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Home My WebLink About1998/11/16 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Regular r CITY OF MINUTES OFFICIAL MI ES ST. LOUIS CITY COUNCIL MEETING PARK ST. LOUIS PARK, MINNESOTA November 16, 1998 ' 1. Call to Order Mayor Gail Dorfman called the meeting to order at 7:34 p m 2. Presentations 2a. National Night Out Richard Tostenson, Senator's Rod Grams Liaison Officer was present and commended St. Louis Park for their community night out program during National Night Out. Mr Tostenson read a letter from Senator Rod Gram and presented a Certificate from the United States Senate in recognition of the City's outstanding community achievement which could not have been done without neighborhood watch groups to Captain Rod Walker and Sergeant Ward Doeman of the St Louis Park Police Department Mayor Dorfman commended the dedicated service of the City's Block Captains and recognized those Block Captains present 2b. Recognition of Board and Commission Resignees Mayor Dorfman presented Certificates of Appreciation to Sharon Hansen, Barry Dunayer, Tom Powers, Michael Brandt, Ruth Erickson, Linda Hammersten, Teri Reitan, Julie Hart, Belinda Pinney, and Darcel Lewis in honor of their dedicated service 3. Roll Call The following Councilmembers were present Jeff Jacobs, Chris Nelson, Sue Sanger, Ron Latz, Robert Young, Jim Brimeyer, and Mayor Gail Dorfman Also present were the City Manager(Mr Meyer), City Attorney (Mr Scott), Director of Community Development (Mr Harmening), Planning Associate (Ms Peterson), Planning Coordinator(Ms. Erickson), and Financial Director(Ms McBride) 4. Approval of Minutes 4a. City Council Meeting of November 2, 1998 With the following minor corrections, the minutes were approved as presented Page 1, under Presentations, 3rd paragraph should state that David Payne commended the City and City Staff instead of Jim Rhodes Page 3, 3rd paragraph from the bottom should be changed to read"Councilmember Latz clarified that any taxes received from development of the area would have to pay for soil remediation, but indicated that this would come no where near covering the soil remediation costs whether it was developed or not developed on the Oak Park Village Park site" 5. Approval of Agendas a. Consent Agenda It was moved by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Nelson, to approve the consent agenda with the removal of Item 9b. The motion passed 7-0. b. Agenda It was moved by Councilmember Sanger, seconded by Councilmember Jacobs, to approve the agenda The motion passed 7-0 c. Resolutions and Ordinances By consent, Council waived reading of resolutions and ordinances 6. Public Hearings 6a. 1999 Budget Proposal for Special Service District#1 Mr. Harmening, Director of Community Development presented a staff report. The Mayor closed the Public Hearing with the right of the Council to reopen it at a future date. Mayor Dorfman asked what the procedure was in regards to informing a new potential owner when a business sells within a Special Service District. Mr Harmening indicated that staff would contact the new property owner and inform them of the Special Service District and the fees that would be expected to pay by that property owner Mr Meyer, City Manager stated that when a Special Service District was created, it was established that all properties within the district would be obligated to pay the district taxes just like any other city tax It was moved by Councilmember Nelson, seconded by Councilmember Jacobs, to approve the resolution setting the Special Service District #1 1999 operating budget and service charges and directing staff to certify the annual service charge to Hennepin County The motion passed 7-0. 6b. 1999 Budget Proposal for Special Service District#2 Mr Harmening, Director of Community Development presented a staff report David Payne was present and indicated that he had received no complaints and commended the City staff for their work The Mayor closed the Public Hearing with the right of the Council to reopen it at a future date. It was moved by Councilmember Nelson, seconded by Councilmember Jacobs, to approve the resolution setting the Special Service District #2 1999 operating budget and service charges and directing staff to certify the annual service charge to Hennepin County The motion passed 7-0. 6c. Public hearing and First Reading of Amendments to the Zoning Ordinance Case No. 98-9-ZA Ms. Peterson, Planning Associate presented a staff report and indicated that staff and the Planning Commission recommended adoption of the amendment to the zoning ordinance as outlined in the staff report. The Mayor closed the Public Hearing with the right of the Council to reopen it at a future date. Councilmember Nelson was in favor of the amendments because it didn't bring patients or other types of customers into the industrial general district and it wouldn't serve to dilute the industrial district It was moved by Councilmember Nelson, seconded by Councilmember Jacobs, to approve First Reading of an ordinance amending the Zoning Ordinance relative to medical, optical, and dental laboratories and to set Second Reading for December 7, 1998 The motion passed 7-0 6d. Amendments to the Subdivision Ordinance and Zoning Ordinance Case No. 98-32-SOMA Ms. Peterson, Planning Associate recommended to continue the public hearing until December 7, 1998 in order to consult the City Attorney on certain aspects of the subdivision ordinance It was moved by Councilmember Sanger, seconded by Councilmember Nelson, to continue the public hearing until December 7, 1998 The motion passed 7-0 6e. Case No. 98-31-ZA Zoning Code Text Amendment Ms. Erickson, Planning Coordinator