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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2000/10/23 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Study Session ffisT.ILO„OIFSCTY OFFICIAL MINUTES ARK CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION October 23, 2000 The meeting convened at 7.00 p m Present at the meeting were Councilmembers Jim Brimeyer, Ron Latz, Chris Nelson, Sue Santa, and Robert Young. Staff present. City Manager(Mr. Meyer), Director of Community Development (Mr. Harmening), Planning and Zoning Supervisor (Ms. Jeremiah), Economic Development Coordinator (Mr. Kleve), Planning Coordinator(Ms Erickson), Director of Inspections (Mr Hoffman), Director of Parks and Recreation (Ms Walsh), Community Television Coordinator (Mr. Dunlap), and City Clerk (Ms Reichert). 1. Frauenshuh Medical Office Building—SW Highway 7/Louisiana Ave Update Randy McKay, Frauenshuh Companies, updated Council on the progress made since the onginal proposal in 1999. He indicated that currently they do not have enough office space committed to feel comfortable moving forward Mr. McKay stated that Frauenshuh is considenng three different options and would like feedback from Council. Frauenshuh could continue trying to lease office space for the original three story building plan, pursue a corporate office client who can utilize the onginal plan and possibly increase the number of stones, or they can request approval for a one story medical office building. Mike Denny, project manager for Frauenshuh Companies, was also present at the meeting. Mr. McKay indicated that they are currently pursuing lease agreements with several companies for two multi-story buildings and one one-story building He showed a picture of a single level building they would like to start with. Council expressed their concern that the expected level at the intersection would not be achieved with the one level building plan. Mr McKay stated they would like direction from Council on this matter. Councilmember Nelson stated that he liked the idea of the corporate office. He did express his concern that tax abatement had already been approved by the County and school. He indicated re-approval would be needed if the changes were significant enough. Mr. Harmening added that there are also issues with the billboard and the Preliminary PUD already approved. Councilmember Latz suggested they extend the PUD to preserve the developers options. He felt reluctant to move forward with a one-story building due to the under utilization it would bnng to the site. Councilmember Nelson inquired if the developer had considered the experience of the developers on the north side of the intersection in terms of pollution abatement. Mr. McKay replied that have not yet but will address and evaluate those issues as they go on. Mr. McKay stated they would continue with the planning process with a six-month extension to be approved at a future meeting. 2. Ford Rd Partners—Preliminary Request for Tax Increment Financing Assistance; 460 Ford RD—90 Unit Apartment Project Study Session Minutes -2- October 23, 2000 This item was removed from the agenda However, Councilmember Young gave a bnef synopsis of his meeting with the developer. 3. Park Commons Update Bob Cunningham, TOLD, presented concept plan comparisons and the plan they felt would be most logical. Ms Walsh stated that after reviewing the site for the town green, at least fifty-five feet would be needed for programming. Ms Jeremiah discussed parking needs, stating that estimates have been made but they must be refined. She cautioned against paving more space than necessary for parking. Dennis Sutliffe, of ESG Architects, Inc. presented an analysis of shade that would be cast from the buildings. Councilmember Latz inquired if buildings would be terraced with balconies as they get to higher floors and Mr Sutliffe replied they would. Mr. Meyer asked if Masonettes would still be possible along 38th and 39`h Streets and Mr. Cunningham replied they would. Ms Jeremiah questioned the building height in plan E. Mr. Cunningham responded that only one building would be eight stones with one more at seven stories. Council discussed the Metropolitan Council grant. The impact on Wolfe Park was also discussed. Councilmember Latz asked about the EAW. Ms. Jeremiah replied that an addendum to the EAW may be prepared to address the changes contemplated. Councilmember Latz questioned whether the live/work units should be eliminated. Councilmember Brimeyer inquired about the success of such units. Mr. Meyer stated that the Masonettes could be configured to provide office or work space for an owner. Councilmember Young expressed his thanks to Bob Cunningham and Gary Dreher of TOLD for the good work on this project. He felt they had met their goals to widen the town green and reduce