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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWK May 22, 2007 0 1685 CROSSTOWN BOULEVARD N.W. . ANDOVER, MINNESOTA 55304. (763) 755-5100 FAX (763) 755-8923 . WWW.CI.ANDOVER.MN.US City Council Workshop Tuesday, May 22, 2007 Conference Rooms A & B 1. Call to Order - 6:00 p.m. 2. Discuss Use of Utility Easement for Hickory Meadows - Planning 3. Animal Control Ordinance Discussion - Planning 4. Discuss Time Limit on Building Permits - Planning 0 5. Discuss Irrigation Agreement with Associations - Engineering 6. Discuss Request for Autistic Child Signs - Engineering 7, Subdivision Code Update Discussion - Planning 8. Discuss Schedule for the July 3, 2007 City Council Meeting - Administration 9. Other Business 10. Adjournment 0 ~~ a...J..)....- .. \J_hJ.Jk_fl 0- 5-0? 0 1685 CROSSTOWN BOULEVARD N.W. . ANDOVER, MINNESOTA 55304. (763) 755-5100 FAX (763) 755-8923 . WWW.CI.ANDOVER.MN.US ANDOVER CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP - MAY 22,2007 MINUTES A Workshop of the Andover City Council was called to order by Councilmember Don Jacobson, May 22,2007,6:00 p.m., at the Andover City Hall, 1685 Crosstown Boulevard NW, Andover, Minnesota. Councilmembers present: Mike Gamache (arrived at 6:05pm), Don Jacobson, Mike Knight, Ken Orttel (arrived at 7:05pm), Julie Trude Councilmember absent: None Also present: City Engineer, Dave Berkowitz Community Development Director, Will Neumeister Others DISCUSS USE OF UTILITY EASEMENT FOR HICKORY MEADOWS 0 Mr. Berkowitz stated this item is in regard to the City utility easement for Hickory Meadows. He explained the original and revised proposals with the Council. Councilmember Trude wondered ifthere was any interest by any of the residents to develop at this time. Mr. Berkowitz indicated there was not any interest at this time. Councilmember Jacobson asked if they have a maintenance easement. Mr. Berkowitz indicated they do. He noted it extends from the pipe that already exists by Butternut along the creek. (Mayor Gamache arrived at 6:05 pm.) Councilmember Jacobson asked if the Coon Creek Watershed District has any concerns. Mr. Berkowitz indicated they do not have any concerns as long as the area is returned to its natural state. Councilmember Jacobson wondered where the anticipated crossover point is. Mr. Berkowitz stated that is still being worked out. He showed on the map where a possible crossover would be. Councilmember Knight asked once the ditch is opened, how wide it would be. Mr. Berkowitz indicated it would be around eighteen feet deep at the deepest location. He stated to preserve as 0 much area as can be they would look at constructing that with a box. He noted they would try to keep that to a forty-foot width. Councilmember Knight wondered how long the ditch would remain open. Mr. Berkowitz stated it would be open for a week and a half to two weeks. He thought they would be filling the ditch as they go. C Regular Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes - May 22, 2007 Page 2 Councilmember Jacobson wondered if there would be dewatering done. Mr. Berkowitz stated it would. Councilmember Trude wondered where the water would go. Mr. Berkowitz explained it would probably be put into the creek. Councilmember Trude wondered if the residents will see any water changes in the mitigated wetlands. Mr. Berkowitz stated they will see less water temporarily but the water will come back. Mr. Berkowitz stated they will have to discuss the dewatering with the Watershed District to see what would need to be done for filtering, etc. Councilmember Trude wondered what safety measures the developer would need to take with the open trench. Mr. Berkowitz thought they would backhoe the trench closed each evening where the pipe was laid but there will still be a trench in areas and they could run a fence along there for safety. Mr. Bruce Carlson indicated Plan B would be to put in acreage lots. Mr. Neumeister stated staff 0 would not recommend placing acreage lots in the MUSA area. Councilmember Trude thought with the difficulties the developer could face, they could move the MUSA to the north side of Andover Boulevard. Councilmember Trude asked if this plan made it easier for the City to maintain the sewer line. Mr. Berkowitz indicated that is correct. The developers' engineer showed a different plan to the Council and explained the new proposal would go behind fewer homes and eliminate a manhole. Mr. Berkowitz mentioned staffhas not reviewed this plan. Mr. Berkowitz emphasized that the depth does not change the ultimate elevation ofthe pipe but they are going with the grade instead of against the grade. Mr. Shawn Rogers, 169 142nd Avenue, NW, read a letter from the Shadowbrook residents. They. are adamantly opposed to the City helping the developer with this project while it is affecting their lives. They wondered why the Council would consider this when the developer failed to get the easements needed for the sewer. He stated they should not be impacted by the developer's inability to obtain his easements before purchasing the property, The City does not need to extend this to the developer. Councilmember Jacobson asked for specifics on the negative aspects for the residents. Mr. 0 Rogers stated they would be draining the ponds, maintenance vehicle access, loss of vegetation, wildlife displacement and a generator being allowed to run for at least two weeks. He thought they should not have to deal with these inconveniences because it has never been discussed this way. He understood some of this will be temporary but some of it will be irreparable. 