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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1996/03/04 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Regular MINUTES CITY COUNCIL MEETING ST. LOUIS PARK, MINNESOTA March 4, 1996 I Call to order Mayor Dorfman called the meeting to order at 7.30 p m 2 Presentations Police Chief Mancel Mitchell presented a Certificate of Commendation to Kevin Huntington, a private citizen, who was receiving his second Commendation, an extremely rare occurrence Kevin was commended for his on-going assistance to the Police Department and most recently reporting of suspicious activity in his neighborhood which led to the recovery of a stolen car 3 Roll call The following Councilmembers were present at roll call Jeff Jacobs, George Haun, Robert Young and Jim Brimeyer Also present were the City Manager(Mr Meyer); City Attorney (Ms Pace), Director of Community Development (Mr Harmening), Director of Public Works (Mr. Rardin), Planning Coordinator(Ms Jeremiah), Economic Development Coordinator(Mr Anderson); Police Chief (Mr. Mitchell), Director of Finance (Ms McBride), and Personnel Officer(Mr. Wysopal) 4 Approval of the minutes February 20 Minutes approved with the following corrections. 6b Preliminary plat: Ryan Construction, the applicant requested a continuance, not staff, 8c proposed landscaping is on the frontage road north of Parkwoods, not north"to" Parkwoods, 9a, 3rd paragraph, 1st line should read, "Mr Meyer addressed the question if prices have actually increased." February 26 study session Minutes approved with the following corrections, items 3 and 4 Delete any reference to Cub Foods and replace with proposed discount grocer. 5 Approval of agenda It was moved by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Haun, to approve the consent agenda The motion passed 5-0 It was moved by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Haun, to approve the agenda The motion passed 5-0 35 City Council minutes March 4, 1996 PUBLIC HEARINGS 6a Preliminary plat - Victoria Ponds, 2631 Virginia Resolution 96-31 Ms Jeremiah gave an overview of the proposed Victoria Ponds Townhome development at 2631 Virginia Ave. Most of the planned units hold two townhomes, but four of the buildings would include three units each necessitating a Conditional Use Permit which will be addressed as agenda item 6b She passed around a revised resolution which is intended to ensure that the 20-foot wide roadways will remain unobstructed (Condition No 11) Also there is an additional Condition No 10 which will provide for financial surety for the installation of all on-site improvements including roadways, landscaping, ponding, etc. Also Condition No 3 has been revised to include an engineering recommendation on the thickness of the paving on the streets Frederick Porter, 9255 W 23rd St. and Conrad Posz, 9307 W 23rd St. each gave a lengthy presentation in opposition to the proposed project. Lisa Kohls, 2727 Rhode Island Ave., manager of Rhode Island Chateau Apartments, spoke She and the residents of the apartments were very excited about Victoria Ponds and look forward to having the development there. Other residents expressing their opposition to the project were Phil Ness, 2831 Pennsylvania Ave , Bill Skewes, 3105 Texas Ave., Dale Swain, 8211 W. 34 1/2 St., Bob Sater, 1440 Flag Ave. So , John Torgeson, 3156 Georgia Ave So , Mark Jones, 2525 Virginia Ave , Marlin Naar, 1915 Stanlen Rd., Mike Mitchell, 2931 Rhode Island Ave So , Tom Olson, 2850 Sumter. Contrary to the comments of one of the speakers, Mayor Dorfinan said this was a preliminary plat consideration this evening and was not a done deal that had slipped through She commented there were numerous meetings relative to this project along with hours and hours of work studying the proposal. Steve Johnston, designer of the project, spoke They were in agreement with staffs comments) support and appreciated their support of the project With 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 Ms Jeremiah addressed some of the specific issues raised by the speakers including notification to the surrounding neighborhood, traffic, railroad noise, vanances, subdivision ordinance and its 36 City Council minutes III March 4, 1996 consistency with zoning ordinance, adequacy of proposed open space, findings that can substantiate the granting of variances to the subdivision ordinance, roadway width, parking, lot size standards, involvement of Fire Department in planning/design Councilmember Young asked why TIF funds were being requested and how much revenue is being considered and what would be left over for trail improvements Mr. Harmening responded TIF was requested to make the project financially feasible due to the soil problems on the site -- poor soils, the site needs to be filled, and there is some contamination due to an asphalt plant formerly located on the site. Due to the costs associated with fixing