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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council - 11/13/2007 APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE CITY COUNCIL MEETING TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 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 7:03 PM. Council Member Butcher was absent. II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE III. COUNCIL FORUM INVITATION IV. PROCLAMATIONS /PRESENTATIONS A. RILEY-PURGATORY-BLUFF CREEK WATERSHED DISTRICT PRESENTATION Michael Cassanova, President of the Riley Purgatory Bluff Creek (RPBC) Watershed District Board of Commissioners,presented the City with a check for $184,529 to participate in the cost of constructing a stormwater detention basin adjacent to the new Community Center as part of the overall Round Lake water quality improvement project. He said they are a citizen-led organization that has a legislative mandate to preserve and protect the water in the district with the power to levy taxes. He reviewed the projects the RPBC Watershed District has completed in the past. They are currently working on three major projects in Eden Prairie: a $1,600,000 project on Mitchell Lake to remove invasive species and control phosphates; a$410,000 project for the Lake Riley Outlet project; and a first of its kind fish barrier and invasive species project to control carp in Lakes Riley, Susan and Rice Marsh. Young thanked Mr. Cassanova for the check and said the RPBC Watershed District is a great partner with the City. B. RECOGNITION OF NEW CERT VOLUNTEERS Fire Captains Kip Springer, Tony Liddell and Ray Carlson recognized 11 individuals who are new members of the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). They reviewed the history of the CERT program which is nationally CITY COUNCIL MINUTES November 13, 2007 Page 2 promoted by the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) and was designed to train volunteers in disaster survivor and rescue skills. There are now 92 CERT members, and their goal is to reach 100. Mayor Young presented certificates to the new volunteers and thanked them for their service in the CERT program. C. PRESENTATION OF FIREMARK AWARD IN HONOR OF FORMER FIRE CHIEF RAY MITCHELL Bob Ing, representing Liberty Mutual, presented the Firemark Award to the family of former Fire Chief Ray Mitchell. He said Liberty Mutual gives the Firemark Award to firefighters in communities across the country. He noted Eden Prairie has a very good Fire Department that was started through the efforts of Chief Mitchell. D. MRS. MINNESOTA BANNER PRESENTATION Donnell Rank, reigning Mrs. Minnesota International, introduced Wendy Russo who will represent Eden Prairie in the Mrs. Minnesota International competition in March. She noted the pageant emphasizes family, marriage and community service and each participant promotes non-profit or community service work. Mayor Young presented Mrs. Russo with a banner and officially recognized her as Mrs. Eden Prairie International. E. PROCLAMATION RECOGNIZING EDEN PRAIRIE RESIDENT ADRIAN PETERSON FOR ESTABLISHING A NEW NFL SINGLE GAME RUSHING RECORD Young recognized Eden Prairie resident Adrian Peterson for establishing a new NFL single game rushing record. He noted Eden Prairie is proud to be the corporate home of the Minnesota Vikings. V. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND OTHER ITEMS OF BUSINESS Neal noted Council Member Butcher was not able to attend tonight's meeting because of a death in the family. Council Member Aho added Item XIV.A.2. MOTION: Duckstad moved, seconded by Nelson, to approve the agenda as amended. Motion carried 4-0. VI. MINUTES A. COUNCIL WORKSHOP HELD TUESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2007 MOTION: Aho moved, seconded by Duckstad, to approve the minutes of the Council Workshop held Tuesday, October 16, 2007, as published. Motion carried 4-0. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES November 13, 2007 Page 3 B. CITY COUNCIL MEETING HELD TUESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2007 Aho said Page 9 of the minutes should be changed to reflect the correct vote on the motion, as follows: "VOTE ON THE MOTION: Motion carried 4-0-1 with Young opposed." MOTION: Nelson moved, seconded by Aho, to approve the minutes of the Council Meeting held Tuesday, October 16, 2007, as amended. Motion carried 4- 0. C. COUNCIL WORKSHOP HELD TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2007 MOTION: Duckstad moved, seconded by Nelson, to approve the minutes of the Council Workshop held Tuesday, October 30, 2007, as published. Motion carried 4-0. VII. REPORTS OF ADVISORY BOARDS & COMMISSIONS A. PLANNING COMMISSION Jon Stoltz, Vice Chair of the Planning Commission, reviewed the Commission's current activities. He said they are completing work on the Guide Plan update and the final draft will be available in early January 2008. They are also completing work on the Town Center design guidelines and those will also be completed in late December or early January 2008. They are involved in Active Community Planning in cooperation with Blue Cross/Blue Shield and the University of Minnesota and in project review. Mayor Young thanked him for his presentation. VIII. CONSENT CALENDAR A. CLERK'S LICENSE LIST B. ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 2007-113 APPROVING FINAL PLAT OF LIBERTY PLAZA C. PRESBYTERIAN HOMES EDEN PRAIRIE REDEVELOPMENT ENVIRONMENTAL WORKSHEET REVIEW (EAW) (Resolution No. 2007- 114) D. APPROVE CHANGE ORDER NO. 1 FOR RECONSTRUCTION OF VALLEY VIEW ROAD, I.C. 02-5586 E. APPROVE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH SEH FOR DESIGN OF FLYING CLOUD DRIVE IMPROVEMENTS, I.C. 07-5708 CITY COUNCIL MINUTES November 13, 2007 Page 4 F. ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 2007-115 APPROVING PARTICIPATION OF THE HENNEPIN COUNTY HOUSING AUTHORITY IN AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROJECT G. APPROVE PURCHASE OF NETAPP SAN AND VMWARE HARDWARE, SOFTWARE,AND SERVICES FROM MOCHADATA H. ACCEPT TERMS OF SERVICE WITH US BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR CREDIT CARD PROCESSING SERVICES MOTION: Duckstad moved, seconded by Aho, to approve Items A-H on the Consent Calendar. Motion carried 4-0. IX. PUBLIC HEARINGS /MEETINGS A. HEARING FOR 2007 SPECIAL ASSESSMENTS (Resolution No. 2007-116) Neal said official notice of this public hearing was published in the October 25, 2007, Eden Prairie Sun Current and sent to 38 property owners. Each year the City Council holds a public hearing to consider levying the Special Assessments that have been identified over the previous 12 months. This year the Council will address a list of projects and supplemental assessments for such things as trunk utility assessments, lateral utility assessments and connection fees. The total amount proposed to be assessed in 2007 is $936,488.23. Al Gray, City Engineer,reviewed the