Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council - 10/21/2014 - Workshop APPROVED MINUTES JOINT CITY COUNCIL/PLANNING COMMISSION WORKSHOP & OPEN PODIUM TUESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 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 PLANNING COMMISSION MEMBERS: John Kirk, Jon Stoltz, Travis Wuttke, Steven Frank, Ann Higgins, Mary Egan, Charles Weber, Andrew Pieper 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—5:30 p.m. I. SET DATE FOR CANVASS OF ELECTION Getschow said the City Council tentatively set the date for the canvass of the election for 5:00 p.m., November 10. He asked which Council Members are available to meet at that time. Mayor Tyra-Lukens said she cannot attend because she will be out of town. Council Members Aho, Nelson and Butcher Wickstrom said they can attend. Council Member Case said he might be available,but will not be certain until next week. Since a quorum of members is available, the canvass will be held as originally proposed on November 10 at 5:00 p.m. Getschow said the date should formally be set at the regular Council Meeting later tonight. II. DESIGN STANDARDS Consultant Emily Osthus led a discussion about design standards. She said the current standards discussion does not include residential development,but any standards the City Council sets for commercial buildings can be extrapolated to residential development. Osthus presented photographs of buildings, most in Eden Prairie, that incorporate a variety of architectural forms, materials and colors. Buildings are categorized by industrial, office, retail, restaurant, strip centers. Signs identifying the buildings were removed from the photos so the focus would be on form and materials rather than the owner or tenant. Osthus said one question the Council may want to discuss is the level of detail they want to require for industrial buildings. Are windows enough? Or are there other elements they would like to see? City Council Workshop Minutes October 21, 2014 Page 2 Case asked if it is really necessary to go down this road. He said projects that have been submitted so far seem okay. He said it perhaps the market can be counted on to do projects the right way. Jeremiah said if requirements are not adopted, she believes the Council will eventually be presented with a project they do not want. Case asked if standards really are definable. Of the examples of industrial buildings, Nelson said she likes the differentiation of brick colors/types. She said there should be room between the building and the parking lot for green space. Butcher Wickstrom said she does not like the look of flat-front buildings. She prefers more interesting dimensions. She said diversity can also be achieved through the use of different materials. Aho said flat-front buildings can be attractive if a variety of materials is used. He said he does not think articulation over doorways is necessary. Green space makes a big difference in the perception of a building's attractiveness. Jeremiah said fewer requirements for industrial buildings makes sense. She said she is hearing the City Council Members say they want buildings that provide visual interest, while maintaining flexibility in design. Frank said it would be helpful to the Planning Commission to have minimum design guidelines by which to evaluate development proposals. For small-scale office buildings, Tyra-Lukens likes pitched roofs but does not like one particular example that she felt was too minimalistic. Case said pitched roofs on office buildings make sense if they are near residential areas. He would like to require developers to be sensitive to the surroundings when designing buildings. Nelson said it is important to look at function . Some buildings will need to be two or three stories, depending on use. Butcher Wickstrom did not like the box-like building example. Jeremiah noted that there is nothing in City requirements that prevents box-type design. Aho asked how you define minimum standards. He said much of what is or is not acceptable is in the eye of the beholder. Higgins said she would like to see requirements that relate to context—to what is already there. Egan noted that some of the examples considered less visually appealing cost less to build. She asked if it is fair to have requirements that add costs to projects. Tyra-Lukens said it is not unusual to have such requirements, and in fact, the City already has some standards that drive costs. Jeremiah suggested getting feedback from the development community on proposed standards. Having parameters up front reduces costly back and forth negotiating. She said staff also recommends treating building rehabs and restorations differently. Frank said Eden Prairie has an economic vibrancy that is evidenced in our current development. He believes certain architectural elements promote that feeling. There were differing opinions about the large-scale office examples. One of the buildings was noted as an example of a flat-front structure that successfully incorporated visual interest with windows and materials. Of the retail examples, Nelson said she liked the ones with fagade articulation. Osthus said she is hearing the Council say they like elements that provide differentiation. City Council Workshop Minutes October 21, 2014 Page 3 For strip centers, Tyra-Lukens said she liked the example that incorporates curvature, height and angles. Nelson said she also liked that example because it includes an outdoor seating area. She likes that it takes the comfort of visitors into consideration. Aho asked how it is possible to set aside personal preferences when creating standards that apply to the whole community. Frank suggested choosing five outstanding buildings that incorporate the features the City would like to see in future developments. Nelson said for office buildings, she would like to see signs of prosperity that indicate they will be around for a long time. She would like to see texture, colors and materials that look like they will stand up over time. Case thinks there should be flexibility in the types of materials allowed. Jeremiah said staff highly recommends the use of color impregnated materials rather than surface painting. She also asked the Council to consider if they want to impose any kind of threshold for color? Tyra-Lukens said guidelines for color are important. She feels one accent color is acceptable. Butcher Wickstrom said use of multiple colors works if they are in the same family. Jeremiah asked the Council if they want to stay more big picture, or if they would like staff to bring back a draft ordinance with suggested standards. Case asked staff to provide examples of ordinances from other cities for the Council to review. Tyra-Lukens said she would like the standards to include items like setbacks on roads that may be widened in the future as well as bike racks. Council Chambers —6:30 p.m. II. OPEN PODIUM A. RILEY PURGATORY BLUFF CREEK WATERSHED DISTRICT RULES 1. John Tyler—Tyler said he is a member of the Southwest Metro Lakes Coalition. He said there are still questions regarding the Riley Purgatory Bluff Creek Watershed's rule-making authority versus the City's municipal lakeshore rules. He said there appears to be a conflict in interpretations of state statutes. He said he believes watersheds have rule- making authority,but only in the absence of city ordinances. He noted that three different watershed districts cover different areas of the City, and it is illogical to have different rules for each watershed. He said the watershed district board intends to vote on its proposed rules on November 5 despite the City's request that they delay the vote. He requested that the City send a more strongly worded letter to the district, hold public hearings on the proposed rules, and obtain a detailed response from the City Attorney. He said the watershed district should also conduct a gap analysis. He said the watershed has functioned for seven years without rules, and he challenged them to provide any instances in which this has been detrimental. He concluded by saying, "Why rules?Why now?" 2. Jeff Strate— Strate noted that Birch Island Lake was completely dry in 1991,but as of last week the lake was the highest he has seen it in 21 City Council Workshop Minutes October 21, 2014 Page 4 years. He said the turnaround is the result of the watershed district, citizens, the City Council and public works finding a way to make it work. Regarding the proposed Riley Purgatory Bluff Creek Watershed District rules, he said this is just the beginning of a lengthy approval process. The proposed rules will be submitted to BOWSER, at which time the public will be given another opportunity to weigh in. He commends members of the Southwest Metro Lakes Coalition for being involved and showing up to express their concerns. He noted that the watershed district has agreed to change the proposed rules on lake buffers. Strate said lake buffers enhance wildlife on the shore and in the water. He urged the City Council to take the long view regarding the proposed rules. He said when groomed grass grows all the way to the lakeshore,pollution is the result. He urged all lakeshore property owners to voluntarily put in buffers. III. ADJOURNMENT