0 Regular Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes - May 22, 2007 Page 3 Councilmember Knight wondered why the developer could not get the easement. Mr. Carlson stated there is another builder who bought land at the same time and is pretty much holding out and trying to get him to buy him out. Mr. Kent Meister, 541 Andover Boulevard, asked how many homeowners are affected by this proposal. Mr. Rogers thought there are about 12 residents. Mr. Jerry Heiling, 199 142nd Avenue, NW, stated when the residents were notified of this project he was not notified that the developer was going to come out and talk to the residents. His property is behind the two ponds. In talking with the developer and what is being developed, his initial response was they did need to move forward and build homes but there are vacant homes in Andover for sale. The initial plan was the sewer was going to go through Butternut and he did not have a problem with it. Now the plans have changed because of obstacles with the first plan. He did not think this should affect the residents on the south side of the creek. This issue should have been reviewed when the initial sewer plan was discussed seven years before. He thought the City was accommodating the developer no matter what problems arose. 0 Councilmember Trude indicated nothing like this has ever happened in the City before. Mayor Gamache noted initially all the landowners were willing to develop at once and now things have changed and some of the landowners do not want to develop at this time so they need to look at alternative plans and try to make a decision. Councilmember Jacobson explained his view on the proposed sewer plan. Mr. Heiling stated the negative is they are affecting the property because they purchased the property with the easement on there, which is more of a utility easement. He stated they did know a development was going to go in but they did not know the City was going to run the sewer in their backyards. They do not know if the ponds will come back and they do not know how it will affect the creek. Councilmember Knight indicated the Coon Creek Watershed District will oversee this and make sure it does not affect the creek and if they feel it does, they will not allow it to happen. Mr. Heiling wondered why the developer did not come out to discuss this with the neighborhood when City staff came out to the meeting. He also thought this should be discussed in front of the residents of Andover at a Council meeting. This all affects him but he was not notified about what was going on. 0 Mr. Berkowitz indicated he sent out notification and also called the 8 property owners directly affected by this proposal along with association representatives from Shadowbrook Cove and they were all at the meeting. Councilmember Knight wondered ifthere were any other options for this. Mr. Berkowitz 0 Regular Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes - May 22, 2007 Page 4 discussed the different options starting with the first one proposed, Mr. Berkowitz noted the preliminary plat is not formally approved until all the stipulations are worked out. (Councilmember Orttel arrived at 7:05 pm,) Mayor Gamache asked what other issues need to be addressed on this. Mr. Berkowitz stated there are six points that need to be addressed: 1. Need to confirm that the sewer can be accessed north ofthe creek. Verbal confirmation from the Watershed was as long as they do not change the fill area it would be acceptable to provide some type of access as long the vegetation can be maintained. He stated they will work with the developer and watershed on impacts to the wetland. 2. Revised preliminary plat showing all new easements. 3. Revised grading plan that shows any changes in grades due to the sewer. 4. Revised preliminary utility plan. 0 5. Soil borings on the north and south side to prove construction of the sewer can be built on the north side. 6. Developer to provide adequate access to the south side of the sewer. Mr. Ron Melin, 59 142nd Avenue NW, stated he was not notified but their only concern is how this will affect the water pressure in the area because it is barely adequate now. Mr. Berkowitz stated they will work with SEH regarding the water system. He does not know of any problems in that area but they could do a static test on a hydrant in that area to see what the pressure is. Mayor Gamache asked if they do find there is a problem with water pressure, what needs to be done. Mr. Berkowitz explained some of the solutions that can be done to alleviate the low water pressure. Mr. Heiling noted they are representing a lot of homeowners who could not make it to the meeting. Councilmember