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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018/07/09 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Study Session/O/St. Louis Park Official minutes AO M I N N E S O T A City council study session St. Louis Park, Minnesota July 9, 2018 The meeting convened at 6:30 p.m. Council members present: Mayor Jake Spano, Tim Bra usen, Steve Hal Ifin, Rachel Harris, Anne Mavity, Thom Miller, and Margaret Rog. Staff present: City Attorney (Mr. Mattick), Deputy City Manager/Human Resources Director (Ms. Deno), Director of Community Development (Ms. Barton), City Clerk (Ms. Kennedy), Elections Specialist (Mr. Stokka), Elections Intern (Mr. Sund), Senior Planner (Mr. Walther), Planner (Ms. Monson), Management Assistant (Ms. Carrillo Perez), and Recording Secretary (Ms. Pappas). Guest: None 1. Future Study Session Agenda Planning—July 16 & 23, 2018 Ms. Deno presented the proposed study session agenda for July 16 and 23, 2018. It was discussed and noted that Mayor Spano and several councilmembers will be out on July 16th and 23rd. Ms. Deno stated items that require 5 votes will be moved to the August 6 city council meeting, or a later agenda. Ms. Deno also noted there is no meeting on July 30th, the fifth Monday in July. 2. 2019 municipal elections: ranked -choice voting planning and implementation Ms. Kennedy, Mr. Stokka, and Mr. Sund presented. They reviewed key definitions and stated the main policy question was whether or not the council supports allowing voters in St. Louis Park to rank at least three (3), but not more than six (6), candidates for each office in order of preference. Ms. Kennedy discussed the main considerations, such as ballot design and format, understandability of ballots, and keeping ballots in a substantially similar format to what voters have seen and used in past elections. She also noted that the ballot style and number of rankings allowed need to be compatible with the existing, certified equipment currently used for tabulations. She explained the current equipment used in Hennepin County cannot tabulate beyond three rankings. If the council was interested in allowing more than three rankings at this time, a hand count procedure would need to be implemented for tabulation. Ms. Kennedy also noted the proposal to provide for at least three rankings, but not more than six allows for continuous process improvement and flexibility for staff to evaluate future opportunities to increase the number of rankings voters are allowed for a single office as new voting equipment and software become available that can support tabulation beyond three rankings. Study session minutes -2- July 9, 2018 Mr. Stokka presented several ballot design styles for council review. He noted 3 -column design, which is used in Minneapolis elections, was the recommended ballot design. Ms. Kennedy stated it was important, from a continuity perspective, to use a similar ballot design to what is currently used in Minneapolis because the ballot design has been tested and supported by Hennepin County. She noted it would be extremely beneficial to the city to preserve the administrative support currently provided by Hennepin County, in order to be successful with ranked -choice voting in St. Louis Park. Councilmember Mavity questioned who would be responsible for any future change to allow more than three rankings. She asked if the number of rankings allowed would be different from office to office based on the number of candidates who filed. Ms. Kennedy stated it would be recommended to keep the number of rankings consistent for each city office on the ballot, noting there will need to be discussions with council in advance of increasing the number of rankings beyond three. She added that policy decision will not be reactive and will need to be made prior to candidate filing. Councilmember Harris stated the collaboration with Hennepin County, along with following the Minneapolis model, will be beneficial to St. Louis Park. Mayor Spano stated it would be very important to make sure the first time St. Louis Park uses RCV that things run smoothly. He added choosing a ballot design that is supported by Hennepin County and compatible with our current voting equipment makes sense. He supported the recommendation on the number of rankings and the three column ballot design. It was the consensus of the city council to use the three -column ballot design and to write the ordinance with language that would allow voters to rank at least 3, but not more than 6 candidates, for each office on the ballot in order of preference. 3. Zoning guidelines for transparency requirements Ms. Monson and Mr. Walther presented. They asked council to discuss their goals in relation to the transparency standards and specific types of developments that are of higher priority for implementing transparency standards. Councilmember Mavity pointed out that Fresh Thyme grocery on Excelsior has windows on Quentin Avenue that are completely opaque, and not able to be seen through. She stated her goal would be to have businesses that look and feel active and basically have "eyes both ways" She continued, with people walking by, there needs to be engagement inside and out in order to keep the community vibrant. Councilmember Mavity added in order to improve public safety and vibrancy, our goals need to require buildings to have first floor glass, adding she is not sure the city has this requirement now. Ms. Monson stated commercial buildings require glass, brick and stone, but there is no minimum amount for transparency. Study session minutes -3- July 9, 2018 Councilmember Mavity added the city should not allow buildings to paper over their windows either. Mr. Walther stated staff has worked on this; however, the builder does not always communicate this information to the retailer, related to transparency. Councilmember Mavity stated if the city communicates its expectations at the beginning of the process, there will be more success. She added if the city can have basic expectations and clarity up front, it would be more helpful all around. She asked them how the city defines at what locations this is important, is it all C2 or C1, or first floor retail. Councilmember Rog added, if the council is going to start talking about certain areas, she would like to think about the Walker Lake area, and asked if the transparency issue would apply to existing buildings or only to new developments. Mr. Walther noted if the council preferred transparency be applied to existing buildings, then that would be forwarded to the Planning Commission for review and discussion. Councilmember Rog added she would have strong concerns for small existing businesses, particularly if costs were incurred, in order to have transparency. Councilmember Miller stated he is in favor of creating some kind of C1 transparency regulation specifically for mercantile. Councilmember Brausen also agreed with the staff report, and with consideration to looking at the back of house areas in prime retail space, pointing out the breakroom at Fresh Thyme, which is in the front of the building, and with windows all around. Councilmember Hallfin stated he does not have any strong feeling on this, and sees no issues, stating he would prefer to let the market handle this. He added if businesses want