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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council - 08/21/2007 APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE CITY COUNCIL MEETING TUESDAY,AUGUST 21, 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 7:05 p.m. II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE III. COUNCIL FORUM INVITATION IV. PROCLAMATIONS /PRESENTATIONS V. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND OTHER ITEMS OF BUSINESS Nelson added Item XIV.A.1. Storm-Related Issue. MOTION: Aho moved, seconded by Duckstad, to approve the agenda as published and amended. Motion carried 5-0. VI. MINUTES A. CITY COUNCIL MEETING HELD TUESDAY,AUGUST 7, 2007 Young said the name in Page 2, Paragraph 4, Sentence 2 was incorrect and should be changed to "...Joe Harris, Manager of the Anoka and Flying Cloud Airports...." MOTION: Duckstad moved, seconded by Nelson, to approve the minutes of the Council Meeting held Tuesday, August 7, 2007, as published and amended. Motion carried 5-0. VII. REPORTS OF ADVISORY BOARDS & COMMISSIONS VIII. CONSENT CALENDAR A. CLERK'S LICENSE LIST B. APPROVE FILING A DECLARATION OF RESTRICTIONS AND COVENANTS FOR A CITY-OWNED OUTLOT WITHIN THE POINTE ON LAKE RILEY DEVELOPMENT CITY COUNCIL MINUTES August 21, 2007 Page 2 C. APPROVE SUBMITTAL OF A FINAL DRAFT OF THE PHASE II NONDEGRADATION REPORT TO THE MINNESOTA POLLUTION CONTROL AGENCY FOR REVIEW AND APPROVAL, I.C. 02-5585 D. APPROVE PROPERTY DISPOSITION SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH PROPERTYROOM.COM TO MANAGE DISPOSAL OF ABANDONED, SEIZED AND OBSOLETE CITY PROPERTY E. AUTHORIZE ISSUANCE OF A GRADING PERMIT FOR A TEMPORARY MATERIAL STOCKPILE TO BAINEY GROUP FOR THE LIBERTY PLAZA PROJECT F. APPROVE PURCHASE OF ONE NEW TOP MOUNT RESCUE PUMPER (FIRE TRUCK) FROM E-ONE MANUFACTURING MOTION: Butcher moved, seconded by Aho, to approve Items A-F of the Consent Calendar. Motion carried 5-0. IX. PUBLIC HEARINGS /MEETINGS A. VACATION OF A HIGHWAY EASEMENT AND A SLOPE EASEMENT OVER PART OF LOT 16,AUDITOR'S SUBDIVISION NO. 335, VACATION 07-06 (Resolution 2007-86) Neal said official notice of this public hearing was published in the August 2, 2007, Eden Prairie Sun Current and sent to four property owners. The property owner has requested the vacation of a highway easement and a slope easement to facilitate the proposed Windsor Plaza development plan. City and MnDOT staff have reviewed the easements and concluded they have no residual public benefit. The requested vacation will remove the underlying encumbrance consisting of a highway easement and a slope easement for a portion of Lot 16, Auditor's Subdivision No. 335 to accommodate the Windsor Plaza development project. The Windsor Plaza project consists of a mixed use office,retail and restaurant uses. Dietz noted this would be considered a housekeeping item because the easements are no longer needed. There were no comments from the audience. MOTION: Aho moved, seconded by Nelson, to close the Public Hearing and to adopt Resolution 2007-86 vacating a highway easement and a slope easement over part of Lot 16, Auditor's Subdivision No. 335. Motion carried 5-0. B. VACATION OF DRAINAGE AND UTILITY EASEMENTS FOR LOTS 1 & 2,ALM EDEN HEIGHTS ADDITION, VACATION 07-07 (Resolution 2007- 87) Neal said official notice of this public hearing was published in the August 2, 2007, Eden Prairie Sun Current and sent to three property owners. The property owners have requested the vacation of the drainage and utility easements to facilitate the CITY COUNCIL MINUTES August 21, 2007 Page 3 development of the Whispering Ridge project approved by Council on April 17, 2007. The drainage and utility easements were originally dedicated with the Alm Eden Heights Addition and a separate 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. The Alm Eden Heights Addition has been replatted and new drainage and utility easements have been dedicated with the Whispering Ridge project. There were no comments from the audience. MOTION: Duckstad moved, seconded by Nelson, to close the Public Hearing and to adopt Resolution 2007-87 vacating all the drainage and utility Easements over, under and across Lot 1 and Lot 2, Block 1, Alm Eden Heights Addition and (a) certain drainage and utility easement which was filed with the Office of the Registrar of Titles, Hennepin County, State of Minnesota on December 17, 2002, as Document Number 3647453. Motion carried 5-0. C. FIRST READING OF AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CITY CODE CHAPTER 11 RELATING TO OFF-STREET PARKING SPACE REQUIREMENTS FOR RESTAURANTS, RETAIL STORES AND SHOPS Neal said official notice of this public hearing was published in the August 9, 2007, Eden Prairie Sun Current. The existing parking requirement for restaurants is one stall to three seats (1/3). The recommended parking requirements for restaurants are as follows: "Restaurant Type I"- 112.5 seats based on capacity (for example, McDonald's) "Restaurant Type 2"—113 seats based on capacity (for example, Bakers Square) "Restaurant Type 3"— 112 seats based on capacity (for example, Redstone) The existing parking requirement for retail stores and shops is 6/1,000 of Gross Floor Area (GFA). The recommended parking requirement for retail stores and shops is: "Retail Stores and Shops —511000 sq. ft. GFA" Reduced parking could provide room on sites for rainwater gardens, trails or sidewalks, public gathering spaces or public art. It could also provide room for additional development. Neal said on October 20, 2006 the staff presented a preliminary parking study to the Planning Commission that suggested potential changes to retail and restaurant parking requirements based on research involving other communities, the Urban Land Institute, the Institute of Traffic Engineers, the American Planning Association and local field observations. The data collected at that time suggested less parking for general retail at 511000 square feet and more parking for restaurant between 1 space/3 seats to 1 space/2 seats. On July 23, 2007, the Planning Commission reviewed a final parking study based on field observations during the holiday season which supported the preliminary CITY COUNCIL MINUTES August 21, 2007 Page 4 findings that parking requirements for restaurants should be based on type and general retail parking could be reduced to 511000 GFA. The Planning Commission voted 8-0 to recommend approval of the changes to retail and restaurant parking requirements. Jeremiah said we have been hearing for some time from the development community that we are over-parked with regard to our retail standards and under- parked with regard to our restaurant standards. We had the opportunity to get some inexpensive research done by a Community Development intern over the last two summers that allowed us to complete field counts and helped us determine we are out of synch with what other cities are doing. She said the change will allow more environmental amenities on the sites and will reduce the amount of impervious surfaces. There were no comments from the audience. MOTION: Butcher moved, seconded by Duckstad, to close the Public Hearing and to approve 1St Reading of an Ordinance Amending City Code Chapter 11 by adding new definitions to Section 11.02; amending parts of Section 11.03, Subd. 3, H4.e. relating to off-street parking space requirements for restaurants, retail stores and shops; and adopting by reference City Code Chapter 1 and Section 11.99 which, among other things, contains penalty provisions. Nelson said she concurs with the restaurant recommendations,but there are areas of the retail recommendation she questions, especially regarding parking during the holiday season. She asked if this means there would be more potential development at the Mall for the stores to expand or for the median areas. Jeremiah said it could lead to the opportunity for some additional development in the future if there is, for example, redevelopment at the Mall. We are cognizant of the proximity issue and would take those things into consideration for any proposal. Nelson noted that Sears parks a large number of service trucks overnight at the Mall, and she asked if such service parking would be taken into account for their parking count. Jeremiah said the spaces have to be available to the general public, so if they are used for storage or other long-term use, they would not be counted as available spaces. Butcher commended the research on this, noting it is "thinking outside the box." She thanked Ms Jeremiah and the Community Development intern for their work. VOTE ON THE MOTION: Motion carried 5-0. X. PAYMENT OF CLAIMS MOTION: Aho 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." CITY COUNCIL MINUTES August 21, 2007 Page 5 Nelson noted she asked a question at the last meeting about one particular issue and received a very logical explanation. She would like to share that explanation with the public. Neal said the item in question was for approximately $59,000 and was listed as lighting at the dog park. Staff investigated the item and found that what is printed in the accounts payable information in the Council packet is a summarized version of several bills. The item included a $57,000 monthly charge for street lighting in the total amount of $59,000. The charge of approximately $20 for lighting at the dog park happened to be the last item in the sequence and that was picked up by the software and printed in the Business Unit column of the Payment of Claims list. XI. ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS XII. PETITIONS, REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATIONS XIII. APPOINTMENTS A. CONSERVATION COMMISSION VICE CHAIR Neal said the resignation of David Seymour in June 2007 left the Conservation Commission without a Vice-Chair through March 2008. He said the nominee is Laura Jester, one of the new members on the commission. She is recommended by Chair Chacko and Staff Liaison Stovring. MOTION: Aho moved, seconded by Nelson, to appoint Laura Jester as the Vice- Chair of the Conservation Commission. Motion carried 5-0. XIV. REPORTS A. REPORTS OF COUNCIL MEMBERS 1. Storm-Related Issue—Nelson Nelson said one of the speakers during tonight's Open Podium brought up the problem of the Hidden Oaks neighborhood and one of the circles across Anderson Lakes Parkway that were particularly hard hit during the first of the three recent storms. Those areas lost hundreds of trees,but the storm damage city-wide was not enough to call an overall emergency. She said she understood we have asked Three Rivers Parks District to help remove fallen trees