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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-22-16-SWS "It -` IQEN HILLS Approved: September 12, 2016 CITY OF ARDEN HILLS,MINNESOTA SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION AUGUST 22,2016 6:00 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 6:00 p.m. Present: Mayor David Grant; Councilmembers Brenda Holden, Fran Holmes, Dave McClung and Jonathan Wicklund Absent: None Also present: Interim City Administrator Sue Iverson, Acting Public Works Director John Anderson; Senior Planner Matthew Bachler; and City Clerk Julie Hanson 1. AGENDA ITEMS A. TCAAP Master Plan Update Stacie Kvilvang, Ehlers and Associates, explained that on August 15, 2016, the TCAAP Master Development Team met in a joint work session with the City Council and the JDA to outline their proposed development of the site. The Master Development Team was in attendance to further discuss the changes to the TCAAP Redevelopment Code and Regulating Plan that may be required for their proposal. Ms. Kvilvang understood the Council had to take in a lot of information at the August 15 meeting and had a number of questions for staff. She reviewed a housing memorandum with the Council, along with a chart for each of the TCAAP neighborhoods. Potential zoning map and text changes were reviewed with the Council. She encouraged the Council not to focus solely on the number of houses, but rather on the overall plan. Bob Lux, Alatus, thanked the Council for their input at the last meeting. He appreciated the ongoing dialogue he and his colleagues have had with the Council and looked forward to gaining additional feedback this evening. Tom Shaver, Inland Development Partners, commented on the discussions he had with staff regarding the TRC. He then presented the Council with further information on the proposed changes the Master Developer would like to make to the Creek neighborhood. Further discussion ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—AUGUST 22, 2016 2 ensued regarding the density within the Creek neighborhood. It was determined that the retail node would be placed along County Road 96. Mayor Grant was not certain that the proposed park configuration would support the City's requirements. Ms. Kvilvang reported this would be a part of Alatus' presentation. Councilmember McClung understood the office/mixed-use component has been removed from the regulating plan. lie indicated he would rather see the development lose flex office than office/mixed use. He wanted to see Class A office within the development. Mr. Shaver stated this was the case. lie explained the office component was allowed within the mixed retail and flex zoning district. He provided further comment on how he saw the office and retail zoning districts coming together within the TCAAP development. Councilmember Holden expressed concern with the amount of flex space within the development and questioned what would be located on all this property. Further discussion ensued regarding Class A office space and how this was defined by the City Council. Councilmember Holden questioned how many acres were set aside for retail. Mr. Shaver reported retail increased in size from 20 acres to just under 40 acres. Councilmember Holden expressed concern with the 65-foot lot widths and feared that these homes would appear to be primarily a garage. Mr. Shaver described how these homes would be designed architecturally to be proportionate. He noted these homes would have a front porch. Todd Stutz, Robert Thomas Homes, provided further comment on the neighborhood designs within TCAAP. Councilmember Holden questioned if the housing numbers have changed since last week. Mr. Stutz indicated the numbers had changed slightly. He provided further comment how the Creek and Hill neighborhood densities had changed since last week. Councilmember Holden asked why Neighborhood Two had reduced in size. Ms. Kvilvang summarized the plans by noting the overall plan would have fewer townhouses and larger lots for single family, with increased density in the Town Center. Mayor Grant discussed the differences between a fast versus slow buildout of the TCAAP site. ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—AUGUST 22, 2016 3 Mr. Shaver, Inland Development Partners, anticipated it would take five years to build the housing developments. The demand for the housing products was discussed with the Council. The housing plans for Town Center was then reviewed. Mayor Grant understood that the proposed plans from the developer had a higher density within Town Center than the entirety of the previous plan. Mr. Lux stated this was the case. He commented further on the overall plan, noting that the higher density within the Town Center would assist with supporting the proposed retail. He provided further comment on benefits this density would bring to the City. Councilmember Holden understood the Town Center would be difficult to support given the close proximity of Rosedale. She wondered if the Council and the Master Developer were looking at Town Center all wrong. Mr. Lux believed the Council was looking at Town Center correctly with the caveat that the proposed density really does work with the amount of proposed retail. He saw the Town Center as a game changer for the entire City of Arden Hills. He reported the Town Center would have high quality housing, entertainment, restaurants and retail. It was noted parking would be the biggest challenge for this area of the development. Mayor Grant questioned if Alatus had any examples of where a similar development had been successfully completed. Mr. Lux stated he did not. However, he commented bits and pieces were being done all over throughout the suburbs. Ms. Kvilvang noted there would be a range of market rate apartments from 400 to 725 with 300 to 400 senior apartments. Mayor Grant discussed the most recent Maxfield study and believed the Master Developer was going against their recommendations. Mr. Lux explained he could easily construct 600 apartment units over a five to ten-year period of time. He stated he was asking for the additional height in order to add a vibrant and interesting texture to the development. Councilmember Holden questioned how much lower Town Center would be from the Creek. Mr. Shaver indicated he was working on the elevations of the development at this time and could report back to the Council at a future meeting. Councilmember Holden feared that the metro area was now saturated with senior housing and noted she discussed this with a researcher. She asked if senior housing would be necessary. Mr. Shaver noted his research showed there was still a need for senior housing. He reported that senior housing developers had approached him in order to be a part of this development. ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—AUGUST 22, 2016 4 Further discussion ensued regarding the design, parking and layout of the entertainment district. Mayor Grant was in favor of the Council touring the Latitude 45 property to get an idea of the apartment complex that was being proposed for the Town Center. Mr. Lux welcomed the Council to visit this property stating he would be willing to provide the Councilmembers with a tour. Councilmember Holden questioned how the Master Developer was proposing to make the entertainment district vibrant. Mr. Lux stated the theater and restaurants would assist in creating a vibrant atmosphere. He noted a brewery would be a great fit for this area as well, along with the hotel. Councilmember Holden asked where the retail shops would be located. Mr. Lux explained this would not be in the downtown area. Rather, the Town Center would consist of entertainment type retail and neighborhood restaurants with apartments above. The retail acreage would now be located to the west. Councilmember Holden stated this was a whole new concept for the Council to consider. Mr. Shaver turned the discussion to the need to amend the building height. He reported this was being requested to accommodate a corporate campus and a taller condominium structure. Councilmember McClung questioned if the corporate campus would have structured parking. Mr. Shaver stated this would be the case. The Council discussed the corporate campus to be located on the thumb property with the Master Developer, along with the desire for Class A office space. Mayor Grant noted the thumb property was located along 35W and did have some separation from the residential developments. For this reason, he was willing to consider an amendment to the height requirements. He hoped to see a higher number of jobs on the thumb property and believed the corporate campus would create a buzz to the whole site that would spark the retail. Councilmember Wicklund was interested in knowing the ideal timeline for text and map changes to ensure the Town Center was brought to fruition quickly. Ms. Kvilvang reviewed the Comprehensive Plan Amendment process and stated it was the Master Developer's hope that these changes could be made by November. Councilmembers Wicklund and McClung also supported a change in the height restrictions for the thumb property. Councilmember Holden questioned what the new maximum height would be. ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—AUGUST 22, 2016 5 Ms. Kvilvang stated the Master Developer would be requesting a new maximum height of 168 feet. Councilmember Holden requested further information on the water feature in the Town Center and wondered how much greenspace would surround the water feature. Mr. Shaver indicated this matter would be addressed under the parks portion of the presentation. He then shifted the conversation to the parks within the project at this time. Alex Duval, Alatus, reviewed the open space, parks and trails being proposed with the development in detail with the Council. He described the areas that would be an extension of the natural resources corridor. Further comment was made on the size and location of Central Park and the pocket parks. Mayor Grant asked if the park needs of the City were being met through the proposed park plan. Mr. Duval discussed the City's park needs as presented to him by City staff .He reported he was working to unify the trail system while also creating destinations for active and passive recreation. Ile described how the existing water treatment building would be repurposed and screened. Mr. Shaver indicated most of the programming would be within Central Park, which included a tennis court and play structure. He had not determined if a full size soccer field was required. This would continue to be evaluated. The topography issues within the proposed park spaces was further discussed. Councilmember Wicklund asked if the greenspace within the hill neighborhood could be traded for additional greenspace at Central Park. Mr. Duval commented this would be an option. Councilmember Holden believed a junior soccer field would be sufficient given the number of fields located throughout the rest of Arden Hills. Mayor Grant stated the difference in grade within the Hill park may be similar to Cummings Park. Councilmember McClung discussed the heavy use of the City's parks noting the majority were heavily programmed. He expressed concern with where t-ball would be located for the residents living on TCAAP. Ile recommended. more programmed recreation be planned for within the neighborhood parks and that not all programming be focused on Central Park. Ms. Kvilvang stated the ownership of the parks would have to be further discussed with the City in order to define which parks are programmed and which are not. Further discussion ensued regarding passive and active parks. Mayor Grant noted the City had a 10-page document addressing the City's park requirements. Fle requested the Master Developer further review this document to ensure that the City's needs were being considered within the proposed development. ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—AUGUST 22, 2016 6 Mr. Lux believed this was a fair request. Mayor Grant indicated this would be the last park land the City would get for a long time and he wanted to be sure the City got it right. He wanted to be sure the residents on TCAAP were able to properly recreate. Councilmember Holden stated she liked the park layout and believed the development would be very walkable. Councilmember McClung agreed, however, he wanted to see the City's programming needs taken into further consideration by the Master Developer. Ms. Kvilvang thanked the Council for their input. She noted density and vertical mixed use would be discussed at the next worksession meeting. Councilmember Holden wanted to better understand what percentage of space had to be filled in order for a retail development to be considered successful. Mayor Grant requested the Master Developer provide the Council with further information on the water feature at the next meeting. Councilmember Wicklund stated he really appreciated the vision and direction that this development was headed. He enjoyed the complexity of the proposed housing and retail areas. 2. COUNCIL COMMENTS AND STAFF UPDATES Councilmember Holmes reported she received an email regarding State Fair parking and additional signs were being requested. Mayor Grant recommended staff address this matter and post the signs if possible. Councilmember Holden stated she attended Hot Dog with a Cop and noted the event was well attended. Mayor Grant reported he attended a meeting where Big 10 and Scherer Brothers were discussed, along with their loss of profits given the recent roadway closures. ADJOURN Mayor Grant adjo rued the City Council Work Session m et ng at :51 c J e .Hanson David Grant Clerk Mayor It, --ARPEN 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) Master Developer Discussion Requested Date: 8/22/16 Requested time: 6:00 pm Open meeting X Closed meeting Signature of person(s) making request: &411;7601 8 / 17 / 16 Mayor or Council Member Date Council Member Date -This section to be completed by City staff- Date received: / ] 7/ I �P Date meeting to be held: 8/22/16 Time of meeting: 6:00 pm Location: City Hall All necessary posting and notices have been completed. / II / G �0 g ature of City 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