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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1989/07/17 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Study Session MINUTES STUDY SESSION III CITY OF ST. LOUIS PARK July 17, 1989 1 . Call to order Mayor Hanks called the meeting to order at 6:08 p.m. 2. Roll call The following members were present at roll call : Tom Duffy, Allen Friedman, Keith Meland, Larry Mitchell , Jane Tschida and Lyle Hanks. Bouncilmember Battaglia arrived at 6:55. - Also present were the City Manager, City Attorney, Chief of Police, Personnel Officer and Director of Community Development. ei 3. Proposal re alarm monitoring system role of St. Louis Park Police Department The City Manager referenced the memo before Council . He said that from a sampling taken by the department, it appears that the majority of the communities in the Twin Cities have no role in alarm monitoring. He said two options _ were being proposed: (1 ) send a letter to all current subscribers hooked III up to the Police Department notifying them that effective Jan. 1 , 1990, we will no longer monitor alarms; and (2) notification to subscribers that the rate is going up to $30 effective Jan. 1 . It was moved by Councilmember Friedman to discontinue the alarm monitoring and so nofity subscribers. Mayor Hanks wondered if this should not be on the Council agenda. The City Manager said he had brought this in a study session so Council would be aware what the department was contemplating. He viewed it as an administrative function. It was the consensus to add the item to the regular Council agenda. 4. Sick Leave for Fitness program Personnel Officer Wally Wysopal gave a brief overview of the report and was available to answer questions. Councilmember Mitchell complimented the report and supported the recommendations. Councilmember Friedman asked why the City pays for family membership. The Personnel Officer said the fitness program is supposed to provide an employee the opportunity to reduce their dependence on sick leave, so it is thought that if the employee's family is healthier and less dependent on sick leave to be excused to take care of other family members it would be beneficial . Also, -1- Study session minutes July 17, 1989 the City does offer family medical coverage and also extension of life insurance. Councilmember Friedman was not convinced it was that valuable a program. He didn't understand the rationale for the City paying family memberships. This item was informational and will be returning to a future Council agenda. 5. Planning Commission recommendation re Zoning Task Force update to Comprehensive Plan The City Manager noted the Metropolitan Council and Metropolitan Waste Control Commission have determined that while they will process the pending MEPC Environmental Impact Statement, they will not review any additional statements which may occur until such time as the City undertakes a Comprehensive Plan update addressing their concerns. He felt this did deserve some discussion. Councilmember Mitchell had concerns about a review moving along in terms of going through the zoning ordinance. If the Comprehensive Plan is now added to the task force's agenda, will either project ever get accomplished. Mayor Hanks agreed and wondered if staff had ideas on how the process could move along more quickly. The City Manager said the textbook way would be to do what was recommended. However, he was concerned about taking it on in that fashion because there were other things demanding staff's attention. It appeared at least one significant Comprehensive Plan amendment should be addressed because of the requests of the Met Council and Waste Control Commission. With a new Dirgctor of Community Development, it was a great opportunity for him and his staff Qake on something which could chart the course for years ahead, but the day-to-day crunch impacts more than charting a course for the future does. The Director of Community Development felt both the Comprehensive Plan and zoning ordinance displayed a lack of limitation on development, i .e. there are no upper limits as to what can go on in a DDD, for example. It's basically all by negotiation. It seemed to him the community was saying we should be limiting our development a bit and not take the attitude the sky's the limit. Councilmember Mitchell asked how long it will take to get through the zoning ordinance. The Director said to some extent it depends upon the resources the city commits to it. If a new person comes on in January as proposed in the budget, he felt it would take a minimum of a year. Councilmember Mitchell did not see the need for keeping the review process in-house, that input is needed from the community. He wanted to know what were the issues, the questions, the decisions Council needs to make. Mayor Hanks asked if Comprehensive Plan review could be completed in 6 months so that next year the zoning could be tied to it. Or could they be reviewed together. Mr. Rye said the two could not really be done together. He said the zoning ordinance was intended to implement the Comprehensive Plan. He said if that part of the Plan covering the Hwy. 12 corridor was the only part to be addressed, he felt that could be accomplished in 3-4 months. -2- Study session minutes July 17, 1989 111 Mayor Hanks asked about the possibility of increasing the number of meetings the Planning Commission could devote to getting the review completed. Mr. Rye said if that was Council 's direction staff would relay same to the Planning Commission and stress the need for as rapid a progress as possible. The commitment to additional meetings and/or longer sessions would be up to them. Councilmember Mitchell asked, given the limitations of staff time, would it not be better to consider using a facilitator or consultant whose sole purpose would be to organize the review, facilitate it and complete it. The City Manager said staff had discussed the same thing and perhaps hiring a temporary employee who would be hired to do this task with the understanding that when the task was completed, the person' s employment would be finished. Councilmember Friedman said that over his years of experience, too complex an approach is taken, making more work out of a project such as this than is necessary. State law dictates that the zoning ordinance supercedes the Comprehensive Plan. He was in total agreement that a timetable for completion of this project be set. Since the Council is fully aware of the glitches in the Comp Plan and what keeps coming back over and over, he asked why not , look at those particular glitches, not undertake a full blown evaluation and then go forward and remedy the glitches. The Comp Plan is ever-changing, ever-evolving -- never static. So, let' s hit the highlights, the problem areas and get those rectified by the end of December. Councilmember Tschida agreed with a deadline but felt the review should be a full blown one. Councilmember Meland reminded Council that any amendments to the Comprehensive Plan, should there be any upon completion of the review process, must be reviewed by the Metropolitan Council . He asked how long that would take. Mr. Rye responded that the time for the amendment procedure has been shortened. He believed the review period now was 45-60 days. It was the consensus of the Council this item be added to the Council agenda. 6. Briefing re "Vested Rights" The City Attorney summarized the policy question the Council will face on this issue. The policy question is whether Council , when it considers the MEPC development, must decide to grant vested rights to just the first phase of the development or all phases of the development. It was the City Attorney's advice that these kinds of decisions about vested rights really have to be done on a case-by-case basis. They were advising that only phase one be vested and that future phases be left open both in terms of the City's subsequent approval and, by inference, the developer cannot argue that they have vested rights to construct subsequent phases. 7. Adjournment It was moved by Councilmember Duffy, seconded by Councilmember Meland, to adjourn. The meeting was adjourned at 7:20 p.m. /Mt ANUi Lyl Hanks, Mayor