Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout1999/05/17 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Regular CITY OF 1 IINUTES ST. Louis CITY COUNCIL MEETING PARK ST.LOUIS PARK,MINNESOTA May 17, 1999 1. Call to order Mayor Jacobs called the meeting to order at 7:45 p.m. 2. Presentation a. Nordic Ware Tower Anniversary Mayor Jacobs presented a proclamation for the Peavey Tower(also known as the Nordic Ware Tower) on the occasion of it's 100th anniversary b. Buddy Poppy Day Opal Nelson made an appearance before the Council and received a proclamation from Mayor Jacobs declaring May 21, 1999 as Buddy Poppy Day. 3. Roll Call The following Councilmembers were present at roll call: Jim Brimeyer, Ron Latz, Chris Nelson, Sue Sanger, Robert Young, and Mayor Jeff Jacobs. Also present were the Deputy City Manager(Mr. Pires); City Attorney(Mr. Scott); Director of Community Development(Mr. Harmening); Planning Coordinator(Ms. Erickson);Finance Director(Ms. McBride); and City Clerk(Ms. Larsen). 4. Approval of Minutes a. City Council meeting of May 3, 1999 With a minor correction, page 8 bottom paragraph, change word"mandated"to"done legally". the minutes were approved as presented. 5. Approval of agenda a. Consent agenda It was moved by Councihnember Young, seconded by Councilmember Nelson, to approve the consent agenda. The motion passed 6-0. b. Agenda It was moved by Councilmember Sanger, seconded by Councilmember Latz,to approve the agenda. The motion passed 6-0. *c. Resolutions and Ordinances By consent, Council waived reading of resolutions and ordinances. 6. Public Hearings 6a. Transfer of On-Sale and Sunday Sale Intoxicating Liquor License for Bennigan's at 6475 Wayzata Blvd. There being no one present wishing to speak, Mayor Jacobs closed the public hearing subject to the right of Council to open it at a future date. It was moved by Councilmember Young, seconded by Councilmember Sanger, to approve the transfer of On-Sale and Sunday Sale Intoxicating Liquor License for Bennigan's. The motion passed 6-0. 6b. Public Hearing Comprehensive Plan Revision Case No. 97-9-C Resolution #99-66 Planning Coordinator Judie Erickson explained the purpose of a Comprehensive Plan and presented a summary of proposed changes for Council consideration to Comprehensive Plan 2000 —2020. Mayor Jacobs invited anyone present to speak to the issue. Sue Bloyer, 2935 Pennsylvania Ave S spoke regarding Texa Tonka. As she had stated to the Planning commission at an earlier meeting, she and others had concerns with the vacant eastern property and parking lot. She felt there had been little or no development of the property and could not advocate leaving the property in its current condition. She also did not concur with the Planning commission recommendation of commercial mixed use as she was concerned that the development would become another strip mall. She felt she and her neighbors would support a designation of medium density residential, like townhomes. Tony Gleekel, 1300 One Hundred Washington Square, spoke regarding Texa Tonka Shopping center. He indicated that letters had been forwarded to the City on behalf of Jeff Fine, owner of Texa Tonka Shopping Center. Mayor Jacobs indicated that, as requested, that correspondence had been entered into the official record. He indicated that the owner concurred with the recommendation that the area be reviewed in terms of the best future use of the property. Jeffrey Fine, 2101 Hennepin Ave, spoke about the management and operation of Texa Tonka Shopping Center and expressed surprise that the neighborhood association felt that the area was depressed because he had spoken to the organization several years ago and had offered his support to the association but had not been contacted since about the management or condition of the center. He said there were 12,000 sq. ft. of vacant space which is the result of market conditions and that he had aggressively encouraged occupancy of the space. He also said that he had recently expended approximately $300,000 in improvements to the interior. He felt that vacancy in retail space was a problem across the country and not particular to Texa Tonka Shopping Center. He explained the chain of events which occurred regarding the vacant grocery and drug stores and also gave a history of other businesses in the center. He explained that he had a letter of intent from the Jewish Family Services Agency that wanted to conduct an adult day care agency. He wanted to proceed with the lease agreements and stated that completion of the agreement would result in improvements to the building in the amount of approximately $200,000. He also explained the nature of a variance pending regarding outdoor recreational area in that development and gave an overview of the parking requirements and restrictions. He felt that if the entire shopping center were occupied, overflow parking would need to be retained. He was skeptical of the mixed use designation and did not feel that it was appropriate to designate the area as mixed use when that designation was not even entirely fleshed out in ordinance. He asked that the current zoning be retained. If the City felt that a study was necessary to determine the best use of the intersection, Mr. Fine would be willing to put resources in to the project. He closed his remarks by drawing to Council's attention the resolution under consideration. He asked Council to consider the Comprehensive Plan's current designation