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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1996/02/05 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Regular MINUTES CITY COUNCIL MEETING ST. LOUIS PARK, MINNESOTA February 5, 1996 1 Call to order Mayor Dorfman called the meeting to order at 7 30 p.m. 2 Presentations Mayor Dorfman welcomed members of Boy Scout Troop 282 who were present to fulfill one of the requirements for the Government merit badge. 3 Roll call The following Councilmembers were present at roll call: Jeff Jacobs, George Haun, Sue Sanger, Ron Latz, Robert Young and Jim Brimeyer 4 Approval of minutes It was moved by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Young, to approve the minutes of the January 16, 1996 City Council meeting. The motion passed 5-0-2 (Councilmembers Haun and Sanger abstained) It was moved by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Sanger, to approve the minutes of the January 22, 1996 study session The motion passed 6-0-1 (Councilmember Haun abstained) 5. Approval of agenda It was moved by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Haun, to approve the consent agenda for February 5, 1996 The motion passed 7-0 It was moved by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Haun, to approve the agenda for February 5, 1996 The motion passed 7-0 PUBLIC HEARINGS 6a Amendment to Zoning Map Cl to C2, 5101 Minnetonka Blvd 16 City Council meeting minutes February 5, 1996 Helen Brooks, applicant, addressed Council During the most recent Zoning Ordinance update, this property was supposed to be rezoned from B2 to C2 as were most other properties in the City It was only recently she learned that the property had been down-zoned to Cl making the present use non-conforming She was now seeking the amendment in order to upgrade the Nevens building Under the present zoning, she is unable to receive the financing necessary to do so, she cannot obtain a mortgage and doubted she could sell this non-conforming property except possibly to the current tenant who is grandfathered in Councilmember Latz asked if Mrs Brooks had had contact with the surrounding neighbors about her request. She said she had not, but at public hearings held on the matter, she did not see anyone come forward to comment or complain. Councilmember Haun said the biggest problem he had was that the Council did not look at the whole property there,just the Motec piece He acknowledged that by law the City does not have to notify the residents when such a change is made, but he was concerned that property owners are not notified of these types of changes, especially on commercial property He was not an advocate of spot zoning, but in this situation he was aware and sympathetic to Mrs. Brooks' position Ms Jeremiah said she had received calls from residents in the immediate area and that they supported the current zoning and would oppose the higher zoning. I/ 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 Councilmember Young asked about permitted uses in the Cl Ms Jeremiah responded that uses in the Cl are limited by intensity of use. Basically that is the way the C 1 is written as opposed to the C2 wherein there is no limit on the type of intensity you can have Concern was expressed about what might go on that property after two years when Nevens' lease expires should it be rezoned C2 Councilmember Haun felt it only fair to notify owners of commercial property about rezoning issues, even though it was not mandated by State law, giving them ample time to address any proposal. Ms Jeremiah said improvements can be made to the property for maintenance purposes or to bring the property or building into greater conformance with the Code, but the use can't be expanded, for example an addition would not be allowed I 17 City Council meeting minutes , 111 February 5, 1996 Councilmember Sanger spoke in favor of staff's recommendation (1) if changed to C2, there would be no way of knowing what was going in there, and (2) if the Council were to acceed to Mrs Brooks' request based on her alleged financial hardship, what position would it put the City in for any other property owner who was not notified Councilmember Jacobs said the concern he had was how does the Council want the City to look He did not believe it could be rezoned without being subject to the criticism that they were spot zoning He also had concern about the noticing procedure and hoped that in the future the lessons learned here would be of value, that a better job needs to be done in noticing property owners, perhaps even going beyond what State law requires Councilmember Latz asked staff if the current use of the property has caused any particular consternation in the immediate neighborhood, particularly as relates to noise from the operation of equipment Ms Jereimiah replied she has discussed the complaints with the Inspections department. They said there had been numerous complaints over a period of years The biggest concern had to do with the storage of a dry cleaning chemical wherein there was a violation with regard to storing some 100 gallons uncovered in the rear of the building She understood this has since been corrected The