Trude wants to know if the project goes ahead how can this development be a good neighbor to the existing residents. Mr. Heiling stated they would want the area to be restored back to the way it was before, such as trees and to preserve what they can. Mr. Berkowitz stated he will work with the developer and the Watershed to restore what they can. 0 Councilmember Knight would like to see everyone including the residents to be happy. Mr. Meister asked if the Watershed needs to get permission to come and dredge the creek and how they restore the area. Mr. Berkowitz stated they are not required to get permission from the City and they do restore it back to a means that meets their requirements. They do notify the City 0 Regular Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes - May 22, 2007 Page 5 that they are going to dredge the creek but the City cannot make them meet requirements but the Federal Government can require that. Mr, Heiling wondered ifhe will get charged anything for doing maintenance on the easement on his property. Mayor Gamache indicated he would not. Mr. Berkowitz indicated they have a two-year warranty on all of their projects. ANIMAL CONTROL ORDINANCE DISCUSSION Councilmember Jacobson suggested they send this to the Planning Commission and have them look at "invisible fencing" and see if there are any other changes they can think of and have staff contact the individual who has been contacting the Councilmembers of the Planning Commission date. Councilmember Orttel stated the resident's issue is not the fencing, it is the dog barking incessantly. Councilmember Knight wondered if an invisible fence is considered an adequate 0, barrier. Councilmember Trude thought they should send a few different issues to the Planning Commission. 1) What constitutes a restraint and how does an invisible fence fit in. Should dogs be kept in the front yard with an invisible fence. 2) What constitutes a nuisance; 3) What type of dogs should the City list as dangerous and should they list any. Mayor Gamache stated the only thing they have in the ordinance is regarding restraint. He would like to find out what that means. He thought the invisible fence would be covered in that section. Councilmember Jacobson thought they should have the Planning Commission look at that for the invisible fencing. Councilmember Trude asked what specifically they want the Planning Commission to look at. Councilmember Jacobson thought the Planning Commission should look at technology such as the invisible fence. Mr. Neumeister stated the Planning Commission is going to want more information in order to discuss this. Mayor Gamache stated he would like more of a definition for restraint. Councilmember Trude thought they need to look at the nuisance area in the ordinance to define it and make it more enforceable. 0 Mayor Gamache thought Section 5A-IA-1 in the ordinance covers the problem and stated he does not want to get into any more restrictions. Councilmember Jacobson wondered if a report should be written even if the CSO officer does not see the dog barking. He thought maybe they should have it in the ordinance that after so many reports, it should be considered a nuisance. Mr. Neumeister thought the ordinance should 0 Regular Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes - May 22, 2007 Page 6 be changed to define it a little better. Council consensus was to seek law enforcement input and bring it back to Council. Councilmember Jacobson stated he was suggesting there be a trigger mechanism in the ordinance for the Sheriff s Department to go by. DISCUSS TIME LIMIT ON BUILDING PERMITS Mr. Neumeister showed photos of two homes on 133rd indicating these homes were built 18 months ago and are in foreclosure and wondered what they can do because the City does not have any way to get the work done. Councilmember Jacobson wondered if the City should get a deposit when someone applies for a building permit to assure the homes will get finished in a timely manner. Mr. Berkowitz indicated the homes shown have also defaulted on the escrow payment to the City and the City Clerk is dealing with this. Mr. Neumeister explained when a house goes into default or 0 foreclosure there is really nothing we can do until the bank gets the house. Councilmember Knight suggested if it is in default or foreclosure they wait it out until it goes to the bank and then go after the bank. Councilmember Jacobson thought if staff found out what bank holds the lien they should send them a letter indicating the homes need to get fixed up or they will have an abatement process put on them. DISCUSS IRRIGATION AGREEMENT WITH ASSOCIATIONS Mr. Berkowitz reviewed the irrigation agreement with the Council. Councilmember Trude thought the agreement looks good the way it was written by staff. Mr. Berkowitz thought the agreement would get the City to communicate better with the associations. Councilmember Jacobson stated his concern is with the smaller unit associations. Mr. Berkowitz thought it may be a minimum of a $100 fine and go from there. He wondered if the Council wants to see something addressed in the fee schedule to address this. The Council thought that would be a good idea. Mr. Berkowit2 wondered if the City Attorney indicates they cannot charge per unit, what they should do. The Council thought he should check on what would be allowed and bring it back 0 with the fee schedule changes. DISCUSS REQUEST FOR AUTISTIC CHILD SIGNS Mr. Berkowitz explained there have been several requests for Autistic Child signs in the community. 