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HomeMy WebLinkAboutJNT - January 20, 2009 C I T Y O F © NDOVE 1685 CROSSTOWN BOULEVARD N.W. • ANDOVER, MINNESOTA 55304 (763) 755 -5100 FAX (763) 755 -8923 • WWW.CI.ANDOVER.MN.US Joint City Council & Open Space Advisory Commission Workshop Tuesday, January 20, 2009 Conference Rooms A & B 1. Call to Order — 6:00 p.m. 2. Open Space Advisory Commission Progress Report 3. Discuss Properties Being Considered for Purchase 4. Adjournment C��TTI T Y j00F 1� L ANDOVER JOINT CITY COUNCIL & OPENSPACEADVISORY COMMISSION WORKSHOP —JANUARY 20, 2009 MINUTES The Andover Joint City Council & Open Space Advisory Commission Workshop was called to order by Mayor Mike Gamache, January 20, 2009, 6:00 p.m., at the Andover City Hall, 1685 Crosstown Boulevard NW, Andover, Minnesota. Councilmembers present: Don Jacobson, Mike Knight, Julie Trude, Sheri Bukkila Councilmember absent: None Commissioners present: Deric Deuschle, Winslow Holasek, Jody Keppers, Kim Kovich, Jim Olson, Bruce Perry Commissioners absent: Gretchen Sabel Also present: City Administrator, Jim Dickinson City Planner Courtney Bednarz to Others Mayor Gamache welcomed the Open Space Advisory Commission and asked for a summary of their work. He also noted Council had received a handout describing the procedures for a closed meeting. Mr. Dickinson stated staff would ask the Council to move to a closed session if they want to discuss valuation information or ongoing negotiations with specific property owners Mr. Bednarz summarized the process the Open Space Advisory Commission used to arrive at their recommendation to the Council. This included a citywide effort to identify the remaining natural areas, to map these areas into corridors, to invite owners of property within the corridors to a neighborhood meeting, and to determine which property owners in these areas are interested in selling land to the city for preservation of open space. The Commission went on to evaluate properties of interest with evaluation criteria, by visiting the sites, through the work of a botanist who provided additional details about the type, quality and preservation value of specific sites as well as through discussions at their regular meetings. Councilmember Jacobson asked if the Commission considered any sites in the southern part of the city. 10 Mr. Bednarz indicated the corridors did include areas throughout the city although in seeking willing sellers there is not much interest from property owners in the southern part of the city. Mayor Gamache stated these areas are within the MUSA and property owners are likely thinking more about the future development potential. Q Andover Joint City Council & Open Space Advisory Commission Workshop Minutes — January 20, 2009 Page 2 Councilmember Trude asked about the executive summary and indicated that some of the sites they are looking at did not score very high on the evaluation criteria. She added that some of the sites would require restoration at an additional cost and this should be considered. Perhaps it would be better to spend a little more for property with natural areas intact such as the wooded areas along the rail line. Chairman Deuschle stated size and quality were both considerations for the Commission. He agreed that there would need to be significant restoration in some areas and that some of the adjacent wooded land did not have willing sellers. He added that there are pros and cons to all of the properties. Councilmember Jacobson asked if the Commissions recommendation is unanimous and if the highest evaluation scores were used to guide the recommendation. Chairman Deuschle stated the Commission had a lot of discussion that each member scored the evaluation criteria individually and as a group and that the recommendation is unanimous. Q Councilmember Knight asked if the numbers on the executive summary indicated a rank or a number of accesses to the properties. Chairman Deuschle clarified the numbers indicated rank and in the access column the rank based on the viability of access to the properties. Councilmember Trude asked for more information on the areas around the properties and the topographic elevations of the properties. Mr. Bednarz provided additional information about the properties from the maps. Councilmember Knight asked about the location of overhead utility lines on the Luedtke property. Commissioner Perry stated there are two power lines. The Council discussed access to the Luedtke property and it was clarified that the only public access would be through Grow Oak View Park or from the river. Chairman Deuschle added no parking facilities are present, access is difficult due to the bluff and © wetland areas in the park. Councilmember Trude asked if there was development potential in this area and if future roads might provide better access. Mr. Bednarz stated there is potential for a large development proposal and additional access in © Andover Joint City Council & Open Space Advisory Commission Workshop Minutes — January 20, 2009 Page 3 the area at the time when the owners of Anoka Grain and Feed, Inc. became interested in development. Councilmember Bukkila stated she thought the size of the properties being considered may be larger than necessary and asked if the group would consider splitting a property in half to achieve the goals of open space preservation, reduce the cost of acquisition and allow the property owners to retain the remaining land for their benefit. Mayor Gamache stated it could become a question of what would become of a piece of land that is not preserved and if the owners would consider selling half of the property. Mr. Bednarz stated he discussed the potential to purchase part of the property with the property owners. Councilmember Bukkila stated it may make sense to purchase half of the property adjacent to the park and allow the property owner to retain the other half. © Mr. Bednarz stated this specific scenario had not been discussed with the property owners. Commissioner Kovich stated the north half of the property is mostly wetland and floodplain and the majority of the useable space is on the south half. Mayor Gamache asked if the owner talked about the possibility of developing the low lying area near the river. Councilmember Trude stated there would be the possibility of a canoe access but the area along the river seemed to be lowland with less development potential. Mr. Bednarz stated there are wetland areas but most of the floodplain area remains dry throughout the year. He added that some of the area could be part of large lots as there is a four acre minimum lot size for lots that abut the river. Councilmember Trude stated the Russell property is also on the river and seemed like a good candidate for preservation. Mr. Bednarz described the property and indicated that access to the park to the north would be important. Councilmember Trude stated there is also access from a road at the south end of the property and © it was confirmed that residents could access the property from this location. Councilmember Knight stated the property has good public access. Councilmember Jacobson noted the significant amount of floodplain on the property and stated © Andover Joint City Council & Open Space Advisory Commission Workshop Minutes — January 20, 2009 