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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWK February 27, 2007 (lrr~ '3 -~o -61 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, February 27,2007 Conference Rooms A & B 1. Call to Order - 6:00 p.m. 2. Youth First Update 3. Discuss Improvements at Crosstown Drive & Crosstown Boulevard/06-48 - Engineering 0 4. Discuss Monitoring Well Requirement - Engineering 5. Discuss Erosion Control Ordinance - Engineering 6. Single Family Residential Rental Discussion - Planning 7. Update on Cell Towers in Public Parks - Planning 8. Deer Population Survey - Planning 9. Repeated Zoning Code Violations - Planning 10. Comprehensive Plan Update-Planning 11. Other Business 12. Adjournment 0 C I T Y o F 0 NDOVE ANDOVER CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP - FEBRUARY 27,2007 MINUTES The Workshop Meeting of the Andover City Council was called to order by Mayor Mike Gamache, February 27,2007,6:02 p.m., at the Andover City Hall, 1685 Crosstown Boulevard NW, Andover, Minnesota Councilmembers present: Don Jacobson, Ken Orttel, Julie Trude Councilmember absent: Mike Knight Also present: City Engineer, Dave Berkowitz City Administrator, Jim Dickinson Community Development Director, Will Neumeister Others 0 YOUTH FIRST UPDATE Ms. Heidi Geiss of Youth First updated the Council on activities in Andover. Ms. Geiss stated they have offered five fee based sessions during the summer of 2006 and there was good attendance for those sessions. She noted that parents would like to see more activities in July and August rather than earlier in the summer. Ms. Geiss explained that in the fall they did school supply distributions with Laura Landes of the Sheriff's Department and the families were very receptive and grateful for the supplies. They have also been doing a monthly program at the Community Center this year. They applied for a grant through Target and received it. Councilmember Trude wondered when they are at the Community Center. Ms. Geiss indicated they are there one Wednesday a month. Ms. Geiss stated they have started a new relationship with Oakview School to get new kids to come to their programs. They are also developing some of the relationships with farmers in the community because they have migrants living on the farms. Councilmember Jacobson wondered how many people they have living on the farms. Ms. Geiss indicated there are thirty or forty kids living on the farms. Their goal would be to go in and help 0 support the kids. Ms. Geiss stated they would like to partner again with Eric and the YMCA this summer. They would also like to have the middle school boys adopt a park this summer. 0 Andover City Council Workshop Minutes - February 27,2007 Page 2 Councilmember Trude asked Kameron Kytonen if some of the middle school boys could help out with seedling give away at recycling day. Kameron Kytonen indicated this is something they could look at doing or they could do a tree planting after the give away is done. Councilmember Jacobson asked if Youth First has contacted private schools. Ms. Geiss indicated they have not worked at a real relationship with the private schools. She stated it is her goal to enrich the middle and high school kids instead of babysitting them. The bus company has agreed to allow the kids to ride the activity buses home from Oakview School so they have a way home. DISCUSS IMPROVEMENTS AT CROSSTOWN DRIVE & CROSSTOWN BOULEV ARD/06-48 Staff has met with the Anoka County Highway Department to discuss potential safety improvements to the intersection of Crosstown Boulevard and Crosstown Drive. 0 Mr. Berkowitz discussed some of the options with the CounciL Councilmember Orttel wondered what the status of the roads is and who owns them. Mr. Berkowitz showed on the map which roads the County has control of. Mayor Gamache asked if the long-range plan is to tie the Smith's Green Acre development together with the property to the north. Mr. Berkowitz stated when the north area starts to develop, they will need to look at a way to link them but there is a drainage ditch through part of the undeveloped area. Councilmember Orttel wondered how much of their problem would be resolved if they got rid ofleft turns from Crosstown Drive to Crosstown Boulevard. Mr. Berkowitz recommended restricting the left and through movement onto Crosstown Boulevard during peak traffic times. Councilmember Trude knew the people that live along Crosstown Drive are frustrated with all of the traffic. Councilmember Jacobson stated they should have a public neighborhood meeting for the people in the neighborhood to get ideas from them to see what they would like to have. Mayor Gamache wondered if the County would consider a light at that intersection. Mr. Berkowitz stated based on spacing guidelines, he did not think the County would allow it. A long-term solution would be a round-about. Councilmember Orttel stated if they reconstructed the existing road it may help. They could also lower the road to improve the sight lines. The problem with restricting at certain hours is that it would not make residents happy. 0 Councilmember Jacobson wondered if it would help to have a ninety-degree access off of Crosstown Drive instead of an angled intersection. Councilmember Trude stated she likes the idea of squaring off the road because it would be safer. 