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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC March 15, 1977 ·. . CITY of ANDOVER REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING - MARCH 15, 1977 MINUTES The Regular Bi-Monthly Meeting Of the Andover City Council was called to order by Mayor Jerry Windschitl on March 15, 1977, 7:40 p,m" at the Andover City Hall, 1685 Crosstown Boulevard NW, Anoka, Minnesota, Councilpersons present: Lachinski, McClure, Orttel, VanderLaan Councilpersons absent: None Also Present: City Attorney, William G, Hawkins; City Engineer, D, R, Kasma; Planning and Zoning Chairman, Don Jacobson; City Clerk, P, K, Lindquist; and interested residents, No one made a statement in the Resident Forum section of the meeting, A/l:enda Approval MOTION by McClure, Seconded by Orttel, that the Council accept the agenda with the following revisions: Addition of Item 5d, Engineering Matters; Item 9b, Letter to Howard Kaibel; Item 9c, Letter to Metro Council; and Item lOb, Newsletter, Motion carried unanimously, Ghostley Property Attorney Hawkins reviewed the situation of a poultry operation being moved onto the Ghostley property in violation of our Ordinance No, 8, When this item was discussed before, the general feeling conveyed waS that the Ordinance might be changed to allow this type of agricultural commercial activity in the City because at present the Ordinance is rather restrictive, As it stands now, commercial feed lot~ which consist of 15 or more nondomestic animals, are allowable only in the general industrial district, Councilperson Orttel felt that the interpretation of feed lot is an area where animals are fattened or held before going to market, not where animals are raised to market the by-product-~eggs, milk, etc, There seems to be a conflict between the general description of a feed lot and what the Ordinance clearly states, If it is too restrictive, we should direct the Planning and Zoning Commission to eliminate that conflict when th~ are revising the Ordinance by being more specific on the definition of a commercial feed lot, I When these people applied for the PCA permit, they were told by someone that they were going to approve the permit; and that is when they started their operation, between December 1 and December 15, However, PCA has still not issued a permit because they are waiting for I us as the local authority to give approval to it under our zoning ordinance, Councilperson Lachinski felt that a Special-Use Permit, given on any site which has more than 5 nondomestic animals per acre, would be applicable in this situation, Mr, IHawkins felt that under the general provision of the Ordinance, this was. a commercial feed lot; and under the Ordinance, the only place commercial feed lots were allowed without any question is under the general industrial district, I James C, Nystrom, Chairman of the Board, Nystrom Constructors, 500 Baker BUilding, Minneapolis; residing at 5225 Evanswood Lane, Edina; one of the owners of the Ghostley , property - Before I purchased the land, I called the City Hall, I asked specifically what the zoning :was for the Ghostley property relating speCifically to the area we were buying sUbject to having the use permit extended or having the proper zoning, I was told there would be no problem and that it was zoned agricultural, and no permits were Regu~ar City Council Meeting March 15, 1977 - Minutes Page 2 (Ghostley Property - J, Nystrom continued) needed. I called the City Engineer the latter part of October or the first Of November who gave me the same answers, I was surprised when we were told to get off the land. Those chickens represent Dr, Ghostley's life and are irreplaceable, I've got a lot of money tied up in that land, We could get substantial testimony that operations did exist, Our operation is going to create jobs and taxes, It will not be a feed lot, Itisacompletely contained inside operation, and the manure will be emptied once a year to be spread out over 1,000 acres and tilled into the soil with the supervision Of your people, We will do everything that is needed to protect your people and your City as far as pollution is concerned. We wish to cooperate and do whatever is necessary to solve this problem, Attorney Hawkins stated that during the interim of the Ordinance revision, we could grant a variance with certain provisions, This item was held over until after the Public Hearing, PUBLIC HEARING for the Lily Street Extension/Improvements was called to order by Mayor Jerry Windschitl at 8:20 p,m, Mr, Kasma explained that the City of Coon Rapids is conducting their Public Hearing on Lily Street this evening, Mr, William Ottensmann, Director of Public Works, Coon Rapids, has agreed to make provisions for the storm sewer discharge so that it will not go directly into the lake. There is no new information on the project other than extend the cul-de-sac to the north and that the existing 50-foot lot would be used for right of way for future extension of a street to the west, Five parcels Of land is involved in Andover with three property owners, There was no opposition to the project at the informational meeting. 