Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-16-14-WS -ARZENN HILLS Approved: August 11, 2014 CITY OF ARDEN HILLS, MINNESOTA CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION JUNE 16,2014 5:00 P.M. - ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, Mayor Grant called to order the City Council work session at 5:25 p.m. Present: Mayor David Grant; Councilmembers Brenda Holden, Fran Holmes, Dave McClung, and Ed Werner Absent: None Also present: City Administrator Patrick Klaers; Director of Finance and Administrative Services Sue Iverson; Public Works Director Terry Maurer; Community Development Director Jill Hutmacher; and City Clerk Amy Dietl 1. AGENDA ITEMS A. Revisions to the Draft TCAAP Master Plan Land Use Map Community Development Director Hutmacher stated that the City Council has been meeting to discuss topics related to the approval of the TCAAP master plan land use map as follows: • Parks, Trails, and Recreation Committee (PTRC) recommendations for park needs and amenities (April 21) • Surface water amenity(April 21) • Residential development and densities (May 19) • Flex space land use (May 19) Community Development Director Hutmacher explained that the PTRC recommended the inclusion of specific amenities within each park area. The recommendations, which were accepted by the City Council, can be summarized as follows: • Park areas in neighborhoods should include play structures, a gazebo, and off-street parking(located either in lots or in bump-outs along the public street); ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—JUNE 16, 2014 2 • 1 located nearer to center or at the entrance to residential neighborhoods so Parks should be g that park traffic is not routed through the neighborhood; • An adult athletic facility (softball and hockey) should be located adjacent to a County road. This facility should be lighted and ideally will have shared parking with adjacent businesses. Community Development Director Hutmacher indicated that the City Council also discussed goals for the surface water amenity on April 21. Council comments included: • Pond areas should be well-maintained and should have water present at all times; • Ponds may be connected by natural areas or a"brook"environment; • Trails and benches should be included so that the surface water management can also be a site amenity. Community Development Director Hutmacher reported that the City Council discussed residential densities and the flex space land use on May 19, 2014. The City Council chose not to set a maximum number of dwelling units at this time. It was noted that the City Council did not make changes to the amount of land designated for the flex space land use. The City Council discussed their preference for office development and that this type of development should be allowed and encouraged in the flex space area. The City Council discussed establishing regulations that limit the amount of warehouse/distribution uses at TCAAP. Community Development Director Hutmacher stated that based on City Council direction on May 19, 2014, revisions have been made to the draft master plan land use map which can be summarized as follows: • Parks in the Creek, Hill, and Town neighborhoods have been adjusted slightly to accommodate recommended amenities. It is important to note that the exact size, dimensions, and layouts of parks will be determined at a later date. The PTRC recommendations focused on the amenities required in each park--how those amenities are accommodated at each site will be determined during park design. • The Town neighborhood park adjacent to the existing water treatment facility has been more clearly identified as a park. The civic area adjacent to the park contains the water treatment facility and space for another civic use such as a small amphitheater or a historical marker/display. • In the Creek neighborhood, the park location has been shifted to be closer to the entrance to the neighborhood. This has been done to limit the amount of program-related traffic driving through the neighborhood. (In the case of the Hill park, it is not possible to shift the location due to the terrain. The ball fields need relatively flat surface areas, and there are limited locations in the Hill neighborhood where this is possible.) • Pocket parks were removed as they are too small to be maintained and programmed by the City. Developers will be encouraged to include pocket parks that will be privately owned and maintained. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—JUNE 16, 2014 3 • An adult athletic facility (softball fields and ice rinks) has been added to the flex space area west of the spine road. Because this facility will need to be lighted and will attract primarily adult users, it is appropriate that it be located outside of residential neighborhoods and along the County road. Shared parking with adjacent businesses will be considered, similar to what is currently in place at Cummings Park. • The size of the flex space land use acreage has decreased by 16.7 acres due to the addition of the adult athletic facility west of the Spine Road as well as the amenities required in the Hill park. This makes the park slightly larger which expanded the residential land use in the Hill neighborhood and slightly decreased the size of the flex space area east of the Spine Road. • A block of residential development at the north end of the Town neighborhood was removed to accommodate anticipated storm water management needs in that area. • A second access road was added to the Creek neighborhood. Ramsey County has informed the City that there is no funding source for the County Road I connection from the "California" portion of the TCAAP site at this time. Without a commitment for a County Road I connection at this location, a second access point is necessary for public safety. • The color on the map for the surface water management area has been