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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-02-15-WS 'It �, VEEN�HILLS Approved: May 26, 2015 CITY OF ARDEN HILLS,MINNESOTA SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MAY 2,2015 9:00 A.M. -ARDEN HILLS CITY HALL CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, Mayor Grant called to order the special City Council work session at 9:08 a.m. Present: Mayor David Grant; Councilmembers Brenda Holden, Fran Holmes, Dave McClung (arrived at 9:30 a.m.), and Robert Woodburn Absent: None Also present: City Administrator Patrick Klaers and Director of Finance and Administrative Services Sue Iverson Mayor Grant asked the Council if they wanted to tape record the work session. It was the consensus of the Council to not tape record the work session. 1. AGENDA ITEMS A. Rice Creek Commons (TCAAP) Mayor Grant requested that the Council discuss the Creek neighborhood. Councilmember Holden stated that she liked the site plan for the Watermark proposal in Lino Lakes. This site plan was included in the September 22, 2014, handout that was in the agenda packet. She stated that overall, the TCAAP proposal has too many townhouses and that all of the small lots should not be developed with townhouses. Councilmember Holmes stated that she also liked the Watermark proposal and that she thinks Fit Test Option 2 for the Creek looks pretty good. Councilmember Holden stated that she could support Fit Test Option 2 for the Creek. Mayor Grant talked about the Council establishing a vision for TCAAP and then having the Code changed to fit the Council's vision. ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—MAY 2. 2015 2 Discussion took place on some of the definitions for neighborhood densities. Councilmember Woodburn discussed his vision for TCAAP. He stated that the Council should set the vision and let staff do the detailed work for how the vision can be accomplished. He distributed a marked up copy of Attachment 1 that displayed his vision for TCAAP. This map showed more area in the NB-1 subdistrict(colored yellow)than previous proposals. Councilmember Holmes disagreed with letting staff implement the Council's vision without clear direction from the Council. She stated that staff and developers need Council direction because the Council wants a variety of housing in TCAAP. She stated that the Council needs to direct staff on how this variety should be achieved. Councilmember McClung arrived at 9:30 a.m. Councilmember Holden reviewed the acreage and density in Watermark. She stated her support for Fit Test Option 2 for the Creek and noted that what the Council approves also needs to be supported by the County. Councilmember McClung stated that he liked the staff memo that outlined how the February 24 land use plan could be adjusted to realize an actual housing yield of about 1450 units. He stated that he could support the plan and the suggested changes as listed in the staff memo. Mayor Grant stated that the Council's vision for TCAAP should come first and the consideration of our partner's (Ramsey County)position should come second. Councilmember McClung stated that he would like to see more residential development on the site but that he could support the plan as outlined in the staff memo. Councilmember Woodburn stated that he thought that Fit Test Option 2 for the Creek has too much density and that he couldn't support it. Mayor Grant stated that the City needs to approve a plan so the County can respond to the City's position and vision. Councilmember Holden stated that she looked at the County as a land owner and developer and that the City always worked together with the developers on projects. Mayor Grant stated that he could also support Fit Test Option 2 for the Creek. Mayor Grant summarized the Council's discussion on the Creek as the majority being in support of Fit Test Option 2 which shows a housing unit yield of 149. Mayor Grant asked for the Council to discuss the Hill neighborhood. Councilmember Holmes stated that she thought that a Watermark type development could also work for the Hill neighborhood. She stated that she also likes parts of Fit Test Option 2 for the Hill. ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—MAY 2, 2015 3 Councilmember Holden agreed but expressed concern with the row houses in the Hill as outlined in Fit Test Option 2. Councilmember Holmes commented that the Watermark development showed 42-foot wide lots. Councilmember Holden stated that, based on the work session with the residential developers, she understood that 50-foot frontage was the minimum that the market would support. Councilmember Woodburn stated that he thought that Fit Test Option 2 and the Watermark proposal were too dense for the Hill. Councilmember Holden reviewed information that was included in the packet on the Hazelnut neighborhood in Arden Hills. Councilmember Holmes stated that she did not see a need for any NB-1 in the Hill and that the City should only do NB-2 and NB-3 in the Hill. Councilmember Holden agreed. She suggested that the entire NB-1 be moved to the NB-2 