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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council - 01/02/2001 - Workshop APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP/FORUM TUESDAY,JANUARY 2,2001 5:00-6:55 PM, CITY CENTER HERITAGE ROOMS I&II CITY COUNCIL: Mayor Jean Harris, Councilmembers Sherry Butcher, Ronald Case, Jan Mosman, and Nancy Tyra-Lukens CITY COUNCIL STAFF: City Manager Chris Enger,Parks &Recreation Services Director Bob Lambert,Public Works Services Director Eugene Dietz,Public Safety Services Director Jim Clark, Community Development and Financial Services Director Don Uram, City Planner Michael Franzen, Director of Management Services Natalie Swaggert, City Attorney Roger Pauly, and Recorder Lorene McWaters VISITORS: Jim Van Driel,President of Hartford Place Club Homes;Ray Mohr,President of Weston Woods Townhome Association; Terry Pearson,Resident of Weston Woods Townhomes; John MacKany, Board Member of Hartford Place Court Homes;Michele Perpich,Resident of Sanctuary Townhomes; Laura Bluml,Eden Prairie Resident;Bill McHale,Ryan Companies; Todd Stutz,Rottlund Homes/David Bernard; Tim Whitten, Senior Vice President for Architecture; Rottlund Homes/David Bernard; Richard Palmiter,Rottlund Homes/David Bernard;Deb Ridgeway, Rottlund Homes/David Bernard I. CALL MEETING TO ORDER—MAYOR JEAN HARRIS Mayor Harris called the meeting to order at 5:15 p.m. H. APPROVAL OF AGENDA I. HARTFORD DEVELOPMENT LAND USE CONCEPT DISCUSSION Richard Palmiter,Land Development Manager for Rottlund Homes, and Tim Whitten, Senior Vice President for Architecture for Rottlund,presented their development concept for the Hartford Development. Representatives from four neighborhood groups were also present. City Manager Chris Enger noted that the process used for introducing the proposal to the City was unusual, since nearby residents rather than a developer initiated the proposal. He asked for clarification on who the proposal was from and what Rottlund and the neighborhood groups wished to accomplish in the meeting. Richard Palmiter explained that after the Costco proposal for this piece of land was denied by the Council,the neighborhood actively sought out a developer who would work with them on a concept for the land that would be acceptable to both the existing neighborhood, the land owner(Ryan Companies), and the developer. The neighborhood groups were familiar with"new urbanism"developments Rottlund Homes/David Bernard has built or are constructing in Minnetonka,New Brighton and Golden Valley, and asked them to work on a similar concept for the Eden Prairie parcel. Palmiter said this process was also unique for Rottlund. They had attended a neighborhood meeting two weeks previously at which approximately 50 neighborhood residents provided input. Those present at the meeting COUNCIL WORKSHOP MINUTES January 2, 2001 Page 2 agreed the plan looked good and asked that it be presented to the City. Palmiter said they wanted to come away with"more than a warm feeling at the end of the evening." They understand Council may need a couple of weeks to consider the project,but that Rottlund and Ryan Companies both need to know soon whether or not the Council supports the project. Whitten reviewed several"new urbanism"projects Rottlund(under the name of David Bernard)has built or is building in nearby communities,including Golden Valley, Minnetonka, downtown Minneapolis and New Brighton. These projects involve mixed-use development and include retail shops,restaurants, offices, and housing. He said Rottlund knows these projects work,they have pricing on them, and they are comfortable with this type of product. Palmiter said the 18-acre Hartford Development site presents several challenges,including a short window of opportunity,the need for relatively high density, and the desire for mixed- use. Approximately three acres or 30,000 square feet of retail space is included in the design. The balance of the project is housing of five different types: two-story urban flats, new urban townhomes, stacked flats (to help create density),work/live units, and row townhomes. All units except the row townhomes would include either one or two underground parking spaces. Each row townhome would include a 2-car rear-entry garage. All of the units have front-door access to the street and street parking for guests. The development would be laid out similar to city blocks with"pocket parks"interspersed throughout. Sidewalks would run in front of all the residences and connect the parks. Whitten said the idea of new urbanism is to make each street pedestrian-friendly. The current plan calls for 302 residential units,with an average of 21.8 units per acre. Councilmember Tyra-Lukens