Loading...
City Council - 03/19/2002 APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE CITY COUNCIL TUESDAY, MARCH 19, 2002 7:00 PM, CITY CENTER Council Chamber 8080 Mitchell Road CITY COUNCIL: Mayor Nancy Tyra-Lukens, Councilmembers Sherry Butcher, Ron Case, David Luse, and Jan Mosman CITY STAFF: City Manager Carl Jullie, Parks & Recreation Services Director Bob Lambert, Public Works Services Director Eugene Dietz, Community Development and Financial Services Director Don Uram, City Planner Michael Franzen, City Attorney Ric Rosow and Council Recorder Jan Nelson Curielli I. ROLL CALL / CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER Mayor Tyra-Lukens called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. All members were present. II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE III. COUNCIL FORUM INVITATION Mayor Tyra-Lukens said the Council Forum has been modified as follows. Council Forum will be held the first and third Tuesday of the month from 6:30 – 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chamber. Please note that this portion of the meeting is off-camera. The Council Forum will consist of two parts: scheduled and unscheduled appearances. 6:30 to 6:50 p.m. is reserved for scheduled participants. If you wish to schedule time to visit with the City Council and Service Area Directors, please notify the City Manager’s office (at 952-949- 8412) by noon of the meeting date with your request. The last 10 minutes of the Forum, from 6:50 to 7:00 p.m. is set aside for impromptu, unscheduled appearances by individuals or organizations who wish to speak the Council. IV. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND OTHER ITEMS OF BUSINESS Under Item X. PETITIONS, REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATIONS, Case added PETERSON/BRIGGS REQUEST REGARDING MOVING THE ALTMANN HOUSE and asked that it be placed as Item X. A. before the other two petitions. MOTION: Case moved, seconded by Butcher, to approve the Agenda as published and amended. Motion carried 5-0. V. MINUTES A. CITY COUNCIL MEETING HELD MARCH 7, 2002 MOTION: Mosman moved, seconded by Butcher, to approve as published the Minutes of the City Council Meeting held March 7, 2002. Motion carried 5-0. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES March 19, 2002 Page 2 VI. CONSENT CALENDAR A. CLERK’S LICENSE LIST B. BP AMOCO by BP Products North America, Inc. 2nd Reading for Planned Unit Development District Review with waivers on 2.45 acres, Zoning District Change from Neighborhood Commercial to Community Commercial on 1.4 acres, Zoning District Amendment with the Community Commercial Zoning District on 1.05 acres, and Site Plan Review on 2.45 acres. Location: Southeast corner of Highway 212 and Anderson Lakes Parkway. (Ordinance No. 5-2002-PUD-3-2002 for PUD District Review, Zoning District Change and Zoning District Amendment, and Resolution No. 2002-54 for Site Plan Review) C. ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 2002-55 APPROVING FINAL PLAT OF BP ADDITION (Formally Anderson Lakes Commercial Center 4th Addition) D. AWARD CONTRACT FOR 2002 STREET SWEEPING TO ASTECH CORPORATION, I.C. 02-5558 E. APPROVE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH SEH, INC. FOR DESIGN SERVICES FOR CRESTWOOD TERRACE IMPROVEMENTS, I.C. 98-5474 F. ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 2002-56 APPROVING PLANS AND SPECIFICATIONS FOR CHARLSON AREA IMPROVEMENTS, PHASE I, I.C. 02-5563 G. APPROVE SERVICE AGREEMENT WITH HONEYWELL FOR UPGRADE OF FILTER CONTROL SYSTEM AT THE WATER TREATMENT PLANT H. ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 2002-57 CALLING FOR A PUBLIC HEARING ON THE PROPOSED ISSUANCE OF REVENUE NOTES BY THE CITY OF BLAINE MOTION: Case moved, seconded by Butcher, to approve Items A-H of the Consent Calendar. Motion carried 5-0. VII. PUBLIC HEARINGS / MEETINGS A. COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE PLAN UPDATE (Resolution No. 2002-58) Jullie said this item was continued from the February 5 City Council meeting. He said official notice of this public hearing was published in the January 24, 2002, Eden Prairie News and was sent to 29 property owners. The Council is required to hold a public hearing for adoption of the Guide Plan Update. The Resolution does not include approval of the Aviation Chapter. The Aviation Chapter approval will CITY COUNCIL MINUTES March 19, 2002 Page 3 occur after the City and the Metropolitan Airports Commission finish negotiations and finalize an agreement. He said the Community Planning Board finished its review of the Guide Plan Update on