Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2005/09/19 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Regular ffCITY OF OFFICIAL MINUTES T. LOLIISCITY COUNCIL MEETING RK ST. LOUIS PARK, MINNESOTA September 19, 2005 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 and Sue Santa Councilmember Jim Brimeyer was absent. Staff present: City Manager(Mr. Harmening), City Attorney(Mr. Joel Jamnik), Civic TV Coordinator(Mr. Dunlap), Community Development Director(Mr. Locke), Director of Technology and Support Services(Mr. Pires), Economic Development Coordinator(Mr. Hunt), Finance Director(Ms. McGann), Planning/Zoning Supervisor(Ms. McMonigal), Planning Coordinator(Ms. Erickson) and Recording Secretary(Ms. Stegora-Peterson). 2. Presentations a. Junior Naturalist Recognition Michelle Frank, Activity Specialist at Westwood Hills Nature Center and Mayor Jacobs presented awards to Junior Naturalist volunteers and thanked them for their work. b. Judie Erickson Recognition Mayor Jacobs presented a resolution recognizing Ms. Erickson for her years of service. Ms. McGonigal, Mr. Harmening, and Councilmember Sanger added comments about working with Ms. Erickson. 3. Approval of Minutes 3a. City Council Minutes of September 6,2005 Councilmember Finkelstein noted item 8(a) was missing, "The motion passed 7-0. " Councilmember Santa noted on page three, the word"soul" should be"sole". The minutes were approved as corrected. 4. Approval of Agenda and Items on Consent Calendar 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 appropnate section of the regular agenda for discussion 4a. Traffic Study No. 591: Motion to adopt the Resolution No. 05-126 authorizing continuation of temporary permit parking in front of 3128 Idaho Avenue South. Council Meeting Minutes -2- September 19, 2005 4b. City Engineer's Report: Alley Paving—2900 block between Ottawa and Princeton Avenues—Motion to adopt Resolution No. 05-127 that accepts this report, establishes this Improvement Project and sets a Public Hearing and Assessment Hearing date of October 17, 2005. —Project No. 2005-1800. 4c. Planning Commission Minutes of August 17, 2005 4d. Human Rights Commission Minutes and Meeting Notes 4e. Accept vendor claims for filing(supplement) It was moved by Councilmember Santa, seconded by Councilmember Omodt, to approve the Agenda and items listed on the Consent Calendar. The motion passed 6-0. 5. Boards and Commissions - None 6. Public Hearings 6a. Public Hearing—Knollwood Place Apartment Project Private Activity Revenue Bond Resolution No. 15-120 Ms. McGann presented the staff report. Mayor Jacobs opened the public hearing. No speakers present. The public hearing was closed. Councilmember Santa asked for clarification that the City was not responsible for repayment of this in any way? Ms. McGann replied correct. Councilmember asked if there is a cap? Ms. McGann responded the cap she was referencing was the $10 million cap where you have the tax-exempt status up to the $10 million cap. The City did issue bonds in 2005 already. If they were to issue additional bonds in 2005,they would be subject to the $10 million cap. Councilmember Santa asked if that would have an effect on the City or its financial standings or bond rating? Ms. McGann replied no it did not. It was moved by Councilmember Santa, seconded by Councilmember Finkelstein to approve Resolution No. 05-120 authorizing the issuance, sale, and delivery of variable rate demand multifamily Housing Revenue Refunding Bonds in the amounts of $12,300,000 and a Housing Revenue note in the amount not to exceed$1,700,000. The motion passed 6-0. Council Meeting Minutes -3- September 19, 2005 6b. Proposed Transfer of Cable Television System Mr. Pires presented the staff report. Mayor Jacobs opened the public hearing. Phillip Hogland, 2716 Vernon Av. S, stated a concern about disruption when Email accounts and web sites are affected by the change. Mr. Pires stated they notified Comcast of that concern. It appeared that they go through a process of requiring people to change their Email domains. They would reiterate the concern to Comcast prior to the next meeting. Mayor Jacobs closed the public hearing. It was moved by Councilmember Basill, seconded by Councilmember Sanger to refer the item to the October 10, 2005 Council meeting. The motion passed 6-0 6c. Time Warner Cable TV Franchise Renewal Mr. Pires reported he just met with Kim Roden from Time Warner who presented something with potential that had not been approved by Time Warner Corporate. The recommendations were to continue or to direct staff to proceed to the formal process. They didn't have a firm offer that would meet the needs of the City; however, he felt they were making some progress. It was important for Council to consider both options. Mayor Jacobs opened the public hearing. No speakers present. The public hearing was closed. It was moved by Councilmember Sanger, seconded by Councilmember Finkelstein to continue the public hearing and extend the term of the franchise agreement to October 10, 2005 and directed staff to proceed to the formal process for the cable TV franchise renewal. Councilmember Finkelstein indicated City staff had been working diligently on the negotiations,much of which is regulated by Federal law. They were trying to get as much as they could to benefit residents and retain local programming. The motion passed 6-0. Mayor Jacobs commented on the importance of local origination in this community. Council Meeting Minutes -4- September 19, 2005 7. Requests, Petitions, and Communications from the Public—None 8. Resolutions, Ordinances,Motions 8a. Canvass of City Primary Election Results Resolution No. 05-121 Mr. Harmening stated that Charter required canvassing of election results within a certain amount of time. It was moved by Councilmember Omodt, seconded by Councilmember Finkelstein to approve Resolution No. 05-121 declaring results of the Municipal Primary Election held September 13, 2005. Councilmember Basill indicated the total for Ward 4 did not add up to 100% and staff should make sure that was correct. The motion passed 6-0. 