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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-11-24-SWS City of Arden Hills ▪1245 West Highway 96 ▪ Arden Hills Minnesota 55112 Phone 651.792.7800 ▪ Fax 651.634.5137 ▪ www.cityofardenhills.org 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. Public Inquiries/Informational 2. Response to Public Inquiries 3. Agenda Items A. Johanna Shores Concept Review B. Event Center Concept Review C. Rice Creek Commons/TCAAP Discussion D. Parks, Trails and Recreation (PTRC) Work Plan E. 2025 Arden Oaks and Freeway Parks Improvement Project F. RFP Community Development Consultant – Ordinance Updates G. City-Owned Land Encroachment Discussion H. Legislative Priorities and Processes I. Committee/Commission Liaison Roles and Responsibilities J. Proclamation Policy K. Future Agenda Setting/Council Priorities/Future Topic Discussion L. Council Tracker 4. Council/Staff Comments Adjourn Requested Date: 3/11/2024 Requested time: 5:00 pm Open meeting X Closed meeting Signature of person(s) making request: 3/7/2024 Mayor or Council Member Date / / Council Member Date -This section to be completed by City staff- Date received: 3/7/2024 Date meeting to be held: 3/11/2024 Time of meeting: 5:00 pm Location: City Hall All necessary posting and notices have been completed. 3/7/2024 Signature of City Clerk Date --AI N HILLS Approved: April 8, 2024 CITY OF ARDEN HILLS, MINNESOTA SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MARCH 11,2024 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 Special City Council Work Session at 5:00 p.m. Present: Mayor David Grant, Councilmembers Brenda Holden, Emily Rousseau, Tena Monson and Tom Fabel Absent: None Also present: City Administrator Dave Perrault, Finance Director Joua Yang, Community Development Director Jessica Jagoe, Public Works Director/City Engineer David Swearingen, Assistant Public Works Director Lucas Miller, Assistant to the City Administrator/City Clerk Julie Hanson, Presbyterian Homes Senior Vice President Jon Fletcher, Land Use Applicant Rose Kukwa, Minnesota My Home Project Manager Andrew Beitler, Parks Trails and Recreation Committee (PTRC) Chair Jill Anderson, PTRC Vice-Chair Kate Olson and PTRC Member Kerri Seemann 1. PUBLIC INQUIRIES/INFORMATIONAL None. 2. RESPONSE TO PUBLIC INQUIRIES None. 3. AGENDA ITEMS A. Johanna Shores Concept Review Mr. Fletcher stated that Presbyterian Homes has been in Arden Hills for 69 years. He would like to talk about the redevelopment of the McKnight Care Center, which was built in 1975. It includes 208 care suites and the building is showing its age. The mechanical system and layout are not good. In 2010 the campus entered into a PUD with 410 apartments, they are proposing to retain that amount of density, but lower the built environment. They are proposing to demolish the McKnight Care Center and replace it with a state-of-the-art skilled nursing facility. It is currently ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORKSESSION-MARCH 11, 2024 2 a 208-bed facility with five floors, they'd like to replace it with a four-story building with skilled nursing on the first two floors and 72 beds, and the top two floors would be independent living. In addition, they would like to build another small wing of independent living apartments. Overall, they would be removing 136 units of skilled nursing, and adding 77 units of independent living. The net change in units would be -59, with a new proposed count of 351 units. There would be no changes to public infrastructure, building height or materials. It would be connected to the main building with a proposed walkway and they would likely need to do some investment into the central mechanical system. They will likely see a reduction in traffic to the site, due to the change in staff needed. They aren't anticipating any variances however they would likely have a slight increase to the FAR, and increase to impervious surface and may require minor modifications to landscaping. Mr. Fletcher described the concept plan drawings. Councilmember Fabel asked what would happen to people that are in the 136 skilled care units they are reducing. Mr. Fletcher said 80 of the 208 skilled care apartments are currently not occupied. There are 50 beds available at Langton Shores a couple of blocks away while they transition. They will also stop accepting new residents, and the goal is to not push people out or move them out of the building but work their way down through natural attrition. They will also move staff to other locations in close proximity. Overall their goal system wide is to rebalance their skilled nursing portfolio geographically; the challenge is some areas have high concentration of demand but not high concentration of staff. Councilmember Fabel said he had a concern with parking and the addition of more independent living but there is no additional parking shown. Mr. Fletcher stated there will be one level of underground parking in the new buildings. Councilmember Fabel asked if any of the additional living was planned to be affordable. Mr. Fletcher said they haven't yet gotten to the point of setting prices. Their intent is always to try to include some level of affordability. Councilmember Fabel wondered if residents would be able to stay in the same apartment as their service needs change. Mr. Fletcher replied that they encourage residents to age in place, to the extent of licensing requirements of the care brought to them. Mayor Grant asked if the net square footage will be an increase or decrease. Mr. Fletcher said he didn't know the exact square footage but there would be an increase in the FAR. Councilmember Rousseau noted that care facilities are in high demand and wondered why they were only looking at four stories instead of going higher. ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORKSESSION-MARCH 11, 2024 3 Mr. Fletcher stated the four stories were based on the building code they were trying to comply with, along with a cost of construction once you get to five stories and higher. Councilmember Monson asked how they would combat the issue of mechanical equipment along Sandeen Road. Mr. Fletcher said they had purchased land across the street to mitigate questions and issues. Councilmember Monson asked if they had considered moving away from a natural gas heated space to electric heat. Mr. Fletcher replied that they haven't gotten that far yet. First they are trying to eliminate the central plant. They are incorporating solar into their communities, they have a sustainability plan that includes electric parking. Councilmember Holden asked if residents would be going out on Sandeen or following the main road onto County Road D or Lake Johanna Boulevard. Mr. Fletcher said the access to the new building will be split. Right now there is a right access off of Sandeen to a parking lot. The new building will be basically where that parking lot is now. The access to the underground parking will come off Sandeen. Access to the rest of the campus and skilled nursing comes off of Lake Johanna Boulevard. Councilmember Holden thought they should look at putting in a sidewalk along Sandeen from Lake Johanna. She thought they may need to do a porkchop to keep people off the residential street. She asked when they plan to start building. Mr. Fletcher said they didn't have a time frame yet. A big piece is working through staffing and resident transitions. Mayor Grant thanked Mr. Fletcher for his presentation. B. Event Center Concept Review Community Development Director Jagoe said the Applicant is proposing a redevelopment and text amendment language for the property located at 3776 Connelly Avenue. The proposal is for an event center, restaurant, and adult day care. Following the concept review discussion, the Applicant could decide whether to move forward with the required land use application for a text amendment to allow an event center, planned unit development for phased redevelopment, and a conditional use permit for the adult day care. Phases 1 and 2 are both associated with the event center use with capacity of up to 464 attendees. In Phase 1, the event center would operate with all the food service and alcoholic beverages being provided by a licensed caterer. The Applicant would not hold a City or State license for food service and/or the sale of alcoholic beverages. As part of Phase 2, the Applicant would open a café inside the building at which time they would obtain a City liquor license as a restaurant. Clients of the event center would have the option of bringing in a caterer or having in-house dining. Lastly in Phase 3, the building would also be leased as an adult day care. They would operate within the same footprint of the current building and would set up according to what type of activity is going within the building. Hours of operation for building use(s) would be Monday through Thursday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Friday ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORKSESSION—MARCH 11, 2024 4 through Sunday from 8 a.m. to 3 a.m. The phased development would take approximately one year. Councilmember Holden asked if they had talked about the parking lot improvements as it was in bad shape. Community Development Director Jagoe said the site plan shows the three areas where parking would be provided but have not indicated the number of spaces. They do show two outdoor patio areas, which might adjust the drive aisle and impact parking. As part of the future application for the PUD they would have to show exact number of spaces and how traffic circulation will look. There has been no submission regarding resurfacing. Councilmember Holden would like to see more landscaping done. Councilmember Monson supports an event center at this location and had no major concerns. Councilmember Rousseau thought this would be a step up from the bingo hall, she felt it was interesting to pair it with the adult day care. Mayor Grant supported the concept of an event center. He asked if staff had spoke to the complete tear down of the existing facility. Community Development Director Jagoe stated it was her understanding the application was not planning to demo the existing building, but they were looking to do façade improvements. Ms. Kukwa said they would be leaving the building as is,but doing improvements on it. Councilmember Holden said it was just a few years ago that they totally redid the kitchen so she felt to tear down the building would be counterproductive. It needs exterior work but thought the building would fit the need well as an event center. Mr. Beitler added that regarding the parking lot and landscaping,because they were going to be holding weddings there they need to take the property up to a certain level so they are open to feedback. Councilmember Holden said the bowling alley and the bingo hall had previously shared the parking lot in the back. How can the City make sure there isn't an overlap of parking issues between the facilities? Community Development Director Jagoe said they would look at the City Code to see what event center parking requirements would be. She didn't believe there was any recorded agreement for shared parking but they could come forward to the City with that. Mr. Beitler said they met with the owner of Flaherty's and posed that question to them. Mayor Grant summarized that Council viewed the event center positively. Community Development Director Jagoe asked if there was any feedback on the liquor portion of the application. ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORKSESSION—MARCH 11, 2024 5 Councilmember Holden noted that Northern Lights had a liquor license and it hadn't been an issue so she didn't think there should be any issue. Councilmember Fabel thought they couldn't be a successful event center without a liquor license. Councilmember Monson felt it was fine to have a third-party caterer but would rely on staff to be sure they followed the ordinances. Assistant to the City Administrator/City Clerk Hanson added that she wanted Council to understand that due to State Statute an event center couldn't have a liquor license now,but in Phase 2 when there is a restaurant they can pursue a on-sale liquor license. Potentially the City could say they would like the Sheriffs office(who has to be notified by the caterer)to let us know there was an event, for informational purposes. Councilmember Holden said a lot of event centers have a police officer during events. Is that a city requirement? Assistant to the City Administrator/City Clerk Hanson replied that would fall into requirements for the property to have onsite security for events. That was a component with Northern Lights. Community Development Director Jagoe added that if they were to look at the ordinance as a Conditional Use Permit they could set conditions. C. Rice Creek Commons/TCAAP Discussion Councilmember Holden said seeing they are potentially a half million dollars in the hole a year, she wondered if they were working on closing the gap or were they only closing the gap for Ramsey County. City Administrator Perrault said County and City staff and the consultant are working on closing the horizontal infrastructure gap; spine road, trunk utilities, and water tower, to allow them to be sold off for private development where they would install their own streets and utilities. Eventually costs to the City will come back to the Council. Mayor Grant said the City's issues were trunk utilities and the water tower, not soils or mass grading. Councilmember Holden was surprised that the JDA was surprised about the soils because that report has been on the Ramsey County website since 2016. The road is the County's problem. Is the City still looking to get protection on the utilities? City Administrator Perrault said yes, the utilities are funded by assessments and the water tower is funded by fees and charges, that is still the baseline they have to operate with. Councilmember Holden was more concerned with the protection of the City if a development doesn't happen. It used to be the 529 and then Alatus said they would back it. She wondered if there was an agreement protecting the City. ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORKSESSION-MARCH 11,2024 6 City Administrator Perrault said ultimately the position as a City has been that if the development halts the assessments would fall to the property owner which is Ramsey County. So, the City shouldn't be put at financial risk if the development should cease to go forward or stop half way through, and they wouldn't be stuck holding the debt for those improvements. Mayor Grant has seen a number of iterations of the financials, as the JDA is working to solve portions of them, are the financial consultant's hours being billed to the JDA or the County? City Administrator Perrault said the consultant was the City's representative and her hours are being billed to the City. Mayor Grant said it's not surprising that Alatus comes across things, changes things, the City changes things and the consultant keeps massaging the numbers so the bills keep coming in. Councilmember Monson didn't agree with the whole concept that the Mayor thinks they're blowing money to assess the economic liability of a project, that is not what they're doing. She'd love to see what Ehlers was charged in all the years in the past if they're going to go down this route and he was going to start saying they're overspending on insuring that the economics of the City are what they are and however we assume it. They are trying not to put any undue risk on the City, and to say they're spending too much money on the financial advisor who will ensure they are doing just that, she didn't know what he was getting at but that's how she was interpreting it. Mayor Grant replied that was not what he was getting at. His comment was that they need to be cognizant and watch that because they have gone through multiple iterations. He wasn't saying it was a waste but something that needs to be watched. Councilmember Holden asked if what they were talking about was reimbursable by the JDA. City Administrator Perrault didn't believe it was. The recent iteration was looking at some of the horizontal infrastructure that was laid out that's required to go forward by the County using Kimley-Horn and Alatus' numbers. Councilmember Holden said Ehler's numbers used to be billed to the JDA. City Administrator Perrault said he could double check that but it was his understanding that all of her work was charged to the City and Bruce's work was charged to the County. Councilmember Rousseau was interested to know what they've been paying Ehlers. It had been made very clear to her that people want to be sure that this project has financials in a safe and secure place. Councilmember Holden said she didn't hear anyone say let's not run the numbers when they need to. Mayor Grant said there was a park planned on the signed agreement, was it still planned? City Administrator Perrault said the MOU park plan that was agreed to was still intended to be honored,but they could request revisions or relook at the terms. ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORKSESSION-MARCH 11, 2024 7 Mayor Grant noted there was also in the plan something about a City parcel, was that still in the plan? City Administrator Perrault said that was still unchanged although they hadn't discussed the civic space yet. D. Parks, Trails and Recreation (PTRC) Work Plan Ms. Anderson said they were there to discuss the 2024 PTRC goals and general work plan and some of the items that have been passed recently as suggestions to go to Council. They were hoping to change the structure of how the PTRC operates, and as part of that they are incorporating work groups with the hope of becoming more effective and efficient. They have identified four general categories that have had working groups assigned: community and accessibility, land management including habitat restoration projects and City beautification, future planning, and volunteer coordination. Goals and action steps were outlined under each section of the attachment and she briefly reviewed them. Councilmember Holden noted that sometimes opportunity comes up and money is spent there and other things get bumped. Ms. Anderson felt everyone was on board with projects where funding can be provided. Councilmember Holden said in regard to park accessibility and the bathroom lock issue, they have to respect staffs point of view despite what PTRC wants to move forward with. Ms. Anderson said the bathroom locks have been discussed excessively and PTRC was disappointed that City staff wasn't necessarily supportive of the idea. Putting the locks on aren't a huge expense and they want to respect staff, but the PTRC feels it's very important that community members have access to the buildings that are there. They acknowledge there may be some logistical things to consider. They're hoping to provide an opportunity to test it out and decide what may or may not work. Councilmember Holden asked if there were additional satellite outhouses that could meet the need. Ms. Anderson said they hadn't looked into that. She thought the main issue was that as a public building the only way to access that bathroom was to pay to rent the building. Councilmember Monson noted that Tony Schmidt Park has theirs unlocked. She knows people that go to a playground in Roseville because it has a bathroom that is unlocked. She thought they should add something in the recommendation about it being family friendly or family focused. Having an automated bathroom lock would allow them to play with challenges of when it should be open. She supported giving it a try. Councilmember Holden said Tony Schmidt is designed to have bathrooms open. At Cummings they'd have access to the kitchen. Thinking about it helps with designing future building or an addition. ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORKSESSION-MARCH 11, 2024 8 Ms. Anderson said the recommendation is to put them at Perry Park, they understand it's not feasible at Cummings. Councilmember Rousseau understood this to be a high-level overview of the PTRC goals. Ms. Anderson said that was correct and it was her hope that the working groups, with feedback from Council, would come forward with more detailed plans this year or next. Councilmember Holden thought the list was good, but wondered how much responsibility and work would be placed on the City versus the committee. Ms. Anderson said it was the intention that the work groups would take responsibility for doing some of the things they want to do. The Lions have offered to put on a community event this year and that has been in discussion with the Recreation Supervisor. Councilmember Rousseau hoped they could get on a regular schedule with strategic planning and something like rain gardens could have Council and staff come together and then request help from PTRC. Ms. Anderson said it has been a struggle to find volunteers to help with things like the rain gardens and she's hoping they can plan prior to bringing something like that to Public Works. Councilmember Monson would like to see interaction between PTRC and Alatus for Rice Creek Commons. She would also like to see ninja courses, something nature based, a water park or splash pad. She would like to see ideas start with PTRC before they come to Council. Councilmember Holden said they've always been successful getting feedback from neighbors when redoing a park. Did they think the PTRC should have more input than the neighborhood? Ms. Anderson said not at all, the intent would be to have an understanding of upcoming projects. But she thought for the most part member had a pretty good pulse on what was happening within their own neighborhoods. Ms. Olson added that at one meeting they were asked to decide on the color of a playground and if they had known it was going to come up they could have gone to the community to have more input. Discussion ensued regarding parks at Rice Creek Commons. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen said he would like to get clear direction on the items listed as motions from PTRC so staff knows how to move forward with them. After discussion, staff was instructed to not accept the fire pit donation, to install the automatic bathroom locks at Perry Park as a trial (not unanimous), and continue with the Lions community event scheduled for August. The Lindey's roundabout landscaping item was not applicable as any changes would make the roundabout the City's responsibility. E. 2025 Arden Oaks and Freeway Parks Improvement Project ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORKSESSION—MARCH 11,2024 9 Assistant Public Works Director Miller asked Council for input on the proposed project scope for the 2025 Park Improvement Projects at Arden Oaks Park and Freeway Park. He explained that Public Works had some requests, and PTRC had items they would like to add. Staff was also requesting a proposal for an engineering consultant. Each park has $230,000 budgeted for improvements. He noted that there are some items in the summary that are budgeted, and other items would be in addition to the budget. Councilmember Holden felt that residents may want a backstop on the baseball field in Arden Oaks. Assistant Public Works Director Miller said at Arden Oaks they are focused on replacing the play structure, swings, media, hardcourt rehab, replacing basketball hoops, the park sign and adding a gaga ball pit. Councilmember Holden thought the residents in that area were older and they might want to wait on a gaga ball pit. Councilmember Rousseau felt they needed to keep younger age kids in mind. Councilmember Monson added the single bigger structures seem to be more age open, while kids can age out quickly from separate structures. Assistant Public Works Director Miller said that because the parks are close in proximity, PTRC suggested one offered equipment for older kids and one for younger kids. Councilmember Holden said at Freeway Park they tried having the outhouse on the lower level of the park,but people complained about the smell so they moved it back up. Assistant Public Works Director Miller stated they would have ADA accessible outhouses at both parks. Councilmember Fabel wondered how much they monitor usage of play equipment. He didn't feel that Johanna Marsh Park near him was used much. He would like to see more money go into pickleball courts. Councilmember Holden said they had an ice cream social to get public input for Johanna Marsh. Mayor Grant adjourned the Special Work Session at 6:53p.m. until after the Regular Council meeting. The Special Work Session reconvened at 7:33 p.m. Assistant Public Works Director Miller stated he would like Council to consider if they want to add to the scope of the project, creating a future project, denying some of the scope items or a hybrid of that. The CIP budget does cover the play structure, swings, media, hardcourts, basketball hoops, gaga ball pit and park sign at each park. The other things are wish list items that would need to be added on. Cost estimates for additional items would happen during the design phase. Councilmember Monson felt they didn't necessarily need a gaga ball pit at Arden Oaks, but she supported the Public Works requests. She would like to see adjustable basketball hoops as long ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORKSESSION-MARCH 11, 2024 10 as they were functional over time. She would be generally supportive of the PTRC requests depending on cost. Councilmember Holden thought they should talk to the neighborhood. Councilmember Monson would like to see some sort of barrier to the highway at Freeway Park. She would like to leave the trees unless they absolutely have to take them down. Councilmember Rousseau felt trees were really valuable so she'd like to see the failing ones replaced. She wondered if they could do a companion tree at Freeway Park. She'd like to have structures for older kids and ADA port-a-potties. She'd like to see the rink updated at Freeway Park. Councilmember Holden said the Rotary painted the ice rinks not that long ago and she thought the boards were in good shape. Assistant Public Works Director Miller said the Perry Park rink boards were in worse shape than Freeway. Councilmember Holden thought residents would like more picnic tables. Mayor Grant would like to see a ribbon, but he didn't know if concrete was the answer. He liked the idea of pickleball courts but would want to see the cost. Councilmember Fabel said the PTRC recommends putting concrete in the skating rink and putting pickleball courts there during the summer. He noted that Shoreview and White Bear Lake are adding more pickleball. He'd like to explore ways to expand it in Arden Hills. Assistant Public Works Director Miller confirmed that Council would like staff to pursue getting a consultant and pricing with options. F. RFP Community Development Consultant—Ordinance Updates Community Development Director Jagoe said this was a follow up to a discussion at a work session last year, the Council budgeted $80,000 to be split between 2024 and 2025 on this project. Staff has reviewed the updates and worked with the City Attorney. Councilmember Holden asked if they find any inconsistencies would they be willing to update them for free? Community Development Director Jagoe said she would look into it. Councilmember Monson was looking forward to updating the ordinances. Councilmember Fabel asked if they would be looking for long standing models. He noted the State of Minnesota has a bill moving forward that would eliminate the city's authority to zone, and that would be an interesting development. Community Development Director Jagoe said the consultant services know what new standards that communities are updating to. If there were no other comments they would proceed as drafted. ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORKSESSION-MARCH 11,2024 11 G. City-Owned Land Encroachment Discussion Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen said staff would like direction on the encroachment agreement at 3274 Katie Lane, the proposed encroachment language, and what to do with existing encroachments. Councilmember Monson asked if they could focus on the encroachment agreement first. Councilmember Holden if they choose they're not going to have any more encroachment it's easier to make decisions on anyone who is already encroaching. Councilmember Monson agreed in theory, but they Council had already said they would move forward with an encroachment agreement. Councilmember Holden asked if the person or the property would be affected by the agreement. Community Development Director Jagoe said the agreement language says it is with the owners or their successors, so it would run with the property. It still needs to be discussed if the Council wants some of the trees removed, or if they could keep the whole row of trees, and the height requirement of the terms. Councilmember Monson was fine with the number of planting that were there. She felt the height was limited by Xcel. She didn't support adding "City Property" signage along the property line. Councilmember Fabel preferred removing a number of the trees. Councilmember Monson said this trail was riddled with encroachments, some of it permanent, like fences and fire pits. They've already agreed they won't let others encroach in the future. Councilmember Holden said he had done this before and the City made him take it out. But he still did it again, knowing he could maybe get away with it. She thought he didn't plant them to enhance the park because he wouldn't have put them toward his house. She felt keeping them to the height that Xcel would approve wouldn't enhance the park, it only builds a wall so he can extend his backyard. She agreed with Councilmember Fabel and they should be thinned. The trees will grow together and grow tall and extend his backyard. She thought they should be kept to a specific height and that there should be "City Property" signs. Mayor Grant agreed that the person knew he was doing something he shouldn't. Xcel allowed quite a bit of height, he thought five foot would be plenty. Councilmember Rousseau felt they could thin them out but wanted to let them grow. She thought "City Property" signs would become like nuisance signs if they put them on each of the properties there, so she wasn't in favor of that. Mayor Grant said there are currently 40 plantings, what would they thin them to? City Administrator Perrault asked if Council wanted to remove them as it would be difficult to make an exception for one person if they're not willing to entertain it for anybody else. ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORKSESSION-MARCH 11, 2024 12 Mayor Grant thought this could be looked at as a vegetative fence, and fences have permanency in placement in law. Councilmember Monson didn't know why they were singling out this one landowner, she would like to move forward with what he has and talk about the policy. Councilmember Holden would like the trees removed, that was what was done in the past and he chose to replant them. There is a tree planted every three feet, which means they weren't planting to enhance the park, they were planting to create a fence and expand their back yard. Community Development Director Jagoe said in the letter sent in 2019 to approximately 20 property owners, one of the remedies was to remove trees and vegetation from public land and noted that it was strictly prohibited. That was one of three notices that were sent to this address. Councilmember Rousseau asked if they told him to remove the trees would they go back to all of the other houses and tell them to remove their encroachments? City Administrator Perrault said they would follow similar steps as this case if they had a complaint. His guess was that if they tell him to remove the trees, someone will walk the trail and let the City know about other violations. Councilmember Rousseau preferred that he take out about half the trees and they come to some other type of agreement with the other property owners. She thought they should tighten up what they haven't done in the past but maybe not treat this issue and future issues in the same way. Councilmember Holden said there are other issues by Cummings and Perry parks, fire pits shouldn't be on City property. Community Development Director Jagoe explained there was one notice that went to all property owners along the trail that said the things they allow or do not allow on City property. There was a second notice sent to this property owner based on a complaint to remove a fence. The trees were put up and a third letter was sent telling him to remove the trees because he wasn't allowed to plant on park property. Councilmember Holden said it was a six-foot fence so he's just replacing it with vegetation. Councilmember Monson there are people with more permanent issues on this trail. She didn't want to spend the time to run down this landowner and then going to every landowner on the trail. She felt they should decide what to do with this landowner and draw a line with a policy going forward. It will be difficult to treat the past and the future equally. She thought they should just snap the line and move on. Councilmember Holden said they've made other people move fences when they encroached in the past. Councilmember Fabel thought if they had a red line, the City could say no, you can't encroach on City property, get it off of there or we'll do it for you and charge you. That would be a clear policy that staff would have no difficulty enforcing. ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORKSESSION—MARCH 11, 2024 13 Councilmember Holden proposed they have the homeowner take out every other tree and maintain the distance between the trees. Someone has to be able to walk through them, and not become a solid fence. Councilmember Fabel suggested they could give him a certain amount of time to have them all gone. Mayor Grant said they could ask for half out now and half out in five years. Councilmember Holden felt there would be no point in taking care of them for five years only to cut them out. Mayor Grant said they could tell him to move them to the property line. Councilmember Fabel recommended removing 2 out of 3 now and in five years they're all gone. Councilmember Holden was OK with that. Mayor Grant agreed, or he could try to move them now if he wanted. Councilmember Monson asked if that would be an encroachment agreement or just direction that Council is giving to staff. Community Development Jagoe felt the City Attorney would still want an agreement to memorialize the terms. Mayor Grant directed staff to work with the City Attorney on that agreement language. Councilmember Holden felt there should be no encroachment on City property from this point on. Councilmember Rousseau wondered if a flower garden or wood duck house would be considered encroachment. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen said those things would have to be on private property or become an amenity of the City, like Eagle Scout projects. Councilmember Monson said if someone wanted to take out invasive species but put in native flowers for an actual beautification, she would be open to that. The strip of the trail by her is completely left wild and it's awful, she didn't think that was what they wanted to city to look like. She'd like to have PTRC do work on what we would allow for beautification. Councilmember Holden disagreed, there are a lot of trails that are very pristine but lots of people like walking at Hazelnut because it gives them a sense of wildness. She wasn't saying to not do something about the invasive species, but that some people like it more nature like. She thought they should just say no encroaching. Mayor Grant asked if what he was hearing was a zero-tolerance policy. ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORKSESSION-MARCH 11, 2024 14 Councilmember Monson thought they had more questions to work through. Councilmember Rousseau wasn't for all or none. Councilmember Monson felt every situation would be unique. She would prefer to give direction to staff in regard to the level of discretion. Councilmember Holden said it would make staff's lives easier to just say no encroachment from this point on. Councilmember Monson thought there was opportunity to approve improvement of City land in certain situations. Councilmember Fabel said it could go to PTRC to see what they came up with city-wide. Councilmember Monson felt if someone lives next to City land that has buckthorn we should allow them to remove it if they want to. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen said they do allow that with a waiver. Councilmember Holden thought they should discuss it more before they send it to PTRC so they could give them direction. Councilmember Rousseau said they could look to see if other cities have similar codes and see what PTRC would recommend based on those. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen noted that Attachment A was developed after doing research into other city's codes. He felt the question was whether it would be with written consent as approved by the City Council or not. Councilmember Holden left the meeting at 8:45. H. Legislative Priorities and Processes Not discussed. I. Committee/Commission Liaison Roles and Responsibilities Not discussed. J. Proclamation Policy Not discussed. K. Future Agenda Setting/Council Priorities/Future Topic Discussion Not discussed. ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORKSESSION-MARCH 11, 2024 15 L. Council Tracker Not discussed. 4. COUNCIL/STAFF COMMENTS Councilmember Monson stated that she and Councilmember Rousseau wanted to have a special work session to go through some important policies, that meeting didn't happen but some of the items were on this agenda but not discussed. She would like to find a date for a special meeting. Discussion ensued regarding topics and potential dates. Mayor Grant said he would work with staff to find a date for a special work session. City Administrator Perrault said the statewide zoning bill is getting a lot of traction. Some cities are taking a stance on it, it involves some form of single-family housing statewide. He can't speak to the impact to existing Arden Hills but it could have a significant impact forthe zoning for Rice Creek Commons. ADJOURN Mayor Grant adjourned the Special City Council Work Session at 9:00 p.m. Ju i anson David Grant Cit Jerk Mayor