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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council - 02/03/1998 APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE CITY COUNCIL TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 1998 7:30 PM, CITY CENTER Council Chamber 8080 Mitchell Road CITY COUNCIL: Mayor Jean Harris, Sherry Butcher- Younghans, Ronald Case, Ross Thorfinnson, Jr., and Nancy Tyra- Lukens CITY COUNCIL STAFF: City Manager Carl J. Jullie, Assistant City Manager Chris Enger, Director of Parks, Recreation & Natural Resources Bob Lambert, Director of Public Works Eugene Dietz, City Attorney Roger Pauly, and Council Recorder Jan Nelson PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE ROLL CALL Mayor Harris called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. Thorfinnson arrived late. I. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND OTHER ITEMS OF BUSINESS Jullie added item W.I. Approve Construction Cooperative Agreement for the CSAH 4 Project from Terrey Pine Drive to CSAH 1 (Pioneer Trail), I.C. 52-153; item IV.J. PRAIRIE,LAKES CORPORATE CENTER PHASE 2; item VIH.B. FINDINGS OF FACT, CONCLUSIONS AND ORDER; item XI.A.1. Future Council Workshop Schedule. MOTION: Tyra-Lukens moved, seconded by Case, to approve the Agenda as published and amended. Motion carried 4-0. Thorfinnson arrived at 7:35 p.m. H. OPEN PODIUM III. MINUTES A. CITY COUNCIL MEETING HELD TUESDAY, JANUARY 20, 1998 MOTION: Butcher-Younghans moved, seconded by Case, to approve as published the minutes of the City Council meeting held Tuesday January 20, 1998. Motion carried 5-0. IV. CONSENT CALENDAR i CITY COUNCIL MINUTES February 3, 1998 Page 2 A. CLERK'S LICENSE LIST B. RECOMMEND THE HENNEPIN COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS REAPPOINT EDWARD SCHLAMPP TO THE LOWER NIINNESOTA RIVER WATERSHED DISTRICT FOR A THREE-YEAR TERM C. RESOLUTION 98-16 APPROVING COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT NO. 77075 FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF TH 212 IMPROVEMENTS FROM 0.5 MILES EAST OF MITCHELL ROAD TO I-494. I.C. 93-5301 D. RESOLUTION 98-17 APPROVING FINAL PLAT OF BRYANT POINTE SECOND ADDITION E. SET COUNCIL/STAFF WORKSHOP FOR FEBRUARY 17, 1998 AT 6:30 PM TO DISCUSS THE WATER CONSERVATION SURCHARGE F. MENARDS EXPANSION by Menard, Inc. 2nd Reading of Ordinance 1-98- pud-1-98 for Planned Unit Development District Review on 15.72 acres and Zoning District Amendment in the Commercial Regional Service Zoniug District on 15.72 acres, Adopt Resolution 98-18 for Site Plan Review on 15.72 acres and Approval of a Developer's Agreement for Menard, Inc. Location: Plaza Drive, south of Highway 5. (Ordinance 1-98-PUD-1-98 for PUD District Review and Zoning District Amendment and Resolution 98-18 for Site Plan Review) G. APPROVE 1ST AND 2ND READING OF ORDINANCE 2-98 AMENDING CITY CODE CHAPTERS 1 AND 2 BY AMENDING THE TITLE OF THE HOUSING, TRANSPORTATION AND SOCIAL SERVICES BOARD (HTSSB) TO THE HOUSING, TRANSPORTATION. AND HUMAN SERVICES BOARD (HTHSB) H. ADOPT RESOLUTION 98-19 AUTHORIZING ACQUISITION OF TAX FORFEITED PROPERTY I. ADOPT RESOLUTION 98-20 APPROVING CONSTRUCTION COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT FOR THE CSAH 4 PROJECT FROM TERREY PINE DRIVE TO CSAH 1 (Pioneer Trail) J. PRAIRIE LAKES CORPORATE CENTER PHASE 2 by United Properties. Request for Planned Unit Development Concept Review on 13.07 acres,Planned Unit Development District Review on 13.07 acres,Zoning District Amendment in the Office Zoning District on 13.07 acres and Site Plan Review on 13.07 acres. Location: Prairie Lakes Drive. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES February 3, 1998 Page 3 Case asked if the Council's prior concerns about the landscaping for the CSAH 4 project will be addressed. Dietz said this agreement does not address details. Hennepin County WILL pay for a landscaping plan for the project, but they have been developing landscaping under separate projects. He said we will end up sharing in the cost of the landscaping. Case then asked if there have been any changes in the alignment at Candlewood. Dietz said the final construction plans were approved last October, and this is just the financial arrangements between us and the County at this stage. MOTION: Case moved, seconded by Tyra-Lukens, to approve items A-J on the Consent Calendar. Motion carried 5-0. V. PUBLIC HEARINGS/MEETINGS A. APPLICATION FOR NATURAL AND SCENIC GRANT FOR ACQUISITION OF 30.2 ACRES OF LAND ON THE NIINNESOTA RIVER BLUFFS (Resolution 98-22) Jullie said the official notice of this Public Hearing was published on January 22, 1998 in the Eden Prairie News. At