07-20-2020-WS - Laserfiche WebLink

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ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION – JULY 20, 2020 5 Councilmember Scott said there was a significant old tree on site that he would like noted and preserved if possible. He thought the discussion occurred on a social site and he would try to find out where the tree is. Community Development Manager/City Planner Mrosla mentioned this proposal will require a public hearing at both the Planning Commission and City Council meetings. Also, they are intending to meet or exceed the architectural standards. Mayor Grant noted they would like to know the slope of the roof but generally 4 of 5 councilmembers are OK with 55 feet, 4 of 5 are OK with the number of units. Mr. Cozine said the architect responded that the peak of the roof will be 60 feet. Councilmember McClung clarified that the number of units would be OK with other additions to the PUD such as a trail. Community Development Manager/City Planner Mrosla said the next steps would be for the applicant to make a land use application with the City and submit plans for review, and make application with the water shed district for stormwater review. B. MnDOT Access Study for Snelling Avenue (Highway 51) Closure Update Ms. Simer noted that Council had asked for further opportunities for public input about the closure of Hamline Avenue at Snelling. They hosted an open house in May and collected comments before and after. Ms. Simer explained that MnDOT had closed the left turn from southbound Snelling Avenue to Hamline Avenue temporarily in 2019 as part of the mitigation strategy for the 1-35W MnPASS project, anticipating more traffic on Snelling Avenue. Signal timing was adjusted for left hand turns and U-turns at Lydia Avenue. The Cable Median Barrier Project was planned independently of the I-35W project as part of a state-wide initiative to prevent run off road crashes. Cable barriers are planned for Snelling Avenue. Ms. Simer continued that there were 5 crashed at the intersection of Snelling and Hamline from 2016-2018, one of which was a fatality. By closing the left turn lane, they anticipate traffic will reroute to intersections with traffic signals. Prior to the closure, vehicles were observed queuing beyond the left turn lane and into the through lane which creates a crash risk. Prior to the closure only about 8% of cars that turned left onto Hamline were headed to residences in adjacent neighborhoods. Analysis was done to see how the change was affecting Lydia Avenue. Travel time spiked initially, but trended down. Turning left at Lydia takes approximately five minutes longer than turning on Hamline Avenue. Emergency responders in the area were contacted to understand what impact they saw from the closure. They did not feel it would cause delays because they use routing software to respond to calls.