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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1998/07/27 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Study Session CITY OF ST. Louis OFFICIAL MINUTES 11 PARK CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION July 27, 1998 The meeting convened at 5 30 p.m Present at the meeting were Councilmembers Jeff Jacobs, Chris Nelson, Susan Sanger, Ron Latz, Robert Young, Jim Brimeyer and Mayor Gail Dorfman Staff present City Manager(Mr. Meyer); Director of Community Development (Mr Harmening), Planning Manager(Ms. Jeremiah),Planning Coordinator(Ms Erickson); Economic Development Coordinator(Mr. Anderson), Public Works Director(Mr Rardin), ' Public Works Administrative Assistant (Mr Roth), Recreation Program Coordinator(Ms Buskey), and City Clerk (Ms. Larsen) 1. Trails and Sidewalks Council Workshop Council met with staff and consultants to discuss issues related to creating a Trails and Sidewalks Master Plan for the City Barry Warner of SRF Consulting Group and Bob Close of Close Landscape Architecture lead the discussion. . Mr Close presented a proposed timeline and indicated steps to be undertaken to complete the trail and sidewalk plan. Various methods for soliciting public input were discussed, such as surveys, open houses and other public meetings Also considered was the timing of the project as it relates to amendments to the comprehensive plan. Ms Erickson indicated that an extension to the comp plan amendments would be requested Mr Warner presented maps indicating the current status of components of the regional trail system. He also presented an illustration of existing St Louis Park sidewalks and trails as well as the existing land use map Discussion as to how development of this plan would affect residents ensued Councilmember Nelson expressed concern about cost to residents of the City and questioned whether there would be assessments or whether the city would pay for improvements Councilmember Sanger indicated that she did not wish to impose a plan on the residents all at once, but would rather work toward achieving goals over a period of time She felt issues of concern to residents were who would pay for the sidewalks and who would maintain them. She wanted a consistent policy on cost and maintenance of the system Councilmember Jacobs said that residents who had already been assessed and are currently maintaining their sidewalks may have a problem with a city-wide financing system for new sidewalks Councilmember Brimeyer Compared the City's sidewalk and trail system to a sewer system with main lines and feeder systems He felt that we should concentrate on the main lines and principal feeders now and refine the system's detail in the future He also felt that for trails of regional value the City should pay the greater portion of the cost for construction and maintenance Conversely, he felt that for sidewalks and trails of more local value the residents should pay for the greater portion Council, Staff and the Consultants discussed the following issues and opportunities block connections on sidewalks; transit considerations, resident assessment vs. City spending, snow removal issues, in line skaters, recreation vs commuter use of trails and sidewalks, dead end streets, highway barriers, at-grade crossings, senior needs, open space trails, safety and security issues, park connections, and sidewalk provisions in the subdivision ordinance Councilmember Sanger asked if the City actually owned the sidewalks Mr Meyer offered to get a legal opinion on that questions Council also discussed Task Force composition and considered which groups should have representation Council agreed that the group should have representation from bike commuters, recreational bicycle riders, children; and representatives of the Planning, Parks and Recreation and Neighborhood Revitalization Commissions 2. Enforcement of non-conforming uses Councilmember Nelson raised the issue of non-conforming accessory structures An issue had come before Council recently where the garage of a non-conforming use had been destroyed by an explosion and under current ordinance was not allowed to be rebuilt. Councilmember Nelson's concern was that the loss of the accessory structure did not make the non-conforming use go away and that the loss of the structure could cause a deterioration in the quality of the main structure Councilmember Latz asked Mr Moore what kinds of structures would be considered accessory Mr Moore stated that they would be garages and sheds After discussion, Staff agreed to evaluate the impact of accessory structures and bring the issue forward to Council at a later date 3. Tree Replacement Ordinance Councilmember Sanger felt that the City needed a strong tree replacement ordinance in residential districts Mr. Harmening pointed out the difficulty in meeting provisions already included in the City's tree replacement ordinance Councilmember Jacobs said that he had no desire to control how people landscape their private property and did not want to see City Inspectors in resident's back yards Councilmember Young was concerned that restrictions imposed through such an ordinance would make construction of new homes in St. Louis Park very difficult 4. Housing Rehabilitation Programs Staff met with Council to request direction about the expansion of single family and multifamily rehabilitation programs currently operating and also requested consideration of increasing the sue of outside contractors for the administration of these programs. Ms. Brownstein outlined the programs currently existing and responded to Council questions Councilmember Sanger asked if funds could be targeted toward particular neighborhoods where improvement in housing was needed Ms Brownstein indicated that modifications to existing programs could make targeting blighted areas easier Mayor Dorfman asked how funds could be used to benefit low income single family homes Ms Brownstein responded that by changing income guidelines for some of our existing programs the funds could be better directed to where they can make an impact in the community Councilmember Nelson asked if there was a reward or recognition program for remodeling projects in the City Ms Brownstein said that there was not currently a program in place Councilmember Sanger said that she felt codes should be stronger on exterior code standards Ms Brownstein asked that Council consider the creation of special districts for smaller condo and townhome associations and that Council also consider outsourcing some of its housing programs to increase staff capacity and improve oversight of housing contractors 5. Annual Financial Report and Auditor's Management Report Rob Tautges of HLB Tautges, Redpath and Co presented an overview of the City's financial position based upon the annual financial report for the year ended December 31, 1997 Council discussed Levy Limits, proposed Legislative actions, various fund balances and Y2K compliance Ms McBride and Mr Tautges responded to Council inquiries 6. Financing Options for Acquisition of Hutchinson Spur Property Mr Meyer gave a brief introduction and history of developments with this piece of property He said that he felt the two most viable funding options for purchasing the property would be an additional tax levy or the use of the Development Fund He also informed Council about discussion held with the Land Trust Councilmember Sanger asked if the Land Trust would be willing to work with a private neighborhood group to raise financing necessary for the purchase Mr Meyer said that they would Councilmember Latz said that he was working to procure funding from a private group to purchase the land and donate to the City He also suggested that the City go out with bonds for open space acquisition Councilmember Brimeyer said that he would not feel comfortable about a referendum unless it was a package including development of the Oak Park Village area and other Park • Improvements needed in the city Councilmember Sanger asked what the timeline was for development of the property Mr. Harmening said that he was unsure of specifics, but said that the submission of plans to the City by the developer was imminent. Councilmember Sanger asked about the realism of outside funding sources Mayor Dorfman said that the City has set precedent in not acting in other cases She felt this was not a clear public purpose, but would benefit only one neighborhood Councilmember Young was concerned about potential loss of property tax revenue and felt the cost of acquisition would be a detriment Mayor Dorfman said that she was confident that Council was not interested in acquisition of the property at this time and thanked Councilmember Latz for his efforts 7. Flooding Problem Study Pete Willenbring of WSB presented an overview of results of a storm water study and asked for policy direction from Council Council discussed each recommended alternative as contained in the report and also discussed alternatives as they relate to specific properties in the City Council also briefly discussed the possibility of funding storm sewer improvements through use of the utility fund I Mr Willenbring indicated that the entire study would be complete in early September and would be presented to Council at that time 8. Communications Mayor Dorfman pointed out a letter contained in Council folders from Representative Jim Rhodes which informed Councilmembers of a meeting Councilmember Sanger had set up with representative of MNDot to discuss railroads She encouraged any Councilmembers available to attend that meeting , ,„,s7L.A.....,..a.v.___ /44A:P 4 3 1----- ty Clerk Mayor I ,