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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1994/09/26 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Regular MINUTES CITY COUNCIL MEETING ST. LOUIS PARK, MINNESOTA September 26, 1994 1 Call to Order Mayor Hanks called the meeting to order at 7 30 p m 2 Presentations Mayor Hanks read a proclamation in recognition of City Employee Recognition Week Recipients of the Evergreen Award were introduced, slides shown of their properties and each was awarded a Norfolk Pine He thanked the Park Knoll Garden Club for its assistance in judging the nominees 3 Roll call The following Councilmembers were present at roll call• Jeff Jacobs, George Haun, Allen Friedman, Ron Latz, Robert Young, Gail Dorfman and Lyle Hanks Also present were the City Manager(Mr. Meyer); City Attorney (Mr. Sheehy), Director of Community Development (Mr. Hagen), Director of Public Works (Mr Grube); Assistant to the City Manager(Mr Larson), Director of Parks and Recreation (Mr. Gears); Inspections Division Head (Mr Petersen), and Personnel Officer(Mr Wysopal). 4. Approval of minutes It was moved by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Dorfman, to approve the minutes of September 12, 1994 with the following corrections: pg. 169 change spelling to Lebowski; pg. 170 Almquist should be Holmquist; pg. 170, 5th paragraph should begin: "Councilmember Haun moved that pets be allowed..." The motion passed 7-0 5 Approval of agenda It was moved by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Dorfman, to approve the consent agenda for September 26, 1994 The motion passed 7-0 It was moved by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Dorfman, to approve the agenda with a correction to item 8f Variance approval for a 6 ft. fence, not 7 ft. fence The motion passed 7-0 177 PUBLIC HEARINGS 6a Conditional Use Permit 8-unit cluster housing. 3100 block of Inglewood It was moved by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Haun, to continue the public hearing to October 3, 1994 The motion passed 7-0 6b Conditional Use Permit- Motor fuel station (Express Lube). 3900 Minnetonka Blvd. Resolution 94-136 There being no one wishing to speak, Mayor Hanks 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 Haun, to adopt Resolution 94-136 entitled"A resolution granting conditional use permit under Sections 14.5-5.1 and 14 5-5 2(0)(1) of the St. Louis Park Ordinance Code relating to zoning to permit a motor fuel station(Express Lube) for property zoned C-1 Neighborhood Commercial District located at 3900 Minnetonka Blvd" Councilmember Dorfman had two questions: Will the lights go out when it closes at 8.00 p.m. on weeknights, 6 00 on Saturdays? Secondly, where is the pumping house going to be moved to? Doug Sailor, Midwest Management, responded there would be some protective emergency lighting along the rear for safety, but it would not be illuminated all night long. Lights will reflect down on the property not outward so they can bother the neighbors. He said the pumping house will be moved—they are waiting for final plans from Amoco and the MPCA. It will be relocated further from the residences than it is today The motion passed 7-0. 6c. Conditional Use Permit Motor vehicle service and repair facility- 1341 Colorado Resolution 94-137 Mayor Hanks asked why landscaping conditions had been deleted. Mr. Hagen responded the Planning Commission did not feel it necessary to make completion of the landscaping a condition of the Certificate of Occupancy It was the Mayor's concern that it conceivably not ever get done if not specified in the resolution. He felt this was in contrast to the way the Planning Commission usually operates Mr Hagen thought the reasoning might be that the applicant may seek a variance allowing for the landscaped area in the front to be used for an off-street parking space and the resolution allowed time for him to go through the variance process Mayor Hanks felt more confortable with a specific date for completion of landscape work. He suggested in No 3 the language read- "All areas not used for parking and driveway be landscaped by May 1, 1995 " 178 Mr. Meyer noted the Commission minutes stated that if all of the conditions of the Conditional II Use Permit are not met within one year of its issuance, that they will be considered in violation. He felt the May 1 date was when they would have to be in compliance. It was moved by Councilmember Young, seconded by Councilmember Latz, with the addition that the area discussed be landscaped by May 1, 1995 that Resolution 94-137 entitled"A resolution granting Conditional Use Permit under Section 14:5-3(D)(3) of the St. Louis Park Ordinance Code relating to zoning to permit a motor vehicle service and repair facility for property zoned C-2 General Commercial District located at 1341 Colorado Ave." be adopted. The City Attorney suggested this be included under Condition 2 of the Conclusion Councilmember Haun felt May 15, 1995 might be a better date as May 1 was a bit early to start landscaping. Councilmember Young