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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council - 02/20/2024 - Workshop APPROVED WORKSHOP MINUTES CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP & OPEN PODIUM TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2024 CITY CENTER 5:00 – 6:25 PM, HERITAGE ROOMS 6:30 – 7:00 PM, COUNCIL CHAMBER CITY COUNCIL: Mayor Ron Case, Council Members Kathy Nelson, Mark Freiberg, PG Narayanan, and Lisa Toomey CITY STAFF: City Manager Rick Getschow, Police Chief Matt Sackett, Fire Chief Scott Gerber, Public Works Director Robert Ellis, Community Development Director Julie Klima, Parks and Recreation Director Amy Markle, Administrative Services/HR Director Alecia Rose, Communications Manager Joyce Lorenz, City Attorney Maggie Neuville, and Recorder Sara Aschenbeck Workshop - Heritage Rooms I and II (5:30) I. SOUTHWEST TRANSIT UPDATE 5:30 – 6:00 p.m. Getschow introduced Eric Hansen, Southwest Transit CEO. Hansen explained Southwest Transit reinvented its business model after employee work habits changed post-pandemic. Southwest Transit serves under a joint powers agreement between Eden Prairie, Chanhassen, and Chaska. Victoria, Carver, Edina, and Shakopee are also served under contract. Southwest Transit’s three primary services include express downtown, on demand PRIME, and special event transportation. Hansen explained 80 percent of PRIME riders begin or end their trip in Eden Prairie. Over 446 thousand rides were provided in 2023, an increase of 20 percent from the previous year. Ridership on the express bus downtown is four times lower than before the pandemic. A 2023 community survey indicated riders have a generally favorable view of Southwest Transit. Southwest Transit received a 92 percent positive rating during the State Fair. Hansen explained Southwest Transit’s newly adopted strategic direction. Strategic priorities include financial sustainability, premium customer experience, growth and innovation, and community and people. Southwest Transit plans to enhance service in the City in the next two years. A grant received from the Met Council will provide fixed route service along the 494 corridor from Southwest Station to the Minneapolis –St. Paul airport. Case inquired if Southwest Transit is permitted to pick up customers in Bloomington. Hansen confirmed Southwest Transit is permitted to pick up customers in Bloomington as they traveling back to Eden Prairie. Since the 494 corridor fixed route service would start and end in Eden Prairie, no special approval is needed. Toomey asked if Southwest Transit is providing service to light rail stops. Hansen confirmed Southwest Transit has received a grant to provide first and last mile service around Southwest Light Rail Transit (SWLRT) stops. Ideally Southwest Transit and the SWLRT will have a City Council Workshop Minutes February 20, 2024 Page 2 connected network within the City. Southwest Transit is researching providing service via autonomous vehicles. Narayanan asked if the City needs to revise City Code governing commercial driverless vehicles. Getschow stated they are governed at State level. Hansen explained Southwest Transit is working with a company currently providing autonomous commercial service in Grand Rapids. Hansen explained PRIME will expand into Carver County, Minnetonka, and Hopkins in the coming years. Southwest Transit will also expand special event service. Southwest Transit provided transportation to a Minnesota Wild game for the first time in a partnership with the Eden Prairie Hockey Association. Transportation to the Renaissance Festival will be provided this year. Next year Southwest Transit will provide transportation to the State Fair every day. Hansen stated Southwest Transit’s largest challenge is sustainable revenue. Most funding is provided from motor vehicle sales taxes. The State legislature’s recent transportation sales tax will provide $32 billion to the Met Council over the next 30 years. $9 million of that revenue has been allocated to Suburban Transit Agencies, of which Southwest Transit received $3 million. If that is the only funding provided, Suburban Transit Authorities would receive only 0.03 percent of the $32 billion total raised. Toomey asked if the $9 million provided to Suburban Transit Agencies is over the 30 year period. Hansen clarified the $9 million provided was a one-time allocation. The new transportation sales tax does not provide a guaranteed stable revenue stream in future years. As the sales tax is collected for purposes of transit, Suburban Transit Agencies should be provided with a guaranteed revenue stream. Hansen stated Southwest Transit’s plan is to be completely electric in the next few decades. There are EV chargers in Chanhassen, which will soon be installed in Chaska and Eden Prairie. Southwest Transit has three prime electric vehicles currently, and four electric busses are coming in the fall. Narayanan encouraged Southwest Transit to educate customers on electric vehicles (EV) and the soon to be deployed electric busses. Toomey asked if other cities use electric busses. Hansen answered Rochester and Racine, Wisconsin use electric busses. Case stated his assumption that the loss of ridership is not specific to Southwest Transit. Case asked if other Suburban Transit Authorities are sharing ideas for how to restructure after the pandemic. Hansen stated Southwest Transit’s ridership was heavily dependent on the express bus to Minneapolis and more heavily suffered post pandemic compared to other transit authorities. Southwest Transit is now the largest micro transit service in the State with 147 thousand rides in 2023. On demand transit and autonomous vehicles are the future of public transportation. Narayanan stated a need for a joint strategy between the City and Southwest transit for the coming decades. Hansen noted transit planners are visiting Eden Prairie and surrounding cities next week for a tour to help Southwest Transit prepare a strategic plan for the future of transit. Case summarized a recent discussion he attended that theorized