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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC 05-13-1991 MINUI'ES OF THE ARDEN HILLS REl3UlAR <XlUNCIL MEEI'ING MONDAY, MAY 13, 1991, 7:30 P.M. - CITY HALL . Pursuant to due call ani notice thereof, May= Sather called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. ROLL CALL The roll being called the following members were present: May= 'Ihomas Sather, Counci1members Nancy Hansen, Paul Malone, JoAnn Growe ani 'Ihomas Mahowald. Also present: Planner John Bergly, Attorney Jerry Filla, Engineer Mark Graham, Parks Direct= John Buckley, Public W=ks SUperintendent Dan Winkel, Clerk lIdministrator Gary Berger ani Deputy Clerk Catherine Iago. CALL 'IO ORDER AOOPl' AGENDA Malone moved, seconded by Growe, to adopt the May 13 Council Agenda as suhnitted. Motion carried unaniJoously. (5-0) APPROVE MINUI'ES; 4/29 & 5/6/91 Council was referred to a :memorandum from Deputy Clerk Iago dated 5-13-91, regarding a revision to the 4/29/91 Regular Council meeting minutes. Clerk lIdministrator Berger noted the c=rected wording ani the revised page 13 suhnitted for insertion in the April 29 minutes. COlmcilmember Hansen amended the 5/6/91 Council Worksession minutes to reflect the ==ect t:i1ne of her arrival at 4:40 p.m. . Malone moved, seconded by Hansen, to approve the April 29 Regular Council meeting minutes with the c=rected page 13 inserted ani the May 5 Worksession minutes with the ==ected time of arrival for Councilmember Hansen. Motion carried unaniJoously. (5-0) mNSENT CALENDAR Councilmember Malone connnended Building Inspector Kriesel on the report suhnitted regarding attendance at the Boundary law seminar. Councilmember Mahowald questioned if documentation was received relative to the vending license approval at the Pot 0 Gold hall. Deputy Clerk Iaga stated it is a standard vending license ani the receptionist insures all documentation prior to placement on the agenda. Moved by Hansen, se=nded by Malone, to adopt the Consent Calendar as suhnitted, ani authorize execution of all necessary documents =ntained therein: a. Acknowledge Building Official Seminar Report. b. J\Wrove K.M.A., Inc. Vending License at Pot 0 Gold Hall. c. Approve Solicitation Pennit Request, American Teens. d. J\Wrove List of Clailns ani Payroll. Motion carried unaniJoously. (5-0) PUBLIC <X1<1M.ENTS . NO. SNELLING AVE. IMPROVEMENI' Keith Koch, resident of the Briarknoll Addition in Arden Hills, appeared before Council to discuss the inprovement of N=th snelling Avenue. . . Minutes of the Arden Hills Regular Council Meeting, 5-13-91 Page 2 SNELLING (cant 'd) Koch stated he suhnitted a "letter to the Etlit=" of the New Brighton Bulletin ani foI:Warded a =py to Counci1members. He eJq)ressed =ncern that the prqx:>sed ilrprovement of snelling Avenue was defeated ani requested Council re=nsider the matter. He advised he travels on that roadway two times per day ani suggested it is a maj= artery in the city. Koch advised the street may be too narrow to accomroodate the traffic volumes on the road, as well as persons jogging, walking, = riding bicycles. He also stated that a vast majority of persons residing in the neighborhood favor the upgrade ani widening of the street, however, notification was limited to only those persons residing on the street. He suggested Council review what is best f= the entire community ani referred to the upgrade of Hamline Avenue ani its benefit to the community. Koch thanked the Council f= the opportunity to speak on this matter. CASE #91-05; VAR. FENCE, CARDIAC PACEMAKERS, INC. Planner Bergly reviewed his report dated 5-1-91, relative to the application f= a fence height variance from Cardiac Pacemakers, Inc., 4100 Hamline Averrue. Bergly stated the proposal is for a six foot high fence placed within 8 ft. of the required front setback line on Fernwood Avenue. He noted that utilities are located in the area prqx:>sed to be fenced ani if maintenance of the utilities is necessary, replacement of the fence would be at the owner's ~. He indicated the preference would be to locate the fence between the two lines shown on the site plan. Bergly also disc"ssed. the Fire arief's request that the fence be installed behind the fire hydrants to allow access for emergency vehicles. '!he Planner explained the Planning Conunission