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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council - 07/17/2007 APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE CITY COUNCIL MEETING TUESDAY,JULY 17, 2007 7:00 PM, CITY CENTER Council Chamber 8080 Mitchell Road CITY COUNCIL: Mayor Phil Young, Council Members Brad Aho, Sherry Butcher, Jon Duckstad and Kathy Nelson CITY STAFF: City Manager Scott Neal, Parks & Recreation Director Jay Lotthammer, Public Works Director Eugene Dietz, City Planner Michael Franzen, Community Development Director Janet Jeremiah, City Attorney Ric Rosow and Council Recorder Jan Curielli I. ROLL CALL/CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER Mayor Young called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE III. COUNCIL FORUM INVITATION IV. PROCLAMATIONS /PRESENTATIONS V. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND OTHER ITEMS OF BUSINESS Butcher added an item under XIV.A. REPORTS OF COUNCILMEMBERS. MOTION: Aho moved, seconded by Nelson, to approve the agenda as published and amended. Motion carried 5-0. VI. MINUTES A. SPECIAL AIRPORT WORKSHOP HELD MONDAY,JUNE 11, 2007 MOTION: Nelson moved, seconded by Aho, to approve the minutes of the Special Airport Workshop held Monday, June 11, 2007, as published. Motion carried 5-0. B. COUNCIL WORKSHOP HELD TUESDAY,JUNE 19, 2007 MOTION: Aho moved, seconded by Nelson, to approve the minutes of the Council Workshop held Tuesday, June 19, 2007, as published. Motion carried 5-0. C. CITY COUNCIL MEETING HELD TUESDAY,JUNE 19, 2007 MOTION: Duckstad moved, seconded by Aho, to approve the minutes of the City Council Meeting held Tuesday, June 19, 2007, as published. Motion carried 5-0. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES July 17, 2007 Page 2 VII. REPORTS OF ADVISORY BOARDS & COMMISSIONS A. CONSERVATION COMMISSION Leslie Stovring, Environmental Coordinator and Staff Liaison, introduced the Chair of the Conservation Commission, Eapen Chacko. Chacko said the Commission held their first meeting in April 2006. He reviewed the Commission's Charter, noting they have done some work on the Green Building Code and had a presentation from City staff about the 20-40-15 program. He said they have examined recycling and municipal solid waste issues and did something in the area of air pollution. He said they have struggled with the objective about promoting health for citizens by encouraging a community designed for walking, exercise and recreation, which seems to overlap with objectives for the Parks and Natural Resources Commission. They have done some things with greenhouse gas reduction and have added that item to their Work Plan. Chacko reviewed the accomplishments of the Commission which included facilitating a grant to the School District from Clean Air Minnesota/Green Fleet to retrofit buses to a clean diesel technology. The Commission has been successful in getting some of the conservation-related issues publicized in several publications. Some of the Commissioners have been active in developing relationships with local community groups such as Pax Christi and St. Andrew's Lutheran Church. The Commission supported a number of volunteer activities including the Environmental Fair, Clean Up Day, and a native landscaping seminar. They started the Commendation for Conservation program where individuals can nominate citizens or businesses in the area for commendations. Chacko said they have reviewed some of the on-going activities in Ms Stovring's area including the Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan, Goose Management Plan, Wellhead Protection Plan, and the 20-40-15 Program. The Commission contributed to the Prospect Road Alternative Analysis and Environmental Assessment Worksheet by collecting a number of varied opinions and putting them into one document that was useful in facilitating the dialogue. Chacko said the Commission will be participating in the National Change-A-Light campaign this fall and are looking for a way the City can be a sponsor. They will meet with the Chamber of Commerce to plan a workshop on Green Building and Conservation Design. They will offer a Green Lawn Care workshop in the fall as a follow-up to the native landscaping seminar. They are exploring a grant program for raingardens and shoreland restoration. They will do an educational session for Commission members on the Green Building Code. Butcher said she was very impressed with all of the things the Commission has accomplished and thanked them for their hard work. