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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2000/06/12 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Study Session ST.CITY Louis OFFICIAL MINUTES PARK CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION Minutes of June 12, 2000 The meeting convened at 6:05 p.m. Present at the meeting were Councilmembers Jim Bnmeyer, Ron Latz, Chris Nelson, Susan Sanger, Sue Santa, and Mayor Jeff Jacobs. Staff present: City Manager(Mr. Meyer), Director of Community Development (Mr. Harmening), Planning and Zoning Supervisor(Ms. Jeremiah), Planning Coordinator(Ms. Erickson), Director of Public Works (Mr. Rardin), Director of Parks and Recreation (Ms. Walsh), Community Cable Coordinator(Mr. McHugh), and City Clerk (Ms Larsen) 1. Park Commons Mayor Jacobs spoke about the interviews for the potential Park Commons developer that had taken place on June 7th. He reported that second interviews would take place in the near future. Councilmember Nelson stated his preference to interview more than one finalist. He then discussed different attnbutes of the various developer teams and Councilmember Young did the same. Councilmember Young felt that based on the interviews,TOLD would be brought back for a second interview. Mr. Harmening suggested that TOLD be interviewed and then determine if others should be brought back for interviews. Council and staff then discussed possible times to hold the interview. 2. Proposed Competitive Cable TV System Presentation Present'at the meeting representing the City Attorney's office was Joel Jamnik of Campbell Knutsen, P.A. Also present was the Vice President of Marketing for Wide Open West, Chns Julian. Councilmember Sanger asked about disruption to the right of way. Mr. McHugh replied that trenchless technology would be used whenever possible. Councilmember Jacobs stated that there are limited grounds for denial of such a franchise. Councilmember Nelson felt that there should be competition. Mr. Jamnik added that federal law prohibits exclusive franchises. Councilmember Sanger asked why Wide Open West chose Minneapolis and the surrounding suburbs. Mr. Julian replied that it has a good market and a low amount of penetration by other franchises. Councilmember Latz inquired as to the status of Metncom. Mayor Jacobs asked what the next step would be. Mr. McHugh stated they need to meet legal notice requirements Mr. Jamnik pointed out that the state and federal legislation are in conflict over some of these issues. Mr. Meyer inquired what would happen if additional competition comes forward. Mr. Jamnik replied they would repeat the process and another notice would have to be published. Study Session Minutes -2- June 12, 2000 Councilmember Sanger asked if references have been checked. Mr Jamnik replied that it is part of the process and it is the one area where the City is granted discretion for denial. Mr. Meyer raised the issue of undergrounding utilities and wondered if undergrounding would apply to cable and telephone companies. Councilmember Santa inquired who would pay for the repair to the streets and landscaping. Mr. Rardin replied that the vendor is responsible. 3. NSP Substation Ms. Erickson described several sites that were being considered as locations and the problems with zoning requirements for the properties. The NSP owned property is located at the southeast corner of Cedar Lake Road and Edgewood Ave. It would not be possible to build a substation on this site without amending the Zoning Map and Comprehensive Plan. Another alternative is to build the station on City owned property located east of the CP Rail at 2501 Edgewood Ave. The zoning on this property would need to be changed to come into compliance with the Comprehensive plan. Mr. Meyer inquired if a variance could be used in this situation. Mr. Harmening replied that it could. Councilmember Nelson inquired if there could be a taking issue as a result of rezoning after permits are issued. Ms. Erickson replied that state law favors the decision of the cities Councilmember Latz asked if NSP is planning to use the north or south portion of their property. Ms. Erickson replied that they will use the south end near the industrial park. Mr. Jim Rhodes showed a conceptual photo of the substation design. Council and staff discussed the height of towers, poles, etc. Councilmember Nelson had obtained a history of past Council actions regarding this issue aince NSP purchased the property in 1981 for the Council to discuss. It was the consensus of the Council that they did not want the substation on the bone yard property, because they felt that the bone yard needed to stay within the City's control and they needed to look for options on NSP's site unless they could find some other site. Ms. Erickson stated that this issue was brought to Council to reguide and rezone the proposed area. Councilmember Latz felt that Option One (NSP owned property) was the only choice and would like to know how to mitigate to ease the impact on residential properties Councilmember Sanger inquired if electronic or radio interference would occur and Mr. Rhodes replied that it would not. She then asked if there might be any other impacts Mr. Rhodes said there will be noise, or a hum, of the transformer at the substation fence. Mr Meyer stated that some residents are concerned about the proximity to the electro-magnetic field (EMF). Mr. Rhodes stated that NSP did not intend to add any voltage power lines and that a field already exists by that property. Study Session Minutes -3- June 12, 2000 Councilmember Latz inquired if a buffer other than landscaping could be used. Mr. Rhodes replied that it would be possible to construct a buffer, but a larger footprint would be needed to allow for cooling of the equipment Coniferous trees are NSP's preferred buffer matenal. After the construction, NSP activity would be limited to approximately two visits a week with no ongoing traffic. He noted that this was not implying a formal agreement to limit the traffic, but just their estimate that there would not be very much traffic to that site. Councilmember Sanger inquired how long the substation would meet residential needs. Mr. Rhodes stated that if option one was built as proposed, the needs will be met at current utility rates. However, if option two was chosen, the cost may be absorbed by the city or by an increase in billing fees. The company felt that the addition of the substation could handle foreseen development. However, if any additional uses were added with excessive power needs, such as a hospital or casino, the substation would not be able to maintain the extra energy needed. The substation could be upgraded if that need