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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council - 03/21/2017 APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE CITY COUNCIL MEETING TUESDAY, MARCH 21, 2017 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, City Attorney Dan Gregerson, 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. QUALITY OF LIFE SURVEY PRESENTATION (NRC) Getschow said in 2016 the City conducted a Quality of Life survey of our residents to gauge their opinions on City service delivery and policy issues. The survey is completed every two years, and this is the second time we have used National Research Center(NRC) to conduct the survey. He noted the Council devoted tonight's workshop to receiving a detailed PowerPoint presentation of the survey. The full report for this survey and all prior reports back to 2006 will be available on the City website. Ashly Perez, representing NRC, gave a PowerPoint presentation about the results of the Quality of Life survey. She said 95% of the respondents gave a rating of excellent or good for the overall rating of the quality of life in Eden Prairie. Ninety-four percent of the respondents would recommend Eden Prairie as a place to live. Regarding the overall quality of government services, 94% rated the services as excellent or good. When asked about the value of government services for property taxes paid, 69% rated the value as excellent or good, which was a higher rating than the benchmark groups. The results of the survey showed that respondents are accessing the City website more than in 2014, the last year the CITY COUNCIL MINUTES March 21, 2017 Page 2 survey was done. 33% of the respondents said they liked the parks, trails and recreation center the most about the City, while traffic issues were listed as the least liked by many respondents. With regard to the questions dealing with residential chicken regulations, about 60% support residential chickens to some degree and about 40% oppose them to some degree. Case said the Council has always been concerned about people's perception of paying high taxes, yet Eden Prairie has some of the lowest taxes and tax increases when compared to our neighboring cities. There are a lot of positive things going on, yet 1/3 of the survey respondents have the perception of not being happy with the value of City services they receive. He noted the question did not differentiate between the 25% portion of property taxes that goes to the City and the 75% that goes to the County, School District, Watershed District and other entities. He believed we should pursue an educational piece for that question,because 33% have a feeling they are not getting back as much for their tax dollars as they should. Case said there was an interest on the City Council to pursue the question of allowing residential chickens, so those questions were added to the survey. In his mind, the feedback from the survey removed an obstacle. He would like to request staff to develop what ordinance options are out there, to find out what ordinances in other cities look like, and to learn the positive and negatives from other cities that allow chickens. He thought the results of the survey show more positive support for residential chickens than negative, so he thought we should move to the next step. Tyra-Lukens said she would be fine with taking the next step to investigate, but she thought public education and public involvement in the process is very important. We need to research this and do things such as hold a town hall meeting on this because a sizable number of people were strongly opposed to the idea of residential chickens. The research should be updated. Nelson commented she was not completely sold that more people want this than don't. She believed there are lots of things that need to be looked at before we might decide to do this. She would like to learn how other cities handle the subject and what feedback they have received. Butcher Wickstrom said she would like to move to the next step. She supported having chickens,but it would be important to do additional education. She was not sure people know what we are talking about. One of the things that was enlightening to her was that very few people actually want to keep chickens; however, those who do are very passionate about it. She asked that the information be put on the website and asked staff to back any information or complaints other cities have had. Getschow said the City Council had a report on residential chickens in 2015, and staff could update that report. A few cities have just passed the regulation so there CITY COUNCIL MINUTES March 21, 2017 Page 3 is more data now. Staff would update the report and come back with a new version. 