0 Regular Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes - May 22, 2007 Page 7 Councilmember Jacobson wondered what the difference is between these signs and "watch for children" signs. Mr. Berkowitz explained the differences to the Council. Councilmember Trude stated her concern is that if they put these signs in the neighborhoods, after time will they be seen and recognized by the residents. Mr. Berkowitz stated right now they are doing "Deaf Child" signs and the residents do not pay for them so this would be a new policy that the requesting party of the sign has to pay for it. Councilmember Trude wondered if they should check to see how many signs they could possibly need in the City before making a decision. She asked if staff could find out how many autistic children are attending the schools in Andover before the requesters of the signs are called. Mayor Gamache asked staff to call Rochester to find out how many signs they have put up. SUBDIVISION CODE UPDATE DISCUSSION 0 Mr. Neumeister reviewed the changes with the Council for the Subdivision Code Update. Councilmember Trude stated on page 3, line 18, the sentence should read "ARC consists of ~ reoresentative of each of the following departments". Mr. Berkowitz stated sometimes it consists of more than one person from each department. Councilmember Jacobson stated page 4, line 18, talks about maintaining different areas and he wondered if sidewalks should be included. Councilmember Trude stated City Attorney Hawkins indicated they should change "roadways" to "streets" in this. Mr. Berkowitz stated on line 18, when talking about easements, sidewalks are typically put in the City right-of-way. He stated they can add that language to clean it up. Councilmember Jacobson wondered if a right-of-way is considered an easement. Mr. Berkowitz stated they are separate from an easement. Councilmember Jacobson stated on page 5, it talks about access to watermain, sewer and he thought if they had other things, they should add some extra words such as: ".. .and other municipal utilities". He stated they need to look fOIWard for new technology. Councilmember Jacobson stated on page 5, line 27, the sentence reads: ". ..multi-user which also may used for public and private utilities." He wondered ifbefore the word public they could insert the word "underground". He could not see overhead power lines being put overhead and should be buried. Mr. Berkowitz stated there is always that potential for private utilities to be 0 overhead. Mr. Neumeister did not know it this should be changed because it is already broad and covers everything. Councilmember Trude thought this should be rewritten. She thought they were trying to talk about a trail and did not know anywhere else in the code where they talk about a pedestrian 0 Regular Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes - May 22, 2007 Page 8 trailway. She wondered why they want to describe where it is because sometimes it is next to a public street. She thought they should rewrite the paragraph to fit what they do now, Councilmember Trude stated on page 6, line 3 they should replace roadways with streets. She noted they should not put the word sanitary in front of sewer because sewer systems are both sanitary and storm. She stated if they put the word sanitary before sewer then they are not talking about both. Mr. Berkowitz stated they want to make sure people know what they were talking about. Councilmember Jacobson stated page 6, line 19 should read: "the highest indication of mottled soils". Mr. Berkowitz explained on a plan they do need to determine the elevation. Councilmember Trude wondered about the definition of Right-of-Way. She thought the old definition was better. She was concerned with the new definition because it starts listing things and something might be forgotten. They should have the City Attorney look at the definition, Councilmember Jacobson stated on line 30, under definition of a street, the street is a public or 0 private roadway. Mr. Berkowitz stated he learned to never use the word in the definition. Councilmember Jacobson stated on line 32, it says: "related maintenance activities" and he wondered if the word "activities" should really be equipment and then strike everything after that. Councilmember Trude disagreed because sometimes they use equipment and sometimes they do not. Councilmember Trude wondered on line 36 what a "carrier" is; she thought it should be a major street. Mr. Berkowitz stated in engineering, carrier is considered a street. Councilmember Jacobson stated on page 7, Major and Minor Collector Street definitions are switched around. Councilmember Trude wondered why thoroughfares are deleted. Mr. Berkowitz indicated this is not a commonly