November 13, 2001. The Board did not recommend any land use changes, but did recommend minor changes to proposed policies. Case asked if there are 1,700 acres of land left to develop in the City. Franzen said 37% of the 1700 acres is not developable, but that portion would probably be used for density transfer. Case said he thought the figures presented in the memorandum did not add up correctly. Franzen said he would double-check the figures. There were no comments from the audience. MOTION: Butcher moved, seconded by Luse, to close the Public Hearing, except continue the Public Hearing on the Aviation Chapter to May 21, 2002; and to adopt Resolution No. 2002-58 for Comprehensive Guide Plan Update. Motion carried 5-0. B. PRAIRIE CENTER DRIVE MEDICAL BUILDING by Grootwassink Real Estate Planned Unit Development Concept Amendment on 6.62 acres, Planned Unit Development District Review with waivers on 6.62 acres, Zoning District Amendment within the Office District on 3.7 acres, Zoning District Change from I- 2 and Rural to Office on 2.92 acres, Site Plan Review on 6.62 acres, Preliminary Plat of 6.62 acres into two lots. Location: 800 Prairie Center Drive. (Resolution NO. 2002-59 for PUD Concept Amendment, Ordinance for PUD District Review and Zoning District Change, and Resolution NO. 2002-60 for Preliminary Plat) Jullie said the project is for a new 28,400 square foot medical office building and a 14,800 square foot expansion to the existing Fairview Clinic located at 800 Prairie Center Drive. He said proponent would present an overview of the proposal. He said the Community Planning Board voted 7-0-1 (Stoelting abstained) to recommend approval of the project to the City Council at the February 25, 2002 meeting. Todd Mohagen, Mohagen Architects, addressed the proposal. He said it would be a two-story office building. They worked with staff on the drainage and the parking slope problems. There were no comments from the audience. MOTION: Butcher moved, seconded by Case, to close the Public Hearing; to adopt the Resolution No. 2002-59 for PUD Concept Amendment on 6.62 acres; to approve 1st Reading of the Ordinance for PUD District Review, Zoning District Amendment within the Office Zoning District on 3.7 acres, and Zoning District Change from I-2 and Rural to Office on 2.92 acres; to adopt Resolution No. 2002-60 for Preliminary Plat on 6.62 acres into 2 lots; and to direct Staff to prepare a CITY COUNCIL MINUTES March 19, 2002 Page 4 Developer’s Agreement incorporating Staff and Board recommendations and Council conditions. Motion carried 5-0. C. MITCHELL CROSSING by Mitchell/5, Inc. Planned Unit Development Concept Amendment on 3.45 acres, Planned Unit Development District Review with waivers on 3.45 acres, Zoning District Amendment within the Community Commercial Zoning District on 3.45 acres, Preliminary Plat of 3.45 acres into one lot, two outlots and road right-of-way. Location: Southeast corner of Mitchell Road and Martin Drive. (Resolution No. 2002-61 for PUD Concept Amendment, Ordinance for PUD District Review and Zoning District Amendment, and Resolution No. 2002-62 for Preliminary Plat) Jullie said this is a simple platting procedure to meet Amoco’s lease option to acquire its portion of the 3.45-acre site at the southeast corner of Mitchell Road and Martin Drive. He said the Community Planning Board voted 8-0 to recommend approval of the project to the City Council at the February 25, 2002 meeting. There were no comments from the audience. MOTION: Case moved, seconded by Luse, to close the Public Hearing; to adopt Resolution No. 2002-61 for Planned Unit Development Concept Amendment on 3.45 acres; to approve 1st Reading of the Ordinance for Planned Unit Development District Review with waivers within the Community Commercial Zoning District on 3.45 acres; to adopt Resolution No. 2002-62 for Preliminary Plat on 3.45 acres into one lot, two outlots and road right-of-way; and to direct Staff to prepare a Developer’s Agreement incorporating Staff and Board recommendations and Council conditions. Motion carried 5-0. VIII. PAYMENT OF CLAIMS MOTION: Luse moved, seconded by Case, to approve the Payment of Claims. The motion was approved on a roll call vote, with Butcher, Case, Luse, Mosman, and Tyra-Lukens “aye.” IX. ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS X. PETITIONS, REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATIONS A. PETERSON/BRIGGS REQUEST REGARDING MOVING THE ALTMANN HOUSE Sever Peterson said he would like to address some of the issues presented in the memorandum from Bob Lambert. He said the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposes to acquire the site for a future refuge. The site they are proposing to acquire would be on the south side of Riverview Road, which would not include CITY COUNCIL MINUTES March 19, 2002 Page 5 the Altmann home site. He noted it has been a hardship for them to wait 34 years for the acquisition. Peterson said the property to which he proposed moving the house would be to the east and would be on 3.14 acres. If it were necessary or desired by staff, he would add the acreage necessary to make a five-acre parcel so that it would qualify as a building site in Eden Prairie. Peterson said they have had borings done, and he thinks there could be a septic system and well put in. Regarding the last item in the memorandum, he said he thought the Council should not sell the house if it is being moved. Peterson said Mrs. Briggs’ daughter Molly might want to live in the house. He thought it makes a lot of sense to recycle homes, and we would be keeping it in Eden Prairie and on the farm of which it has always been a part. Butcher said she had the pleasure of getting to see the interior of the house, and it is a wonderful structure. She said she could not imagine we would not want to reuse it if we can. She said she would definitely support reusing the house and moving it. She asked what the process would be for reusing it. Lambert replied there would be a couple of steps. We would need a house-moving permit reviewed by the Board of Appeals and Adjustments. There would also have to be a site plan review. He noted there is a requirement for ten acres in a rural area, as well as issues regarding water, sewer and setbacks. Lambert said he wanted to make sure the Council was aware that the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service plan was approved by the City Council. He said those plans include acquiring the property south of Hwy 212, and the Council might want to hear from the Fish & Wildlife Service to see what their intention is. Butcher asked why the Fish & Wildlife Service couldn’t purchase the site with the house on it. Lambert replied they would purchase the property the same way the City does, for open space. He thought the correct action would be for the City to go to the Fish & Wildlife Service and ask for a revision of the boundaries and then take this property as an exception. Butcher said there would be tax capture on the house once it is moved, so we could capture some funds back. Case asked if the Peterson’s wanted to build on either site and came before the City with a 10-acre plot, could they build a new house on either of the sites. Lambert said they could, assuming they would have a minimum of ten acres. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES March 19, 2002 Page 6 Case said if they were to build a house, it doesn’t matter if it is new or if they move this house. The situation of paying for it twice would occur in a new residence. He could understand the point of view of a family having to keep the property for 34 years and wanting to somehow gift the City with a preservation of an historic property. Lambert said Fish & Wildlife is probably going to buy this, and then they are going to remove the house. He said if the Council is concerned about saving the house, we should decide where it should go. Case said while walking the site he noticed there is a lot of land above the flood plain south of Grass Lake. He thought if the Fish & Wildlife Service were to acquire everything except where Riverview Road branches off, they would still have a massive amount of land. Lambert noted there is a little piece of bluff land that has native prairie grasses that is hundreds of years older than the house. He said we want to preserve the area of native grasses. He thought we would hear from Fish & Wildlife that they would like to preserve that portion of the bluff as part of their area. Butcher said, while this is a valuable house in Eden Prairie, the house has been altered, so she was not sure it qualifies as an historic house. She felt it has a lot of value, and has been very well kept up even thought it was altered. Case said he would probably not have chosen to buy this, but he thought it is 1880’s in the foundation structure and then redone in the 1920’s. It is one of the best- preserved 1920’s houses in the City. This would be an opportunity to keep another piece of our history going. He talked to Sever about going north of 212 instead of south. He said he wanted to slow down the demolition to give us time to work it out. Mosman thought we have someone offering to move a classic house, and it would be