reconnnended denial of the 3 ft. variance, based on the fact there does not appear to be a hardship identified ani approval may set precedent for other industrial/cammercial zoned properties. Bergly noted that this property is adjacent to an industrial development with a large parking lot, the fence provides an amenity to the property ani the barrier to traffic creates the appearance of security that the company is seeking. Councilmember Hansen questioned if the 6 ft. height is necessary; discussed. the fact the fence will not prohibit foot traffic from entering other areas of the site. ihe Planner explained that =nsidering the scale of develOflOOl"lt on this site, the size of the bJilding, ani the setback from the street, it appears that a 3 foot high fence would be inappropriate on the site. Councilmember Malone questioned if the Fire Chief has =ncerns regarding the placement of the fence as relates to the fire hydrants. Fire arief Winkel stated he has resolved the =ncerns relating to the fire hydrants. He expressed =ncern regarding the maintenance of the utility lines as there are manholes located behind the fence. He stated it may be difficult to access the site with the jetter truck to service the utility lines. Winkel suggested a gate = a rencvable section of fence near the manhole locations may . be sufficient to provide the access necessary. . Minutes of the Arden Hills Regular Council Meeting, 5-13-91 Page 3 CASE #91-05 (Cont'd) Council discussed the type of fence, =nstruction material ani proposed =lor. Council questioned if the applicant would =nsider a compromise height f= the fence ani provide a gate f= maintenance vehicle access near the utilities, as discussed. 'Ihe Planner displayed a photograph of the fence ani explained the fence is aluminum, proposed to be black = bronze in =lor. 'Ihe Architect representing CPI stated the six foot height seems appropriate f= the developnent on the site. He agreed to place the gates as required f= maintenance purposes ani suggested the applicant may be amenable to a five foot fence. Councilmember Hansen agreed that the 3 foot fence height would not be appropriate f= the scale of developnent on this site. She agreed that the fence would give the appearance of security ani deter drive-in traffic. Hansen was not opposed to the variance if the applicant agrees to provide access for maintenance vehicles. . Councilmember Malone stated the intent of the zoning ordinance requirements pertaining to a 3 foot fence height were ilrposed to protect residential properties. He suggested the hardship may be that the site actually has frontage on three streets ani the Fernwood access is =nsidered the rear of the site; the address for CPI is on Hamline Avenue. Malone indicated this is an industrial property ani should be viewed from a different perspective than residential property. He was not opposed to the requested variance =nditioned upon the applicant providing sufficient access for utility maintenance. Malone moved, se=nded by Hansen, to approve Case #91-06, Variance f= height ani location of a 6 foot high fence in the front yard of Cardiac Pacemakers, Inc., for the pI,-,>,,=-,- Lj fronting on Fernwood Avenue, as indicated in the Planner's report dated 5-1-91, based on the following: 1. 'Ihe fence is in the open spirit of the fencing requirements outlined in the zoning ordinance. 2. 'Ihe hardship identified being the property has three front yards ani the property is clearly structured to define the Fernwood Avenue entrance as a rear yard. 3. 'Ihe applicant has chosen a particular fence design which maintains the open effect identified in the ordinance requireJOOnts. ani =nditioned upon the applicant providing access for utility vehicles in the design of the fence, to allow maintenance of utility lines, as approved by the Public Works SUperintendent, ani additional laOO.scaping at the site entrance, as approved by the Planner. Motion carried unanimously. (5-0) RECEIPl'; PErITIONS IMPR\IMI' . CEA'IHAM CIRCLE & rouRI' Council was referred to a memorandum from Deputy Clerk Iago dated 5-10-91, relative to receipt of petitions frCll\ the residents of Chatham Court ani Chatham circle. . Attorney Filla outlined the options for Council action. He explained the Chatham Circle petition is =ect ani may be declared adequate by