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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC 11-10-2003 . ~ ~~HILLS MEETING MINUTES APPROVED CITY OF ARDEN HILLS, MINNESOTA REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING NOVEMBER 10, 2003, 7:00 P.M. CITY HALL COUNCIL CHAMBERS, 1245 WEST HIGHWAY 96 PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, Mayor Beverly Aplikowski called to order the regular City Council meeting at 7:03 p.m. Present: Mayor Beverly Aplikowski, Councilmembers David Grant, . Gregg Larson, Lois Rem, and Brenda Holden. Absent: None. Also present were City Administrator, Michelle Wolfe; Director of Community Development/Assistant City Administrator, Aaron Parrish; City Attorney, Jerry Filla; Operations and Maintenance Director, Thomas J. Moore; City Engineer, Greg Brown; City Planner, Peter Hellegers; and Recording Secretary, Kathleen Altman. 1. APPROVAL OF MEETING AGENDA MOTION: Councilmember Grant moved and Councilmember Larson seconded a motion to approve the meeting agenda as presented. The motion carried unanimously (5-0). 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. October 27,2003 Council Meeting . Councilmember Grant requested the following changes: Page 9, under Administration change his comments to read: Councilmember Grant pointed out ARDEN HILLS REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES NOVEMBER 10, 2003 2 . the library was in the ideal location for Valentine Hills Elementary and Mounds View High School use. He stated his concern that if the library was closed, it would never reopen. He asked they relay this concern to the County Board. Councilmember Rem requested the following changes: Page 3 under Public Inquiries, add Ms. McCallum's address if staff has it and under Mr. Brown's comments, add "number of' between the words "the" and "driveway". Page 5, add Mr. Bruce Thompson's appropriate title. Page 9, change Alice Jo Carlson's title to be: Director of Ramsey County Libraries. Page II, under her comments first sentence should read: Stated she would be at the County Board hearing... and under Ms. Wolfe's comments correct the spelling of Mayor Aplikowski's last name. Councilmember Larson requested the following changes: Page 6, David Hamernick's paragraph, second sentence, delete having and replace it with "have". Councilmember Holden requested the following changes: None. . Mayor Aplikowski requested the following changes: None Ms. Wolfe requested the following changes: None MOTION: Councilmember Grant moved and Councilmember Rem seconded a motion to approve the November 10, 2003 City Council Meeting Minutes as amended. The motion carried unanimously (5-0). 3. CONSENT CALENDAR a. Claims and Payroll MOTION: Councilmember Larson moved and Councilmember Grant seconded a motion to approve the Consent Calendar and to authorize execution of all necessary documents contained therein. The motion carried unanimously (5-0). . ARDEN HILLS REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES NOVEMBER 10, 2003 3 . 4. PUBLIC INQUIRIES/INFORMATIONAL A. PROCLAMATION: Ramsey County Library Foundation Day Mayor Aplikowski read the Proclamation proclaiming Saturday, November 15, 2003 to be Ramsey County Library Foundation Day. 5. PUBLIC HEARINGS A. Plannint! Case No. 03-12: Variance; Bit! Ten Supper Club Mayor Aplikowski opened the public hearing at 7:14 p.m. Mr. Hellegers stated the applicant was requesting two variances and a site plan review for a 231 square foot kitchen addition to the Big Ten Supper Club in the Neighborhood Business Zoning District. He indicated the planning commission had recommended denial of these requests, based on the findings as noted in the . November 10, 2003 staff report. John Welsch, The Big 10, 2850 Jefferson Street, St. Paul, stated his business was growing, and they wished to expand the restaurant portion. He presented a meal order he received from the United States Army, which illustrated one of the reasons they needed to expand their kitchen, was to fulfill the needs of the Army. He stated these meal orders were increasing every month. He also stated the Health Department had told them they needed to update their kitchen. Mayor Aplikowski asked if the kitchen facility was on the lower level. Mr. Welsch replied the kitchen was on the main floor and the addition was being proposed for the north side of the building. Mayor Aplikowski asked how many parking spots would this proposed addition take. Mr. Welsch replied it would take two parking spots. Mayor Aplikowski asked if Mr. Welsch would be increasing the landscaping. Mr. Welsch replied he had just increased the landscaping, which now would . increase the landscaping beyond the 11 percent currently on the site. ARDEN HILLS REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES NOVEMBER 10, 2003 4 . Councilmember Grant asked if the proposed addition was within the structure of the building, would the applicant need a variance. Mr. Hellegers replied they would not need a variance if no additional square footage beyond the footprint was being proposed. Mayor Aplikowski stated she wanted to grant this variance because the business had been in the City almost since the beginning of Arden Hills and it was the City that had changed the Ordinances affecting this business. She stated, however, she would like to see more landscaping separating the restaurant and the mobile home community. She stated she believed Mr. Welsch should not be short changed because the City had amended