to cover their windows that's fine, noting he is fine with the issue, either way. Councilmember Harris stated with the city's goals on walkability and encouraging people to get out of their cars, along with the goals of the climate action plan just adopted, it would be beneficial to have transparency, as the city is building community. She added she is in favor of transparency for new buildings that are retail in focus. She also stated in Ward 3, there are many small shops, some of which are service-oriented, and she asked how.an ordinance might affect them. Ms. Monson stated that staff can study existing buildings to review how they would fit into a possible ordinance. She noted that she believes many existing buildings would meet the requirements for 60% transparency. Councilmember Harris asked if the council did adopt this ordinance for existing buildings, would they be grandfathered in for non -conformities. Mr. Walther stated yes. Study session minutes -4- July 9, 2018 It was the consensus of the council to look at this issue more broadly and have staff and the planning commission look at other cities practices on transparency, and interactive walking environments, and bring back recommendations to council for existing buildings as well. 4. Design guidelines for new home construction Ms. Monson and Mr. Walther asked the council what questions, concerns and issues they have regarding design of single family residential houses. Councilmember Rog stated she received 18 emails, which is atypical, adding this issue warrants consideration based on input from the community. She stated the email feedback focused on residents' loss of privacy, loss of sunlight and drainage issues, related to remodels or tear downs with reconstruction, in their neighborhoods. She asked if this code is actually meeting the city's goals for single-family homes, and if it encourages growing families to stay, or not. She further asked if there are other ways to encourage folks to expand the size of their homes and support them in making their homes bigger without creating negative impacts on existing properties. Councilmember Rog stated there will be a need to gather more community input and get a real feel of the pulse of residents on this issue. Councilmember Brausen added he appreciated that scale is something people worry about, and he would like to study this further, adding he would like more information from staff including the impact of the pre -1998 code. He added he worries about the city council imposing its taste on residents, but is willing to study the scale issues, adding there are provisions in the code that protect sunlight. Mr. Walther concurred that the city does have height limitations. Councilmember Miller added he is also interested in discussing this further, stating the city is losing its affordability in terms of single family housing, especially in Browndale and Minnekanda Vista, and now Fern Hill and other areas as well. He noted his own home, which was built in 1888, and redone in 1990, was creatively remodeled into the same foot print, and kept at the same height. He stated he is confident this can be done with other single-family homes in the city, and this needs to come back for discussion quickly, as there is a lot at stake. Councilmember Harris stated she hears that folks want a wider variety of homes to move into, and she is wondering if accessory dwelling units would fit here, and if this changes the conversation about lot size and coverage. She added she is also wondering about the climate action plan and city goals related to energy efficiency; however, she is open to discussing this further. She added she wants to also further discuss helping working class folks, especially in Ward 3, and to be conscious of a city policy that would be inclusive of their needs. Councilmember Mavity stated with Linden Hills and Edina bordering St. Louis Park in Ward 2, this has been an issue they have dealt with. She stated it is frustrating and each time the devil is in the details and projects are never straightforward, while every block is different. She added this proves to be challenging, adding this is why St. Louis Park has lost many families who move Study session minutes -5- July 9, 2018 into bigger houses in Minnetonka and Wayzata. She also noted the city's "Move Up" housing policy and asked if the council is willing to dispense with that, in order to create more affordability. She also asked how this might impact space requirements if the goal is to create more densities. Councilmember Hallfin added he is happy to discuss this, as it has been an issue for a long time. He stated he knows of a handful of families that wanted to stay in St. Louis Park, but did not because of house size. He also noted, however, he would not yet be interested in overhauling this policy. Mayor Spano stated he is not opposed to having this conversation, but would also like to take a lighter touch on this, and definitely does not want to abandon the "Move Up" program. He stated he has seen homes that don't necessarily fit into the neighborhood, but that has not bothered him. He added there have been three teardowns in his neighborhood as well, and he has not found them completely out of place. Mayor Spano added the city will need to be careful how this is communicated to residents, and context will be important. Councilmember Miller added he does not want to regulate aesthetics, but this is about massing and proximity to neighbors, and setbacks. He agreed about keeping the "Move Up" program but added he does not approve of big box housing either and would rather see folks apply for variances. Councilmember Rog concurred, adding that other communities have implemented moratoriums while they discuss this issue further. She stated she is not in favor of eliminating the "Move Up" program and thinks this should be grown further to allow residents to reconfigure their homes without making them bigger. She stated she would like more input from neighborhood leaders and residents on this issue. Councilmember Mavity added another key consideration is reconfiguring homes on smaller lots, noting we will not want too many variances requested because the ordinance is not clear. Mayor Spano stated there are also places where cluster housing is appropriate, and the council needs to be mindful of this as well and be more creative in what is done here. Mr. Walther stated the next steps will be to take these discussion points to the Planning Commission for further discussion and work on some amendments, and then make recommendations back to the council. Councilmember Mavity added, however, feedback from neighbors is requested, it will need to be thoughtful, and conducted through the racial equity lens. Ms. Deno stated staff will look at doing outreach in the community on this issue, and the impacts on residents, and bring that information back to the council. Study session minutes -6- July 9, 2018 Communications/Meeting Check -In (Verbal) The meeting adjourned at 8:50 p.m. Written Reports provided and documented for recording purposes only: 5. Business terms for purchase and redevelopment contract with Bridgewater Bank 6. Special permit minor amendment — Lenox Community Center 7. Community Development Block Grant (CDGB) reallocation for fiscal year 2018 4U_V��I - �4'- Melissa Penne y, CityClerc