations for salary adjustments for year ending Dec. 31 , 1987" The motion passed 7-0. 8b. Sale of homes Second reading of an ordinance Ordinance No. 1711-87 authorizing the sale of proper- ties on Louisiana Ave. It was moved by Councilman Mitchell , seconded by Councilman Meland, to waive reading and adopt Ordinance No. 1711-87 entitled "An ordinance authorizing sale of property located on Louisiana Ave. So. consisting of 3028, 3032, 3048, 3104, 3108, 3112, 3116, 3136, 3140, 3146, 3152 Louisiana Ave. So." The motion passed 7-0. 8c. Sick leave incentive —Second reading o1 an ordinance Ordinance No. 1712-87 re amendment to sick leave incentive program It was moved by Councilman Duffy, seconded by Councilman Backes, to waive reading and adopt Ordinance No. 1712-87 entitled "An ordinance amending the St. Louis Park Ordinance Code related to personnel : Amending Section 3-602(F) (i ), sick leave incentive program by the addition of permanent parttime employees." The motion passed 7-0. 8d. Apple Valley Red-E-Mix Resolution of findings: Resolution 87-21 -54- City Council meeting minutes March 2, 198741111 Apple Valley Red-E-Mix Councilman Backes noted an error in the resolution. The vote on the matter was 4-1 , Councilman Backes opposed. It was moved by Councilman Strand, seconded -by Councilman Meland, to waive reading and adopt Resolution 87-21 entitled "Resolution of findings regarding the application of AVR, Inc. for a building permit to construct a new concrete ready mix plant at 3270 Gorham Ave." The motion passed 5-1-1 (Councilman Backes opposed; Councilman Duffy abstained) 8e. Real estate signs: Park Glen Rd. Resolution granting permit Resolution 87-21 for two real estate signs at 4401/4501 Park Glen Rd. It was moved by Councilman Friedman, seconded by Councilman Duffy, to waive reading and adopt Resolution 87-22 entitled "Resolution approving two project information signs under Section 14-185.02(13) of the Ordinance Code relating to zoning for property located in the R-B, residential business district, at 4351 , 4401 and 4501 Park Glen Road." The motion passed 7-0. 41111 8f. Miniwarehouse Amendment to special permit Resolution 87-23 for mini-storage facility at 3800 Louisiana Ave. It was moved by Counci=lman- Metand, seconded- by £oonci lman Backes, to waive reading and adopt Resolution 87-23 entitled "A resolution rescinding Resolu- tion 85-88.1 adopted on June 17, 1985 rescinding Resolution 7521 adopted on Dec. 19, 1983 and granting permit under Section 14-123.100(2) , 14-107(2) and 14-195(2) of the St. Louis Park Ordinance Code relating to zoning to allow an industrial development unit ten miniwarehouse buildings for property located in the I-1 industrial and F-2 floodplain districts at 3800Louisiana Ave. So." The motion passed 7-0. 8g. Time transfer station Councilman Strand read into the Resolution 87-24 record his resolution relative to the City's position on the proposed time transfer station at Hwy. 12/Louisiana Ave. It was moved by Councilman Strand, seconded by Councilman Mitchell to waive reading and adopt Resolution 87-24 entitled "Resolution opposing siting of a time transfer station, requesting public process to review alternative sites." Councilman Strand presented a brief background on why this resolution had been developed. Basically, he was presenting his resolution in rebuttal -55- City Council meeting minutes 11111 March 2, 1987 to the process of site selection by MnDOT and RTB which he characterized as flawed. Lack of neighborhood input along with denying residents a chance to hear the pros and cons of the other proposed sites was especially disturbing. He did not feel the City of St. Louis Park had been well served by their analysis, and by agreeing to the points in his resolution, the RTB would have an opportunity to restore its credibility._ Mayor Hanks agreed and felt strongly that it not be thought location of a time transfer station at this site was a cooperative action between the City and the RTBIas it was anything but. Councilman Strand felt it important that in addition to the issues in his resolution, there has to be attention to the impact of this proposed station on the City that would be adjacent to such a station. He did not believe this process was undertaken to the extent that this site is the best site. Councilman Mitchell believed there was a real credibility prod m with the Regional Transit Board from the beginning. He felt they were/interested in talking with the City about anything from the design plan, the concept of shared use and so forth. The motion passed 7-0. 