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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2004/03/29 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Study Session CITY OF 7 SLOUIS OFFICIAL MINUTES CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION March 29,2004 The meeting convened at 7:05 p.m. Councilmembers present were John Basill, Paul Omodt, Susan Sanger, Sue Santa, Sally Velick, and Mayor Jacobs. Staff present: City Manager(Mr. Harmening), Human Resources Director(Ms. Gohman), Economic Development Coordinator(Mr. Hunt), Planning and Zoning Supervisor(Ms. Jeremiah), Director of Public Works (Mr. Rardin), City Engineer(Ms. Hagen), Engineering Program Coordinator(Ms. Adler) and Administration Secretary(Ms. Olson). 1. Partnership between the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District and the City Ms. Hagen introduced Mike Wyatt, Planner, and Pamela Blixt, Vice President, of the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District. Mr. Wyatt stated that the district is rewriting its 509 Planning Guide and it is intended to be a ten year plan. He reported that the district has entered into a contract for a feasibility study with the U.S. Army Corp. of Engineers to put together a vision for Minnehaha Creek in the next fifty years. Mr. Wyatt reported that the Army Corp. would like to create a public stakeholder process. Mr. Wyatt gave a presentation outlining the various groups included and the general structure of the group. The public process would have involvement with the cities of Hopkins, Minnetonka, Minneapolis, Edina and St. Louis Park, Hennepin County and the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. The group would consist of three levels by creating a citizen group, elected officials group, and a technical advisory group. Mr. Wyatt stated that they are looking for Council approval and authorization for the City to participate in the process. St. Louis Park would select two residents through an application process and Councilmember Santa will serve as the elected official. Mayor Jacobs inquired when the district would need to have city representatives in place. Mr. Wyatt replied that they would need to have them by early June. Mr. Wyatt felt they were lucky to have the Army Corp. working with them on cost sharing and future projects. Councilmember Santa inquired if the representatives would include residents that live on the creek. Mr. Wyatt replied that the representatives would have to live within the district but not necessarily right on the creek. Councilmember Santa felt that property owners along the creek had a vested interest. Councilmember Sanger felt that Three Rivers Parks should be involved as well as an environmental group. Mr. Wyatt replied that Three Rivers Parks does not have parkland in the lower watershed. Councilmember Sanger inquired if the study would overlap into the type of buffer yards required for those along the creek. Mr. Wyatt did not feel that this process would cause any regulatory action from the district. Ms. Blixt clarified that first the vision for the district for the next fifty years and then a list of projects would be developed. She stated that some cities would like to use matching federal funds to update stormwater sewer projects. Study Session Minutes -2- March 29, 2004 Mr. Harmening suggested possibly using existing board and commission members. Mayor Jacobs did not feel this would be a problem and suggested publishing a notice in the paper seeking representatives. Mr. Harmenmg felt the notice should state the level of commitment needed. Mayor Jacobs inquired if the meetings of the group are public and Mr. Wyatt replied that they are. Mr. Wyatt stated that at the meetings they will have a block of time where people could speak. Councilmember Basill had concerns about neighborhoods being kept informed. Councilmember Santa suggested that the representatives be responsible for attending other neighborhood meetings. Mr. Rardin would like to see an open house where people would have input on the final version. Mayor Jacobs felt that even though it may be more work, he would like to see the public involved from the beginning. Mr. Harmening asked for an update on Rule M. Ms. Blixt stated that the Board took testimony and has scheduled discussions for early April. She reported that two ordinances were proposed and later not passed. 2. Excelsior & Grand—Phases E & NW Bob Cunningham and Trent Mayberry of TOLD were present at the meeting. Dennis Sutliff, ESG Architecture, was also present. Mr. Hunt stated that they have moved up Phase E of the project to happen before Phase NW. Mr. Cunningham stated that they had onginally planned on having a boutique office building on the Phase E site. TOLD would like Council to consider additional condominium residences rather than a boutique office building due to the current market for office space. They are contemplating grade level retail with condominiums above. The condos would be more of a first time homebuyer and small family project. Mr. Cunningham stated that the are seeking a Comp. Plan amendment to address the proposed changes. He stated that the architect has created a plan to allow two levels of parking below grade for residential use. They are currently working with a retailer to occupy the first floor retail space. Councilmember Sanger inquired why there was a parking lot on the site as they were trying to avoid open parking spaces. Mr. Cunningham replied they would not be able to retain the type of retail that they were seeking and they have found that potential buyers prefer heated underground parking rather than an open structure. Mr. Harmening inquired if they planned to design an edge to hide the parking lot. Mr. Cunningham stated that they were planning on decorative elements with the ability to screen the cars. Mr. Basill commented that the proposed five story building is one story higher than the adjacent building. Mr. Cunningham stated that in the original plan for a boutique office building it had been originally planned to be four stories. However, with office buildings the floor to floor ceiling heights are higher. Mr. Sutliff clarified that the difference is approximately two feet between the proposed five story retail/condominium building and