HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015/08/17 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Study Session if/ St. Louis Park OFFICIAL MINUTES
MINNESOTA CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL STUDY SESSION
ST. LOUIS PARK, MINNESOTA
AUGUST 17,2015
The meeting convened at 6:30 p.m
Councilmembers present: Mayor Pro Tem Tim Brausen, Steve Hallfin, Gregg Lindberg, Anne
Mavity, Susan Sanger, and Jake Spano.
Councilmembers absent: Mayor Jeff Jacobs.
Staff present: City Manager (Mr. Harmening), Director of Community Development (Mr.
Locke), Planning & Zoning Supervisor (Mr. Walther), Economic Development Coordinator (Mr.
Hunt), and Recording Secretary (Ms. Hughes).
1. Redevelopment of Former Bally's Site by Oppidan Investment Company
Mr. Walther presented the staff report and discussed the design changes made by the developer,
including removal of three units on the sixth floor along the Excelsior Boulevard frontage,
changing the stucco on the base of the building to stone, the addition of a staircase entryway into
the first level of parking, and the addition of glass on the exterior to add natural light to the
interior of the building He presented several images of the project and introduced Mr. Joe Ryan
from Oppidan Investment Company.
Mr Hunt explained that the proposed project merits the use of TIF with over $7 million of
extraordinary costs associated with redeveloping the site and the developer has applied for $2.6
million in TIF assistance in order to allow the project to reach financial feasibility
Councilmember Mavity stated the revised design demonstrates that the developer was listening
to Council's earlier concerns and felt the revised design was much better looking. She stated that
the City's traffic system in this corridor has additional capacity but that there are problem points
at intersections that need to be addressed, e g., the left turn from Excelsior Boulevard onto
Quentin. She requested further information about the shadow study.
Mr. Walther provided a brief explanation of the City's shadow ordinance and presented a
drawing depicting actual shadow coverage of 29% on the Wolfe Park Condominiums building.
He pointed out that this drawing demonstrates shadowing on the worst day at the worst time of
the year, and shows that at 9:00 a.m. the Oppidan building casts a shadow that covers more than
50% of the wall of the condo building, but by 11.00 a.m., the shadow is cast on only a small
portion of the building and by afternoon, the condo building will have complete and direct access
to sunlight.
Councilmember Mavity stated she was comfortable moving forward with the project as revised
and was supportive of the request for TIF assistance.
Councilmember Sanger stated she would not support the revised plan or the request for TIF
assistance. She felt the developer had not made enough changes to the project and continued to
believe that the footprint of the proposed building is too big for the site, that there is no green
space or space for trees, and the rental units are almost all one bedroom or are smaller units. She
continued to be concerned about availability of parking because the parking spaces being
counted on the street are already being heavily used by the residents at Wolfe Park Condos and
Special Study Session Minutes -2- August 17, 2015
visitors to Excelsior & Grand. She also did not feel there was a need for another grocery store
within a couple blocks of Trader Joe's and Byerly's.
Councilmember Spano reminded Council that Wolfe Park is one of the nicest green spaces in the
City and is located less than half a block from this property. He reiterated his concerns about
traffic and stated the City will need to continue to watch the Princeton, Quentin and Park
Commons Drive intersections. He felt the City should remain engaged with the single family
detached homeowners in this area about traffic mitigation in the neighborhoods and suggested
Council review the 2002 traffic report again and consider changing the thresholds. He spoke in
favor of the project and the request for TIF assistance.
Councilmember Hallfin stated he appreciated the amount of work the developer put into
changing the design of the project. He referenced last week's discussion regarding traffic on
Excelsior Boulevard and agreed it will be important for the City to continue to work on problem
areas in the corridor. He spoke in favor of the project and the request for TIF assistance.
Councilmember Lindberg felt this project on this site made sense and agreed it would be
important to continue to address the problem intersections in this corridor He stated he was in
favor of the project and the request for TIF assistance.
Mayor Pro Tern Brausen supported the project and the request for TIF assistance and stated that
this project provides many of the things that Council supports, i.e., job creation, mixed use
developments, housing options, stability in the retail corridor, public art, green design features,
and a good return on the City's investment
Councilmember Lindberg asked about the scorecard used by staff in the City's TIF policy and
stated it seems that the City is always a bit off when it comes to unit size.
Mr Hunt stated the policy was developed in 1997 and the scorecard accompanies the policy. He
agreed it is a challenge every time a project is scored and a project almost always gets an "F" on
the question about unit size.
Councilmember Mavity stated as the City begins the process of redoing the Comprehensive Plan
and obtaining resident input, the TIF policy and scorecard should be reviewed to make sure the
policy supports the City's vision.
It was the consensus of the majority of the City Council to support Oppidan's revised
redevelopment plans for the Bally block and to consider entering into a redevelopment contract
to reimburse the developer for qualified costs incurred in connection with the construction of
4900 Excelsior with tax increment generated by the project to make it financially feasible.
Mayor Pro Tem Brausen ad'ourned the meeting at 7:05 p.m.
Ui _ _ / i
Meli•sa Kennedy, City ClerkOr Tim Brausen Mayor Pro Tern