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES July 17, 2007 Page 3 VIII. CONSENT CALENDAR A. CLERK'S LICENSE LIST B. LIFE CHURCH Second Reading of Ordinance 17-2007-PUD-5-2007 for the Planned Unit Development District Review on 7.96 acres, Zoning District Amendment within the Public Zoning District on 7.96 acres, Resolution 2007-75 for the Site Plan Review on 7.96 acres. Location: 14100 Valley View Road. (Ordinance No. 17-2007-PUD-5-2007 for PUD District Review and Zoning District Amendment; Resolution No. 2007-75 for Site Plan Review) C. LARIAT CENTER—APPLEBEE'S Second Reading of Ordinance 20-2007- PUD-8-2007 for the Planned Unit Development District Review on 5.85 acres and Zoning District Amendment in the Commercial Regional Service District on 5.85 acres and Resolution 2007-76 for Site Plan Review on 5.85 acres. Location: Prairie Center Drive & Joiner Way. (Ordinance No. 20-2007-PUD-8-2007 for PUD District Review and Zoning District Amendment; Resolution No. 2007-76 for Site Plan Review) D. LARIAT CENTER III ADDITION Second Reading of Ordinance 19-2007- PUD-7-2007 for the Planned Unit Development District Review on 3.96 acres, and Zoning District Amendment within the Commercial Regional Service Zoning District on 3.96 acres, Resolution 2007-77 for Site Plan Review on 3.96 acres. Location: Prairie Center Drive & Crystal View Road. (Ordinance No. 19-2007- PUD-7-2007 for PUD District Review and Zoning District Amendment; Resolution No. 2007-77 for Site Plan Review) E. WILSON RIDGE OFFICE BUILDING Second Reading of Ordinance 18-2007- PUD-6-2007 for Planned Unit Development District Review on 6.89 acres and Zoning District Amendment in the Office Zoning District on 6.89 acres, Resolution 2007-78 for Site Plan Review on 6.89 acres Location: 7480 Flying Cloud Drive. (Ordinance No. 18-2007-PUD-6-2007 for PUD District Review and Zoning District Amendment; Resolution No. 2007-78 for Site Plan Review) F. ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 2007-79 APPROVING FINAL PLAT OF WILSON RIDGE 4TH ADDITION G. APPROVE CHANGE ORDER NO. 2 FOR HILLTOP ROAD IMPROVEMENT PROJECT, I.C. 05-5642 H. APPROVE RELEASE OF LAND FROM SPECIAL ASSESSMENT AGREEMENT AND AMENDED SPECIAL ASSESSMENT AGREEMENT (LOTS 1 AND 2, BLOCK 1 HORIZON 2ND ADDITION) I. ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 2007-80 SUPPORTING APPLICATION FOR BONDING BILL FUNDING J. DECLARE OBSOLETE COMPUTER EQUIPMENT AS SURPLUS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES July 17, 2007 Page 4 K. APPROVE 2008 & 2009 AUDIT SERVICES FROM MALLOY, MONTAGUE, KARNOWSKI, RADOSEVICH, & CO. P.A. MOTION: Duckstad moved, seconded by Aho, to approve Items A-K of the Consent Calendar. Motion carried 5-0. IX. PUBLIC HEARINGS /MEETINGS A. VACATION OF PART OF THE DRAINAGE AND UTILITY EASEMENT OVER LOT 1, BLOCK 1, REUTER (VACATION 07-01) (Resolution 2007-81) Neal said official notice of this public hearing was published in the June 28, 2007, Eden Prairie Sun Current and sent to two property owners. He said the property owner, Southwest Metro Transit,has requested the vacation of part of the drainage and utility easement to facilitate the construction of a bus garage expansion. The easement was originally dedicated in conjunction with platting of the subdivision. The lot was granted a variance allowing construction of buildings within 5 feet of the lot line,but the property has a drainage and utility easement of 10 feet along the lot line. The vacation will allow for a larger garage addition and will not result in conflicts with installed utilities. There were no comments from the audience. MOTION: Aho moved, seconded by Nelson, to close the Public Hearing; and to adopt Resolution No. 2007-81 vacating part of the drainage and utility easement over Lot 1, Block 1, Reuter Addition. Motion carried 5-0. B. VACATION OF DRAINAGE AND UTILITY EASEMENT WITHIN WHISPERING RIDGE SUBDEVELOPMENT (VACATION 07-04) (Resolution No. 2007-82) Neal said official notice of this public hearing was published in the June 28, 2007, Eden Prairie Sun Current and sent to three property owners. He said the property owners have requested the vacation of the drainage and utility easement to facilitate the development of the Whispering Ridge project approved by Council on April 17, 2007. The drainage and utility easement was originally dedicated to cover a sanitary sewer line serving an existing home. The sanitary sewer line has been removed to allow redevelopment of the lot and the existing home is being served by a new public sanitary sewer line covered by a new easement. There were no comments from the audience. MOTION: Nelson moved, seconded by Butcher, to close the Public Hearing; and to adopt Resolution 2007-82 vacating the drainage and utility easement which was filed with the County Recorder of Hennepin County, State of Minnesota on December 17, 2002 as Document Number 3647452. Motion carried 5-0. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES July 17, 2007 Page 5 X. PAYMENT OF CLAIMS MOTION: Duckstad moved, seconded by Butcher, to approve the Payment of Claims as submitted. The motion was approved on a roll call vote, with Aho, Butcher, Duckstad, Nelson and Young voting "aye." XI. ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS XII. PETITIONS, REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATIONS XIII. APPOINTMENTS A. STUDENTS ON COMMISSIONS Neal said Mike Barone, Assistant to the City Manager, manages the Students on Commission program. Mr. Barone does the marketing, education, recruitment and coordinates the selection process. He meets with the liaisons for the Boards and Commissions to review and discuss the applications, and their recommendations are before the Council tonight. Young asked if this requires separate motions or one motion. Neal replied we have had separate motions in the past. City Attorney Rosow said either was acceptable. Young said he would prefer separate motions. MOTION: Duckstad moved, seconded by Butcher, to appoint Frank Bi and Jessie Shook to the Fall class; Nicole Garbowicz and Katy Johnson to the Winter/Spring class; and Amber Meyer to both Fall &Winter/Spring classes for the Arts and Culture Commission during the 2007 —2008 calendar year for the Students on Commission program. Motion carried 5-0. MOTION: Butcher moved, seconded by Nelson, to appoint Marie Loeffelholz to the Fall class; Vallari Ajgaonkar to the Winter/Spring class, and Ann Wachutka and James Maslyn to both the Fall & Winter/Spring classes for the Conservation Commission during the 2007 —2008 calendar year for the Students on Commission program. Motion carried 5-0. MOTION: Young moved, seconded by Butcher, to appoint Megan Clark to the Fall class; Claire Lukens and Mark Muston to the Winter/Spring class; and Alexandra Shea to both the Fall & Winter/Spring classes for the Heritage Preservation Commission during the 2007 —2008 calendar year for the Students on Commission program. Motion carried 5-0. MOTION: Aho moved, seconded by Duckstad, to appoint Jacqueline Clevette to the Fall class; Laura Hoffman to the Winter/Spring class; and Nelum Madanayake and Kevin Kamer to both the Fall & Winter/Spring classes for the Human Rights and Diversity Commission during the 2007 —2008 calendar year for the Students on Commission program. Motion carried 5-0. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES July 17, 2007 Page 6 MOTION: Nelson moved, seconded by Butcher, to appoint John Ostendorf to the Fall class; Laurel Pederson to the Winter/Spring class; and Steven Shonts and Margaret Krause to both the Fall & Winter/Spring classes for the Parks, Recreation, and Natural Resources Commission during the 2007 —2008 calendar year for the Students on Commission program. Motion carried 5-0. B. CONSERVATION COMMISSION Neal said David Seymour resigned from the Conservation Commission due to changes in his work. After giving some consideration to the Council's previous deliberations on the potential appointees for this commission, staff is prepared to recommend Mr. Sean Katof be appointed to fill that vacancy. Mr. Katof has a very strong academic background and a strong interest in the subject matter. He has indicated he has the time to serve and the desire to be appointed. Young asked if there were other applicants that were not appointed during the process earlier this year. Neal said there may have been as many as three other applicants interested in the commission. Young asked if we made an effort to gauge the interest of those applicants. Neal said we were able to contact one of the three applicants. That applicant was able to come to a Commission meeting,but was not able to make a full commitment based on time. MOTION: Butcher moved, seconded by Nelson, to appoint Mr. Sean Katof to the Conservation Commission to an unexpired term that ends on March 31, 2009. Motion carried 5-0. C. COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR THE SOUTHWEST TRANSITWAY Neal said this item is to consider appointments to the Community Advisory Committee (CAC) for the Southwest LRT Transitway project. At the final Council meeting in June, staff proposed making a couple of appointments to this committee. The Council asked staff to go back and do some additional marketing and recruitment for the committee. He noted the CAC is a sub-unit of Hennepin County's Southwest LRT project. The purpose of the committee is to begin some dialogue about station design and station placement. In that regard, the County has recommended that we consider certain qualifications of persons we might want to appoint to the Commission, such as appointing persons who live in or near or have some measure of contact or control over sites where the new transit stations are planned to be. Staff has identified a number of individuals that fit the County's qualifications. Young understood they wanted the representatives to come from the possible transit locations and were not so much interested in representatives from the Council or the commissions. He asked how staff went about recommending these people and the possible