its Ordinances. Mr. Welsch replied he would add additional landscaping along the backside of the building. He stated he could eliminate some of the parking in that area because it was not necessary. He suggested the possibility of adding a berm. Councilmember Larson asked if this was a nonconforming use prior to be being . zoned a neighborhood business. Mr. Hellegers replied he believed it was conforming at that time. Mr. Parrish stated prior to the re-zoning, the use as a restaurant was a conforming use. With the re-zoning, the neighborhood business district requirements limit the square footage of restaurants to no more than 3,000 square feet; the property does not currently meet this requirement. In addition, the building is also non- conforming because it does not meet the landscape lot area requirement. Councilmember Larson asked if the remodeling they were proposing was limited to the addition to the existing kitchen. Mr. Welsch replied it would be adding this addition onto the kitchen, as well as remodeling the existing kitchen. Councilmember Larson asked if there was any other way they could reallocate space or activities, such as using the basement. Mr. Welsch replied it would violate health codes to move the kitchen or dishwashing facilities to the basement. Councilmember Holden asked for further information regarding the fence the . applicant installed. Mr. Welsch replied he put in barriers with a chain and presented photographs of the fence. ARDEN HILLS REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES NOVEMBER 10, 2003 5 . Councilmember Holden expressed concern about not having more fencing by the mobile home park. Mr. Welsch stated in the 1960's, when the mobile home park was installed, the mobile home park owners were required to erect a fence, which they failed to do. Councilmember Holden asked how much more business did they expect by expanding the kitchen. Mr. Welsch replied this addition was a matter of convenience and they expected their business for the military to increase, but he did not expect the parking area need to increase. Councilmember Holden asked Mr. Welsch to address the resident's concerns that were brought up by Planning Commission. Mr. Welsch replied the majority of the residents did not have a problem with him expanding, but there was one resident who was concerned about the expansion. Mayor Aplikowski asked if Mr. Welsch would object to putting evergreens on the side closest to the mobile home park. Mr. Welsch replied he would add trees both . on the north and west side. Councilmember Rem noted the business was originally built on the site before the housing and everything else had grown up around it did not seem right to ask The Big 10 to not be able to expand. She stated if the Health Department was requiring the changes, she did not believe the City should deny this request. She asked staff if they could deal with this request as a PUD. Mr. Parrish stated a PUD could be explored, but from the applicant's perspective, a variance request is more cost effective. Councilmember Grant asked how many of the existing Arden Hills neighborhood businesses were in a similar situation. Mr. Parrish noted there were only a couple of businesses in the City that were affected in the same manner. Councilmember Grant asked ifMr. Welsch was the original owner. Mr. Welsch replied his father was the original owner. He noted this was a 5th generation business, over 100 years old and now his son is in the process of taking over the . business. He stated he had spoken with the owner of the mobile home park, who did not have any problem with additional landscaping being installed. ARDEN HILLS REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES NOVEMBER 10, 2003 6 . Councilmember Rem stated what the Health Department was asking for should be workable on this site. She indicated the Health Department was not saying the structure needed to be significantly expanded. Councilmember Larson asked if the trash bins were enclosed. Mr. Welsch replied they were, and his staff did clean up trash in the parking lot. Councilmember Larson stated he agreed with Mayor Aplikowski and he did not believe they should deny this request, as long as additional landscaping was installed. Mr. Filla stated if the request were granted, they would need to add more specifics on landscaping areas. He suggested Mr. Welsch also obtain consent from the mobile home park owner to install the additional landscaping if it encroached on their property. He noted there should also be a timeline added as to when the landscaping was to be completed. Mr. Parrish replied a common condition was to have a landscape plan presented for staff or Council's approval. . Mr. Filla asked when the construction of the addition would take place. Mr. Welsch replied it would probably be in the spring of 2004. Councilmember Larson asked Mr. Welsch if they could wait for two weeks for a landscaping plan to be presented to Council. Mr. Welsch replied he was willing to have this continued to the next Council meeting. Councilmember Grant stated the addition was just over 200 square feet and while he did not usually oppose the Planning Commission's recommendations, he stated he was willing to vote in favor of this because the addition was fairly small. Councilmember Rem noted the Council had additional information that was not available at the Planning Commission meeting, so she felt comfortable voting in favor of this variance. Mayor Aplikowski closed the public hearing at 7:58 p.m. . ARDEN HILLS REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES NOVEMBER 10,2003 7 . MOTION: Councilmember Larson moved and Councilmember Grant seconded a motion to table Planning Case No. 03-12: Variance; Big Ten Supper Club to the November 24, 2003 Council meeting to allow applicant time to prepare a landscaping plan for the northwest and southwest areas. The motion carried unanimously (5-0). Mr. Filla again specified if the landscaping plan encroached on the neighboring property, it would be necessary to obtain the owner of the mobile home park's approval. 