CC 02-21-2006 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

e e . City Council Work Session Meeting February 21,2006 10 Members of the City Council agreed to continue the CIF discussion at a future work session meeting, Survev ReQuirements for Variance ReQuests Community Development Director Karen Barton provided the City Council with an overview of the City's current survey requirements, At this time, the City currently requircs all Land Use applications to submit a professionally prepared survey as part of the application process. The survey is used by City staff and the Planning Commission for analysis and to formulate a recommendation. This is particularly important when the legal description of the property is being affected or changed. While surveys are important and even vital in many land use and variance requests, staff does recognize that there are instances when a survey may not be necessary. The existing Arden Hills application does not grant staff the authority to waive thc survey requirement for residents. In some cases this may be an unnecessary expense for the applicant. Therefore, in order to better serve the residents of Arden Hills, staff is requesting that the City Council consider authorizing City staff the ability to determine administratively if a survey is necessary on a case-by-case basis. Councilmember Larson asked for an example where the survey requirement could be waived. Community Development Director Barton noted that when a property's foot print is not expanding, it would not rcquire a survey. Councilmember Grant stated that he believed in the past, the Planning Commission did not always require projects to have a survey completed, Councilmember Grant agreed with the recommendation that the City staff should have the authority to waive the requirement for a survey as part of the application process, Members of the City Council concurred. This item will be placed on a future regular meeting agenda for formal action by the CounciL Sign Moratorium Community Development Director Karen Barton provided the City Council with an overview of the proposed sign moratorium, Several months ago, the Cities of Eden Prairie and Hopkins were charged in a lawsuit that alleged their sign ordinance violated an individual's freedom of speech rights, These cases are still being litigated, but if the Cities of Eden Prairie and Hopkins would lose their cases, sign owners would be allowed to install signs without size, lighting, or height restrictions. Due to the on-going litigation, City staff is proposing that the current sign ordinance be amended to reflect recent changes to the Minnesota State Statutes, The new ordinance may take six to twelve months to complete. Given that the City is potentially open legal litigation pertaining to