Council, which eliminates the necessity of a public hearing on that portion of the ilrprovement project. He further stated an assessment hearing is required. . . . Minutes of the Arden Hills Regular Council Meeting, 5-13-91 Page 4 Et:l'J.'J.'J.ONS (Cont'd) Filla noted that one signature is missing from the Olatham Court petition ani lIIUSt be obtained to declare the petition adequate. He recommended Council either determine the petition inadequate or adopt a resolution declaring the adequacy of the petition, with a =ndition requiring the signature be obtained ani acknowledged pri= to the May 28 date established for the assessment hearing. Mr. Baude advised Mr. Greenberg is in town at this t:i1ne ani it appears the signature may be obtained prior to the hearing date. Mahowald moved, seconded by Growe, to adopt Resolution No. 91-32, Declaring the Adequacy of the Petitions from the Residents of Olatham Court ani Olatham Circle, subject to the receipt of the signature from Mr. Greenberg prior to May 28, ani instruct the city to establish the date of the assessment hearing on Tuesday, May 28, 1991, at 7:30 p.m. Motion carried unaniJoously. (5-0) VALENI'INE AVE. ; Mayor Sather referred to the memorandum from Deputy Clerk CIDSING ALT'S Iaga dated 5-9-91, advising that the city Engineer is not prepared to address the alternatives f= closing Valentine Avenue ani requesting the matter be deferred to the next regular meeting held May 28. Malone moved, seconded by Mahowald to table the discussion of the closing of valentine Avenue to the May 28 Regular Council meeting. Motion carried unaniJoously. Councilmember Hansen discussed the possibility of placing a sign at Old snelling Avenue prohibiting right turns from 6:30 to 10:00 p.m. ani placing a sign at Valentine Avenue prohibiting left turns from Valentine between 1:00 to 3:30 p.m. She also advised a School Board member had =ntacted her to request the road not be closed. Engineer Graham advised that Engineer Maurer did address signage in his original :memorandum outlining alternatives for closing the street. Council ani the City Attorney discussed procedures for vacating the street ani if the lani may be purchased by the adjacent property owners. Attorney Filla suggested staff review the City Code to determine if there is a procedure for purchase of the vacated lani ani if reimb.rrsement is appropriate. Engineer Graham advised the city should maintain an easement f= maintenance of utilities. Att=ney Filla suggested the lani area =uld be utilized as open space ani retained by the City for maintenance purposes. Bob Boesel, 1695 Valentine Avenue, requested a brief review of the alternatives the Engineer is =nsidering. May= Sather advised the Engineer has not had an opportunity to review the alternative p:roposed to Council by the residents; extending the three residential driveways. Mrs. Albert, resident on Valentine Crest, eJq)ressed opposition to closing the road ani advised several other residents in the area are present to oppose the closure. . Minutes of the Arden Hills Regular Council Meeting, 5-13-91 Page 5 VALENTINE (Cont'd) May= Sather suggested all residents opposing the closure of Valentine Avenue appear at the May 28 meeting ani discuss =ncerns at that t:i1ne. Mrs. Boesel advised the residents had suggested the signs prohibiting turns during certain hours on the streets. RES. #91-33; LIMIT PARKING, ROYAL HILLS PARK, NORIH SNELLING AVENUE Council was referred to a report from the Parks Direct=, Public Works SUperintendent ani Engineer dated 5-9-91, reconnnending limited parking on North Snelling Avenue near Royal Hills park. Councilmember Hansen questioned if there will be sufficient parking with the restriction = if it will be necessary to create a parking area near the park. '!he Parks Director explained there should be sufficient parking without creating a parking lot; noted several area residents walk to the park. councilmember Mahowald stated there does not appear to be a problem with traffic or parking during the times he has viewed the area. Councilmember Malone verified the park is utilized extensively during the spring ani summer ani there is a safety =ncern with children crossing the street. . Malone moved, seconded by Hansen, to adopt Resolution No. 91-33, RESOImION AUIHORIZING NO PARKING AREA ON THE EAST AND