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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2004/12/06 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Regular CITY Pi FOFFICIAL MINUTES ST. LOIS CITY COUNCIL MEETING PARK ST. LOUIS PARK, MINNESOTA December 6, 2004 1. Call to Order Mayor Jacobs called the meeting to order at 7:30 pm. Council members present: Mayor Jeff Jacobs, John Basill, Phil Finkelstein, Paul Omodt, Susan Sanger, Sue Santa, and Sally Velick Staff present: City Manager(Mr. Harmening), City Attorney (Mr Scott), City Engineer(Ms. Hagen) Assistant Zoning Administrator(Mr. Momson), Finance Director(Ms. McGann), Planning/Zoning Supervisor(Ms. McGonigal), Public Works Director(Mr. Rardin), Utilities Superintendent (Mr. Anderson) and Recording Secretary (Ms Stegora-Peterson) 2. Presentations a. NORC (Nurturing Our Retiring Citizens) Program Update Annette Sandler, Project Coordinator for St. Louis Park NORC project, presented a video about the NORC project Mary Forbush, Chief Operating Officer at Jewish Family and Children's Service, the agency administering the NORC project, stated that they were in the process of requesting funding for the project and believed this was the kind of project supported by the entire community. Rita Kach, Coordinator of the Senior Program at Lenox Community Center, noted that they had 33,000+ participants (600/week) in the center. This year 157 seniors logged over 14,550 hours of service. Some examples of collaboration with NORC included. Creation of wooden toys for hospitalized children (900+ toys delivered), Senior Chore day (served over 50 homes), and a presentation Remembering the Holocaust. Mayor Jacobs believed this was a great model and very beneficial for the seniors in St Louis Park 3. Approval of Minutes 3a. City Council Minutes of November 15, 2004 Councilmember Omodt indicated on page two, the motion for the consent items should be 5-0 The minutes were approved as corrected. 3b. Study Session Minutes of November 15, 2004 The minutes were approved as presented. Council Meeting Minutes -2- December 6, 2004 3c. Study Session Minutes of November 8, 2004 Councilmember Velick indicated she was in attendance at the meeting Councilmember Sanger noted on page two, near the bottom, ", rather than tearing down non-blighted homes in order to build townhouses" should be inserted after " .torn down " On page three, item 3, "because they cannot obtain DSL service" should be inserted after "...that are underserved". Mayor Jacobs indicated on page two where it said, "cautioned against being dictatorial to the private market", he was more concerned about being in competition with the private market The minutes were approved as corrected 4. Approval of Agenda and Items on Consent Calendar Mr. Harmening suggested that 4g (Authorize the Mayor and City Manager to execute the attached five-year contract with All Hours Towing for towing services) be removed from the consent agenda. The contract needed more work and they would put it on the December 20 agenda. NOTE The Consent Calendar lists 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. Close the Time Warner Cable "renewal proceeding" and continue the informal franchise renewal process. _ 4b Approve Resolution No. 04-141 for Final Plat for Oak Park Village 2nd Addition. (Case No. 04-63-S 3401, 3451, 3501 Louisiana Avenue South) 4c Accept October 2004 Financial Statements. 4d Approve Resolution No. 04-142 authorizing renewal of premises permit for St. Louis Park Boy's Traveling Basketball, operating at Texa-Tonka Lanes, 8242 Minnetonka Blvd. 4e Authorize execution of a contract with S & S Tree Specialists, Inc. for 2005 Tree Pruning (trimming) 4f Approve contract with Oak Knoll Animal Hospital for animal boarding services and authorize Mayor and City Manager to execute. 4g Removed 4h Motion to Approve audit contract with Abdo, Eick, & Meyers, LLP for 2004— 2007 4i Motion to Accept the Park and Recreation Advisory Commission Minutes of Oct. 19, 2004 for filing. 4j Motion to Accept the Housing Authority Minutes of October 13, 2004 for filing 4k Motion to Accept the Planning Commission Minutes of November 3, 2004 for filing 41 Motion to Accept the Board of Zoning Appeals Minutes of September 23, 2004 for filing. 4m Motion to Accept the Human Rights Commission Minutes of April 21, 2004 for filing. 4n Motion to Accept the Human Rights Commission Minutes of June 16, 2004 for filing Council Meeting Minutes -3- December 6, 2004 4o Adopt Resolution No. 04-143 authorizing installation and special assessment of a fire sprinkler system at 4300 36 1/2 Street West and directing the Mayor and City Manager to execute a special assessment agreement with the property owner. 4p Adopt Resolution No. 04-144 accepting concrete alley paving work by BCG, Construction, Inc on the 7600 and 7700 blocks of Edgewood Ave. and authorizing final payment to be issued. 4q Adopt Resolution No. 04-145 accepting work on curb and gutter installation and street maintenance project (Virginia Avenue and W 22°' Street) and authorizing final payment to be issued. 4r Accept Vendor Claims for filing (Supplement) It was motioned by Councilmember Santa, seconded by Councilmember Velick, to approve the Agenda and items listed on the Consent Calendar, as amended. The motion passed 7-0. 