list of assessments, noting the primary project was I.C. 05-5642 for the Hilltop Road utility assessments and the remaining six properties on Crestwood Terrace whose trunk and lateral utility assessments were excluded for a period of five years. He said the remainder of the list is for trunk assessments and for tallgrass cutting and tree removal. There were no comments from the audience. MOTION: Nelson moved, seconded by Duckstad, to close the public hearing for the approval of the 2007 Special Assessments; and to adopt Resolution 2007-116 approving all Special Assessments presented in the fall of 2007. Motion carried 4- 0. B. VACATION OF DRAINAGE AND UTILITY EASEMENT OVER LOTS 1 THROUGH 3, BLOCK 1, THE POINT ON LAKE RILEY, VACATION 07- 09 Neal said official notice of this public hearing was published in the October 25, 2007, Eden Prairie Sun Current and sent to 8 property owners. He said the property owners have requested the vacation of all the drainage and utility easements to facilitate the development of The Point on Lake Riley-Leu project. Prior to adopting the resolution vacating the easements, the CITY COUNCIL MINUTES November 13, 2007 Page 5 development agreement must be approved by Council. The resolution for this vacation will be presented for approval at a future Council meeting. The drainage and utility easements were originally dedicated with The Point on Lake Riley Addition. The lots will be replatted and new drainage and utility easements will be dedicated with The Point on Lake Riley-Leu project. Young asked if this item is for the public hearing only. Neal said that was correct. There were no comments from the audience. MOTION: Duckstad moved, seconded by Nelson to close the public hearing. Motion carried 4-0. C. VACATION OF DRAINAGE AND UTILITY EASEMENT OVER LOTS 8 THROUGH 11, BLOCK 4, TIMBER LAKES, VACATION 07-10 (Resolution No. 2007-117) Neal said official notice of this public hearing was published in the October 25, 2007, Eden Prairie Sun Current and sent to 11 property owners. He said the property owners have requested the vacation of all the drainage and utility easements to facilitate replatting of the lots to Timber Lakes 2nd Addition. The drainage and utility easements were originally dedicated with the Timber Lakes plat. The lots have been replatted to correct easement encroachment of the existing homes. New drainage and utility easements have been dedicated with the Timber Lakes 2nd Addition project. Rosow said final plat on this was approved by the City Council but has not been submitted to the City for final approval and release. He said this resolution should be subject to the filing of the final plat and that the notice of completion not be filed until the final plat is filed. There were no comments from the audience. MOTION: Duckstad moved, seconded by Nelson, to close the public hearing and to adopt Resolution No. 2007-117 vacating all of the drainage and utility easements lying over, under and across Lots 8 through 11 inclusive, Block 4, Timber Lakes, according to the recorded plat thereof, Hennepin County, Minnesota, subject to the filing of the final plat and that the notice of completion of proceedings not be filed until the plat is filed. Motion carried 4-0. D. RESOLUTION REGULATING FEES AND CHARGES FOR BUSINESS LICENSES, PERMITS AND MUNICIPAL SERVICES (LIQUOR LICENSE FEES) (Resolution No. 2007-118) Neal said official notice of this public hearing was published in the October 11, 2007, Eden Prairie Sun Current. He said the Council adopts the fee resolution each December for the fees that will be charged and collected the CITY COUNCIL MINUTES November 13, 2007 Page 6 following year. Because liquor license renewals are sent out before the fee resolution is approved, it is necessary to update the fee resolution now. Staff has compared the fees the City charges to comparable cities,has taken into consideration that liquor related fees have not changed since November 2003 and recommends the following increases: 3.2 Beer Annual License Fee - On-Sale from$750.00 to $800.00 3.2 Beer Annual License Fee - Off-Sale from$150.00 to $175.00 Liquor Annual License Fee— On-Sale from$8,500.00 to $8,750.00 3.2 Beer, Wine, Liquor Investigation Fee for New Managers - from$25.00 to $50.00 Neal said these fees will provide a more reasonable reimbursement of City costs. In 2007, the City issued the following licenses: 3.2 beer On-Sale licenses —3 3.2 beer Off-Sale licenses — 8 Liquor On-Sale licenses —27 Neal said Police Chief Reynolds is available for questions. There were no comments from the audience. MOTION: Aho moved, seconded by Duckstad, to close the Public Hearing and to adopt Resolution 2007-118 amending Resolution No. 2006-136, Regulating Fees and Charges for Business Licenses, Permits and Municipal Services. Motion carried 4-0. E. PRESBYTERIAN HOMES EDEN PRAIRIE REDEVELOPMENT Request for: Guide Plan Change from High Density Residential and Regional Commercial to High Density Residential and Community Commercial on 21.3 acres, Planned Unit Development Concept Review on 21.3 acres, Planned Unit Development District Review with waivers on 21.3 acres, Zoning District Change from RM-2.5, RM-6.5 and Commercial Regional Service to RM-2.5 and Community Commercial on 21.3 acres, Site Plan Review on 21.3 acres, Preliminary Plat of 21.3 acres into five lots and road right-of-way. Location: Southwest of Prairie Center Drive, east of Columbine Road & west of Highway 212. (Resolution No. 2007-119 for Guide Plan Change; Resolution No. 2007-120 for PUD Concept Review; Ordinance for PUD District Review with waivers and Zoning District Change; Resolution No. 2007-121 for Preliminary Plat) Neal said official notice of this public hearing was published in the November 1, 2007, Eden Prairie Sun Current and sent to 815 property owners. This project is the redevelopment of the Broadmoor Apartments, Castle Ridge Care Center and two vacant sites. The overall Planned Unit Development includes 707 housing units and 70,000 square feet of retail and restaurant uses to be constructed in three phases between 2008 and 2012. The buildings consist of: CITY COUNCIL MINUTES November 13, 2007 Page 7 • 260 units of all age housing in a tiered 9-13 story building. • 372 units of senior housing in a tiered 9-13 story building which includes: 60 units of skilled nursing, 27 units of memory care, 75 units of assisted living, and 210 units of independent living. • Mixed use retail of 21,000 sq. ft. first floor with 75 senior housing units in three stories above. • 20,000 sq. ft. of retail • 12,000 sq. ft. of restaurant • 13,000 sq. ft. pharmacy • 4,000 sq. ft. bank Neal said the developer has committed to providing 20% of the housing units (141 units) as affordable senior housing units. The Comprehensive Guide Plan and the Major Center Area(MCA) Study are guiding documents for the existing and future use of land. Since both documents guide the future uses supported by policies it