these problems, the developer cannot create enough revenue out of the project to pay the costs associated with developing the project and at the same time providing some reasonable rate of return on the developer's investment Upon buildout, the property will generate in terms of new increment about $180,000 per year If the Council desired to extend the district out for its full life, there would be approximately $750,000 (present value) available for things such as trail improvements. Councilmember Jacobs had concerns about the 20-foot street width as well as the density proposed His preference would be 24-foot streets which would result in less density Some TIF assistance was o k., but he was concerned about fire safety, access He asked why was the Council being asked to come up with additional TIF money in order to get wider streets Mr. Harmening responded that by reducing the number of units, to 68 for example which apparently would be necessary to widen streets to 24 feet, the developer indicated his costs don't go down -- in fact they increase a bit The developer said he will still have to fill the site, do the soil correction whether it's for 74 units or 68 units. Also, the developer indicated he will experience additional costs due to increased infrastructure costs if the streets are 4 feet wider. Although the expenditures stay the same, the revenues actually go down because he's losing the revenue of 6 units due to the reduction from 74 to 68 Councilmember Jacobs asked why was this the City's problem Mr Harmening said he was not sure it was the City's problem other than if the City were to desire 24 or 28 foot wide streets, and to the extent that it increased project costs and the Council did not desire to provide additional TIF assistance, the developer would have to make a decision whether he wanted to proceed with the project. Councilmember Haun said no matter what the fact remains what is to be done with this property He was tired of seeing this piece of property vacant, for some 50 years by his recollection He wanted to see it developed and providing taxes to the City 37 City Council minutes March 4, 1996 Councilmember Young was opposed to the former plan for this property, in essence subsidized apartments He did not think that was a good use of TIF monies He thinks Victoria Ponds is an appropriate use of TIF and that it meets a lot of needs in the community -- one being that one of the goals of the visioning process is that the City needs more move-up housing like these, with 2- car garages and additional amenities He felt the market was there for this type of project Also this project is going to help fund the Hutchinson Spur if all goes as planned Mayor Dorfman felt this project would enhance what presently is an eyesore The primary goal is to have a project that fits with the community If she had any concerns, it was that the proposal is a bit too internal looking. She hoped it would become part of the larger community and not walled off, so to speak. She noted that the abutting synagogue, concerned about some safety issues, had asked in the agreement with Mr Curry that a security fence be installed She hoped that would not come to pass Councilmember Brimeyer felt that an industrial use would have been the best given the surrounding land uses When one views the City as a regulator, it meets the zoning requirements. When he views the City as investor, in this case using TIF, one has to look at the rate of return, the repayment timeframe and how it can be leveraged Other than the street issue, not width but that they will be private, which he viewed as of concern from the regulatory standpoint, he found the project to be worthy of development. Councilmember Jacobs agreed that it was a good investment, not a bad land use He remained concerned about the street width and would be happier if the width could be increased Councilmember Brimeyer felt that from a safety standpoint Council needed to be reassured that the 20 foot width was acceptable Ms. Pace said this could be added as a condition Mayor Dorfman said also added as a condition would be that there would be closer inspection and that Council would hear directly from the Fire Marshal It was moved by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Young, to adopt Resolution 96-31 entitled"Resolution giving approval for preliminary plat of Victoria Ponds with certain variances to the platting requirements" with the additional condition that the Fire Marshal be consulted and give his approval to the project which would include, but not be limited to, the width and configuration of the street design and make recommendations to the Council for their consideration prior to final approval of the plat Ms Pace asked if it would not be more appropriate to put that added condition into the Conditional Use Permit rather than into the plat resolution 38 City Council minutes March 4, 1996 Ms Jeremiah said the preliminary plat resolution states that all of the conditions of the Conditional Use Permit have to be met Procedurally it probably doesn't matter The motion passed 5-0 6b Conditional Use Permit to permit cluster housing consisting of 74 townhomes - SVK Development, 2631 Virginia Ave (Victoria Ponds) Resolution 96-32 Todd Peterson, 2824 Sumter Ave., asked if this would be a gated community Mayor Dorfman said it would not. 