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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council - 12/01/2015 APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE CITY COUNCIL MEETING TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2015 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. CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER Mayor Tyra-Lukens called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM. All Council Members were present. II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE III. OPEN PODIUM INVITATION IV. PROCLAMATIONS/PRESENTATIONS A. SPIRIT OF EDEN PRAIRIE AWARDS Getschow said this is a new award for Eden Prairie. The Council has been talking about building more of a sense of community, and one concept that came out of those discussions was to recognize property owners in Eden Prairie who have made an effort to enhance the exterior of their properties, add sustainability features, or increase accessibility for all residents. Alysen Nesse, Community Development, said the awards recognize three categories: Single Family Residential, Multi-Family Residential, and Industrial/Commercial. The award period was opened for three months over the summer of 2015. In the fall, staff met with three volunteers from City commissions to judge the submitted nominations. She reviewed the award process and the enhancements completed by the three winners. Mayor Tyra-Lukens presented the Single-Family Residential award to Arnold and Jane Rohe and the Multi-Family Residential award to The Preserve Association. Nesse noted that Tom and Arlene Howden also received an award in the Multi-Family Residential category,but they were not able to be present tonight. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES December 1, 2015 Page 2 V. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND OTHER ITEMS OF BUSINESS MOTION: Butcher Wickstrom moved, seconded by Aho, to approve the agenda as published. Motion carried 5-0. VI. MINUTES A. COUNCIL WORKSHOP HELD TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2015 MOTION: Case moved, seconded by Aho, to approve the minutes of the Council workshop held Tuesday, November 17, 2015, as published. Motion carried 5-0. B. CITY COUNCIL MEETING HELD TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2015 MOTION: Aho moved, seconded by Nelson, to approve the minutes of the City Council meeting held Tuesday, November 17, 2015, as published. Motion carried 5-0. VII. REPORTS OF ADVISORY BOARDS & COMMISSIONS VIII. CONSENT CALENDAR A. CLERK'S LICENSE LIST B. EDEN PRAIRIE PLAZA (SALON CONCEPTS) by SCEPRE, LLC. Second Reading of Ordinance No. 19-2015-PUD-8-2015 for Planned Unit District Review with waivers on 3.03 acres; Zoning District Review in the Commercial Regional Service Zoning District on 3.03 acres and Site Plan Review on 3.03 acres. Location: 8040 Glen Lane. (Ordinance No.19-2015-PUD-8-2015 for PUD District Review and Zoning District Review; Resolution No. 2015-113 for Site Plan Review) C. APPROVE SECOND READING OF ORDINANCE NO. 20-2015 FOR DESIGNATION OF THE DORENKEMPER HOUSE AS A HERITAGE SITE D. APPROVE QUOTE FROM WORKS COMPUTING TO UPGRADE CITY HALL COMPUTER SERVERS E. APPROVE QUOTE FROM LOGIS FOR PURCHASE AND IMPLEMENTATION OF CITY CENTER COMPUTER SWITCHES F. AWARD CONTRACTS FOR WATER TREATMENT CHEMICALS FOR 2016 G. AWARD BID FOR LIME RESIDUALS HAULING AND DISPOSAL TO REHBEIN AG SERVICES CITY COUNCIL MINUTES December 1, 2015 Page 3 H. APPROVE CHANGE ORDER NO. 1 FOR BAKER ROAD RESERVOIR RECOATING PROJECT (IMPROVEMENT PROJECT NO. 14702) I. APPROVE TOWING SERVICES AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF EDEN PRAIRIE AND MATT'S AUTO SERVICE MOTION: Butcher Wickstrom moved, seconded by Case, to approve Items A-I on the Consent Calendar. Motion carried 5-0. IX. PUBLIC HEARINGS/MEETINGS A. EDEN PRAIRIE CENTER LANDSCAPING IMPROVEMENTS by Eden Prairie Center. Request for Planned Unit Development District Review on 35.32 acres. Location: 8251 Flying Cloud Drive. (Ordinance for PUD District Review) Getschow said this project is for landscaping improvements at key entrances to Eden Prairie Center. The proponent is seeking to improve aesthetics and refresh the landscaping throughout with selective removal of trees that are dead, diseased or in poor condition and to allow for better views at the entrances. The proposed landscape plan also proposes to provide a natural looking landscape that adds color and seasonal interest at key entrances to the mall by constructing landscape beds that include prairie grasses and native and pollinator species. The applicant asserts that the improvements will improve security, sight lines and visibility while maintaining screening of the parking lots. He said the Planning Commission voted 5-0 to recommend approval of the project at the November 9, 2015 meeting. Erica Christianson, representing LHB Architects, reviewed the project and noted they are focusing the improvements on the two entries on the west side and the one on the north side of the mall. They plan to remove over 50 trees as part of the project, including ash trees and some older pines. Tyra-Lukens expressed concern about the number of trees being removed. Ms Christianson said there are 100 trees in the focus area, and