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09-13-99 PC Minutes e - Regular Meeting of the Golden Valley Planning Commission September 13, 1999 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, September 13, 1999. The meeting was called to order by Chair Pentel at 7:00 p.m. Those present were Chair Pentel and Commissioners Eck, Hoffman, McAleese, Rasmussen and Shaffer. Commissioner Groger was absent. Also present were Mark Grimes, Director of Planning and Development, Beth Knoblauch, City Planner and Tammi Hall, Recording Secretary. Present for a portion of the meeting were Rick Jacobson, Park Director, Linda Loomis, Chair of the Open Space and Recreation Commission and Jeannine Clancy, Public Works Director. Chair Pentel introduced new commission member Peggy Rasmussen. All Commission members present introduced themselves. I. Approval of Minutes - August 9. 1999 Chair Pentel noted that the August 9 meeting was a Joint Meeting of the Golden Valley Planning Commission and the Open Space and Recreation Commission. MOVED by Shaffer, seconded by Eck and motion carried unanimously to approve the August 9, 1999 minutes as submitted. II. Informal Public Hearing - Draft - Park Plan Element of the Comprehensive Plan Rick Jacobson, City Park Director and Linda Loomis, Chair of the Open Space and Recreation Commission were present to provide a brief review of the Park Plan and answer questions from the Commission and residents. Planning and Development Director Grimes briefly reviewed the approval process for the Park Plan. He stated that the Park Plan element of the Comprehensive Plan is the responsibility of the Open Space and Recreation Commission. He indicated that the plan was previously reviewed by the Planning Commission and that residents are given opportunity for input at the informal public hearing to be conducted by the Planning Commission at this meeting. Following this hearing, the plan will be submitted to the City Council for approval. After the City Council has approved the plan it is distributed to surrounding communities for comment for sixty days. Rick Jacobson stated that the suggestions of the Planning Commission from the August 9 meeting had been incorporated into the plan. He indicated that the map included in Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission September 13, 1999 Page 2 the plan had not been revised, but the verbiage had been revised to include the suggested pedestrian crossing for Highway 55. Jacobson briefly reviewed the park and open space map which shows existing park and open space, potential future park expansion areas, school and public facilities, open water areas, wetlands and trails. He stated that the areas shown as possible future park expansion are properties that would be considered for purchase if the land became available. Jacobson indicated that parks are divided into four types, community parks (larger parks), neighborhood parks, special use facilities such as Brookview Golf Course and the Honeywell Little League Fields, and open space/nature areas. He added that over 500 acres of Theodore Wirth Park is in Golden Valley city limits, but the park is operated by the City of Minneapolis. Jacobson also cited additional properties that are available for use by City residents but not owned by the ~ City of Golden Valley, including property owned by General Mills, Independent School ,., District 281, Breck School and the Perpich Art Center. Chair Pentel opened the informal public hearing. Rollin Bergquist of 1300 Castle Court stated that his property borders the future expansion area shown for Wesley Park. He asked if the City had specific plans and/or a timetable for purchase of the expansion area property. Jacobson responded that the City has no plan or timetable for purchasing the property. He stated that the City would consider purchasing the property for expansion of Wesley Park if it became available for sale at a reasonable price. Bergquist asked if the City were to purchase this property if they would remove the trees located in the drainage area. Jacobson responded that it would depend upon the use of the expansion area. Bergquist asked if the City would place a privacy fence bordering his property if they were to purchase the ~ expansion area. Jacobson stated that this could not be determined at this time. ~ Anna Bergquist of 1300 Castle Court asked if the City had any plans to condemn the property to make way for expansion of the park. She stated she was concerned about the individuals currently residing on the property. Chair Pentel responded that there are no plans to condemn property. She stated that it is included in the plan to ensure that if the property became available for sale, the City would consider purchasing it for expansion of the park. . Chair Pentel closed the informal public hearing. Jacobson stated that if the property became available for sale, there are a number of options for its use, including ponding, drainage improvement, or expansion of the parking area. Grimes stated that this is not a unique