WFSI' SIDE OF NORm SNELLING AVENUE AND INSTALIATION OF A CROSSWAIK NEAR ROYAL HILLS PARK. Motion carried unaniJoously. (5-0) ORD. #281; PARK DEDICATION FEFS Council was referred to a :memorandum from the Clerk lIdministrator dated 5-1-91, relative to amenling the park dedication ordinance. Attorney Filla explained the proposed ordinance was drafted to in=rporate changes in state law into the city Code. He stated the draft amendment was reviewed by the Planning Canmission ani two changes were prqx:>sed: 1. Deleting the word ''maximum'', from the percentage of dedication required in =njunction with residential development. '!he Canmission determined there may be circumstances where more than the percentages listed may be appropriate ani did not wish to be held to a maximum percentage. 2. Eliminating the time-frame f= payment of the fees by stating the fees must be paid in full prior to issuance of Wilding permits for a suJ:x:livision or minor suJ:x:livision; paragraph 5, page 2. 'Ihe Canmission determined the City should not be in the b.1siness of financing the costs f= developers over a period of t:i1ne. Filla stated there may have been difficulty receiving payments from some developers f= such fees. . 'Ihe Parks Canmittee agreed with the prqx:>sed ordinance ani the changes reconnnended by the Planning Canmission. councilmember Mahowald stated the deletion of the word rnaxi1num does not appear to be significant, however, in terms of past practise, payment prior to issuance of a Wilding permit is a substantial change. He suggested there may be a benefit to allowing the payment over a period of time with interest, if the amotUlt negotiated is substantial. He questioned if collection has been a problem. . . Minutes of the Arden Hills Regular Council Meeting, 5-13-91 Page 6 ORD. (Cont'd) Att=ney Filla explained paragraph 5 was originally drafted to allow the City flexibility in =llection of the fees. He stated the revised larguage requires the payment of one-third of the negotiated amount from the developer ani payment in full within eighteen months, rather than three years. He noted the Council has the flexibility to require security f= the unpaid principaL Deputy Clerk Iaga referred to one incident of trouble =llecting fees. She noted that the City only recently began charging interest on the unpaid balance; several dedication fees are payable over a 10-year span, with no interest. Iaga advised that staff has difficulty keeping track of billing dates, since the payments are due in =njunction with OCC'lpClI1CY of the bJilding ani are scattered throughout the year. Cotmcilmember Malone recalled Council requesting the Attorney draft the existing language in paragraph 5 relating to payment. After discussion, Council concu=ed that the developer should have an option to pay the full amotUlt ani in the event the developer wishes to extend the payments, security f= the unpaid balance of the dedication should be mandatory instead of optional. '!he Attorney explained a revision by deleting the word "may" ani inserting the word "shall" in the sentence which requires security f= the unpaid principal portion thereof, makes the requirement mandatory. Malone moved, seconded by Growe, to adopt Ordinance No. 281, RELATING'IO PUBLIC USE DEDICATIOOS, with the following amendments, section 22-9 SUbd. (1), eliminate the word "maximum" from the Percentage Dedication chart on page 2, ani amend the wording in SUbd. (5) to read; "...ani shall require security for the unpaid principal portion thereof." Motion carried unaniJoously. (5-0) <XlUNCIL COMMENI'S REPRESENTATIVE PHIL KRINKIE May= Sather introduced Representative Phil Krinkie ani welcomed him to the meeting. Representative Krinkie briefly reviewed the status of legislative issues of interest to ColUlCil. Cotmcil thanked Krinkie for his attendance. LEAGUE OF CITIES mNFERENCE The Clerk lIdministrator reminded Cotmcil of the dates f= the League of cities Conference ani suhnission of registration materials. Councilmember Growe reported that she received several calls from residents expressing disappointment relative that the improvement of N=th snelling Avenue was defeated ani notification of the hearing was not forwarded to all area residents. . Growe suggested the city re=nsider the notification process for ilrprovements on streets which