and to conduct a study of the area as proposed by staff. Lindley Opitz, owner of Opitz Outlet, came before Council to discuss proposed changes to the designation on that property. Martin Knoll, 3300 Rode island Ave S, had questions related to the proposed Trail and Sidewalk designations in the plan. He understood that the plan was to be approved and was concerned about the path proposed between Aquila and Oak Hill parks and the recommendation for a 10 foot bituminous path. He questioned if there would be additional surveys and opportunity for public input. Mayor Jacobs responded that there would be that opportunity and asked Mr. Harmening to address the question. Mr. Harmening stated that the master plan is a starting plan and that there would be a significant public component. He said that the public input would help to determine cost and other details needed to put together a truly feasible plan of action. He also presented some of the plans for receiving public input from neighborhoods and concerned residents like open houses and other public meetings. Dan Smaida, 3246 Rhode Island Ave S, also addressed Council regarding the trails and sidewalks master plan. He felt the plan was a good concept and was congruent with Vision St. Louis Park and would make the community safer and more livable. He was concerned, however, was with the order of how things had been put together. He did not feel that the language included in the plan addressed the public input component and potential for changes to the plan based on that input. He felt more specific criteria could be identified that would cause changes to be made to the plan. Mayor Jacobs stated that without the public input this plan could not be implemented and that changes would indeed be incorporated as the plan develops. He further stated that the existence of a Comprehensive Plan does not order projects, but only outlines concepts for future planning. Mr. Harmening concurred that there are a series of processes involved in any project of this magnitude and that any one of those processes could potentially result in changes. He did not feel language specifically stating this inherent fact needed to be incorporated into the Comprehensive Plan. Mr. Smaida felt Council had done a good job of explaining the public process verbally and was confident that Council intended to stand by that concept, but recommended that language be included in the Comprehensive Plan stating that the plan can and will be changed as recommendations are heard from the public and also recommended that criteria be included in that language which states the conditions under which the plan would be modified. Councilmember Latz did not see a need for the inclusion of specific language stating that we will follow a public process already dictated by statute, charter, ordinance and practice. Councilmember Nelson concurred with Councilmember Latz's comments. He felt this Council has a good track record with inclusion of public process in all major projects undertaken. Mr. Smaida felt that if Council was confident about the public process and their commitment to include the result of that process into the sidewalk and trail plan, that there should be no problem with including language to that effect in the Comprehensive Plan. Gary Berscheid, 1604 Blackstone, expressed his appreciation to the City for their consideration of resident concerns in his neighborhood and for designing the Comprehensive Plan in accordance with those concerns. Conrad Miller, 2475 Holy Name Drive, requested that Council consider placing 7342 West 14th Street into an R4 status. Mark Frank, 3627 Kipling, asked questions about development plans for an area near his home. Staff responded that the Comprehensive Plan acts as a guide for zoning and does not call for any development plans at the property in question. Robert Copus, 1409 Colorado Ave S, requested that properties at 1409 and 1413 Colorado be changed from R4 to commercial designation. Linda Williams, 3701 Kipling, asked that her property be guided as proposed in the Comprehensive Plan. Mayor Jacobs closed the public hearing with the right of Council to reopen at a future date. Councilmember Young proposed that two properties 7805 and 7815 Wayzata Blvd be retained as residential rather than being guided as commercial as proposed. The City Attorney recommended that each proposed change be presented as a motion to amend the resolution and voted on individually, and that one motion be made at the end of the discussion to adopt the Comprehensive Plan as revised. Mr. Harmening pointed out alternative amendments that had been prepared by staff in anticipation of the amendments being proposed by Council. Area 4 of those proposed amendments would pertain to Councilmember Young's motion. Councilmember Young moved to eliminate 7805 and 7815 from page four of the resolution and modify the land use maps in chapters c and u. Motion was seconded by Councilmember Nelson. Motion passed unanimously. Councilmember Young spoke about properties located at 1409-1413 Colorado and felt they should be guided as commercial which would fit in best with the neighborhood. He felt it premature to make that change at this time and indicated he would like additional guidance from the neighborhood. Has asked that the issue be placed on a future study session. He asked that the apartment building on 14th Street be left as a non-conforming use in accordance with neighborhood