1 Jim Larson - 13315 Lily Street Where would the I drainage system be put? Will they present a plan to the people? (Mr, Kasma - The drainage system catch basin would be put at the low point on the street near the City line. The City of Coon Rapids will submit their plans that affect us for review and approval.) Mr, Larson - We are in favor of the stree\ and the plan looks good so far, MOTION by Lachinski, Seconded by Orttel, to close the public input portion of the Lily Street Extension and Improvement Project, Discussion: Motion will be to authorize the Mayor and Clerklto enter into a contract with the City of Coon Rapids for the improve- ment of that area, Motion carried unanimously, I MOTION by VanderLaan, Seconded by McClure, that the City Council authorize the Mayor and Clerk to enter into a contract with the City of Coon Rapids to proceed with the , proposed street and storm sewer project on the west side of Crooked Lake, Andover , Reference Commission Number 6223-77, Project shall include the extension of Lily Street from the South City limits North approximately 200 feet, (Resolution 37-7 , attached) Discussion: The City Number for that is Project Number 77-3, The people , storm sewer drainage were informed in the area who could potentially be assessed for of the publiC hearing, Motion carried unanimously, (If Coon Rapids does order the project tonight,1 we would enter into a contract with them, When they give us plans and specifications, we will look at them; and if they are proposing any drainage in Andover at all, the residents will be notified.) MOTION by Lachinsk1, Seconded by McClure, to close the Public Hearing on the Lily Street Extension Project, Motion carried unanimously, Regular City Council Meeting March 15, 1977 - Minutes Page 3 Ghostley Property Continued Mr, Carroll, Mr, Nystrom's attorney - We'd be willing to do whatever would meet with your approval, There are three or four different areas in your code relating to whether or not there was continuous operation. The definition of use is the purpose of activity for which the land, structure, or building is designated, arranged, or intended, or for which it is occupied or maintained. The layout of the Ghostley Pearle operation is 200 acres with these large poultry buildings which have been there for 30-40 years, The chickens were moved from this site to Wisconsin, but the use of the property and the purpose for which those buildings were designed, arranged, or intended had never changed, I don't know if one can say categorically that the use of that particular property was ever terminated for a period of one year. It is somewhat confusin~, My definition of a feed lot is an open area for horses, cattle, or hogs causing some pollut1Dn problems, This Ghostley operation is entirely within the confines of the building, We're here to try to work out something that would meet with your satisfaction, Attorney Hawkins - The use for which the buildings were put up was for raising of poultry, and it becomes a question of did they discontinue the operation for a period of one ye~, There are some ambiguities in the Ordinance; however, according to the Ordinance, this operation is a commercial feed lot, which is allowable only in the general industrial area. If this is too restrictive, we could grant a variance imposing some reasonable conditions on it until the Planning and Zoning Commission has a chance to change the definition of a feed lot making it less restrictive, thus solving the problem, Mr, Nystrom - The birds were moved in November of 1975, and we moved in in November of 1976, There may be a variance of 5 or 10 days, but we could get this documented, Councilperson VanderLaan - The concern is that we must control the activity with respect to the harm that it can do to the environment, 1 Mr, Carroll - This operation is not primarily for the feeding of these animals, but for the production of eggs, The Pollution Control authorities have examined the facility examining both I the proximity to the water and the type of operatio~ and it does meet with their approval, They will issue us a permit if you will issue us a uSe permit, we meet every rule ¡that the PCA requires, Councilperson O~ttel - Regardless of whether the operation was interrupted by more than a year or not, the answer for the City ultimately lies in the revision of the Ordinance to avoid confusion in the future, I Councilperson La,chinski - Would like to see the matter dropped if it can be verified that the 12-month period was not lapsed, I Mr, Nystrom and Mr, Carroll were asked to investigate the exact dates the operation was , discontinued and, to give this information to Attorney Hawkins, Anoka