stations they would relate to. Neal said the committee will be focused on the details of where the stations should be, what the station design should be, and how they should fit into the existing property. Neal reviewed the list of individuals recommended and described how they fit the criteria. He noted that CITY COUNCIL MINUTES July 17, 2007 Page 7 Councilmember Nelson indicated earlier it was her intent to be withdrawn from consideration. Nelson said she was interested in serving only if we wanted to have a Council representative on the committee. Young said he agreed having representatives close to the stations is the best so he thought the only decision left would be between the two Planning Commission members. He said his preference would be to appoint Mr. Powell because he thought Ms Koenig's term expires next year and Mr. Powell would likely have a longer tenure on the Commission. Nelson agreed with that. MOTION: Aho moved, seconded by Nelson, to approve appointment of Denny Spalla, Rick Weiblen, Stephanie Peterson, John Brill, Frank Powell, and Jill Noack as members of the Community Advisory Committee for the Southwest Transitway. Motion carried 5-0. XIV. REPORTS A. REPORTS OF COUNCIL MEMBERS 1. Butcher - Landowner on Pioneer Trail Butcher said during the Open Podium time at the last Council meeting a landowner, Mr. Sjostrand, who owns on a farm on Pioneer Trail expressed concern that his farm was earmarked to be a sediment pond due to the intention of the County to expand Pioneer Trail thereby causing his farm to not be livable. She said the owner of the farm has continued to communicate with her on the issue. She thought there was another location considered for the sediment pond in the past, so there must be some reason why this new location was identified to replace the previous one. Butcher asked if there are other possible locations for the sediment pond and if there are requirements for an Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW) on that property because of the proximity to an historic site, the large number of nearby burial sites, and as other potential environmental issues. She asked if this is an eminent domain question. Dietz said there are always choices,but it is an eminent domain type of question. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) through the State of Minnesota mandates having a water quality pond in order to build a road. The size proposed is larger than it once was so the location became more problematic. We could not condemn Metropolitan Airport Commission (MAC) property so we explored other parcels. At one time we considered park property but that is Land & Water Conservation (LAWCON) property and would require tree removal to accommodate the current size of the pond. He said there is a cost factor in looking at additional property because they are looking at something around three acres. The Sjostrand property is a little over three acres, and it is not homestead property. The property to the west of the Sjostrand property is homesteaded, and we would have to CITY COUNCIL MINUTES July 17, 2007 Page 8 acquire four-six homesteaded properties to the west compared to the size of the Sjostrand property. Staff's recommendation is that this is the best choice. Butcher asked if there would be no MAC land that could be used. Dietz replied we would have to condemn the property, and MAC would not agree to that because they do not like bodies of water on their property. Aho asked if we have asked MAC about it. Dietz said he did not know if we have asked them. There have been joint meetings with MAC and the pond needs to be adjacent to the corridor so there are limited possibilities on MAC property. Young asked if there are really any true options with regard to the MAC property. Dietz said it is not a practical solution to put the pond on MAC property. Young asked if we, the City, are condemning the property. Dietz said we are not but we will pay half the cost of the project along with the County. He said we looked at the Leuer and Moen site at the northwest corner of Flying Cloud Drive and Pioneer Trail,but that is under construction and is not a good option. It is a matter of money,practicality and location. Butcher asked the cost differential between the land being developed on the corner and the Sjostrand's property. Dietz said the assessed value of the Sjostrand property is $500,000 for the three acres. The question involved in a condemnation is the highest and best use, so he didn't know what the true value is. He noted the Leuer and Moen property was sold by the square foot, not by acres, and a 150,000 square foot facility is being built on it. Aho asked if the park property would have to be removed from LAWCON if the pond were put there on park property. Dietz said the only possible spot on the park property was the Frisbee golf location,but that would