6. COMMUNITY SERVICES A. Resolution No. 03-67: Ramsey County 2004 SCORE Grant: Authorization of Application and Acceptance of Grant Mr. Hellegers stated the City was eligible to apply for $18,489 in SCORE recycling grant funds for 2004. . MOTION: Councilmember Grant moved and Councilmember Holden seconded a motion authorizing the City Administrator to apply for the Recycling SCORE Grant funds for 2004. The motion carried unanimously (5- 0). B. Resolution No. 03-76: Renewal of Recyclint! Joint Powers At!reement Mr. Hellegers stated the City had entered into a Joint Powers Agreement (JPA) with Ramsey County to assess individual residential property owners' fees to support the recycling program. He requested the funding rate for residential City's recycling program. MOTION: Councilmember Larson moved and Councilmember Rem seconded a motion to approve Resolution No. 03-76: Establishing Service Fee Charge for 2004 Residential Curbside Recycling Program at $24.50 per residential parcel. The motion carried unanimously (5-0). . ARDEN HILLS REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES NOVEMBER 10, 2003 8 . C. Ramsey County Joint Powers At!reement for City Recyclint! Fee 2004-2008 Mr. Hellegers stated the City needed to consider renewal of the Ramsey County Joint Powers Agreement as a collection mechanism for the City Recycling Fee for the years of 2004-2008. MOTION: Councilmember Grant moved and Councilmember Holden seconded a motion to renew the Ramsey County Joint Powers Agreement for City Recycling Fee collection for the years 2004-2009. The motion carried unanimously (5-0). 7. FINANCE None. 8. OPERATIONS & MAINTENANCE . A. Resolution No. 03-66: Receiyint! Feasibility Report and Callin!!: Public Hearint! for 2004 PMP, Edt!ewater Nei!!:hborhood Mr. Brown stated a feasibility report had been prepared with reference to the improvement of streets in the Edgewater neighborhood. Councilmember Rem asked if anything was going to done with the steep hill on Shoreline Lane and County Road D. Mr. Brown noted this was in the Ramsey County Parks area and he would need to talk to them about this. He hoped to meet with the County within the next couple of weeks to discuss this issue. Councilmember Holden expressed concern about telling the residents that they would be inconvenienced by not being allowed to use their driveway for only one day. Councilmember Grant asked how long the sanitary sewer in the area would last. Mr. Brown stated they had two general sanitary repairs - repair some parts of the . line and replace other parts of the line. He noted the whole sewer system should last 50 years or better after this project was done. He indicated these repairs ARDEN HILLS REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES NOVEMBER 10, 2003 9 . would also save the City money because right now the pipes were leaking and the City was paying for the leaking water. MOTION: Councilmember Larson moved and Councilmember Holden seconded a motion to approve Resolution No. 03-66: Receiving the Feasibility Report and Calling for a Public Hearing for the 2004 Pavement Improvement Project (PMP), Edgewater Neighborhood. The motion carried unanimously (5-0). B. Resolution No. 03-65: Approyint! a Joint A!!:reement for the Financint!, Operations, and Use of the Ramsey County Public Works/Partners Facility Mr. Parrish stated the changes to the Joint Agreement for the Ramsey County Public Works Maintenance facility were not substantive and had been reviewed by the City Attorney. He requested Council consider approving this Resolution. . Bruce Thompson, Assistant Director of Property Management for Ramsey County, stated they had worked hard to come up with an Operating Agreement for all of the partners involved. Councilmember Larson expressed concern about paragraph XI. Mr. Thompson stated he did not know if this document would answer every possible scenario, but they were committed to working with the City as partners in this facility. He noted the County would not do anything in detriment to their partners' interest. Councilmember Larson noted he wanted to see a clause inserted which stated if the County wanted to make any additions which would increase the operating costs for the partners, that the County seek the partners' approval. Mr. Filla stated this was a clause that could be added if requested by Council but he did not know if the County would approve it. Mr. Thompson replied it was his belief the County Board would struggle with this proposal. He stated however that the County was not going to do something to the detriment of their partners. Mr. Filla pointed out that if the County did . something that benefited only them and increased some cost, that increased cost would be the County's responsibility. ARDEN HILLS REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES NOVEMBER 10, 2003 10 . Councilmember Larson noted there was a dispute resolution in this document