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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWK November 28, 2006 ~ ANDOVER CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP -NOVEMBER 28,2006 MINUTES The . Workshop of the Andover City Council was called to order by Mayor Mike Gamache, November 28, 2006, 6:0 I p.m., at the Andover City Hall, 1685 Crosstown Boulevard NW, Andover, Minnesota. Councilmembers present: Councilmember absent: Also present: Don Jacobson, Mike Knight, Ken Orrtel, Julie Trude None City Administrator Jim Dickinson; City Engineer Dave Berkowitz; Community Development Director Will Neumeister; Natural Resources Technician Kameron Kytonen; Others DISEASED TREE ENFORCEMENT POLICY Natural Resources Technician Kytonen presented the draft policy on diseased tree removal. Councilmember Jacobson stated one of his concerns is going onto private property. Natural Resources Technician Kytonen responded he is working on this issue and has spoken with other Cities regarding their policies. The other Cities have not had any issues with going on private property to remove diseased trees. Councilmember Knight expressed concern that the cost of removing trees could exceed the value of the property. He also noted he is concerned about a person cutting the trees at the wrong time and the disease spreading to a neighboring property. A lot of the problems are that there was a lot of development over the past years and the contractors did not care when the trees were cut down. City Engineer Berkowitz noted there is also the possibility of obtaining loggers to purchase the wood so instead of paying to have the trees removed the loggers would pay the homeowner to remove the trees. Councilmember Knight noted there is nothing in the policy to cover the importation of firewood into the City. Natural Resource Technician Kytonen responded that was addressed in the City ordinances. Councilmember Knight asked what happens if a neighboring property is responsible for the spreading of the disease by improper cutting, or not taking care of the diseased trees. Natural Resource Technician Kytonen responded that was what they hoped to accomplish with this policy, but he acknowledged there is no way to prove that neighbor was responsible for the spread of the disease. Special Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes - November 28, 2006 Page 2 Councilmember Knight noted at some point it is prohibitive to remove the trees due to the cost. Natural Resource Technician Kytonen indicated this policy would eliminate a lot of staff time. Mayor Gamache asked if there are any State programs available that would assistant residents. Natural Resource Technician K ytonen responded there are and the City informed the residents about the programs. Councilmember Jacobson stated they should also reference any State law in the policy. Mayor Gamache requested staff look at the Ham Lake tree preservation policy also. Councilmember Knight stated he is concerned about where to attach the blame for neighboring properties. Natural Resource Technician Kytonen responded they would not place blame; this policy is only to address removing the trees properly. . Councilmember Orttel recommended they have the City Attorney review the policy also. City Engineer Berkowitz responded the City Attorney has the policy and is reviewing it. He noted staff is also working on the penalty portion of the policy. Councilmember Trude suggested they have an exception clause that if the trees do not affect other properties, then nothing needs to be done. Natural Resource Technician Kytonen responded in this instance he would work with the property owners on their alternatives. He noted however even in an isolated environment, the disease could spread. Councilmember Trude recommended removing or revising Buckthorn under the notice. She recommended they come up with language for dealing with large tracts ofland also. WAYSIDE HORNS / RAILROAD QUIET ZONES UPDATE / 06-10 City Engineer Berkowitz stated staff has figured out the location and cost for the wayside horns. The total project cost for Andover Boulevard NW is estimated at $98,SOO.00 and the total project cost for Crosstown Boulevard NW is estimated at $81,000.00. The funding options include Municipal State Aid funds, City's Road & Bridge fund or Capital Equipment Note. The current 2007-2011 Capitallmprovement Plan includes construction of the improvement in 2007. Councilmember Jacobson requested staff also look at adding the Bunker crossing. Councilmember Orttel noted they have matching funds on the Andover crossing. Councilmember Knight felt they should at least set a date for doing the Bunker crossing. Special Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes - November 28, 2006 Page 3 Winslow Holasek stated he was in attendance at the wayside horn demonstration and he was not impressed. He did not believe the horn was loud enough and he recommended they spend the money on parks/trails instead. Councilmember Trude asked if the contractor is willing to negotiate on their price. City Engineer Berkowitz responded he would work further on the price with the contractor. REVIEW OF BUILDABILITY REQUIREMENTS Community Development Director Neumeister stated there continues to be a number of problems arising on properties where houses are built close to the back of the required 1 00- foot buildable area Especially