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HomeMy WebLinkAboutJanuary 1979T O W CN R I S IEV Published by the Arden Association No. 123 January 1979 The Arden Hills Planning Commission, at their December meeting, recommended approval of a Special Use Permit for a certain Kris Kringle to operate in the City, for one night only (Dec. 24-25), a sleigh with nine reindeer, one having a bright red nose, for the purpose of distribu- ting gifts and presents to the residents of Arden Hills. It should be clearly understood that this is not meant to set a precedent for any like-minded bunnies to distribute eggs at some future date. La As you all know, our incumbent mayor Henry Crep- eau and our two incumbent councilmen Charlie _ Crichton and Bob Woodburn have been returned to office. They, the other candidates, and the • staff at the Village Hall want to thank everyone who helped with the election, including the counting people who didn't get home until 4:00 a.m. Mayoral candidate Maryann Benson also wanted to specially thank everyone who t 'supported her. She thought the whole experience was invaluable and might even see everyone again in 1980! �1 11 With the start of the new year, it is time again for the Council to make appointments to Arden Hills' advisory committees. Some of these committees are: Human Rights, Board of Appeals, Finance, Parks and Recreation, Planning Commission, Public Safety, and Public Works. If you have a special interest or knowledge in any of these areas, and are willing to put in a little time in the interest of good government and a pleasant city, give the Clerk -Adminis- trator a ring at the Village Hall (633-5676) or get in touch with one of the Councilmen. The Human Rights Committee would particularly like to have a senior citizen, a Bethel student, an Arden Hills businessman, and a minister. The great amount of snow so far this year has prompted several calls to the Village Hall about plowing, so here briefly are some of the rules: Ordin- ance #129 prohibits the parking of vehicles on the improved portion of any 'street in Arden Hills from the time a snowfall reaches 2" until the time the street has been plowed. If the plow encounters a parked car, the vehicle may be declared a hazard, tagged, and towed away. (Editor's comment: If this seems a trifle harsh, consider the alternative: clogged roads. As one who 'spent the first 33 winters of her life living within the St. Paul city limits, I am still astonished at the rapid plowing of Arden Hills' streets. Anyway, please use some common sense and try to keep the cars off the road until the 'plow comes.) Also, despite public opinion to the contrary, the Arden Hills' plows do not deliberately wait until a homeowner has cleared his/her driveway before coming past a second time. After all the roads are cleared once, the ' clean-up plows come to widen the road and to clear closertothe mailboxes. Here is a letter that was sent to Mayor Commission last October. It was received too but really deserves your attention: Gentlemen: Cre eau a , p and to the Planning late for the last Town Crier, L. . z 1 would like to tender my resignation on the Planning Commission. I have en- , joyed the service on the Commission, but feel that it is no longer possible for the Commission to serve its stated purpose. Primarily, the Commission does not have the time to consider the tremendous ' detail that goes into major applications for building permits. The developers have put an inordinate amount of pressure on the staff, which generally re- sults in many instances of no advance memorandums from the city planner upon which the Commission can predicate their deliberations. Secondly, even when time is not of utmost .consideration, the developers, in many instances, piecemeal their approach to the city planner, which further inhibits him from giving us the kind of analysis that he would like to. An example of this is the approval at the last meeting of signs for Mutual Ser- vice and Flaherty's, when only the applicant for Mutual Service appeared, and then without benefit of memorandums discussing compliance with a none -existing ordinance. , Thirdly, there are many instances of non-compliance with existing ordinances, which are not being enforced in the city, ranging form signage to mn-permitted uses which makes,the restrictions placed by the Planning Commission on any one' applicant seemingly hypocritical to new developers who comply to existing ordinances. Fourthly, while it was absolutely necessary to have expertise on the Planning Commission that parallels the subject matter of rational development, many times potentials for conflict of interest arise.- Abstention from voting has eliminated this, but the problem is ever present. 1 Fifthly, the size of the agenda not only causes inadequate consideration of all matters, but it forces the Commission to deliberate on matters of utmost importance as late as 1:00, 2:00, and 3:00 a.m. This not only abuses the quality of recommendations but obviously affects the public aspect of the hear- ings, so that they are, indeed, not really public at all. I 1 Lastly, the ordinances themselves need substantial revision. While fine efforts are being made by members to the Planning Commission to do this, (i.e., the sign ordinance), it would seem to me advisable to have the whole ordinance re- viewed by the City Attorney in conjunction with various members of the Commit- tee, on a section -by -section basis. Wb only have to witness the recent debate over what was a drive-in bank and what was not a drive-in bank to make those concerns more poignant. It is for these kinds