require taking a lot of oak trees in order to make it work. He said the recommendation was made only after a lot of effort from County and City staff. B. REPORT OF CITY MANAGER 1. Plans for the August 7 Council Meetin! Neal said this was a reminder to the Council and viewers that the plan for the next meeting is to meet at 5:00 PM, finish around 6:00 PM and then Council Members will attend National Night Out events. The meeting will be telecast at 5:00 PM, and there will not be a workshop. C. REPORT OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR D. REPORT OF PARKS AND RECREATION DIRECTOR E. REPORT OF PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR CITY COUNCIL MINUTES July 17, 2007 Page 9 1. Water Conservation Dietz said there are two reasons for watering restrictions: it is the environmentally responsible thing to do as stewards of a relatively modest resource; and, from a practical standpoint, it is about what we can provide our customers. Our base water use in winter months is six million gallons a day, but on some days in May we pumped 18 million gallons. He said we seem to go in nine-ten year cycles with a spike occurring every nine or ten years. Since June 8, we have been running at capacity. Dietz said the odd/even system means everyone takes a turn, and then we can manage the system. There are a number of people who are not willing to take their turn. He said we cannot meet this kind of demand. Doubling our current capacity would take about$40-50 million and that amount would be spent just to water grass. He said it is all about taking turns. He thought newer suburbs have a greater problem with this because there is no tree canopy and people have a huge investment in landscaping and irrigation systems. Dietz reviewed some common misconceptions, noting that fees, not taxes, pay for water and sewer. The City is not in control because the DNR gives us an appropriation permit that tells us how much we can pump. He said there is a common misconception that lawns will die because of not being watered for two days. About 1100 tickets have been issued, 200 of which have been rescinded for a variety of reasons. There were 186 of the total violations that were for addresses with multiple violations. Young asked if the restrictions cover the golf courses in town. Dietz said each of the golf courses has its own well. The High School and Middle School have their own wells as do some apartment complexes and businesses. Aho asked if we have enough capacity in the current plant to cover all of the future development. Dietz said the plant is designed to handle 28 million gallons per day. To reach that capacity we will have to add several wells, and those are in the Capital Improvement budget. He said the update to the Comprehensive Guide Plan will show we are anticipating the addition of about 12,000 more people and that will bring us to about 77,000 in total population. He said we have just about leveled out during the winter at six million gallons per day. He thought in the last five years results from some of our conservation techniques are becoming obvious because we have had some growth but have stayed level in use. We have a program where we give rebates to people who purchase low water use appliances. We gave out about$12,000 per year in that program for the last four or five years. He thought our conservation program is becoming responsible,but the water used for irrigation causes the problems. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES July 17, 2007 Page 10 Butcher asked about the amount of water we must keep daily for fire safety. Dietz said it is a matter of both water and pressure. He said staff will be bringing a request to the Council for a study by a consultant to evaluate our system. We need to fix some nuances in the operational process. As a rule of thumb we should probably have our average day in storage. If we had a major situation, we would go live with a requirement to shut off all the irrigation systems. Butcher thought that was one of the major reasons to have our conservation system, and people don't think about the need for pressure along with the water. Dietz thought we can do better and all it takes is obeying the rules. Nelson asked if we have considered any middle of the night restrictions similar to those during the day. Dietz said the rationale for the noon-5 PM ban is that it is the worst time to water, while 3:00 AM is considered the best time. We may have to think about doing that,but it wouldn't be the first choice because it would be very difficult to enforce. F. REPORT OF POLICE CHIEF G. REPORT OF FIRE CHIEF H. REPORT OF CITY ATTORNEY XV. OTHER BUSINESS XVI. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Aho moved, seconded by Nelson, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried 5- 0. Mayor Young adjourned the meeting at 8:35 p.m.