changed to better depict its purpose. Community Development Director Hutmacher stated that a comparison of total acreage per land use and per neighborhood, between the December 2013 and May 2014 versions of the draft land use map has been provided to the Council. The total non-developable acres (civic, parks, spine road, and surface water management) increased by 19.6 acres. This is largely due to the increased size of the neighborhood parks and the addition of the adult athletic facility on the spine road. Of the total increase in non-developable area, 3.2 acres is attributed to an increase in the size of the surface water management area. The actual size of the surface water management area will be determined by the Infrastructure Study. Community Development Director Hutmacher commented that in terms of the acreage devoted to particular land uses, the revised draft master plan has 5.9 acres less of residential land, some of which is attributable to additional roads in residential neighborhoods (internal road acreage will be sold as part of larger development parcels), and some of which is attributable to additional surface water management area. Community Development Director Hutmacher reported that the revised draft master plan map also has 16.7 acres less of flex space land use as explained earlier. Ramsey County has expressed concerns regarding the decrease in flex space land use as it has an effect on land sale revenues and the County's ability to meet its primary goals of job creation and tax base increase. Following a request by the JDA, Mark Ruff, Ehlers, has provided a memo describing the financial consequences of the changes to the draft master plan. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—JUNE 16, 2014 4 Community Development Director Hutmacher stated that the City Council is scheduled to consider approval of the master plan land use map on June 30, 2014. Direction is needed on the following questions: 1. Does the City Council support the changes that have been made to the revised draft land use map? 2. Would the City Council like to see additional changes made prior to June 30? Community Development Director Hutmacher requested that the Council discuss the TCAAP master plan land use map and provide direction to staff. Mayor Grant encouraged the Council to consider the concerns expressed by some JDA members regarding financial implications of the decrease in developable area. An item of importance to both the County and the City is the creation of jobs. It was noted that a fair amount of property has been pulled out of the master plan land use map for parks and surface water management. He suggested that these areas be balanced against jobs and taxes. Andrew Dresdner, Cuningham Group, reviewed the master plan land use map. He described how the parks and green space has changed the land use map, and he commented that a U12/14 soccer field was added to the Hill neighborhood. Councilmember Holden indicated that the City currently requires commercial properties to have 40% of the site as landscaped area. She expressed concern with how the TCAAP site would look and feel if only 15% of commercial properties would be required to be open or green. She understood that there needed to be a balance, but she did not want to get away from basic Arden Hills' standards. Councilmember Werner commented on the proposed athletic facilities. He was concerned with the amount of space the softball complex would consume. He discussed his softball experience in St. Peter, Minnesota. He stated that when he lived in St. Peter, the City had six ball fields and 9,000 residents. Councilmember McClung recognized the importance of parks given the proposed density on TCAAP. He believed that green space outlets would be needed for these residents in order to attract them to live and work in this area. Councilmember Holmes commented that there was concern over the park land on the blue I-flex parcel. She suggested that the Town Center be a more active park area as this would draw people into the downtown area. Mayor Grant questioned how many ball fields were needed per 1,000 residents. Public Works Director Maurer explained that the City currently had enough ball fields (six) south of Highway 96. Staff used this data as a starting point for TCAAP and this recommendation was passed along to the PTRC. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—JUNE 16, 2014 5 Mayor Grant stated that the City currently has six ball fields and a population of 10,000. This is one ball field for every 1,500 residents. He reported that the City had roughly 12,000 jobs in Arden Hills, which meant one ball field for every 2,000 jobs. Public Works Director Maurer explained that adult softball fields are used more heavily by businesses and considering the amount of commercial/business uses that would be developed on TCAAP, the softball complex was proposed. Mayor Grant indicated that the consultants and staff have estimated that TCAAP would have approximately 4,000 jobs and 3,200 residents. At this time, two softball fields and two youth fields are being proposed. He estimated that two ball fields would be sufficient given the correlation between jobs and fields when compared to the rest of the City. Discussion ensued regarding horizontal versus vertical commercial development. Mayor Grant inquired if there was a way to project how many ball fields were needed for a development. Public Works Director Maurer reported that staff calculated adult fields separately from youth fields. Andrew Dresdner believed it was important for the City to have programmed fields and unprogrammed fields. This would allow for residents to use green space in both organized and unorganized ways. Councilmember Holden stated that the Northwest Quadrant was also developing at this time and would need recreational space. She questioned how many acres would be eliminated from the master plan land use map if