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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWK - January 22, 2013City Council Workshop Tuesday, January 22, 2013 Conference Rooms A & B 1. Call to Order — 6:00 p.m. 2. Review Master Plan of Sports Complex/12 -31 - Engineering 3. Discuss Pleasant Oaks Park Parking Lot — Engineering 4. Discuss Fence Request in Ponding Area (15949 Crane Street NW) -Engineering © 5. Review Nightingale Street NW Reconstruction Design/12 -28 - Engineering 6. Discuss Survey Requirements for Building Permits- Planning 7. Discuss Reconsidering Variance Request/15873 Linnet Street NW -Planning 8. Discuss Amendment to the City Code 12 -12 — outdoor display, storage and sales in the SC District - Planning 9. December 2012 City Investments Review - Acbninistration 10. Other Topics 11. Adjournment He 9%NDOVVE jo!j� Is ANDOVER CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP MEETING — JANUARY 22, 2013 MINUTES The Workshop Meeting of the Andover City Council was called to order by Mayor Mike Gamache, January 22, 2013, 6:00 p.m., at the Andover City Hall, 1685 Crosstown Boulevard NW, Andover, Minnesota. Councilmembers present: Mike Knight, Sheri Bukkila, Julie Trude and Tony Howard Councilmember absent: None Also present: City Administrator, Jim Dickinson Public Works Director /City Engineer, David Berkowitz City Engineer, Todd Haas Community Development Director, Dave Carlberg Others 0 REVIEW MASTER PLAN OF SPORTS COMPLEX112 -31 Mr. Berkowitz explained the City Council is requested to review the proposed Master Plan for the 40 -acre Sports Complex, Project 12 -31. He introduced Mr. Jason Amberg with WSB who reviewed the master plan with the Council. Councilmember Knight wondered where a concession building would go if they decided to add one. Mr. Amberg used a map to show where it would go on the site by the multi -use athletic field. Councilmember Knight asked if the ponds could have fountains. Mr. Amberg stated they would not get wetland credit if they did this. He noted there will also be a disc golf area and a sliding hill in the project. Councilmember Trude wondered if this was maximizing out the site. Mr. Amberg indicated it was. Councilmember Bukkila thought there should be a covered pavilion closer to the ballfield. Mr. Amberg stated this was discussed at the Park Commission meeting and they thought the one gazebo would be enough. Councilmember Trude thought they needed to have a larger shelter. Mr. Amberg thought this could be accommodated when they construct the multi - purpose building. © Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes —January 22, 2013 Page 2 Councilmember Howard stated he would like to save as many of the big trees as possible, possibly by doing custom grading instead of grading everything and replanting. Mr. Berkowitz indicated they hoped to plant trees and natural vegetation over time with grants and their annual budget to fill in the open areas of the park. Mayor Gamache asked for information on how the large athletic field will be laid out. Mr. Amberg reviewed the set up for the field with the Council. Mr. Amberg noted they can add 24 additional parking spaces to the parking areas, if needed. Sean Beggin from the North Metro Soccer Association gave his opinion regarding the parking area. Mr. Amberg reviewed the original four draft concept plans with the Council. He also discussed the drainage on site and drive access to the parking areas. Mr. Berkowitz noted on February 7th they plan to hold an open house for the surrounding area. The master plan will then go to a public meeting on February 19th followed by phase one design with a ground breaking by July 1St Park Commission Chairperson Butler indicated the Park Commission has reviewed the plans a couple of times and likes the current design. He reviewed what was discussed at the Commission meeting, noting the Commission did not think the splash pad would work at this park because it is too rural. Councilmember Bukkila thought this park was supposed to be multi use and that the splash pad may work with the volleyball courts instead of having basketball courts. Councilmember Knight asked if supervision at the park has been discussed when it is busy or not busy. Mayor Gamache thought they would have CSOs drive through periodically. Mr. Berkowitz stated the CIP indicates $800,000 for this plan in 2013 and the master plan cost estimate is $1,636,205.00. He reviewed the costs with the Council and noted the lighting is a large part of the budget. Mayor Gamache asked how much it would cost to just get the base wiring into the ground for future light placement. Mr. Amberg stated part of the cost does include wiring but he is not sure, off hand, what that cost would be. He thought it might cost more in the future if it is done in stages and recommended it be