situation. He indicated that the City has acquired property from a willing seller adjacent to Scheid Park and there is an e e Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission September 13, 1999 Page 3 additional home next to the park that the City would consider purchasing if it became available for sale. MOVED by Hoffman, seconded by McAleese and motion carried unanimously to adopt the Park Plan element of the Comprehensive Plan as presented. Commissioner McAleese stated that the park plan was very well done and commended the individuals who worked on it. Pentel stated that the plan will be reviewed by the City Council on September 21. III. Reports on Meetings of the Housing and Redevelopment Authority. City Council and Board of Zonina Appeals Commissioner Eck reported that there was discussion regarding sidewalks for the Laurel/Winnetka area at a recent City Council meeting. He stated that the Council had agreed no decision would be made until the traffic study was complete. He stated that there was also an open house scheduled for September 27 to provide opportunity for information sharing and idea exchange in regard to the Laurel/Winnetka area. Eck expressed concern that the Planning Commission would have the opportunity to be involved in this process. Public Works Director Clancy stated that the open house will be held at Park Valley Catholic Church on September 27. She indicated that the Planning Commission would be receiving invitations to the open house. Clancy stated that the sidewalk issue was discussed at the Council meeting in response to a citizen petition requesting an immediate solution. She stated that it was determined that cost would be quite high for a short term solution and the Council decided that the situation should be addressed with a long term solution. Clancy stated that the purpose of the open house is to share information, review what has been done to date to improve the traffic situation, and discuss options that have been considered in the past. She stated that the Council will be appointing an advisory committee that will look at all options and develop a recommendation. She indicated that, based upon the recommendation of the advisory committee, a plan will be developed to improve the traffic situation. Clancy clarified that there are two different studies in regard to Laurel Avenue. She stated that the traffic study is being conducted for Laurel/Winnetka. She indicated that there is also an environmental assessment study being conducted for the Xenia/Laurel area to determine the impact of locating Allianz as the single tenant in the new office building on Xenia. Commissioner Hoffman stated that City Council is conducting a random survey of City residents. He asked if this was part of the traffic study. Clancy responded that the survey of residents is a separate study. Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission September 13, 1999 Page 4 IV. Other Business Discussion -- 1-394 Corridor land Use Study Design Pentel asked for staff recommendations regarding moving forward on the 1-394 land Use Study. Grimes responded that the Council has recommended two separate studies be conducted. The first study, which would be completed fairly quickly, would be limited to certain redevelopment sites, such as the Olympic Printing property. Grimes indicated that the second study, which would be conducted over the next year, would consist of a more comprehensive review of the 1-394 corridor. Grimes stated that the results of the environmental study will be available in early October. He indicated that this information will be helpful in evaluating the Olympic Printing site. Pentel stated that it would be helpful to have specific direction from City Manager Bill Joynes since it ~ is very unclear as to how the Commission is to proceed. Knoblauch stated that the ,., initial study of specific redevelopment sites will be a scaled down prototype of the larger study. Grimes stated that as time goes on we will know more about the situation with Allianz and this information could have significant impact on the potential use for the printing company property. He suggested that the types of land use options available for the property may improve. Knoblauch stated that she would prepare an outline of the project. Pentel stated that it would be helpful to have specific information on properties as soon as possible. Grimes stated that staff would provide the existing Golden Hills Redevelopment District plans. Grimes stated that the next step would be development of a project outline by Knoblauch and then to review the results of the environmental assessment when they are complete in early October. McAleese stated that it would be helpful to dedicate an entire meeting to review of the history in this area. Grimes stated that staff can provide information regarding the zoning along 394 in the past. Pentel stated that it would be helpful for the Commission _ to tour the area. Grimes stated that Knoblauch will develop an outline for the Olympic printing property study process and