Loading...
03-15-99 PC Minutes 250 Regular Meeting of the Golden Valley. Planning Commission March 15, 1999 I A regular meeting of the Planning Commission was held at the Golden Valley City Hall, Council Chambers, 7800 Golden Valley Road, Golden Valley, Minnesota, on Monday, March 15, 1999. The meeting was called to order by Chair Pentel at 7:00 p.m. Those present were Chair Pentel and Commissioners Eck, Groger, Johnson, Kapsner, McAleese and Shaffer. Also present were Mark Grimes, Director of Planning and Development, Don Taylor, City Finance Director, Beth Knoblauch, City Planner, and Tammi Hall, Recording Secretary. I. Approval of Minutes - February 8. 1999 MOVED by Shaffer, seconded by Groger and motion carried unanimously to approve the February 8, 1999 minutes as submitted. II. Election of Officers Chair Pentel stated that since three new commissioners will be starting over the next three months, staff has suggested that the election of officers be tabled until the month I of May. MOVED by Shaffer, seconded by Johnson and motion carried unanimously to table the election of officers until May. III. Informal Public Hearing - Review of the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) City Finance Director, Don Taylor provided a brief overview of the Capital Improvement Program for 1999-2003. Chair Pentel asked if the playground equipment included in the CIP is designated for a particular park. Taylor responded that the park will be determined based on a recommendation from the Park and Recreation Department. Chair Pentel asked why the CIP did not include funds for the new park at the north end of Sweeney Lake. Taylor responded that the City does not anticipate any expenditure at this park. Grimes stated that the City will be reviewing park plans in the next few months and develop individual plans for each of the parks in Golden Valley. Chair Pentel asked if the City will be offering the traveling skate park this year. Taylor I responded that the company that provided this last year declined to do it again this year. Grimes indicated that the company is offering only a few sites around the metro I I I r) .~-: -, ~~0_, Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission March 15, 1999 Page 2 area this summer. He stated that insurance costs are high and the company could continue only sites with a minimum number of participants each day to maintain profitability. Grimes indicated there will be a skate park near the Plymouth City Hall. Commissioner Kapsner asked about the street project. Taylor responded that, once the current project is complete, the streets should last for approximately 25 to 30 years. Commissioner McAleese asked if the street rating program was an ongoing process. Taylor responded that it is an ongoing program. Chair Pentel asked why the park improvement fund has no project for tree replacement after 1999. Taylor responded that this program was for expenditures over $10,000. He stated that the Park and Recreation Director determined that the necessary expenditures for tree replacement after 1999 will be under $10,000 and can come out of the general recreation budget. Commissioner Shaffer asked about the basis for the amounts budgeted for Y2K. Taylor responded that this number is an estimate. He indicated that the City has not yet found any equipment that will need to be replaced to address Y2K issues, but the amount is budgeted to cover any equipment replacement that may be needed. Commissioner Johnson asked about the asphalt in-line skating rink. Taylor responded the rink is projected for Medley Park. The preliminary plan is to use the rink for in-line skating in the summer and hockey in the winter. Johnson asked if the rink will be supervised and have specific hours of operation. Taylor responded that it is in the preliminary planning stages and these issues will be addressed, by the Park and Recreation Department as they progress in the planning. Commissioner Kapsner asked if the City has investigated fiber optics. Taylor responded that the City has not begun planning on this issue. Grimes stated that some of the businesses in Golden Valley have fiber optics and have obtained permission from the City to install it in the City right-of-way. Chair Pentel asked when capital improvements included in the proposed Surface Water Management Plan would be incorporated in the CIP. Taylor responded that the City will begin working out the details over the summer, after the plan is approved, and they will be included in the next CIP. Chair Pentel asked if the City obtains water from the reservoir in Theodore Wirth Park. Taylor responded that the City purchases water from the City of Minneapolis, which then goes into the reservoir at Theodore Wirth. He stated that the Joint Water 252 Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission March 15, 1999 Page 3 Commission is responsible for maintenance of the larger pipes from the reservoir to the city. He added that the city maintains the smaller pipes. Commissioner McAleese asked about the plan to replace the generator and suggested that it be purchased prior to January 1, 2000. Taylor responded that the City is assessing the situation and will purchase the new one this year if needed. Commissioner McAleese also suggested that commercial satellite data could be obtained as an alternative to digital aerial photos. Taylor responded that this option will be investigated. Commissioner McAleese asked why there was no funding for the GIS system. Taylor responded that the money for funding the GIS system is budgeted as a service in the General Fund rather than a capital item, since it is provided through LOGIS. I Commissioner McAleese asked about the installation of radio-read water meters. He indicated that the City of Robbinsdale had recently installed these water meters and there was a problem obtaining accurate readings from meters where there was minimal water usage. Taylor stated that the current system does not always produce accurate readings. He stated the City will investigate the new system in regard to small users to I try to avoid the problems that took place in Robbinsdale. Commissioner Groger asked about the plan for paving City trails. Taylor responded that this is still being reviewed. Grimes stated that residents have shown a strong interest in trails. He added that trails