wishes. Councilmember Sanger asked if the recommendation for a land use study at Texa Tonka could include an end date for the completion of the study. Mr. Harmening pointed out that two separate segments of the Comprehensive Plan called for a land use study and indicated that those processes are significant and will greatly impact staff resources. He did not feel comfortable putting an end date on a Texa-Tonka study at this time. Councilmember Sanger stated her concern that the property at Texa Tonka has been in continual decline for the past 15 years. She understood Mr. Fine's comments about his investment in the property but was concerned about the exterior looking blighted. She was concerned that without an end date on the process, it would be another excuse for delaying further improvements to the property. She asked if August of the year 2000 would give staff adequate time to complete a study. 1 Mr. Harmening responded that rather than suggesting an end date, he would be more comfortable with suggesting a start date within one year as an alternative. Councilmember Sanger did not find that acceptable and was prepared to vote against an amendment calling for the study if that was the case. Councilmember Brimeyer asked that Council consider the objectives of such a study and the outcomes might be in terms of helping the land owner get the highest and best use of the parcels in question. He asked that Council discuss a partnership with the land owner at a future study session. He suggested using consultants to assist with any study proposed. Councilmember Latz indicated that Texa Tonka Shopping center had been an area of concern for several years and has been a consistent refrain from ward three constituents because of a perception of the unwillingness of the property owner to get involved in improving that property. He recognized the existence of other pressing land use decisions pending in ward three and the fact that the City's planning department staff have been overwhelmed with development and redevelopment issues in the park. He spoke to the willingness of Mr. Fine to step forward and become a part of discussions regarding improvements to the property. He mentioned development plans that may bring additional activity to the shopping center. He felt it made the most sense to leave the designation as they currently exist in the parking lots area and recommended going ahead with a land use study with the aid of an outside consultant and with significant public input. He also indicated that if he did not see a willingness on the part of the land owner to step forward with financial resources to make improvements, he would initiate the reguiding of the Comprehensive Plan to make changes that the community would like to see in the best use of that property. Councilmember Nelson stated that when he moved to St. Louis Park 12 years ago, Texa Tonka looked much healthier than it does today. He wanted to see significant changes but was not willing to pull staff time away from current projects. He was willing to support an amendment calling for a study if consultants would be used to enhance staff resources. Councilmember Sanger asked Mr. Fine if he was willing to publicly comment about his willingness to commit financial resources to improving the property. _ Mr. Fine asked if the City was also willing to put substantial resources into redevelopment of the property. He felt if the City had a vision for a different kind of land use for that intersection, that the City should put public resources into the project as well. He did not feel it was reasonable to expect him to commit his financial resources to a project as yet undefined. He offered to willingly step aside should the City choose to redevelop the property in the future provided his economic interests were fairly served. Councilmember Latz moved to adopt the alternative amendment for areas six and seven. Motion was seconded by Councilmember Brimeyer. Motion passed unanimously. Councilmember Nelson had several comments and proposed changes Il Page I-39, paragraph 2: regarding switching in the Elmwood neighborhood, one of the goals needs to be vacation of the wye in the Brooklawns neighborhood. He indicated that he would pursue that through the railroad study process. Page I-43, regarding the depiction of the Hutchinson Spur as an inactive rail line. Councilmember Nelson asked if it is it still considered a rail line or Wit had been vacated? Ms. Erickson stated that it is listed as it is on the map to indicate its conversion to other uses. He asked that vacation of the railroad right away be addressed in the near future. Page N-10: Councilmember Nelson asked that cooperative agreements be pursued with senior facilities to reduce the impact on the City's emergency services budget and moved that language be changed to delete the last sentence of page N10. Seconded for purposes of discussion by Councilmember Young. Councilmember Sanger did not feel there was enough information to make an informed vote on the deletion and asked that Council be provided with appropriate data to make a decision. Ms. Erickson said that the chapter was written with input from Police, Fire and Inspections departments and they had not made comment regarding that section. She did not think a scientific study had been conducted to determine if impact on the designated land use was"equal", but felt it was more balanced that it might appear on the surface. Councilmember Nelson had