neighborhood is routinely bothered by noise, litter on the property, unscreened junk equipment, untrimmed shrubbery preventing use of the sidewalk. Councilmember Latz asked whether anyone had thought about making a text amendment in the Cl zone to permit this kind of use with a Conditional Use Permit Perhaps no one has confidence that a CUP would be sufficient to control the potentially noxious aspects of this use Ms. Jeremiah responded that the idea of a zoning text amendment to the Cl was brought to the applicant as one of her options in making application, however, she chose the rezoning The present use is currently permitted with conditions in the C2 and the conditions limit the use to exactly the size that the building is now and requires certain buffering that is virtually impossible to achieve on the property as it is It was moved by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Brimeyer, to adopt Resolution 96-13 entitled"A resolution with findings regarding the application of Helen Brooks for an amendment to the Zoning Map, 5101 Minnetonka Blvd " The motion passed 6-1 (Councilmember Haun opposed) 6b Amendment to Official Map, 2631 Virginia Ave Mr Harmening gave a brief overview of staff's report 18 City Council meeting minutes February 5, 1996 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 Latz, seconded by Councilmember Jacobs, to approve first reading and set second for February 20, 1996. The motion passed 7-0 PETITIONS, REQUESTS, COMMUNICATIONS P None -- RESOLUTIONS AND ORDINANCES 8a Second reading of alarm ordinance amendment Ordinance No 96-2057 Councilmember Jacobs asked how people will be notified of this ordinance amendment Mr. Meyer said there will be an article in the"Park Perspective" as well as an article in the Sun Sailor It was moved by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Haun, to adopt Ordinance No. 96-2057 entitled"An ordinance amending the St Louis Park Municipal Code related to alarms Amending Section 11-1001(1), Section 11-1002(3), (4)& (5), Section 11-1003(1) & (2) and Section 11-1004; repealing Section 11-1005, renumbering Sections 11-1006 and 11-1007 to be 11-1005 and 11-1006, amending and renumbering Section 11-1008 to be 11-1007, and renumbering Section 11-1009 to be 11-1008", approving summary and authorizing publication of summary The motion passed 7-0 8b 401 A plan for the City Manager - -- Resolution 96-14 Mr Meyer said this had no financial impact on the City, no administrative costs to the City It was moved by Councilmember Haun, seconded by Councilmember Jacobs, to adopt Resolution 96-14 entitled "Resolution to establish a money purchase retirement plan " The motion passed 7-0 19 City Council meeting minutes February 5, 1996 8c Second reading of ordinance implementing MX (Mixed Use) Zoning 96-2058 Ms Jeremiah said the Planning Commission had looked at a MX Zoning District for several months as a means of encouraging high quality, innovative development that would include multiple uses within at least a ten-acre area Since the October approval of the first reading of the ordinance, staff has been fine-tuning the ordinance with regard to the best means of ensuring a good mixture of uses and preventing any one use from over-dominating any development Mr. Meyer commented the purpose of the MX is important With the redevelopment of Excelsior Blvd , the kind of zoning the MX would allow represents a more traditional concept than what this City and most other cities have been moving toward, i e , a strict separation of uses The MX would allow, in this high density area, a mixture of uses - some commercial, some residential, some employment-based uses, some recreational uses -- all of which fit together in a neat package. It was moved by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Sanger, to adopt Ordinance No 96-2058 entitled "An ordinance amending the St. Louis Park Ordinance Code relating to zoning by adding Section 14 5-8 "M-X" Mixed Use District, renumbering Sections 14 5-8 and 14 5-9 to 14.5-9 and 14 5-10 amending Sections 14.6-2, 14 6-6 and 14 6-7 " The motion passed 7-0 8d Disposition of tax forfeit land, 9221 Frederick Resolution 96-15 It was moved by Councilmember Latz, seconded by Councilmember Young, to adopt Resolution 96-15 entitled "Resolution approving designation of non-conservation land shown on Classification List 901-NC by Board of County Commissioners of Hennepin County, 9221 Frederick Ave " The motion passed 7-0 8e Minor amendment to Conditional Use Permit Dredging of Twin Lakes Resolution 96-16 Mr. Meyer noted a survey was done after Twin Lakes was drained which revealed some differences from the original survey information and based on that, the Watershed District made some adjustments to the plans to allow for the same amount of water to be contained in Twin 111 Lakes which resulted in considerably less dredging at the west end of the lake 20 City Council meeting minutes February 5, 1996 Councilmember Sanger said she understood the Watershed District has already completed its dredging as if this CUP amendment was approved She was concerned that a precedent could be set wherein other applicants unilaterally make their own changes and then come in after