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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-18-15-WS ,It ,- IZ�ENN HILLS Approved: June 29, 2015 CITY OF ARDEN HILLS,MINNESOTA CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MAY 18,2015 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 5:06 p.m. Present: Mayor David Grant; Councilmembers Brenda Holden, Fran Holmes, Dave McClung, and Robert Woodburn Absent: None Also present: City Administrator Patrick Klaers; City Attorney Joel Jamnik; Director of Finance and Administrative Services Sue Iverson; Public Works Director Terry Maurer; Community Development Director Jill Hutmacher; City Planner Ryan Streff; Associate Planner Matthew Bachler; and City Clerk Amy Dietl 1. AGENDA ITEMS A. 2015 State of the City Community Development Director Hutmacher stated that a business-focused State of the City event was held in September in the years 2011, 2013, and 2014. In 2014, a second State of the City event was held in the evening for the convenience of City residents. In 2014, 70 people attended the morning event, and 60 people attended the evening event. She noted that the total cost of both of the 2014 events was $2,137.38 and included advertising, food, and beverages. Funds are budgeted for a 2015 State of the City in the EDA budget. Community Development Director Hutmacher reported that the EDC recommends that the State of the City be held again in 2015. The members of the EDC would like to promote the event during the upcoming Business Retention and Expansion (BRE) interviews. The morning event is usually held on a Wednesday or Thursday during either the second or third weeks of September. Community Development Director Hutmacher stated that if the Council chooses to hold an evening event in 2015, it could be held September 16-17, 2015. It was noted that September 22- 24, 2015, will not work as there is an APA Conference that staff will be attending. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—MAY 18, 2015 2 Community Development Director Hutmacher provided the following questions for the Council to consider: 1. Would the City Council like to hold a business-focused State of the City event in 2015? Would the City Council like to hold an evening State of the City event as well? 2. Does the Council have a preferred date for either event? 3. Does the City Council have suggestions regarding event venue or program? Mayor Grant questioned how the majority of the money was spent on the 2014 State of the City event. Community Development Director Hutmacher stated that the majority of the money was spent on food and beverages,while the remainder was used for advertising. Councilmember Holden was in favor of holding both State of the City events again this year. Councilmember McClung agreed. Mayor Grant also agreed that both events be held. He asked the Council when these events should be scheduled, and stated that the date could be pushed out to October due to the scheduling conflicts. Councilmember Holmes supported holding the State of the City event in October as it is not an election year for City Council seats. She recommended that the Council look at the last week in September or the first week in October. Community Development Director Hutmacher asked if the Council wanted to hold both events in the same week. She explained that the last week of September could work. She proposed holding the State of the City evening event on September 29th and the morning event on October 1 St Mayor Grant questioned where the Council wanted to hold this year's State of the City event. Councilmember Holmes suggested Flaherty's be chosen for the State of the City business event on October 1St. Mayor Grant commented that the expense to hold the event at Flaherty's was roughly $1,500 for food and beverages. Councilmember Holden did not mind holding the event at Flaherty's but suggested that the food expense be reduced and that the City only offer donuts, muffins, fruit and coffee. The Council was in agreement regarding the dates and the venue. B. Rice Creek Commons (TCAAP) ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—MAY 18, 2015 3 Community Development Director Hutmacher stated that at work sessions on May 2 and 4, 2015, the City Council discussed: • Changes to the size, density, and permitted uses with the Neighborhood and Neighborhood Transition districts. • Language restricting warehousing as an accessory use to Manufacturing and Processing within the Flex Office and Campus Commercial districts. • Additional requirements for the Overlay District. Community Development Director Hutmacher explained that staff has been working with Kimley-Horn and the City Attorney to address these items. She reviewed the proposed changes in further detail with the Council and asked for comments. Councilmember Woodburn asked if the warehousing space would be allowed in office and manufacturing. Community Development Director Hutmacher discussed the draft language and noted that the Code was proposing to only allow warehousing as an accessory to manufacturing uses. She indicated that manufacturing uses would have to have 30% office space. She provided further comment on manufacturing business park standards. Councilmember Holden discussed the 30% office space requirement. She wanted to see a clear division between principal and secondary uses for manufacturing sites. Mayor Grant expressed concern with the manufacturing language stating that he did not want to see substantial warehousing on these sites. City Attorney Jamnik reviewed the redundancy in the Code language regarding primary and secondary uses noting again that 30% of manufacturing sites would have to be office. Councilmember Holmes wanted to see manufacturing as the exclusive or principal use on site and not warehousing. Further discussion ensued regarding manufacturing and warehouse uses. Councilmember Woodburn was in favor of leaving the language `as is'. Mayor Grant questioned if the Council supported the density numbers within the TCAAP Redevelopment Code (TRC). Councilmember McClung did not support the numbers. Councilmember Holmes was in favor of the proposed density numbers. She requested further clarification on the differences between NB-3 and NB-4. Community Development Director Hutmacher explained that the differences between NB-3 and NB-4 noting the uses that are allowed as well as those that are not allowed for each. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—MAY 18, 2015 4 Mayor Grant questioned if the TRC addressed the flexibility level that would be offered if TCAAP had one developer. City Attorney Jamnik reported that the flexibility issue is not written into the TRC. He stated that the idea of flexibility is complicated. He commented that if a single developer came to the City for the Hill, Creek or Town neighborhood, staff would then work with the developer and the City could offer flexibility at that time. He explained that the Met Council would have a difficult time supporting the TRC if too much flexibility was written into the document. He indicated that the Council could add a provision that states that the City is open to significant reassignments and realignments of the zones so long as the overall targets are being met. Community Development Director Hutmacher recommended that the zoning map only be amended by the City Council. City Administrator Klaers stated that it would streamline the review process if language to allow for some level of flexibility for developers could be included. City Attorney Jamnik advised that the language could be amended and that amendments would require a 3/5 vote. He noted that paragraph 1D could be added to read: "Land uses as shown on the map may be moved within the neighborhood." This would allow for shifting to occur. Councilmember McClung supported the proposed language change so long as it required a 4/5 vote. Councilmember Woodburn wanted to see the majority of the responsibility remain with the City of Arden Hills. City Attorney Jamnik explained that the Council may not want to delegate to the JDA developments that could not be fast-tracked. Mayor Grant supported all developments requesting additional flexibility being sent back to the City Council for further consideration. Councilmember Holden asked if the density could be changed through this flexibility. City Attorney Jamnik did not believe this to be the case, but rather that the lots or streets could be shifted. The Council and staff further discussed the JDA approval process. Community Development Director Hutmacher reported that the JDA could only approve projects that were consistent with the Zoning Code. Mayor Grant believed that by offering some level of flexibility this would appeal to future developers. He recommended that staff revise the language within the TRC that addresses residential neighborhood developments. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—MAY 18, 2015 5 Community Development Director Hutmacher provided an introduction to the discussion on the Gateway District and thanked Associate Planner Bachler for his work and efforts on the topic. Associate Planner Bachler provided comment on the Gateway District noting that the City's language was compared to St. Paul's standards for the Phalen Boulevard corridor. He was encouraged by the fact that the City's TRC exceeded the Phalen Boulevard requirements for the City of St. Paul. Councilmember Holden did not want to see "Rice Creek Commons" monument signs as this would create further division between TCAAP and the rest of Arden Hills. She was in favor of having a tower at Highway 96. Staff discussed the public art that was placed in the right-of-way in the City of Blaine. Councilmember Woodburn appreciated the landscaping within The Lakes development in Blaine along with the eight-foot grassy median. Mayor Grant summarized that the Council supported the Gateway District language as presented by staff. He recommended that staff consider road access to AHATS to ensure that property is not landlocked in the future and asked how this would be passed along to developers. Public Works Director Maurer stated that it would be passed along to developers within the TRC through roadway connections and roadway right-of-way widths. This would ensure that options were available should AHATS develop in the future. Mayor Grant expressed concern with how the development would be impacted if more than one leg of the Spine Road intersection was a Level D. He feared that this would land lock the TCAAP development from Highway 10. He noted that the previous development proposal included a right in/right out along Highway 10. Public Works Director Maurer commented that MnDOT was concerned about the future of Highway 10 and may be considering median closures. Councilmember Holden requested that staff review the TRC language to ensure that townhouse and home colors would not be the same lot after lot. Community Development Director Hutmacher discussed the color variation suggestions within the TRC. She believed that the proposed language would allow for variation and architectural differences. She provided further comment on how the TRC addressed fagade building materials. Councilmember Holmes believed that the current language addressed the Council's concerns regarding facade colors and building materials. She also suggested corner buildings at a street intersection within the Gateway District should consider having a tower, turret, cupola or other architectural enhancement. Councilmember McClung wanted to see some sort of architectural enhancement required. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—MAY 18, 2015 6 Councilmember Holden questioned when the Council would be reviewing Stacie Kvilvang's memo. City Administrator Klaers reported that this would be discussed by the Council at a work session on June 15th at 5:00 p.m. Community Development Director Hutmacher requested feedback from the Council on what type of presentation should be made at the May 26th Council meeting for the TRC. Councilmember McClung was in favor of a detailed presentation lasting approximately 15 minutes. The presentation should highlight the TRC zoning and density while discussing the TCAAP neighborhood components. Mayor Grant believed that the presentation should be completed at a very high level. Community Development Director Hutmacher reported that she would provide a high level presentation that would describe the TRC zoning and development that would take place on TCAAP for the May 26th Council meeting. C. Presbyterian Homes Associate Planner Bachler stated that on October 27, 2014, the City Council approved Planning Case 14-031 for a Master and Final Planned Unit Development (PUD) Amendment for the Johanna Shores redevelopment project at 3200 Lake Johanna Boulevard. Presbyterian Homes requested the PUD Amendment to allow for a reconfiguration of the Phase II Brownstone Buildings, increase the number of independent senior units in the building, and to update their construction schedule. Associate Planner Bachler commented that prior to issuing a building permit for the Brownstone Buildings, an amendment to the original PUD Development Agreement is required to be executed. The City Attorney has drafted the First Amendment to the Master PUD Agreement and Phase II Development Contract and it has been reviewed by the developer. Presbyterian Homes has asked to meet with the City Council to request a revision to the conditions in the Development Agreement related to cash escrow requirements for the project. As part of the approval of the PUD Amendment in October 2014, the City Council approved two conditions that require Presbyterian Homes to provide separate cash escrows in the amount of 25 percent of the cost of site improvements and 25 percent of the cost of landscaping for financial surety purposes. Included as an attachment in the agenda packet is a letter from Presbyterian Homes explaining why a reduction in the cash escrow amounts is being requested. Mayor Grant requested comment from the Presbyterian Homes representative on why they were requesting a reduction for Items 6D and 8D. Pam Belz, Presbyterian Homes representative, stated that she was assisting with the development at Presbyterian Homes. She provided comment on the escrow amounts that were posted with the City for previous developments. She believed that the proposed escrows would cover the project inspection fees. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—MAY 18, 2015 7 Mayor Grant asked if there was a reason staff chose 25%. Community Development Director Hutmacher explained that prior to Lexington Station, escrows and securities were negotiated on a project-by-project basis. This led to each project being different. For this reason, staff worked with the City Attorney to come up with a single standard. She stated that for large projects, there was good reason to allow for some level of flexibility. Councilmember McClung questioned what this level of flexibility should be for a project of this magnitude in order to cover any unanticipated costs. Community Development Director Hutmacher commented that staff may need to further discuss the expense of Item 6D in order to provide the Council with an accurate number. Associate Planner Bachler reported that a landscaping inspector would be hired to assist with Item 8D. It was staff's opinion that the proposed escrow would cover the expense for these inspections. Councilmember Holden expressed frustration with Presbyterian Homes' performance in the past. She did not believe it was that big of a concern for Presbyterian Homes to tie up money in a letter of credit to ensure that all work was completed as promised to the City. Councilmember Holmes asked how the letter of credit and escrow meshed together. City Attorney Jamnik explained that the letter of credit was an umbrella policy. He stated that the escrow was intended to reimburse the City on an ongoing basis for inspections and consultant work that needed to be paid on a monthly basis. This was for smaller and periodic amounts. Mayor Grant supported staff's recommendation for Item 8D. He suggested that staff reconsider the escrow amount for Item 6D. Councilmember Holden wanted to see the escrow amount remain at $200,000. Councilmember Woodburn believed that Presbyterian Homes would make good on the project and would not require high escrow amounts. Councilmember Holmes thought that the 25% escrow amount was too high. She encouraged the Council to be reasonable. Councilmember McClung agreed with the Mayor and supported staff's recommendation for Item 8D and encouraged staff to review the proposed escrow amount for Item 6D. He wanted to be ensured that the City would cover all of its expenses. 2. COUNCIL COMMENTS AND STAFF UPDATES Mayor Grant commented the County would be holding a work session on Tuesday, May 26th He stated that he would be attending the meeting and hoped to discuss the concept of"good jobs" ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—MAY 18, 2015 8 along with the new Spine Road alignment. He indicated that he could provide the County Board with a high level presentation on the TRC. Councilmember Holden recommended that the required wetland areas be pointed out to the County. Mayor Grant reported that he could also discuss how the TRC aligns with Fit Test 1. Councilmember Holmes stated that density was the County's biggest concern. She recommended that Mayor Grant address this issue with the County and explain that the City was only 200 units off from the County's proposed density. Mayor Grant agreed that density was the County's biggest concern and he noted that he would address this topic with the County Board. Further discussion ensued regarding a spreadsheet provided to the Council by Mark Ruff from Ehlers &Associates. City Administrator Klaers commented that the City needed to review its parking ordinance to address concerns stemming from State Fair parking. The Council supported staff proceeding with this matter. City Administrator Klaers reported that staff held a meeting with a large local business regarding a possible expansion project and City incentives. He stated that he would provide additional information as it becomes available. City Attorney Jamnik discussed information within the proposal that would be public and the information that would remain private. ADJOURN Mayor Grant adjourned the City Council work session at 8:06,p.m. Amy Dietl David Grant City Clerk Mayor