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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013/09/09 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Study Session Jft St. Louis Park OFFICIAL MINUTES MINNESOTA CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION ST. LOUIS PARK,MINNESOTA SEPTEMBER 9,2013 The meeting convened at 6:30 p.m. Councilmembers present: Mayor Jeff Jacobs, Steve Hallfin, Anne Mavity, Julia Ross, Susan Sanger, Sue Santa, and Jake Spano. Councilmembers absent: None. Staff present: City Manager (Mr. Harmening), Police Chief (Mr. Luse), Deputy Police Chief (Mr. DiLorenzo), Director of Operations and Recreation (Ms. Walsh), Director of Community Development (Mr. Locke), Interim Director of Engineenng (Mr. Sullivan), Senior Planner (Mr. Walther), Planning/Zoning Supervisor (Ms. McMonigal), and Recording Secretary (Ms. Hughes). Guest: Jeff Miller(Hoisington Koegler Group, Inc. (HKG1)) 1. Future Study Session Agenda Planning—September 23, 2013 Mr. Harmening advised that Council needs to approve Second Reading of the franchise ordinance extension for Xcel Energy and CenterPoint on September 23rd and the study session agenda will likely include discussion of SWLRT. 2. SWLRT: General Update and Update on the Louisiana LRT Station Area Planning Mr. Walther presented the staff report and introduced Mr. Jeff Miller from HKGi and also introduced Advisory Committee members Chad Pederson, Michael Kelner, and Duane Spiegle. Mr. Miller presented a diagram of the Louisiana Avenue station study area and stated the goals and objectives include creating a unified future vision for the district, assisting in the creation of goals and design guidelines for future land use, and providing input into Preliminary Engineering and final design for SWLRT. He then presented the draft Louisiana LRT station area guiding principles and preliminary concept drawings for a north station and a south station location and pointed out the assumptions include the eventual removal of the switching wye, the addition of a southbound freight rail connection, and colocation of freight rail and light rail. He indicated that key elements of both the north and south station include increased connectivity of the street network, connecting bus routes to the light rail station, expanded pedestrian network, and creating a convenient commuting and recreational bike network in this area. He discussed key elements for the north station land use and development character and presented a development concept of the north station. He then presented preliminary concept drawings for a south station location. He advised that a community meeting is scheduled for September 25, 2013, and two additional Advisory Committee meetings will be held in October and November, with the final plan presented to Council in December. Mr. Walther indicated the Advisory Committee is working to come up with plans for either station location and is not trying to choose either a south or north platform location. Mr. Harmening pointed out these plans include the important assumption that the CP swap occurs. Study Session Minutes -2- September 9, 2013 Councilmember Hallfin stated he did not have a preference for either the south or north station location. Councilmember Sanger stated the south station is close to Minnehaha Creek and was concerned that the guiding principles do not include increasing public access to the creek and/or increasing green space and felt that should be tied into the plans. She indicated the staff report includes the amount of square footage for development for the south station and requested that staff provide the same data for the north station. She expressed concern about safety particularly for employees working at night and requested that the final plan include more information about lighting for safety. She added she did not know how realistic it was to assume people would walk a quarter-mile mile at night to get to a light rail station so the southern location would be preferable. Councilmember Mavity agreed with the concerns regarding safety and the environment and indicated her concern with a northern station location is that until the area is fully developed, it does not feel safe. She stated her preference for the south station location and the potential for a public/private partnership, adding she felt this area could be a model for the entire system. Councilmember Spano stated Met Council has indicated that if there are economic development partnerships to explore for moving station locations, they need to be in place this fall. He asked if staff has discussed potential economic development opportunities and felt that Council would need to weigh in at some point about whether there is interest in putting City money into these opportunities. He expressed concern that the Advisory Committee has no representation from Meadowbrook and asked if staff has received any input from Meadowbrook residents. Mr. Walther replied that staff has made attempts to recruit Meadowbrook residents but has not been successful in those attempts and stated that staff is considering a separate community meeting to obtain input from the Meadowbrook residents. Councilmember Spano suggested that the City hold a community meeting at Meadowbrook. He expressed thanks and appreciation to the Advisory Committee for their input. Councilmember Ross stated she favors the south location. She stated she also favors a parking structure in this area because the impact of traffic would probably be better absorbed at this station. She noted that Methodist has a parking lot to the