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Home My WebLink About2015/04/27 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Study Session IIISt. Louis Park OFFICIAL MINUTES MINNESOTA CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION ST. LOUIS PARK, MINNESOTA APRIL 27, 2015 The meeting convened at 8.04 p.m. Councilmembers present: Mayor Pro Tem Jake Spano, Tim Brausen, Steve Hallfin, Gregg Lindberg, Anne Mavity, and Susan Sanger. Councilmembers absent: Mayor Jeff Jacobs Staff present: City Manager (Mr. Harmening), Director of Community Development (Mr. Locke), Senior Planner (Mr. Walther), Economic Development Coordinator (Mr. Hunt), and Recording Secretary(Ms. Hughes). Guest: Mr. Paul Tucci (Oppidan, Inc) 1. Future Study Session Agenda Planning—May 4 and May 11, 2015 Mr. Harmening presented the proposed special study session agenda for May 4th and the proposed study session agenda for May 11th Councilmember Hallfin requested a future study session agenda discussion about the City's unimproved alleys and the process for getting these alleys improved. Councilmember Sanger requested that this discussion also include unimproved streets Councilmember Mavity requested that Council have a study session discussion sooner rather than later about the Environment & Sustainability Committee's work on water and to receive an update on the work at Bass Lake. Councilmember Sanger requested that Council receive an update on SWLRT in light of Met Council's announcement today. Councilmember Spano reported the CMC would be meeting on May 6th and agreed to report to Council following that meeting. Mr. Harmening advised staff would be meeting with Met Council staff this week to discuss the impact of the increased costs on the base plan and LRCIs. 2. 4900 Excelsior Development Update (Former Bally Total Fitness Site) Mr. Walther presented the staff report and advised that the Planning Commission recommended approval of the Preliminary Plat but recommended denial of the subdivision vanances and the PUD. He stated that since the Planning Commission meeting, the developer had informed staff that they intended to reduce the height of the building along Excelsior Blvd to five stones, reduce the number of residential units to 177; and reduce the number of affordable units to make the project more feasible. Councilmember Sanger requested further explanation of the rationale that supports the TIF request. She asked how much of the TIF request was attributable to the affordable units. She also asked if the landscaping plan complied with the City's requirements. Study Session Minutes -2- Apnl 27, 2015 Mr. Hunt explained the project included extraordinary costs such as building demolition, removal of asbestos in the building, and excavation associated with the structured parking He stated the amount of the TIF request that was attnbutable to the affordable units was not yet known. Mr. Walther explained the landscaping plan provided approximately 30 trees and did not meet the City's tree replacement and tree planting requirements. He stated that the City allowed alternative landscaping in denser developments and there were a number of amenities provided, including a partial green roof on the second floor. These amenities counted toward the alternative landscaping. He added the project exceeded the Designed Outdoor Recreation Area (DORA) requirements and was similar to the Ellipse and Central Park West projects Councilmember Sanger expressed concern about the number of small units and her overall reaction was that there was too much crammed onto the site. Mr. Tucci discussed the Apnl 8th neighborhood meeting and stated that residents expressed concerns about the height of the building, the parking associated with the proposed number of units, the green space, and traffic. He advised that a traffic study was conducted and the City Engineer found no fault in the traffic study findings. He stated they met with staff following the Planning Commission meeting and revised the plans by removing the sixth level that included twelve units and revised the landscaping plans to increase the number of planted areas. He stated by removing twelve units on the sixth floor, the parking fulfilled the requirements of the City Code and they would still have shared parking that would go to the employees of the grocery store. The revised plan included 177 residential units with ten (10) affordable units. Councilmember Mavity was concerned about the aesthetics and pedestnan experience around the building in terms of green space and the amount of concrete. She stated she was not sure if the amount of green space was sufficient. She felt that the monochromatic design seemed harsh and needed to be softened up a bit, adding that the building on the Park Commons Drive side felt massive to those living across the street. She stated that the proposed unit count seemed within reach of the vision for this block. Councilmember Hallfin stated he did not understand why the City put together task forces to come up with design guidelines and the City never seems to hold the developer to those design guidelines. He stated he was struggling with the fact that the original proposal included 189 units with 20 affordable units and the current proposal reduced the number of affordable units to ten (10), which was not in line with the City's housing policy guideline of 10% affordable Councilmember Brausen stated he was okay with a six-story building. He stated he was not willing to approve a PUD if the project did not meet the City's policy of 10% affordable units. Councilmember Sanger stated the proposed building looked like a lot of other apartment buildings in the City and did not include distinctive architecture. She was troubled by the lack of green space around the building and was also troubled by the fact that the City was counting nearby on-street parking spaces toward the developer's required number of parking spaces because those on-street spaces are already heavily used by customers of the existing Excelsior & Grand businesses Study Session Minutes -3- April 27, 2015 Councilmember Lindberg stated if residents wanted to shop at the grocery store they would need a place to park, and access to the site and parking was an important part of the discussion He requested more information about the parking. Mr. Walther explained that 348 spaces were required, and the developer's plan provided 339 spaces. The City allowed shared parking to be considered in mixed-use developments to reduce the required number of stalls. The shared parking study found 331 stalls was the peak hour demand for the site. He stated the peak hour demand was 106 stalls for the grocery store, and there were 99 spaces available on the first level, including the on-street parking adjacent to the site. He discussed the parking counts at Trader Joe's, and stated that this site would have better site circulation, two (2) access points into the parking lot for the grocery store, and a separate, third access for the apartments coming off Park Commons Drive. Mr. Tucci noted that the requirement for 348 spaces was based on 189 units and the reduced number of residential units reduced the requirement to 337 stalls. The proposal provided 339 stalls. He also discussed the grocery store concept planned for the site and advised that the residential units would rent for an estimated $1,200 per month up to $2,700 per month and there would be an additional charge for a garage space Mayor Pro Tern Spano stated he did not have a problem with the color of the building and felt that it provided vanety to the area. He noted that the three story condos behind the building had 30-40' mature trees along the roadway, which may help screen the view of the new building He agreed with the previous concerns about the number of affordable units and Council's policy to have 10% affordable housing. Mr. Tucci advised that they would go back and review the plans to address Council's concerns and determine if they could increase the number of affordable units. Communications/Meeting Check-In (Verbal) Councilmember Mavity requested clarification regarding written report #7 related to Zoning Ordinance amendments pertaining to the South Side of Excelsior Design Guidelines Study and asked about the side yard setback requirements. Mr Walther explained that this amendment reduces the setback to 5' for corner lots only Councilmember Sanger asked about any impact to the visibility triangle. Mr Walther advised that the Ordinance amendments would not usurp the visibility tnangle. Mayor Pro Tern Spano adjourned the meeting at 9.45 p.m. Written reports provided and documented for recording purposes only. 3. SWLRT Updates 4. Compensation and Personnel Programs 5. Health in the Park Update 6. 13`h Lane and Texas Avenue MnDOT Parcels 7. Zoning Ordinance Amendments Pertaining to the South Side of Excelsior Design Guidelines Study 8. March 2015 Monthly Financial Report Study Session Minutes -4- April 27, 2015 9. First Quarter Investment Report(Jan—Mar 2015) 10. 2015/2016 Neighborhood Grants 11. Ref ndin l,i P.r. icollet rivate Activ R ve e Bonds and Host Approval Meli'.a Kenney y, City Cler J e Sp.'�( Mayor Pro Tern