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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-18-14-WS It ,-AR E_N HILLS Approved: September 29, 2014 CITY OF ARDEN HILLS, MINNESOTA CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION AUGUST 18,2014 5:00 P.M. - ARDEN HILLS CITY HALL CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, Mayor Pro-Tem Holmes called to order the City Council work session at 5:05 p.m. Present: Mayor David Grant (arrived at 5:21 p.m.); Councilmembers Brenda Holden, Fran Holmes, Dave McClung, and Ed Werner Absent: None Also present: City Administrator Patrick Klaers; Public Works Director Terry Maurer; Community Development Director Jill Hutmacher; Associate Planner Matthew Bachler; City Planner Ryan Streff; and City Clerk Amy Dietl 1. AGENDA ITEMS A. Workshop with Gateway Planning • Discuss Performance Based Zoning Process • Discuss Zoning Elements and Framework • Present Sections 1-5 Community Development Director Hutmacher stated that tonight's City Council work session is the first of three meetings with Gateway Planning, the zoning subconsultant for the TCAAP Master Plan. She noted that at this first meeting, Brad Lonberger from Gateway Planning will introduce performance based zoning, review the framework and important elements of the code, and discuss the initial draft of chapters 1 through 5 which are the administrative and process sections of the code. Community Development Director Hutmacher explained that the City Council will be further discussing chapters 1 through 5 at work sessions on August 25 and September 8. Gateway Planning will return to Arden Hills for the second meeting on September 15, 2014, and at that meeting, it is anticipated that the City Council will hold their final review of chapters 1 through 5 and begin discussing the district guidelines as follows: ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—AUGUST 18, 2014 2 • Chapter 6—Building and Site Development Standards • Chapter 7—Building Design Standards • Chapter 9—Open Space Standards • Chapter 10—Streetscape and Landscape Standards • Chapter 11 —Sign Standards Community Development Director Hutmacher indicated that drafts of chapters 6 — 7 and 9 — 11 will be provided to the City Council prior to the second work session. Brad Lonberger, Gateway Planning, introduced himself to the Council and discussed the revision process that would be followed for making changes to the TCAAP Master Plan in detail. He explained that three goals had been established for the site and they were: 1) to realize the market potential, 2) to create regulations that realize the market potential; and 3) to encourage quality growth and focus on predictability. Mayor Grant arrived at 5:21 p.m. Mr. Lonberger reviewed code sections 1-5 with the Council. He discussed the economic benefits of creating a performance based code, noting it would build value over time. In addition, the creation of neighborhoods, street design, building placement, walkability, gateway points and pedestrian connections are addressed. He thanked the Council for their time and requested comments or questions. Councilmember Holmes asked how it would work to have varying design standards for this part of the City. Mr. Lonberger explained that the design standards could be specific to the TCAAP property or could be established in a manner to be carried throughout the City for all future commercial and residential developments. Community Development Director Hutmacher commented that the legality of this would be addressed in the near future by staff, City Council, and attorneys for the City and Joint Development Authority(JDA). Councilmember McClung stated that he did not mind that the TCAAP site would have different zoning requirements than the rest of the City; however, he wanted to be assured that the City had firm legal footing in order to sustain the TCAAP development. Councilmember Holmes stated that the document was extremely complicated. Councilmember McClung questioned if the City would have the JDA governing TCAAP and the northern half of the City in perpetuity. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION --AUGUST 18, 2014 3 Community Development Director Hutmacher stated that the JDA would remain in place until the last development parcel was sold, which is expected to be a 10 to 15 year time frame. At that point in time, the jurisdiction of the property would be handed over to the City. Michael Norton, attorney for the JDA, discussed the terms related to the termination of the JDA and the diverting of activities to the City. He noted that the Joint Powers Agreement (JPA) could always be amended if needed. Mr. Lonberger stated the difficulty in trying to account for every situation within the TCAAP Redevelopment Code. He noted that the TCAAP code supersedes the zoning code; however, many of the standards currently in place are good and functional and will remain the same, such as Fire and Building