north that may provide an opportunity for pursuing a public/pnvate parking structure. She added she has not seen much in the plans in terms of collaboration with MTC and felt that bus service needs to be expanded. Councilmember Santa agreed with previous Councilmember comments. She requested further information regarding the statement in the staff report that other precedent areas had been studied where a light rail station was located close to a medical facility. She indicated if the City intends to push for moving the station to the south, it would be important to have concrete data regarding ridership, safety, etc. to support its position. Ms. McMonigal stated that staff will be meeting with the SPO tomorrow to discuss ridership models and assumptions and agreed to bring more specific information to Council in the near future. Mayor Jacobs expressed support for a south station location. Study Session Minutes -3- September 9, 2013 Mr. Locke stated the "CP swap" has been discussed at several SWLRT meetings as well as the south connection for freight rail. He presented a diagram of the corridor depicting the TC&W route where it joins with the BNSF tracks and also presented a diagram of the SPO's proposed base plan that shows the SWLRT traveling on the south side until it gets back on the north side at Minneapolis's Royalston station and indicated there are a lot of advantages to this plan for the project as well as for St. Louis Park. He pointed out that redevelopment opportunities and major land uses are best served by a station with light rail on the south side of freight rail. He presented a diagram depicting comdor ownership and the existing regional trail and stated the nght of way owned by the Hennepin County Regional Rail Authority is on the north side of the corridor and CP owns the south side where the freight tracks are located today. The intent would be to swap the locations so that CP tracks would be on the north side. He discussed the switching wye and explained that if the CP tracks move to the north and the light rail tracks move to the south, the wye is severed and in order to maintain that connection, the SPO has planned a south connection. He pointed out the SPO's design does not include removal or relocation of the existing salt business and explained the relocation of this business is not needed for the operation of SWLRT. SPO does not need to do acquire the salt business property to accomplish its goal of implementing light rail project and handling TC&W freight traffic. Councilmember Mavity advised she spoke with Hopkins Councilmember Youakim who indicated Hopkins strongly supports the swap and making sure it happens because of the impact on the Blake Road station. Councilmember Spano suggested that Hopkins and St. Louis Park consider issuing a Joint statement of support for the swap. Mr. Locke stated the total cost for this swap and the south connection is estimated at $65 million and this has raised questions as to its need. He then presented a diagram showing Louisiana station location with no CP swap and stated the SPO acknowledged that the station location is not conducive to ridership and this scenario would not produce significant development opportunities. He noted the $65 million is already in the base plan, and locating the Louisiana station at the switching wye, which would require acquisition of the salt business property and other actions, would require an additional $18-$20 million. Mr. Harmening advised that the CMC will be meeting on Wednesday and updates will be provided to Council. 3. Deer Management Policy Ms. Walsh presented the staff report and policy question for Council consideration. Councilmember Santa stated the bottom line policy question is whether the Cultural Carrying Capacity (CCC) has changed after the unfortunate incident last year and indicated she did not want to do anything outside the Nature Center and preferred to wait and see if the CCC changes and then make a decision. Councilmember Ross stated she was in favor of leaving the deer management policy as is and did not want to change the policy. Councilmember Spano indicated he previously requested some clarity on the mechanics of implementing this policy, including information about the use of frangible ammunition, use of Study Session Minutes -4- September 9, 2013 the Police Department versus use of contractors, as well as the potential use of bow and arrow to manage the deer population. He stated he was not comfortable shooting deer in densely populated urban areas and preferred to stay out of these areas until the City can better articulate the mechanics of this issue. He added he agreed with continuing to remove deer at the Nature Center. Councilmember Mavity stated her strong opposition to the discharge of firearms in densely populated urban areas and indicated she had less strong feelings about deer removal at the Nature Center. She questioned the utility of culling the deer because there are no fences between Golden Valley and Minneapolis. She added she felt the City could do a better job in educating residents about deer tolerant plants and shrubs. Councilmember Sanger felt the City should leave the current deer management policy as is and stated she was in favor of continuing deer removal consistent with DNR principles. She stated she would like Council to further consider the question of using the Police Department to implement the policy rather than hiring contractors. She added that providing notice at the beginning of the season should be sufficient and anything more specific was unrealistic. Councilmembers