8b. 1st Reading of an Ordinance Amending the Local Tax on Lawful Gambling and Adoption of a Resolution Concerning its Collection Resolution No. 05-122 Ms. McGann presented the staff report. It was moved by Councilmember Santa, seconded by Councilmember Sanger to approve first reading of an ordinance concerning local gambling tax and set second reading for October 10, 2005; and, to adopt Resolution No. 05-122 suspending collection of the gambling tax effective immediately. Councilmember Sanger asked if the suspension was retroactive to January 1, 2005? Ms. McGann replied it would be for fees going forward. Councilmember Omodt indicated he was officer of a nonprofit with charitable gambling and would be abstaining. The motion passed 5-0-1, with Councilmember Omodt abstaining. 8c. Wireless Internet Service Feasibility Study Mr. Pires presented the study findings. Carol Coffey, 4140 Xenwood, stated she was concerned about health hazards related to wireless electrical fields and the process including: deficits in the process and that the report was"skewed"in favor of wireless; conflict of interest of those who conducted the study; no credible search done of existing medical research literature; health care practitioners had been unable to provide input; issues with liabilities if acting as a private business and as elected representatives responsible for the health and safety of citizens; and, the survey was sent out without information about the health hazards. Council Meeting Minutes -5- September 19, 2005 There was much information provided to staff regarding health hazards. She discussed how her electrical sensitivities were diagnosed and requested a reasonable accommodation under the American with Disabilities Act(ADA) if they voted yes. She made a formal request that the Council have a reasonable accommodation contingent for those needing and seeking a reasonable accommodation and that they inform the St. Louis Park citizens a reasonable accommodation can be sought. She asked the Council to: Look at the process; construct a balanced, equitable process by assessing the health hazards (i.e. hire an expert); invite knowledgeable people(health professionals)to a study session; do an unbiased search of literature; inform citizens; follow through on reasonable accommodation; and, practice and employ a Precautionary Principal in decision making. Barb Overshaw, representing the Twin West Chamber of Commerce, stated that the Board of Directors discussed a business position and approved the position: "We believe as stewards of the tax payer dollars, city's should assure essential services to meet community needs. We believe the public sectors role should be to encourage a vibrant, competitive marketplace for business, not copy nor compete with private businesses in the actual providing of services." They had four belief statements: 1) We support the role of local government to increase responsiveness to community businesses and residents, however they believe the notion that the public sector should enter a vibrant competitive market as a service provide is perhaps ill-advised; 2) We believe the municipal role is to spur service providers to meet the needs of the community. The city should not become a player in an arena where it taxes, franchises, licenses and regulates its competitors; 3) We believe that there is considerable risk as technology rapidly changes and requires ongoing financial commitments to update infrastructure and adopt new technologies;however, 4) They also believe the City of St. Louis Park should explore wireless for City operations to increase efficiencies and reduce city operations costs. If the Council decides to go in this direction, they would like to remain engaged and help develop the outcomes. Oran Miller,building biologist and environmental inspector,member of Building, Biology and Ecology, asked if he could attend the study session meeting? Mayor Jacobs replied it was open to the public,but public comment was discouraged. He could provide staff with information to be distributed to the Council. Edna Bernstein, Excelsior& Grand, stated that she could provide information from The Green Guide and perform a search on their web site for information they had studied. They would be an unbiased party for information. Bonnie Wexler, indicated that she read the mission statement for St. Louis Park and it stated that the community of St. Louis Park is responsible for its citizens. She suffered from Electrical Sensitivity. She had done research on WiFi and learned more and more hazards caused to people. She compared it to things in the past that were later found to be harmful. They should wait until studies prove that WiFi is a safe system to use in the human environment. She noted she is an Orthodox Jew and this is the only community she can live in. She didn't know where she would go if they had WiFi. It should be up to the individual whether they want to put wireless in their homes, not be forced on people. Council Meeting Minutes -6- September 19, 2005 Phillip Hogland, 2716 Vernon Av. S, indicated he was an engineer and believed much of what had been said was inaccurate. He was very interested