6. Public Hearings 6a. Public Hearing on the 2005 Budget and Property Tax Levy Mr. Harmening stated that they had been working on the budget process for months and felt they were presenting a responsible budget that kept the City in a good financial condition and would provide the services they felt the community wanted. Ms. McGann presented the staff report 2004 cuts were analyzed and the result was to restore partial funding for projects that were cut last year. This results in an overall property tax levy increase of 6% The property tax levy wasn't all allocated just to the general fund, there were several areas that the property tax levy was allocated to Park and recreation was partially supported by property taxes In addition to that, they allocate almost $1 million in 2005 to park improvements This was where the market value homestead credit was going, to continue to improve the parks in the city Councilmember Finkelstein stated that the remaining aide from the state was down to $800,000. The City's use of this money was a conservative fiscal policy. If they lost the remaining money from the legislature in this year, it would not affect the day-to-day operations. Ms. McGann added there was also a portion of the property tax levy allocated toward the repayment of general obligation debt. Mayor Jacobs opened the public hearing. There being no speakers, the public hearing was closed Mayor Jacobs noted that final action would be taken on the budget by the City Council on December 20, 2004. 7. Requests, Petitions, and Communications from the Public—None 8. Resolutions, Ordinances, Motions 8a. City Engineer's Report: Lamplighter Pond Flood Improvement Project, City Project No. 00-18. Resolution No:04-146 Council Meeting Minutes -4- December 6, 2004 Mr. Rardin presented the staff report. Ms. Hagen described the project details Councilmember Basill asked if some of the work needed to be done whether they did this project or not, what necessary maintenance would be if they didn't do this project9 Ms. Hagen replied if they were just to clean out the pond and reestablish the edge, it would probably be about $1 million. Councilmember Santa asked if there were plans for future maintenance of this pond? Mr. Rardin responded that they were going through a process to inventory and rate all of the assets (sidewalks, pavements, water towers, storm basins, etc.) and this would be put on a routine maintenance schedule They may do cleaning every five years, but haven't determined exactly when it would be done. Councilmember Sanger indicated the possibility was mentioned that one or more houses may be taken for flood control purposes. She wanted to clarify that they weren't talking about doing that and before they would, it would be within the City's discretion if they wanted to and would have to be agreed upon by the homeowners. Ms. Hagen replied yes, the acquisition of homes was an element of the existing flood proofing program established by the City and would only be in the instance that there was a willing seller and buyer Councilmember Velick thanked the staff for their work and neighbors for their involvement Jay Broderson, 22"d and Quebec, stated his support for the project. It was motioned by Councilmember Velick, seconded by Councilmember Omodt, to adopt Resolution No. 04-146 accepting this report, establishing and ordering Improvement Project No. 00-18, approving plans and specifications, and authorizing advertisement for bids The motion passed 7-0 It was motioned by Councilmember Velick, seconded by Councilmember Finkelstein, to adopt the attached resolution authorizing approval of an agreement with Park Assembly of God Church regarding a permanent easement. The motion passed 7-0. 8b. Request for Conditional Use Permit by the City of St. Louis Park to permit the excavation of approximately 81,300 cubic yards of excavation material and expand the pond by 5.9 acres through excavation of the area north of Lamplighter Pond --1800 Pennsylvania Ave. S. and 1461 Texas Ave. S. Case No. 03-50-CUP. 1800 Pennsylvania Ave. S and 1461 Texas Ave. S. Resolution No. 04-148 Ms. McGonigal presented the staff report. The Planning Commission recommended hours of operation be 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM on weekdays and that the neighborhood be notified if work was to be done on weekends. Planning Commission also suggested that trucks do not queue in the neighborhoods, but queue off-site or on the site of the pond itself. Councilmember Velick was unsure how the queuing of trucks could be done without blocking traffic or being in front of peoples homes Ms. Hagen responded that when they used the term "off-site" it meant out of the neighborhood, somewhere on a more collector Council Meeting Minutes -5- December 6, 2004 street, to the extent possible. There may be some queuing, but they would try to minimize it as much as possible. They may also try to have the trucks sit in the pond as they were doing the excavation Ms. Hagen commented regarding limiting the hours of construction operation, the window they had from mid-January to mid-March was relatively a short time period. When the excavation amount was 47,000 cubic yards originally anticipated, they thought that was manageable. Given