Santa and Ross agreed. Councilmember Mavity pointed out the current policy is not to shoot deer because Council put the policy on hold earlier in the year. She stated she would support a policy in which the City would not remove deer in public or private areas other than the Nature Center. Councilmember Sanger requested confirmation that there is currently no deer contraceptive that is effective and useful in Minnesota. Ms. Walsh replied that some states are testing deer contraceptives but as of right now this is not an option in Minnesota. Councilmember Hallfin agreed the City has a deer problem and stated the unfortunate incident created a much bigger issue and to that end, he felt the deer management policy should be changed back to the original program that allows deer removal only at the Nature Center. Mayor Jacobs stated the City has been successful in removing deer from the Nature Center and stated he was not in favor of taking deer out of the Lake Forest neighborhood. Councilmember Spano stated he was in favor of suspending the policy adding he was not opposed to taking deer but was opposed to the unsafe circumstances experienced last season and wanted to have additional information from staff addressing his earlier requests before making a decision. Councilmember Mavity felt that the better question for Council is whether the deer management policy is effective given the deer population in neighboring communities and whether the City's policy is going to have a substantial impact on managing the deer population. It was the consensus of the majonty of the City Council to suspend the current deer management policy for the 2013-2014 season with the understanding that deer removal efforts can take place at the Nature Center if needed using the same procedures utilized in the past. Study Session Minutes -5- September 9, 2013 4. Public Right of Way—Ownership,Maintenance, and Replacement Policy Ms. Walsh presented the staff report. Councilmember Ross felt it would be helpful to have a clear policy in place and stated one of the issues that residents have raised has to do with responsibility for water main repairs. Ms. Walsh indicated the City currently has a policy regarding responsibility for repairs to the water line from a home to the street. Councilmember Hallfin asked if the City has a permitting process for underground sprinklers and invisible fencing. Mr. Sullivan replied the City requires that residents obtain a permit for these items but residents usually do not adhere to this policy. He added the permit fee is $125 and the resident must sign agreements noting that the City has the right to remove these items at any time. He added this policy has been in place for approximately ten years. Councilmember Hallfin noted it would be helpful to get the date of that policy because of grandfathering issues for residents who installed these items pnor to the effective date. Mr. Sullivan agreed to provide this information and added the City Code dictates what can be in the right of way. Councilmember Sanger agreed that a draft policy should be prepared for Council review and requested that the policy address who is responsible for maintaining the right of way as well as who bears what cost. She indicated she wanted to understand who owns the right of way and to the extent the City owns a right of way, she also wanted to understand the City's justification for charging people for work done on City-owned land or in requiring people to maintain City- owned land. She noted the width of a nght of way varies considerably and questioned how the City could have a consistent policy; in addition, the City has certain things in the nght of way that are always maintained by the City, e.g., fire hydrants or street lights, and there are other things the City requires the homeowner to maintain, e.g., sidewalks or trees in the right of way. Councilmember Mavity stated her immediate concern relates to the sidewalk plan and the message she heard from residents and staff was that residents would be made whole if a sidewalk is installed on their property and was concerned that all the money and work that residents have put into their properties is torn up to install a sidewalk and it does not appear the homeowner will be made whole. Councilmember Santa stated that residents do not know what is or is not in the right of way or who owns what and she would like to get some sense of where the right of way is located. Councilmember Mavity felt that trying to give direction to staff right now on a right of way policy feels overwhelming and without urgency given the many significant projects going on in the City. It was the consensus of the majority of the City Council to direct staff to prepare a comprehensive right of way management policy for Council review. Study Session Minutes -6- September 9, 2013 Communications/Meeting Check-In (Verbal) Councilmember Mavity requested that Council have a study session discussion about design guidelines or planning guidelines for the area on the south side of Excelsior Boulevard. Mr. Harmening indicated the City's plan by neighborhood section of the Comprehensive Plan includes the need to do some design guidelines and planning for this area and what the City wants to see happen between the commercial and residential area. He added the City plans to have someone provide assistance with this work dunng 2014. The meeting adjourned at 8:49 p.m. Written Reports provided and documented for recording purposes only: 5. Community Development Initiative Proces• (CDI)—W ' dale Station Area Nancy Stroth, Ci' Clerk Jeff Jac, • M. or