problematic are properties that abut wetlands or storm water ponds. There have also been some questions raised about where the required 16.5 foot buffer area around wetlands and ponds is to be measured from. Changes to three code sections are being suggested to address these problems. City Engineer Berkowitz explained the current requirements and proposed changes. Councilmember Trude asked if they could have backyards without all of it being buildable. City Engineer Berkowitz responded they could. Mayor Gamache stated if the homes are being built in a residential district, he did not have an issue with less than a 35-foot setback. Councilmember Knight noted they could also design the homes so the deck is on the side of the house. Councilmember Trude asked if they could put five feet on the front and the rest on the back. Councilmember Orttel stated he did not like this idea and his concern is if a wide rambler would be put on the lot. Councilmember Trude believes this needs to be changed. Community Development Director Neumeister stated the items to be discussed are: To identify the problems (deckslhouses do not fit); Buildable Lot (116~ feet) (removal of organic was not enough); Additional 16 ~ foot buffer for (ponds/wetlands); Where we measure from for the buffer strips (was not giving enough room). Mayor Gamache asked ifby doing this, would it preclude some homes from being built on the lots. City Engineer Berkowitz responded it might and they might need to have some exceptions. Community Development Director Neumeister noted this would be a learning process on the builder's part. Special Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes - November 28, 2006 Page 4 Councilmember Knight asked if they wanted to address backyard footage also. Councilmember Trude asked why they have different requirements for homes on a wetland/pond. Councilmember Knight stated unless they have a minimum, the additional backyard being added would be taken by the house, especially once more ramblers are built again. Councilmember Orttel believed they should have to finish the backside of the home and not have deck boards left on. Councilmember Trude asked if they should not allow sliding glass doors if there is not enough room for a deck to be built. Councilmember Jacobson stated the consensus is to allow ll6 Y2 feet, but if a sliding glass door or French door is built on the back side of the house, a patio or deck must also be built. MARK HEDIN FARM WINERY ISSUES Community Development Director Neumeister stated this issue had come up this week. As the Code is currently written Mr. Hedin cannot get a CUP for a Home Occupation unless he has three acres. Mr. Hedin has no basis for a variance to the Code. Mr. Hedin is also not doing "Cabinet Making, Woodworking, or Repair Services, or Similar Uses to those stated". He stated what staffbelieves needs to be changed is City Code Section 12-9 (Home Occupation) which would have to specifically list "farm winery" as a home occupation that is considered a service or the purpose of the home occupation section language would have to be modified to allow a home occupation that is not a service to be considered allowable, either as a permitted or conditional use. He asked if Council would consider allowing staff to write a code amendment report that would be brought forward to a Planning Commission Work Session in January that will highlight what changes would be needed in the Code to allow this to happen on the property. Then it would be brought forward to the Planning Commission for a formal public hearing and then on to the Council in February. Councilmember Orttel did not have a problem with this. He noted this is a hobby and there are more people doing home occupations that the City does not even know about. Councilmember Knight stated he did not have an issue changing this to 2.5 acres, but they would need to limit the accessory buildings. Mayor Gamache stated the change they need is from 3 acres to 2.5 acres. Community Development Director Neumeister stated they would also need to itemize the home occupations allowed. Councilmember Jacobson asked if they were doing this only to assist one resident. Community Development Director Neumeister stated if the Council did not change the Ordinance, the only other option he has is to lease some space somewhere. Special Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes - November 28, 2006 Page 5 Councilmember Trude questioned the other Councilmembers regarding the reasoning behind the 3- acre minimum. Discussion indicated that it was related to the fact that 2.5 acre lots were created through subdivision and lot sizes greater than 3 acres would generally be categorized as rural and would not necessarily have an impact on rural residential lots. Councilmember Trude noted Mr. Hedin has won awards for his wine at the State Fair. She asked if this could possibly affect the neighborhood. She believes 1200 bottles is more than a hobby. Councilmember Jacobson stated they have to be careful and asked if they want to have all of these types of home occupations in residential neighborhoods. Councilmember Orttel asked if because this was a farm winery, could the City have the right to deny it if it was a farm use because it is 2.5 acres. Mayor Gamache stated what disturbed a neighborhood more than anything was a daycare and they allow daycares as a home occupation. He did not