allows the market place to be creative and gives the City the flexibility to accept proposals that are not an identical match but accomplish important land use, housing, and development goals. The plan as proposed has less housing and more commercial than the MCA Plan and some of the buildings are taller than envisioned, however the plan does accomplish many desirable things: • Consistency with the intent of the MCA Study for Sub area 4. • Provides for the continued need of senior related housing. • Additional mixed use retail, shops and restaurants complement the housing, support surrounding retail, and complete a significant commercial corner of the MCA. • Pedestrian friendly linkages between housing and retail services. • Use of shared parking for the mixed use and retail. • Reduced parking requirements for the senior housing. • Transition of building heights from single-story retail, four-story mixed use, and the high-rise housing elements provide scale and interest. • Significant views of the Purgatory Creek Recreation Area from the proposed housing element. Neal said the plan requires waivers for height, density, setbacks, parking, and exterior materials in the RM-2.5 and Community Commercial zoning districts as part of the PUD. The waivers are consistent with the planning principles of the MCA Study for taller buildings, higher densities, shared parking,pedestrian interest, and pedestrian systems. In the October 5, 2007 staff report the recommendation regarding Cash Park Fee was inadvertently omitted. The project will be subject to the Cash Park Fee. The 120-Day Review Period Expires on December 14, 2007. Neal said the Planning Commission voted 6-1-1 to recommend approval of the project at the October 8, 2007 meeting. This was based on coordinating the traffic circle with the neighboring property to the south and revising the plans as follows: CITY COUNCIL MINUTES November 13, 2007 Page 8 • Greater horizontal relief/shadows of all elevations, especially at the corners. • Incorporate front door architecture on all sides of the buildings. Tower elements should be added to the corners of each retail buildings. • Reduce the percentage of EFIS on each retail building to no more than 25%. • Public art/sculptures in the public gathering spaces. • Brick pavers for all plazas in front of the retail buildings and public gathering areas. • Use of natural stone for seating walls. • Benches and planter bowls in front of all retail buildings. • Hanging baskets on all plazas and gathering areas. • More decorative fencing. • Large planting beds of perennials and annuals. • Decorative lighting on all plazas and gathering areas and on all sides of the retail and mixed use buildings Neal noted the plans have been revised according to the Planning Commission recommendations. These revisions will be incorporated into the overall proposal as part of the Exhibit B plans. Jeremiah clarified there are over 300 existing housing units on the site, so we are actually talking about 400 additional units. She noted the overall density and the traffic is lower than what was envisioned by the MCA study. She said waivers are necessary because we have not yet updated our comprehensive plan and our zoning. As discussed at a Council workshop, the project originally came in with a uniform ten story height for the senior and market rate buildings;however, staff felt the buildings looked bulkier without the tiering and recommended they be allowed to go up to 13 stories in certain areas as long as they brought down the height in other areas in order to provide visual variety. That also made it possible to get more site amenities. John Mehrkens, representing Presbyterian Homes, distributed copies of the presentation given to the Planning Commission last month and said he would give an abbreviated version of that presentation to the Council. He reviewed the history of Presbyterian Homes, noting they are a not-for-profit organization that has grown rapidly over the last five years. He said the site currently holds the Broadmoor, the Castle Ridge Care Center and two undeveloped parcels. The plans include senior housing in two buildings, the senior tower and the affordable housing over the retail center. The senior housing will include 210 units of independent living, 75 affordable housing units, and 75 units of assisted living as well as 260 units of conventional housing. There will be retail and restaurant facilities in six separated buildings. Angie Garcia, 8500 Franlo Road, said she did not like a 10-13-story building on that property, and she was disappointed that our community is becoming another Edina with these high-rise buildings. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES November 13, 2007 Page 9 Steve Caruso, 8500 Franlo Road, said he thought the Presbyterian Homes proposal is a good one and should be built somewhere in the City,but he didn't think this location is appropriate. He was concerned they are exceeding the height code, and the code will need to be revised for these buildings. He thought 400 additional units in that area will make the already difficult traffic situation worse and will adversely affect the air quality. While it is close to shopping, it is not readily accessible to the people that will be living there because they will still need transportation across Prairie Center Drive. He was concerned about the concentration of elderly housing in this area because there are currently three assisted living facilities there. He was also concerned that there will be two levels of parking below ground, and he did not think you could build parking below ground because of the lake. Glen Gault said he owned one of the condominiums in Broadmoor and asked if all the existing buildings will be demolished. Mehrkens said they will be over time. Mr. Gault then asked if the conventional housing units will be condominium units sold at retail. Mehrkens replied they could be condominiums or luxury rental units. He noted that is the latest phase of the project, so they are hoping the market will have recovered by then. Mr. Gault asked about the schedule for demolition. Mehrkens said the first phase is the CVS Pharmacy at Columbine and Prairie Center Drive and that would not require demolition. The second phase would be the Senior Housing component which would require a portion of the Broadmoor to be razed for that. He noted the census turnover at the Broadmoor is 50% per year, which will allow them to accommodate everyone in the building. Sue Stock, 7202 Topview Road, said she served as Chair of the Task Force for the Purgatory Creek Recreation Area. Her concern was the task force talked about what we were trying to develop there for the environment, and she was opposed to the height and the mass of the project. The Flagship Athletic Club is four stories high and this project is three times taller. She thought it will detract from what we wanted to create in the park area, and it is not