will be paved in the northwest part of the community because the residents were interested in year round maintenance of the trails. He indicated that some residents prefer bark chip trails but these are more difficult to maintain. He stated that the Council will be addressing this issue. Commissioner Groger also asked about continued funding for repairs to the pond banks at Brookview. Taylor responded that this project will continue but it is no longer large enough to be included in the CIP. He stated it will be funded through the general maintenance budget of the Brookview Golf Course Fund. Commissioner McAleese asked if the City is trying to establish a larger presence on the Internet. Taylor responded that the 1999 budget includes funds for creating a City web site. Commissioner Johnson asked if the goal is to enable residents to conduct City business on the Internet. Taylor responded that eventually this will be available. He indicated that they are currently trying to determine which areas are most important to residents and get these areas up and running as soon as possible. I I I I 253 Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission March 15, 1999 Page 4 Commissioner McAleese asked how the City funds for emergency repairs, such as broken water mains. Taylor responded that the city has a reserve account in the water and utility fund for emergency repairs. McAleese asked if the state sets minimum requirements for reserve accounts. Taylor responded that the minimum is determined by the City. MOVED by Kapsner, seconded by McAleese to recommend that the City Council approve the Capita1lmprovement Program as presented. Chair Pentel suggested that the workshop on the Storm Water Management Plan be moved to the next item on the agenda since City Staff were present to participate in the workshop. IV. Workshop - Storm Water Management Plan Jeannine Clancy, City Public Works Director, AI Lundstrom, City Environmental Technician and Dave Nyberg of H.R. Green Company were present for the discussion of the Storm Water Management Plan. Commissioner McAleese asked staff about the process for the plan. Grimes responded that there will be an informal public hearing in April. He indicated the plan will go to the City Council after a recommendation of approval by the Commission. He added that the Council will hold a formal public hearing. Commissioner McAleese stated that the plan will generate some revisions to the zoning code and asked if there is a plan for proceeding with the necessary revisions. Knoblauch responded that the entire comprehensive plan should be completed and reviewed before code revisions are considered. Grimes stated that the City needs to focus on completing the plan to meet the deadline for providing the plan to the Metropolitan Council. He added that code revisions will be reviewed after the plan is approved. City Environmental Technician AI Lundstrom responded to some of the questions raised at the last meeting. He indicated that the current shoreline protection ordinance is based on the recommendation of the DNR. He stated that the DNR has issued an updated ordinance which is much more specific as far as standards and classifications. He added that the new ordinance also reduces the minimum frontage by 5 feet, from 80 to 75 feet. Public Works Director Clancy stated that staff needs to review the DNR's updated ordinance in detail before making a recommendation. Lundstrom also stated that snow is not dumped in Bassett Creek, but is hauled to a storage area. 254 Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission March 15, 1999 Page 5 I In response to questions about street sweepings raised at the last meeting, Lundstrom indicated that this material is hauled to a storage site. He said much of the material is used for backfill on construction sites. He also stated that the City has been dividing street sweepings into two components, organic material and sand. Kapsner asked if the salt is removed from the sand before it is used for backfill. Lundstrom responded that the salt is not removed from the sand. Lundstrom also reported that the Highway 100 construction project has installed water quality monitors to be used throughout the project. Pentel suggested that the data from these water monitors be incorporated into the Storm Water Management Plan document. Chair Pentel commented that none of the maps in the plan reflect the Hidden Lakes project. Clancy responded that this plan has been a work in progress for several years so some information needs to be updated. Kapsner asked if the entire City is covered by storm sewer. Lundstrom responded that some areas still need storm sewers. He added that the pavement management program makes this determination. Kapsner asked if the City currently needs additional I storm water ponds. Lundstrom responded that there are some specific areas where the City would like to add storm water ponds to deal with current situations. Kapsner asked who is responsible for maintaining the storm water pond by Lupient. Clancy responded that she was not certain who was responsible for maintenance on that particu!lar pond. Grimes stated that in many cases the City has maintenance agreements on ponds so that they can enforce the requirement that the property owner maintain it. He indicated he was unaware of whether there was an agreement on the pond by Lupient, but indicated that currently the City generally requires maintenance agreements on ponds. Pentel commented that the plan states the City should "discourage" dumping snow removed from parking lots along Bassett Creek. Pentel asked if the City could prohibit this activity. Clancy responded this could be prohibited by the City. Pentel commented that, in regard to reducing erosion, it may be helpful to have a best practices sheet that would educate residents. Shaffer added that the requirements should be realistic and practical. Pentel stated that the City storm water ponds should demonstrate implementation of the shoreline ordinance. Clancy responded it is the intent of the City that the regional I I I I .