that the volume had increased so much, that two-month window had significantly impacted the amount of time that it would take. They would like to consider having the hours of construction operation modified back to the ordinance requirements. They realized Planning Commission put the requirements on to limit the disruption to the neighborhood, but there was the benefit of getting it done in a shorter time period. Councilmember Velick stated she wouldn't like to see work done later than 7.00 PM. Councilmember Sanger indicated this had been an issue in other projects. What was the harm if they didn't modify the hours from what the Planning Commission recommended? Ms. Hagen responded that after mid-March they could get into a situation where the snow was thawing, there was more water and there would also be road restrictions that would limit the weight of vehicles that could be on the roads. Councilmember Finkelstein asked if they could do it within 8.00 AM—7 00 PM? Mr Rardin replied that the hours were difficult to negotiate This project needed to be done by the middle of March or it would carry over into next winter. They needed to give the contractor some latitude. Councilmember Sanger asked if there would be overtime if they worked on the weekends? Ms. Hagen replied no, they would build that into the contract costs. They would anticipate work be done on Saturdays Councilmember Velick asked if they could ask the contractor to renegotiate times depending on the weather and keep it from 8.00 AM to 7.00 PM2 Mayor Jacobs was uncomfortable negotiating the hours. What he had typically heard with construction projects in this area was that they would rather it be done in a shorter time period. This project should get done this year. Mr. Harmening suggested that they keep the times that the Planning Commission recommended (8:00 AM-6:00 PM and no work on the weekend), but because of weather conditions or other unforeseen circumstances the project was falling behind, that they could work from 8:00 AM— 8:00 PM and also on weekends during reasonable hours provided the neighborhood was contacted and that the City Manager approved it He wanted to avoid having to amend the conditional use permit. Mr. Rardin suggested that this was different than a private project because the City was running it A CUP could be issued with a broader range and they could have narrower hours in the contract to begin with. If there were problems they could then change the hours. ,,,' , r ,' Council Meeting Minutes -6- December 6, 2004 It was motioned by Councilmember Velick, seconded by Councilmember Sanger, to adopt Resolution No. 04-148 approving the Conditional Use Permit to allow the excavation of' approximately 81,300 cubic yards of soil from the location described subject to conditions included in the resolution. The hours of operation shall be between 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. on weekdays and 9:00 am and 6.00 p.m. on weekends, written notice to all property owners within at least 350 feet must be given prior to working on weekends. If additional hours for the excavation project are needed, hours may be extended to those allowed by city ordinance with written notice given to all property owners within at least 350 feet prior to conducting work in the extended hours. Commissioner Finkelstein made a friendly amendment to allow for the expansion of the pond by 5 9 acres through the excavation of the area North of the pond Councalmembers Velick and Sanger accepted the friendly amendment The motion passed 7-0. 8c. Request by Target Corporation for an amendment to its existing Special Permit #96-39 to construct a new SuperTarget, together with requests for variances to permit larger wall signs than allowed by code, to allow a reduced bufferyard along the west property line 8900 State Highway#7. Case No. 04-32-CUP & 04-33-VAR. Resolution No.'s 04-149 and 04-150 Mr. Morrison presented the staff report. John Dietnch, RLK Kuusisto, discussed the site design elements. The original project was to remodel the existing store into a SuperTarget. As the cost analysis was being done, because of site issues with flooding, they changed the proposal to a new structure. There would be three storm water ponds. The new structure will be built above the 100- year flood elevation There will be a green median on both sides of the entrance The proposed plan would put the impervious ratio at 80%. Parking would meet the code requirements. They would allow the store to run through the Christmas season of 2005, and then the store would close for ten months. They would be adding sidewalks and connecting with the trail. One of the proposed variances was for landscaping on the West where they will add approximately 250 plants. Screening will be better done from the trail The other variance was for signage, that all signage be combined onto the East' - façade and represent 5 2% of the front façade All signs would be below the 300 square foot maximum. He described the building façade Items that had changed since the Planning Commission included: the building square footage had been reduced by approximately 7,000 square feet, the parking provided would be 784 stalls, which was a 4.5 ratio on the Target lot; the loading dock had been brought into the