paying taxes again. To her the only question was if the Fish & Wildlife Service purchases it, can it be moved again. Peterson said he didn’t know if that were possible, but he wanted to go on record that he would put up $5,000 in an escrow account that, if and when the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service would acquire the property from him, could be used to move it again. He would like to do that this fall. There has been no discussion by Fish & Wildlife and they have no money. He said, contrary to Mr. Lambert’s comment about the native prairie grasses, this particular site is not native prairie grasses and has been cropped by his family for years. Tyra-Lukens said there seems to be a lot of concern to delay the demolition of the house so we can check out how to preserve it. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES March 19, 2002 Page 7 Lambert said we could put this on hold. He said staff proceeded only because of commitments made to the Council about access to the conservation area. Rosow said he did not have a chance to review the memo but the Council could put it as a motion or rely on staff. He said this is a house that the City owns, so the Council can’t sell it to Mr. Peterson. It would have to be put up for bid. Case thought there are two issues. We want to try to allow the Peterson’s to save this house. The second issue is where does it go. The two issues are tied together, but he was not feeling ready for any motion except to not destroy the house. Tyra-Lukens said we need to contact Fish & Wildlife and find out what their plans are. If it is simply that they don’t have money but want the site, then that might mean a different approach. We need to protect the City in making the decision. Butcher thought the risk would have to be Mr. Peterson’s. Case said he had some comfort level that the area of land that was farmed is different from the area around it. If the Peterson farm were to stay there with a house and Fish & Wildlife buys around it, then there are some bigger issues. Luse said we are in control and Mr. Lambert will slow down the process to develop the park. That is equally as important to the people who have lived in the house. This is also an emotional issue for those who have toured the house. The issue in his mind is that we need to have direction on who is going to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife because that is where the problem is. We have a responsibility to all 55,000 constituents and to other governmental agencies that money is not wasted. MOTION: Case moved, seconded by Butcher, to direct staff to delay any plans to destroy the Peterson house, to engage in discussion with U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service regarding their plans to purchase the property and the potential relocation of the house, and to report back to the City Council by the 2nd meeting in April. Mosman said the wording of a letter to a governmental agency makes a difference in its reception. We want to make sure all the benefits we have discussed are listed. We have all talked about the advantages of keeping the house. Case said we want to preserve the home and are looking at alternatives. Luse thought the renters are under a time-sensitive situation here and are required to move out by June 1. He would like to have something as an amendment or understanding that they can go on until September 1 or some other date. Peterson said the Briggs’ and he would like to be moving long before September 1. He thanked the Council for considering their request. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES March 19, 2002 Page 8 Luse thought we should get the process done as soon as we can but another issue is giving good value to citizens. All of us know what it is like to be under a time crunch. Tyra-Lukens thought there will be some time of putting the house up for sale and that wouldn’t happen until we have resolved the issues with Fish & Wildlife. Rosow asked if we have given notice to vacate the home by June 1. Lambert said we have, but we could rescind it and give another 60-days notice at a later date. Case asked if we could proceed by Council direction for the sale of the house and, if Peterson were to acquire it, then the second part of this is where it would be put. Lambert responded we could initiate the sale and we could choose to allow the buyer to back out. We could make the terms of the sale to allow for that option. VOTE ON THE MOTION: Motion carried 5-0. MOTION: Case moved, seconded by Luse, to direct staff to proceed with plans to sell the Altmann house. AMENDMENT