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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-22-10-TCAAP WS HILLS Approved: March 8, 2010 CITY OF ARDEN HILLS, MINNESOTA CITY COUNCIL TCAAP WORK SESSION MEETING FEBRUARY 22, 2010 6:00 P.M. -ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, Mayor Stan Harpstead called to order the City Council Work Session meeting at 6:01 p.m. Present: Mayor Stan Harpstead, Council Members David Grant, Brenda Holden, Fran Holmes, and David McClung. Absent: None. Also present: Acting City Administrator/Finance Director, Susan Iverson; Community Development Director, James Lehnhoff; and Deputy Clerk, Rebecca Brazys. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Mayor Harpstead announced that an item has been added to the agenda: Sand Companies and Reiling Tower, although it will not include discussion on the Conditional Use Permit on the agenda for tonight's regular Council meeting. Mayor Harpstead moved to approve the agenda as amended, Councilmember Holmes seconded, motion carried unanimously. 1. AGENDA ITEMS A. TCAAP Public Auction Preparation and the Public Engagement Process Community Development Director Lehnhoff stated this is a continuation of the discussion held at the February 16, 2010, worksession regarding the TCAAP planning process. The community meeting has been scheduled for April 20 and he's still working on setting a date for the multi- jurisdictional meeting which will be held some time before the community meeting. He indicated that he will be putting together a presentation for the multi jurisdictional meeting and was seeking input from Council on any specific topics that should be included in that presentation. ARDEN HILLS CITY TCAAP WORK SESSION—FEBRUARY 22, 2010 2 Councilmember Holden suggested a good map be included that reflects ownership around the borders of the TCAAP property. Councilmember Holmes suggested the presentation start with an update of the auction process, Ramsey County parks and trails involvement, a review of the zoning and then have other cities submit questions or statements or any other pertinent information. Councilmember Grant suggested that the presentation should include a review the early transfer process of the TCAAP property. The public may be confused about the process that lead up to the auction. Councilmember McClung agreed and Councilmember Holden suggested that we also include dates of what happened during the transfer process. Mayor Harpstead questioned if the Met Council, Ramsey County, MnDOT, or the MPCA had been notified of this meeting. Councilmember Holden suggested our congressional delegation also be included. Community Development Director Lehnhoff went on to discuss the TCAAP zoning regulations which is based on the mixed use concept with mixed residential and mixed business that was adopted in the 2030 Comprehensive Plan. Integrated within that plan are parks and open ace. He explained the Council had directed staff to continue working on the proposed zoning regulations based on the 2030 Comprehensive Plan and bring them back for review. Councilmember Holmes pointed out that the documents provided use two different terms; mixed commercial and mixed business. Community Development Director Lehnhoff responded that he will check the Comprehensive Plan document to see which is the correct term and will then make the necessary changes es for consistency. Councilmember Holden stated that she'd like the Council to reaffirm that they are in agreement with the mixed use concept in the 203 0 Comprehensive Plan just to ensure that the Council is "on the same page." Councilmember McClung explained that in his opinion the Council has alreadydone that b y voting for the Comprehensive Plan. Mayor Harpstead agreed stating that he voted for the Comprehensive Plan so that's the content on which we should proceed. Mayor Harpstead stated the record should reflect that all five Councilmembers agreed that staff should continue to update the TCAAP zoning regulations to bring them into conformance with the 2030 Comprehensive Plan. ARDEN HILLS CITY TCAAP WORK SESSION—FEBRUARY 22, 2010 3 Community Development Director Lehnhoff explained that he is drafting an RFP for planning and legal services to assist in the preparation of the TCAAP zoning regulations to ensure that the City is on solid legal ground and using clear zoning language. He anticipates bring a proposal to the City Council for review on March 8. He then referred to page one of the attachment entitled — "203 0 Comprehensive Plan: Future Land Uses." This document contains an error that should be corrected to reflect what was approved in the Comprehensive Plan: Mixed Residential should be listed as 200 acres Mixed Business as 240 acres. He then reviewed the following sections of our zoning code: 1320.04 Purpose of Districts is simply a purpose statement for every zone we have in the Comprehensive Plan. He explained that Part A, the goal for TCAAP, is directly from the Comprehensive Plan and the remaining paragraphs he borrowed from other zoning districts and which support what has been discussed for the TCAAP property. Councilmember Holmes commented that she would like to see a statement that the Council would like to encourage residential communities to pay for their own amenities such as plantings, median,boulevard, trees, and sidewalks. Community Development Director Lehnhoff suggested there could be a general statement under this section such as "economically self-sustaining" but we would want to go into more detail elsewhere in the document. Mayor Harpstead stated that it doesn't say in the purpose statement that one of the objectives is to have this development be integrated with Arden Hills. Community Development Director Lehnhoff responded it would be appropriate to include that in the purpose statement. Councilmember Holden stated that at one time there was discussion about allowing apartments over business sites but if we split the plan into two distinct districts, that would be gone. Community Development Director Lehnhoff responded that with the current plan, housing would be limited to the housing side and business to the business side. But if a proposal is submitted with housing over business, there could be a Comprehensive Plan amendment to address that at a later date. Councilmember Holden questioned how we are addressing the Council's desire for a centralized park. Community Development Director Lehnhoff stated that will be addressed under the parks section. Councilmember McClung commented that the centralized park is an important issue to him. ARDEN HILLS CITY TCAAP WORK SESSION—FEBRUARY 22, 2010 4 Community Development Director Lehnhoff responded that this review will be a lengthy process and that the Planning Commission will also be looking at the plan. Community Development Director Lehnhoff explained that the land use chart will list the permitted land uses and conditional uses for each zoning district. He will have to bring this back to the Council at a future meeting as he is not prepared to review it at this time. He explained that Section 1320.135 includes the Planned Unit