are utilized by area residents, not just abutting properties to be assessmed. She questioned if a recent traffic study has been done on N=th Snelling ani if a=ident infonnation was obtained from the Sheriff's Department. Growe suggested this matter be di5C'lSsed at a Council Worksession meeting. DISCUSSIOO ; NORIH SNELLING IMPROVEMENI' - Minutes of the Arden Hills Regular Council Meeting, 5-13-91 Page 7 SNELLING (Cont'd) Engineer Graham reported the traffic =unt information was cx:IlIpiled in 1988. He advised a new studY =unld be completed by MSA at an estimated cost of $500.00. Councilmember Malone advised he received several calls from residents on this matter with concerns regarding the inprovement ani the notification process. He comntented he has not observed the tentative Council Agendas published in the New Brighton Bulletin ani requested staff =ntact the Bulletin regarding the publication of Agendas. Malone also suggested hearings be posted on the Cable TV channel. He strongly urged re=nsideration of the ilrprovement of snelling Avenue. Att=ney Filla advised a motion to re=nsider the matter must be initiated by one of the Counci1members voting against the ilrprovement; the motion should include establishing a date for a public hearing ani notification of the hearing date must be published ani mailed to affected property owners. Filla questioned if the project =uld be scheduled for =nstruction this year. Engineer Graham advised if the project is ordered this year ani the bids were received in late July, the =nstruction =uld begin this year ani the final bituminous installed next year. Councilmember Hansen favored re=nsideration of the ilrprovement ani requested staff contact Commander Bergeron to provide information relative to accidents occurring on North snelling Avenue. . Growe moved, se=nded by Malone, to auth=ize Engineer Graham to =nduct a traffic studY on N=th snelling Avenue, between Highway 96 ani Briarknoll Drive, ani to provide the infonnation to Council at their May 20 Worksession meeting. Motion carried unanimously. (5-0) Growe moved, se=nded by Malone, that Council schedule a Special Meeting on Monday, June 3, at 7:30 p.m., f= the purpose of holding a public hearing to re=nsider the North snelling Avenue Improvement Project. Malone moved, seconded by Hansen, to amend the motion to request the Clerk lIdministrator send SUWlemental notification of the public hearing to all residents of the Royal Hills ani Briarknoll developnents. REXXlNSroER IMPRVMI'; NORI'H SNELLING AVENUE Amended motion carried unanimously. (5-0) Original motion as amended carried unanimously. (5-0) Councilmember Malone questioned if Cellular One has cx:IlIpleted the installation of the revised antermae on the City water tower. The Public W=ks SUperintendent offered to =ntact Warren Dunlap to ascertain the status of the project. INSI'ALL ANTENNAE; CELllJlAR ONE . DISC; SAIARY Councilmember Malone discussed the graph he prepared cx:r-lPARISON relative to salary ~ison f= the position of Clerk Administrat=. He offered to complete similar graphs for all positions in the city, utilizing the stanton SUrvey information. ........ . . Minutes of the Arden Hills Regular Council Meeting, 5-13-91 Page 8 AD HOC CClMMI'lTEE mAR. GAMBLING Councilmember Hansen questioned the status of the Ad Hoc Charitable Gambling Committee awoinbnents ani offered to serve as Council liaison to the Committee. May= Sather advised he was not prepared to reconnnend awoinbnents ani requested the matter be held until the May 28 meeting. PROPER!"{ TAX INFORMATION i CITY ACCOUNTANT Councilmember Hansen connnended the City Accountant f= the infonnation ani graphs she provided relative to the utilization of property tax dollars. Council =ncurred to discuss the traffic study ani a=ident infonnation pertaining to N=th Snelling Avenue at the May 20 worksession; requested the Engineer attend. ~RKSESSION AGENDA ADJOURN Malone moved, seconded by Growe, that the meeting be adjourned at 9:00 p.m. Motion carried unanimously. (5-0) ~71. B~ Gary R. Berger Clerk lIdministrat= -rL I1L '!homas R. Sather May= NarICE OF MEEI'INGS '!here is a Council Worksession Meeting scheduled on Monday, May 20, 1991, at 4:30 p.m., at City Hall. The next Regular Council Meeting will be held on 'IUESDAY, May 28, 1991, at 7:30 p.m., at City Hall.