Loading...
City Council - 09/06/2005 - Workshop APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP OPEN FORUM/OPEN PODIUM TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2005 CITY CENTER 5:00—6:25 PM, HERITAGE ROOM II 6:30—7:00 PM, COUNCIL CHAMBER CITY COUNCIL: Mayor Nancy Tyra-Lukens, Councilmembers Brad Aho, Sherry Butcher, Ron Case, and Philip Young CITY STAFF: City Manager Scott Neal, Police Chief Dan Carlson, Fire Chief George Esbensen, Public Works Director Eugene Dietz, Parks and Recreation Director Bob Lambert, Community Development Director Janet Jeremiah, Communications Manager Pat Brink, Assistant to the City Manager Michael Barone, and Recorder Lorene McWaters Heritage Room H I. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS City Manager Scott Neal said Community Development Director Janet Jeremiah and her staff have been preparing a strategic plan for housing and economic development and redevelopment. Paul Steinman and Terry Heaton of Springsted were in attendance to answer questions regarding financing of proposed initiatives. Jeremiah noted that this was an interdepartmental initiative that drew on the expertise of staff throughout the City. Jeremiah reviewed the list of proposed projects, which have been separated into three categories according to priority. Projects listed as high priority are: • Major Center Area(MCA) wayfinding signage • MCA park acquisition (Lake Idlewild portion of Emerson Industrial property) • MCA local street construction and realignments • MCA streetscaping • MCA public art • MCA mixed use redevelopment with structural parking • Redevelopment of the old Physical Electronics building (Golden Triangle Area) • Conference center with new hotel development, potentially on the old Best Buy headquarters site or in the MCA • Chestnut Apartments improvements • St. John's Woods housing improvements Council Workshop Minutes September 6, 2005—page 2 Medium priority projects are: • Golden Triangle Area neighborhood park site and trail connections • Vikings training facility • Edendale housing improvements • Truth-in-housing (point of sale inspections) • Neighborhood services areas in southwest and northwest portions of the City Lower priorities projects are: • BFI site end use concepts • Midwest asphalt area redevelopment Possible financing sources have been identified for each project. They include grants, loans, fees, tax levies, and special taxing districts. Regulatory considerations are also addressed for each project, and include comp plan and zoning ordinance amendments as well as creation of new zoning districts, such as mixed use zones. Jeremiah explained how projects were prioritized. She said the Major Center Area (MCA) has been identified as high priority because it has community-wide use as Eden Prairie's primary shopping area. Some redevelopment of Golden Triangle seems necessary to address some substantial building issues, which are being analyzed. Two housing projects have also been identified as high priority. The owners of Chestnut Apartments are making some improvements; however, staff believes deterioration at Chestnut Apartments may go deeper than the surface issues. The property managers have been invited to attend the quarterly Property Managers Meeting hosted by the City,but have not done so to date. Jeremiah said the St. John's Woods Townhomes Association is very interested in working with the city. They have deterioration issues they are not able to keep up with because many of the owner/residents are lower income. Neighborhood service areas for southwest and northwest portions of the City would involve placement of small market and drug stores, etc., in or near the neighborhoods. This would reduce the need to drive across town for basic services. This idea can be explored during neighborhood meetings for the comp plan update. Jeremiah said some of the projects, such as the BFI site end use, are listed as low priority not because they are less important,but because there is more time to implement them. Midwest Asphalt area redevelopment is listed as lower priority because the current use is still viable. Redeveloping the area would be extremely costly and would primarily benefit the few local homeowners within about a 2,000' range of the site. In addition to prioritizing projects, the strategic plan process has involved several other initiatives. A staff focus group updated the City's TIF policy and economic strategies documents. The policy includes new features, such as a "look back" policy. Staff focus groups are also discussing business subsidy policies and employment forecasts. A Council Workshop Minutes September 6, 2005—page 3 housing focus group has been established to examine affordable housing and related issues, and a group has been formed to develop strategies for Chestnut Apartments. Jeremiah recommended maxing out the HRA levy to provide a funding source for the projects. She