presented a staff report and indicated that staff and the Planning Commission recommended approval The Mayor closed the Public Hearing with the right of the Council to reopen it at a future date. Councilmember Sanger stated that this was an excellent idea and it goes a long way to helping prevent the over construction of parking spaces which are not needed and allows the City to develop more green space or something that might be more aesthetic She had a concern that this proposed ordinance does not go far enough, and in addition to what has been proposed, she would like to see additional language that sets a maximum on the number of parking spaces as well as minimums. She stated the reason for doing this was that even with reduced parking requirements from a new ordinance, there would be nothing to stop a developer from coming in and demanding an enormous amount of parking spaces. She referred to the enormous parking area that was demanded and constructed at the Honeywell site She moved to defer any formal action on this and direct staff to develop additional language in the proposed ordinance to put in some caps on the maximum amount of parking for shopping centers and bring the ordinance back for Council action later Mayor Dorfinan indicated that the Council could pass first reading and direct staff to incorporate this language into second reading Councilmember Nelson believed that the City was too burdensome on the parking requirement and was concerned that this went through the Planning Commission without a quorum Ms. Erickson, Planning Coordinator indicated that the zoning ordinance stated that if the Planning Commission initiated an amendment, it did not have to go back to them. The Planning Commission did initiate this amendment, therefore legally it could have been acted upon without the Planning Commission having a quorum. Councilmember Latz asked how this proposed ordinance would take peak shopping months into account. Ms. Erickson, Planning Coordinate indicated that the peak shopping months were examined when the City established parking requirements At those times, even though a lot of the shopping centers in St Louis Park did not meet the parking requirements that the zoning ordinance required, those parking lots were not full Staff does not feel that a burden would be created for retailers during the peak months. Mayor Dorfman stated that City was trying to strike the balance that essentially met some of the livable community criteria that was set, but didn't want to discourage new businesses as a result of it. Mr. Harmening described the ordinance and indicated that there was nothing preventing a developer or land owner from providing parking at a different ratio He believed that the City would not receive concern from a development community on this standard, but on a cap, because in some cases where there are larger projects, they exceed City requirements He believed a cap had some merit in terms of investigation, but didn't have a lot of analysis to give on how it could be done Mayor Dorfman stated that without a formal cap a developer says that I have to have spaces or I'll walk A cap would give clout to City's request Councilmember Sanger believed a cap would give the City leverage that if a developer requested more parking places, then the City could ask that other options for types of parking be examined to prevent excess paving of green space Councilmember Jacobs was concerned not to make it too difficult for smaller developers to meet parking requirements and believed it would be good to give more thought to maximum required parking because he would generally be against that because it would send a message potentially to businesses that would want to develop in St Louis Park He suggested looking at possibility of developing a sliding scale for required parking Mr Harmening, Director of Community Development indicated that establishing some type of cap would require some additional time and effort in order to think though all associated variables and develop language with the City Attorney Mr Scott, City Attorney stated that setting a cap was a separate issue than reducing the minimum standard which the Planning Commission initiated and believed it would be appropriate to initiate another amendment and have it go back through the Planning Commission Councilmember Young asked if a cap was placed on the maximum amount of parking would there be an opportunity for any variance mechanism. Ms Erickson, Planning Coordinator stated that there would be a mechanism for variances Councilmember Young was not comfortable with the possibility of government dictating what the maximum should be and was concerned that a cap may prevent potential new businesses from developing in St. Louis Park. It was moved by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Young, to approve first reading and set second reading for December 7, 1998. The motion passed 7-0. 