used term anymore so they have deleted it. Councilmember Jacobson stated on line 12, regarding traffic impact study, he thought it should read: "study of existing traffic coaditiofls and anticipated traffic conditions with aad or without the de'leloflmeHt and traffic impacts of the development". Councilmember Trude thought that sounded good. Mayor Gamache asked if the traffic impact study definition came from MnDOT. Mr. Berkowitz stated they probably pulled that definition from some book. Mayor Gamache wanted to make sure they do not change a lot oflanguage that would impact where they got the wording from. 0 Councilmember Trude wondered ifthey eliminated Item B on page 8, does it work legally. She thought this was a legal question that needs to be answered. Mr. Neumeister stated if they look at Item A, on line 26, it shows the word "and dedicate" so everything in Item B is being dedicated in Item A. He thought they were trying to cover it and consolidate it. Councilmember 0 Regular Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes - May 22, 2007 Page 9 Trude indicated she wants to have the City Attorney look at it to make sure there is not a two part step that would be eliminated if they did this. Councilmember Jacobson stated on page 9, line 10, it talks about restrictions of filing and recording conveyances and he wondered what Item D means. Mr. Neumeister stated Item D was written when the Rural Reserve was adopted and is not new language. He explained to the Council what was discussed with the Met Council previously regarding this language. Councilmember Trude wondered on page 10 where "Zoning Administrator" was changed to "administratively", she thought they should indicate a title. Mr. Neumeister thought this was trying to avoid changing positions and responsibilities because they do not have a Zoning Administrator in any of their job descriptions. Councilmember Trude thought they need to have a high level position defined. Mr. Neumeister indicated they need to find out from the Attorney what wording they should use. Councilmember Trude stated on page 10, line 37, she thought the sentence should read: "within public right-of-way, or other pl:lblie way easement..." She thought they should change all 0 "roadways" in the report to "streets" to be consistent. Councilmember Jacobson wondered if they could have a metes and bounds consisting ofless than five acres. Councilmember Orttel did not think they could unless they received a variance. Councilmember Knight thought they could because he has some by him. Councilmember Orttel did not think new construction would allow this. Councilmember Trude wondered on page 11, 2nd and 3rd paragraphs, if they should delete all of the wording. She thought they should ask the City Attorney ifthey should leave it in or take it out. Councilmember Jacobson stated on page 11, line 45 the sentence should read: "The City shall not permit any public improvements to be installed unless the prelimiaai)' plat is apprElyed aH:d the Development Guidelines for publiclv or privatelv installed infrastructure improvement requirements have been met." Mr. Berkowitz indicated they want to make sure the preliminary plat is approved. He stated the preliminary plat can be approved before the Development Guidelines are set up. Councilmember Jacobson stated on page 12, line 7 "guilty of a misdemeanor" should be changed to "charged with a misdemeanor and convicted of it". Councilmember Trude thought they need to have administrative enforcement actions. She thought the Attorney should be consulted on this paragraph. 0 Some of the Council felt they should finish at the first Chapter and continue with Chapter 2 at another workshop. Councilmember Jacobson asked on page 13, line 17, it says a sketch plan may be issued and then everywhere else it looks almost like it is required. Mr. Berkowitz explained the intent to the C Regular Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes - May 22, 2007 Page 10 Council regarding this section. DISCUSS SCHEDULE FOR THE JULY 3,2007 CITY COUNCIL MEETING The Council decided to leave the meeting date as July 3,2007. OTHER BUSINESS Request from Resident for Farm Animals Mr. Neumeister stated they received correspondence from a resident regarding farm animals. The resident would like to have a goat on 2.5 acres. He noted their ordinance indicates farm animals are not allowed on property less than 5 acres in size. The Council agreed with staff that farm animals should not be allowed on properties less than 5 acres. Hanson Boulevard Update 0 Mr. Berkowitz reviewed the project update with the Council. Dirt Bike Issue from Resident Councilmember Trude stated she received correspondence and a video from a resident regarding a dirt bike issue. Councilmember Jacobson thought this would be considered a nuisance because of the noise and dirt. Mayor Gamache stated staff could look at paragraph 6-4-6 in the ordinance for the noise. Motion by Jacobson, Seconded by Orttel, to adjourn. Motion carried unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 9:35 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Susan Osbeck, Recording Secretary 0