County should have a record as to when their assessor was out there, I Councilperson VanderLaan - By referring this to the Planning and Zoning Commission for a variance, we are in essence approving the fact that we want the Ordinance changed, Would like to review the staff advisement to the applicants and the comments of the PCA regarding the potential approval of the permit, What does it do to our Ordinances in general with regard to equal protection if we retroactively change an Ordinance to conform to the situation in order to allow a particular activity? Attorney Hawkinsl- We would be granting the variance and then changing the Ordinance, You'll want to put a time period on the variance and some limitation as far as approval from the PCA, etc, Regular City Council Meeting March 15, 1977 - Minutes Page 4 (Ghostley Property continued) Mr, Nystrom - We have been holding up finishing and setting up for finish:1ng·:.ánd'.M.ñdl1ng our Grade A eggs because Of this, and it is costing us 5600 a week while we're waiting. Can we go ahead and complete the egg room? (Yes, as it is within an existing structure for sanitation to meet government regulations and requires no building permit.) MOTION by Lachinski, Seconded by Orttel, that the City Council authorize the Attorney to investigate the matter of the Ghostley Pearle operation to determine whether or not 12 months had lapssd, In the event that it has, that the matter be referred to the Planning and Zoning Commission, Discussion: Should a variance be issued or a special-use permit or should the Ordinance be amended? Mr, Hawkins stated we can't grant a special-use permit because it has to be specificallY set out. A variance is granted under the financial hardship provision in the Ordinance, The variance is a temporary measure until this can be resolved permanently, Motion carried unanimously. Recess at 9:10. Public Improvement/Financin~ Policy The Council and Mr, Kasma discussed the draft of the City of Andover Public Improvements Financing Policy, Changes discussed were: Requiring 35 percent in cash escrow or a performance bond or letter of credit in the amount of 125 percent of the estimated cost: Most developers do not have credit estab- lished to the extent that they can get a performance bond unless they are well estab- lished, thus the reason for the 35 percent cash escrow, By requiring developers to give 35 percent cash escrow and the remaining balance as a performance bond is rather restricting; and to the knowledge of Springsted, no communities require this. That 35 percent in escrow in all probability is the developer's profit, and he will work hard to see that he doesn't lose that money, Council should have some definite criteria as to who will be required to have a performance bond and who will have to pay cash, By requiring cash, in case of default, we would protect ourselves until we could get the money on the bond, MOst Councils are very selective in who they let do this, and the frequency of default is negligent. People who put up performance bonds are sub- stantial developers, so there is very little risk, Strike the last \two sentences of Section C, p~~ 4 and of Section C, page 6, in regard to property that is benefited outside of the area proposed for development, The deter- mining factor rests with the Council as to whether to extend the improvement or not, , and the Council wouldn't approve a project if there isn't a reasonable chance of re- , covering costs on it, I Page 4, Section D, first sentence, and Page 6, Section D, first sentence: In case where , trunk sanitary s~wers or watermains are constructed to serve undeveloped areas, the City shall determine the number of sanitary sewer and water connections to be made in the undeveloped area. Cross out "undeveloped area" and insert "proposed development," I Leave in paragraph 6, Page 8, which defines security agreement, but in the policy 1 wherever letter of credit or performance bond is referred to, insert "performance contract, "This will be reviewed by Mr. Hawkins and Mr. Kasma, (Letters of Credit are specifically made to the City of Andover, and if the agreement isn't performed according to terms, we have the right to make demand on the ba~ to withdraw the money.) Regular City Council Meeting March 15, 1977 - Minutes Page 5 (Public Improvsment/Financing Policy continued) Page 11, *If petitioned for by developer, Change to *If petitioned for by developer and agreed to by the City Council, Page 6, Paragraph C, Second Line: property being subdivided, Change to: property being developed. Page 6, Paragraph C, next to last line: benefit to the sUbdivision. Change to: benefit to the development Bottom of Page 11, top of Page 12, Paragraph on Postponed Construction of Improvements: Delete the entire paragraph. Discussion: You're asking the developer to waive his rights to a Hearing on the improvement and assessment; however, the agreement will run with the