0 Andover City Council Workshop Minutes -February 27,2007 Page 3 Councilmember Jacobson wondered what the cost would be. Mr. Berkowitz stated to reconstruct the intersection as shown in the staff report would cost $20,000. Councilmember Trude wondered if they could do a postcard or mail in suggestion from residents. Councilmember Jacobson thought it would be better to have a public meeting. Mr. Berkowitz stated they will set up a neighborhood meeting to get input from the residents. Councilmember Orttel stated they could put up "Local Traffic only" signs to try to help with the traffic. DISCUSS MONITORING WELL REQUIREMENT As part of the City's Water Emergency and ConServation Plan and for the City's Water Appropriation Permit, the DNR is requiring the City to provide a monitoring well near Bunker Lake to study if there is a direct correlation between pumping ground water from the aquifer to surface 0 water elevations. Mr. Berkowitz discussed the information with the Council. Councilmember Jacobson asked if it is true that if they install the equipment for $10,000 to $12,000 they would not have to go to the DNR for permits for ten years. Mr. Berkowitz indicated that is correct and explained the reason. Motion by Jacobson, Seconded by Orttel, to authorize staff to use $10,000 to $12,000 to utilize the well at Bunker Hills Park. Mr. Berkowitz stated they originally looked at the shelter and now they think it might be a better option to use the gate house well because it is more visible and will fit in better at the park. The motion passed unanimously. DISCUSS EROSION CONTROL ORDINANCE The City of Andover is required to comply with the latest NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) regulations set forth by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA). One requirement as part of this program is to have an ordinance or other regulatory mechanism in place, 0 which has language on erosion and sediment controls and sanctions for compliance. Mr. Kameron Kytonen, Natural Resources Technician, discussed the information with the Council. Councilmember Jacobson thought this was overly wordy and he indicated he marked it up a lot. He 0 Andover City Council Workshop Minutes - February 27, 2007 Page 4 suggested staff go through the changes and reword this to be brought back to them. He thought this was overly complex, overly long and brings in people they do not want to bring in, requiring the individual homeowner to do many things that they are not able to do. Mr. Berkowitz stated this is mainly used during construction, for developers, builders, and street construction work. Councilmember Orttel thought they could send this to the developers to get their opinions. Mr. Westlund stated he has a problem with this because they do not know who is responsible for this. Councilmember Jacobson thought this needs some rework before approval. Mayor Gamache liked CouncilmemberOrttel's idea about having some of the developers and excavators look at this too. Mr. Berkowitz stated that staff would make revision and send a revised copy out to the Council and developers for comment. SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL RENTAL DISCUSSION Staffhas been following what the City of Blaine and other cities in the Metropolitan area are doing 0 to regulate single-family residential rental units. Mr. Neumeister discussed the information with the Council. Councilmember Jacobson stated in looking at an ordinance, are they looking at code violations or renters who rent the homes or both. Mr. Dickinson thought the Council needs to figure this out. They do not regulate single-family rental residences; they only regulate a home if there are two or more rental units in a building to meet the current ordinance they have. If they do take on the single- family rental units, they need to find ways to seek them out. The question is to find out how they can do this. Councilmember Trude thought the problem is the party houses. Councilmember Orttel thought they need to find a way to get rid of those types of problems. Mr. Dickinson showed on the map where they have had problems in the City. Councilmember Jacobson thought they should look at their nuisance ordinance and see how they can use that better. Mr. Dickinson thought they could look at querying the addresses with the Sheriff to determine where they have had problems. Herb Blommel stated he looks to see how many problems are at a current rental and contacts the owner of the property to let them know the problems. 0 The Council did not want to pursue single family homes being regulated, but wanted staff to look at wording in the nuisance ordinance to make it better. UPDATE ON CELL TOWERS IN PUBLIC PARKS 0 Andover City Council Workshop Minutes - February 27, 2007 Page 5 The City Attorney has explained his view on telecom antennas in public parkland. Mr. Neumeister reviewed the City Attorney's views and discussed the information with the Council. Mayor Gamache asked for staff to remove "tower" from this item and replace it with "antenna". The Council made suggestions to staff as to where they thought antennas could go. Mr. Dickinson questioned why they could not put up a monopole if they are going to take down the water tower in Rose Park. Mr. Dickinson stated the antennas could be a park use because the revenue from the antennas would be put back into the park fund for improvements and maintenance. Councilmember Jacobson thought an antenna could be put on Meadow Creek Church property. He noted he would contact Meadow Creek and propose this to them. 0 DEER POPULATION SURVEY Before the City of Andover could get State assistance with a deer population reduction program, the City would need to verify that they have an overpopulation of deer in parts of the City. Anoka County did this for Bunker Hills Regional Park. Mr. Neumeister reviewed the costs associated with a deer population survey done by the County. The Council was not interested in doing a deer survey at this time. REPEATED ZONING CODE VIOLATIONS Mr. Neumeister reviewed residential zoning code violations with the Council. The Council felt building or repairs need to be completed within one year of getting a permit and the ordinance should be changed to limit this to one-year completion. Mr. Dickinson stated one problem they have with going to court on these types of things is the judge will be sympathetic toward the homeowners. Councilmember Jacobson stated if the City gets more than three complaints, they should aggressively 0 go after the party. Mr. Dickinson wondered if the Council wants to allow staff to go after a resident without a complaint. Councilmember Jacobson thought whoever saw the complaint should go to staff to see if it is feasible to contact the resident. 