Development (PUD) process and the components that will be needed to create a TCAAP master plan. He explained that this section is an enhanced PUD process that expands on the existing process to have more information components. The enhanced PUD Process includes ten components: Land Use, Design Standards, Transportation and Parking, Park, Recreation and Open Space, Utilities, Construction Staging, Environmental Review and Remediation, Sustainability, Contractual, and Financial with a separate subdivision for each one. Community Development Director Lehnhoff reviewed Subdivision 1. General Procedure which we will go back to once we've reviewed all the other regulations. Referring to Subdivision 2, the Planned Unit Development (PUD) Concept Plan Review he explained that this is currently an optional component which he recommends become required as it requires developers to talk with the City before an actual plan is submitted. Councilmember Holden questioned if a certificate of completion can be incorporated in this plan. Community Development Director Lehnhoff explained that will be addressed in the environmental components section. Councilmember Holmes suggested Paragraph C under Subdivision 2 be changed to state that "Informal consultations are encouraged." Community Development Director Lehnhoff stated Subdivision 3, Public Engagement Plan, refers to a public engagement process. This section may require some tweaking. He then referred to Subdivision 4, Planned Unit Development (PUD) Master Plan. The PUD Master Plan process would be similar to the process that the City was undergoing with RRLD. The PUD Master Plan creates the overall plan for TCAAP. The PUD Final Plan is then used to implement each stage of development. Subdivision 4 Paragraphs B and C, he explained, is one of the more important statements in the PUD Master Plan because this is what defines when the application is complete. Councilmember McClung questioned the process for amending a Master Plan. Community Development Director Lehnhoff explained if a PUD Master Plan is approved and something drastic changes, the developer would have to go through a public hearing process to amend the PUD Master Plan. Councilmember Holden asked if the entire PUD Master Plan would have to be approved before any improvements could be made to the property. ARDEN HILLS CITY TCAAP WORK SESSION—FEBRUARY 22, 2010 5 Community Development Director Lehnhoff responded the entire Master Plan would have to be approved prior to any development based on the proposed process. Councilmember Holden questioned how the City would protect itself against the developer deciding after negotiations that he only wants to develop a portion of the property. Community Development Director Lehnhoff responded that would be a good question for the City's attorneys. Mayor Harpstead commented that the definitions of Concept Plan and Master Plan aren't always clear in the documents presented. Community Development Director Lehnhoff reviewed Subdivision 5, Land Use Component and the prohibited uses. Mayor Harpstead expressed concern about adult uses. Community Development Director Lehnhoff explained that adult uses are already limited to a specific zoning district but could be listed here as prohibited. Councilmember McClung questioned if race tracks and stadiums, both uses that have been mentioned, would be suitable in the zoning as proposed. Councilmember Holden commented on whether or not big box businesses would be allowed. Community Development Director Lehnoff responded that the proposed zoning would not support a race track or a stadium. He then stated that the footprint of a retail store is limited in the proposed code. Councilmember Grant questioned how tax exempt property would be handled. Community Development Director Lehnhoff stated that would have to be researched, but cities do have to be careful with restricting religious organizations. Community Development Director Lehnhoff reviewed the housing section and explained we can set a maximum number of housing units with a limit on certain types, including single and multi-family. He added that traffic capacity will be a consideration because that would limit the development capacity. He pointed out that the Metropolitan Council requires at least three units per acre in order to efficiently use the sewer system. Mayor Harpstead suggested establishing a range of housing units rather than a maximum. Councilmember Holdent thought it might be best to place the multi-family uses closer to County Road H. ARDEN HILLS CITY TCAAP WORK SESSION—FEBRUARY 22, 2010 6 Mayor Harpstead commented that he would rather not have a concentration of high density in one area. Councilmember McClung stated we should encourage improvements to County Road H but we -- do not want to over burden any section of the site with high density. Mayor Harpstead pointed out that the acreage available for each use would have to be reduced for roads, sidewalks, etc. Community Development Director Lehnhoff stated he would check the notes for figures prepared in the RRLD development proposals. Councilmember Holden questioned what the Council can do to make sure we have a good development on this site. Mayor Harpstead commented that if we make it too restrictive, we may drive away developers. Community Development Director Lehnhoff stated that the Planning Commission will start to review the proposed zoning regulations at their March 3 meeting. This will be brought back to the City Council again on March 15. He requested that the City Council send him comments, questions, and suggestions on the entire proposal as soon as possible to help facilitate the review process. LB Sand Companies and Reiling Tower Community Development Director James Lehnhoff explained that in working through the Arden Village application, there was a brief discussion with Sand Companies about the City purchasing the communications tower. Other cities have found tower ownership to be a benefit and a revenue generator, though additional research is needed. He added that the engineering report for the Reiling tower indicated that it is sound and properly maintained. He requested direction from the City Council on whether or not to pursue discussions on a possible purchase of the tower. Mayor Harpstead stated that he is not interested in the City becoming involved in a private business and Councilmember Holden concurred. Councilmembers Grant and Holmes indicated they would like to hear more about the proposal and that staff should continue discussions with Sand Companies about the concept. Councilmember Grant suggested having the Financial Planning and Analysis Committee review the concept. Councilmember McClung agreed. Community Director Lehnhoff clarified that staff would continue discussions with Sand Companies about the idea of the City purchasing the Reiling tower. ARDEN HILLS CITY TCAAP WORK SESSION—FEBRUARY 22, 2010 7 Mayor Harpstead announced that the Boy Scouts will not be camping on the TCAAP as previously announced. Mayor Harpstead adjourned the City Council Worksession 7:00 p.m. Susan K. Iverson tan Harps ad ° Acting City Administrator Mayor