believe this business would generate a disturbance to the neighborhood. Community Development Director Neumeister stated the Council needs to consider what happens to the property when it is sold. Councilmember Knight asked if they approved this based on a certain gallonage, how would the City monitor this. City Administrator Dickinson responded Mr. Hedin would have to file reports with the Federal and State agencies and the City would request copies of those reports. Councilmember Orttel believes they need to limit the gallonage and if Mr. Hedin started going over what was approved, he could come back to the City. Community Development Director Neumeister stated if Mr. Hedin wants to keep this as a hobby, he could go ahead and do this without having the City get involved, but he wants the City to approve his selling of wine and right now this is not allowed. Councilmember Orttel suggested they have farm as a home occupation. Community Development Director Neumeister responded staff would need to check with the City Attorney with respect to the definition of a farm and if a farm winery fits into an agricultural use. Councilmember Trude and Councilmember Jacobson stated they are in opposition to this Ordinance change. OPEN SPACE REFERENDUM UPDATE Community Development Director Neumeister stated the voters approved the "Preservation of Water, Wildlife, and Natural Habitat Area". He anticipated the City would utilize a number of Special Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes - November 28, 2006 Page 6 resources along the way such as the Trust for Public Land, DNR and the Anoka County Soil and Water Conservation District to prepare for the purchase or preservation process. It is also anticipated that the Council will want to start the process of interviewing individuals to serve on a City of Andover established commission to assist the Council. Councilmember Jacobson suggested they move this item to an early spring workshop meeting. Councilmember Trude recommended they look at Blaine. Mayor Gamache requested staff also look at Woodbury. Mayor Gamache requested staff prepare a timetable with a task list. 2007-2011 CIP UPDATE City Administrator Dickinson stated the only thing that has changed is the parks area He indicated they have accelerated some of the parks areas. Councilmember Jacobson asked if they could free up some equipment money to cover the wayside horn. City Administrator Dickinson responded that is something staff would look at. Councilmember Knight recommended restrooms be added to the Andover Station North baseball park. Councilmember Trude requested staff look into a better audio in the Council Chambers. Mayor Gamache noted he did not believe it was the microphones, but rather the speakers. Councilmember Trude stated they also need new chairs in the Council Chambers. City Administrator Dickinson responded that is a done deal because they would use the existing chamber chairs in the conference room. Councilmember Knight asked if they are set on doing the pedestrian tunnel. Mayor Gamache responded a lot of it depends on when they got the purchase. Councilmember Knight expressed concern about safety with a tunnel. City Engineer Berkowitz noted Coon Rapids is putting one in next year and staff could look at what reports they received. Mayor Gamache stated they should move up the Hawk Ridge park improvements. He recommended they keep the parking lot rural with no amenities because it was so far north in the City and the money could be used somewhere else. 2007 BUDGET Special Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes - November 28, 2006 Page 7 City Administrator Dickinson noted not much has changed with the proposed 2007 budget. OTHER BUSINESS ITEMS A. Stenquist Addition City Engineer Berkowitz stated they are working with someone in the Stenquist Addition. He stated there was a drainage problem on 160th Lane which was supposed to be fIxed, but wasn't. He noted now an individual wants to do a lot split and staff is working with them on acquiring pond easement and a cul-de-sac turnaround. He indicated this individual wants to go through the lot split process to eventually build a home. The City would build a cul-de-sac and the pond and this individual does not want any future assessments because his home would not front any improvement. Councilmember Orttel stated he did not believe they would assess him anyway because his portion of the road would be the cul-de-sac. City Engineer Berkowitz stated this individual noted the City would get land in exchange and the drainage problem would get fixed. Motion by Knight, Seconded by Orttel, to adjourn to executive session for the City Administrator Review. Motion carried nmmimously. The meeting adjourned at 8:55 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Kathy Altman, Recording Secretary o c o 1685 CROSSTOWN BOULEVARD N.W. . ANDOVER. MINNESOTA 55304 . (763) 755-5100 FAX (763) 755-8923 . WWW.CI.ANDOVER.MN.US City Council Workshop Tuesday, November 28,2006 Conference Rooms A & B 1. Call to Order - 6:00 p.m. 2. Diseased Tree Removal/Sanitation Enforcement Policy - Engineering 3. Wayside HornslRailroad Quiet Zones Update/06-l 0 - Engineering 4. Review of Buildablity Requirements - Planning & Engineering 5. Open Space Referendum Update 6. 2007-2011 ClP Update 7. 2007Budget Update 8. Other Business 9. Adjournment Executive Session: City Administrator Review