0 Andover City Council Workshop Minutes - February 27, 2007 Page 6 Councilmember Orttel wondered if there could be an administrative charge other than the court fine. Mr. Neumeister stated the City Attorney indicated they would have to set up a fee for this. Mr. Dickinson stated they can set up an administrative fine. Orttel stated they should do this for offenders. Herb Blommel stated the home that has taken years to complete comes up as home maintenance and is not covered under anything. Councilmember Orttel thought they should make a residential ordinance for home maintenance limiting it at one year. Councilmember Trude wondered if they have anything in their code regarding fixing up a home after storm damage. Herb Blommel stated some of the homes are still working with their insurance compames. Mr. Neumeister indicated they will also look into abatement of homes if things are not taken care of and modify the guidelines previously used by former staff to make it conform to what the Council currently wants. 0 Councilmember Trude wondered if they could shorten the lawn cutting from twelve inches to a lesser amount. Councilmember Orttel thought they could discuss this at another workshop. COMPREHENSIVE PLAN UPDATE The City Staff have been diligently working on the update and have a brief report on the progress being made on a "draft" copy of the document. Staffwill continue to work on the "draft" and when it is in a form that looks like they would like, it will be presented to the Council at a workshop. Mr. Berkowitz reviewed the sewer plan with the Council. Councilmember Orttel stated they need to dig in their heels and tell the Met Council what they are going to do. Mr. Dickinson indicated they need to find out who is running the Met Council, the Planners or MCES, and why they want such large density. Mr. Berkowitz stated future population numbers are crucial at this point. Mr. Neumeister reviewed the items staff is working on for the Comprehensive Plan Update. 0 Councilmember Trude wondered if their open space referendum will help with the Met Council. She thought they should-9ttttd this up. G...r-v-oe...rt~ '3 ,..~o~c::y( ~L''''S Mr. Neumeister thought they still have enough medium and high-density areas undeveloped in the 0 Andover City Council Workshop Minutes - February 27, 2007 Page 7 City to pass with the Met Council but they may have problems with population density and roads. OTHER BUSINESS . Joint meeting with the Planning Commission Mr. Dickinson stated the joint meeting in March may need to be changed because some of the Planning Commission members will not be able to make the meeting. Council thought this meeting could be moved to April. . YMCA Water Safety Program Mr. Dickinson reviewed with the Council a possible program with the YMCA for a water safety program instead of contributing money to Anoka for their aquatics center. He stated the YMCA is willing to set up a program just for non-members. 0 Councilmember Orttel stated the problem with this is that the Anoka Aquatics Center is used by people on the west side of the City. Councilmember Trude stated her problem with this is that priority will go to members first and she wondered. if the non-member kids will ever get into the session. She thought it may be worth trying this for a year but they may need to run two separate programs, one for members and one for non- members. Councilmember Trude thought if Ms. Geiss could get some of the kids to take lessons, the YMCA would probably give scholarships. Mr. Dickinson indicated they would. . Bee Raising Request by an Individual in the City. Mr. Dickinson stated he was contacted by an individual about someone raising bees and they want to create a Bee Ordinance. He reviewed a model ordinance provided by the resident along with what the current City interpretation of the ordinance is now. . Marystone BoulevardIRoanoke Resurface Mr. Berkowitz stated a resident called and was under the assumption that the Council approved an 18- foot road. He stated he looked at past reports and he did not find a formal approval. He asked the Council for direction as to what to tell the resident. 0 ~ Councilmember Trude wondered if they did something, where would they drain the water and ifth@ unpaved shoulders would assist-with drainage. Mr. Berkowitz stated they would need to have a '-}YOQct ~,eJ IJ l1i d...W--- 7 hydrology stu y don . rLU"\. 3 -d 0 - 0 0 Andover City Council Workshop Minutes - February 27, 2007 Page 8 Councilmember Orttel would like to see this paved because it would make the area beautiful but he did not know how they could do it. Councilmember Jacobson stated if they do improve the road, the residents will need to lose some trees to make it a safe road. Mr. Berkowitz stated staff would recommend making the road twenty-four feet to make it safe. Councilmember Orttel asked if they could turn the road back to the residents to make it a private road. Mr. Berkowitz stated a petition would be required if the residents would like to have improvements made to the road. Councilmember Trude thought they should try to work with residents on this because she did not think a regulation road would work. Mr. Dickinson stated they will talk to the City Attorney regarding this. Motion by Jacobson, Seconded by Orttel, to adjourn. Motion carried unanimously. The meeting 0 adjourned at 8:49 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Susan Osbeck, Recording Secretary 0