building and would be fully screened, and was moved further from the apartment buildings. Mr. Mornson discussed the traffic study. The level of service was at or above the acceptable levels of service of"D", most "A" and "B". The anticipated 2006 level of service had only changed at the intersection of Aquila and 37`h. They took into consideration the SuperTarget and the improvements of Knollwood Mall It was still a good passing grade. Council Meeting Minutes -7- December 6, 2004 Irwin Stolby, Plantation Apartments, stated a concern about liability issues from more pedestrians crossing his property to walk to the new store because there was nowhere else for them to walk. They also had a problem with Target's carts being left on their property. He suggested a walking path be put on the South side of Highway 7 Councilmember Santa stated that she had such success with merchants in the area when their carts needed to be picked up Mr Stolby believed that the Park administration should finish the pathway. He considered fencing the property because of these issues. Mayor Jacobs clarified that his property was in Hopkins and would be difficult for the City Council to address. Mr. Harmening stated that they couldn't address this issue as a part of the Special Permit amendment and they could not condition it on Target putting in a trail on this property, in another city. They could however take action on this and staff could talk with Hopkins about a cooperative effort or trail extension project in Hopkins. The City of St. Louis Park had approved trail extension projects in the past from regional trails to streets to address situations like this. Councilmember Santa stated that this was presented to the neighborhood as a remodel and they were assured that the Target would stay open throughout the process and that there would be no disruption to bus service. This would be a surprise to the neighborhood. The neighborhood was supportive of a SuperTarget, but it was worrisome to her that there wasn't another neighborhood meeting with the revised information. She was supportive of the project, even with the changes She asked where the cart corrals would be? Mr Momson replied they were located at the end of the concrete walkways and scattered on each island throughout the site. Councilmember Santa expressed concern about carts throughout the neighborhood To date Target had been cooperative picking them up, but she wanted to see that continue. During the construction, would there be disruption in the bus services Mr Dietrich responded during construction they would have to accommodate traffic and could not close the street, there would be modification on the route They would be in discussions with MCTO Councilmember Santa asked for clarifications on screening or painting the structures on the top of the building? Mr Dietrich replied that Highway 7 and the new apartments to the Northwest were above the roofline, so a parapet would not screen the rooftop units. The roof would be a medium tan and the units would come from the factory a light tan color to blend with the roof. Councilmember Sanger commented that she was appreciative of some of the things they were doing and that the design would be an improvement over what was there, and the efforts to reduce the flooding problem She had concerns about parking. The assumption was that there would be twice as much traffic, yet they were cutting the available parking by 20%. She had experiences where there were not sufficient parking and it was too crowded. It seemed there would be a significant parking problem What were they going to do in the event that there was too great a demand for parking spaces? The other concern Council Meeting Minutes -8- December 6, 2004 had to do with the traffic analysis. One of the intersections that was not analyzed was 36th street where the regional trail crossed. It was difficult to bike across 36th Street from the trail and if they were doubling the amount of traffic, she assumed that would add to the traffic on 36th Street which was an issue for trail crossing. Mr. Dietrich replied in terms of the traffic generation rates that were utilized by SRF Consultants, they did not fully agree that a doubling of the traffic generation would occur. Whenever a Super Target goes in compared to a typical Target store, there were an added number of trips, but it was closer to the 25-30% range, not double. The Super Targets allowed a greater capture of product and product line with the same trip In terms of the parking, now there is one main entry to the store. The proposal with the SuperTarget would have two main entries and the parking would be distributed to two entries on the site. They were capturing more parking on the North side of the proposed door and allowing a better distribution of parking. The parking ratio was proposed to be 4.5 per 1,000 square feet That was still a lot of parking stalls. On a regular Target, they typically look at 5.0 ratio per 1,000 square feet. With a super store, it was not necessary to keep it at 5.0, dropping it down to 4.5 per 1,000 square feet was a realistic number which would allow enough parking and distribution around the two main entries. They were limited on expanding the parking. Councilmember Sanger stated she understood