the"wing"near Westmoreland Lane. He added that he had toured Centennial Lakes and Linden Hills and seven story buildings made sense in an urban environment. Councilmember Santa liked to see a wider town green, but would like to see a reduction in the number of apartments. Councilmember Nelson agreed with a wider town green,proposed Plan E, and the added height on the northerly buildings if it allowed for buildings on Excelsior Blvd. to be reduced to three stones. He felt that the park edge was not moved far enough south. Councilmember Nelson inquired if other Councilmembers were comfortable with the fact that the buildings and scale are so big with the project. Councilmembers Brimeyer, Latz, and Young stated they were comfortable with the density of the project Councilmember Latz expressed his concern that reducing the heights on Excelsior Blvd. will overload 38th St with the height. Study Session Minutes -3- October 23, 2000 Mr. Meyer suggested that since site plans D & E are generally in agreement, more energy could be directed more toward a design based on what is generally agreed upon. Councilmember Latz stated that he felt comfortable with plan E. Councilmember Bnmeyer suggested they move forward with the design so they are able to view how it will look. Councilmember Latz agreed. Mr. Cunningham replied they would come back to Council with the design Ms. Jeremiah inquired if it would be acceptable to advertise a public heanng notice for the Comprehensive Plan and rezoning. She indicated that she would schedule a neighborhood meeting. Mr Meyer felt it important to present the design to the larger community. 4. Licensing Ordinance and Fee Resolution Update Mr. Hoffman discussed the courtesy bench fees and stated that staff would like to have one uniform fee for all courtesy benches. He explained that the fee would cover the cost of all incidentals associated with the license Councilmember Bnmeyer inquired about graduated fees. Councilmember Young felt the fee system should be kept simple and use only one fee for all courtesy benches. Councilmember Latz agreed. Council agreed that staff should move forward with second reading of the ordinance as presented. Councilmember Santa showed a letter from Minnesota Air about the continuing education requirement for mechanical contractors. She felt that it made sense to have contractors show on-going competency. Mr. Hoffman then descnbed city provided classes and indicated that manufacturers also offer continuing education classes. 5. Dan Patch Study—Station Location Options Staff gave Council further information on the proposed station location options in hopes of enabling them to choose a location. After considerable discussion, Council felt that they were unable to make a decision in the short amount of time given to them. They indicated that St. Louis Park could offer more than one location for a station. Council asked the representative from Parsons Bnnckerhoff to inform MnDot that they were unable to make a decision on one location and would like to consider the possibility of having two stations in St. Louis Park. Councilmember Bnmeyer inquired about the time frame involved with the project. Ms. Enckson informed the Council of the public hearing that is to be held on transit issues. 6. Organizational Development Coordinator Contract Mr. Meyer gave a bnef review, stating that staff recommended appointing Bndget Gothberg as the organizational development coordinator for the City. He indicated that St. Louis Park Vision, Mission, and Values had defined organizational development as a necessary commitment. Mr. Meyer stated that Ms. Gothberg's duties would be to help employees learn and grow to help them improve their problem solving and customer service skills Councilmember Nelson suggested that more training be implemented in the beginning when staff is hired and looks towards scaling back. He was concerned that the size of government is increasing. Councilmember Brimeyer felt that it should be looked at in the perspective that they may be able to scale back in two to three years. He suggested they have checkpoints every six months or so. He also stated that he would like to see diversity training and inclusion as a component of the organizational development. Study Session Minutes -4- October 23, 2000 7. Communications Councilmember Nelson inquired about the EAW process and penmeter. Staff replied they would determine the level of process needed to evaluate the proposed changes to the plan. Councilmember Latz discussed railroad blocking and the issues the City of Minnetonka is dealing with He inquired if the amount of night time blocking will increase and Mr. Meyer responded that there will be no night time blocking in South Oak Hill neighborhood 8. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 10:48 p.m. Ofty Clerk Mayor