TO THE MOTION: Luse moved, seconded by Case, to proceed with the sale by means of a sealed bid process, not a public auction. Motion carried 5-0. VOTE ON THE MOTION AS AMENDED: Motion carried 5-0. B. UPDATE ON MET COUNCIL FARMILY AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROGRAM Jullie said David Lindahl would give the update. Lindahl said the Metropolitan Council has purchased 15 townhouse and condominium units in Eden Prairie through their Family Affordable Housing Program (FAHP). He said they have done a pretty good job of scattering them around the City. Staff is pursuing funding through Hennepin County to provide services to some of the families that will move into the units. Tyra-Lukens thanked Lindahl for his report. C. GOLDEN TRIANGLE AREA (GTA) CITY WEST LAND USE/TRANSIT STUDY Lindahl said Mark Koegler, president of Hoisington-Koegler Group of Minneapolis was present and would give an overview of the study to determine if a wider mix of land uses can help reduce traffic and enhance transit use in the Golden Triangle and City West areas. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES March 19, 2002 Page 9 Mark Koegler said he found this to be a fascinating project that they will be able to copy and duplicate in other areas. Koegler outlined the area to be studied, noting they are in the first step of organizing the project and collecting background information. They are just beginning the market analysis work on the project. He said staff has been great to work with. He said there are several major study tasks. In the second major task they will look at identifying potential redevelopment sites which will include identifying some criteria and looking at such things as tax implications, vacancies and turnover. The third major task will be to identify potential land uses and create development scenarios. Koegler said the remaining three tasks will include evaluating the tax benefits of the land use scenarios, forecasting travel demand and recommending land use and implementation scenarios and presenting the report findings and recommendations. He noted it will be a 10-12 month process and they will share information and get feed back as they go. Tyra-Lukens thought this all looks wonderful and appears to be very thorough. Butcher said she was very excited to see this. Koegler said this is something of a groundbreaking project. He said they have worked on this with a variety of plans, but not on this scope. Butcher thought this has the potential to solve a very serious problem. XI. REPORTS OF ADVISORY BOARDS & COMMISSIONS XII. APPOINTMENTS XIII. REPORTS OF OFFICERS A. REPORTS OF COUNCILMEMBERS 1. City Manager Selection Tyra-Lukens reviewed the process used to replace the City Manager, noting that Mr. Jullie agreed to come back to serve as the interim City Manager. She said at that time Mayor Harris appointed a subcommittee to find someone to help with the search and selection process. PDI was selected to work with the subcommittee to develop a profile of what we were looking for in a City Manager. PDI helped to conduct interviews with the City Council, staff, and members of the community regarding what qualifications the City Manager needed. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES March 19, 2002 Page 10 Tyra-Lukens said we got over 70 applications for the position, from which PDI narrowed the list to 15. The list of 15 was again narrowed down to seven, and those seven came back for interviews. One of the seven dropped out and six returned to interviews with the Council, the Service Area Directors and Mr. Jullie, and a subcommittee of staff. The list was then narrowed to three people, each of whom would be a fine City Manager. She said the Council interviewed the three candidates and asked some additional questions last night in a public meeting. Luse said this was an outstanding group of individuals, and it was very difficult to decide among the three finalists. MOTION: Luse moved, seconded by Case, to offer the position of Eden Prairie City Manager to Scott Neal and to direct staff, with appropriate assistance from PDI, to negotiate an employment agreement for City Council approval at the April 9, 2002 Council meeting. Tyra-Lukens noted she thought it would be the same subcommittee to negotiate an employment agreement, not staff. AMENDMENT TO THE MOTION: Luse moved, seconded by Case, to change “direct staff” to “direct the committee.” Motion carried 5-0. Case said he was not sure whether last night’s meeting was televised. He noted the Council had a two-hour discussion time at the meeting. At that time, the