consistent with development in Eden Prairie. Don Uram, 13600 Carmody Drive, said he gave a Powerpoint presentation at the Planning Commission meeting to give the scale of the existing buildings. He said he lives directly across the Purgatory Creek area from the project. He was not opposed to the project but he had two issues, the height and the landscaping. He said his biggest concern about the height is that it should be in perspective with adjacent properties, and there are no plans for additional redevelopment in this area for years. In addition, the project requires significant variances. He said the MCA recommended buildings of 7-10 stories. He has looked at the project since April and hasn't seen any arguments that justify the increase in height from 10 to 13 stories. He was not sure this project accomplishes anything that a 7-10 story building wouldn't accomplish. Regarding landscaping, he noted there are about 2000 caliper inches of plant material that will not be able to be planted on the project. He walks the trail a lot, and the trail corridor along Columbine Drive in this location is pretty bleak. He asked the Council to consider continuing the project and asking the developer to work with the Park & Recreation Department to make that section of the corridor more pedestrian friendly and to return with a plan that CITY COUNCIL MINUTES November 13, 2007 Page 10 shows the same configuration in a 7-10 story height. He thought that would give everyone an opportunity to compare the two building heights. Matt Mueller, 8673 Grier Lane, said he lives in the Eden Lake neighborhood. He said the increased traffic there in the past few years has created challenges for the neighborhood, and the project would double the number of housing units. He said this project gives the City a skyline, and that skyline will be in the backyard of the Eden Lake neighborhood, therefore he did not support the project. Basil Wissner, 8293 Mitchell Road, asked if the Police and Fire Departments signed off on the plan and, if so, will there be additional equipment that will be needed in the future because he didn't know if we have any fire trucks that have extensions to go up 13 stories. Fire Chief Esbensen said they don't have anything that will go up 13 floors, but the building will be fully sprinkled. The Fire Department was completely satisfied with a fully sprinkled building and have reviewed the plans for this. MOTION: Nelson moved, seconded by Duckstad, to close the public hearing. Motion carried 4-0. Nelson asked if the plans have been reviewed to make sure the extra units of senior housing will not adversely affect the Police and Fire Departments' response time for health issues. Neal said both the Police and Fire Departments have reviewed the project and have given comments and concerns through the Planning Commission recommendation. Young asked if any additional Police and Fire staff will be needed. Neal said there will not. Nelson asked what specific kinds of community art are being proposed for this project. Mehrkens said he did not know specifically, but they have agreed to have areas in the design dedicated to community art. He said they will likely work with the City as well as consultants for commissioned pieces that are permanent, consistent with the design and appropriate. Nelson said she noted there will be one waterfall wall and asked if there are any additional fountains planned. Mehrkens said they have a waterfall in one location and there is a cascading fountain at the corner of Prairie Center Drive and Flying Cloud Drive. There will be a cauldron located within the traffic circle. Nelson said she noted there are quite a number of benches and seating walls towards Prairie Center Drive and asked why there aren't any next to Columbine because that would be a natural place along the lake side of the building. Mehrkens said one of the design elements we incorporated in the project is separating the urban side of the building from the more natural areas on the Purgatory Creek side. He said they would be comfortable with adding benches to that side of the building. Nelson thought that would make a difference and would provide a walkability factor. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES November 13, 2007 Page 11 Nelson asked how they will make sure there isn't a flooding situation in the underground parking near the lake. Mehrkens said there is a reasonable topography on the site, and they have been able to step the building in ways to keep the garage space well above the water table. They have created entries at various levels with no internal ramping necessary. Nelson then asked if they considered the 100-year storm factor in that. Mehrkens said it is a traditional component of their buildings to have the appropriate drainage. Nelson asked how the plant material is being handled because there doesn't seem to be enough space to put the caliper inches back. Jeremiah said staff has accepted landscaping in kind as much as possible on site,but they could take another look before the final plat. She said they are looking at taking some of the amenities such as the waterfall and public art in lieu of trees. The proponent is spending about $1,000,000 for additional amenities to replace about$300,000 of trees. Nelson noted this is obviously a key corner of Eden Prairie, and it will become a significant piece of our landmark. She asked if we have amenities that will make it adequately special for balancing out the height, and can we guarantee that all the art and amenities will happen. Jeremiah said the amenity package is extremely high for this site, and the tradeoff of additional height has concentrated the buildings in a smaller area and allowed for additional amenities on the site. Staff had foreseen up to about 1200 units total on this site, so this is a substantially reduced density. In addition there are straighter connections through the area, so there will be shared civic spaces and greater walkability overall. Nelson asked if the first phase includes the corner of Flying Cloud Drive and Prairie Center Drive. Jeremiah said the first phase is the corner of Columbine and Prairie Center Drive where the CVS pharmacy would be. Nelson asked which one is next. Mehrkens said the second phase will be built in two phases. Phase A is the Senior Housing component, and when that is completed they will be able to relocate current residents of the Care Center. Nelson asked when that will be completed. Mehrkens said probably 2009-2010 will be the start of the tower building, and that would take about 15-17 months to construct. Nelson asked if any of the real amenities will go in with the first phase of the 13-story building. Mehrkens said all amenities associated with this end of the site will go in with Phase 2A, and all amenities associated with the retail component would be part of Phase 2B. He said the last phase is the all-age housing. Nelson said she was concerned about not getting enough of the special pieces in at the time the 13-story building is built, and she would want to make sure some of those happen as the 13- story building goes up. Mehrkens said they are marketing the community and want to have as many amenities incorporated into the design when they are put on the site. Neal noted the Guide Plan change and the approval of the rezoning are actions that require a 2/3 approval of the entire Council, so all four Council Members present would need to vote for approval tonight due to Council Member Butcher's absence. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES November 13, 2007 Page 12 Young asked Ms Jeremiah to address the concept of height and scale as well as some of the comments made by Mr. Uram. He asked staff's position on how this building fits into the neighborhood, and how we know that a 7-10 story building would not work economically. Jeremiah said the MCA study looked at only two areas that would have substantial height. This is one of them, and the other was to the north near Lake Idlewild. The reason for the choices was to be close to open space and to be distant from low density residential. We looked at the highest density redevelopment occurring in this area. We hear about how landmarks help wayfinding, so the height is somewhat intentional but is limited to this area. Staff did see a plan that limited the height to 10-stories; however, staff believed the buildings appeared more massive in scale by having a uniform 10 story height, but that was a subjective judgment. She said it is possible to go back to ten story height and meet the specific objectives of the MCA plan,but that would mean this would have to be deferred until the December meeting. Young asked why the option is this plan or the older plan with 10-story buildings, and why there couldn't be tiered buildings that are shorter. Jeremiah said redevelopment is extremely expensive as is structured parking. Some of the current buildings are falling short of the market needs, and we have had serious issues keeping up with the current market. We could go even lower and cover more of the site, but then we would lose amenities. Staff is comfortable with the plan,having looked at the initial economics, and they will look at that more closely with the Tax Increment Financing (TIF) proposal. Young asked what we have seen to date as far as projections. Jeremiah said this has been through several iterations and was put on hold so she didn't remember exactly what we reviewed. We have not negotiated a TIF proposal at this time and that is yet to be done. In regard to the specific pro forma, Mehrkens said there is extreme cost to do redevelopment, and there are a number of challenges on the site. He said the original 10-story development would have had the same unit count and mix but a different configuration. He said the idea of a tiered building and more open space was a direction the design team favored and staff encouraged. He was not sure whether the site could get to the same place with shorter buildings,but that would require more and shorter buildings that would cover areas now devoted to amenities. Regarding the tax increment financing, he said they expect to have a long discussion about the economics of development and what support is going to be necessary to bring an affordable component to the site, so the more they can do on the design side to limit the burden on the tax increment the better for them and for the City. Young said, if he accepts the height,he would want staff to be sure that this particular height and unit count is necessary to make the project work. Because it has been some time since she reviewed the specifics of the alternatives, Jeremiah said she was uncomfortable making such an absolute assurance today. She suggested making a condition of final approval that they provide additional financial information prior to final approval, or the project could be continued to early December. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES November 13, 2007 Page 13 Aho thought the height and the traffic are the most dominant concerns, and it sounds like we have looked at the traffic aspect of the project in terms of the MCA study when we say this is actually a lower density than we had planned. He asked if we have done traffic studies supporting that decision-making process and if we have that data. Jeremiah said an Environmental Assessment Worksheet was done with a full traffic study as part of that. It proved the traffic will be lower than that envisioned by the MCA study. Regarding the height, Aho thought it is tough to visualize what it will look like and he thought some different views would be helpful. One of the things we are missing is a visual from some of the other areas, such as from Eden Prairie Center or from the Eden Lake neighborhood, so that residents of those neighborhoods could see what it would look like. He thought such visuals would be helpful both to the Council and to the residents. Mehrkens said they have the perspectives included in the package but they have not looked at those two specific areas. They did a shadow study on the project as a whole with the neighboring properties within a 350 foot perimeter of the buildings and those impacts were negligible. He said they could provide such visuals,but it would be difficult to do those from every area of the City. Aho said it is hard to tell the impact from the pictures across the lake and it would be beneficial to have a view from Eden Prairie Center or from the neighborhood side. In terms of the height,his question was already asked by Mayor Young, that is, what were the drivers for the economics. Duckstad said the data provided says, in part, that there will be 372 units of senior housing in a tiered 9-13 story building and asked if the seniors will be in one of the high rise facilities. Mehrkens replied two locations are planned for seniors, the high rise facility and the one above the retail center. Duckstad asked if the two buildings together will have a total of 372 units. Mehrkens said the 372 includes the 75 units in the affordable housing. Duckstad asked if they may be sacrificing safety with that size of building and that many seniors in one location. Mehrkens said it is exactly the opposite. They are continuum-care providers for all ages and needs of seniors, and a number of their communities are as large as 600 units. When the seniors can be concentrated into one facility, they are more likely to have services available to intervene when necessary thus providing additional safety for those individuals. Duckstad said his concern was evacuating the residents in case of fire when there are large numbers in one location. Mehrkens said he would defer to the Fire Marshall on concerns of fire safety,but this is a non-combustible construction and is fully sprinkled so, from a code perspective, it is a safe building for the residents. Duckstad asked if they are part of Presbyterian Homes nationally. Mehrkens said their communities are in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa,but there are other Presbyterian Homes around the country that operate under separate charter. Duckstad asked if this will be their largest project. Mehrkens said it will be one of the largest. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES November 13, 2007 Page 14 Duckstad thought it is possible to see this project as somewhat unwieldy because of the sheer mass of people in the small area, and he asked how they get around the unwieldiness of operating such a large project. Mehrkens said the MCA plan for this property encouraged residential density in this area and designated 1200 units for the property. They have come in well below that figure and have added a commercial component. Seniors travel at non-peak times, so they have a lower impact on peak traffic times than would other types of usage. Neal said it was earlier this year at our joint session with the Planning Commission when the Council was fairly forward with encouraging them to consider height and bulk in the MCA. We had some idea this project might be on the way and encouraged the Planning Commission to be open to that. This project is a redevelopment project, and those projects are really our future. Even if we don't have the pro forma tonight, the economics are tricky. The staff and Planning Commission analyses of the project said what they were proposing was reasonable. This is a $200,000,000 investment in our community, and many communities would chase such a project,but we don't have to chase them. He said staff advice would be to give them the go-ahead to make the investment. Young said he recalled the joint meeting and was supportive of the concept then as he is today. The height is not an obstacle to him,but he just wanted to be sure staff is sufficiently comfortable with the economics so that we are approving no more than necessary in terms of height. Neal said we don't have the pro forma here tonight but we have had considerable discussion on it, and he thought we can give a reasonable assurance given the level of investment from them and a reasonable concession from us. Nelson asked if the senior units over the stores have elevators and if there are community rooms and activity spaces in the main buildings. Mehrkens said there are community rooms in both buildings. The smaller building will have a smaller venue for those types of activities,but the larger building will welcome residents from across the street to use amenities such as the pool and the fitness center. Nelson then asked why they are doing a stand-alone drugstore as Phase 1 rather than incorporating it into the other corner with mixed use. Mehrkens said there is a stepping of the building, and there is a co-developer for that component of the site. CVS came to the co-developer as a tenant, and they have designed the building to fit into the architecture of the rest of the site. MOTION: Aho moved, seconded by Duckstad, to adopt Resolution No. 2007-119 for Guide Plan Change from High Density Residential and Regional Commercial Service to High Density Residential and Community Commercial on 21.3 acres, to adopt Resolution No. 2007-120 for Planned Unit Development Concept Review on 21.3 acres, to approve 1 st Reading of the Ordinance for Planned Unit Development District Review with waivers, and Zoning District Change from RM-2.5, RM-6.5 and Commercial Regional Service to RM-2.5 and Community Commercial on 21.3 acres, to adopt Resolution No. 2007-121 for Preliminary Plat on 21.3 acres into five lots and road right-of-way, and to direct Staff to prepare a Development Agreement incorporating Staff and Commission recommendations and Council conditions. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES November 13, 2007 Page 15 Motion carried 4-0. X. PAYMENT OF CLAIMS MOTION: Duckstad moved, seconded by Aho, 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 A. REQUEST TO LOCATE EDEN PRAIRIE LIONS CLUB MEMORIAL IN ROUND LAKE PARK Lotthammer said staff was recently approached by members of the Eden Prairie Lions Club with a request to locate the Lions Club Memorial within Round Lake Park. Previously, the memorial was located on the southeast corner of Valley View and Eden Prairie Road. When the road was upgraded and widened, the memorial was removed due to lack of space and proper set-backs. In addition to many other donations to parks and programs, the Lions contributed to the funding and construction of the pavilion at Round Lake Park. Round Lake Park is also the location where the Lions Club conducts the Corn Feed and Schooner Days events. The area that is being proposed to locate the memorial is near the picnic pavilion and would tie-in with the previous contributions from the Lions Club. The Lions Club will fund the relocation and any ongoing maintenance or improvements to the site. Members of the Lions Club attended the September 4, 2007, Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources Commission meeting to review the request. The Parks Commission voted unanimously to recommend the City Council accept the request. Mike Gust, 7280 Prairie View Drive, said the club needs the Council's help to find a place for the memorial. The Lions Club has been in Eden Prairie since January of 1961, and they are asking for the Council's help to move the memorial to Round Lake Park. Duckstad disclosed he is a member of the Lions Club and would abstain from voting if there was a conflict of interest on his part. Rosow said he did not believe that situation would represent a conflict. MOTION: Duckstad moved, seconded by Nelson, to support the request from the Eden Prairie Lions Club and to authorize staff to enter into an agreement with the Lions Club to locate the Lions Club Memorial within Round Lake Park. Motion carried 4-0. Aho said he really appreciates all their contributions and the work the Lions Club does here in the city, and he was thrilled to have them there at Round Lake Park. XIII. APPOINTMENTS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES November 13, 2007 Page 16 XIV. REPORTS A. REPORTS OF COUNCIL MEMBERS 1. Resolution No. 2007-122 in Support of Funding for His!hway 212 Nelson said the Southwest Corridor Transportation Commission has asked all cities along the US Highway 212 corridor to adopt the resolution in support of funding for improvements to the highway. She noted it doesn't directly affect Eden Prairie, but the other cities did support us when we were getting this through and she recommended we support it. MOTION: Nelson moved, seconded by Duckstad, to adopt Resolution No. 2007-122 in support of funding for Highway 212. Motion carried 4-0. 