cars moving to a subscription service in the future. Autonomous vehicles are safer compared to human drivers and will be cheaper to insure. More drivers will opt for autonomous vehicles with cheaper insurance rates. City Council Workshop Minutes February 20, 2024 Page 3 II. UNFI SITE 6:00 – 6:30 p.m. Klima explained representatives from UNFI and CSM Corporation have a development proposal to share for Council feedback. The proposed development is on the 46 acre vacant west parcel of the UNFI campus. It is currently zoned office and rural and is guided for office, park/open space, and medium high density residential. The UNFI campus constructed in the 1970s on the 61 acre east parcel is the original and only development on this property. Environmental protections have significantly strengthened since the 1970s. The west parcel has many protected natural features including flood planes, wetlands, oak forest, lowland hardwood forest, and bluffs. Development on the west parcel is limited at best, if not undevelopable per Staff feedback. UNFI is looking to obtain Council feedback on the proposal before significant time and money is invested. Narayanan inquired if any residential homes are nearby. Klima stated the closest residential homes are across highway 494. There are also homes across Bryant lake. Toomey inquired what area of the western parcel would be developable. Klima stated the proposal is for the intersection of highway 494 and Valley View Road. Bill Katter, CSM Corporation Special Consultant, stated this proposal is driven by the current state of the Residence Inn at the intersection of highway 494 and Flying Cloud Drive. The existing hotel no longer meets Residence Inn brand standards due to building age and condition. CSM is under contract to purchase the west parcel of the UNFI campus to construct a replacement Residence Inn hotel, a freestanding restaurant, and an apartment building. The site would need a comprehensive plan change and a zoning change from office to commercial. UNFI would propose to move the current residential zoning south to enlarge the open space. Katter explained the office market has significantly shrank since the pandemic. Over 30 office campuses in the metro area will transition out of the current office space use. The proposal would generate fewer traffic trips in both the peak morning and evening as compared to the previous proposal of 128 thousand square feet of office space. The east parcel may be acquired by the Eden Prairie School District, and traffic for a hotel and apartment would move in an opposite pattern than school district traffic. Narayanan asked if commercial and residential properties generate a similar amount of traffic trips. Ellis stated it depends on the type of commercial, but he does not foresee traffic being an issue on this site. Hennepin County and MnDOT would ideally agree to a full access road, but there may be a need for a cross access easement if the traffic demonstrates need. Katter stated the hotel contains 140 hotel rooms and would be five stories. There will be a mixture of suite and conference room sizes. The apartment building would comprise two five story buildings with a combined 320 units. The apartment building does intrude into the steep slope area. The access road would be supported by a retaining wall. The proposed development area contains 25 thousand caliper inches of existing trees, mostly in the site of the apartment City Council Workshop Minutes February 20, 2024 Page 4 building. However more of the site would be preserved as public open space. The proposed hotel, restaurant, and apartment building do not disrupt the shoreland buffer district. CSM is hoping for Council feedback specifically on scope and density. Toomey asked for the Police call rate on long term stay hotels. Sackett stated Police spends slightly more time at long term stay hotels. It is largely dependent on clientele. Residence Inn does have a lower Police call rate compared to other long term stay hotels. Toomey noted her concern if the east parcel ends up as a school a long term stay on the west parcel would be too close. Katter stated the hotel will be marketed mainly to business travelers. John Ferrier, CSM Corporation Vice President of Architecture and Development Services, explained the new development would have minimal view impacts to existing homes on Bryant Lake. Narayanan inquired if there is a walkway from the hotel to the light rail. Ferrier answered there is a path but it is too far to be walkable. Katter stated the development is an opportunity to replace lost tax base. The hotel and restaurant have nominal impacts to geographic features of the site and current traffic impacts. Although the apartment building has a larger impact on geographic features, it’s a chance to provide affordable units on a location without a visibility disruption to existing neighbors. Narayanan asked what order the hotel, restaurant, and apartment building will be built. Katter confirmed all construction will occur simultaneously. Narayanan asked how many apartment units would be affordable. Katter stated around 60 of the 320 units would be affordable. Freiberg explained his main concerns with the proposal are the large number of trees removed and potential impacts to the bluffs. Toomey and Narayanan expressed they are comfortable with the hotel piece. Case asked Staff for their main concerns. Klima stated concerns largely focus on natural features of the site including tree removal and impacts to bluffs and shorelands. More information will be provided by soil tests and tree inventory. Getschow added the developer’s due diligence procedures prior to building will show if the site is buildable or not. Case noted the Council is amenable to the hotel and restaurant proposal. Narayanan asked if the apartment could be constructed with more stories and a smaller footprint. Katter noted there is likely a thoughtful way to design the apartment to have a smaller impact on the bluffs. The Council thanked the presenters. Open Podium - Council Chamber (6:30) III. OPEN PODIUM IV. ADJOURNMENT