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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1989/03/06 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Regular 111 MINUTES CITY COUNCIL MEETING ST. LOUIS PARK, MINNESOTA March 6, 1989 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 : Bruce Battaglia Larry Mitchell Allen Friedman Lyle Hanks Keith Meland Also present were the City Manager, City Attorney, Director of Public Works, Director of Community Development and City Assessor. 4. Approval of minutes It was moved by Councilmember Battaglia, seconded by Councilmember - IIIMitchell , to approve the minutes of the February 21 , 1989 study session with the following change: pg. 2, top line, change "review" to "revise." The motion passed 5-0. It was moved by Councilmember Meland, seconded by Councilmember Mitchell , to approve the minutes of the City Council meeting of Feb. 21 , 1989. The motion passed 4-0-1 (Mayor Hanks abstained) . 5. Approval of agenda It was moved by Councilmember Mitchell , seconded by Councilmember Battaglia, to approve the consent agenda for March 6, 1989 with the removal of llc. Pulltabs: Classic Motor Company. The motion passed 5-0. It was moved by Councilmember Battaglia, seconded by Councilmember Meland, to approve the agenda with the addition of llg. Request from Policy Advisory Committee. The motion passed 5-0. PUBLIC HEARINGS 6a. Princeton Court Townhomes Deletion of sidewalk requirement from special permit -37- City Council meeting minutes . March 6, 1989 i Bruce Goodman, Princeton Court Townhomes, said they preferred not to have a sidewalk put in at this point. There being no one further wishing to speak, the Mayor closed the hearing with the right of Council to thereafter reopen and continue it at a future date. It was moved by Councilmember Friedman, seconded by Councilmember Mitchell , to authorize preparation of a resolution of approval of special permit amendment deleting the sidewalk requirement. The motion passed 5-0. Re the easement, Councilmember Friedman felt that if in the future the question of providing a sidewalk came up, that would be the appropriate time to address that. 6b. France Ave. construction The City Manager read a memo Resolution 89-23, 89-24 from the Director of Public Works stating that if the Council wished to levy assessments for �,1.. this project it must be continued until such time as six Councilmembers are present and inclined to vote in support of the project using special assessments as a partial funding source. John Miller, resident of the neighborhood, felt the opposition to the levy assessment had been thoroughly aired at the Feb. 21 meeting and he was available to answer any additional questions. There being no one further wishing to speak, the Mayor closed the hearing with the right of Council to reopen and continue it at a future time. It was moved by Councilmember Battaglia, seconded by Councilmember Mitchell , to terminate proceedings under Minn. Statutes 429 and reinitiate proceedings under Minn. Statutes 471 which eliminates the assessment. The motion passed 5-0. It was moved by Councilmember Mitchell , seconded by Councilmember Battaglia to waive reading and adopt the following resolutions: No. 89-23 entitled "Resolution ordering improvement No. 78-32 approving plans and specifications and authorizing Hennepin County to act on the City's behalf in taking receipt of bids for the improvement" and No. 89-24 entitled "Resolution terminating proceedings initiated pursuant to MN statutes, Section 429, France Ave. improvement No. 78-32 reinitiating and ordering improvement No. 78-32. " The motion passed 5-0. It was moved by Councilmember Meland, seconded by Councilmember Mitchell , to authorize staff to conduct a traffic study in the neighborhood. III The motion passed 5-0. -38- City Council meeting minutes March 6, 1989 ' I 111 PETITIONS, REQUESTS, COMMUNICATIONS None. RESOLUTIONS AND ORDINANCES 8a. I-394 overlay ordinance The City Manager read briefly Ordinance No. 1779-89 from a letter from Tom Peterson, resident on Eliot View Rd. expressing his concerns the effect 1-394 will have on his neighborhood. It was moved by Councilmember Friedman, seconded by Councilmember Meland, to waive reading and adopt Ordinance No. 1779-89 entitled "An ordinance amending the St. Louis Park zoning ordinance related to transportation and development along the I-394 corridor by, the addition of Sections 14-124.201 through 14-124.210" with the language as amended by the task force. Councilmember Mitchell asked for more definition as to where the City was going with this ordinance. The City Attorney said two general changes were made: to delete portions which did not relate to tenants, but rather to development restrictions which applied to owners; secondly, changes were made so that the intention to regulate for all citizens was clear in re traffic management. III Mayor Hanks was supportive of Councilmember Mitchell ' s concerns over Louisiana Ave. and Cedar Lake Road once I-394 is in operation. Councilmember Battaglia felt the time for public comment had been more than sufficient and at this point it was seemingly late to try to make further changes to the ordinance which does not prevent changes being incorporated at a later date. The motion passed 5-0. It was moved by Councilmember Meland, seconded by Councilmember Friedman, to waive reading and adopt Resolution 89-25- entitled "A resolution approving f1t, the ,joint powers agreement between the City of St. Louis Park and the CityI of Golden Valley pursuant to Minnesota Statute Section 471 .59 regarding responsivilities as outlined in the I-394 overlay zoning district ordinance." The motion passed 5-0. Mayor Hanks asked what position this action put the moratorium in. The City Attorney said there would be a publication requirement and upon satisfaction of that requirement, the moratorium will expire and ' that date will be prior to the end of March. 