and he was comfortable with the document. Mr. Filla requested an Exhibit A2 be prepared setting out more specifically the square footage once as-builts are prepared for the facility. Mr. Thompson noted it was difficult to come up with all of the "what ifs" and they had tried to address as many concerns as possible. He indicated the overriding theory was that they were long-term partners and ifthere were a dispute in the future, the dispute resolution clause would come into effect. Mr. Filla suggested the following be added to paragraph XII A. 3. after the first sentence "or to another governmental entity subject to approval by Ramsey County, which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld". Mr. Thompson stated he believed the County would accept this. MOTION: Councilmember Grant moved and Councilmember Larson seconded a . motion to approve Resolution No. 03-65: Approving a Joint Agreement for the Financing, Operations and Use of the Ramsey County Public Works/Partners Facility modified as follows: V. 3. A. amended to refer to "The Mounds View School District Board...". V. 5. Add to the end of the section, "which shall be attached as Exhibit A2 when prepared". VII. A. 3. Add to the end of the first sentence "or to another governmental entity subject to approval by Ramsey County, which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld". The motion carried unanimously (5-0). . ARDEN HILLS REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES NOVEMBER 10, 2003 11 . 9. ADMINISTRATION A. Ramsey County Suburban HRA Discussion Ms. Wolfe stated Ramsey County was currently considering a suburban only HRA levy to provide additional resources for housing. She noted the levy would be distributed to communities based on population. Mr. Parrish stated the annual Arden Hills allocation was proposed to be $35,000. He indicated communities may accumulate funds for up to five years. At that time, the funds would be distributed on a competitive basis and if desired, the City could also create and adopt a levy for a City Housing and Redevelopment Authority. He stated there were general fund resources that were currently being used for housing programs, which could be transferred to HRA financing. Councilmember Larson stated his concern was the imposition of a levy on the . taxpayers. He stated he did not see the need at this time. With this proposal, Arden Hills did not use the money within five years, the City would lose it. He stated this appeared to be a tax in search of a rationale and he opposed this at this time. Mayor Aplikowski expressed concern that the people who really needed the help, were not being correctly informed as to what options they had. Councilmember Grant stated he was against the creation of more levies on the residents and that the Arden Hills taxpayers would end up paying more into this than they would get out of it. He stated he would prefer not participating in this. Councilmember Holden stated she opposed this, as well. Councilmember Rem stated she was comfortable sending a letter opposing the HRA proposal or remaining neutral on the issue. . CITY COUNCIL REPORTS ARDEN HILLS REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES NOVEMBER 10, 2003 12 . Ms. Wolfe - Stated the City offices were closed tomorrow in observance of Veterans Day. Mr. Parrish - None. Mr. Moore - Updated the Council on the Highway 96 project. Councilmember Grant - Stated the PTRC met two weeks ago and were excited about the Perry Park Shelter. He asked for an update on the Cummings Park shelter. Mr. Moore replied the Cumming Park Shelter had the walls and roof up, and the plumbing was in. He stated it was anticipated it would be completed by November 15. He indicated he did not believe the hockey rink would be put in this year, unless the ground thawed and they were able to do some grading of the area. He stated pleasure skating was a possibility. Councilmember Larson - Stated he would not be in attendance at the Work . session meeting next week. He requested a zoning map be made available in Council Chambers. Councilmember Holden - None. Councilmember Rem - Stated she attended the Ramsey County Board meeting last week. She stated the Board voted on Friday and they found the money to keep the Arden Hills Library open for the next year. She thanked the Board for keeping the library open another year. She stated she would like a discussion in the future on assisting with funding for the Northwest Youth and Family Services. Mayor Aplikowski - Asked Council how much time they believed they needed for a retreat. She suggested a Friday night to a Saturday. She asked Council to inform Ms. Wolfe their available dates, possibly in January. She asked Council how they felt about Proclamations. Councilmember Rem stated it would be easier to not do Proclamations for everyone, but it was nice to do them once in a while as a thank you to a person. . . ARDEN HILLS REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES NOVEMBER 10, 2003 13 . Mayor Aplikowski stated she would like to do Proclamations for a person as a thank you, but as a general rule, they would not be done. Mayor Aplikowski adjourned the regular City Council meeting at 9:33 p.m. / /;~ r -- / / ,,/ /'1'1 t" / ~ ~ / / / / 1'1; I ' L '_<./??-:('. --i, /' ,;' //:'_,/"" /" ( I (I V .'. /Beverly Aplikows'ki Michelle Wol e Mayor City Administrator NOTICE OF MEETINGS The next Council Meeting will be held Monday, November 24,2003 at 7:00 p.m. in the Arden Hills Council Chambers. . .