asked if the roads would be city roads or townhome development roads. Whitten said this is still to be determined and that setbacks would limit what can be done. Councilmember Case asked if Rottlund had looked at options and played with the numbers. Whitten said their TIF analysis (which used the"standard"formula) limited the amount of retail. Whitten noted he worked on the Edinborough development, which had a higher density but included only one parking space per unit. He said 28 units per acre was hitting the ceiling for the Hartford site. He noted that the cost goes up considerably as you"build up"or add stories. Tyra-Lukens asked if a traffic analysis had been completed. Whitten said no,but that he expected more traffic would be generated by this development than the previous Costco proposal. He noted that the neighborhood still supports the current proposal. Palmiter reviewed the proposed TIF financing. He said Rottlund projects a$2.5 million shortfall due mainly to the cost of the land. They are proposing a mostly residential development on land that is currently valued commercially. Therefore,they are asking for a single-family owner-occupied TIF district. The homes in this district would be sold to individuals at the median income level for the metropolitan area. Rottlund believes young professionals would be buyers of these homes,which would be in the$165,000 to $175,000 range. Empty-nesters with equity in existing homes might also qualify as buyers. Under the Rottlund proposal,the City would have to make a contribution. Palmiter said they had worked with the City's financial consultant, Springsted, and concluded that the TIF district would consist of 214 units. COUNCIL WORKSHOP MINUTES January 2,2001 Page 3 Tyra-Lukens asked if the plan for urban flats relies on street parking on Rolling Hills Road. Whitten said that it does call for parking on Rolling Hills,which he noted is a wide street. Public Works Director Gene Dietz said this would require some changes by the City since current rules don't allow for parking on City streets after 2 or more inches of snowfall. Whitten said these were issues that could be worked around and that he believes the concept is solid. It is transitional, fits within the"smart growth"concept, and would provide density near the City's regional mall. Tyra-Lukens said she likes the variety of housing and pockets of open space provided for in the concept design. Mayor Harris said she also found the design appealing. She asked how the$2.5 million gap would be affected if there were a need to reduce the total number of units. Whitten said any reduction in units would widen the gap. Financial Services Director Uram noted that Rottlund was proposing a non-standard TIF that would not meet HUD low-income guidelines. In addition,the most recent numbers he had seen indicated the City would also be required to contribute$400,000 toward the project from unrestricted general fund revenues. Councilmember Case said the plan looked good, but said the Council would have to address the issue of paying for the project. Enger noted that the development would not help the City meet stated goals for providing affordable housing,but that it would make housing more affordable for median income buyers. Neighborhood resident Terry Pearson said she thinks the proposal"shows vision and gives respect to a wonderful piece of land." While traffic levels may be higher, she believes traffic will be more evenly dispersed. She noted that 50 residents attended the neighborhood meeting with Rottlund during the week of Christmas with just two days notice, and all present endorsed the plan. She said if there is a way to make the money work,they are 100 percent behind the project. Mayor Harris asked whether or not the Council philosophically wanted to back a project that doesn't meet affordable housing goals. (Dram said he wondered why the project could not pay for itself.) He noted that the Lincoln Parc development, currently under construction, does include affordable housing. He said staff would be looking closely at the numbers provided by Rottlund in the next two weeks. Enger asked why the City should be involved in subsidizing housing for median income buyers when we have not chosen to do so in the past. He asked if there might be an opportunity to have equity participation with owners, so that when they sell their homes the City's subsidy would be returned. Whitten said the Edinborough project was subsidized in this manner. Mayor Harris said this would make the project more attractive,but the Council needs more information from staff before coming to any decisions. Enger noted that staff hasn't done any technical work on the proposal yet, and although the