6f. Public Hearing on the Levying of Assessments for Delinquent Fees and Charges Ms McBride, Finance Director presented a staff report and gave update on the established payment program to collect delinquent fees and charges The Mayor closed the Public Hearing with the right of the Council to reopen it at a future date Councilmember Sanger recommended increasing the penalty for delinquent accounts to cover staff cost of administering the delinquent accounts and to discourage people from relying on this process of letting their accounts go bad She asked staff for information about why a utility was not cut off when an account was seriously delinquent. Ms McBride stated that the certification process was the easiest to administer and indicated that even more staff involvement would be required if the City moved to a shut off process Councilmember Nelson was also in favor of increasing surcharge to cover cost of collection, but would not favor the utility shut off approach Councilmember Jacobs was also in favor of increasing surcharge, but at this point wasn't interested in looking seriously at utility shut off It was moved by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Nelson, to adopt resolution to assess delinquent water, sewer, refuse and other fees and charges The motion passed 7-0 7. Petitions, Requests, Communications - None 8. Resolutions and Ordinances 8a. Resolution for Gambling Premises Permit for Texa-Tonka Lanes at 8200 Minnetonka Blvd, St. Louis Park, MN 55426 Councilmember Latz indicated that he had received a letter from a constituent indicating that a permit would provide resources and scholarships to benefit students Councilmember Young asked staff what the status was in regard to Council directing staff to researching City's options to mandate proceeds Mr. Meyer, City Manager indicated that staff has been pulling together ordinances from other cities with fee requirements and would be discussed at Study Session in December or January. It was moved by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Young, to approve gambling premises permit The motion passed 7-0 8b. Resolution for Gambling Premises Permit for Bunny's Bar& Grill at new location at 5916 Excelsior Blvd, St. Louis Park, MN 55426 It was moved by Councilmember Nelson, seconded by Councilmember Jacobs, to approve gambling premises permit. The motion passed 7-0 8c. Official Map Amendment- Trail Designation Portion of Hutchinson Spur Property near 31st St. Case No. 98-30-OM It was moved by Councilmember Latz, seconded by Councilmember Jacobs, to approve second reading of an ordinance that amends the Official Map trail designation and authorize publication. The motion passed 7-0 8d. Aquila Place Final Plat Case No. 98-18-S Ms Peterson, Planning Associate presented a staff report and indicated that staff and the Planning Commission recommended approval subject to the conditions outlined in the staff report II Mayor Dorfman asked if the reference to lack of street lights in neighborhood was part of resolution being approved Ms Peterson, Planning Associate indicated that this was not part of the resolution being approved Councilmember Sanger asked if Met Council approval had been received. Ms Peterson, Planning Associate indicated that the application had been submitted, but no response had been received Councilmember Sanger was concerned about approving the resolution without having a contingency that the project was subject to the Met Council approval of the Comp Plan designation Mr Harmening, Director of Community Development stated that the possibility of not receiving Met Council approval was remote, but recommended placing a condition in the Final Plat approval resolution that a verbal or preliminary confirmation that it was going to be approved was received from Met Council It was moved by Councilmember Sanger, seconded by Councilmember Jacobs, to adopt a resolution approving the Final Plat subject to the conditions included in the resolution and with adding in language of additional contingency of Met Council approval The motion passed 7-0. 8e. Resolution Awarding the Sale of$4,305,000 in General Obligation Tax Increment Refunding Bonds Ms. McBride, Finance Director indicated that an updated copy of the bond resolution and pertinent documents had been distributed It was moved by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Brimeyer, to adopt the resolution. The motion passed 7-0. 9. Reports from Officers, Boards, Committees a. Neighborhood Revitalization Commission Minutes of September 9, 1998 By consent, Council accepted report for filing b. Neighborhood Revitalization Commission Leader's Forum of October 28, 1998 Mayor Dorfman indicated that her opening comments at the forum where she gave an update on the rail situation were in error in a number of places and did not reflect what she said about the description of where things were at the current time. (Page 61 of packet, paragraph that started "Thirdly, ." needs to be reviewed and changed ) It was moved by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Latz, to accept report for filing c. Planning Commission Minutes of October 7, 1998 By consent, Council accepted report for filing d. Planning Commission Minutes of October 21, 1998 By consent, Council accepted report for filing e. Vendor Claim Report By consent, Council accepted report for filing 10. Unfinished Business 10a. Board and Commission Appointment(s) - None 11. New Business Ila. Addendum to Vehicle Towing and Impounding Agreement It was moved by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Sanger, to approve Addendum to Vehicle Towing and Impounding Agreement and authorize Mayor and City Manager to execute The motion passed 7-0. 12. Miscellaneous - None 13. Claims, Appropriations, Contract Payments a. Contract Payments Partial Contractor Contract No. Amount M C. Magney Construction, Inc. 33-98 $134,725.20 Wolfe Park Reconstruction By consent, Council approved and authorized payments. 14. Communications Councilmember Nelson stated that he attended the one year anniversary for the Hopkins Center for the Arts with the City Manager and believed the project was exciting and gave the City of St. Louis Park some ideas for the Park Commons area. He also stated The Depot a new coffeehouse in Hopkins was open and encouraged citizens to visit. 15. Adjournment It was moved by Councilmember Dorfman, seconded by Councilmember Jacobs, to adjourn the meeting at 8:40 p.m. The motion passed 7-0 Ref.() A ty • ClerkMayor I F