accepted that as a friendly amendment The motion passed 7-0 PETITIONS, REQUESTS, COMMUNICATIONS 7a Retention of a consultant for Honeywell site development Mr. Meyer said Mr. Sheehy had recommended that rather than retaining Frauenshuh that the Council authorize the Mayor and City Manager to enter a professional services agreement. Councilmember Friedman asked why Frauenshuh was the only company asked to submit a proposal. Mr. Hagen said a number of cities had been researched as to their experiences and it was felt by staff that Frauenshuh being a developer, very familiar with market trends, would be a good choice. Councilmember Friedman preferred that the Council be given a choice and the reasons for the firms recommended. He was sensisitve to potential criticism that the City consistently uses the same people for contracts with the City. He could not, in good conscience, support this recommendation. Councilmember Jacobs referenced the letter before Council from Honeywell. It seemed to him they were giving excuslively to Ryan the contract for the sale of the Honeywell site. He wondered what effect that would have on the City's decision to retain a consultant. Mr. Meyer said the purpose of involving a consultant was to do an analysis of the site to see if there are uses the Council would like to see pursued. City staff has spoken with both Ryan and Honeywell about the property Options to be considered would be both land use planning and market viability An alternative to that would be simply to allow Ryan to proceed ahead with its arrangements with Honeywell and bring in a PUD proposal to the Council 179 Councilmember Jacobs recalled from study session discussion that the Council wanted to get its oar in the water prior to Honeywell negotiating with Ryan or any other developer His concern was if Frauenshuh is retained, is it moot in light of the Honeywell/Ryan arrangement. Mayor Hanks said the City Council still retains the right to approve/disapprove any proposal for the site and the thing Frauenshuh might do is give the City an idea of what sort of things are out there that may be suitable. Councilmember Friedman felt there was time, and perhaps a proposal would be forthcoming from Ryan that met Council's approval. He felt there was little point in spending money, i.e. involvement with Frauenshuh, before it was necessary Councilmember Haun concurred Councilmember Dorfman had some concerns that what Frauenshuh was going to be doing is reacting to a Ryan proposal. If the City is serious about impacting that development, then she agreed with Councilmember Friedman that a number of consulting firms should be looked at and ask them for a development model If indeed the City is tiptoeing around the edges, why can't staff do that along with Council input, i.e. whatever Ryan brings forth Mr. Meyer believed Ryan to have an excellent reputation and what he was interested in was the types of development on the site that the Council would be interested in seeing and that would have market viability and then have a"non-interested" party offer advice. He assumed that any proposal from Ryan would be market viable Mayor Hanks said there were many things to look at -traffic, access to I-394, traffic overlay with Golden Valley, proximity to neighborhoods—and his concern was that a proposal will come from Ryan and answers to the other concerns will not have been addressed or solved and then it is postponed further. Councilmember Friedman asked what was the role of Council in making a determination of what can/cannot go on a piece of land. Mr. Meyer said what was at issue here is the site is zoned Industrial, its present use. The proposed use, Retail, would require approval of a Planned Unit Development which is a significant policy determination for the Council. The Council will have to determine what combination of uses within the PUD would be acceptable His concern in working with Ryan is that the City not get too far down the road with them developing a PUD proposal and then deciding to go back to the drawing board. If we use Frauenshuh or not, we ought to sit down immediately with Ryan and talk about Council's concerns about buffering residential neighborhoods, traffic, etc. It was moved by Councilmember Friedman, seconded by Councilmember Jacobs, that the City Manager be directed to sit down with Ryan as soon as possible and express to them the concerns of the Council and Planning Department relative to this area. If there is a problem, bring it back to Council. Mayor Hanks felt also that the Council needed to sit down and talk about its concerns with this site. He felt it imperative, if the motion passes, that Council members express their concerns to the City Manager and the Planning Department Councilmember Latz asked what authority would the Council have if Ryan comes in with a PUD and how bound are the Councils' hands 180 Mayor Hanks said it was a zoning change and could be denied Reasons would have to substantiate a denial Councilmember Latz wanted to make sure Council had sufficient leverage to guide that site development