property, If property is sold several times. by time the improvements come in, the owner at that time also has no right to a hearing. If there is an impending im- provement, money is put into an escrow account; but in_this case, there is no figure to use to escrow funds making the property almost unsalable with that type of agreement, If there's no benefit, nothing can be assessed, Hank Bevaul - Agreed with Mayor Windschitl's comment that if a person buys this property and doesn't recognize that this agreement has been made ahead of time, ·an innocent third party is involved in something where there is no determination of what he owes, This provision could be legally sustained, but practically it could work a hardship on somebody. Mr. Hawkins felt this provision was covering a situation that probably will never exist, It was suggested to add to Page 2: The developer would be required to post money in escrow for all consultant work pursuant to our Escrow Ordinance, Discussion: The City is required to hold a Public Hearing irrespective of having an agreement with the developer, We need to define what the developer has to pay for, and it should be conveyed to him at the time he brings his petition in. Mr. Hawkins will research this further. Repeated line on top of Page 5 to be deleted. 1 Page 4, Paragra~h D, and Page 6, Paragraph D: levied. Change to: paid , Mr, Hawkins and Mr, Kasma will review and revise this Policy and have it ready for the , first meeting in April, Variance Setback, Lot 25, Block 2, Meadowood Mr, Don JaCObSOnl, Chairman of the Planning and Zoning Commission, informed the Council that the basement was placed 7 feet closer than what Ordinance 6.02 called for. The P & Z felt the variance should be granted but had some discussion as to why, The majority of the p & Z felt the language of the motion, the variance is granted because the violation waS not detected early enough to stop construction, was sufficient, Seve~l members wanted to add that a City Official had made an error, It was pointed out that the part of the zoning statute does include a provision for a City Official making an error. The Public Body is not reprimanding that individual for that error but is simply establishing that the City has a whole recognizes that an error was made by those people, I MOTION by VanderLaan, Seconded by McClure, that the City Council, City of Andover , , approve the variance for Lot 25, Block 2, Meadowood Addition with references to Ordinance 8 , , Section 6.02. Intent is to vary the setback requirement from 40 feet to 33 feet and , that footing inspection was made by the Building Inspection Department of the City and was approved without detecting the violation in the setback requirements. (Resolution 38-7 attached) Motion carried unanimously, Regular City Council Meeting March 15, 1977 - Minutes Page 6 En~ineerin~ Matters Mr, Kasma made the following announcements: 1) He has a personal conflict with the April 14 continued Public Hearing for the Bunker Lake and County Road 9 water, street, and storm sewer improvements, That date could be changed if we published notice and sent a letter to the affected property owners informing them of another date. (Developers will be contacted individually and asked to get all information into the City offices by April 1. A decision can then be made on the April 5 Council meeting,) 2) He will be presenting Andover at the meeting Of the Coon Creek Watershed District at the City Hall in Coon RapidS on Tuesday, 2 o'clock, to talk about the engineering aspects Of the Coon Creek Watershed District Plan. 3) The City of Coon Rapids is proceed~ng w~th the jo~nt project on 133rd Avenue and will be having their Public Hearing on April 19. Coon Rapids has asked TKDA to do that project for them because this project ties in directly with Andover's project, and it would be economically feasible for them to hire TKDA, He doesn't want any conflict of interest. (Council didn't see any conflict there, and there would be a separate engineering contract for Andover and for the City of Coon Rapids,) Junk Yards Attorney Hawkins informed the Council that letters were sent to all junk yard owners about their licenses, and they were asked to contact Mr, Thurston before today, Every- body has done so, We will know better within the next cogple weeks whether or not there will be some problem with anyone complying with the Ordinance, We hope to negotiate with them rather than incur legal expenses for compliance, We're not issuing licenses until we have agreements with them complying with the Ordinance, Letter to Howard Kaibel Councilperson VanderLaan questioned if the intent of the letter is to ask the Metro Council not to implement a review process on the site of an airport. Mr, Jacobson stated he simply pointed out that the area encompasses 75 percent of the City and any action that you would take anywhere within that area would be subject to their