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ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — AUGUST 15, 2011 9 City Planner, Meagan Beekman addressed the land use application fees. She explained that the current fee schedule for planning cases is structured based on the type of request and charged accordingly. For the 2012 Fee Schedule, staff intends to review the City's rates compared with surrounding communities to determine if alterations are appropriate. In 2010, the fee schedule was revised to include the escrow amount in the stated fee to avoid confusion. That escrow fee is set aside to cover costs the City may incur, such as legal fees, traffic studies, or outside engineering fees. The balance is then released back to the developer once Staff is sure no additional expenses will be forthcoming. Councilmember Holmes questioned how we came up with the fee amounts reflected in the schedule for land use planning. City Planner Beekman responded that in 2008 and again in 2010 the Staff researched fees charged by surrounding cities: Mayor Grant commented that he thought we should not be on the low side for "developer type fees ", but slightly higher than surrounding communities. City Administrator Klaers explained that the Council minutes reflect that Councilmember Holden believed that the $250 final PUD fee was too low. He added that City Planner Beekman was not in attendance at that meeting. City Planner Beekman stated final PUD is basically a final site plan review requiring no public hearing and no notification. She added that she will be reviewing the fees for the 2012 Fee Schedule and can provide feedback to the Council at that time. City Planner, Meagan Beekman stated that at the December 2010 Council Work Session, Council commented that fee schedule language pertaining to recycling bins was confusing. This language will be amended in the 2012 Fee Schedule to more clearly state that the City provides a free recycling bin to each property in the City and that if additional bins are needed, they can be purchased for $6.00 each. Mayor Grant stated the assumption is that Staff will escalate certain fees in the 2012 Fee Schedule and present them to Council for consideration. D. US 10 / Highway 96 Interchange Improvements — Municipal Consent Process Public Works Director Maurer explained that at the April 25, 2011, work session, Ramsey County representatives presented the proposed US 10 /Highway 96 grade separation project. Since this proposal alters access, it does require Municipal Consent from the City. The Council held the required public hearing for Municipal Consent on July 11, 2011. The City has 90 days from the date of that hearing to take action to approve, deny, or disapprove with conditions. The last Council meeting within this 90 day window is September 26. If the Council takes no action, Municipal Consent is considered to be granted.