2. Council Member Aho— Comments Regarding the lease for the Smith-Douglas-More house discussed at the last meeting, he said he had further discussion with some members of the community to determine if they were close to making a decision about taking over the property from the City and managing it. He said it sounds as though that decision is quite a ways off, so he would like to bring the lease topic back before the Council to have another discussion about the length of the lease. Young asked if he was requesting that item be put on the agenda at the next meeting. Aho said that was correct. Nelson asked if the lease has already been signed. Rosow said his office has drafted the lease and sent it to Mr. Lindahl,but he didn't know if Mr. Lindahl has passed it on to the proposed tenant. Aho asked if we could find out the status of the lease. Rosow said it would be difficult to pull it back if the tenant has signed the lease,but we can inquire and have Mr. Lindahl pull it back tomorrow and say we need to consider further matters at the Council table. Nelson said she has problems putting this off for a month until we meet again because a year is a short lease to begin with. She was not sure anything has changed in the status, and we gave them an opportunity to turn things around in the next year. She didn't see any reason to revisit what we have already done. Young thought Mr. Aho is just asking for the item to be put on the Council agenda. Nelson said that will put off the lease being redone for another month and puts the community back into questioning what is happening to this facility. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES November 13, 2007 Page 17 Young said procedurally he was not sure we can say no to the request. Nelson then asked if Mr. Aho wanted to reconsider the lease. Aho said he wanted to look at the lease period and talk about the options that we have available. Nelson said then that would be a vote to reconsider. Rosow said in order to fully maintain the options, the request would be to reconsider the prior action and withdraw any offer to enter into a one-year lease, subject to further consideration by the Council. Young said he thought a process has begun and if it has been transmitted to them and they have signed it, then it is done. He didn't want to go any further tonight than to honor Mr. Aho's request to put it on the agenda and inquire of Mr. Lindahl whether it has already been delivered. Nelson said she objected to reconsidering this. B. REPORT OF CITY MANAGER 1. Consulting Firm for the City's 20-40-15 Enemy Initiative Neal said this item is the award of a contract to the firm staff believes is in the best position to assist the City with the 20-40-15 initiative. He said an interdepartmental committee of City staff interviewed six consulting firms, reviewed proposals, checked references and toured plants before recommending the firm McKinstry. He introduced Tom Laufenberg, Regional Manager of McKinstry. Laufenberg said Minnesota has specific legislation that allows city governments to implement energy efficiency projects and allows the savings from those projects to be used to make the payments. He said they look forward to helping develop a master plan for the City and ultimately providing some measurement verification specifications and bringing some of the funding for the program. He said there are rebate programs that help pay for some engineering consulting costs up front and some that would help with implementation on the back side. Aho asked if they provide only the consulting side or do they also provide products and services. Laufenberg said they do not provide any products, but they do put a plan together up front and then would want to be in the engineering and construction management of implementation on the back side. They do annual measurement to be sure the savings are realized. Aho asked if the cost of all the services they would provide would be more than offset by the savings the City would get. Laufenberg said the statute requires it have no more than a 15-year payback time, and those savings would be energy related but there also would be operations and maintenance cost savings. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES November 13, 2007 Page 18 Nelson asked for examples of the kinds of things they would do and how much closer this will get us to 20-40-15. Laufenberg said they will propose new lighting technology and temperature control systems. There are more innovative technologies such as solar walls, thermal solar operations and geothermal possibilities for energy savings. He said they also help to increase public awareness, and they try to get the local schools involved. Nelson asked if they look at wind energy. Laufenberg said they would bring back the information to look at. There are a number of different scenarios they will provide data on. Young said he had an opportunity to meet with Mr. Laufenberg at the U.S. Mayors' Conference two weeks ago which McKinstry co-sponsored, so this speaks to their qualifications. Duckstad asked Mr. Laufenberg to explain how long they have been involved in this kind of work and for what entities they have worked. Laufenberg said they have been in this work for over 50 years and have over 1500 employees, of which more than 100 are licensed engineers. They have a major city project in Seattle, a project to get off the grid at the University of Minnesota, Morris campus, and the St. Anthony/New Brighton School District. Duckstad asked what measurements of savings they use to determine if they have succeeded in saving. Laufenberg said the federal government has guidelines for federal energy service projects, and most state governments use those guidelines. He said they would use those guidelines for their on- going evaluation. They try to keep it as straight forward as possible, and measurement verification provides cities with a clear and concise way to measure performance towards goals. MOTION: Nelson moved, seconded by Aho, to approve McKinstry as the Consulting firm to assist the City in its 20/40/15 energy initiative. Motion carried 4-0. 2. Town Hall Meeting on November 27 Neal said the Town Hall meeting will be held on Tuesday, November 27, at 7:00 PM in Fire Station 4. The same format will be used as in previous years. 3. Upcoming 2007 Workshops Neal said Monday, December 3, is the Joint Meeting with the Chamber of Commerce and Tuesday, December 18 is the Joint Meeting with the Planning Commission. He said he is starting to do planning for the Council workshops and meetings for 2008 and will bring that schedule for Council approval on December 3. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES November 13, 2007 Page 19 4. MLC Legislative Agenda Neal said he is serving on the subcommittee this year, and he will be circulating the draft legislative agenda to Council Members on Friday. He asked Council Members to look at that and let him know if there are concerns or preferences. 