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, MARCH 7, 2017 MOTION: Case moved, seconded by Nelson, to approve the minutes of the City Council workshop held Tuesday, March 7, 2017. Motion carried 5-0. B. CITY COUNCIL MEETING HELD TUESDAY, MARCH 7, 2017 MOTION: Aho moved, seconded by Butcher Wickstrom, to approve the minutes of the City Council meeting held Tuesday, March 7, 2017. Motion carried 5-0. VII. REPORTS OF ADVISORY BOARDS & COMMISSIONS VIII. CONSENT CALENDAR A. CLERK'S LICENSE LIST B. APPROVE SECOND READING OF ORDINANCE NO. 4-2017 AMENDING CITY CODE CHAPTER 11, RELATING TO BUILDING HEIGHT DEFINITION C. APPROVE SECOND READING OF ORDINANCE NO. 5-2017 AMENDING CITY CODE CHAPTER 11, RELATING TO TREE REPLACEMENT D. APPROVE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH BRAUN INTERTEC CORPORATION FOR GEOTECHNICAL EVALUATION SERVICES FOR THE EDEN PRAIRIE ROAD EXTENSION TO FLYING CLOUD DRIVE STREET AND UTILITY IMPROVEMENTS E. APPROVE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH SRF CONSULTING GROUP, INC. FOR 2040 TRANSPORTATION PLAN F. APPROVE GRANT AWARD FROM HENNEPIN COUNTY TO ADD AN AIS CLEANING STATION AT LAKE RILEY BOAT LANDING G. ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 2017-36 AMENDING RESOLUTION NO. 2017-28 (BANEBERRY HOLLOW REASSESSMENT) CITY COUNCIL MINUTES March 21, 2017 Page 4 H. AMEND CONSERVATION EASEMENT OVER LOT 2, BLOCK 1 OF THE BLUFFS AT PURGATORY CREEK I. APPROVE CONTRACT WITH ESS BROTHERS, INC. FOR PURCHASE OF REPAIR RINGS FOR INFLOW AND INFILTRATION REPAIRS OF SEWER MANHOLES AND STORMWATER CATCH BASINS J. APPROVE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH ADVANCED ENGINEERING AND ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES (AE2S) TO UPDATE THE WATER SYSTEM MASTER PLAN FOR COMPREHENSIVE PLAN UPDATE K. APPROVE CONTRACT WITH GREEN ACRES FOR HIDDEN PONDS IRRIGATION INSTALLATION L. APPROVE PURCHASE AGREEMENT WITH VIKING ELECTRIC SUPPLY FOR RILEY BARN PARKING LOT LIGHTS M. APPROVE USE OF CDBG FUNDS FOR SENIOR EMERGENCY REPAIR PROGRAM N. APPROVE MODIFICATION OF HOUSING REHAB LOAN REPAYMENT AGREEMENT TO INCORPORATE A PHASED REPAYMENT PLAN MOTION: Nelson moved, seconded by Case, to approve Items A-N on the Consent Calendar. Motion carried 5-0. IX. PUBLIC HEARINGS/MEETINGS A. ROCKWILL ADDITION (Resolution No. 2017-37 for Preliminary Plat) Getschow said the project involves subdividing an existing 1.06-acre lot into two lots. The property is located at the corner of W. Sunrise Circle and E. Sunrise Circle and includes a single family home on the southern part of the lot. The property is guided Low Density Residential and is zoned R1-22. Proposed Lot 1 is being created for a new single family home, and Lot 2 will contain the existing home. The lots and the homes comply with the zoning and subdivision standards; therefore, the applicant is not requesting waivers. The Planning Commission voted 7-0 to recommend approval of the project at the February 27, 2017 meeting. Jeremy Rock, 5925 Marsh Lake Road, Chaska, said sewer and water is already stubbed in on the northern half of the property where they plan to build the new home. They plan to remodel the existing home on the southern half. There are many trees on the property, and they plan to remove only four of them for the driveway. There were no comments from the audience. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES March 21, 2017 Page 5 MOTION: Butcher Wickstrom moved, seconded by Case, to close the public hearing; to adopt Resolution No. 2017-37 for Preliminary Plat on 1.06 acres into two lots; and to direct staff to prepare a development agreement incorporating staff and commission recommendations and Council conditions. Motion carried 5-0. 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, Case, Nelson and Tyra-Lukens voting "aye." XI. ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS A. PRAIRIE BLUFFS SENIOR LIVING by Albert Miller. Second Reading of Ordinance 6-2017-PUD-1-2017 for Planned Unit Development District Review with Waivers and Zoning District Change from Rural and Office to Rm-2.5 on 4.74 Acres; Resolution 2017-38 for Site Plan Review on 4.74 Acres. Location: 10217, 10220, 10240, 10280 Hennepin Town Rd and PID's 36-116-22-11-0026 & 36-116-22-11-0003) (Second Reading of Ordinance No. 6-2017-PUD-1-2017 for PUD District Review with waivers and Zoning District Change; Resolution No. 2017-38 for Site Plan Review) Getschow said first reading of this ordinance occurred on October 4, 2016. At that meeting the Council directed staff to prepare a development agreement with several conditions: • Inclusion of affordable units • Removal of fourth story units on the west side of the building • Construction of the turn lane on Hennepin Town Road • Landscaping, grading and sidewalk connections • Parking