they are working with the City Forester on a replacement plan. She noted they are meeting the tree replacement requirement. Tyra-Lukens was also concerned about the pollinator- friendly material they plan to use because she could not find any of their planned plantings on the University of Minnesota's list of pollinator-friendly plantings. Ms Christianson reviewed the plants proposed and noted they plan to have a balance of cultivated and native species, including the native aster and a non- native sedum which are pollinator species. In addition, they plan to include some basswood tree varieties that are considered pollinator friendly. Tyra-Lukens noted there seem to be discrepancies in the planting schedule document regarding the total trees planned to be planted in the three areas. Ms Christianson said some of the trees planned cannot count towards tree CITY COUNCIL MINUTES December 1, 2015 Page 4 replacement because they are considered ornamental. Tyra-Lukens expressed concern about the overall reduction in screening and asked how many conifers will be put back in. Ms Christianson explained the majority of the coniferous trees will be around the Target wall in order to screen the loading dock wall. Tyra- Lukens commented she was more concerned about the reduction in screening of the parking lot. Nelson noted it was great they are replacing the ash trees with more permanent trees. She was concerned that a number of the plantings are in the same color palette and asked if there will be flowering shrubs. Ms Christianson said they are using a wild rose shrub and a diablo ninebark. Two varieties of sumac that have some color will be planted in two different locations. Nelson noted she liked the idea of adding flowers into the plantings. She was concerned that native grasses can easily overwhelm the flowering species. She asked if there will be on-going maintenance to keep the grasses in check. Ms Christianson said they currently have some ornamental grasses along with shrubs, and maintenance of those has been going well. They plan to put the main splash of color at the entries. Case said he liked the beautification part of the project and asked if some of the trees could be trimmed rather than removed. He would like to err on the side of not taking trees unless they are ill. He would also like the mall to be viewed from highways as beautiful and beckoning and was concerned about why so many trees need to be taken out rather than incorporated into the new landscaping. The trees have been growing there for 35 years,but they plan to take out many of the healthy trees. There were no comments from the audience. MOTION: Butcher Wickstrom moved, seconded by Nelson, to close the public hearing. Motion carried 5-0. Case said he was not comfortable voting on this project and asked if staff could review and tweak the plans to address some of the Council's concerns about tree loss. Getschow replied staff could continue to work with the applicant. The Council could choose to continue the item for a future first reading and direct staff to continue to work with the applicant on the project, or the Council could ask for conditions upon approval of first reading to come back at second reading. Butcher Wickstrom liked a lot of the changes especially the addition of color. She commented it looks like a commercial center, which is what it is. She suggested there may be a balance where we remove the sick trees but keep some that are more strategic. Tyra-Lukens said it is difficult to improve on the amenities at the mall; however, she would have expected a landscape improvement plan to have increased screening of the parking areas on the west side. The west side of the mall does not have berms, and there is not a lot of vegetation. She was glad to see the addition of color in the plantings but it is important those be well maintained. She thought CITY COUNCIL MINUTES December 1, 2015 Page 5 they could enhance pedestrian access and add bike racks because those things are not being addressed. The purpose of the two ring roads is to exit the outside ring and then get onto the inner ring road. She did not feel compelled to take down trees to get better views of buildings. There are good things about the proposal, but there would now be an even clearer view of the parking lot. She thought this plan could be improved upon. Nelson said some of the evergreens are too tall and sparse looking, and there are probably some of them that should come down. The ash trees should definitely be taken out. She liked the idea to put some trees in the parking area because of the shade they would provide and because they would cut down a little on the view of the cars. She suggested it would be nice to have some bike racks, and this would be a good time to add them. Tyra-Lukens noted the calculation for tree loss was based on three areas and asked if that was based on all trees on the property. She calculated they are removing 11.43% of the trees on the entire site, and asked about the ramifications of that. Jeremiah said the calculation was based on specific areas. There is to be a net loss of 15 trees in the three areas. Tyra-Lukens asked about the threshold of tree loss we allow in terms of the number of caliper inches. Jeremiah replied there is a sliding