done all at once. © Councilmember Trude thought they might want to bond for the lighting. © Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes —January 22, 2013 Page 3 Councilmember Knight asked how the bond market will be. Mr. Dickinson thought the market would be good for the year, but noted that with potential tax law changes issues could impact financing. Mayor Gamache felt they are working in the right direction on this project. Chairperson Butler noted the City has invested some time and money in the master plan and he hoped they did not develop the first part and put the rest on the "back burner" for years. He wondered if they could put this on some type of schedule to get the entire park done in a timely manner. Councilmember Bukkila indicated they need to factor in and be mindful of the economy. Councilmember Trude suggested they go with the parking shown on the plan and then have proof of parking listed in case additional parking is needed. She stated they also need to add parking lot lighting to Phase 1 of the plan. Mr. Amberg recapped the changes resulting from the discussion with the Council. DISCUSS PLEASANT OAKS PARK PARKING LOT Mr. Haas explained the City Council is requested to discuss Pleasant Oaks Park to determine if the existing gravel parking lot should be removed as recommended by the Park and Recreation Commission. Mayor Gamache asked what the cost would be to get rid of the parking lot. Mr. Haas stated there is currently a drive over curb and they could remove the Class V material for a minimal cost. He noted people are parking on the street already so the parking area is not needed. Mr. Berkowitz noted the parking area is currently a sand lot and if they are going to keep maintaining it, the Class V needs to be built up. Councilmember Trude stated if they pull the parking lot out, they will want parking on the street. She wanted to make sure the neighbors are aware of that and are fine with it. Mr. Berkowitz stated the street is wide enough to allow parking on both sides of the street. Mr. Haas stated the neighbors were notified and there have not been any concerns. The Council was in concurrence with the Commission to remove the parking lot. DISCUSS FENCE REQUEST INPONDING AREA (15949 CRANE STREET NW) © Mr. Berkowitz explained the City Council has requested workshop discussion of a request to place a fence in a dry pond located at 15949 Crane Street NW. © Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes — January 22, 2013 Page 4 Mr. Berkowitz reviewed the drainage plan in the development and discussed where the water drains. He did not recommend allowing a fence in the pond area and suggested it be placed in the yard between the patio and the drainage area. Mayor Gamache stated the property owner has someone willing to build a fence with a gate to allow access to their property. The City could also ask them to raise the fence to a certain point to allow water to pass through. The City could also request they build a platform under the fence to allow water to drain without weeds growing up deterring the water to flow. He did not see much issue with a chain link fence. He wondered if there was a design plan that could allow a fence to be built and still allow the water to flow through to the drainage pond. Mr. Dickinson noted per code they can build a fence on their property but it cannot go all the way to the back of the property. Mr. Berkowitz showed photos of areas in the City where people installed fences that infringed on the drainage and utility easements and caused problems. Mayor Gamache thought the City needed to allow some options for people to put fences on their property. Otherwise, they may have more people just start installing fencing without permission. © He thought the City should work with the residents to plan accordingly. Councilmember Knight wondered if this was a special case because the child in the family is autistic. Mr. Berkowitz stated that does not have a bearing on this consideration. Councilmember Bukkila thought the City needed to take that into consideration because it is a public issue. She stated the City needed to accommodate as many as they can but there will be some situations that cannot be accommodated. Councilmember Trade thought City staff had found a compromise but was not sure if the property owner was happy with it. Staff discussed with the Council some issues for drainage on different sites within the City. Mr. Dickinson stated the City needed to be consistent. Councilmember Knight thought staff should tell the resident they can construct an "L" shaped fence. Brian Kraabel, Utilities Manager, wondered how they regulate the use if the resident moves after a fence is installed. Staff continued discussion with the Council on the issue of installing a fence and the current © ordinance. Councilmember Howard