as much as possible Another route might be to completly reopen the zoning question for that site and do a study of the site Mayor Hanks said the City could get in trouble going that route as the site has a designated zoning today which they can hold the value to if in some way it is diminished. Councilmember Haun cautioned about putting the cart before the horse. Right now, there is nothing on the table to discuss. Should Ryan bring a proposal, Council has the right at that point to approve or deny Councilmember Dorfman noted one option is for the City to buy the property and perhaps develop it into a Centennial Lakes-type project, but since the Council had basically ruled that option out, it didn't make sense to her to hire a consultant to develop a detailed proposal The motion passed 7-0 7b Appeal to decision of BOZA Variance 9310 W 28`h St - Kye Ploen Mr Ploen distributed materials to the Council His main points were the unusual configuration of his lot, 60 ft wide by 800 ft. long; no access to the backyard whereby he can't put a garage there, a variance is needed to construct an attached two-car garage. He said mature evergreens and lilac bushes are in place, will not be disturbed and will aid in screening the garage Mayor Hanks referenced a letter of objection from one of Mr Ploen's neighbors Councilmember Dorfman asked if the garage would be shielded by the lilac bushes. Mr Ploen said it would in the summertime for sure, but would be partially visible if traveling west on W. 28. But very little will be observable Councilmember Dorfman noted the lilac bushes will not be there forever and asked if a clause could be included in any resolution of approval mandating that the garage always be buffered. Mr. Hagen said such a condition can be included. It was moved by Councilmember Young, seconded by Councilmember Haun, to authorize preparation of a resolution approving the variance with the condition the garage be permanently buffered from the street The motion passed 7-0 8a Resolution ordering demolition of garage 1600 Hampshire Ave Resolution 94-138 It was moved by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Young, to adopt Resolution 94-138 entitled "Resolution and order to raze and remove hazardous building located at 1600 Hampshire Ave So " 181 The motion passed 7-0 8b. Second reading of ordinance Pets in parks Ordinance 94-2005 It was moved by Councilmember Haun, seconded by Councilmember Jacobs, to adopt Ordinance 94-2005 entitled"An ordinance amending the St. Louis Park Ordinance Code, Section 6-406(1) to establish rules and regulations governing the presence and conduct of pets in City Parks." The motion passed 7-0. 8c. Resolution supporting curbside recycling Resolution 94-139 It was moved by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Dorfman, to adopt Resolution 94-139 entitled"Resolution authorizing execution of an agreement between the City of St. Louis Park and Hennepin County for funding assistance for residential curbside recycling program." The motion passed 7-0 8d. Resolution naming election judges and specifying polling places Resolution 94-135 Councilmember Dorfman hoped that this would be publicized in the Sun Sailor Councilmember Young asked if Peace Presbyterian had agreed to become a polling place and why Groves Learning Center was no longer interested in being a polling place. Mr. Meyer said the City had not yet heard so it is not incorporated into this resolution. Relative to Groves, he said they needed the space. Previously they moved a lot out of the way to accommodate the primary but now needed the space back. Councilmember Young asked if Peace is not heard from, was their sufficient time to find another polling place. Mr. Meyer said there was time and staff would be considering options if Peace declines. It was moved by Councilmember Young, seconded by Councilmember Jacobs, to adopt Resolution 94-135 entitled"A resolution designating election judges and polling places for the November 8, 1994 State General Election." The motion passed 7-0 8e. Resolution modifying setback variances for Apex plat 182 Mr Hagen said in meeting with Standard Plumbing, they were amenable to making changes on its site Councilmember Friedman said his motion to defer was not based on screening. He specified in his motion that staff gather information as to how the survey got fouled up and to talk to them about the screening. The two are separate issues and he has not received any information relative to the survey Ralph Carlson, SPS president, said the company was certainly willing to work with the City in improving screening It was moved by Councilmember Friedman, seconded by Councilmember Jacobs, to continue to October 3, 1994 The motion passed 7-0 8f. Resolution approving a 6 ft fence 4520 Morningside Rd Resolution 94-140 It was moved by Councilmember Haun, seconded by Councilmember Friedman, to adopt Resolution 94-140 entitled"A resolution granting variance in fence height in the front yard from Section 14 4-4 2 of the Ordinance Code relating to zoning to permit a fence in the front yard