Page 4 that development potential would be limited. Councilmember Trude asked if the property would be useable by the public. Mr. Bednarz stated the majority of the floodplain area remains dry most of the time and would provide an opportunity for picnics and other activities. Councilmember Jacobson asked if there was hesitation on the part of the property owner. Mr. Bednarz stated there are several owners of the property in the family and they may have different ideas that would need to be discussed before further action could be taken. Mr. Dickinson stated in addition to purchasing open space there would be an opportunity to acquire land through park dedication and perhaps additional land through discussions if a development proposal was brought forward. Councilmember Jacobson asked how much the city could be prepared to spend to acquire ® property in 2009. Mr. Dickinson stated the city could bond for $2 million and described some of the details of how this would be done. Councilmember Trude asked about the timing of development on the Luedtke property and what the length a boardwalk might need to be to provide public access or if this would become one of those hidden gems without much access. Commissioner Perry stated he had started with the same feeling but thought it was important not to just think about the next 2 -3 years but the next 20 years. The area will probably be developed at some point and wouldn't it be nice to have this area as open space. Councilmember Knight stated the big expense would be access. It was noted that the only other access to the property was 3 /4 of a mile to the south. Chairman Deuschle stated the Commission also considered the long term view. If the area develops in the future, access would be improved. Commissioner Keppers stated as development occurs the property will become a lot more precious. © Mr. Dickinson stated of the four properties there are willing sellers and a lot of work remains to work out the details. He asked if the Council would consider narrowing the list of properties to allow the staff to move forward with negotiations and appraisals. Councilmember Jacobson stated he thought the property near the closed landfill is not worth ® Andover Joint City Council & Open Space Advisory Commission Workshop Minutes — January 20, 2009 Page 5 pursuing at this time. Councilmember Knight agreed. Councilmember Trude stated it has grant potential and if the city were able to get a grant for at least half of the cost of the property it may make more sense. It could compliment the high school's efforts on the other side of Crosstown and would allow public access to the entire property. Mayor Gamache stated that in the long term it may be a nice piece to have since it is along the creek and if the closed landfill site ever became useable there is a nice wooded area near the creek on the south side. He asked if the wooded area has the same restrictions as the rest of the closed landfill. It was confirmed that it does. Mr. Dickinson added it would be another step toward a trail corridor along the creek. Commissioner Kovich stated the sites with strong grant potential could expand the dollars the ® city has available to spend in the future for other sites. He stated that grant funding in the future is uncertain. Mr. Dickinson asked the Council if the consensus for the Kuiken property would be that more of the high quality areas would need to be included. The Council generally agreed. Mr. Bednarz stated the Kuiken family was interested in selling all of the property in that area but that some of the forest areas are owned by others. Councilmember Knight asked what the sod field would become. Chairman Deuschle stated there are drainage ditches and if they let it go reed canary grass and willows would likely be the result, which is not very high quality. He added that restoration would be difficult; the ditches may affect other farms and asked if other funding sources would be necessary for restoration. It was confirmed that they would. Councilmember Knight asked if a purchase could be contingent on receiving grants. It was confirmed that it could. Councilmember Trude said that may take care of the land along the creek. Mr. Bednarz stated all of the owners are aware that an agreement with the city would likely be contingent on receiving a grant. The Council and Commission discussed the properties further. Councilmember Jacobson stated there is significant difference between the staff estimates and Q Andover Joint City Council & Open Space Advisory Commission Workshop Minutes —January 20, 2009 Page 6 the owners' amount and asked if the owners would consider partial sale or other areas of their property. Mr. Dickinson stated variations are possible but would need to be discussed with the property owners. He added staff estimates are believed to be conservative but competitive based on similar arms length transactions. The city does not want to be in the position of setting the market for land that can be developed in Andover. Commissioner Holasek described the difference between floodplain in sod field areas and those along the river. He added that sod fields would result in aspen and willow trees but not hardwoods. Council reviewed aerial photos of the properties under consideration and discussed the characteristics of the properties. Motion by Jacobson, Seconded by Trude, to look further into the Luedtke and Russell properties and possible subdivisions of each and to come back to the Council when more information was available. Councilmember Trude asked if the motion could include the land along the creek with a successful grant. Mr. Dickinson asked if the motion included the ability for staff to conduct appraisals as a part of the negotiations. Councilmember Jacobson declined to modify the motion. Commissioner Kovich stated he would not be in favor of splitting the Luedtke property since the useable area would be reduced by splitting it. The city has the money to take care of it now and land prices are going to go up in the future. Councilmember Bukkila stated the city doesn't necessarily need the most developable land. If the city purchases part of a property to meet its preservation goals there will be funds for other areas and the owner can retain the developable portion creating a win/win situation. Commissioner Perry asked if there would be enough time. He stated that he did not want to run out of time to apply for grants this year. Chairman Deuschle stated they should have time to work in the interim and come back to the Council in time to apply for grants. If these do not work out they may be back recommending other properties. He stated usually grant applications are looked more favorably upon if the size of the parcel is greater. Motion carried unanimously. Andover Joint City Council & Open Space Advisory Commission Workshop Minutes — January 20, 2009 Page 7 Mayor Gamache thanked the Commissioners for their hard work. He stated this gives the city a chance to look at all the possibilities for the two properties. He added more preservation opportunities and funding may be pursued in the future. Motion by Knight, Seconded by Bukkila, to adjourn. Motion carried unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 6:57 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Courtney Bednarz