spoken with Mike Gould about potential expansion of senior housing expansion impacts to City emergency services. Mr. Gould had been receptive to the idea of incorporating into his development some form of stop-gap assistance available that would reduce police and fire calls. His concern was that if the language remained as stated in the Comprehensive Plan that it would remove leverage the City may have to deal with that type of facility. Councilmember Latz also did not feel that Council had enough information to make an informed decision. Mr. Scott agreed with Councilmember Latz that the text included in the Comprehensive Plan had very little impact on powers of the City to regulate a particular land use. Councilmember Nelson withdrew the motion. Page 0-8: Home based employment. Councilmember Nelson did not agree with the vision for home based retail as outlined in the plan. Page U-104, Al's site at France and Excelsior Blvd. Councilmember Nelson stated that the neighborhood wanted height limitations in place if that site were to be developed. Ms. Erickson stated that ultimately height limitation would be addressed with any redevelopment project that would come before Council. Pages U-124-125: Wooddale needs to be spelled correctly and he was concerned about discrepancy between maps. Councilmember Nelson also asked that the architecture of historic housing stock be maintained and not divided into apartments. Ms. Erickson felt the issue was that duplexes already exist legally. If the designation was changed to R2, those duplexes would become non-conforming. The neighborhood was concerned with the appearance of the architecture. The language in the Comprehensive Plan provided a basis for developing restrictions related to historic preservation. Councilmember Nelson moved to adopt the alternative amendment to area 9 because it was a commercial designation, the property owner had made business decisions based on that designation. Motion seconded by Councilmember Latz. Motion passed unanimously. Councilmember Nelson also asked that on page 22 of the resolution, paragraph 7 which talks about the transitway and transit station, he had indicated several times that he his not ready to accept the concept to place in the Comprehensive Plan. He made a motion to delete paragraph 7. Motion died for lack of a second. Councilmember Latz noted that the amendments offered regarding Texa Tonka included as part of the amendment, that a land use study be conducted. He also reiterated that he did not feel it necessary to put public process language into the Comprehensive Plan regarding the proposed trail and sidewalk plan. It was moved by Councilmember Sanger, seconded by Councilmember Nelson, to adopt the resolution with the amendments as previously moved. The motion passed 6-0. Mayor Jacobs thanked members of the audience for their very articulate and helpful comments. Mr. Pires offered his thanks to staff for their diligent work over the past several years in bringing this Comprehensive Plan forward. 7. Petitions,Requests, Communications-None 8. Resolutions and Ordinances 8a. Renewal of a Class A Lawful Gambling Premises Permit for the Knights of Columbus Council 3949 at 6900 Oxford St. Resolution #99-67 It was moved by Councilmember Latz, seconded by Councilmember Sanger, to adopt the resolution authorizing the renewal of a two-year premised permit for Class A Lawful gambling at the Knights of Columbus at 6900 Oxford St. The motion passed 5-1 with Councilmember Nelson opposed. 8b. Resolution Awarding the Sale of$2,500,000 in General Obligation Capital Improvement Bonds, Series 1999 Resolution #99-68 Ms McBride indicated that the motion required 6 votes to carry. It was moved by Councilmember Brimeyer, seconded by Councilmember Nelson, to accept the resolution awarding the sale of$2,500,000 G.O. General Obligation Capital Improvement Bonds. The motion passed 6-0. *8c. Resolution for specially assessing the cost of installation for a fire suppression sprinkler system for a commercial building at 6900 West Lake Street. Resolution #99-69 By consent, Council adopted the resolution. 9. Reports from Officers, Boards, Committees a. Planning Commission minutes of April 14, 1999 By consent, Council accepted report for filing b. Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission minutes of April 21, 1999 By consent, Council accepted report for filing c. Vendor Claim Report - By consent, Council accepted report for filing 10. Unfinished Business -None 11. New Business *lla. Bid Tabulation: Watermain replacement on Ford Road from Ford Lane to the north frontage road of I-394—Project No. 99-01 and roadway mill and overlay—Project no. 97-22. By consent, Council designated Valley Paving, Inc. as the lowest responsible bidder for a watermain replacement on Ford Road from Ford Lane to the north frontage road of I-394 and a roadway mill and overlay. *11b. Bid Tab: Purchase of Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) Supply Contract By consent, Council authorized the mayor and City Manager to execute a contract with Calgon Carbon Corporation for the purchase of GAC in the amount of$53,400.00. 12. Miscellaneous 13. Claims,Appropriations, Contract Payments 14. Communications Mayor Jacobs reminded Council of interviews for ward Three Councilmembers and indicated that an appointment would be made at the first meeting in June. 15. Adjournment It was moved unanimously to adjourn the meeting at 9:55m. qty Clerk Ma r ,