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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council - 10/18/2005 APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE CITY COUNCIL TUESDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2005 7:00 PM, CITY CENTER Council Chamber 8080 Mitchell Road CITY COUNCIL: Councilmembers Brad Aho, Sherry Butcher, Ron Case, and Philip Young. Mayor Nancy Tyra-Lukens was absent. CITY STAFF: City Manager Scott Neal, City Engineer Alan Gray, City Planner Michael Franzen, Community Development Director Janet Jeremiah, City Attorney Ric Rosow and Council Recorder Deb Sweeney. I. ROLL CALL/CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER Councilmember Case called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE III. COUNCIL FORUM INVITATION IV. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND OTHER ITEMS OF BUSINESS Young added an item on Buckthorn Busting Day to Reports of Councilmembers. Butcher added an item on student involvement to Reports of Councilmembers. Case added an item to share ideas for budget cuts to Reports of Councilmembers. Neal added Public Hearing Item VILC., which was inadvertently omitted from the agenda. MOTION: Butcher moved, seconded by Aho, to approve the agenda as published and amended. Motion carried 4-0. V. MINUTES A. CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP HELD TUESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2005 MOTION: Young moved, seconded by Butcher, to approve the following Council Workshop minutes as published. Motion carried 3-0 with Case abstaining. B. CITY COUNCIL MEETING HELD TUESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2005 MOTION: Aho moved, seconded by Young, to approve the following City Council minutes as published. Motion carried 3-0 with Case abstaining. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES October 18, 2005 Page 2 VI. CONSENT CALENDAR A. CLERK'S LICENSE LIST B. EDEN BLUFF CORPORATE CENTER I by United Properties. Request for Second Reading of the Planned Unit Development District Review with waivers on 18.47 acres; and Zoning District Change from Rural to Office on 18.47 acres and Site Plan Approval on 18.47 acres. Approve Development Agreement. Location: Charlson Road and Hwy 212. (Ordinance No. 20-2005 for PUD-12- 2005 District Review with waivers and Zoning District Change; Resolution No. 2005-123 for Site Plan Approval) C. ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 2005-124 APPROVING FINAL PLAT OF EDEN BLUFF HIGHLANDS 2ND ADDITION D. APPROVE SECOND READING OF ORDINANCE 22-2005 AMENDING CITY CODE SECTION 2.23 ESTABLISHING A CONSERVATION COMMISSION MOTION: Butcher moved, seconded by Aho, to approve Items A-D on the Consent Calendar. Motion carried 4-0. VII. PUBLIC HEARINGS/MEETINGS A. MCCALL BLUFF AMENDMENT by McCall Construction Company. Request for Planned Unit Development Concept Review on 4.89 acres; Planned Unit Development District Review and Zoning District Amendment in the Rural Zoning District on 4.89 acres. Location: 9997 Dell Road. (Resolution 2005-125 for PUD Concept Review, Ordinance for PUD District Review with waivers and Zoning District Amendment) Neal explained the project is a 3,142 square foot addition to the existing house on Lot One and to modify the approved 61-foot side yard setback to 25 feet. This 4.89-acre site received City approval for a subdivision into two lots on August 16, 2005. The approval was based on dedication of 2.31 acres of land and .89 acres of conservation easement. Setback and lot size waivers were granted in exchange for the dedication and conservation easement. The building addition may have some additional visual impact,but the tree cover below the home will limit the exposure from Highway 212 and the river. The proposed building addition will result in a home that is comparable in size to existing and proposed homes approved on the bluff. The Planning Commission voted 7-0 to recommend approval of the project to the City Council at the September 26, 2005, meeting. Case asked if the City would have approved this project if the contiguous neighbor had questioned it. Neal said probably yes, since it is comparable to approvals given for homes to the east. Case questioned why this addition was not CITY COUNCIL MINUTES October 18, 2005 Page 3 included in the original subdivision proposal. Neal agreed that would have been preferable. Aho noted there is a tight setback,but Case noted the Council had already given that variance. There were no comments from the public. Young explained he would abstain on the motion since his law firm has represented the proponent. MOTION: Aho moved, seconded by Butcher, to close the Public Hearing; adopt Resolution No. 2005-125 for Planned Unit Development Concept Review on 4.89 acres; approve 1 st Reading of the Ordinance for Planned Unit Development District Review with waivers, and Zoning Amendment in the Rural Zoning District on 4.89 acres; and direct Staff to prepare a Development Agreement