asked for feedback on the projects as well as questions and comments on financing. Mayor Tyra-Lukens said she likes the way the projects have been prioritized. She said she thought park dedication fees were a flat fee, and asked what the four percent in the presentation represents. Bob Lambert said the park fee formula is based on the market value of raw land. The current fee is $3,600 per unit, which represents about four percent of the land value. We can charge up to 10 percent of the land value, and some cities use a percent formula. Eden Prairie's is the fourth highest fee in the state for cities that charge a flat fee. Instead of charging the developer the park fee up front, the City waits until they apply for the building permit. Tyra-Lukens asked if there is a mechanism by which the fee is automatically adjusted. Lambert said the fee is recalculated and increased annually. He noted that the City is probably charging less than what it could. Mayor Tyra-Lukens asked whether or not point-of-sale inspections can be required for multi-family housing as well as for an entire apartment building upon its sale. Jeremiah said the current multi-family maintenance program calls for inspections of multi-family buildings every three years. The point-of-sale proposal would affect single- and two- family homes. Mayor Tyra-Lukens asked how difficult it is to create an EDA. Jeremiah said the process is not onerous. Paul Steinman, the City's consultant from Springsted, said creation of an EDA requires the Council to pass a resolution and bylaws creating the entity, and that can be done as "an action to support a greater goal." Councilmember Case said he believes residents living north of Highway 5,but not directly next to Midwest Asphalt, consider that site one of the most blighted areas of the city. He said he feels staff is missing the whole political piece involved with having an industrial property in a residential area. Case said he believes redevelopment of the Midwest Asphalt area should be considered at least a mid-level priority. He said New Brighton was able to prevail on an eminent domain issue with a similar site. Jeremiah asked for any other input on the Midwest Asphalt site. Jeremiah noted that there is less money in the current budget for the comp plan update then there was for the previous update, so she is concerned about doing any detailed planning for the Midwest Asphalt area as part of this update. She said not all of the projects can be high-priority. Councilmember Butcher said she agrees with the priorities. She thinks the City should be putting energy into the MCA and GTA. Butcher said the City has put a lot of energy into the Birch Island Woods area in recent years, so it is not as if the City has neglected that area of the City. Jeremiah said financing will be a major challenge in implementing these projects, and asked Council for input on this. She noted that when she worked for St. Louis Park, the City was sitting on tens of millions of dollars to fund these types of projects. This is not Council Workshop Minutes September 6, 2005—page 4 the case in Eden Prairie. She said feedback on tools such as the HRA levy and a special service district would be particularly helpful. She stressed that the City will need to find some funding somehow. Councilmember Aho said he agrees the MCA should be a key area of focus. He said as the City develops that area, it will have a ripple effect and be a driving force for other areas. He agrees with Butcher that the GTA is another key area. He said private/public partnerships will be important in funding projects, though he is not confident the 80/20 scenario will pan out. Mayor Tyra-Lukens said she is involved in the Family Housing Board, and there may be funds available for Chestnut Apartments and St. Johns Woods through them. Councilmember Young said the priority list is great; however, it is difficult to evaluate because the financing piece is uncertain. He said the HRA represents just one more local tax to taxpayers, and he is sensitive to that. He said it would be great if a developer would come in with an idea for the Industrial Boulevard area; however,he is not a fan of using eminent domain for something like that. David Lindahl said a developer approached the City in the past,but they wanted the City to finance 80 percent of the project. Council Chamber II. OPEN FORUM There were no scheduled speakers for Open Forum. III. OPEN PODIUM Two Eden Prairie residents addressed Council about proposed cuts in human services funding. Gary Stevens said he feels the City should continue funding human services, and that it is our moral commission to help people. He said it is money well spent. Jeff Strate concurred with Stevens. Councilmember Young urged Council to continue funding the human services programs long enough to allow for a philosophical discussion on the City's role in social services. IV. ADJOURNMENT