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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2001/02/26 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Study Session CITY OF ST. LOUIS OFFICIAL MINUTES PARK CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION February 26, 2001 The meeting convened at 7:00 p.m. Present at the meeting were Councilmembers Jim Brimeyer, Ron Latz, Susan Sanger, Susan Santa, and Mayor Jeff Jacobs. Staff present. City Manager(Mr. Meyer), Community Development Director (Mr. Harmening), Economic Development Coordinator(Mr. Kleve), Planning and Zoning Supervisor (Ms. Jeremiah), Community Development Intern (Mr. Vickerman), Finance Director(Ms. McGann), and City Clerk (Ms Larsen). 1. Metropolitan Council Representative Frank Hornstein Mr Hornstein of the Metropolitan Council was present along with Community Relations Specialist, Mr Byron Johnson. Mr Hornstein spoke about his involvement with the Park Commons and Mill City development projects. He mentioned the Met Council's policy of linking housing performance with grant funding. He invited Council and staff to a public hearing in March to demonstrate St. Louis Park's leadership in the area of housing development. The fare increase for Metro Transit was briefly discussed Mr Johnson stated that he was one of the four new Community Relations Specialists and he would like to help the Met Council be more accessible to other stakeholders. Mr Meyer brought up the dedicated busway changes that had occurred. He was concerned that the proposed bus routes do not address reverse commutes. He added that city staff is working with Metro Transit on the issue Mr Hornstein encouraged Council to be specific in their dialog and concerns with him to help him address the issues effectively Councilmember Santa discussed the fact that a significant piece of the system has been cut of the plan which limits the ability to connect with surrounding communities. Mr. Meyer indicated future discussion should take place on the transition of dedicated busways to light rail in the future. Council and the representatives from Met Council spoke about other issues that Met Council is facing in connection with St Louis Park They mentioned housing stock issues and the possibility of working with that issue in the future All agreed they value the partnership between the City of St. Louis Park and Metropolitan Council Study Session Minutes -2- February 26, 2001 2. Application for Private Activity Bonds Council and staff discussed regulations for issuing private activity bonds and the entities that are allowed to do so by law. Ms. McGann proceeded to distribute a handout regarding Private Revenue Activity Bonds. Ms McGann informed Council that requests may be coming to the City for Private Activity Revenue Bonds. She indicated that staff had received two inquiries from interested parties Council discussed the criteria they may want to use in the future to determine if requests for private activity bonds are honored. They reviewed the revised application and agreed that they had no objections so long as the City Attorney's Office had previously reviewed and accepted the form Council directed staff to utilize the new application format and agreed that requests for issuance of Private Activity Revenue Bonds would be reviewed on a case by case basis. 3. Park Commons Update Bob Cunningham of TOLD was present at the meeting. Ms. Jeremiah spoke about the open house and the plans for the town green. Mr. Cunningham commented on affordable housing and the possibility that the proposed Holman units may need to be concentrated into one building location because of HUD requirements Councilmember Sanger suggested that St. Louis Park contact its legislators to reduce restrictions on spreading affordable housing throughout a project. Mr. Cunningham indicated that the Bally's corporation may not want to move forward with acquiring space in the project. A three dimensional model was presented to Council 4. Tree Replacement Ordinance Peter Vickerman, Community Development Intern, gave a comparison of the tree replacement policies of other surrounding cities. He indicated that staff would like to receive feedback on the overall intent and practical effect of the current ordinance, amend the Code to include a cash-in- lieu option, and adjust on several factors in the replacement policy. Council discussed the cash-in-lieu option allowing developers to provide cash for tree planting elsewhere in the City when it is not possible for tree replacement on the development site. They also discussed replacement with trees of a different size, such as shrubs or larger trees Mr. Harmening indicated that he wants to ensure that St. Louis Park's tree replacement ordinance is not a detriment to developers. Councilmember Sanger suggested modifying the tree replacement ordinance to permit land owners to place additional trees on adjacent properties as a buffer between them. Study Session Minutes -3- February 26, 2001 Councilmember Latz inquired if a fund from the developer's fees could be set up to allow residents the opportunity to fund tree replacement on private property. Councilmember Sanger suggested that tree replacement funds could also fund tree planting in Oak Park Village. Mr Meyer stated that this issue is a matter of policy. In several of the current projects, it is impossible to replace trees on site. He inquired if the ordinance was current or was staff looking at revenue raising possibilities. Ms. Jeremiah stated that they are not. She reported three projects have requested the cash-in-lieu option, but every project is by no means affected with this problem in regards to tree replacement. Mr. Harmening stated that several of the City's policies seem to be in conflict. The City encourages both dense development and tree replacement and tree replacement can be difficult in such developments. Mr. Meyer suggested that the ordinance can be crafted to benefit the entire urban city forest and allow the city flexibility to do so through tree replacement or a cash-in-lieu option. Council asked staff to adjust the formula to achieve a logical result and formalize a cash-in-lieu policy. Councilmember Latz asked staff to include a possibility of a low interest loan program for replacement of trees on private property. 5. Parking Restrictions Enforcement During Snow Removal Operations Staff reported that they had received good comments about how the city is handling snow removal this season Staff also indicated that they were experiencing problems with sidewalk snow removal on private property Council and staff discussed the issue and recommended that an educational piece would be appropriate to inform homeowners of sidewalk snow removal policies. Council discussed the problem that has been experienced this year in regards to ticketing vehicles in violation of the snow emergency ordinance and the ability of staff to respond to the violations. They discussed the possibility of authorizing additional staff to issue tickets Council briefly discussed neighborhood contribution. 6. Communications Mr. Meyer gave a legislative update. 7. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 10.25 p.m. . . / . 9 /y Clerk 1\43((0 .