the January 20, 1998 meeting, the Council authorized staff to apply for a $200,000 Natural and Scenic Grant for acquisition of Option Parcel No. 2 of the Klein/Peterson property, and set a public hearing for the February 3, 1998 Council meeting. Staff notified property owners within 500 feet of the parcel proposed to be acquired. There were no comments from the audience. MOTION: Case moved, seconded by Butcher-Younghans, to close the Public Hearing; and to adopt Resolution 98-22 authorizing application for a Natural and Scenic Grant for the acquisition of 30.2 Acres of land owned by Darril Peterson and the Klein family on the Minnesota River Bluffs. Motion carried 5-0. B. CROSSTOWN BUSINESS PLAZA by Opus Corporation. Request for Comprehensive Guide Plan Change from Neighborhood Commercial to Office on 4 acres, Planned Unit Development Concept Amendment on 6.293 acres, Planned Unit Development District Review on 6.293 acres, Rezoning from Neighborhood Commercial to Office on 4 acres, Site Plan Review on 6.293 acres, and Preliminary Plat of 6.293 acres into one lot. Location: Southwest Corner of City West Parkway and Shady Oak. (Resolution 98-23 for Comprehensive Guide Plan Change, Resolution 98-24 for PUD Concept Amendment, Ordinance for PUD District Review and Rezoning from Neighborhood Commercial to Office, and Resolution 98-25 for Preliminary Plat) CITY COUNCIL MEWTES February 3, 1998 Page 4 Jullie said the official notice of this Public Hearing was published on January 22, 1998 in the Eden Prairie News and sent to 37 property owners. The site is part of the 1992 Galarneau/Shady Oak Business Center Planned Unit Development. The approved plan is 31,000 square feet. The plan includes a 16,000 square foot office building, a 6,600 and 5,000 square foot commercial building, and a 4,000 square foot restaurant. David Menke, Development Director for Opus Northwest, reviewed the proposal. He said they plan to preserve all the existing trees on the site. Enger said the Planning Commission reviewed this project at its December 8, 1997 meeting and again at its January 12, 1998 meeting. The Commission voted 7-0 to approve the revised project at the January 12 meeting, subject to the recommendations of the Staff Report of January 9, 1998. It was not reviewed by the Parks, Recreation&Natural Resources Commission. There were no comments from the audience. MOTION: Thorfinnson moved, seconded by Butcher-Younghans, to close the Public Hearing; to approve lst Reading of the Ordinance for PUD District Review on 6.3 acres and Rezoning from Neighborhood Commercial to Office on 4 acres; to adopt Resolution 98-23 for Comprehensive Guide Plan Change from Neighborhood Commercial to Office on 4 acres; to adopt Resolution 98-24 for Planned Unit Development Concept Amendment on 6.3 acres; to adopt Resolution 98-25 for Preliminary Plat of 6.3 acres into one lot; and to direct Staff to prepare a Development Agreement incorporating Commission and Staff recommendations. Case asked how the land northwest of Old Shady Oak Road is guided and what we envision going in on that property. Enger said the hill has been zoned for single family homes, and further west and south of the hill has been guided as medium density housing. Case said he thought it was guided low density, so he was wondering how often we put office next to low density and if there would be enough room to buffer for this development. Enger said he would have to check on the density, but we do occasionally put low density office next to single family residential. This whole area was viewed as transition to single family residential, and it has been reviewed with an eye to scale of development. Case said he didn't think we could come up with a better plan for this site. Dietz noted over the years we have talked about the poor soil conditions on the Pavelka property, and that the only way to get economic use in this area would be to do some density transfer. Enger said he just checked the Guide Plan, and the general area is low density residential, but because of the wetlands and the hill we anticipated a density transfer. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES February 3, 1998 Page 5 Tyra-Lukens noted she was voting for this Comprehensive Guide Plan change because this is a much less intense use of the site, particularly in terms of traffic, than the project she voted against at the last meeting. She thought this project is more compatible with single family property, and believes it will have a positive effect on property values to the west. VOTE ON THE MOTION: Motion carried 5-0. VI. PAYMENT OF CLAIMS MOTION: Case moved, seconded by Thorfinnson, to approve the Payment of Claims as submitted. Motion carried on a roll call vote, with Butcher-Younghans, Case, Thorfinnson, Tyra-Lukens and Harris voting "aye." VII. ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS VIH. PETITIONS RE VESTS AND COMMUNICATIONS A. TOWNHOMES OF SHERWOOD HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION Jullie said Ms Jody Wilson, President of Townhomes of Sherwood Homeowners Association, is here to address the Council regarding our response to the particular household situation in this neighborhood. He noted since Ms. Wilson's letter of January 21, there has been considerable progress toward resolving this situation due to the City's intervention, as outlined in the Staff Memo from Kevin Schmieg, Director of Inspections, dated January 29, 1998. He said the owner has been moved to other living accommodations with the help of Ms Gerri Beckmann and the PROP agency. All animals have now been removed from the home. Also funding is being arranged for some degree of restoration, depending upon the final amount of dollars available. Ms Wilson described the problems that existed with one homeowner for the past year. They did everything legally possible to enforce the rules and regulations. After they obtained a search warrant in August, they determined there was a great deal of damage to the property because of the 60 cats that were in the house. The property was posted as being unlawful to occupy, but at Thanksgiving time they found that the building was occupied again. After discussion with the Police Department they were told the City was reluctant to make the owner homeless before Christmas. She reviewed the events since that time, noting that they are concerned about what happens if the damage will require more than$15,000 to clean up and whether the "do not occupy" order will be enforced until the clean-up is completed. Jullie said this has been a difficult situation. He thought the record shows there has been a lot of activity even though it has dragged on for a long time. The owner comes back for packing and some clean-up work. She has agreed to go CITY COUNCIL MINUTES February 3, 1998 Page 6 through the application process for the funding. We have begun the follow-up work on the Chapter 463 process to obtain additional financing to complete the restoration. He was confident this situation can be resolved to everyone's satisfaction. Wilson asked how long the process will take. Jullie said the order would allow 20 days from the time of the order for their response and after that there would be a legal process. Rosow said the Findings of Fact, Conclusions and Order statute requires the Council to adopt this document, which is then served on the property owner and any lien holders. The defendants have 20 days to either correct the items cited or to file an answer. If there is no answer filed, we can go in on behalf of the City and request the court to enter an order to allow the City to go in and make corrections. If there is an answer filed, then it becomes a regular lawsuit. It will be assigned to a judge, and the timing will depend on the judge's calendar; however, this type of case takes precedence over anything else on the judge's calendar. The City would have to prove allegations and findings, and the court would enter an order requiring the property owner to make the repairs. If they don't, then the City can go in and make repairs. Harris asked if it would be possible for someone to live in the building during the period of correction and restitution. Rosow said he understands that occupancy is not allowed; however, that is different from going in to remove items. Tyra-Lukens asked how occupancy is defined. Rosow said someone is living there on a full-time basis, or if someone stays there overnight. Tyra-Lukens thought this was a very unfortunate situation. She felt sorry for the people who live next door and those who have had to deal with the legal problems. She was dismayed by the lapses between August and December when nothing was happening, and she asked why there was a four-month lapse in activity. Jullie said the Police Department and Animal Control people were working. There were various activities that occurred after the August 12th date. Tyra-Lukens asked if it was being cleaned up during that time. Kevin Schmieg said we went in initially on August 14, 1997, in order to protect the adjacent property from a fire hazard. They captured 41 cats the first day and another 20 subsequently. A decision was made to remove the combustible material. They removed 20 yards of combustible material which eliminated a lot of the odor problems. Subsequently they gave the owner a chance to go through the property for valuables. The Hennepin County epidemiologist said that the property did not constitute a public health threat. At this point the owners have moved out of the property at the expense of PROP, so there should be no reason for the owner to be in the property. Harris asked who has responsibility for the clean up. Schmieg said the owner does. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES February 3, 1998 Page 7 Harris asked if it is contracted out and billed back to the owner. Rosow said if the owner responds to the order, the owner can have it done at their expense. If she does not respond, the City pays the bill and assesses the cost back to the property. Case was concerned that we might drive this into foreclosure. The place obviously has less value than previously. He asked who would bring it back to livable condition if foreclosure occurs. Rosow said, if the property owner walked away, the City could still have the clean-up done at their expense and have a special assessment hearing to assess the cost back to the property. If the mortgage went into default because of non-payment, the mortgage company would foreclose. Whether the property would ultimately sell to pay off the mortgage and special assessments would depend on the amount of equity in the property. Tyra-Lukens asked what happens if it doesn't sell. Rosow said the special assessments and taxes would take precedence. Butcher-Younghans thought it may be that the current owner will not be the future owner; however she asked if there is some kind of monitoring system the County uses to make sure we don't get back to the same situation if the current owner moves back in and brings animals back into the restored building. Rosow didn't think there is a formal monitoring system except for the complaint process that a certain property owner has more animals than allowed under City ordinance. Harris said she wanted those present to know the City is interested in restoring the property as soon as possible. Schmeig said the Chapter 463 action is to abate the nuisance and will not restore it to a full occupancy state. Charles Atkinson, 9541 Hartford Circle, described the reaction of the owner to the search warrant in August. He didn't think this will be resolved. Harris would like to be more optimistic that it will be resolved, and said we are committed to help resolve the problem. Roger Harris, a homeowner, said 90 days to resolve the situation is not acceptable. He would like to see something done tomorrow. Mayor Harris said the Council has made a commitment to remedy the situation. B. FINDINGS OF FACT, CONCLUSIONS AND ORDER Jullie said we have prepared a draft of the Findings of Fact, Conclusions and Order in regard to the situation at the Sherwood Townhomes. Staff recommends the Council approve the document and direct Staff to proceed with all possible dispatch to pursue this finding. Harris wanted the audience to know this document sets in place the process to get the funding to correct the hazardous condition. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES February 3, 1998 Page 8 MOTION: Case moved, seconded by Butcher-Younghans, to adopt the Findings of Fact, Conclusions and Order and to direct Staff to proceed with this process. Motion carried 5-0. IX. REPORTS OF ADVISORY BOARDS & COMMISSIONS A. SOUTHWEST METRO TRANSIT COMMISSION (Councilmember Nancy Tyra-Lukens) Tyra-Lukens said Councilmembers received a copy of the finalized budget in the packets. Southwest Metro officials are still pursuing a new bus garage. The transit hub is proceeding as planned. X. APPOINTMENTS XI. REPORTS OF OFFICERS A. REPORTS OF COUNCILMEMBERS B. REPORT OF CITY MANAGER 1. Future Council Workshop Schedule Jullie suggested Tuesday, February 24, 7:00 p.m., as a workshop date to hear the final Community Focus Group report from Bill Morris. He also suggested reserving the fourth Tuesdays of the month from March through August to cover the Transition Team reports and issues involved in the transition. Thorfinnson asked if the fourth Tuesday workshops would be on an "as needed" basis. Jullie said they would be. The consensus was to schedule the workshops as Mr. Jullie proposed. C. REPORT OF DIRECTOR OF PARKS, RECREATION & NATURAL RESOURCES D. REPORT OF DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT E. REPORT OF DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS F. REPORT OF CITY ATTORNEY XII. OTHER BUSINESS XIII. ADJOURNMENT CITY COUNCIL MINUTES February 3, 1998 Page 9 MOTION: Thorfinnson moved, seconded by Case, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried 5-0. Mayor Harris adjourned the meeting at 8:25 p.m.