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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1987/07/13 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Study Session (2) • 4b 1111' MINUTES CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION ST. LOUIS PARK, MINNESOTA July 13, 1987 1. Roll Call The following Council members were present at roll call : Thomas Duffy, Larry Mitchell , David Strand, Lyle Hanks. Also present were the City Manager, Assistant City Manager, Administrative Assistant and Planning Director. 2. Property at Flag Ave./Cty. Rd. 18 _ The Planning Director presented the study and several of the concepts that have been designed for the parcel of county-owned property at Flag Ave. and Cty. Rd. 18. In response to questions from Council , the Planning Director noted that there were two options for maintaining open space control of this area. The first option would be for the City to buy the property for open space purposes. The second would be to change the Comprehensive Plan to reflect open space for this parcel . Mayor Hanks questioned if the residents in this area really desired a developed - park. He said that he believed the neighborhood did not want to see a change in the use of the property. Councilman Strand said that the central issue to the development of this parcel was how the City could control the value of the homes that would be built. He preferred the single-family development concept and asked if this -could be a starting point for the City Council . In response to questions from Council , the Planning Director described some of the merits and disadvantages associated with the single-family development and townhouse _ concepts. He pointed out some of the design techniques that could be used to create open spaces while allowing for the development of the parcel . The City Manager advised Council that he has received a letter from Hennepin County expressing their concern that this parcel be included in the next sale. He noted the need to pursue the various development options that had been presented by the Planning Director. Councilman Strand suggested that someone from the City talk to Commissioner , Andrew about postponing the sale of this property. He also asked that the City explore .the County's willingness' to place restrictive covenants on this property that would control development consistent with the current neighborhood . 11110 Mayor Hanks agreed that Commissioner Andrew, should be contacted. He said that he would be willing to meet with Commissioner Andrew and explain what the City is doing and that development of a final plan for this area is necessary to establish the value, of the property preceding _ its sale. The Planning Director was asked to continue working on development concepts `fit Study session minutes July 13, 1987 2. for this property. Meanwhile, Mayor Hanks, Councilman Strand and the City III Manager agreed to meet with Commissioner Andrew to show that the City is interested in exploring ways to control development which might occur at this location. 3. Peter Hobart school The City Manager presented a survey that had been provided from the School District. He indicated that he has been talking with the Superintendent of Schools to identify a process that will allow construction of the Peter Hobart addition to proceed. The City Manager explained that the School District needed a 50-ft. setback from the adjoining City property. He proposed that the City deed 42 feet of its property to the School District so that that the School District would meet this zoning requirement. He also proposed that an agreement be drafted that would formalize joint use of this property and the parking lot. He also noted that the same agreement would include a provision allowing the School District to apply for a vacation of right-of -way needed in conjunction with the construction of the school addition. 4. Area studies The Planning Director described the status of three area studies to the City Council . The first area study concerned the Lake Forest neighborhood. The Planning Director described the development concepts that could be explored for the property located south of the Burlington Northern Railroad. He said that 41111 there have been some meetings to present various development ideas which include cluster housing and single-family homes. He indicated that some of the neighbors have suggested developing this area for mini-storage use. The Planning Director said that the Lake Forest study would be discussed at the July 15 Planning Commission meeting. The second area study discussed by the Planning Director concerned the area near Virginia Ave. and the Burlington Northern Railroad. He said that the study is proposing some combined use of this property that would include light industry and townhouses. He added that a PUD may be appropriate for this parcel . This study has been presented to the Planning Commission. The final area study that was discussed concerned the wetland area south of Cedar Lake Road near Zarthan Ave. Questions that need to be answered in considering development of this area include whether the City should dispose of the bone yard, the intensity of development desired along Cedar Lake Rd. and access to this area. Councilman Mitchell noted that Cedar Lake Rd. would have a definite impact from I-394. He proposed that any study of this wetland area needed to be reviewed in the context of the I-394 study. Council decided to delay consideration of this area study until the findings of the I-394 study are available. 41111 5. Billboard ordinance The Assistant City Manager said that staff had completed an inventory of Study session minutes July 13, 1987 3. billboards and had identified areas where billboards could be located. She noted that two different standards existed for the placement of billboards. One set of standards applied to the construction of new billboards. The second set of standards applied to billboards that are non-conforming but that have replaced a billboard that was more non-conforming. This second set of standards varies depending upon the extent to which each individual billboard does not conform with ordinance provisions. The Assistant City Manager noted that two options existed for dealing with billboards. The first option called for making all billboards non-conforming. The second option was to develop definitive standards that would apply to all billboards. Councilman Duffy said that in 1983 when the current billboard ordinance was adopted, Naegele agreed to make changes to improve the billboard structures. He said that some work has been done in this area, but that many improvements that were promised have not been made. Councilman Mitchell said that Mike Cronin of Naegele had talked to him about a proposed ordinance being developed in St. Paul where the number of billboards were capped. He asked if staff could gather any information on this approach to billboards. Council asked staff to develop language that would make billboards a non-conforming use. 6. Neighborhood association Councilman Strand said that he had not met with the Administrative Assistant to discuss the brochure on neighborhood associations. He asked that this be placed on hold until he could arrange a meeting with her. 7. Water publicity The City Manager presented the design for a sticker that would be placed on the front of the GAC brochure. Council directed that staff proceed with printing the sticker and mailing the brochure. 8. National League of Cities conference Plans to attend the National League of Cities conference in December were discussed. The City Manager was asked to make reservations for three Council members to attend. 9. Levy limits The City Manager said that preliminary levy estimates showed that we would encounter some revenue problems stemming from a change in the levy limit laws. He said that staff is continuing to gather information about how our levy will be affected. He also said that the League of Municipalities will be using St. Louis Park's levy in an Action Alert as an example of how some Study session minutes - July 13, 1987 4. cities are being affected by the change in the levy limit laws. 10. Refuse contract The City Manager told Council that the refuse contract would be expiring this year. He said that staff is evaluating whether we should go out ,to bid on the refuse contract. He was concerned that there were not other vendors available who could handle the City's refuse contract without splitting that contract between several haulers. Councilman Mitchellaasked for a survey of how other communities handle their refuse contracts to be compiled. Mayor Hanks asked staff to consult the City Attorney on the appropriate procedures to be used. He asked if the City could solicit proposals for services rather than use a competitive bidding procedure. Staff was asked to develop a report outlining the procedures to be used for procuring a refuse contract. 11 . Request from Costco The Mayor indicated he had received a request from Costco asking the Council - to appoint a task force to address Costco's questions about signage for the proposed liquor retail operation. Council agreed that a task force was not needed and that the regular process for considering liquor applications should be followed. 12. Human Rights Commission Councilman Strand asked that the appointment of a new member to the Human Rights Commission be delayed until the September meeting. At that meeting, Councilman Strand wants to discuss the appropriate number of members needed for the Human Rights Commission. 13. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 9:50 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Sharon Klumpp 411/ f