review, and they could override you at any time. He felt that this was no way for government to function, ?fuen you make a decision, you have to know that you can carry through on it. If someone is always going to change your decision or has the ability to do so, it makes planning very difficult, I Councilperson VanderLaan felt that if a line of communication is kept open, we would probably find a better situation with Metro Council to solve that ultimate question as to if and where the airport is coming, Mr. Jacobson asked in the letter to change some language to force the Metropolitan Council to either designate a specific site which would in essence I be about 1/3 of the search area, which would eliminate the rest of the area so we can plan there, I MOTION by Lachinski, Seconded by Orttel, to approve a resolution submitting the letter as is to Mr, Howard Kaibel, Office State Hearing Examiner, and to direct the Clerk to prepare the resolution. VOTE: YES-Lachinski, McClure, Orttel, Windschitl; NO-VanderLaan. Motion carried Reg~la~ City Council Meeting March 15, 1977 - Minutes Page 7 (Lette~ to Howard Kaibel continued) Councilperson VanderLaan: Contained in the draft letter is an objective to restrict the review of the development and progress in the airport search area, It would be my prefe~ence that it be determined that the Council would be most interested in staying in continual contact with the Metropolitan Council in a continual review process of the developments in the area in an effort to resolve the problem of the location of the airport, Mayor Windschitl: It is my opinion the letter prepared by Mr, Jacobson did nothing to break down the communicaticns with the Metro Council, It was simply a response to the rule and regulation process that the Met~opolitan Systems Regulations are going through, Letter to::the 'Metro Council The City Clerk prepared a list of questions that the Metropolitan Council asked us to submit to them regarding questions we have on the Metropolitan Systems Statement, A copy of the letter to Howard Kaibel will be enclosed with this list, MOTION by McClure, Seconded by Lachinsk1, that the Council accept this letter and instruct the City Clerk to submit it to Sandy Dean, Planner, Metropolitan Council. Motion carried unanimously, Councilperson VanderLaan: This is simply an approval of a reflection of what was said at the meeting, MOTION by Orttel, Seconded by Lachinsk1, that we continue the meeting until 11 p.m, Motion carried unanimously, Water Permit/Fields. for irri~ation from his private ditch , MOTION by Orttel, Seconded by McClure, that the City Council, City of Andover, authorize the Mayor to execute the Water Appropriation Permit for Edward Fields and Sons and forward same to the Department of Natural Resources, Discussion: The City Council finds no partic'ular problems with this, Motion carried unanimously, Newsletter 1 I The draft copy of the newsletter to be sent out, hopefully by March 23, I Councilperson Orttel - List the tree disposal sites that have just been designated by the County, Applications for the Committees close on April 1; however, 7 days may be enough time fOí people to respond, Councilperson Lachinski - Under "Dust be Gone", add the reason why they should contact the City Hall for the disposition of petitions,. keeping in mind that the procedure is , an expensive one, (Was not included because this was mentioned in the last newsletter~ I Councilperson VanderLaan - Under'Dust be Gone", insert: part of Lundgren Oakridge Addition, Under "Home Occupation", add a sentence: Additional Ordinance provisions cover the permitted occupations; therefore please call the City Hall for full informa- tion, Under "Spring is Cleanup time", comes, Change to: come. I Regular '~ity Council Meeting March 15, 1977 - Minutes Page 8 Approval of Minutes January 31, 1977: Page 1 - Jerry Windschitl (sp) Page 3 - McClure became Council member on a ~ to 1 vote Discussion on motion to nominate Mark Arnold as to whether Orttel or Windschitl seconded the motion, Will remain seconded by Orttel. February 24, 1977: Correct as written MOTION by Orttel, Seconded by Lachinski, to approve the January 31 and February 24 Minutes as amended, Motion carried unanimously, I - , Approval of Claims MOTION by Ørttel, Seconded by McClure, to approve Claim Number 1190 through 1202 in the amount of $14,225,36, and Claim Number 141 through 144 in the amount of $70.571,42, Motion carried unanimously, MOTION by McClure, Seconded by Lachinsk1, to approve the following Claims: Payroll Check Number 1136 for $134,87 and General Check Number 1190 in the Mount of $185,47 to replace Payroll Check Number 1133 and General Check Number 1172, Motion carried unanimously. MOTION by Orttel, Seconded by Windschitl, to adjourn, Carried unanimously, Meeting adjourned at 11:20 p,m, , Respectfully submi tted,~.~.~~ '~~~ ~fÎ~ Marcella A, Peach I ~ '"J ( (' {/ '-.' "\' I. ~j ; ,\) G'\\