subdistrict. The Council agreed with this suggestion. Mayor Grant noted that the densities in the neighborhoods will be higher than what exists in the rest of Arden Hills. Discussion took place regarding the minimum and maximum densities in the subdistricts. Mayor Grant stated that if the Hill layout follows the Creek layout, then he thought that the housing yield would be about 321. Councilmember Holden wanted the Council to discuss what should be allowed to be built in the NB-3 subdistrict. Discussion took place on various types of attached and detached housing units. Councilmember Holden noted that the developers have stated that they will build mostly attached townhouses when the density gets to five units per acre or more. She stated that the Council may need to look at the neighborhood density (high, medium, and low) definitions that are in the TRC. She stated that she wanted the Council to consider some definitions that would require single family houses on 50-foot lots. Councilmember Holmes suggested dividing the NB-3 subdistrict into NB-3A and NB-313 and allowing only single family homes in one of the areas. Mayor Grant suggested establishing an NB-3A and an NB-313 subdistrict for attached and detached housing. ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—MAY 2, 2015 4 Councilmember Woodburn discussed the very nice townhouses that he recently saw in Oakdale. The Council requested that the definition of Small Lot Single Family on page 28 of the TRC be changed to read as: "A single-family residential lot that measures fifty(50) feet wide or less." The Council requested that NB-3A only allow Single Family developments and that NB-3B allow all the other uses from the original NB-3 subdistrict. The Council further agreed that the NB-3 land area in the Hill be split 50/50 between NB-3A and NB-3B. The Council discussed what the resulting housing yield would be based on information in Fit Test Option 2 and the new definitions and areas for the subdistricts. The Council agreed that there could be about 62 houses built in the 30 acres that are in the NB-2 subdistrict; about 113 houses built in the 16.25 acres that are in the NB-3A subdistrict; and about 98 homes built in the 16.25 acres that are in the NB-313 subdistrict. Mayor Grant noted that between the Hill and Creek neighborhoods, there is about 16.25 acres of multifamily and the rest is single family. The Council took a break from 11:00 to 11:10 a.m. Mayor Grant requested that the Council discuss the Town neighborhood. It was noted that Fit Test Option 2 has about 5 acres less available for residential development as the retail space was expanded by 1.3 acres and the pedestrian corridor green space was expand by 3.6 acres. The Council discussed the proposed change in acreage for apartments from the February 24 land use plan (17 acres at 40 units/acre for 680 total maximum units) to the proposal from April 20 (11.25 acres at 40 units/acre for 450 total maximum units). It was noted that this was a decrease of over 200 units and that this subdistrict would include multi-family developments for seniors. The Council discussed the Maxfield Study as it relates to senior housing; maximizing the value of the developed land; the demand for apartments and that high quality amenities are a requirement; the need for some but not too many Townhouses; and the County's concerns with a TCAAP plan that includes densities that are too low to meet their redevelopment goals. Councilmember Holmes stated that she liked the layout in Fit Test Option 2 for the pedestrian/green space areas and how it worked with the neighborhoods. Councilmember Holden stated that a developer only needs 2-3 acres for the building footprint to get 150 units in a four(4) floor project. Councilmember Holmes suggested that 10 acres be dedicated to apartments and the balance of the area be split between NT-1 and NT-2. ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—MAY 2, 2015 5 Councilmember Holden stated that the density for multi-family would need to be increased to 45units/acre in order to get a yield of 450 apartment units from 10 acres. Also, by using 19.5 acres for both NT-1 and NT-2 and a housing yield of 9 units per acre for NT-1 (total of 176) and 12 units per acre for NT-2 (total of 234), would equate to a housing unit yield of 860 in the Town neighborhood. The Council was in general agreement with this housing unit yield and mix for the Town. Councilmember Holden noted that the definition, as listed on page 30 of the TRC, for Transition Medium Density needs to be adjusted by deleting the phrase"or multi-family". The Council concurred with this proposal. The Council discussed the housing yield for the total project being in the 1360 range. This is broken down into the Creek at 149, the Hill at 350, and the Town at 860 (apartments at 450 and Town Transition at 410). It was noted that the maximum densities for these areas and subdistricts would be higher than what was discussed at this work session because the development only yields between 89 and 95 percent of the maximum densities due to parcel sizes and configurations and