HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council - 03/18/2014 - Workshop APPROVED MINUTES
CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP & OPEN PODIUM
TUESDAY, MARCH 18, 2014 CITY CENTER
5:00—6:25 PM, HERITAGE ROOMS
6:30—7:00 PM, COUNCIL CHAMBER
CITY COUNCIL: Mayor Nancy Tyra-Lukens, Council Members Brad Aho, Sherry Butcher
Wickstrom, Kathy Nelson, and Ron Case
CITY STAFF: City Manager Rick Getschow, Police Chief Rob Reynolds, Fire Chief George
Esbensen, Public Works Director Robert Ellis, Community Development Director Janet Jeremiah,
Parks and Recreation Director Jay Lotthammer, Communications Manager Joyce Lorenz, City
Attorney Ric Rosow, and Recorder Lorene McWaters
Workshop - Heritage Room H
Council Member Case was absent.
I. EDEN PRAIRIE TOWN CENTER AREA CORRIDOR DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE
REPORT
Gretchen Nicholls of Twin Cities LISC presented results of the Eden Prairie Town Center
Corridor Development Initiative project. This project was a collaborative project sponsored
by the City of Eden Prairie, New American Academy and Twin Cities LISC/Corridor
Development Initiative. Funding was provided by the Metropolitan Council/HUD
Sustainable Communities Planning Grant.
The goal of the Town Center CDI process was to develop recommendations for
redevelopment surrounding the proposed Town Center LRT station. A major focus of the
project was to gather from underrepresented communities. Housing and Community Services
Manager Molly Koivumaki said that her office did a lot of outreach to people living in
apartments as well as one-on-one. She said they were somewhat disappointed that they were
unable to obtain participation from all of Eden Prairie's underrepresented groups; however,
there was high participation from the Somali community. She said New American Academy
was very helpful in tapping into the Somali community.
Nicholls said four workshops were held in July and August 2013 with a total of more than
100 participants. The first workshop focused on gather data, a block exercise was conducted
during the second workshop, the third workshop featured a developer panel, and the fourth
workshop was devoted to framing recommendations.
Recommendations for redevelopment surrounding the Town Center Station included:
• Enhancing opportunities for mixed-use and mixed-income projects
• Creating a light rail transit district or area
• Creating commercial spaces for small business entrepreneurs to build assets and job
opportunities for the local community
City Council Workshop Minutes
March 18, 2014
Page 2
Several participants provided their thoughts on the process. Asad Aliweyd from New
American Academy said this is the first time the Somali community has had a real working
relationship with the City. He noted that housing is a real issue for the Somali community,
and it will be important to have affordable housing available along the entire LRT line. He
encouraged the City Council to follow the recommendations in the report.
Ahmed Jama said the Somali community in Eden Prairie has been waiting for an all-inclusive
process. He said the Somali community in Eden Prairie has been losing members since 2003,
in part due to the lack of affordable housing. He asked the City Council to support the
proposals included in the CDI report since they would provide much needed housing for the
Somali community.
II. SWLRT UPDATE
Public Works Director Robert Ellis provided a general SWLRT update including changes to
the project since the October 15 Council Workshop. He said significant progress has been
made on the Southwest Station alignment. He said the project office has been actively
looking for ways bus and rail can productively share the site. The project office has released
a new design that Southwest Transit officials have indicated might be agreeable to them. The
new alignment moved the park and ride to the west side of the site. This would impact
Culvers but save Anchor Bank. The new plan preserves the snow storage area and provides
for two access points to the site. The plan has been shared with adjacent property owners and
received some positive comments. Aho said he still feels running the line in front of
Purgatory Park would be very ugly. The Council asked whether or not the third lane on
Prairie Center Drive would be necessary only with LRT. Ellis said the City projects the third
lane will be needed by 2030 regardless of LRT.
Ellis provided new information on the freight rail location analysis, though he noted that
details are changing daily. He said current indicators point toward the Kenilworth Corridor.
He said a new alternative involving a"tunnel under the channel" is being floated. Ellis
provided freight rail location comparisons for the Kenilworth shallow tunnels (co-location)
and MN&S North (relocation).
Open Podium - Council Chamber
II. OPEN PODIUM
III. ADJOURNMENT