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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2001/08/06 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Regular CITY OF OFFICIAL MINUTES li ST. LOUIS CITY COUNCIL MEETING ST. LOUIS PARK,MINNESOTA August 6,2001 1. Call to Order and Roll Call Mayor Jacobs called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m The following Councilmembers were present at roll call: Jim Bnmeyer, Chns Nelson, Susan Sanger, Sue Santa, Robert Young, Ron Latz, and Mayor Jeff Jacobs. Also present were the City Manager(Mr. Meyer); City Attorney (Mr. Scott); Director of Community Development (Mr. Harmening); Director of Public Works (Mr. Rardin); Supenntendent of Engineenng (Mr. Moore); City Engineer(Ms. Hagen); Planner(Mr. Smith); Recreation Supervisor(Mr. Langefels); Junior Leader Coordinator(Patti Hreno); City Clerk (Ms. Reichert); and Recording Secretary (Ms. Samson). 2. Presentations - a. Recognition for Bob Gill Resolution No. 01-063 Upon his retirement, Fire Chief Bob Gill was recognized for 28 years of service to the City of St. Louis Park and the Fire Department, the last nine years as Fire Chief. Mayor Jacobs presented a resolution; Mr. Luke Stemmer, Deputy Chief, presented a plaque and Mr. Gill's badge, and State Senate Representative Mr. Jim Rhodes presented a resolution from the State Legislature to honor Mr. Gill. City Manager, Mr. Meyer, commented on Mr. Gill's accomplishments. b. Junior Leader Appreciation Presentation Ms. Patti Hreno, Junior Leader Coordinator, presented awards for 35 junior leaders. Mr. Doug Langefels, Recreation Supervisor, was also present to recognize junior park leader volunteers. 3. Approval of Minutes a. Study Session Minutes of July 23, 2001 The minutes were approved as presented with the following changes: Councilmember Latz asked for clarification on Page 7 regarding the TexaTonka Study. Councilmember Santa made a recommendation that the following change be made: Sentence reading, "Ms. Enckson responded that they had, but only in light of the market and demand of the neighborhood" be replaced with, "Ms. Erickson responded that the property owners had accepted only some portions of the market study " Council meeting Minutes -2- b. Special Meeting Minutes of July 23, 2001 The minutes were approved as presented with the following changes: Councilmember Latz said the vote tally for 3A is missing. Councilmember Santa pointed out that "benn" should read "been." Councilmember Nelson said the vote tally for 3B is missing. c. City Council Minutes of July 16, 2001 The minutes were approved as presented. 4. Approval of Agenda and Consent Items NOTE: Consent items are those items of business which are considered to be routine and/or which need no discussion. Consent items are acted upon by one motion. If discussion is desired by either a Councilmember or a member of the audience, that item may be moved to an appropriate section of the regular agenda for discussion. 4a. Agenda It was moved by Councilmember Latz, seconded by Councilmember Sanger, to approve the agenda. The motion passed 7-0. 4b. Consent Agenda It was moved by Councilmember Santa, seconded by Councilmember Latz, to approve the following Consent Agenda Items. The motion passed 7-0. 1. Adopt Resolution No. 01-066 of approval for Robert Rappaport to permit a front yard setback of 25.3 feet instead of the required 28.3 feet for property located in the R-1 Single Family District at 3901 Basswood Road. 2. Adopt Resolution No. 01-067, accepting the report, establishing and ordering an improvement project, approving plans and specifications and authorizing advertisement for bids for replacement of various segments of concrete sidewalk throughout the City—Project No. 01-02. 3. Approve Resolutions for final payments for Electrical Installation &Maintenance Resolution No. 01-075 $ 5,806.21 Contract No. 82-00 Louisiana Avenue traffic improvements signal interconnect & lane configurations Council meeting Minutes -3- Nadeau Utility, Inc. Resolution No. 01-076 ' $ 8,089.32 Contract No. 74-00 Entry signage–Project No. 98-16 4. Accept the following reports for filing: a. Housing Authonty Minutes of June 13, 2001 b. Planning Commission Minutes of July 11, 2001 c. Planning Commission Minutes of June 6, 2001 d. Human Rights Commission Minutes of June 20, 2001 e. Charter Commission Minutes of March 14, 2001 5. Public Hearings--None 6. Requests,Petitions,and Communications from the Public—None 7. Resolutions, Ordinances,Motions 7a. The request of Xcel Energy for a Comprehensive Plan amendment from Residential to Industrial and a rezoning from R2 to I-P for the northern portion of property located at 2201 Edgewood Avenue South. (Cedar Lake Road and Edgewood Avenue) Case No. 01-31-CP and 01-32-Z Resolution No. 01-068 Mr. Patnck Smith, Planner, said a benefit of locating a substation on this site is its proximity to the existing transmission line that runs along the railroad. Staff recommends approval of a comprehensive plan amendment from residential to industnal and the rezoning from multi- family residential to industnal. - Councilmember Latz asked whether Xcel Energy was ready to proceed with building at this time or if this was a preliminary step to ensure availability of the site when it was needed by Xcel. Mr. Jim Rhodes from Xcel stated