from their land near these residential areas. Nelson thought this brings up a larger question whether we need to add something to our Emergency Management Plan for an individual neighborhood that exceeds a certain level of destruction. She thought we need to have some standards to apply to a situation in an individual neighborhood by which we could determine if we would provide City services to that area. She thought the Emergency Management Policy staff might be able to draft a policy we could review to deal with this in future situations,but we also need to discuss whether we want to do anything specific for the people in these areas. She thought we have a bit of money in CITY COUNCIL MINUTES August 21, 2007 Page 6 the Social Services area if the family would qualify, but a number of people in this neighborhood might not qualify financially for those funds since these are fairly large homes. She thought we should be able to do something for these people. Young said he didn't know how such a policy would be drafted. He asked Mr. Neal if, under these circumstances, the City Manager would have the authority to decide to make City resources available. Neal responded that under the current policy the City Council would declare a storm emergency. As the City Manager he would have the discretion to determine if it is not a City-wide storm emergency unless and until that decision was countered by the City Council. Young said it is okay to take a look at this issue,but it is important to be careful about limiting discretion. We have an alternative possibility because we can call a special meeting of the City Council to make services available. Nelson said her understanding was the policy required a city-wide declaration and this situation was not city-wide. This particular neighborhood was hit above and beyond the rest of the City. The question is should we define a certain level of damage that would have to occur in an individual neighborhood in order to call that kind of an emergency. Young said he didn't read the policy to require a city-wide declaration. He thought we could declare a partial emergency and use resources in a specific neighborhood if we wanted to. Neal said we could do that, and noted the policy approved in 1996 was after a much larger storm. The question the City Council was debating at that time was how much work we should do on private property for private homeowners. He thought our policy is in line with several other cities, although there are some cities that chose a more liberal policy. He said there is some concern about spending public funds for use on private property. Nelson thought we are only talking about picking up debris from the curbside and not other services. She thought there needs to be a policy that sets a certain level of damage involved before individual situations would be considered. Aho said he has an issue with defining what level of response we need to take after damage occurs and he was not sure how we would determine the amount of damage that would warrant that kind of response. He thought we have to do it on a case by case basis, and we have the tools we need to do that now. He noted he drove through Hidden Oaks and most of the damage has been dealt with. There were branches and debris on the curbside, and he thought the City would have had to come through with a shredder in order to get rid of it all. He didn't know if picking it up or shredding it would help that much because the majority of the cost is in getting the tree cut down. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES August 21, 2007 Page 7 Duckstad asked if it was also a factor to consider that Eden Prairie possesses a great deal of public property and when storms like this hit, we have our hands full taking care of our own public property needs. Neal said that is true for the City and is also true for Three Rivers Parks District. We have similar responsibilities to remove fallen trees from public property and we also must scan the property to see if there are loose limbs above that need to be taken down before they drop. Butcher said she heard about the extensive damage in our parks. She asked what we do about that damage and what the overall cost associated with that is. Neal said we are still pulling that information together. A number of people started work over the weekend and began to supervise the temporary disposal site we set up. Staff will pull the information together so we can see the cost of maintaining our own property after a localized storm. Butcher thought if the City has to deal with so much damage on public property it could be overwhelming if we also help individual property owners. She heard the frustration from the residents but she wasn't sure how to deal with it except by having such a general policy. Our policy is so general that any future City Councils could weigh it against the damage that occurred. She also would not want to tie our hands. Nelson said she thought it was important to at least discuss the issue. B. REPORT OF CITY MANAGER C. REPORT OF 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 XV. OTHER BUSINESS XVI. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Duckstad moved, seconded by Aho, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried 5-0. Mayor Young adjourned the meeting at 7:35 p.m.