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 date. It was moved by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Young, to adopt Resolution 96-32 entitled"A resolution granting Conditional Use Permit under Section 14 5- 4 4(D)(1) of the St Louis Park Ordinance Code relating to zoning to permit cluster housing consisting of 74 townhomes for property zoned R-3 Two Family Residence District located at 2631 Virginia Ave " The motion passed 5-0 PETITIONS, REQUESTS, COMMUNICATIONS 7a Variance appeal 2631 Virginia Ave Mr Petersen said the variance request had to do with the developer's (Victoria Ponds) request to install a bufferyard "D" instead of the required"F" The proposal for a D bufferyard was 10 to 11 over-story trees short from the requirement Councilmember Brimeyer said that as an investor, do whatever needs to be done so the people buying the townhomes don't see the industrial building . Mr Curry said it wasn't about money, it was about the survivability of the plantings He said stuffing trees on the site just to meet the ordinance requirements means the trees will loose their lower limbs as they fight for nutrients and light His plan calls for dogwoods, spruce, over-story trees -- all of which create the screen and they will grow tall and be healthy Councilmember Bnmeyer said this same question came up re the Ryan development He asked what"F" was supposed to do 39 City Council minutes March 4, 1996 Mr Petersen said the"F" landscaping requirement creates a difference of intensity between residential and a heavier industrial use He said the developer was using a very narrow strip of land to plant the trees on. A reasonable alternative in staff's view is to widen the strip of land Councilmember Young asked if the industrial facility had anything like loading docks adjacent to the project Mr Curry said it was mainly office/warehouse Councilmember Young suggested Mr Smith might give him some more land in order to create the"F" bufferyard It was moved by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Brimeyer, to defer the item to March 18 Councilmember Young felt that given the history on this property the owner owes the developer and the Council to do everything possible to create the bufferyard and ought to consider giving more than 3 feet as a bufferyard With regard to the 60 day time period for decision, Mr Curry said that was fine with him and he offered same in writing SVK Development hereby waives any rights it may have regarding timeframes of 60 days for action by the St Louis Park City Council to act on the developer's bufferyard variance. The motion passed 5-0 RESOLUTIONS AND ORDINANCES 8a Minnehaha Creek Watershed District Commissioners Resolution 96-33 It was moved by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Haun, to adopt Resolution 96-33 entitled "Resolution appointing Michael P Rardin, Commissioner and Carlton B Moore, Alternate Commissioner, to the Bassett Creek Watershed Management Commission " The motion passed 5-0. 8b Labor agreement with LELS for police officers Resolution 96-34 It was moved by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Haun, to adopt Resolution 96-34 entitled "Resolution approving the labor agreement between the City of St Louis Park and Law Enforcement Labor Services Local #206 establishing wages, benefits and terms and conditions of employment for 1996 and 1997 " 40 City Council minutes II March 4, 1996 The motion passed 5-0 8c Resolution of findings Classic Cafe and Bar Resolution 96-35 It was moved by Councilmember Haun, seconded by Councilmember Jacobs, to adopt resolution 96-35 entitled "A resolution determining that the Classic Cafe and Bar has violated Minnesota Statutes Section 340A 503, subd 1(a)(1) and St Louis Park Ordinance Code Section 13-115 pertaining to sales of intoxicating alcohol to minors and imposing no civil penalty and/or a suspension or revocation of its on-sale, Sunday sale intoxicating liquor license " The motion passed 5-0 8d Resolution approving Early Retirement Reduction Factor for members of the Consolidated Police and Fire Relief Associations Resolution 96-36 Councilmember Jacobs asked what effect this would have on the City's retirement amount or will it have any effect on how much we pay to the retirement accounts Mr Meyer said this would conform the City's Relief Associations to the State-wide PERA plan By legislation a year ago, the State-wide plan reduced the penalty for early retirement between age 50 and 55 for Police and Fire There is a cost associated with that but