that as soon as Xcel receives the conditional use permit, they will build perhaps as soon as late fall of this year. Mr. Greg Schneider, Xcel's right-of-way expert, addressed concerns regarding height of the transmission structures stating that they will be almost exactly the same height as existing transmission lines that run along the railroad grade. Mr. Rhodes commented on the neighborhood meeting that was held at the Elliot Community Center. Of the 23-25 persons in attendance, only one attendee expressed concern regarding the structure's appearance. Councilmember Latz asked about radio and television interference and health hazards from energy radiation. Mr. Schneider replied there should be no significant change in reception, and he foresees no concerns regarding energy radiation. Councilmember Young said that he had attended the neighborhood meeting and confirmed that Mr. Rhodes and Mr. Schneider had provided an accurate representation of that meeting. It was moved by Councilmember Young, seconded by Councilmember Sanger, to approve the Resolution No. 01-068 amending the Comprehensive Plan rezoning the northern portion of the property located at 2201 Edgewood Avenue from Residential to Industrial subject to approval by the Metropolitan Council. Council meeting Minutes -4- The motion passed 7-0. It was moved by Councilmember Young, seconded by Councilmember Santa, to adopt first reading of an ordinance amendment to the comprehensive Plan rezoning the north portion of the property located at 2201 Edgewood Avenue from R2 —Single Family Residential to IP— Industrial Park subject to approval by the Metropolitan Council, and set second reading for August 20, 2001. The motion passed 7-0. 7b. Miscellaneous Zoning Ordinance amendments to Sections 14:5-4.1(C)(7), 14:6- 1.2(C)(5), 14:6-4.8(C)(3), and 14:8-2 to relocate the permit requirements and add some flexibility for the construction of sheds under 120 square feet, require a time frame for the installation of driveways and landscaping for one and two-family homes, and make the Certificate of Occupancy section of the Zoning Ordinance consistent with the recodification of the City Ordinance Code. Mr. Tom Harmening, Community Development Director, outlined areas of the code Staff was recommending be amended. A provision in the zoning ordinance which would require a zoning permit for sheds under 120 square feet rather than a building permit; clarifying where on a lot a shed could be located including information on setback and anchoring; and to establish a permit fee of$25.00. City code currently requires dnveways to be paved and yards to be landscaped. Staff was recommending a requirement that dnveways be installed within one year of permit issuance and that landscaping be completed as well. An addition or a modification to a structure currently requires a Certificate of Occupancy in order to ensure all zoning provisions are met. If simply a change in ownership, a new approach called Certificate of Property Maintenance would suffice; and if a tenant change, a Registration of Land Use Permit would be required. It was moved by Councilmember Sanger, seconded by Councilmember Santa, to adopt first reading of the proposed Zoning Ordinance amendments and set second reading for the August 20, 2001 City Council Meeting, and to direct staff to prepare a fee resolution for shed permits. The motion passed 7-0. 7c. City Engineer's Report: 2001 Sidewalk Improvement Project: Phase A— Project No. 99-07A Resolution No.01-069 Ms. Maria Hagen, City Engineer, reported 12 segments of sidewalks were identified for construction in 2001. The sidewalk segments have been divided into two portions: sidewalks to be funded with General Obligation Funds and those that are State Aid routes. The discussion tonight regards the State Aid routes, consisting of six segments. Guidelines identify a sidewalk width of six feet and a boulevard width of seven feet. The City will maintain the sidewalks. Council meeting Minutes -5- Councilmember Young asked why the budget amount had increased so significantly since previous discussions. Ms. Hagen'responded that additional retaining walls were needed in some areas and the cost of cement and mobilization had increased. Councilmember Bnmeyer asked if one contractor could be hired for all projects and if that would help to contain costs. Ms. Hagen said there could be substantial savings if one contractor were hired, however, it may mean a delay in project start until spring of 2002. Councilmember Latz asked if the City could take a bid on everything and still receive partial funding from State Aid. Mr. Mike Rardin, Director of Public Works, said to qualify the City must have approved State Aid plans, and there would be no way to combine bids until after State Aid payments had been determined. Councilmember Latz favored an evaluation regarding the option of combining the bids if the timing works out with the State Aid approvals. Councilmember Young said he attended the neighborhood meeting and some residents expressed concern about the intrusion into their properties by the six and seven foot widths; He felt a five foot width was adequate as a city-wide standard. It was moved by Councilmember Nelson, seconded by Councilmember Sanger, to adopt Resolution No. 01-069 accepting the City Engineer's report, establishing