a four story office building. Councilmember Sanger inquired if they were in violation of the Livable Communities pnnciples by not having any office space in the development. Mr. Harmening did not feel they had any problems in that area. Ms. Jeremiah stated that the Metropolitan Council's focus was more on affordable housing. Councilmember Sanger had concerns that without office space, they lose the Study Session Minutes -3- March 29, 2004 ability to have residents in a position to walk to work. Ms. Jeremiah replied that they actually have live/work happening in the Phase I apartments and people are also walking to Park Nicollet. Ms. Jeremiah stated they are revisiting a traffic study for the area and will also be doing a parking study. She stated that the EDA owned some land on the other side of Monterey and TOLD is looking at that property for additional parking. Councilmember Sanger inquired about pedestrian safety when crossing Monterey. Ms. Jeremiah stated that there was an indication in the previous traffic study that they may want to add a traffic light at Park Commons Drive or by the Rec Center. Mayor Jacobs suggested a neighborhood meeting to discuss the changes in the neighborhood and the difference in the building height. He asked Councilmember Basill if the neighborhood would be fine with the height change and Councilmember Basill replied that he could not say for sure. Ms. Jeremiah stated that though they may not have the parking and traffic studies completed by the time of the neighborhood meeting, they will definitely have them prior to a public hearing. Councilmember Velick inquired about a timeline. Mr. Cunningham stated that they would like to begin marketing in the summer. He reported that generally banks require forty to fifty percent of the units to be pre-sold and they hope to achieve that so that construction can commence this year. Councilmember Santa felt it was important to note that when discussing affordability, they were discussing the median of other housing stock in the city. Ms. Jeremiah reported that they have asked TOLD to incorporate a Park Commons identification monument on the corner. Mr. Sutliff stated that the current comprehensive plan allows six to eight stones for high density in Phase NW. Mr. Cunningham was not sure that they could absorb the steel and concrete construction costs. He stated that the plans are similar to Phase NE in shape and price. They are contemplating more condominiums and are looking at a five story building. He stated they would market the units in the summer or late fall with construction early next year. Mr. Sutliff felt that the view and location are excellent at this site. Councilmember Sanger inquired if there would be town homes at all in the project. Mr. Cunningham felt that now was not the time to look at town homes but there could possibly be some property that may work. Mayor Jacobs inquired about the amenities and Mr. Cunningham stated that it would be created so that owner occupied unit residents did not have to cross the street. Mr. Harmening asked Mr. Cunningham to talk about retail in Phase NE and NW. Mr. Cunningham stated that they did not feel comfortable putting a restaurant in an owner occupied area and are looking for a boutique like retailer. He added that they felt they are one restaurant short of one hundred percent mix. Mr. Sutliff stated they are close to hitting 660 units and Ms. Jeremiah felt that if they go over that amount they should revisit the EAW. Study Session Minutes -4- March 29, 2004 3. Update on Community Development Recruitment Process Ms. Jeremiah informed the Council that she has withdrawn from the Community Development Director recruitment process and accepted the Community Development Director position in Eden Prairie. The Council congratulated Ms. Jeremiah on her new position and expressed how much they would miss working with her. Mr. Harmening reported that have selected a finalist for the Community Development Director. They have extended an offer to Kevin Locke who holds the same position in New Brighton. Mr. Harmening listed Mr. Locke's qualifications and felt very pleased to have someone with his caliber of skills. Ms. Gohman listed some of his traits they found during the evaluations. Ms. Gohman emphasized how lucky they were to obtain Mr. Locke. She stated that he will begin on May 3. The Council will need to confirm the appointment of Mr. Locke on Apnl 12. Councilmember Velick would like to set aside some time prior to the Council meeting to meet Mr. Locke. 4. Communications Councilmember Omodt informed the Council of spray paint graffiti that hit several blocks in his neighborhood. He expressed his concerns about drug use among kids from the neighborhood as well as their presence on private property. Mr. Harmening stated that the police department may have some suspects and has suggested talks with the neighborhood. Council discussed what restorative justice is and how it operates. Mr. Harmening reported that the Parks &Recreation department held a very successful meeting with the Victoria Ponds neighborhood on the off leash dog park. Ms. Walsh, Park&Recreation Director, will be compiling the comments from the meeting. Councilmember Sanger felt that concerns about parking had merit. Councilmember Santa inquired about Texa-Tonka park and how that related to the off leash dog park. Mr. Harmening replied that they may have to look at the uses there regarding the number of people, traffic and congestions. Councilmember Basill stated that trash bins are being left out in the alleys, mostly in rental areas. He added that he is also receiving calls about damage to the trash lids from raccoons. The raccoons have been chewing through the lids when trash is left out between pickups. He would like staff to visit to the alley to see the damage done. Mr. Harmening felt that staff would not be able to comprehensively enforce the ordinance but can certainly do spot checks when needed. Councilmember Basill had concerns that move up single family homes are being bought and being split into duplexes. He stated that several years ago they had discussed not allowing outside stairs which would help prevent this from happening. 5. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 9:30 p m. L 4 ► LCL ity Clerk Ma,or •