8b. Knollwood signage Resolution of denial IIIResolution 89-26 Linda Smith, Knollwood Mall , asked Council for the matter to be continued in order to allow Knollwood ample time to prepare a sca14d 0,:,wn version (if pror'os.0 Sicj.,agc. -39- City Council meeting minutes March 6, 1989 The City Manager asked if the scaled back version represents a new application or refiling. He felt that if a deferral of the item contemplates that, it should be known before the Council concurs. Mayor Hanks believed if the item were deferred the filing fee on a reapplication could be waived. The City Attorney said that was correct. He said waiver of filing fee would depend upon whether or not there was a submittal which would first have to go the Planning Commission. It was moved by Councilmember Meland, seconded by Councilmember Friedman, to defer the item to April 3, 1989. Councilmember Battaglia remained unconvinced of the need for a variance. He preferred to see a design presented that was within the existing ordinance. The motion failed 3-2 (Councilmembers Battaglia and Mitchell opposed) . Ms. Smith spoke to the issue and explained that a scaled down version would allow a sign within the height restrictions of the sign code. However, their main concern was the electronic message center which, even when scaled down, would not meet code specifications. Their motivation in proposing this sign was to provide Knollwood merchants with an economic method of advertising. Advertising time allotted to merchants is at no cost to them; they are picked up by the owner or landlord. Also 15% of the time available on the sign would be donated to the City as it sees fit, whether it be public ' service or whatever. Councilmember Battaglia said he could find no hardship which is one of the requirements of variance approval . Ms. Smith said she was not stating a hardship exists in relationship to the configuration of the land, or trees. Her view was that Knollwood, being a relatively small mall in relationship to the competition in the Twin Cities, and the media costs they face are among the highest in the nation. To that extent, media costs do pose a hardship. Councilmember Mitchell agreed with Councilmember Battaglia re hardship. He said he would have to be convinced that the benefit of an electronically activated sign was so great that it would overcome his objections, and he was not convinced. It was moved by Councilmember Battaglia, seconded by Councilmember Mitchell , to waive reading and adopt Resolution 89-26 entitled "A resolution of findings regarding the application of Minnesota Teachers Realty Corp. (Knollwood Company) for a variance under Section 14-185.08 of the St. Louis Park Ordinance Code relating to zoning to permit a free-standing sign with a height of 31 ft. instead of the required 25 ft. and a maximum sign size of 207 sq. ft. instead of the required 100 sq. ft. for property located in the PUD, planned unit development district, at 8332 Hwy. 7." Mayor Hanks did have a problem with the fact that the applicant has asked to come back with another proposal and that the Council is not giving them a chance. -40- City Council meeting minutes • March 6, 1989 ' Ill Councilmember Battaglia said from his standpoint it could be the greatest looking sign in the world. But if the requested variance can't meet the criteria, he could not support it. ' Councilmember Friedman said he seconded the original motion because he thought the applicant would come back with a proposal that did meet the sign ordinance requirements. The motion passed 4-1 (Mayor Hanks opposed) . 8c. Agreement with Hennepin County 4‘t-s Cooperative construction agreement x Resolution 89-27 with Hennepin County for reconstruct- ion of France Ave. It was moved by Councilmember Meland, seconded by Councilmember Mitchell , to waive reading and adopt Resolution 89-27 entitled Resolution authorizing interagency agreement No. PW 95-05-88 with Hennepin County providing for the reconstruction of France Ave. (County State Aid Highway No. 17)" The motion passed 5-0. 8d. Salt/saki storage facility First reading of ordinance trans- ferring funds for construction of sand/salt storage facility III It was moved by Councilmember Meland, seconded by Councilmember Battaglia, to waive first reading, set second reading for March 20, 1989 and authorize summary publication. The motion passed 5-0. Councilmember Friedman said he was supporting this item, but that he was putting staff on notice that he would like additional research on estimates of llc t. Several bids were substantially over the estimates and he intended toll&Sg and hard at this type of project at budget time. In answer to a question from Mayor Hanks if what was originally proposed was what Council voted on, the Director of Public Works said the original proposal bids were so high it was necessary to down-size the facility and that was what was now