in radio frequency(RF) safety. One core concept that hadn't brought up was the concept of the inverse square law and intensity decreases the further away you move from it. There is no cloud of RF floating around. Routers respond to a computer querying them, there is not a constant flow of RF. It is done at a very low power level. There are two important concepts of RF safety: 1)Thermal RF exposure which occurs from RF with a high intensity. This does not occur at an antenna power input of 250 watts or less. 2)A-thermal RF exposure. He believed that the antennas would not be harmful. Thermal RF exposure does not occur at any frequency when you have an antenna input of less than seven watts. There had been research about A-thermal RF exposure,which is a theory when you have RF frequencies that are at a low enough power that they do not cause a heating of the cell, that RF energy can in some way modify the biology and the immune system and the behavior of cells. The cause and effect relationship had not been established in any study. Mayor Jacobs asked Mr. Hogland to provide any information pertinent to staff. Councilmember Finkelstein requested in reference to Ms. Coffey's request for accommodation, that she provide it in writing with what the accommodation should be and on what basis. Mr. Miller stated he had worked with people with electrical and magnetic and radio frequency sensitivity and had reviewed research that linked the issues of radio frequency exposure to human health effects. He would provide that information to staff. Councilmember Sanger asked if that information from a medical and health perspective had been submitted and reviewed? Mr. Pires replied the health care information that had been provided this far had been a result of the July 26th Town Hall meetings and the issues raised. The consultant had looked at other sources of information at the State and Federal level to get responses to the questions that were raised. Tom Asp, Virchow Krause, indicated they looked at a variety of resources on the internet including the Minnesota Department of Health, they talked to people at the AVMA, looked at the FCC reports and University of Wisconsin sites and they had also received information from the American Pediatric Association independently. They did a summary of all of their collective research and opinions. Mr. Pires stated there were hundreds of pages of information. It was moved by Councilmember Finkelstein, seconded by Councilmember Sanger to receive wireless study report and refer it to September 26 study session for further review, analysis, and discussion of issues and options. Direct staff to conduct any follow- up activities Council feels appropriate at this time. Councilmember Basill made a friendly amendment to direct staff to continue to study whether the City will provide it, whether it's going to be a private/public partnership or if it will be left to the private sector; and, continue to study health concerns brought forward. Council Meeting Minutes -7- September 19, 2005 Councilmember Finkelstein accepted the friendly amendment. Councilmember Omodt clarified that the motion was accepting the report and the information on the CD Rom? Mr. Pires replied yes. The motion passed 6-0. 8d. Request of Union Land II, LLC on behalf of Hoigaards,Inc, The Franz Family Partnership,David Turbenson Enterprise LLC,Larry H. Hjelle, and Avis K. Ahrndt for a Comprehensive Plan Map amendment for a Mixed-Use and Multi-Family Residential development for property located at 3550 State Hwy 100 S,3547 Xenwood Avenue S,3555 Xenwood Avenue S,3501 Xenwood Avenue S,5616 West 36th Street, 5626 West 36th Street. Case Nos. 05-36-CP Resolution No. 05-123 Ms. Erickson presented the staff report. Councilmember Basill asked if the two parcels that would remain C2,what would be involved if they wanted to change the Comp Plan, and could it be done with this project? Ms. Erickson replied it would involve a public hearing at the Planning Commission and then brought to Council. A change could be initiated by Council. Councilmember Basill stated he was concerned about the new development and where the people in the businesses would park. Ms. Erickson replied that they currently park on the street or in the Hoigaard's parking lot. Councilmember Basill stated it was a concern for the neighborhood. They were concerned about the two buildings remaining and about traffic, although because it was so bad already it would not have a significant impact. He had spoken with staff about doing things in the interim. They also needed to do more analysis on the existing buildings. Councilmember Finkelstein asked if at a later date someone comes back with an office plan, was there anything to prohibit them from changing it back? Ms. Erickson replied no. Councilmember Finkelstein noted that the City has a larger role to play in development and projects like this when they were being asked to be an investor. He was concerned to read that a lot of the Comprehensive change being planned was being based upon Hoigaard's continuing to be on 36th Avenue and thought they needed to make the decision regardless of what happened to Hoigaard's. He supported the Comp Plan change,but was not saying that the proposed development was appropriate or that it was appropriate for TIF. Council Meeting Minutes -8- September 19, 2005 Councilmember Sanger commented that she would also support the Comprehensive Plan change,but did not want it to be construed that she was in full support of the proposed plan, TIF financing or the continued exclusion of the outlying buildings from the plan. A lot more work needed to be done with the planning of the proposed development. Councilmember Santa indicated she was not as concerned with the outlying buildings. Changing the Comp plan made sense and she was in support. She had the same reservations as other Councilmember's had noted and didn't want this construed as approving a project or making a commitment to public financing. Councilmember Basill clarified what the Council was saying was that this needed more discussion and concerns to be addressed. It was moved by Councilmember Basil!, seconded by Councilmember Omodt to approve Resolution No. 05-123 and summary for publication for amendment to the Comprehensive Plan 2000—2020 land use map from C— Commercial and I—Industrial to CMX— Commercial Mixed-Use and RH—Residential High Density with conditions as stated in the resolution. The motion passed 6-0. 