and ordering an _ - improvement project, approving plans and specifications and authorizing advertisement for bids for construction of various sections of concrete sidewalk, Project No. 99-07A. Councilmember Young offered an amendment to the motion to change the specific width on the Hampshire/14`h Street segment to five feet and a change in the design standard to five feet, overall. The Motion was seconded by Councilmember Latz for purposes of discussion. Councilmember Sanger asked what the cost benefits would be as a result of narrowing a sidewalk from six to five feet. Ms. Hagen replied that up-front costs would be slightly lower, but there were maintenance concerns that should be considered. The City's equipment is five feet wide and Staff would like to have a clearance of one-half foot on either side and maintenance costs would increase with narrower sidewalks. Ms. Hagen said the reason some sidewalks are five feet in some cases due to council direction to design a plan that impacted private property and vegetation as little as possible. In some areas trees and steep hillsides prevented a wider sidewalk. Mayor Jacobs and Councilmembers Latz, Nelson, and Bnmeyer favored six-foot wide sidewalks. Mayor Jacobs believed Staff has done a good job to minimize intrusion where possible. Councilmember Santa was satisfied with Staff's performance regarding the directives they received from the Council and was supportive of the motion as originally stated. Councilmember Young withdrew the amendment stating that without this small change which would reduce costs and intrusion on residents' properties and taking of vegetation and trees he could not support the sidewalk improvement project as a whole. The motion as originally stated passed 6-1 (Councilmember Young opposed). Council meeting Minutes -6- 7d. City Engineer's Report: Improvements to flood Area No. 13A at W.36th Street and Wyoming Avenue, Sunset Park, and Elie Park- Project No. 01-07 Resolution No. 01-070 Mr. Carlton Moore, Superintendent of Engineering, reported on Flood Area No. 13A. Councilmember Santa clarified that all improvements being discussed were external to the Knollwood Mall property. Councilmember Latz asked how many eligible residential units could exercise the improvement option at a cost of$15,000-25,000 per residential unit. Mr. Moore said four to five residents have experienced flooding and that potential costs would be paid from the Flood Grant Program funded by the Storm Sewer Utility and not as a direct cost to the project. Floodproofing could add up to an additional $100,000 in dealing with the flood issues associated with Flood Area 13A. Councilmember Latz was unsure of approving anything that would authorize the expenditure of an additional $100,000 to floodproof homes. It was moved by Councilmember Santa, seconded by Councilmember Brimeyer, to adopt Resolution No. 01-070 accepting the City Engineer's report, establishing and ordering an improvement project, approving plans and specifications and authorizing advertisement for bids for flood area 13A Project No. 01-07. The motion passed 7-0. 7e. City Engineer's Report: Storm Sewer Improvements to Flood Area No. 13B at W. 33rd Street and Texas Avenue.- Project No. 01-08 Resolution No.01-071 Mr. Moore informed council that residents had complained of sanitary sewer backups due to heavy storms and upon inspection the sanitary sewer was found to be cracked and failing. The Staff recommendation was to pay for the reconstruction of the Sanitary Sewer Fund at the same time as the storm sewer improvement on this block. It was moved by Councilmember Santa, seconded by Councilmember Brimeyer, to adopt Resolution No. 01-071 accepting the City Engineer's report, establishing and ordering an improvement project, approving plans and specifications and authorizing advertisement for bids for Flood Area 13B Project No 01-08. The motion passed 7-0. 7f. City Engineer's Report: Storm Water Improvements to flood Area No. 15 at Keystone, Roxbury, and Lake Street Parks. —Project No. 00-07 Resolution No. 01-072 Mr. Moore reported that at a neighborhood meeting residents asked when the park improvements would be made Mr. Moore clarified that the storm and park improvements were separate processes. The park improvements would be initiated by the Park Department, and they will utilize the master park improvement plan to proceed with those improvements as they are budgeted. Council meeting Minutes -7- Councilmember Sanger said residents would like to know when their streets will be torn up, and Mr. Moore said it will depend on the bidder and the contractor. Staff proposes to go to bid immediately, however, no contractor may begin work unless it can be finished pnor to winter. It was moved by Councilmember Sanger, seconded by Councilmember Santa, to adopt Resolution No. 01-072 accepting the City Engineer's report, establishing and ordering an improvement project, approving plans and specifications and authorizing advertisement for bids for Flood Area 15, Project No. 00-07. The motion passed 7-0. 8. Boards and Committees--None 9. Communications From the Mayor—Mayor Jacobs encouraged residents to attend block parties for National Night Out Against Crime on Tuesday, August 2°d. 10. Adjournment y-- . Mayor Jacobs adjourned the meeting at 9:24 p.m. Ci?� Clerk May '