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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1996/01/08 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Study Session MINUTES 111 STUDY SESSION ST. LOUIS PARK CITY COUNCIL January 8, 1996 Mayor Gail Dorfman called the meeting to order at 7 00 p m Present were Councilmembers Robert Young, Jeff Jacobs, Sue Sanger, Ron Latz and Jim Brimeyer. Also present were City Manager(Mr Meyer); Dir. of Community Development (Mr Harmening); Planning Coordinator(Ms. Jeremiah); Economic Development Coordinator(Mr Anderson), Director of Inspections (Mr Petersen); Police Chief(Mr Mitchell). 1 Development Fund Policy Mr Anderson presented staff's report He explained this was before Council this evening because some of the guidelines have been revised It is hoped formal adoption of the Policy can be at the January 16 EDA/Council meeting It was suggested household sustaining wages be added to III Objectives B(e) Councilmember Brimeyer asked is such things as artwork and other amenities would be included Mr. Anderson said they would. Councilmember Sanger felt the guidelines should be mandatory for all projects coming under the Development Fund Policy The Guidelines will be edited taking Council's comments into consideration and will come before Council for final approval on January 16 2 Ryan PUD proposal and roadway improvements Ms Jeremiah presented the staff report • At odds were four major issues. Quantity of surface parking; Landscaping in parking lots, Exterior building materials, and Sign standards On these four items, Ryan was seeking reduction or deviation from Code requirements A lengthy discussion followed Councilmember Brimeyer felt it important to ascertain the kind of feeling shoppers, visitors, business people, etc would have about the development Councilmember Sanger was concerned that the developer was rushing the Council, prohibiting a careful and thoughtful analysis of the plans. It was the consensus of Council to breakup the sea of parking -- use of landscaping, trees, bike racks, benches, etc -- and allow the outdoor sales area to be included in parking calculations. There was general agreement there were too many free-standing signs and the example of signage at Galleria was mentioned -- signs on the building identifying the stores therein Bill McHale of Ryan thought there could be a compromise with the signage Relative to the exterior building materials, there was a suggestion for averaging out the various buildings Generally it was agreed the design using brick, rock face block and glass was attractive, and the developer should concentrate on improving the fronts of the buildings, possibly allowing less brick on the backs of buildings. There was a spirited discussion relative to landscaping in the parking lots -- fewer larger trees vs more smaller trees, use of bushes, berming to screen headlights It was noted that this item is on the January 16 agenda. Ryan Construction will see in the iterim how they can revise their plans to best address the suggestions and concerns of the Council Due to the need for plan revisions, it was noted that it would likely be impossible for staff to complete its review and provide a recommendation on January 16 However, every effort would be made to respond to revisions as quickly as possible With regard to roadway improvements that are not directly attributable to the proposed Ryan development or future MEPC expansion, there was general consensus that the debt levy could be used 3 Final TIF Application Proposed project- 74 unit townhome development -- Victoria Ponds Mr Anderson explained the purpose of this item is to review a final tax increment application submitted for the Victoria Ponds project. TIF assistance is sought to assist in defraying soil remediation costs Options related to expansion of the project area and creation of a TIF district were discussed Relative to making the whole city the project area, it was felt doing this would create more requests for TW This item will be placed on the January 16 EDA agenda 4 PUD ordinance amendments Ms Jeremiah said this report was intended to clarify questions raised at the January 2 meeting regarding the difference between major and minor amendments to PUDs and the process that would be used to consider each type of amendment She distributed a chart showing examples of PUD ordinance amendments listing a sampling of requests, whether a major or minor amendment, requirement for public hearing, vote by City Council for approval and staff approval input Council thanked her for the illustration which cleared up previous questions The item will be on the January 16 agenda for second reading 5 Special Service Districts Mr Anderson said the purpose of this report was to update Council on the current and future steps to be taken to implement a special service district in the vicinity of Excelsior Blvd , Park Center Blvd east of Hwy. 100 and west of Monterey Dr He had provided and briefly discussed a fact sheet explaining specifics related to special service districts and steps required to implement a district Also he distirbuted an implementation schedule No further action is required at this time 6 Expanded hours of operation for Twin Lakes dredging Mr Petersen reviewed the staff report relative to the dredging operation He noted an amendment to the Conditional Use Permit for this project will be on the January 16 Council agenda The minor amendment is being requested as the contractor is concerned about his ability to complete the dredging by February 15 because of weather conditions 7 Alarm ordinance revision Mr. Mitchell briefly reviewed this report. The ordinance amendment would simplify the ordinance, increase the administrative fee to reflect real costs and to provide fewer"free" false alarms per user Currently 98-99% of police responses to alarms prove to be false The amended ordinance proposes one free false alarm per user per year and an administrative fee of$75 per false alarm thereafter r Additional item Mr Meyer distributed a memo relative to the pension benefit program proposed for the City Manager. It was Council consensus to place this item on the January 16 agenda The study session adjourned at 10.35 p m ZAit 1--ii/t. ecording Secretary