incorporating Staff and Board recommendations and Council conditions. Motion carried 3-0 with Young abstaining. B. ISSUANCE OF MULTIFAMILY HOUSING REVENUE BONDS TO REFINANCE A DEVELOPMENT UNDER MINNESOTA STATUTES (BLUFFS AT NINE MILE CREEK) (RESOLUTION NO. 2005-126) Neal said this is a request for an increase in multifamily housing revenue bonds for the Bluffs at Nine Mile Creek project(originally approved February 4, 2002, as The Heights at Valley View for$26,500,000). These bonds were refinanced in 2003. The financing program proposal increases the amount of authorized bonding to $27,500,000 with the issuance of new bonds. Neal explained these bonds are in no way City dollars or an obligation for the taxpayers. Minnesota statute permits cities to act as a conduit for developers in the borrowing process and hence access lower nonprofit rate financing. Cities commonly participate in this process. There were no comments from the public. MOTION: Butcher moved, seconded by Aho, to close the public hearing; and adopt Resolution No. 2005-126 amending the financing program and authorizing the issuance of Multifamily Housing Revenue Bonds to finance and refinance a development under Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 462c and the execution of various documents in connection with the Eden Prairie Leased Housing Associates I, Limited Partnership Project(Bluffs at Nine Mile Creek). Motion carried 4-0. C. VACATION OF PART OF THE DRAINAGE AND UTLITY EASEMENT OVER LOT 15, BLOCK 1, PRAIRIE EAST THIRD ADDITION Gray said the drainage easement to the rear of this lot is unusually wide20 feet instead of ten. The property owner wants to reduce it to the standard 10 feet to allow for construction of a swimming pool. At the time of the plat, it looked like the storm sewer might go through there, but as additional lots were developed, it CITY COUNCIL MINUTES October 18, 2005 Page 4 went elsewhere. There is no public need for the wider easement so the request seems reasonable. Resident Ann Schmitz of 9791 Archer Lane, immediately south of the property, expressed concern about changes in the water flow. Her yard is the lowest in the area and puddles even in a light rain. She asked that the pool be drained to the street and that approval be granted with a requirement to change construction if the water flow changed to adversely affect her yard. Neal said the City would look into the matter before it takes action on Nov. 1. Case asked if draining the pool to the street could be a condition of the vacation of the easement. Gray clarified there are two separate issues: the easement and the pool. There are not really connected. Regarding the easement, there are actually 30 feet of easement in the corridor, 20 on this side and 10 on the other lot. For this type of soil, 20 feet is adequate. Vacating the easement should not create a drainage problem. The pool construction requires a separate permit. It would make more sense to see if a condition could attach to that. When pools are drained yearly, they are typically pumped. Gray said the impact should be minimal, similar to a light rain. Tim Olson, 9781 Archer Lane, said he had consulted the pool company and they would drain the pool into the street. He said there is a three-foot drop from the pool to the property line, so there should not be a drainage issue. MOTION: Butcher moved, seconded by Case, to continue the Public Hearing until November 1. Motion carried 4-0. VIII. PAYMENT OF CLAIMS MOTION: Butcher moved, seconded by Young, to approve Payment of Claims as submitted. The motion carried on a roll call vote with Aho, Butcher, Case, and Young voting "aye." IX. ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS X. PETITIONS, REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATIONS XI. REPORTS OF ADVISORY BOARDS & COMMISSIONS XII. APPOINTMENTS XIII. REPORTS OF OFFICERS A. REPORTS OF COUNCILMEMBERS 1. Report on Buckthorn Busting Day—Councilmember Young CITY COUNCIL MINUTES October 18, 2005 Page 5 Young shared results on Buckthorn Busting Day from organizer Jeff Strate. On October 25, 46 people, including scout troops and environmental groups, worked to clear buckthorn from Birch Island Woods. Participants took home instructions on how to clear buckthorn from their own land. Young thanked the business sponsors for their support. 2. Welcome to Students—Councilmember Butcher Butcher welcomed students to the Council meeting and explained agendas and informational brochures are available outside the door. The agendas and Council packets are available online. The city also has maps and large visuals that can be viewed in the City offices. She invited students to call or email with questions and welcomed their involvement. Case urged students to include information such as phone number, address and email address so that Councilmembers can reply. 