HomeMy WebLinkAbout1997/10/27 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Study Session TY OF Minutes
llST.CLOUIS City Council Study Session ••
PARK October 27, 1997
7:00 p.m.
The meeting convened at 7 08 p m
Present at the meeting were Councilmembers Beverly Flanagan, Ron Latz, Robert Young, Sue
Sanger, Jeff Jacobs and Mayor Gail Dorfman
Staff present City Manager(Mr Meyer), Deputy City Manager(Ms. Kutzler); Director of
Community Development (Mr Harmening), Public Works Director(Mr Rardin), Water Utility
Superintendent (Mr. Anderson); Planning Coordinator(Ms Jeremiah), Planning Coordinator(Ms
Erickson), Assistant Finance Director(Mr Felton); and City Clerk (Ms Larsen).
1. Consent Agenda
Councilmember Young began the discussion by introducing an agenda prepared for a City
Council meeting in Plymouth where the consent agenda format is used extensively. He suggested
that it could be beneficial for St Louis Park to include more items on consent in order to provide
the Council with the opportunity to more thoroughly deliberate and discuss items of a
controversial nature or which require extensive public input
Council reviewed past St. Louis Park agendas and discussed which items they felt could or could
not be placed on consent
Mayor Dorfman pointed out that we should be careful that we continue to educate the public
regarding decisions made by Council She also raised the question of who has the power to
remove items from consent. After discussion it was agreed that Council, staff or the public should
be allowed to move items from consent to the regular agenda
Mr. Meyer stated that staff had been fairly conservative in placing items on consent in the past and
agreed to direct staff to do research regarding past procedures and practices. He further stated
that he would make an effort to place more items on consent in the future
Councilmember Brimeyer suggested that the City continue to make every effort to educate the
public using all tools available, i.e , Community TV, the interne, newsletters, mailings, etc.
2. Park Commons Market Study
Mary Bujold, Senior Market Specialist from Maxfield Research Group made a presentation to
Council in which she outlined the current status of the market study and provided some
preliminary recommendations. Her presentation included projections regarding market situations
for the office, retail and hospitality industries as well as projections for housing
Councilmember Jacobs stated that he felt adequate parking should be part of any plan. Several
options for parking were discussed
Mayor Dorfman suggested that development should be allowed to occur naturally within the
context of livable community guidelines, and that the City should not be in the position of
choosing which businesses should be placed in the area
Councilmember Flanagan asked if soil testing had begun Ms Jeremiah stated that testing would
be done following the market analysis She further stated that development guidelines for the area
are in progress.
3. Proposed Amendments to the Zoning Ordinance- Livable Communities
Judie Erickson led the Council in a discussion regarding several proposed Zoning Ordinance
amendments intended to redirect building and site planning toward achieving the goals of Vision
St Louis Park and to incorporate Livable Communities principles
Councilmember Sanger asked if persons asking for variances are being informed by BOZA of
these potential changes. Ms Erickson replied that they have and that many are waiting to
remodel so that they can be in compliance with the proposed changes
Ms Erickson explained the existing policy and proposed changes to the Zoning Ordinance as it ,
related to several areas such as accessory apartments, uses and structures, yard encroachments,
cluster housing, sidewalks, parking reductions, signs and commercial setbacks.
Discussion focused primarily on the use of accessory structures for housing and office space with
major concerns expressed over height of accessory structures, parking, access stairways and the
potential for absentee landlord situations in the City
Councilmember Young took this opportunity to inform Council of an article included in the
Atlantic Monthly about Livable Community Principals and New Urbanism and asked that the
article be distributed to City Council and the Planning Commission
Following discussion staff was asked to bring this issue to a future study session after making
revisions to the proposed ordinance.
4. Claims Processing
Mark Felton presented suggested changes to the claim payment process intended to expedite
payment to vendors and provide for more uniform work flow for City staff Council endorsed the
changes and asked Mr Felton to bring the finalized changes forward to a future City Council
meeting for approval
5. Public Works Services & Programs
Mike Rardin and Scott Anderson led a discussion intended to explain to Council the programs and
services related to the Water, Sanitary Sewer and Storm Sewer budgets. Using charts, graphs, a
map and other information included in the accompanying report, Mr Anderson explained how the
City's water and sewer systems interconnect and how the Utility Department is organized to
deliver needed services in the community
Council also discussed funding and revenue sources for future improvements to the storm sewer
system.
A motion to adjourn was made by Councilmember Brimeyer and seconded by Councilmember
Jacobs The meeting adjourned at 10 55 p m
a -7k
it Dorfman, Mayor
Recording Secretary