Council expressed some leanings and came close to agreement, but Councilmembers have not covered this among themselves prior to this evening. VOTE ON THE MOTION AS AMENDED: Motion carried 5-0. Case suggested Mayor Tyra-Lukens review some background information about Mr. Neal. Tyra-Lukens said Mr. Neal has been City Manager of Northfield, Minnesota for almost six years. She noted he is highly qualified and has successfully moved to ever-larger cities during his career. She thought there are a lot of similarities between Northfield and Eden Prairie that will be helpful in his work here. Case noted Mr. Neal came very highly qualified by everyone they contacted. He said all three candidates were very excellent, but Mr. Neal was superior. Tyra-Lukens noted the Council will miss Mr. Jullie, and the Council appreciates his coming back to help out. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES March 19, 2002 Page 11 B. REPORT OF CITY MANAGER C. REPORT OF PARKS AND RECREATION SERVICES DIRECTOR 1. Miller Spring Renovation Lambert said the Council was asked to approve this project several years ago, but staff delayed implementing it anticipating we would extend water and sewer down past the site. He said, with the development decisions made recently, we have decided we will not be sending sewer and water down past the site for some time. Staff went to the Watershed District the first Wednesday of this month and asked them if they would like to continue with the partnership on this project. Lambert suggested that we go ahead and bid the project and see how much it will cost. Staff would come back to review the cost estimates in a couple of months. MOTION: Mosman moved, seconded by Butcher, to approve authorization to proceed with a joint project with the Riley-Purgatory-Bluff Creek Watershed District in the renovation of Miller Spring. Luse thought this kind of project really gives us a sense of community and it appears that it would be dollars well spent. Mosman said there has been a great amount of interest from residents that we do something with this and she thought this would be noticed. VOTE ON THE MOTION: Motion carried 5-0. 2. Athletic Program Task Force Lambert said one of the important parts of updating the Parks and Open Spaces Plan is to update Chapter 3 of the plan making recommendations on what athletic facilities will be needed in the next 20 years. He said the Council has authorized SRF Consulting Services to assist staff in updating the plan. Staff is recommending that an Athletic Program Task Force be formed that would be responsible for reviewing census data, population projections and participation trends to develop recommendations on facilities for adult and youth athletic programs. He said they would plan to come back to the Council with recommendations in a couple of months. Case thought such a task force would be a good means of pulling in the residents to help. He noted that this has been on his goal list for a couple of years. He asked if the statistical data would include the school district data. Lambert replied it would. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES March 19, 2002 Page 12 Mosman agreed that having resident involvement has been wonderful. She believes objectivity is helpful, and she thought there should be one or two members who would have an overview attitude rather than representing a specific sport. She said she had given Mr. Jullie a letter from Kay Donahue who would be a generalist with no ties to a specific sport. Tyra-Lukens asked if there is one association for basketball that represents both boys and girls. Lambert replied that the Basketball Association is pretty much taken care of with the new facilities in the schools, but everyone will be sent an invitation to send a representative from their association. Luse thought we are being quite visionary in the way we look at things. He thought this bodes well for Eden Prairie. MOTION: Luse moved, seconded by Case, to approve authorization to proceed with a joint project with the Riley-Purgatory-Bluff Creek Watershed District in the renovation of Miller Spring. Motion carried 5-0. D. REPORT OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND FINANCIAL SERVICES DIRECTOR E. REPORT OF PUBLIC WORKS SERVICES DIRECTOR F. REPORT OF PUBLIC SAFETY SERVICES DIRECTOR G. REPORT OF MANAGEMENT SERVICES DIRECTOR H. REPORT OF CITY ATTORNEY XIV. OTHER BUSINESS XV. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Case moved, seconded by Butcher, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried 5- 0. Mayor Tyra-Lukens adjourned the meeting at 8:20 p.m.