existed. Councilmember Young felt that the City owned property would not be a good location for the substation. He referred to this same issue that was raised several years ago and stated that the timing for such a proposal had not been right. He felt the time is appropriate now to deal with the issue but only if the neighborhood is involved and not opposed to the substation. He stated that he did not want to make comprehensive plan changes. Mr. Meyer inquired how quickly NSP could move forward if Council took action. Mr. Rhodes stated that the groundwork could be completed by fall. It would then take a year and one half to go from grading to operation. There was concern that the permit should not be issued too early as they only have two years before it expires. Mr. Harmening felt that the vanance process was not the appropriate method to use and suggested that rezoning be done to the Comprehensive Plan at the time of the permit application. He stated that such a use will be permitted but with conditions. A possible CUP may be required due to floodplain concerns. He stated that staff and NSP will work on the details. 4. Proposed Future Land Use for Properties South of Cedar Lake Road, West of Zarthan Avenue extended, and East of CP Rail right of way including the City- owned property at 2501 Edgewood Ave S ("Boneyard site); and the NSP property at 2201 Edgewood Avenue Staff gave an overview of future land use for four residentially used parcels south of Cedar Lake Road between the CP Rail north/south railroad and Zarthan Avenue extended. They would like a discussion considenng the zoning of the City's "Boneyard" site and Council direction regarding the Comprehensive Plan guiding on the NSP property. Councilmember Sanger questioned whether Council had adequately addressed the zoning design of the area south of Cedar Lake Road. She stated her preference to change zoning on the Boneyard site to open space and to have the residential properties zoned as residential. Councilmember Latz asked if any of the open space was buildable and Ms. Enckson replied that it was not. The site was re-desiginated as one half open space and one half industrial. Study Session Minutes -4- June 12, 2000 The residential properties south of Cedar Lake Road were discussed and concern was raised that the properties would be non-conforming if the zoning was changed. The long term use for the property was an issue of concern. Ms. Jeremiah suggested staff should be directed to analyze the Comprehensive Plan for residential and industrial use. Councilmember Nelson felt that only the four residential parcels were of concern and they should continue to move forward with the other changes. Councilmember Young felt they should move forward with the Planning Commission's recommendation to change the design of the "Boneyard" site. Councilmember Bnmeyer stated that the site may be appropriate for move up housing such as luxury townhomes and they may not want to zone the property to allow for that use. 5. Zoning Ordinance text amendments to modify Office District regulations pertaining to residential uses Ms. Erickson explained the proposed amendment and the difference between the proposed modifications to the Office District and other mixed use designations. Councilmember Nelson inquired about the DDD (Diversified Development District) used several years ago and the Council discretion in guiding development through the PUD process. Councilmember Sanger inquired about open space requirements. Ms. Erickson replied that a minimum of 400 square feet per living unit was required. Councilmember Sanger raised the issue of cluster housing. It was discussed that because of the heights of the surrounding buildings, it would not be feasible to allow cluster housing in that area. 6. Sidewalks and Trails Mr. Rardin asked Council for guidance on several issues: bike paths versus parking, snow removal costs and citizen reaction, and the Capital Improvement Plan. Councilmember Young was concerned about the overall cost of the project and how it had increased from five million to eleven million dollars. Mr. Rardin stated that nearly six million will be used for construction of trails with outside funding and MnDot will also work on the crossings. He noted that this was the City's hope and anticipation, but funding is not in place at this time. The approximate cost to the City is between four and four and a half million dollars. Rules and procedures for the public hearing were discussed. 7. School District Requests Ms. Walsh gave an overview of the school districts needs. The School Distnct is asking for funding assistance for four projects: reconstruction of the Junior and Senior High tennis courts, Lenox Senior Center repairs and one of the Junior High's gymnasiums. Council inquired why the recent referendum did not include these costs. There was a discussion regarding senior programming already provided by the City. The Council agreed that this issue needs a full discussion. Study Session Minutes -5- June 12, 2000 Councilmember Latz felt that it is appropriate to participate in funding community needs for recreational facilities. Councilmember Brimeyer asked if this could be folded into a larger referendum for city-wide recreation needs. Councilmember Young added that if the referendum did not go as anticipated, it would be a message from the public as to their feelings on the issue. Mayor Jacobs stated that Lenox Center is not in good condition and is in need of repairs. Councilmember Santa felt that the City should be driving the discussion regarding City contributions. It was suggested that the money could come from the health and safety emergency fund. Councilmember Nelson suggested that the Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission research the needs of the city and Council will come back to the School District when the study is complete. Funding for the tennis courts at the Junior and Senior High will be granted as part of a previous contract. 8. Police Reorganization Chief Luse discussed the proposed elimination of the investigator position in an attempt to move from traditional policing to community oriented policing. These positions will be redesigned to be more flexible with assignments and more coordinated with uniform patrol and support services. The overall additional cost to implement the reorganization would be approximately fifteen to twenty thousand dollars a year. 9. Communications Council discussed the process they would prefer for making board and commission appointments. It was agreed that all appointments would be placed on the agenda prior to the meeting 10. Adjournment- The meeting was adjourned at/10:45 p.m. Asp -0 • 142-4-4.i—k-.3 Ciity Clerk M, or