only a single ball field was proposed on the flex area. Mr. Dresdner stated that this was a 9.2 acre park currently and by having only one ball field, the park size would be reduced to 4.5 acres. Councilmember McClung commented that the residents in this area could still recreate on a 4.5 acre park and then the remaining 4.5 acres could be turned back into flex space. He was in favor of placing additional green space in the Town Center area given its higher density. Councilmember Holden asked how the parks in the Creek and Hill neighborhoods have changed. Community Development Director Hutmacher reported that the Creek park was originally 3 acres in size and has increased to 4.2 acres. The Hill park was previously 5 acres and is now 7.7 acres. Mayor Grant questioned if the adult softball fields could be moved into a neighborhood. Public Works Director Maurer discouraged the Council from moving adult softball fields to a residential area as it could become a problem for the surrounding residents. He requested further comment from the Council on how to proceed with the park land. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—JUNE 16, 2014 6 Councilmember Holden supported that the park size in the Creek neighborhood, as this area also has room for a pocket park. The Council was in agreement. Councilmember Holden reported that the Hill neighborhood park increased in size by 2.7 acres and now has a proposed baseball/soccer and freestanding U10/12 soccer field. Public Works Director Maurer stated that the easiest way to reduce the size of this park would be to leave the combined baseball and soccer field and eliminate the freestanding U10/12 soccer field. Councilmember Holden supported this recommendation as this would bring the park down to 6.25 acres and the remainder of additional space could be turned in to flex space. The Council was in agreement in supporting a single ball field. Councilmember Holden requested further information on the water treatment/civic park area. Community Development Director Hutmacher reported that this area has a great deal of flexibility and staff is uncertain how much space would be needed for a stormwater structure. She reported that this park area does not take away from flex space. Councilmember Holden believed that the double ball field was the main concern at this time. She supported this park area being reduced in size to support a single ball field. This would provide approximately 5 acres of additional flex space. Councilmember Holmes reported that the 75 parking spaces could also be reduced in size if one of the ball fields was eliminated. The Council was in agreement in supporting a single ball field. Mayor Grant commented that the Council has now agreed to add back 12 acres of flex space. He discussed the possibility of getting a ball field from the National Guard. It was noted that the Council would be considering approval of the final land use map on June 30, 2014. Mayor Grant turned the discussion to density and flex land use. He reported that the Council was in favor of limiting the amount of warehouse distribution uses on TCAAP. Councilmember Holden wanted to see some retail located near Highway 96 on the spine road. She stated that more people would be employed through retail than flex space. Mayor Grant indicated that the Council may need further clarification on how the light blue/flex space land use would be defined. He encouraged Council and staff to consider how TCAAP would look when entering the site from Highway 96. He wanted the development to appear inviting and believed that could be achieved with some retail on Highway 96. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—JUNE 16, 2014 7 Community Development Director Hutmacher stated that from a land use perspective, if the Council was trying to create a Town Center, it should be an attraction and a destination. She wanted to see the Town Center area prosper long term. Councilmember Holden agreed but believed that a small area of retail could be located along Highway 96. She believed that a coffee shop, bagels, etc. would do well in this area. Councilmember McClung envisioned having a nice water feature with retail and large office buildings at the entrance to TCAAP from Highway 96. Mayor Grant suggested that five acres be set aside for retail at the Highway 96 entrance. He understood that this area should not take away from the Town Center, but wanted to create a welcoming retail presence at the entrance to TCAAP. Public Works Director Maurer commented that if retail was placed in this area that it be located along the spine road to allow for proper egress and ingress. Councilmember Holden was in favor of the five acres of retail appearing in red on the land use map as this would offer clarity to future developers. Councilmember McClung did not believe that this parcel should be zoned retail (red) and suggested it remain flex. He wanted to see the entrance point remain flexible. Community Development Director Hutmacher explained that a commercial transition zone could be considered for the flex land use. Councilmember Holmes suggested that the entrance area be zoned dark purple on the map as this would allow the site to be zoned flex business/retail. Councilmember McClung proposed a hash-marked area on the map to allow for greater flexibility. Councilmember Holden was in favor of having the entrance point in red on the map. Mayor Grant suggested that staff pencil this area in red on the map for the time being and gain feedback from the County regarding this change. He requested that the Council turn the conversation to the surface water amenity. He questioned if staff knew the size of the water amenity. Community Development Director Hutmacher explained that staff was not certain of the size at this time. Councilmember Holden questioned where the three bodies of water would be located. Public Works Director Maurer reviewed the rough