8e. Cancelled 8f. Request of RKL Landholdings,LLC (Emad Abed) and ARCA for Preliminary and Final Plat approval for"MODA of St. Louis Park" and Preliminary and Final PUD approval for Meadowbrook Lofts for property located at 7000, 7002, 7050, 7052 Excelsior Boulevard and 3985 Meadowbrook Road. Case Nos. 05-44-PUD and 05-45-S Resolutions No. 05-124 & 05-125 Ms. Erickson presented the staff report. She noted that an additional condition was added by the Fire Department to add fire lanes. Councilmember Finkelstein asked if the conservation easement was permanent? Ms. Erickson replied the conservation easement would be approved by the legal staff and would be a permanent easement. The City would be the beneficiary of the easement and to give up the easement,the City would have to vacate it and they would not have an interest in doing so. Councilmember Finkelstein noted in the report, although there was a guarantee of public access, there was no guarantee of public parking. Was that a requirement of the PUD approval? Ms. Erickson replied it was not currently in the resolution. Staff considered adding a condition to the development agreement that parking be signed for public and guest parking. Councilmember Finkelstein asked if they could require six spaces for people to use and access the park. Council Meeting Minutes -9- September 19, 2005 The developer agreed to that condition. Councilmember Finkelstein noted the applicant agreed to public art as part of the project. He suggested a condition be added that the art be reviewed by The Friends of the Art. The developer agreed. Councilmember Finkelstein asked if the City was guaranteeing the project wouldn't flood? Ms. Erickson responded that the City never guaranteed that something wouldn't flood. They are required to do a two-foot free board, to fill to two feet above the flood plain elevation. Overland flooding would be greatly reduced given that. Councilmember Finkelstein asked what happened if the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District doesn't approve the plans? Ms. Erickson replied that they would have to make modifications to the plan until the Watershed District was in favor of it. If the modifications were significant, they would need to bring back an amendment to the PUD. Councilmember Basill indicated a concern about the public art. Scott Nelson, DJR Architecture, stated they had commissioned Nick Legaros to do the art. Mr. Harmening added the resolution stated under 4(a) a planning contract needed to be entered into, including the City's review of the proposed public art for the project. Councilmember Basill wanted to be clear they were looking for a nice piece of art and that seemed to be the developer's intent. He asked if the compensatory storage for water was on their property or had they secured an agreement to use that area? Ms. Erickson replied it was not on their property. They were negotiating an easement and it was a condition of approval before they would receive building permits. Councilmember Sanger stated she opposed the project on several grounds including the possibility of harm to the wetland and potential flooding of the residential building. Secondly, it didn't make sense to put housing in a location with industrial on both sides, which would have the potential of land use conflicts. Third, the development as currently proposed had the potential for conflicts because there was not a lot of planned recreational open space for residents separate from the public trail. The Planning Commission had a concern that this should not be a permanent easement with the potential for conflict. Councilmember Basill stated this was next to housing on the East. If they were squeezing it in between two industrial properties,he would have a different feeling. It was moved by Councilmember Basill, seconded by Councilmember Omodt to approve Resolution No. 05-124 for Preliminary and Final Plat for "MODA of St. Louis Park"; and, to approve Resolution No. 05-125 for Preliminary and Final PUD for Meadowbrook Lofts, with additional conditions: 1)Fire lanes are added; and, 2)Six public parking spaces be provided with appropriate signage. Councilmember Finkelstein made a friendly amendment to add a condition that the applicant work with "Friends of the Arts"on the public art. Councilmember Basill accepted the friendly amendment. The motion passed 5-1 with Councilmember Sanger opposed. Council Meeting Minutes -10- September 19, 2005 9. Communications Mayor Jacobs stated that the annual senior summit is September 21 at Lennox Community Center. They were discussing property taxes and how they were calculated and pedestrian and traffic safety. He thanked staff for the work on the David Day memorial. 10. Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 9:56 p.m. 41016 -Y2a/neee City Clerk v M,yor a