with a height of 6 ft instead of the required maximum height of 3 5 ft in the R-2 Single Family Residence District at 4520 Morningside Rd." The motion passed 7-0 8g. First reading of ordinance creating Department of Inspections It was moved by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Dorfman, to approve first reading, set second for October 3, 1994 and authorize summary publication and to confirm the appointment of Ernie Petersen as Director of Inspections effective the same day the ordinance takes effect. The motion passed 7-0 Councilmember Friedman referenced the Fees section and asked if the City ever looked to see whether or not these fees cover costs and also whether or not the City can enlist outside inspectors as is done in residential housing to do some of these inspections so staff just goes back and looks at the results He asked staff to take a look at that and let Council know Mayor Hanks recalled concern in the past over the fee structure and what we were getting for the fees charged Last year there was some discussion about inspections during the budget hearings. 183 Councilmember Friedman said he did not wish to appear onerous, but when he sees $7.00 per unit for inspection, he didn't know what people were getting per hour but felt it had to be more than $7.00 per hour Are we getting our money's worth or do we privatize this and get out of the business. Councilmember Young noted that the motion removed from the Director of Public Works responsibilities for the Inspections Department and would the job description and salary range be affected by the removal of Inspections responsibilities Mr. Meyer said by the coincidence of the Director of Public Works leaving the City, he felt removal of Inspection responsibilities would be reflected in the appointment and salary range of the new Director. 8h. Second reading of ordinance amending 1994 budget as adopted by Ordinance 1938-93 Ordinance 94-2006 It was moved by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Haun, to adopt Ordinance 94-2006 entitled"An ordinance amending the 1994 budget as adopted by Ordinance 1938-93." The motion passed 7-0 REPORTS FROM OFFICERS, BOARDS, COMMITTEES 9a. Vacancy on Bassett Creek Watershed Management Organization It was moved by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Dorfman, to authorize publication of notice of board vacancy The motion passed 7-0 9b. Use of street right-of-way: Park Trails Apartments It was moved by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Latz, to authorize execution of an agreement stipulating conditions under which a flag pole can be placed. The motion passed 7-0 9c. City Engineer's report: Project 94-27 Resolution 94-141 Councilmember Latz asked if this was at all related to what was decided not to do with Honeywell. Do we have the expertise to proceed with City staff I 184 Mr Meyer responded that this piece had been part of the discussion with Honeywell, and staff 111 had said because they were far along with the planning that it was suggested it be removed from any contract with Honeywell Councilmember Latz referenced request for approval of$51,000 for consulting services and asked whether those services would have been provided free of charge by Honeywell if it were part of the package Mr Grube said those costs would have been rolled in as part of the overhead costs charged by Honeywell. Councilmember Friedman asked if this project did not have to be bid. Mr Grube said it must be bid but not at this time The request before Council is to accept the report, order the project and authorize plans and specs to be developed for further consideration at another meeting. If approved, thereafter it would be bid out Councilmember Friedman asked how staff arrives at who it will use as a consultant. Mr. Grube said in this particular case selection was made from a list of eligible consultants provided by NSP. TKDA& Assoc is one of only a handful of firms that is on the list which does municipal engineering for water utilities To further reduce the choice, only TKDA and OSM are familiar with the City's water utility system. Previously both firms provided proposals to the City in 1992 to redesign the City's water utility control system TKDA happened to win that bid. Because of that project, it was felt they had an expertise advantage on this project It was moved by Councilmember Friedman, seconded by Councilmember Jacobs, to adopt Resolution 94-141 entitled, "Resolution accepting the City Engineer's report, establishing improvement project 94-27, ordering the project, authorizing execution of a contract with Tolta, King, Duvall, Anderson& Assoc. for services related to the design and installation of energy conservation measures under Project 94-27" The motion passed 7-0 9d Enemy conservation measures at various City facilities It was moved by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Haun, to receive the report for filing. The motion passed 7-0 9e Management study Community Development/Inspections - Implement proposed schedule It was moved