location of the three bodies of water with the Council. He reported that the size of each would not be determined until the stormwater ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—JUNE 16, 2014 8 calculations were complete. He explained that on June 30'' the infrastructure design team would be present to discuss this in further detail with the Council. Discussion ensued regarding the location of the bodies of water as well as road access issues. Mayor Grant provided comment on density stating that the consultants were proposing and the County was supporting 1,770 units. He discussed how density could impact land value and property taxes. He suggested that the Council consider this matter and decide on a density number in the near future. Councilmember Holden stated that she would like to see no more than 1,500 units. She believed that any higher density would be difficult for the site to manage. She feared how traffic would be impacted by TCAAP given the fact the area was already congested. Councilmember McClung could support starting at 1,770 units, but could split the difference between the high and low numbers by having 1,650 units. Councilmember Holmes was uncertain where she stood on this issue. She was in favor of lower density for traffic purposes, but had a feeling this would not support the proposed retail. Councilmember Werner understood both the City's and the County's point of view on this matter. He preferred that TCAAP have 1,600 to 1,700 units. Mayor Grant stated that he supported 1,500 units on TCAAP. He discussed how density could be altered or expanded vertically to make the lot sizes for homes larger. He understood that there may be transportation issues but also wanted the retail to be properly supported. He wanted TCAAP to resemble Arden Hills and not downtown Minneapolis. Councilmember Holden agreed but stated that TCAAP could have a very urban look. Community Development Director Hutmacher encouraged the Council to visit several neighborhoods in the metro area to see some examples of potential setbacks and densities. Mayor Grant agreed that this would provide the Council with a great visual. He recommended that the Council visit neighborhoods and set a goal for the end of July to come to a decision on density. B. Economic Development Commission Update Community Development Director Hutmacher stated that a State of the City event was held in September 2011 and 2013. The purpose of the event is to build relationships with the Arden Hills business community and to provide local businesses with information about City projects and goals. In order to maximize business turnout for the event, the State of the City has been held on a weekday morning with continental breakfast included. Feedback for both the 2011 and 2013 events was very positive, and the EDC recommends holding a 2014 State of the City event. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—JUNE 16, 2014 9 Community Development Director Hutmacher explained that last year, the State of the City was held at Flaherty's Arden Bowl. The total cost of the event was approximately $1,640 ($965 for food and $675 for advertisement/mailings); 75 people attended the event. The EDC recommends that the 2014 event be held at Flaherty's again, and tentatively scheduled the event for Thursday, September 25, although it was later learned that the EDC Chair would be out-of- town on that date. 1. Does the City Council want to hold a business-focused State of the City event in 2014? 2. If so, is the date and location acceptable to the City Council? 3. What topics would the City Council like to present at the State of the City? 4. In addition to the weekday event, should the presentation be given on an evening or weekend to allow greater resident participation? If so, when should that occur? Community Development Director Hutmacher reported that the EDC has been working on a draft script for the City Video Tour. The total length of the video is expected to be approximately four minutes including testimonials. Filming is expected to begin soon and will utilize the 100 hours provided in the contract with CTV. Mayor Grant recommended that the Council hold a State of the City event for residents given the major development taking place on TCAAP. Councilmember Werner stated that the EDC was in favor of holding the State of the City meeting on two separate dates to promote the attendance of both business owners and residents. Councilmember McClung agreed that a State of the City should be held this year that was focused on both businesses and residents. He believed that two meetings could be held; one during the day and one in the evening and both would have the same agenda. Councilmember Holden also supported a State of the City meeting that would address businesses and residents. She recommended that a date be selected for both meetings. This would ensure that businesses and residents are made aware of the upcoming State of the City event. Discussion ensued regarding the date and location of the State of the City meeting. Community Development Director Hutmacher commented that Flaherty's could be selected again for the State of the City meeting held in the morning and that City Hall could be used for the evening meeting. Councilmember Holmes suggested 7:30 a.m. on Thursday, September 18th for the State of the City morning meeting and Tuesday, September 23rd at 6:30 p.m. for the evening meeting. There was Council consensus regarding the dates and times. C. 2015-2019 CIP Discussion ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—JUNE 16, 2014 10 Director of Finance and Administrative Services Iverson indicated that this item could be l addressed by the Council at the next regularly scheduled work session in July. 2. COUNCIL COMMENTS AND STAFF UPDATES None. ADJOURN Mayor Grant adjourned the City Council work session at 8:24 p.m. 6 4n,�Q , I- 'l1 4j— Amy Dietl David Grant City Clerk Mayor