the theory, but her experience was that the theory didn't fit She was concerned about the addition of traffic and cars and that they were taking away parking spaces. Mr. Dietrich indicated they currently had over 6 per 1,000 square foot ratio, which exceeded city codes. They looked at this as an urban site and anticipated there would be transit and with a good trail connection there will be a number of walkers and bicyclists to a higher level than it currently was They would have bicycle racks in the front They made the front of the store more plaza-like Councilmember Velick asked about the traffic circulation, were there only two entrances? Mr. Dietrich replied yes. Councilmember Velick wondered if they anticipated any problems with traffic flow? Secondly, how does the number of parking spaces in this proposed Target compare to the Target on 36th Street? Mr. Dietnch responded that the majority of traffic was coming off of 37th Street It would be a free-flow condition in, with a three-way stop for traffic going out. There will be designated crosswalks for pedestrians They anticipated that the design would adequately manage the traffic flow In terms of the parking, the ratio was 4.5-4 8 per thousand, this would be comparable to the other Target There was a question on the crossing of the regional trail at West 36th Street, he was familiar with that intersection and thought it was a question that needed to be looked at from a broader perspective. Councilmember Omodt commented that the Council went on a canoe trip down the Minnehaha creek which gave them a better appreciation for the creek and what a natural beauty it was. The East side of this parking lot always flooded and he liked the way they had taken care of that. This would be a much better solution for the creek and looked very nice He appreciated that they were going from 84 to 80% of impervious surface. He would like to see more design this way Council Meeting Minutes -9- December 6, 2004 Councilmember Finkelstein added that this would assist with the health of the creek. They were also adding a regional trail access and more people would be able to do their shopping without dnving a car. Mr. Harmening commented a common outcome of a lack of parking in a private parking lot was people parking on street or in drive lanes. This site was isolated from other properties. Would there be "No Parking" signs in the outside driving lane and what kind of provisions would be made to ensure that people weren't parking where they shouldn't? Mr. Dietnch anticipated they would work closely with the Fire Marshall and he saw that as a designated fire lane The other areas would also be signed for"No Parking" because they had a transit shelter and layover. Mr. Harmening asked about the other road? Mr. Dietnch replied that it was currently signed for"No Parking" and they didn't anticipate having any parking on that road. Councilmember Santa asked what the ordinance requirements were for the parking? Mr Momson responded that the site as proposed met the parking requirements for a shopping center. The doubling of trips that was assumed was not the doubling of the total Target tnp generation, but the increment between the Target and the SuperTarget. It was motioned by Councilmember Santa, seconded by Councilmember Omodt, to approve Resolution No. 04-149 granting Special Permit Amendment, subject to the conditions as recommended by staff; approve a variance to Section 36-364(f,)(4) allowing the reduction of bufferyard requirements along the west property line from 2706 plant units to 801 as illustrated in the landscaping plan, and, to approve Resolution No.04- 150 granting a variance to Section 36-362(g)(4)c to allow two wall signs to exceed the 150 square foot maximum for sign faces allowed for shopping centers with the condition that no sign face exceed 300 square feet Councilmember Velick asked if the City would connect with the neighborhood to tell them that the plans had changed" Mr. Momson replied that they would send a revised site plan showing the changes and a project description. He also felt a meeting needed to be held with the business community talking about the improvements and the disruption to the bus service and the road Mayor Jacobs felt it would have been better to have a neighborhood meeting first before they changed the project. Councilmember Santa appreciated that they would be open another year which would allow time to let the neighborhood know and allow people to make other arrangements. Many people in that area walk and use the bus. Councilmember Basill asked if they had any plans to close the Target at 36th and Highway 100? Mr. Tucker,Target, replied no, they were planning on remodeling that store before the construction of the Super Target. The motion passed 7-0. • Council Meeting Minutes -10- December 6, 2004 9. Communications Mayor Jacobs indicated he had been doing bus tours and City Hall tours for the 3`d graders, which was something he thoroughly enjoyed. He commended Eric Lincoln at the Police Department, Reg Dunlap in City Hall and Kim Olson for their assistance with the tours. He received thank you cards from the classes and really appreciated them. 10. Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 9.55 p m • //P ?ff-e9/4_ ity Clerk M yor