neighborhood likes the current plan,he wondered if they will still be in favor of the development after it has gone through the formal staff,Planning Board, and Council process. He also said the City needs to determine whether or not there are residents in the area who are not in favor of the proposal. Case said that while he understands the window of opportunity is narrow,the Council needs more information on the financial aspects. Whitten said he believes the residents understand that this is an evolving project, and that COUNCIL WORKSHOP MINUTES January 2,2001 Page 4 the development proposal will go through the normal process if they get the nod from the Council. Mayor Harris suggested addressing this proposal at a future Council Meeting after staff have gathered more information. IV. AFFORDABLE HOUSING At the December 19 Workshop, Councilmember Case requested information from staff regarding where Eden Prairie stands in relation to other metro area communities in providing affordable housing. Financial Services Director Uram presented data gathered by Housing and Redevelopment Authority Manager David Lindahl from Brooklyn Park, Bloomington,Maple Grove,Burnsville,Eagan,Hopkins,Plymouth, Chanhassen, Minnetonka and Edina. Of these 11 cities,Eden Prairie ranked 9th in affordable rental and ownership housing. Uram noted that Eden Prairie's Livable Communities goal is 1,600 units and the City currently has about 440 units. City Manager Enger said the implication is that the City needs to come up with additional strategies to meet current goals. He suggested looking for additional sites to build affordable housing, or ownership rather than rental. He said there is a site in the downtown area on which these goals could be more aggressively pursued,but only if the Council wishes to support this direction. Councilmember Butcher said she feels targeting this type of housing is essential for the City's future. Case suggested holding a Saturday workshop to more fully explore the issue. He said it seems that no matter what the City does,it isn't enough, and he believes it may not be worthwhile. He noted that Eden Prairie currently has a great reputation,which it can maintain if it keeps up a good faith effort in affordable housing. Mayor Harris said the Council needs to ask itself questions such as where our young people are going to live when the finish college. Case said he thinks it may not be worth doing affordable housing, and that the City is already doing okay. He suggested doing something symbolic now and then. He wants to take an in-depth look at the costs. Enger said he was willing to look at the costs of doing or not doing affordable housing. Tyra-Lukens said the City definitely needs to pursue affordable housing,but density has not been the answer in the past. She said the City needs to look at how to avoid losing affordable housing units once they are built. Mayor Harris said this topic was a major issue and that it would be added to the list of workshop topics. V. OTHER TOPICS VI. COUNCIL FORUM—MAX THOMPSON,METRICOM Max Thompson said he requested to address the Council because his company had come to an impasse with the City Attorney over an agreement to allow his company to attach pole top radios to light poles within Eden Prairie. He said his company operates high speed wireless data system that allows subscribers to attach a modem to a computer. To complete the network,Metricom needs to attach 5 to 7 poletop units per square mile in Eden Prairie. Thompson said Metricom worked with the Minnesota League of Cities in 1999 to develop a standard contract allowing for use of City right-of-ways. As part of the contract each city receives 10 free subscriptions to Metricom's wireless Internet service. The agreement has been approved by 56 other metro area communities. Thompson said it would be difficult to COUNCIL WORKSHOP MINUTES January 2, 2001 Page 5 alter the agreement for Eden Prairie because the contract signed by other communities includes a fairness clause. He said sticking points with Eden Prairie have been: • How the City Attorney will be reimbursed for time spent on the contract • Eden Prairie's contention that our lease with NSP gives us exclusive right to control use of the light poles. Thompson said he was not looking for an immediate decision,but wanted the chance to present his side of the issue. Mayor Harris said the matter would have to be decided at a regular Council Meeting. City Attorney Roger Pauly asked if it would be appropriate for him to respond to Mr. Thompson's presentation at tonight's council meeting. Hams said that would be appropriate. VIH. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Harris adjourned the meeting at 6:58 p.m.