by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Dorfman, to approve the schedule The motion passed 7-0 185 9f. August financial report 9g. Minutes: Housing Authority, August 9 9h. Minutes. Board of Zoning Appeals. August 25 9I. Minutes. Plannin&Commission Sept 7 By consent, items 9f-9i ordered filed UNFINISHED BUSINESS 10a. Boards and commissions Mayor Hanks suggested interviewing candidates prior to the October 3 meeting NEW BUSINESS 11a. Amendment to Contract 3057 with RLK Associates Councilmember Friedman asked what the original estimate was. Mr. Grube said for design and construction, in round figures, in the $60,000 range and revised previously in March 1994 to $102,000. As in all City contracts, it is a not to exceed. The opportunity for the consultant to request is if scope of services change from original contract. Councilmember Friedman was interested in the relationship between the growth of the project and the increase to the consultant. He did not want to penalize the consultant if indeed the work they had to do was substantially more based on the fact that the project grew Mr. Grube explained how the project grew including project work in streetscape after the other project had been bid. This involved, to all practical purposes, designing in the field as they went along incorporating input from the property owners, Excelsior Blvd. Task Force members and also taking the issue to Hennepin County and MnDOT for review and re-review Councilmember Young noted in the report a reference to an error in the survey and wondered if that caused increased costs and was their any recourse against the surveyor Mr. Grube did not believe there was recourse because of the difficulty in resolving the issues involved. Councilmember Latz referenced the Citizens Independent Bank site and redesign of the driveway at the request of the owner, not at the request of the City or anyone else. Why is the City being asked to pay the costs of the redesign 186 Mr. Grube said the costs could be recaptured and charged back to the developer who is also the owner of the property It was moved by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Friedman, to adopt Resolution 94-142 entitled"Resolution pertaining to Amendment No. 2 to consulting services contract No. 3057 Councilmember Friedman said he gave a reluctant second but he felt assured the work had been done and monitoring of hours expended. He was not happy about the increase and in the future will be more circumspect about release of contracts, who gets the contracts, the amount of money to consultants, etc. In this instance, he did not feel the consultant should be penalized for something which cannot definitely be nailed down Councilmember Latz offered a friendly amendment that the cost associated with the driveway redesign for the Citizens Bank site be assessed back to the property owner. Mayor Hanks said he would prefer not to do that at this time. An assessment hearing will come later on and that would be the appropriate time The City Attorney said perhaps the spirit of the motion could be to direct staff to consider that a part of the assessment process when it comes to Council That was acceptable to Council. The motion passed 6-0-1 (Councilmember Haun abstained). MISCELLANEOUS 12a. Damage claims Bell vs City; Mike Pjanic; Kathy Steffes By consent, claims referred to City Clerk and City Manager. 12b Communications from the Mayor Mayor Hanks reminded everyone of the employee recognition banquet on Thursday, September 29 Councilmember Friedman will stand in for the Mayor who is unable to attend. He also will be out of town for the coaches banquet on Oct. 12 and asked that Councilmember Haun speak on his behalf Councilmember Friedman asked that an item be put on the agenda for review He referenced the ordinance wherein no vehicle is allowed to be parked on a public street for more than 12 hours. 111 He noted in some neighborhoods houses have one garage and sometimes not a driveway so they're on the street. One of his constituents got tagged by the police as he had nowhere to put 187 his car but on the street. He suggested looking into this so that unnecessary burdens are put on residents. He did acknowledge cars are better off of the streets. 12c. Communications from the City Manager Mr. Meyer said good news is that the Soo Line and County will be making repairs on the tracks on Cedar Lake Rd. The bad news is that Cedar Lake Rd. will be closed for 3 days to do the work. A detour will be provided. Councilmember Young said many complaints have been received about this track. He said he had called the lobbyist for the Soo Line and she made them aware of the City's concern. CLAIMS,APPROPRIATIONS, CONTRACT PAYMENTS 13a. Verified claims By consent, approve the claims and authorize distribution of checks in the following amounts: Vendor claims: $551,751.34 and payroll claims $35,948.14 14. Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 9:45 on a motion by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Haun which passed unanimously )41.4.) May"Hanks 9/ AtAkGt),/1Recording Secretary 188