road alignments. The Council noted that allowing the subdistricts in the Creek and the Hill to move around (provided that the entire neighborhood was platted all at once) should improve the development efficiencies. The Council discussed allowing this flexibility for the Town neighborhood. It was further noted that when it comes to housing yield, some subdistricts, such as for the apartments, could be more efficient than other subdistricts, such as the NB-1 in the Creek. Overall, at 92% efficiency, a maximum density of 1480 would yield approximately 1362 housing units. Mayor Grant asked if the Council wanted to review and discuss any changes to the TRC. Mayor Grant stated that he had concerns with warehousing and allowing a height of 24 feet. Councilmember Holden stated that she was only prepared to discuss the three neighborhoods at this work session. She had not planned to review her Code issues or the "blue" area on the land use map. Councilmember Holmes stated that she did not agree with the definition of warehousing as listed on page 35 of the TRC. She stated that allowing 70% warehousing was too much. Additionally, she stated that the section of the Code(7.6) dealing with the Gateway Overlay District was lame. Councilmember Woodburn suggested that the concerns of the Council may be able to be addressed by not allowing any bulk warehousing. The Council discussed the definition of warehousing and the need for businesses to have a working inventory of materials and finished products. No one on the Council wanted the area to have warehousing as a primary use in TCAAP. Councilmember Holden reviewed, and the Council discussed, the Maxfield Study definitions (on page 121) for office showroom, office warehousing, and bulk warehousing. ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—MAY 2, 2015 6 It was discussed that bulk warehousing is not allowed in the TRC. The Council talked about the businesses in the Round Lake area, and specifically Delkor, and the type of businesses that the Council expected to see in TCAAP. The Council discussed businesses that require a large area for its products that they sell, such as a Mattress Factory, a car dealership, or a telecommunication or cell phone business, and the type of retail that is desired in TCAAP. It was unknown if a 70/30 definition for warehousing would impact these businesses. Mayor Grant started that he was okay with allowing a height of 24 feet in the flex or blue area. The Council discussed the definition of warehousing. It was stated that the only time in which warehousing is allowed is if it is part of a manufacturing and processing operation; and this is only allowed as an accessory use. Councilmember Holmes stated that one of her major concerns is that 70% of a building can be used for warehousing and she feels this amount of space is not an accessory; but rather a primary use. She was also concerned that the TRC didn't state that an office use could not have warehousing. Councilmember Holmes stated that the Gateway Overlay District section needed to be fixed because it was too vague. A better description of what the City wants to see in this district needs to be added to the Code. She also noted that the Table of Contents needs to be corrected. Councilmember Holmes stated that she wanted warehousing taken out of the TRC. She wanted it removed from pages 33 and 35. Mayor Grant was okay with removing warehousing from the Code. Councilmember Holden was okay with removing warehousing from the Code. However, she stated that the Council was also okay with warehousing being in the TRC in February or else it would not be in the final draft that is dated April 2015. She wanted staff to remind her why the Council made the decision that they did regarding warehousing. She stated that staff on Monday should be able to discuss with the Council the rational for having warehousing in its current form in the TRC. The Council discussed Table 5.1: TRC Zoning District Land Use Table as well as Table 5.2 Additional Use Criteria Table. The Council majority agreed to continue this work session to 6:00 p.m. on Monday, May 4, 2015. Councilmember McClung disagreed with continuing the work session. ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—MAY 2, 2015 7 ADJOURN Mayor Grant recessed the special City Council work session at 1:15 p.m. Patrick Klaers David Grant City Administrator Mayor It, --ADEN HILLS Request for Special City Council Work Session A special meeting may be called by the Mayor or by any two Councilmembers. Reason for meeting: 1. Rice Creek Commons (TCAAP) Requested Date: 5/2/15 Requested time: 9:00 AM Open meeting X Closed meeting Signature of person(s) making request: hm4v'-S� 4/ 28 / 15 Mayor or Council Member Date Council Member Date -This section to be completed by City staff- Date received: / / Date meeting to be held: 5/2/15 Time of meeting: 9:00 AM Location: City Hall All necessary posting and notices have been completed. Signature of Ci Clerk Date City of Arden Hills * 1245 West Highway 96 + Arden Hills,MN 55112-5743 Phone 651-792-7800 * Fax 651-634-5137 * www.cityofardenhills.org