of reasons that I feel constrained to resign as I have viewed these limitations as contraindicating an ability to do a good job. However, I truly admire those who will remain in the trenches to do the best ' they can, given the logistical and legal limitations imposed on them. i Very truly yours, ' Terence J. McCloskey i Editor's comments: Well. After sitting through two years of Planning Commis- sion meetings myself, I must agree with the sense of frustration expressed in Mr. McCloskey's letter. The conflict of interest problem and the too -late meetings are also very apparent to a regular observer. called Mr. McCloskey about his letter and found that his main concern I ' is for the remaining undeveloped land in Arden Hills, which he estimates to be I around 159. He said if this land is not carefully planned, we will end up with a lovely city pockmarked with areas of ugliness, rather like a gorgeous ' woman with a wart on her chin. Or several warts. To prevent this from happening, Mr. McCloskey suggested that the agenda of the Planning Commission be limited by ordinance and/or the Commission meet twice a month. Some minor things need never appear before the Planning Com- mission; they could be handled by the Building Inspector or the City staff. He also thinks that the City Council should do a better job of leading the way in planning. For example, Mr. McCloskey feels the Council made a very poor decision in allowing our own Public Works building to expand directly adjacent to the lovely townhomes in Arden North. His point is that Arden Hills is no longer a small town and the maturity of the community requires a different, more efficient,approach to planning. The Planning Commission and Council should not spend 45 minutes each on a five - yard fence setback. However, I have seen that even when the agenda of the Planning Commission is very short, they manage to discuss things until midnight anyway. That, apparently, is one of Parkinson's Laws. The crux of the matter is really the leadership from the Council. Our current Council seems to have chosen a path that enables them to keep an eye on every small detail in Arden Hills. This naturally requires more time from them and from the Planning Commission. It appears as though it is the desire of the Council to have Arden Hills remain as "small town" as possible, while at the same time recognizing economic limitations. (It was the prohibi- tive cost of relocating the Public Works department that caused the expansion next to the Townhouses.) So perhaps Mr. McCloskey has brought the main problem into focus: Should Arden Hills remain as it is or try to streamline its operations at the cost of reduced personal contact between the citizens and the regulating bodies? Which system would do a better job of planning? If you have any thoughts on this, give me a ring. POTPOURRI: The Council has given Presbyterian Homes the OK to go ahead and renovate the old Johanna Elementary School into 19 apartments for the elderly. However, many neighbors are very concerned over the use of the rest of the land ..... Looks like the gas station on Cleveland and County Road D is finally settled. Someone is going to tear the whole thing down and erect a small of- fice building.....Personnel change at the Village Hall: Shirley Marshall is our new receptionist, working part-time from 9:00 to 1:00. She really does lovely have Scholls, Inc. has. ebeen c • OK'dto build a million dollar warehouse on the west side of .Round Lake. Scholls is a wholesale distributor of health and beauty aids.....Stewart Lumber is going to add lean-to coverage of some of their -out- side lumber storage...,..The first meeting of the County Road E businessmen from "downtown" Arden Hills and the representatives of the City has been held and it was discovered, not surprisingly, that while AH is concerned.with the appearance of the area, the businesses are concerned with function. We're going to have to put our priorities in order and then, hardest of all, decide who will pay for what..... Additional radar patrolling has been requested for Arden Hills and the particular areas to be covered include: County Road E, Lake Johanna Blvd., Z961 *ON Vuusd wavy -lined 'iS aivdS 'A a.LVN x7419 Highway 519 New Brighton Road, County Road D. County Road F by the high school,' and Old Highway 10. Take heed ..... There will be a free showing of the Japan- ese movie "Rashomon" on Monday, Jan. 15 on the second floor of the Academic Center lounge at Bethel. For those interested, there will be a discussion afterwards..... JANUARY CALENDAR 2 Special Council Meeting 9 Parks and Recreation 8:00 p.m. (required by law at the first 10 Rice Creek Watershed 7:30 p.m. of the year to make appoint- 11 Finance Committee 7:30 p.m. , ments and such) 17 Public Works 7:30 p.m. 3 Planning Commission 7:30 p.m. 24 Rice Creek Watershed 7:30 p.m. 4 Human Rights 7:30 p.m. 29 Council 7:30 p.m. 8 Regular Council Meeting 7:30 p.m. The January meeting of the Public Works Committee has not yet been scheduled; ' check at the Village Hall. In fact, it's a good idea to verify all meetings before coming out on a January night to attend. The Arden Association is a non-profit organization existing for the purpose of , informing Arden Hills' residents of Village activities and business. The Town Crier expresses opinions of the editor on1hese matters and attempts to make its contents informative and interesting. Readers' comments on anything , is encouraged. Deadline for the next issue: January 19. Secretary -Editor: Diane McAllister, 1200 Ingerson Road, 55112. 484-0773 Village Hall: 1450 W. Highway 96, 55112. 633-5676 '