the fact and expect approval of plans Mr. Rardin said that was correct, a field determination was made that it had to be done and it was not possible to wait two weeks for a Council meeting to seek approval Glen Sanders, Wenck Associates, engineers for the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District, explained in more detail More sediment had collected in Twin Lakes since the time the original cross-sections were done So their CUP, requesting excavation of 80,000 cu yds of soil, necessitated removal of an additional 10,000 to maintain the contour and that this be done at the time the excavation was being carried out It was moved by Councilmember Brimeyer, seconded by Councilmember Jacobs, to adopt Resolution 96-16 entitled "A resolution rescinding Resolution No 96-09 adopted on January 16, 1996 and granting conditional use permit under Section 14 4-9 B of the St. Louis Park Ordinance Code relating to zoning to allow escavation of 81,000 cubic yards of material for the purpose of dredging Twin Lakes for property Zoned R-1, Single Family Residence District at 4750 W 26th St " The motion passed 6-1 (Councilmember Sanger opposed) REPORTS FROM OFFICERS, BOARDS, COMMITTEES 9a. Rec Center Renaissance - Design development Mr Gears gave a brief presentation on this item Mr Meyer addressed concerns that property taxes would be raised to build this project He said the Rec Center is subsidized to a certain extent; the proposal has been from the outset that that subsidy would not be increased Any additional costs not covered by the revenues would come as an annual contribution from a matured special assessment fund. Councilmember Jacobs said he had received a request that basketball courts be incorporated into the project which he thought a good idea and would encourage at some point down the line It was moved by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Brimeyer to authorize the Mayor and City Manager to execute the agreement The motion passed 7-0 21 City Council meeting minutes February 5, 1996 9b Community Rehabilitation Fund Program It was moved by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Latz, to approve submission of the application to MHFA In answer to Councilmember Sanger's question as to why the City was not seeking more funding, Mr. Harmening said there was a lot of competition for the monies available and the City's request for $100,000 seemed a prudent one The motion passed 5-0 (Councilmembers Haun and Young out of the chambers) 9c Minnesota City Participation Program (MCPP) Mr Harmening said the City has received a million dollar allocation for this program This time round staff is requesting $3 5 million Mayor Dorfman, speaking of the marketing of the program, asked if some of the rental housing in the City such as Meadowbrook and Louisiana Court could be targeted Mr Harmening said that certainly could be done and he would look at ways of improving how the word gets around regarding this program and gets to the people that staff would like to see use it It was moved by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Sanger, to approve submission of an application for Minnesota City Participation Program The motion passed 6-0 (Councilmember Latz out of the chambers) 9d. Groundwater pumpout well installation, Projects 96-07, 96-08 Resolution 96-17 It was moved by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Haun, to adopt Resolution 96-17 entitled "Resolution accepting the City Engineer's report, establishing Improvement Project Nos 96-07 and 96-08, ordering Improvement Project Nos 96-07 and 96-08, approving plans and specifications " The motion passed 6-0 9e. City Engineer's report Sanitary sewer forcemain, Excelsior Blvd from France Ave to Huntington Resolution 96-18 22 City Council meeting minutes February 5, 1996 It was moved by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Haun, to adopt Resolution 96-18 entitled "Resolution accepting the City Engineer's report, establishing Improvement Project No 90-42, ordering the project, approving plans and specifications and authorizing advertisement for bids" The motion passed 6-0 9f Traffic Study 467 Traffic controls at Edgewood and W 23rd St Resolution 96-19 It was moved by Councilmember Young, seconded by Councilmember Haun, to adopt Resolution 96-19 entitled "Resolution authorizing stop sign placement at W. 23rd St and Edgewood Ave" The motion passed 6-0 9g Consultant selection Reilly Tar related activities Resolution 96-20 It was moved by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Haun, to adopt Resolution 96-20 entitled"Resolution authorizing execution of agreement with ENSR Consulting and 111 Engineering for professional services related to implementation of the Reilly Tar& Chemical Corp Remedial Action Plan" The motion passed 7-0 (Councilmember Latz returned to chambers) 9h. Request for MnDOT to perform special speed zone study T H 100 east frontage road, E 26th to Cedar Lake Rd Councilmember Sanger said a petition had come to the City on this asking for a reduction in the speed limit and placement of a 3-way stop at the intersection of Parkwoods Rd Traffic is usually speeding in front of Benilde and the people coming out