the City had no choice about accepting This proposal would allow the employees still in the Relief plans to receive the same benefit for which there is an approximate cost to the City of$37,000 the first year That cost will diminish each year as time goes on It was moved by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Brimeyer, to adopt Resolution 96-36 entitled "Resolution approving change in early retirement reduction factor" The motion passed 5-0 REPORTS FROM OFFICERS, BOARDS, COMMITTEES 9a Traffic Study No 509 Traffic controls at Raleigh Ave/W 27th St Councilmember Brimeyer asked if the purpose of the neighborhood meeting was to tell the residents the intersection doesn't meet the warrants and the stop sign will not be installed or allow more time to get signatures on a petition Mayor Dorfman said very few residents signed the petition and that staff is trying to get a sense of what the overall neighborhood concerns are 41 City Council minutes March 4, 1996 Mr Rardin said the purpose of a neighborhood meeting would be to inform residents in the area of that intersection of the request, staff's findings and the recommendation to the Council and to allow them to have input if they choose to do so Councilmember Brimeyer moved and Councilmember Jacobs seconded to send notice to the people who would be invited to a neighborhood meeting that the petition was received, warrants are not met and what their options are The motion passed 5-0 9b Void 9c. HOME application for Habitat for Humanity projects Mr. Meyer said there was another property staff would like to add to the application as a separate piece It would not be proposed as a Habitat for Humanity, rather a redevelopment of the parcel Mr Harmemng said staff anticipates requesting around $180,000 for acquisition of two properties, demolition of the existing structures and make the projects available for a Habitat project or acquire them and make them available for a rehab Habitat project There is another structure Inspections is currently reviewing for rehab and staff would like to add another $50,000 in the application which could be used to acquire the structure and remedy the problems on the property. It was moved by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Young, to approve submittal of the application The motion passed 5-0 9d. Minutes. Planning Commission February 4 By consent minutes ordered filed UNFINISHED BUSINESS l0a Boards and Commissions Laurie Powell's resignation from BOZA was accepted and a thank you letter will be sent to her Mayor Dorfman said Councilmembers will be reviewing the current applications for appointment to the various board/commission openings 42 City Council minutes March 4, 1996 NEW BUSINESS 11 a B T Bombers, Inc Pulltab sales at Al's Liquor Resolution 96-30 David Payne, owner of Al's, addressed Council He said the reason they wanted to change pulltab sellers was that he, Scott McDonald and John Ross of the Braille Sports Foundation wanted to revitalize the Braille Sports Foundation and bring more of the pulltab revenues back into St Louis Park It was moved by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Haun, to adopt Resolution 96-30 entitled "A resolution of the St Louis Park City Council approving issuance of a premises permit for Lawful gambling. B T. Bombers, Inc The motion passed 5-0 MISCELLANEOUS 12a Damage claims Dillon Thomson; Helen Hiller By consent, claims referred to City Clerk and City Manager 12b Communications from the Mayor Mayor Dorfman reminded those present about the TwinWest State of the City coffee to be held on Wednesday, March 6 at 7 30 a.m in the chambers. 12c Communications from the City Manager Mr Meyer noted the Home Remodeling Fair held jointly with Hopkins, Minnetonka and Golden Valley was a huge success and he thanked City staff for their participation CLAIMS, APPROPRIATIONS, CONTRACT PAYMENTS 13a Vendor claims By consent, the claims prepared by the Director of Finance, dated March 4, 1996 were approved and checks authorized to be distributed in the following amounts Vendor claims $865,277 29 and payroll claims $31,825 30 13b Contract payments 43 1 Midwest Asphalt Corp . Improvements to Aquila Ave. north of T H. 7 Amount $2,049 04 2 Twin City Electric Water utility energy savings improvements Amount. $50,417 96 3. Tolz, King, Duvall, Anderson& Assoc Engineering services. Amount $886.97 4. Judd Supply Co ' Street lighting equipment Amount $57,163 88 5. Freidges Landscaping Landscaping and site improvements. Amount $43,700 City Council minutes March 4, 1996 6 Ridgedale Electric. Lighting improvements Amount $16,957 50 7. Hardrives Road reconstruction Amount $43,217 80 By consent, contract payments approved and payment authorized 14 Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 9.55 p m on a motion by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Haun which passed 5-0 110,0 1/1/ - ayor Gail Dorfman r')OLV A/ L # Recording Secretary 44