Line Wilson,project architect, said they have worked with the City Attorney and staff on the concerns raised in October 2016. He reviewed the use of the project for senior living and thanked the City staff and the Planning Commission for their insight and help. He reviewed the details of the project, noting it is a complicated site. The number of units remained the same at 138 assisted living and independent living units. They have increased the number of parking stalls from 112 to 135, including seven proof of parking, and have made the parking under the independent living units fully underground. The fourth floor units that faced the neighborhood have been removed so that the building is only three stories on that side. They worked with a landscape architect on the native plant materials planned around the entrance in order to provide more year-round color. An additional 99 caliper inches of trees have been preserved on site, and a walking loop was created around the buildings. They will work with the City on a turn lane to be built onto Pioneer Trail. He said there will now be 14 total affordable units included in the project,rather than just the original five units. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES March 21, 2017 Page 6 Aho said we received correspondence from a number of residents in the area. At the October 2016 meeting he raised the possibility of doing a berm off Hennepin Town Road between the road and the building to help mask some of the building. He asked Mr. Wilson to comment on that. Mr. Wilson responded they did look at placing a berm there,but decided there was great public benefit to having a sidewalk to allow residents to walk north to the Walgreens and other businesses across Pioneer Trail. There were problems with planting trees to create more screening in the public right of way, and there is a seven- to ten-foot slope that would have posed difficulties in constructing a berm. Aho said he did not realize the elevation difference between the roadway and the building was so much and that would have made building the berm difficult. Mr. Wilson replied they did look into it,but just were not able to make it work. Aho commented he knew the neighbors would be disappointed,but more landscaping should help to soften it. Case noted it is not common to have this much discussion at second reading. As much as the City Council has power to approve projects, there are many projects for which we have no ability to have this much input. He felt this has been a very positive response from the developer to our suggestions at first reading. He asked if the affordable housing will be done through elderly waivers. Mr. Wilson said they wanted to make sure they did not just rely on elderly waivers and wanted to devise a system that would work if the elderly waiver program was starting to fail. Case commented there is a limited number of dollars available, and there is a tsunami coming with the baby boomer generation. He appreciated that they made the effort to come up with 14 affordable units and was happy that the Council has had the opportunity to have input on the project. Nelson thanked the proponent for making the project more walkable and for putting more year-round color into the landscaping. She approved of increasing the number of affordable units from five to 14. She thought the project looks very nice, and leaving some of the bigger trees and adding underground parking was good. Tyra-Lukens acknowledged the letters the Council received asking us to review the idea of a berm and also to reduce some of the sidewalk. She felt very strongly that we are in a situation where we need to encourage people to move around, so she believed we need more sidewalks, not fewer. MOTION: Butcher Wickstrom moved, seconded by Aho, to adopt Resolution No. 2017-38 for a site plan for Prairie Bluffs Senior Living; to approve second reading of Ordinance No. 6-2017-PUD-1-2017 for Planned Unit Development District review with waivers and a Zoning District change from Rural and Office to RM- 2.5; and to approve the development agreement for Prairie Bluffs Senior Living. Motion carried 5-0. XII. PETITIONS, REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATIONS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES March 21, 2017 Page 7 XIII. APPOINTMENTS A. CONSERVATION COMMISSION MOTION: Aho moved, seconded by Nelson, to appoint Anna Anderson to the Conservation Commission with a term ending March 31, 2020. Motion carried 5- 0. XIV. REPORTS A. REPORTS OF COUNCIL MEMBERS B. REPORT OF CITY MANAGER C. REPORT OF THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR 1. Strategic Plan for Housing & Economic Development Getschow said it is our customary practice every five to seven years to update the strategic plan