~, i"- Lj:J Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission March 15, 1999 Page 6 pond, developed as part of the Xenia Avenue extension project, will be a demonstration pond. Kapsner asked about the tree preservation ordinance. Grimes stated that the Commission will be addressing this topic at their next meeting. He stated that the goal of the tree preservation ordinance is to save as many quality trees on a site as possible and to require replacement of trees that are removed. Groger stated there are a lot of references in the plan to adopting additional ordinances. He said it is difficult to tell what the overall effect may be on a property owner. He indicated one of his concerns is that it will become too burdensome for homeowners to do things on their own property. Groger asked if property owners in wetlands are able to make changes to their properties. Green stated that the draft wetland ordinance included in the plan is more restrictive than the current ordinance. He stated that the current ordinance is the minimum mandated by state requirements, but the City can implement an ordinance that is more restrictive. He indicated the current ordinance does not have a setback zone, which is included in the proposed ordinance. Clancy suggested that the Commission may want to use the word "consider" in regard to implementation of ordinances included in the plan. Pentel commented that it would be interesting to compile an industrial census of the City. Grimes stated that the City has not done a census of industry, but they know there are not a lot of high volume users of the sewer system within the industrial segment in the City. He added that the City has close to 30,000 full time jobs which is unusual for a city the size of Golden Valley. In regard to Chapter Five, Pentel asked how the program priorities were determined. Lundstrom responded that the priorities were revised in response to the SWAMP Committee recommendations. Pentel suggested that the shoreline ordinance may be more of a priority than the tree preservation ordinance. Grimes responded that the City currently has a shoreline ordinance in place, while there is no tree preservation ordinance established. He added that the state does not consider revision of the shoreline ordinance a priority for a fully-developed community. Kapsner asked how Minnesota is doing in terms of water quality. Green responded that this is difficult to assess. Clancy stated that water quality is an incremental thing, where it takes a lot of small actions to make a difference. She added that she will try to get some information from the "Friends of the Mississippi" organization regarding the status ,.. (} 2tHJ Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission March 15, 1999 Page 7 I of Minnesota in terms of the river. Grimes added that in the past ten years there have been vast changes and improvements in regard to protecting water. Pentel suggested that Appendix 1 be updated to identify the new ponds at Hidden Lakes. Clancy stated that existing improvements will be updated by H.R. Green Company and incorporated in the plan. She stated that she would be uncomfortable including in the plan, at this time, changes occurring as a result of the Highway 100 project because it is still in the design process. Shaffer asked about the wetland zoning. He indicated that the ordinance in the plan states that if a structure is destroyed, it can be rebuilt within a year. He asked if this should be modified to fit better with current City code. Knoblauch stated that this will be reviewed with city code to be certain that they are in agreement. Shaffer also stated that the plan includes two different definitions of wetlands. He suggested the plan be specific and consistent in regard to this item. Groger asked if Bassett Creek is considered a wetland. Lundstrom responded that Bassett Creek is classified as a natural water course and an altered natural water course. He indicated there may be wetlands and flood plains al~ng the Creek. I Pentel suggested that a second workshop to discuss the plan would not be necessary. Grimes stated that an informal public hearing will ,be held at the first meeting in April. He stated that the hearing will be publicized in the Community Highlights section of the Post. He indicated that the informal public hearing will consist of a presentation from H.R. Green Company followed by time for questions. Pentel asked if representatives from the SWAMP Committee would be notified of the hearing. Grimes indicated they will notify the SWAMP Committee, McAleese suggested that Cable 12 be asked to give this issue some coverage. V. Reports on Meetings of the Housina and Redevelopment Authority. City Council and Board of Zoning Appeals Pentel asked City staff to request the City Council Liaison for the Planning Commission to attend the next meeting. VI. Other Business 1. Review of Attendance The attendance record was distributed to all Commission members. There were no changes to the record. I I I I 257 Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission March 15, 1999 Page 8 2. Discussion of Rescheduling 2nd Planning Commission Meeting in April Grimes stated that the regularly scheduled meeting in April conflicts with the National Conference. He recommended, and the Commission agreed, to move the meeting up one week to April 19th. 3. Discussion of Planning Representative to Natiohal APA Conference - April 24-28 Shaffer indicated that he would check his schedule to determine if he could attend the conference in place of Rick Martens who is leaving the Commission. Groger also indicated he could attend if Shaffer was unable to attend. 4. Handout of Land Use Plan Map Grimes distributed information for each Commission member on the land use plan and the land use plan map. He stated there will be a workshop to discuss this topic at the March 22nd meeting. He added that the City would like to have a an informal public hearing on the land use plan at the Commission meeting on April 19th. Grimes indicated that the City Council plans to do some community surveys and that the plan can be updated again after the results of the surveys are obtained. Grimes stated that the next meeting would consist of a workshop on the land use plan map and a review of draft ordinances for erosion control and tree preservation. City staff asked the Commission how they would like to honor the retirement of Commissioners Martens, Johnson and Kapsner. Kapsner indicated he would arrange .for a gathering at his home sometime in May. VII. Adiournment The meeting was adjourned at 9:20 p.m.