suggested if a fence is allowed to be constructed, they would need to install a mow strip in the area of the drainage and utility easements. © Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes —January 22, 2013 Page 5 Mayor Gamache thought they could explain to the residents that the retention pond has to remain open so it does not cause drainage impediments to them or their neighbors. He thought staff should show the "L" shaped fence design to them and indicate that is the only option. He did not think that a chain link fence would impede the drainage. The Council indicated they are fine with the resident installing the "L" shaped fence as long as a hard surface maintenance strip is installed under the fence and the flow of water is not impeded. Mr. Berkowitz stated he would like to have an encroachment agreement attached to this consideration because he wondered how they would regulate the requirements with future homeowners. Staff reviewed the two choices discussed with the Council: 1. A permit would be needed if the fence area is a rectangle. 2. If an "L" shaped fence is agreed upon, there needed to be a hard surface maintenance strip installed under the fence along with an encroachment agreement. © Mr. Dickinson stated the concern he would have is allowing certain residents to do something outside of what is currently allowed by code with an encroachment agreement. He thought they may have issues with other residents in the future fighting for their situation and why their case may or may not be approved. The Council requested staff bring the two choices forward to the resident for review. The Council recessed at 8:30 p.m. The Council reconvened at 8:40 p.m. REVIEW NIGHTINGALE STREET NW RECONSTR UCTION DESIGN 112 -28 Mr. Berkowitz explained the Council is requested to review the preliminary layout for the proposed Nightingale Street NW Reconstruction, Project 12 -28. Mr. Berkowitz reviewed the plans with the Council. Councilmember Trade wondered if it made sense to reconstruct the intersection at Nightingale Street and Crosstown Boulevard if it may be torn out for future improvements. She thought they may want to wait to see if they need to make improvements. Mr. Berkowitz indicated they can always pull that area before the intersection out of the plan, if needed. He suggested keeping the © intersection area in the plan. Councilmember Trade understood and agreed. Mr. Berkowitz continued to discuss the reconstruction plans for the road including extending a trail. He questioned if the Council wanted the trail to go farther north than 157th Avenue. © Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes —January 22, 2013 Page 6 Councilmember Trude thought extending the trail would accommodate the development there and people would like a loop to walk or run on. Mr. Berkowitz stated the residents in the area only requested the trail be extended south, not north. She felt that the roads within the development are not very busy so residents should be able to walk along there to get to the path going south. Councilmember Trude wondered if they are looking at future plans to extend the trail to 161st Avenue in order to access the proposed park. Mr. Berkowitz noted they can look at it in the future when a trail on 161St Avenue is built. Councilmember Trude thought they should extend the trail to 158th Avenue to accommodate the neighborhood. The majority of the Council was not in favor of that option but liked the rest of the plan. Councilmember Trude asked Mr. Berkowitz to find out where the bus stop is located so they can figure out if the trail needs to be extended as part of future discussion. Mr. Berkowitz indicated he would check and bring that information back to the Council. DISCUSS SUR VEY REQUIREMENTS FOR BUILDING PERMITS Mr. Carlberg explained the City Council is requested to discuss whether surveys should be required for all building permit activities. This discussion comes to the Council in light of a couple building placement issues in relation to property lines. Councilmembers Trude and Knight are not in favor of this because it was felt it would be too expensive for the residents. Councilmember Howard noted he brought this forward because since he has been on Council, he has seen issues and thought a survey would be beneficial. Mr. Carlberg stated if there is an issue of a large building possibly with issues he would suggest a field survey be done. However, he did not think it was worth the price of a survey for a deck. Mayor Gamache thought there could be a point to requiring a survey if it is a large structure. Councilmember Knight asked what size they should use for a base line. Mr. Dickinson suggested requiring a survey for detached structures 400 square feet or larger. Mayor Gamache thought the building department should use discretion and only require