scale of removal and replanting, and diseased trees are not included as something that must be replaced. Aho commented the new plantings will look very nice and will make it more beautiful. He said the current landscaping is almost all trees,but they are adding shrubs and flowers that will add to the beauty of the landscaping. He was somewhat concerned that we might get into nit picking on the project and wanted to make sure we are giving broad goals. He suggested staff be sent back to work with the proponent about more and better screening of the parking and maybe make some minor adjustments. He thought the Council could direct staff to prepare the development agreement and incorporate staff and commission recommendations with the Council condition to work with staff on adjustments to the project. We would then have an opportunity at second reading to accept or reject the project. Nelson asked that the second reading be brought back as a separate agenda item and not as a Consent Calendar item. Tyra-Lukens noted she hoped there could be more done to screen the parking. MOTION: Aho moved, seconded by Butcher Wickstrom, to approve first reading of the Ordinance for Planned Unit Development District Review and Zoning District Review within the Commercial Regional Service Zoning District on 35.32 acres; and to direct staff to prepare a development agreement incorporating staff and commission recommendations and Council conditions and to bring back the project for second reading as a regular agenda item, not on the Consent Calendar. Motion carried 5-0. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES December 1, 2015 Page 6 B. FIRST READING OF ORDINANCE AMENDING CITY CODE CHAPTER 11 RELATING TO PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENT AND SITE PLAN REVIEW PROCESSES Getschow said staff is proposing text amendments to the existing Site Plan and Architectural Design Review and Planned Unit Development sections of City Code Chapter 11 to address a more streamlined process for minor amendments to sites and structures. He noted this has been discussed at Council workshops and staff meetings. He reviewed examples of how the streamlined process would work. The Planning Commission voted 5-0 to recommend approval of the proposed ordinance at the November 9, 2015 meeting. There were no comments from the audience. MOTION: Butcher Wickstrom moved, seconded by Case, to close the public hearing and to approve first reading of the ordinance amendment to City Code Chapter 11, Section 11.03 Site Plan and Architectural Design Review and 11.44 relating to Planned Unit Development review process, and adopting by reference City Code Chapter 1 and Sections 2.99 and 11.99 which, among other things, contain penalty provisions. Motion carried 5-0. C. FIRST AND SECOND READINGS OF ORDINANCE 21-2015 UPDATING FEE SCHEDULE FOR ADMINISTRATION OF OFFICIAL CONTROLS AND RESOLUTION 2015-114 APPROVING PUBLICATION OF SUMMARY ORDINANCE Getschow said Items IX.0 and D deal with the fees charged for City costs and services. Item IX.0 establishes a fee schedule for 2016 for all fees that require an ordinance. Item IX.D. is a separate action related to all fees the City Council approves by resolution. He noted there are adjustments to both types of fees,but the adjustments are all within the 1-3% rate of inflation per year. There were no comments from the audience. MOTION: Case moved, seconded by Butcher Wickstrom, to close the public hearing, to approve first and second readings of the Ordinance updating the Fee Schedule for Administration of Official Controls, and to adopt Resolution 2015- 114 approving the Summary for Publication. Motion carried 5-0. D. RESOLUTION NO. 2015-115 UPDATING THE FEE SCHEDULE FOR CITY SERVICES Getschow said these are the fees related to many services not covered by ordinance and include the fees for many of the enterprise funds. He noted several of these were reviewed in detail at the last Council workshop. Nelson said she has heard that some people who work in Eden Prairie but do not live in Eden Prairie have been required to pay non-resident membership fees at the CITY COUNCIL MINUTES December 1, 2015 Page 7 Community Center. She asked if we could get the word out to businesses in Eden Prairie that their employees are eligible for resident membership fees because she did not think that is well understood. Getschow clarified this would pertain only to Community Center fees. He said staff would look at different areas of communication. Nelson noted membership at the Community Center will be very desirable after we complete Phase 2 of the Aquatics Center, and she did not believe companies understand their employees are eligible for resident membership fees. There were no comments from the audience. MOTION: Aho moved, seconded by Butcher Wickstrom, to close the public hearing and to adopt the 2016 Fee Resolution No. 2015-115. Motion carried 5-0. E. 2016 BUDGET Getschow said on September 1, 2015, the Eden Prairie City Council adopted a resolution certifying the preliminary 2016 City budget and property tax levy. Calculations for the City showed the budget to be $45,877,812 and the certified levy to be $34,660,874. According to state statute, the final levy amount must be certified to the county auditor by December 