in front of Council . REPORTS FROM OFFICERS, BOARDS, COMMITTEES 9a. ENSR Consulting/Engineering It was moved by Councilmember Meland, seconded by Councilmember Battaglia to authorize execution of an amendment to Contract No. 1890 with ENSR Conculting and Engineering providing for an increase in the contract amount. III Councilmember Battaglia asked for clarification on budget underuns and ENSR's overrun. The Director of Public Works said that was correct in one instance in which cost savings would be realized. This was a situation in which ENSR clearly had the necessary expertise thus necessitating a cost overrun to complete the project. -41- City Council meeting March 6, 1989 He further stated that the scope of work, should the amended contract be approved, will be expanded beyond the scope initially anticipated. Councilmember Battaglia was concerned that Council tonight would approve this requested increase and that later on in the year would be asked to approve another overrun. The Director said that might very well happen, but he hoped it would not. Councilmember Mitchell noted this was not the first time this type of request had come before Council , that it was something that had been discussed at great length. He felt a measure of flexibility and trust was required in that so many players - engineers, consultants, government entities - are involved in this issue. He felt the treatment process relative to the Reilly matter was so very complex, Council had to put a great deal of trust in staff. The motion passed 5-0. 9b. Status of boards and commissions It was moved by Councilmember Mitchell , seconded by Councilmember Friedman to direct staff to proceed with amendments to the ordinance code. There was discussion re giving the Board of Zoning Appeals the authority to decide cases and only if the applicant disagrees would they have the option to appear before Council . The City Attorney camented citizens other than an applicant before BOZA would also have the right to appear before Council. Councilmember Battaglia asked about the committee to oversee the institutional network as specified in the cable tv franchise. The City Manager said this would be on the March 20 meeting. The motion passed 5-0. 9c. Cable TV Advisory Commission minutes 9d. Human Rights Commission minutes Minutes ordered filed by consent. UNFINISHED BUSINESS 10a. Boards and commissions None. NEW BUSINESS lla. Exchange Club: Pulltabs By consent, waiver of 60-day waiting period was approved. llb. Raffle Minnesota Operators of Music and Amusements By consent, waiver of 60-day waiting period approved. -42- - , yawuiing license Councilmember Battaglia said he would approve contingent upon the applicant signing the application. 1 It was pointed out by a representative of the Exchange Club that in items lla and llc the original application had been signed and forwarded to the State. Before Council was a copy prior to final execution. ' Ill It was moved by Councilmember Meland, seconded by Councilmember Battaglia, to approve waiver of the 60-day waiting period. ! The motion passed 5-0. I lld. Consultant selection �`� --- 1 Storm drainage at I-394/T.H. 100 It was moved by Councilmember Meland, seconded by Councilmember Mitchell to authorize execution of an agreement with Schoell & Madson in the amount of $5,210 to provide consulting services. 1qti‘ The motion passed 5-0. lle. Pulltabs at Waiting Station Braille Sports Foundation request to sell pulltabs contingent upon its reopening By consent, motion to approve and waive 60-day waiting period llf. Temple Israel raffle By consent, motion to waive 60-day waiting period 11g. Request from Policy Advisory Committee in art Councilmember Meland said PAC was requesting to /reallocate funds given by III the City to PAC from hiring of a part-time individual to the purchase of a computer to assist with the senior program in the amount of $2900. It was moved by Councilmember Meland, seconded by Councilmember Battaglia to reallocate $2900 of the funds for purchase of a computer. The motion passed 5-0. MISCELLANEOUS 12a. Claims None. 12b. Communications from Mayor Mayor Hanks said he and the City Manager would be in Washington 1 March 12-14. for the Congressional conference i He requested that a resolution of congratulations be prepared for the St. K Louis Park senior high school 's girls' basketball team which will be in the state tournament. IIIIt was moved by Councilmember Friedman, seconded by Councilmember Meland, that Resolution 89-28 be reared honoringthe 5-0, p p girls' team. The motion passed ; -43- City Council meeting minutes • March 6, 1989 12c. Communications from City Manager The City Manager noted letters received commending city employees. '/ He requested a brief executive session at the end of the meeting relative to a matter of pending litigation. 7)He asked Council authorization to hold a meeting on March 29 concerning the impact of 1-394 and geared to residents, coordinated by Director Grube and representatives of MnDOT. CLAIMS, APPROPRIATIONS, CONTRACT PAYMENTS 13a. Verified claims By consent, motion to approve the list of verified claims prepared by the Director of Finance dated March 6, 1989 and that the City Manager and City Treasurer be authorized to issue checks in the appropriate amounts. 14. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 8:50 p.m. Ly* Nan s, Mayor i_ • -"A"(C t4/1"/ Z1/4 Recording cretary , III -44-