of Lake Forest are hampered trying to get on the frontage road, either right or left She would be in support of a study to look at the speeds and efficacy of placement of 3-way stop signs She asked where staff was with the request for a 3- way stop Mr Meyer said it was not proceeding independently MnDOT has exclusive jurisdiction over the speed limit, but not the signage Staff, in asking for the speed study, would ask MnDOT to also look at the signagt together with the speed study Councilmember Young asked if the City opened itself up to possibly a higher speed if a speed study is done1 23 City Council meeting minutes February 5, 1996 Mr Rardin said the speed limit could possibly be raised MnDOT tries to make a determination as to what is in the best interests of all the public But there always is a potential that it be raised Councilmember Brimeyer said he felt this was a waste of time recounting that the speed limit had been raised several years ago and that four accidents occurring had nothing to do with speed If speed is an issue, nail the speeders with tickets and the word will get out Councilmember Jacobs had no problem with the study being done as long as people understand there is a risk that MnDOT may come back and raise it to 50 mph But in no way would he go along with a stop sign anywhere along that frontage road. Mayor Dorfman suggested the stop sign at Parkwoods, being a City decision, could be brought to a study session for further study Councilmember Latz referenced a letter stating speed samples had been taken in October 1995 Are they now being asked to redo this or are they also being asked to do other things Councilmember Haun recalled that when the road was being designed, City staff asked for a different configuration because of the school. This fell upon deaf ears It was moved by Councilmember Sanger, seconded by Councilmember Brimeyer, to defer and bring the issue of the petition and stop sign to a study session and defer whether or not to request a speed study to the last meeting in March The motion passed 7-0 9i. Preliminary PUD - Ryan Companies for Honeywell site It was moved by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Latz, to set a public hearing for February 20, 1996 The motion passed 7-0. 9j. Preliminary 1995 financial report 9k Minutes Planning Commission January 3 and January 17 91. Minutes Cable TV Commission January 16 By consent, items 9j through 91 ordered filed 24 City Council meeting minutes February 5, 1996 UNFINISHED BUSINESS 10a. Boards and Commissions Mayor Dorfman noted Joanne Murphy and Robert Bellingham have resigned from the Cable TV Commission. A motion to accept the resignations was made by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Young and passed 7-0 Thank you letters will be sent to each 10b Hutchinson Spur It was moved by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Latz, to approve the agreement, and authorize the Mayor and City Manager to execute the documents. The motion passed 7-0 NEW BUSINESS 11a. Animal Humane Society Renewal of pulltab permits at Park Tavern Lounge& Lanes Resolution 96-21. 96-22 Councilmember Young asked for information about the applicant's activities and use of profits Rick Gabrielson, Animal Humane Society, gave a rundown of distribution of their profits in St Louis Park. Mayor Dorfman noted the St Louis Park ordinance contains no criteria related to the distribution of contributions and staff does not require applicants to supply this information It was moved by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Haun, to adopt Resolutions 96-21 and 96-22 authorizing renewal of two premises permits at Park Tavern Lounge and Lanes. The motion passed 7-0 MISCELLANEOUS 12a Damage claims VFW Post, Thomas Carlon; Angela Quale, Madden v Nicholson, Donahue and City of St Louis Park By consent, claims referred to City Clerk and City Manager 25 12b Communications from the Mayor No communications City Council meeting minutes February 5, 1996 12c Communications from the City Manager Mr Meyer briefly discussed the legislative items for the City moving through the Legislature He announced his appointment of Joanne Kutzler as Deputy City Manager CLAIMS, APPROPRIATIONS, CONTRACT PAYMENTS 13a Vendor claims By consent, the list of vendor claims prepared by the Director of Finance dated February 5, 1996 was approved and checks authorized to be issued in the following amounts- Vendor claims $1,024,155 70 and payroll claims $24,231 70 13b Contract payments -Partial 1 Toltz, King, Duvall, Anderson& Assoc. Engineering services Amount $399 21 2 Northwest Asphalt Paving, curb/gutter, watermain, storm sewer Amount $17,434 95 3. Ridgedale Electric Lighting improvements Amount $3,633 75 4.Twin City Electric Utility controls. Amount $84,269 19 5. Thomas & Sons Construction Traffic actuated signal, miscellaneous roadway work Amount $68,851 06 6 Calgon Carbon Corp : Carbon change out Amount $17,925 00 7. Judd Supply Co Street light equipment purchase Amount $82,370 61 By consent, contract payments approved and checks authorized to be distributed. 14 Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 9 30 p m e led jjJr\ Mayo Gail Dorfman Recording Secretary 26