Code. Community Development Director Hutmacher stated that the definitions found in the TCAAP Redevelopment Code are only included if they are not defined in the current code. She asked if the Council would like to discuss the new definitions. Councilmember McClung indicated that there are definitions in the code for housing types not currently found in Arden Hills. Even though the type of housing to be built on TCAAP is unknown at this time, he wondered if terms such as "cottage court" are addressed in the TCAAP Redevelopment Code simply because they are not defined in current code. Mr. Lonberger confirmed this to be true and noted that including the new definitions prevents conflicts such as lot sizes not matching. He then went on to discuss the development review process. Discussion ensued regarding Table 3-3 and the process that should be followed for administrative modifications and major modifications. Mayor Grant requested that the process be diagrammed differently in the code. Mayor Grant stated that the City Council is setting the vision for the Master Plan and that the JDA will be implementing the regulations. Community Development Director Hutmacher noted that modifications of the existing Arden Hills code require a PUD process which allows some flexibility. The purpose of the administrative modifications table found within the Code (Table 3-3) is to provide the JDA with the ability to be flexible within a range of certain criteria. Discussion ensued regarding vertical versus horizontal retail as well as commercial-ready standards. Councilmember Holmes discussed the Schedule of Permitted Uses within the code and noted that that some of the uses on the list are uses that the Council may not necessarily want; such as manufacturing and processing Class I and Class II. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—AUGUST 18, 2014 4 Community Development Director Hutmacher stated that Class II manufacturing and processing allows for exterior storage and she does not feel that will be allowed on TCAAP. Further discussion took place regarding the proposed permitted uses. Mayor Grant wanted to see a higher standard used for the apartment complexes. He then discussed several problem apartment complexes. Councilmember Holden requested that staff provide the Council with a more clear definition of neighborhood transition. She suggested that the area designated as open space near the water feature be renamed"water infrastructure". Mayor Grant questioned how the office and warehouse space would be delineated. Mr. Lonberger anticipated that these zoning districts would be broken down to be 75% office and 25%warehouse. Further discussion ensued regarding storage, flex-office and manufacturing space. Mayor Grant wanted to see upscale finishes on the office/warehouse buildings. Mr. Lonberger recommended that the Council define manufacturing to allow a pre-determined percentage of`not to exceed' storage space. This would allow the City to remove any reference to warehousing. The Council supported this suggestion. Councilmember McClung asked if there would be two rows of office/warehouse buildings along the Spine Road and Highway 10. He wanted to be sure that the buildings were presentable from both sides. Mr. Lonberger commented that there would only be one row of buildings. He discussed how the buildings could be screened to ensure that loading bays were not visible from the Spine Road and Highway 10. Councilmember Holmes suggested that higher education be further discussed by the Council. Councilmember Holden supported higher education being excluded from TCAAP. Mayor Grant and Councilmember McClung agreed. Mayor Grant discussed the bus transportation that would be necessary within TCAAP. He recommended that the density of the site be considered along with the number of jobs. The Council discussed the process that would be taken in order to amend the zoning code for TCAAP. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION —AUGUST 18, 2014 5 Councilmember Holden asked if the parking requirements on TCAAP would be the same as the rest of the City. Mr. Lonberger stated that the parking requirements would be site specific for TCAAP. Councilmember Holden requested further information on the grid-style neighborhood design. She wanted to see the number of cul-de-sacs limited. Community Development Director Hutmacher provided comment on this design style. Mr. Lonberger thanked the Council for their input this evening. 2. COUNCIL COMMENTS AND STAFF UPDATES Mayor Grant discussed the former Carroll's Furniture property noting that the Council may be holding a closed meeting in the future to discuss options for this site. He recommended that City Attorney Joel Jamnik be in attendance at this meeting. Councilmember Holmes suggested that this issue be discussed by the EDA in October. ADJOURN Mayor Grant adjourned the City Council work session at 8:12 p.m. (1_j w Amy Dietl David Grant City Clerk Mayor