for housing and economic development. Jeremiah gave a PowerPoint presentation of the 2017-2020 Strategic Plan. She noted the Strategic Plan is on the City website. The appendices of the plan discuss the progress made since 2005 and also looks at funding sources and balances. Jeremiah reviewed the purpose and priorities of the plan. There are 19 economic development priorities including business retention and expansion, the LRT business communication, the Open to Business program, the Realtor's Forum, and the Golden Triangle area rebranding. Other projects included street and streetscape projects and the potential for the Sears and Vikings sites to be opportunities to realize some of our goals. Jeremiah said there are eight housing project priorities including the preservation of existing Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing (NOAH), creating affordable housing opportunities, increasing homeownership opportunities, and investments in quality of life improvements. She said staff is looking for any comments or amendments the Council Members might like to make. Nelson noted CDBG funding was mentioned as part of housing development, and the Council approved the potential CDBG fund allocations for 2017 at the last meeting. She asked how we will proceed with those allocations if the President's budget eliminating CDBG funds is passed and no CDBG money is available. Jeremiah replied there have been changes and reductions to CDBG in the past, and we expect there will be compromising on the proposed Federal budget. If the funding were to be CITY COUNCIL MINUTES March 21, 2017 Page 8 eliminated or severely reduced, we would have to look hard at the projections to see if there are other sources of funds. Staff is cognizant not to make changes too quickly because we may not be able to go back with the funding. We have seen relatively drastic cuts before, and were already assuming about a 10% reduction in our projections. Nelson said she assumed staff would start looking at how we would deal with losing the CDBG funds and would have identified alternative funding if that were to happen. Case said some cities use their CDBG funding like Section 8 housing. We have tried so hard to incentivize lower priced housing, and the thought last week in Washington, D.C., was to encourage cities to do their parts. We have tried to incentivize through various private projects that come in. We have the HRA levy that has been set at$200,000 for 25 years, so that might be a tool we could use to begin a process to incentivize. He thought the HRA might be a window to get subsidized housing going. Aho said the total amount we planned to spend from CDBG funds was $200,000. That is a very small portion of our budget, so he did not think that would have a big impact on us one way or the other. In looking at the updated plan, we would like to see more affordable housing but the opportunity is pretty small. There is not much buildable land remaining in the City. He didn't see the realistic possibility of more new affordable housing. Butcher Wickstrom suggested we continue to look for more innovative ways to provide affordable housing for every age group. Having worked with some of the organizations for whom we provide CDBG funding, she knew that funding impacts so many people's lives even though the amount appears to be minimal. One of the negative comments we hear is that people don't know where the CDBG funding goes,but we know exactly where it goes. She felt very strongly that our representatives in Washington, D.C., heard our plea to keep those funds. Case agreed opportunities for new affordable housing would be limited, but affordable housing can be rental and it does not have to be new rental. We need to continue to allow Eden Prairie to be accessible. We need to have scattered site housing that is affordable for all ages. We are missing that affordable rental housing element. He asked how we might look at playing a role in encouraging future affordable rental housing five to ten years from now. Tyra-Lukens noted affordable housing is not Section 8 housing. Nelson thought it is good for the City to strive for life cycle housing because that is important to most people who live here. A lot of people want to downsize and retire here during their later years. Life cycle housing needs to be a strong goal for the City. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES March 21, 2017 Page 9 MOTION: Case moved, seconded by Nelson, to approve the No. 2017- 2020 Strategic Plan for Housing and Economic Development. Motion carried 5-0. 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: Butcher Wickstrom moved, seconded by Case, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried 5-0. Mayor Tyra-Lukens adjourned the meeting at 8:09 PM.