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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 PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES August 27, 2018 Page 2 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 PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES August 27, 2018 Page 3 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) PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES August 27, 2018 Page 4 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 PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES August 27, 2018 Page 5 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 PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES August 27, 2018 Page 6 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.