5. Planning for 2008 Council Planning Retreat Neal said Staff is working on the retreat for early in 2008 to make sure Staff knows what the general direction of the Council is on a few important items. He asked Council Members to look at their January schedules to see what days are possible for the retreat. C. REPORT OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR 1. Windsor Plaza Update Jeremiah said this is an update on Town Center Phase 1 activity at the northwest quadrant of Flying Cloud Drive and Regional Center Road. Three old buildings have been demolished to make way for the new Windsor Plaza mixed use retail, office and restaurant development. There will be site grading next week with completion in the fall of 2008. She said leasing is going very well, with a major office tenant already taking about 80%. She said the final leases and revelation of who the businesses are is awaiting streetscape cost estimates so the leases can be completed. She said they are calling a special City Council meeting Thursday, November 15 at 5:00 PM to take a quick action with regard to the Windsor Plaza redevelopment to resolve a technicality. The Planning Commission will make their finding tomorrow and the special meeting on Thursday will allow the project to move forward. Aho asked if it will be held in the Council Chamber. Neal said it will be in the Council Chamber and minutes will be taken,but it will not be on live television. 2. 2008 and 2009 Appropriations for Outsourced Human Services Contracts Neal said this item is to approve funding recommendations made by the Human Services Review Committee for social service providers for 2008 and 2009. He noted the Council talked about this at the last Council meeting and he suggested then the Council try to reach a decision this evening. It is part of our budget and the Council does not have to reach a final conclusion until December 181h,but several agencies are waiting and hope to hear from the Council on this matter. In other budget years we have been able to wrap up this part of the budget early. There are a group of employees that serve as the Human Services Review Committee interdepartmental group that CITY COUNCIL MINUTES November 13, 2007 Page 20 receives the grant applications, scores them, and makes recommendations. He said the process this year was very similar to that used in previous years. Jeremiah said we did talk about this at the last meeting. The Human Services Review Committee is recommending full funding of the agency requests for 2008 and 2009, and that is within the parameters of the 2007 budget except this year they are recommending that Cornerstone go back to the Police Department budget because that is a standard police need. The actual budget for service agencies has been reduced from the past, and the required allocation for 2008 for full funding is $160,280 and for 2009 is $161,007. The difference in the two years is due to the increase for the Hennepin South Services Committee (HSSC). Young said Mr. Neal and he met this morning with the Superintendent of Schools and the School Board Chair to discuss the issues of overlap, and those issues were resolved to his satisfaction. He said he is supporting the staff recommendations and is convinced that these services are part of community initiatives and are not matters that would belong to the School District budget. Nelson said she concurred that these are all worthy of funding and do provide important services to the City. Duckstad said the numerous reports Ms Jeremiah prepared were very helpful. He thought all of the programs that are at issue for consideration are good programs and all should continue. His concern is that the City of Eden Prairie has to come to grips with the fact that we have a limited amount of dollars. We started the year with a referendum for$6,600,000 for a Community Center that may grow close to $18,500,000, not including start up costs. In addition to that kind of expenditure the property taxpayers here in Eden Prairie not only support our City government but also support the Hennepin County government. He said 33% of their property taxes go to Hennepin County, and Hennepin County has a huge budget, one-third of which is devoted to Human Services deliveries. He thought the citizens of Eden Prairie deserve some acknowledgment that they make a great payment at some sacrifice to do their job in supporting these programs. After reviewing all the material there is some duplication in services and the problem may be not having access to services. He felt the City of Eden Prairie ought to step aside and permit the faith-based institutions and service organizations to step forward and fund these programs. He was not in favor of fully funding all the programs except for Meals on Wheels and PROP. He thought a 50% reduction was in order for the first year with the hope there is a transition to community-based volunteers to pick up the slack. Young agreed the taxpayers do pay a lot of tax to Hennepin County and the County's focus clearly is on the City of Minneapolis. He did not think our residents get value for the County taxes we pay. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES November 13, 2007 Page 21 Neal noted the Community Center project is not$18,500,000,but rather is about$14,600,000, including trails,ball fields and the building. The funding recommended by Staff is a zero increase. If you look at the tax information we saw at the October 30 workshop and these numbers are incorporated into the budget proposal, a Median Single Family Home (MSFH) will have an increase in taxes this year that is below the cost of inflation. Most of these programs are in front of the Council tonight because there is not community-based support from churches or private organizations to provide support for them. We frequently hear from that sector of the community that they do not have the resources to take on new obligations. Aho said he agreed with some of the sentiments in terms of looking for private partnerships with some of these projects. He believed it would be in our best interest to fund these,but to continue to solicit the County to help participate and bring these to the county level. He thought we should ask the County to see if they would help with these because we aren't getting the participation from them we should get. Neal said that concern has arisen before. We have contacted both Commissioners Koblick and Johnson officially and requested a joint meeting with them. Commissioner Johnson's office said they have their own budget session late this week and some time after that would be willing to discuss the equity issue and what their resources are. Aho said he thought that would be appropriate. MOTION: Nelson moved, seconded by Aho, to approve funding recommendations made by the Human Services Review Committee for social services providers for 2008 and 2009. Motion carried 3-0-1, with Duckstad opposed. 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: Aho moved, seconded by Duckstad, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried 4-0. Mayor Young adjourned the meeting at 9:50 PM.