a kick "off meeting will be scheduled, beginning with a tour of the 394 corridor area at 5:30 or 6:00 p.m. and followed by a meeting to review the history. Staff will also obtain input from Bill Joynes regarding the direction for the project. A tentative date of Monday, October 4th, 5:30 p.m. at City Hall was set for the kick-off meeting. Staff will send a memo to confirm the date and time. Work Session - Draft Report on Water Supply Element of the Comprehensive Plan Clancy briefly reviewed the water supply plan. She stated that in the early 1960s the City of Golden Valley entered into a contractwith the City of Minneapolis to obtain the City's water supply from Minneapolis. She stated that New Hope and Crystal have contracts with the City of Golden Valley to also obtain their water from the City of Minneapolis. She indicated that the three cities, Golden Valley, New Hope and Crystal, Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission September 13, 1999 Page.5 e then formed the Joint Water Commission for the purpose of purchasing water from the City of Minneapolis on a wholesale basis. She stated that the Joint Water Commission draws water from the City of Minneapolis at 10:30 p.m. each evening, during off peak hours. The water supply is contained in two reservoirs, one in the City of Golden Valley and the other in the City of Crystal. She stated that the current capacity will allow for one reservoir to be shut down. if needed for maintenance purposes. She stated that a generator will be installed at the Golden Valley reservoir in case power was ever lost to both reservoirs. Clancy indicated that the Golden Valley reservoir holds 9 million gallons, the Crystal reservoir holds 19 million gallons. She stated that the Joint Water Commission consumes 7 million gallons of water per day. Of this amount, Golden Valley uses approximately 38%, New Hope 32% and Crystal 29%. Clancy stated that Minneapolis will be undertaking some significant improvements to the Fridley and Columbia Heights facilities including installation of high filtration membranes to ensure the water supply remains free of contaminants. Clancy stated that one of the positive aspects of the arrangement with Minneapolis is that it provides a good product to the City of Golden Valley at a reasonable rate. In regard to emergency issues, Clancy stated that if the City were unable to obtain water from the City of Minneapolis for some reason, the Joint Water Commission has a four day water supply. She stated that in an emergency situation, residential users have first priority, commercial and industrial users are second priority. She indicated that the City is also investigating possible connections with ground wells located on General Mills property and/or connections with St. Louis Park for emergency water resources. Clancy stated that these options are costly and none of them have been approved by the City of Minneapolis. e Clancy stated that the City currently does not have any water conservation efforts. She stated that the contract with the City of Minneapolis prohibits water conservation efforts by Golden Valley. She added that the contract with the City of Minneapolis has expired and negotiations on a new contract will probably begin before the end of the year. Pentel asked about the amount of unaccounted water usage. Clancy responded that this is made up of a variety of unmetered uses, including flushing fire hydrants, City construction projects, sewer replacement and sewer cleaning. She added that 8.8% is within the reasonable range and that many cities have unaccounted usage in the 12- 13% range. Eck asked why the unaccounted usage would have doubled in 1998. Clancy responded that there was an increase in City construction projects. She stated that portable meters which can be Lised on fire hydrants are prohibitively expensive. Eck asked about the emergency water supply for the City of Minneapolis. He also asked if the high filtration system would filter out all contaminants. Clancy stated that she would check with the City of Minneapolis on these questions. Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission September 13, 1999 Page 6 Shaffer asked if the installation of the generator was in response to Y2K issues. Clancy stated that the consideration of emergency planning was prompted by Y2K, but she stated that installation of the generator was in response to concerns about the number of severe storms in recent years and the possibility of losing power to both generators at the same time. Grimes asked why the legislature thought it was important to include water supply as a chapter of the Comprehensive Plan. Clancy stated that she did not know of any reason other than possibly water conservation issues. She stated that the approval process for the plan has been more difficult and complex because of the Joint Water Commission. She added that this plan was different from other portions of the Comprehensive Plan, in that the City was required to obtain all comments before presenting the plan to the Planning Commission. