Planning Commission - 08/27/2018 APPROVED MINUTES
EDEN PRAIRIE PLANNING COMMISSION
MONDAY,AUGUST 27, 2018 7:00 PM—CITY CENTER
Council Chambers
8080 Mitchell Road
COMMISSION MEMBERS: John Kirk, Charles Weber, Ann Higgins, Andrew
Pieper, Ed Farr, Mark Freiberg, Michael DeSanctis,
Christopher Villarreal, Carole Mette
CITY STAFF: Julie Klima, City Planner
Rod Rue, City Engineer
Dave Modrow, Water Resources Engineer
Rick Wahlen, Utility Operations Manager; Robert Ellis,
Public Works Director; Kristin Harley, Recording
Secretary
I. CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER
Chair Pieper called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE—ROLL CALL
III. APPROVAL OF AGENDA
MOTION: Kirk moved, seconded by Farr to approve the agenda. MOTION CARRIED
8-0.
IV. MINUTES
MOTION: Villarreal moved, seconded by Kirk to approve the minutes of August 13,
2018 with the change of"number" to "letter" C on page three, paragraph three, in the
sentence. MOTION CARRIED 8-0.
V. INFORMATIONAL MEETINGS
VI. PUBLIC MEETINGS
VII. PUBLIC HEARINGS
VIII. PLANNERS' REPORT
A. ASPIRE 2040 UPDATE
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TRANSPORTATION
Rue presented a PowerPoint and summarized the Transportation chapter. The
chapter was broken down by roadway, transit, bicycling and walking aviation, and
freight systems, with a concluding planning chapter. The seven goals of this
chapter were: 1) provide and maintain a safe, convenient, effective, and efficient
multi-modal transportation system for the movement of people, goods and
services; 2)provide a safe and efficient roadway system that balances mobility,
access and the diverse needs of the transportation system users; 3)protect
investment in the transportation system through preservation, maintenance and
operations of system assets; 4)promote public transit that serves all residents and
provide special transit services for diverse populations; 5)provide and maintain
an interconnected system of pedestrian and bicycle facilities for safe
transportation and recreational opportunities; 6)provide a system that supports the
economic vitality of the City and region; 7) ensure the City's transportation
system is resilient, sustainable and able to evolve with technology advancements
and changes.
Freiberg asked if the plans for the future roadway capacity could alleviate the
2040 traffic levels shown in the anticipated average daily traffic (ADT) volumes.
Rue replied some of the capacities at the intersections could give a skewed
perception of volumes at the corridor. Also, MnDOT's goal over the past few
years was preservation and did not have the money to mitigate capacity projects.
However, some money recently came in for regional corridor work. All monies
came through the federal and state agencies.
Villarreal asked if the modeling and scenarios could incorporate electric and
autonomous vehicles, which could help alleviate this future capacity. Rue replied
the modeling used travel and behavior models to project trends, which would
include these vehicles. There could be behavior changes over the next decades.
Villarreal stated a behavior change goal was to decrease the use of single-
occupancy vehicles and asked how auto-driving cars contributed to this goal. He
emphasized assuming the future was a simple extension of the past could result in
a missed opportunity. Rue replied much of this was provided through the Met
Council's travel demand patterns and forecasts, which took these trends into
account. For example, number of delivery trucks today than in the past.
Farr asked what the process was to coordinate with other jurisdictions on funding
for streets and arteries. Rue replied Eden Prairie has always worked with the
county and state to communicate funding needs and ask for investment in
projects. Pieper asked if the Existing and Anticipated Roadway Capacity, which
showed the LRT station, included a roadway map without the LRT to show traffic
capacity if light rail was not built. Rue replied the model assumed what was
programmed, and since LRT was programmed it was included. DeSanctis
observed the majority of pedestrian accesses were parallel to major arterials and
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asked if bridging or tunneling was being explored to facilitate the movement of
pedestrians from one neighborhood to another. Rue replied there would
potentially be some, such as across Flying Cloud Drive from the Mall to the LRT
station,but most improvements were at grade. Higgins noted the aging population
could cause residents to move closer to major traffic areas and urged this be kept
in mind as intersections improvements are planned. DeSanctis expressed concern
the anticipated improvements came near cluster developments and asked how the
future projected development would accommodate the multi-family units and the
attendant lifestyle changes. Rue replied intersections provided safer pedestrian
crossings,but the possibility of decreasing pedestrian-traffic contact was also
being explored on a conceptual level.
Rue presented the aviation goals: 1) promote land use compatibility; 2) minimize
aircraft noise impacts upon noise-sensitive land uses; 3 and 4) support MAC
actions to protect land areas within State Safety Zones and protect intrusions into
airspace criteria; 5) establish and implement airport zoning district at Flying
Cloud Airport.
The Planning for the Future section listed system preservation, travel demand
management, complete street initiatives, and connected and autonomous vehicles.
Villarreal stated he expected to see a discussion around the "smart city" in this
chapter, since information can have a big influence on transportation, and asked
what Eden Prairie has planned for using this new technology to gather data. Rue
replied MnDOT has secured funding for a traffic planning system constructed in
2020 which would include Eden Prairie. It was over a million dollars of grant
money and legislative appropriation which involved signals, cameras, etc.,
implemented on the state roads. The county and the City were also a part of this.
WATER
Dave Modrow, Water Resources Engineer, presented a PowerPoint and
summarized the Water Resources chapter. The first main component of this
chapter dealt with surface water. He summarized the plan requirements and
timeline. Goals and policies were: 1) work to achieve water quality standards in
lakes, streams, and wetlands consistent with intended use and classification and
State of Minnesota water quality standards; 2) Protect downstream water
resources, reduce the potential for flooding, and minimize related public capital
and maintenance expenditure necessary to control volumes and rates of runoff and
to mitigate erosion; 3)protect and/or restore wetlands to improve or maintain their
functions and values in accordance with the Minnesota Wetland Conservation Act
and City's Wetland Protection ordinance; 4) work to prevent contamination of the
aquifers, promote groundwater recharge and encourage water conservation
practices; 5) control or manage sediment discharge into surface water resources
and drainage ways; 6) support water recreation activities and fish and wildlife
habitat by implementation of programs to maintain or improve water quality; 7)
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increase public involvement and knowledge in management and protection of
water resources.
Pieper asked for the definition of"impaired waters" and if all bodies of water in
Eden Prairie were impaired. Modrow replied it was a standard by the MPCA
based on metrics such as water clarity and quality, chlorides, phosphorus or
nitrogen, turbidity (excess sediment), E coli (due to goose droppings and other
sources), etc. The MPCA put together a list of these impaired waters indicating
their total maximum daily load and required cities to limit themselves to this and
adopt improvement plans. These bodies of water could be delisted. Mitchell and
Red Rock were being delisted this year, but the creeks were being listed for
turbidity. The water bodies on the east side of Eden Prairie in the Nine Mile Creek
District were not impaired,but Staring and Riley were both impaired due to
nutrients.
Villarreal asked and received clarification of the approved average residential rate
changes shown by the dashed line in the Funding Considerations chart, based on
the storm water utility fee, which showed 15 percent over the next two years, 8
percent in 2021, and then would be flat at 3 percent after that. The intention was
to build up a capital reserve and operating expenses. Villarreal asked if this plan
estimated the impact of residential rain water collection (in rain barrels, etc.) on
residents' water utility bills, since that water would not flow through City
systems, and Modrow replied residents collecting rain water would not increase
their bills or decrease City revenues, since water bills were a standard residential
flat fee also based on acreage. Rain water collection and other unmetered water
did not save residents' money if they continued to purchase water for other uses
(drinking, etc.).
Farr asked if the objective was to have a consistent set of rules for the City and
the watersheds regarding construction in Eden Prairie. Modrow replied the City
has a municipal storm water permit with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
and the three watershed districts had their own independent permits with the
MPCA.
Rick Wahlen, Utility Operations Manager, presented a PowerPoint on the water
supply section (formerly the emergency supply plan) of the chapter and described
the City's policy on uncollected water bills. Villarreal urged having a more
accurate metering and billing system was a way to address uncollected revenue,
the cost of which was borne by other residents. Wahlen replied the City had a zero
percent inaccuracy meter rate. City staff was aware of the loss of revenue due to
the aging of older meters.
Wahlen explained the purpose of the water supply plan was to help local water
suppliers implement long-term sustainability and conservation measures, develop
critical emergency preparedness measures, and fulfill water supplier's statutory
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obligations. Auxiliary purposes of the plan were to help water suppliers prepare
for droughts and water emergencies; create eligibility for funding requests for
DWRF (Drinking Water Revolving loan Fund), allow suppliers to submit requests
for new or expanded wells, and enable the DNR (Department of Natural
Resources) analyze water usage. The Water Conservation Plan was a part of this
water supply plan. This included one of the most exhaustive education programs
in the area on conservation and leakage detection, which also addressed
Villarreal's concern about revenue loss.
Wahlen also presented a PowerPoint and described the Waste Water section of the
chapter. The purpose of the Wastewater Plan was to portray the condition of the
sanitary sewer under future flow (due to growth) conditions, anticipate future
changes, and allow for development of a sustainable capital improvement
program. The projections used for this section of the plan were the same used for
the rest of the Aspire 2040 Plan.
Villarreal asked if the City had reached out to Xcel or the Department of
Commerce to expand water efficiency appliance purchases rebates as with other
efficiency rebate programs. Wahlen replied he was interested to hear more about
this, as it seemed a good idea; the current programs focused only on the usage of
the water itself. The City has shown continual negative water use. However, a
rebate program for appliance purchases could be explored. Villarreal added the
sewer and water system followed "peaks" and asked if the rate structure being
tied to times of usage had been explored. Wahlen replied there was at present no
real-time metering system. However, if the water treatment plan could be pumped
only at night, that would cut costs,but the City did not have the storage capacity
to do that. Pieper asked for an example of a"superuser" of water. Wahlen replied
the chlorinated water trucks in Eden Prairie were 5,000 gallons; five of those
trucks in one day would be a large or"superuser." He offered to get back to the
commission with other examples. Industrial manufacturing plants which used
water for cooling would have that level of discharge.
Farr noted the GPDC (gallons per day per capita) seemed strictly a residential
metric, and asked why the Met Council used this when a commercial-industrial-
residential mix could offer different results. Wahlen replied the City did convert
the results to have a consistent metric, which reflected the nationwide
measurement. Farr noted the fact the numbers came down could be due in part to
Minnesota plumbing changes toward low-flow fixtures, especially in new
developments and growing communities. Wahlen agreed. Farr asked if Eden
Prairie would do any education around gray water separate piping systems.
Wahlen replied Eden Prairie would work with residents with the plumbing code if
approached; however, the potential for cross-contamination was not adequately
addressed by the plumbing code. The Department of Health and the DNR were
working with the Plumbing Board to arrive at an agreement. Farr asked if the
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MCES charge was only for the MCES interceptor system. Wahlen replied there
were other fees (SAC and WAC) that recovered costs from new development.
IX. MEMBERS' REPORTS
X. CONTINUING BUSINESS
XI. NEW BUSINESS
XII. ADJOURNMENT
MOTION: Freiberg moved, seconded by Kirk to adjourn the Planning Commission
meeting. MOTION CARRIED 8-0. Chair Pieper adjourned the meeting at 9:15 p.m.