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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council - 10/15/2019APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE CITY COUNCIL MEETING TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2019 7:00 PM, CITY CENTER Council Chamber 8080 Mitchell Road CITY COUNCIL: Mayor Ron Case, Council Members Brad Aho, Mark Freiberg, P G Narayanan, and Kathy Nelson CITY STAFF: City Manager Rick Getschow, Public Works Director Robert Ellis, Community Development Director Janet Jeremiah, Parks and Recreation Director Jay Lotthammer, City Attorney Ric Rosow, and Council Recorder Jan Curielli I. CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER Mayor Case called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM. All Council Members were present. II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE III. OPEN PODIUM INVITATION IV. PROCLAMATIONS / PRESENTATIONS A. ACCEPT DONATION OF $225 FROM SUMMIT PLACE FOR SENIOR CENTER HOLIDAY LUNCH (Resolution No. 2019-110) Lotthammer reported we received a $225 donation from Summit Place towards the Holiday Lunch at the Senior Center to help keep the event affordable for our seniors. MOTION: Nelson moved, seconded by Narayanan, to adopt Resolution No. 2019- 110 accepting the donation of $225 from Summit Place to go towards Holiday Lunch at the Senior Center. Motion carried 5-0. B. ACCEPT DONATION OF $750 FROM CRIME PREVENTION FUND FOR HALLOWEEN ON THE MALL (Resolution No. 2019-111) Lotthammer said we received a donation of $750 from the Eden Prairie Crime Prevention Fund for Halloween on the Mall. About 8,000 people attend the event which will be held October 31, from 5:00 to 7:30 at Eden Prairie Mall. MOTION: Aho moved, seconded by Nelson, to adopt Resolution No. 2019-111 accepting the donation of $750 from the Eden Prairie Crime Prevention Fund toward the Halloween on the Mall event. Motion carried 5-0. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES October 15, 2019 Page 2 Narayanan thanked all of those who so far this year have made 12 donations to the City for a total of $53,000. These donations help so much to supplement our funds available for events and activities in Eden Prairie. V. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND OTHER ITEMS OF BUSINESS Freiberg added Item XIV.A.1. regarding vacant commercial properties in the City. MOTION: Narayanan moved, seconded by Freiberg, to approve the agenda as amended. Motion carried 5-0. VI. MINUTES A. COUNCIL WORKSHOP HELD TUESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2019 B. CITY COUNCIL MEETING HELD TUESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2019 MOTION: Aho moved, seconded by Narayanan, to approve the minutes of the Council Workshop held Tuesday, October 1, 2019, and the City Council meeting held Tuesday, October 1, 2019, as published. Motion carried 5-0. VII. REPORTS OF ADVISORY BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS VIII. CONSENT CALENDAR A. CLERK’S LICENSE LIST B. HIGHLAND OAKS by City of Eden Prairie. Second Reading of Ordinance No. 20- 2019-PUD-12-2019 for PUD District review with waivers on 9.73 acres and Zoning District change from R1-13.5 to R1-9.5 on 9.73 acres (Ordinance No. 20-2019-PUD- 12-2019 for PUD District review with waivers and Zoning District change; Ordinance Summary; Development Agreement) C. APPROVE AGREEMENT FOR SERVICES WITH I-494 CORRIDOR COMMISSION D. ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 2019-112 APPROVING JPA WITH MINNESOTA INTERNET CRIMES AGAINST CHILDREN TASK FORCE (MICAC) E. ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 2019-113 AND FINDINGS DENYING A MASSAGE THERAPIST LICENSE TO JENNIFER NGUYEN F. APPROVE CHANGE ORDER NO. 2 FOR PRESERVE BOULEVARD RECONSTRUCTION PROJECT CITY COUNCIL MINUTES October 15, 2019 Page 3 G. APPROVE CHANGE ORDER NO. 1 FOR SINGLETREE LANE SOUTH STREETSCAPE PROJECT H. APPROVE CHANGE ORDER NO. 1 FOR 2019 MILL AND OVERLAY PROJECT I. APPROVE AGREEMENT WITH HAMLINE UNIVERSITY, NINE MILE CREEK WATERSHED DISTRICT, AND RILEY-PURGATORY-BLUFF CREEK WATERSHED DISTRICT FOR ADOPT A DRAIN PROGRAM J. APPROVE PURCHASE OF REPLACEMENT VEHICLES AND EQUIPMENT AS PRESENTED IN 2020 BUDGET K. DECLARE PROPERTY AS SURPLUS L. APPROVE ENCROACHMENT AGREEMENT FOR 10528 PARKER DRIVE M. APPROVE MODIFICATIONS TO PARKS AND RECREATION RENTAL FACILITY POLICY N. APPROVE AGREEMENT WITH CITY OF BLOOMINGTON FOR ANIMAL IMPOUND SERVICES Case requested discussion of Item B. Highland Oaks. Council Members have received emails and phone calls asking about the tree loss at the top of the hill with this development and asking whether it was expected. He assured City residents we do know what is happening there and asked if staff had a chance to get out and verify the trees that were taken out. Getschow said there was a discussion about saving a couple of the heritage trees during first reading of the development. He reported the developer was able to save one of those heritage trees. Staff will make sure to verify the trees that have been removed. Case said the developer also put in replacement trees as required by City code. At our workshop tonight we had a homeowner association from an older development in the City come in to express concern they have so many trees it has become hard to find room to replace any dying or diseased trees. They were looking for relief as to the amount of replacement trees required. We have a great tree replacement ordinance, and he was sure the Highland Oaks development will look great as the trees mature. MOTION: Nelson moved, seconded by Aho, to approve Items A-N on the Consent Calendar. Motion carried 5-0. IX. PUBLIC HEARINGS / MEETINGS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES October 15, 2019 Page 4 A. 2019 SPECIAL ASSESSMENTS (Resolution No. 2019-114) Getschow said each year the City Council holds a public hearing to consider levying the Special Assessments that have been identified over the previous 12 months. The majority of the assessments on the list are related to things such as trunk utilities and 100% Petitions. Other assessments are related to assessing back the City’s work to remove snow, tall grass, weeds and trees on the individual properties. He reported each of the property owners on the list has been notified of this meeting. There were no comments from the audience. Freiberg said it was his understanding these assessments include the costs incurred for work at distressed properties, such as the two Burger King properties. There has been a lot of conversation about that in the community. We have opted to take care of those properties, and he believed the community should know we are assessing back the costs for that work. MOTION: Aho moved, seconded by Nelson, to close the public hearing for the approval of the 2019 Special Assessments; and to adopt Resolution No. 2019-114 approving all Special Assessments presented in the fall of 2019. Motion carried 5-0. X. PAYMENT OF CLAIMS MOTION: Narayanan moved, seconded by Nelson, to approve the payment of claims as submitted. Motion was approved on a roll call vote, with Aho, Freiberg, Narayanan, Nelson, and Case voting “aye.” XI. ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS XII. PETITIONS, REQUESTS, AND COMMUNICATIONS XIII. APPOINTMENTS XIV. REPORTS A. REPORTS OF COUNCIL MEMBERS 1. Distressed Properties—Council Member Freiberg Freiberg said one thing that is becoming a problem is the frustration we feel over what can be done about distressed properties in the City. Because these properties have been an ongoing problem for several years, he would like to open a discussion and perhaps come to a consensus about what can be done, especially about the distressed commercial properties. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES October 15, 2019 Page 5 Aho thought the City does need tools to make sure the properties do not become a blight in the City. He believed we do have tools available, so he was not sure if Council Member Freiberg was looking for a new tool. Getschow believed Council Member Freiberg is referring to the two Burger King properties, both of which are very visible properties in the community. We have been told since the time they closed they will reopen as Burger Kings. They are working through a bankruptcy issue. We have to step in to do work on the properties to repair broken windows and deal with such things as trash and long grass There was a report of additional damage in the past week. Tonight the Council approved a Special Assessment against the properties for the costs the City incurred for maintenance work at the two locations. Staff will go back again to check the properties. He noted we do have some tools to use in our building code. There is a very high bar that must be met for properties to be condemned. We will continue to use our tools of influence. Nelson suggested we put something in place that is different from the State laws, especially for properties on streets that are very visible. At the least, the property should be put in order and shouldn’t look like someone just walked away from it. There should be some responsibility for the owner to clean it up or put out a “For Sale” sign. Getschow reported for the last several months Burger King representatives have said any day they will do work on the buildings and they will reopen; however, that has been going on for several months. It is our understanding that, of the three homes discussed by the Council earlier this year, one home is being rehabbed, another is occupied, and the third one on Pioneer Trail will be demolished. He thought the suggestion to appeal to Burger King regarding keeping the property relevant and fresh looking is a great idea. Nelson said the owners should at least clean up the windows and make the property look like it is a property that will have something done to it. Narayanan noted we talked about this problem with private homes a few months ago and asked if the ordinances are the same for commercial property. Getschow replied the exterior maintenance code applies to all property; however, there may be some differences relating to commercial property. Narayanan suggested there may be something else we can do on the commercial side. In addition, there is the question of what to communicate to our residents. Getschow said staff could look into that. Freiberg would like a clarification because the State code threshold is one thing, and our local code is another. He would like to know if we can have stricter ordinances than the State statutes. We expect a certain level of exterior maintenance from new developers, and he was getting frustrated with our ability to deal with exterior maintenance for distressed properties. We should look at other municipalities to see what they have done. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES October 15, 2019 Page 6 Rosow said as a city we have authority to go beyond the State law that Mr. Getschow referred to which is the largest tool for the most egregious properties. It is a fairly high bar and is expensive and time consuming even though we assess the costs back to the property. For other matters that don’t rise to that level we have our own exterior maintenance code. The kinds of issues with Burger King about trash on the property and long grass can be looked at again to see if there are things in the ordinance that could be tweaked or if there are other tools. Nelson thought we need something about trash on the property. We do something about residences with too much trash and should do the same for commercial properties especially when the property is very visible and is affecting other businesses around the property. As our buildings age, similar concerns might come up more often. She commented there have been a number of commercial buildings in the City that have taken several years to sell, but those have usually been kept up. Case suggested we could see if there are holes in the ordinance that can be filled, and perhaps set a period of time the properties can remain vacant before we begin more regular inspections to begin to assess the problems with the property. It is their issue, but it also affects surrounding properties as well as the City as a whole. We need to maintain our commercial building stock. We should look at our ordinances for something that triggers when a building is vacant for a certain amount of time. Freiberg said he liked that approach. He believed one of the Burger King properties has been vacant for three years. He was out there the other day, and there are holes in the siding. Without an escalation they may continue to ignore the property. We have a blue ribbon development going in across the street from one of the Burger King properties, and we want that area to be beautiful, well- cared for, and representative of our City. B. REPORT OF CITY MANAGER C. REPORT OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR D. REPORT OF PARKS AND RECREATION DIRECTOR E. REPORT OF PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR F. REPORT OF POLICE CHIEF G. REPORT OF FIRE CHIEF H. REPORT OF CITY ATTORNEY CITY COUNCIL MINUTES October 15, 2019 Page 7 XV. OTHER BUSINESS XVI. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Narayanan moved, seconded by Nelson, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried 5- 0. Mayor Case adjourned the meeting at 7:30 p.m.