a survey if there are questions. © Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes —January 22, 2013 Page 7 The Council was in agreement with this suggestion. DISCUSS RECONSIDERING VARIANCE REQUEST /15873 LINNET STREET NW Mr. Carlberg explained the City Council, at the November 27, 2012 workshop, briefly discussed the variance request to the frequency of allowing lot splits as provided in 13 -1 -3 of the City Code for the property at 15873 Linnet Street NW. On December 18, 2012, the Council directed staff to place this item on a workshop agenda to further discuss the decision to deny the request. Mr. Carlberg reviewed the report with the Council. Councilmember Trade stated the situations the Council sees as a concern are when a person has property held for a long time, when the area develops around them, so that they get stuck with assessments, and the City does not get the money back until the land is developed. Councilmember Trade addressed her concerns with the rest of the Council and staff regarding multiple lot splits on a lot. She suggested staff attach conditions regarding drainage and other concerns that would normally be addressed during platting. Councilmember Trade suggested allowing one lot split per year if the following conditions are met: 1. Only a small development is proposed by a property owner who has owned their property for more than 5 years. 2. The City infrastructure, such as sewer, water and streets are in place. 3. Conditions are attached to the split regarding drainage and other concerns normally addressed during platting. She added that the City would benefit from the payment of assessments and from the additional home that could be built on a new lot, especially during this time when there is a shortage of lots for families wanting to build a new home in Andover. Mr. Carlberg stated the concern he would see is the economics as the reason for wanting to do splits. He thought there should be a code amendment if the Council wanted to grant a split. He liked the one year time period but if the Council is going to require all those conditions staff wants to see about drainage, the price of a split is getting into the same costs as a plat. Staff discussed with the Council lot splits and what type of requirements would be needed. Mr. Berkowitz stated if they could put the right requirements on a lot split, staff would be in favor of lot splits once a year. Councilmember Knight did not think they needed to have a set time limit on lot splits if the ® applicant meets the requirements. DISCUSS AMENDMENT TO THE CITY CODE 12 -12 — OUTDOOR DISPLAY, STORAGE AND SALES IN THE SC DISTRICT © Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes — January 22, 2013 Page 8 Mr. Carlberg explained the City Council is requested to discuss an amendment to the City Code 12 -12 for Outdoor Display, Storage and Sales in the SC, Shopping Center District as requested by Frattallone's Ace Hardware. Mr. Carlberg reviewed the report with the Council. The Council discussed with staff the areas where Frattallone's Ace Hardware is maintaining their landscaping inventory outside and alternative areas where it could be stored. Mr. Carlberg stated Mr. Frattallone has requested a text amendment to allow outdoor storage and sales. If this is approved and the CUP is applied for, the Council can then regulate where the storage is located. Councilmember Bukkila indicated her concern is could a fire truck be able to get through to the back of the building. Mayor Gamache asked if they are talking about Shopping Center Zoning District only. Mr. ® Carlberg indicated that is correct. Mr. Carlberg stated he would notify the business owner. Councilmember Trude wondered if there were mall bays the owner could rent within the shopping center. Mayor Gamache did not think there was any other area. Councilmember Trude indicated her only problem is the covering up of parking areas. Councilmember Bukkila suggested Mr. Carlberg sit down with Mr. Frattallone, discuss his file, before the Council takes action on this. Councilmember Trude suggested they amend what was allowed only to the property by striking the clause that does not allow storage along the side or behind the building on the current SUP. Staff indicated they will meet with Mr. Frattallone to review the issue. DECEMBER 2012 CITY INVESTMENTS REVIEW Mr. Dickinson noted the Council received the 2012 City Investments Report and indicated if Qthere were questions, to contact him. OTHER TOPICS Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes —January 22, 2013 Page 9 There were none. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Howard, Seconded by Bukkila, to adjourn. Motion carried unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 10:05 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Sue Osbeck, Recording Secretary H x