28, 2015. City Council adoption of the final levy and budget will complete this process. This public meeting is to provide an opportunity for the public to comment on the 2016 proposed budget. Finance Director Kotchevar gave a PowerPoint presentation about the 2016 budget that reviewed the purpose of tonight's public meeting and the schedule for other public meetings about 2016 budgets, such as Hennepin County, Eden Prairie School District and the Metropolitan Council. She noted there is a 3.5% increase in the total City budget, a 4.0% increase in General Fund revenues, and a 3.9% increase in General Fund expenditures. She noted the increase in General Fund expenditures was primarily due to wage and benefit increases and increases to existing service funds. She reviewed the debt summary and noted the total debt levy will decrease by 3.1%. She said the total property tax levy will increase 2.9% and reviewed the tax impact on residences, apartments and commercial properties. She said the monthly cost of City services for a median value home is $97.75, including $7.23 of costs for the total City debt. Getschow reviewed the year-long budget process that started with the City's work plan reviews in January and February. In April the Council met to discuss goals and strategies before the 2016-2017 budget was prepared during the summer. He noted this year there was a lot of information about the budget available on the City website and on City Connect. He said the Council set the preliminary budget and levy in September, and that set the ceiling for the total budget. He reviewed the goals for the 2016-2017 budget. He noted in early 2016 the City will celebrate the conclusion of the 20-40-15 program--a program that realized hundreds of thousands of dollars in energy savings for the City. He said staff continually reviews our service levels so that we can keep the high level of satisfaction with the City services we see on the community survey results. He noted we have added to the number of City-wide events,placed high design standards and started the Spirit of CITY COUNCIL MINUTES December 1, 2015 Page 8 Eden Prairie award as part of our efforts to enhance Eden Prairie's sense of community. Staff produced a series of videos about each City department and its budget to run on the City Connect web page. There were no comments from the audience. Nelson thanked staff for keeping services high and taxes low and noted she appreciated all the innovations that have come through the departments. MOTION: Aho moved, seconded by Nelson, to close the public meeting. Motion carried 5-0. X. PAYMENT OF CLAIMS MOTION: Case moved, seconded by Butcher Wickstrom, to approve the payment of claims as submitted. Motion was approved on a roll call vote, with Aho,Butcher Wickstrom, Case, Nelson and Tyra-Lukens voting "aye." XI. ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS XII. PETITIONS, REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATIONS XIII. APPOINTMENTS XIV. REPORTS A. REPORTS OF COUNCIL MEMBERS Tyra-Lukens said on December 10 from 4:30 to 5:30 PM the City Council and the Chamber of Commerce will host an after-hours business event that will be a town hall meeting between the Council and the business community. The event will be held in the Heritage Rooms at City Hall. B. REPORT OF CITY MANAGER 1. Resolution No. 2015-116 Certifying the 2016 Property Tax Levy, Adopting the 2016 Budget, and Consenting and Approving the 2016 HRA Tax Levy Getschow said the Council needs to approve a resolution to certify the 2016 property tax levy, to adopt the 2016 budget and to consent and approve the 2016 HRA tax levy. MOTION: Nelson moved, seconded by Butcher Wickstrom, to adopt Resolution No. 2015-116 certifying the 2016 Property Tax levy to be $34,660,874, to approve the 2016 Budget of$45,877,812 as reviewed by the Council, and to consent and approve the HRA tax levy and budget of $200,000. Motion carried 5-0. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES December 1, 2015 Page 9 C. REPORT OF THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR D. REPORT OF PARKS AND RECREATION DIRECTOR 1. Community Center Aquatics and Fitness Expansion Update Lotthammer gave an update on the progress of the Community Center Aquatics and Fitness expansion project. He displayed photos showing the progress made on the building since it was started. He noted the expansion will give opportunities for more people to experience the Community Center. Phase II of the expansion is almost 75% complete, and staff expects the project will be closed out in April or May of 2016. He reviewed the construction challenges faced during the construction as well as some of the savings that were made during the construction. Tyra-Lukens noted it is a beautiful project. She believed it paid off to have so much user involvement in the design and planning of the project. Lotthammer noted the passing of Geri Napuck, a resident who was very involved in community activities and who served several years on the Parks Commission. He commented she is someone we will miss very much in the community. 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 Case, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried 5-0. Mayor Tyra-Lukens adjourned the meeting at 8:58 PM.