Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council - 10/01/2013 APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE CITY COUNCIL MEETING TUESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2013 7:00 PM, CITY CENTER Council Chamber 8080 Mitchell Road CITY COUNCIL: Mayor Nancy Tyra-Lukens, Council Members Brad Aho, Sherry Butcher Wickstrom, Ron Case, and Kathy Nelson CITY STAFF: City Manager Rick Getschow, Public Works Director Robert Ellis, Community Development Director Janet Jeremiah, Parks and Recreation Director Jay Lotthammer, Finance Director Sue Kotchevar, City Attorney Ric Rosow, and Council Recorder Jan Curielli I. ROLL CALL/CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER Acting Mayor Case called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM. Mayor Tyra-Lukens was absent. II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE III. OPEN PODIUM INVITATION IV. PROCLAMATIONS/PRESENTATIONS V. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND OTHER ITEMS OF BUSINESS Getschow added Item VIILF. to the Consent Calendar. Case added Item XIV.B.1. MOTION: Aho moved, seconded by Nelson, to approve the agenda as amended. Motion carried 4-0. VI. MINUTES A. COUNCIL WORKSHOP HELD TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2013 MOTION: Nelson moved, seconded by Butcher Wickstrom, to approve the minutes of the Council workshop held Tuesday, September 17, 2013, as published. Motion carried 4-0. B. CITY COUNCIL MEETING HELD TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2013 MOTION: Aho moved, seconded by Butcher Wickstrom, to approve the minutes of the City Council meeting held Tuesday, September 17, 2013, as published. Motion carried 4-0. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES October 1, 2013 Page 2 VII. REPORTS OF ADVISORY BOARDS & COMMISSIONS VIII. CONSENT CALENDAR A. CLERK'S LICENSE LIST B. ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 2013-85 DECLARING PROPERTY ABANDONED C. APPROVE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH BARR ENGINEERING COMPANY FOR RIVERVIEW ROAD CULVERT REPLACEMENT PROJECT D. APPROVE GRANT AWARD FROM RILEY-PURGATORY-BLUFF CREEK WATERSHED DISTRICT FOR RILEY CREEK STABILIZATION PROJECT E. AUTHORIZE STAFF TO SUBMIT WINTER TRAIL ACTIVITIES PERMIT APPLICATION TO THREE RIVERS PARK DISTRICT FOR THE 2013-2014 WINTER SEASON USE OF THE LRT TRAIL F. APPROVE AGREEMENT WITH HENNEPIN COUNTY FOR ACCESS TO CAD DATA MOTION: Nelson moved, seconded by Butcher Wickstrom, to approve Items A-F of the Consent Calendar. Motion carried 4-0. IX. PUBLIC HEARINGS/MEETINGS A. HOUSING IMPROVEMENT AREA FOR FAIRWAY WOODS II CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION Getschow said this is a public hearing for a Housing Improvement Area (HIA) for the Fairway Woods 11 Condominium Association. At a later date, staff will return with an ordinance related to this HIA. He noted Housing Improvement Areas are a new program in the City. Molly Koivumaki, Housing and Human Services Manager, reviewed the program for HIAs, noting the program was presented last fall at a Council workshop on Economic Development. The purpose of the program is to help keep viable housing stock in the community. The program is very specific in how it operates, so there is not a lot of room to modify it. The HIA is a tool that designates a homeowners association area that needs financial assistance to keep the structures viable. The homeowners association has to prove that they would not be able to make the improvements if they did not receive the assistance, and the improvements have to be done in areas that are common to the whole association. She reviewed the operation of the program, noting the City provides the resources for the improvements and is then repaid with property taxes, generally over a period of 15 years. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES October 1, 2013 Page 3 Case asked if the reason they don't use the association fees to fund the improvements is because they are not able to go out to get the financing. Koivumaki said they have to show the City they wouldn't have the reserves necessary and the improvements would require a very large assessment. They must prove that they tried to get loans for the improvements. Case then asked if the City acts as a kind of pass-through. Koivumaki replied that was correct. Staff will come back with the ordinance that will specify the financial information. Case asked if a public hearing is necessary because it is an assessment process. Koivumaki said that was correct. There were no comments from the audience. MOTION: Aho moved, seconded by Butcher Wickstrom, to close the public hearing. Case said he understood we are just holding the public hearing tonight and staff will bring back the financial information later. He asked if all of the residents of an association must be in favor of it or if it can be an action by the association leadership. Getschow replied the leadership requests the HIA. He noted the Council would vote on each project on its own merits. VOTE ON THE MOTION: Motion carried 4-0. B. UNITED HEALTH GROUP 2013 AMENDMENT by United Health Services, Inc. Request for Planned Unit Development Concept Review on 71 acres, Planned Unit District Review on 71 acres, Zoning District Amendment within the Office Zoning District on 71 acres and Preliminary Plat of 71 acres into 3 lots and 8 outlots. Location: 11155 62"'St W. (Resolution No. 2013-86 for PUD Concept Review, Ordinance for PUD District Review and Zoning District Amendment, Resolution No. 2013-87 for Preliminary Plat) Case said he is employed at United Health Group (UHG) and recused himself from the discussion and vote. He turned the meeting over to Council Member Butcher Wickstrom and left the Council Chamber. Getschow said this project is back for some revisions to their plan. There are three main elements to the request for revision: replat the property for mortgage purposes which requires waivers related to setbacks and floor area ratio; waivers to amend the approved sign plan for additional signs and change the location and size of the wall signs; a minor waiver for the landscaping and tree replacement requirements. Dave Pelner, representing UHG, addressed the proposal. He said they have been advancing the design of the project, are nearing completion of Phase 1, and will be occupying the first two buildings in February 2014. They are looking at some slight refinements in the project. Miles Lindberg, representing Westwood Professional Services, reviewed the PUD and plat changes proposed, the waivers requested and the landscaping changes. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES October 1, 2013 Page 4 Bill Blanski, HGA Architects, reviewed the five sites for changes modifications to the approved signage plan. Nelson asked about the size of the previously-approved wall sign. Mr. Blanski said there were two wall signs approved at 200 square feet each, or 400 square feet total. Nelson asked if they are requesting two signs at 500 square feet each. Mr. Blanski replied they are. Nelson asked about the size of the biggest sign we have approved in the City. Aho noted this is a 15-story building with the sign near the top, and there are no other structures in the City of that height. He thought it may not be applicable to compare other signs in the City. Nelson said approving the request says we are willing to go to this size sign in the future. We have let people combine signs to allow for a bigger sign,but this goes from 400 square feet to 1000 square feet and is precedent setting. She believed this is worth some additional thought. Jeremiah said we don't have exact sizes of variances we have approved, but this is fairly commensurate with other approved variances. The total signage package includes 574 square feet of additional signage. She noted we have approved variances for taller buildings that are viewed from nearby highways. There were no comments from the audience. MOTION: Aho moved, seconded by Nelson, to close the public hearing; to adopt Resolution No. 2013-86 for Planned Unit Development Concept Review on 71 acres; to approve 1 st reading of the ordinance for Planned Unit Development District Review with waivers, and Zoning Amendment in the Office Zoning District on 7lacres; to adopt Resolution No. 2013-87 for Preliminary Plat on 71 acres into 3 lots; and to direct staff to prepare a development agreement incorporating staff and commission recommendations and Council conditions. Rosow said the summary plat identifies an LRT way, and we are obtaining through the development agreement the dedication of the LRT line at that location. We need to have some further conversations about how this works, and that should be one of the conditions of approval of the preliminary plat should be to have the City resolve the issue regarding dedication of the LRT line. He noted the legal description attached to the ordinance and resolution are inaccurate and will need to be changed to those attached to the new plat. AMENDMENT TO THE MOTION: Aho moved, seconded by Nelson, to include as conditions that the issue regarding dedication of the LRT line be successfully resolved and that the legal description be changed to those included in the new plat. Motion carried 3-0. VOTE ON THE MOTION AS AMENDED: Motion carried 3-0. Acting Mayor Case returned to the Council Chamber and resumed the Chair. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES October 1, 2013 Page 5 X. PAYMENT OF CLAIMS MOTION: Nelson moved, seconded by Aho, to approve the payment of claims as submitted. Motion was approved on a roll call vote, with Aho, Butcher Wickstrom, Nelson, and Case voting "aye." XI. ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS XII. PETITIONS, REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATIONS XIII. APPOINTMENTS XIV. REPORTS A. REPORTS OF COUNCIL MEMBERS B. REPORT OF CITY MANAGER 1. Impact of Federal Government Shutdown on Eden Prairie Getschow said there should not be much of a direct effect on the City of Eden Prairie. We receive very little federal aid nor do we have programs currently operating in the City that rely on federal funding or that are operated by the federal government. Depending on the length of the shutdown, there are some concerns with the CDBG program where we use federal dollars to fund our housing redevelopment loans and first-time home buyers'programs. There should be no effect on City services. Staff will continue to monitor the situation, and there are organizations such as the National League of Cities that provide information to track the issues. Case asked if there are any concerns with the Flying Cloud Airport and the FAA. Getschow said he will follow up on that question. C. REPORT OF THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR D. REPORT OF PARKS AND RECREATION DIRECTOR E. REPORT OF PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR F. REPORT OF POLICE CHIEF G. REPORT OF FIRE CHIEF 1. Duty Crew Update Fire Chief Esbensen gave a PowerPoint update of the fire duty crew. He noted the duty crew was started on October 1, 2012. He reviewed the implementation of the duty crew and their statistics for the last 12 months. He said the duty CITY COUNCIL MINUTES October 1, 2013 Page 6 crew allows for more flexibility. Case said it feels as though this program has worked out. Esbensen said the families of the firefighters are very happy with it, and it has helped with recruiting. Case said these are the results we had hoped for with the program and noted the additional financial commitment was a small amount to pay for the safety it brings. Nelson said she was very happy the duty crew helps the firefighters' family lives, and that is important for retention purposes. 2. Building Department Activity Report Esbensen said the hail storm in August had a big impact on the Building Department in a number of ways. Thus far they have issued over 1500 permits to reroof houses, and they estimate 3300 homes have roofs damaged by the storm. He noted 1000 of the roofing permits were issued under the e- permit system. Homeowners and small contractors appreciate the e-permit system because they don't have to make a trip to City Hall for the permit. Esbensen said the large number of permits has also had an effect on the revenue received from permit fees. We are at almost$2,100,000 in building permit revenue. Case asked what amount was expected. Getschow said $1,700,000 was in the budget, with $2,000,000 budgeted for the next two years. Getschow noted we have a long term plan to smooth out revenue over time. We have tried to hire contractors and part-time workers to take care of the work load. Case said this reminds him of the situation in the late 1990's when we had extra revenue and started the Budget Stabilization Fund. He suggested we have more conversations about how we will use the extra permit revenue. H. REPORT OF CITY ATTORNEY XV. OTHER BUSINESS XVI. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Butcher Wickstrom moved, seconded by Nelson, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried 4-0. Acting Mayor Case adjourned the meeting at 7:54 PM.