8h. Sale of land Sale of land: Hwy. 7/Ottawa Ave. Councilman Friedman asked who selected the appraiser, and staff responded the selection was made by the City Assessor. It was moved by Cottnel-l-man—Me-1-and,—seconded—bY--Counci lman =8�c es—to araive first reading, set second for March 16, 1987 and authorize summary publication. The motion passed 7-0. 8i . Senior high parking Expansion of permit parking Resolution 87-25 area near senior high school It was moved by Councilman Meland, seconded by Councilman Strand, to waive reading and adopt Re —87=25--eut -e-d 'Resolution- authors-ztflg permit parking restrictions in the Park Senior High School area and repealing Resolution No. 86-139." The motion passed 7-0. REPORTS FROM OFFICERS, BOARDS, COMMITTEES 9a. Hampshire Ave. vacation This report was ordered filed by consent. -56- City Council meeting minutes March 2, 1987 41111 9b. Elderly/handicapped call-in Councilman Friedman said he had given Council materials he received from several municipal- ities. He said basically the call-in programs/S ne which people can enroll . They call to a police department between certain- hours to report they are o.k. If an individual is not heard from, they check up on the individual . He felt this was a rare opportunity to put a program into operation first rather than reacting after an incident occurs. It was moved by Councilman Friedman, seconded by Councilman Mitchell , to look into the possibility of instituting such a program in the City and report back to Council on March 16. Councilman Meland said that perhaps Council could look at the senior program to see if something couldn't be worked out with its staff of volunteers. Mayor Hanks said the seniors are continually looking for projects. He felt if the program were presented to the senior board, there would probably be volunteers to man the phones at the center and they could in turn report to the police department should individuals not check in rather than having calls come directly into the already busy police department. Councilman Strand asked for the following information from staff: if volunteers were not used; what would be the cost of the program to the City; what is the level of participation in other communities. He asked for input from the police department how this program would work with their existing staff and how they would intend to carry out the program. The motion passed 7-0. 9c. Park and Recreation Commission minutes 9d. HRA minutes 9e. Planning Commission minutes All minutes were ordered filed by consent. _UNFINISHED _BUSiNFSS 10a. Boards and Commissions Appointment to the Metropolitan Airport Noise Abatement Council was deferred to March 16, 1987. NEW BUSINESS lla. Braille Sports Foundation Gambling license renewal The application was renewed by consent 4111 llb. Light rail transit It was moved by Councilman Strand, Resolution 87-20 seconded by Councilman Friedman to waive reading and adopt Resolution 87-20 entitled "Resolution supporting -57- City Council meeting minutes March 2, 1987 the efforts of Hennepin County to explore light rail transit." The motion passed 7-0. MISCELLANEOUS- 12a. Claims Weseloh vs. the City Sandra Petersen, Minnetonka Ray Brown, Minnetonka Elizabeth Clark, St. Louis Park By consent, the claims were referred to the City Clerk and City Attorney. 12b. Communications from the Mayor The Mayor said the City Manager's work program would be discussed after the meeting. 12c. Communications from City Manager The Assistant City Manager briefly discussed the study session agenda for March 9. CLAIMS, APPROPRIATIONS, CONTRACT PAYMENTS 11110 13a. Verified claims It was moved by Councilman Meland, seconded by Councilman Duffy to approve the list of verified claims prepared by the Director of Finance dated March 2, 1987 in the amount of $446, 116.67 for vendor claims and $11 ,518.65 for payroll claims and that the City Manager and City Treasurer be authorized to issue checks in the appropriate amounts. 14. Adjournment It was moved by Councilman Friedman, seconded by Councilman Mitchell that the meeting be adjourned at 8:50 p.m. 10, 4-2< lit' , Mayor j- at meth, Recording Secretary I -58-