3. Proposals for Budget Cuts—All Councilmembers Case noted Mayor Tyra-Lukens had asked all Councilmembers to bring forth ideas for Staff to pursue for budget cuts, including specific service areas. He proposed sharing these ideas tonight to allow Staff to examine the areas and prepare information for further discussion. Young expressed a goal of cutting the budget from an 8% increase to a 5% increase. Using the revenue stabilization fund might reduce the tax impact even further. He noted he had not received enough line item detail to fully specify what services to cut. He hoped to have this level of information as the process continues. However, Young did suggest the following specific savings: Outsourcing criminal prosecutions. Young supported maintaining in- house City attorneys for civil purposes and City work,but noted much of the criminal work is not terribly sophisticated and could be outsourced to save about$100,000. Eliminating in-house social services. Young supported maintaining grants to partner organizations like PROP but questioned whether the City should pick up funding for its FTE in social services, formerly funded by a grant. The County might be a more appropriate provider for those services. Young estimated savings at$50,000. Reducing the contingency fund. Young noted the budget calls for $100,000 in contingency funds,but the actual cost for the last year we have data was $10,000. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES October 18, 2005 Page 6 Reducing conference-related expenses. Young characterized these as "nice to have"but wondered what the impacts to residents would be if they were cut in half. It is hard to determine the total amount since these expenses are spread throughout the budget. Neal said he could pull together these totals and expected they would exceed $100,000. Young also expressed interest in taking a closer look at facilities, one of the big drivers of the budget that is hard to unravel due to changes in what is outsourced and what is provided in-house. He asked for a more formal presentation of how this area is being handled differently than in the past. Young also requested an explanation of increased information technology costs. He wondered what the City is doing operationally to drive these costs. Young proposed an additional meeting to discuss budget reductions. Butcher said Young presented a good analysis. The Council has talked for years about legal fees, and revisiting them is a good idea. As an educator she has concerns about micromanaging the conference piece of the budget but concurred overall with the other ideas. Aho said his ideas were similar to Young's. With the economy, he would like to see the increase at 3-5% rather than 8%. He expressed concerns about having a large budget increase at the same time as the HRA and parks referendum. Aho said he had found about$500,000 in areas he thought would not impact services. Like Young,he pointed to legal services. The City could save by using the Hennepin County process for prosecutions and diversion. Facilities maintenance, while critical, could perhaps be spread out a bit. He also supported reducing the contingency fund. Aho supported an additional meeting. Case agreed the Council should hold as many meetings as needed to handle this important issue. He said it sounds like the Council is looking for good communication on the budget. Staff believes it is near the bottom in terms of not impacting services so these details will be important. Case said he had estimated the cuts proposed tonight and thought they would reduce the increase by 1.5%. Cutting the budget is difficult and there is no silver bullet. Case also noted the City is growing. There was a 5% increase in the population last year, an incredible increase. Coupled with about a 4.6% increase in inflation, it might be reasonable to expect the City budget to go up by 9.6%. Even at the current budget, the City would be spending less per person. Case suggested implementing "green" energy use into the budget to generate savings and making that part of the City's operating mode. He also cautioned that any spending down reserves needs to be done with care so the City does not end up "double in the hole" for next year. A multiyear plan is needed. He thanked Councilmembers and especially Young for their hard work on the budget. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES October 18, 2005 Page 7 B. REPORT OF CITY MANAGER 1. City Video Neal reported the City is putting together a video to send with Superintendent Krull on the governor's China trip in the hopes of finding a strategic community partnership. The idea has garnered a lot of interest from the business community. Case said the band had brought back a video from a potential Chinese sister City and wondered if that could be a connection. Neal said he hadn't heard about that video and would check into it. C. REPORT OF THE 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 XIV. OTHER BUSINESS XV. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Butcher moved, seconded by Aho, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried 4-0. The meeting adjourned at 7:54 p.m.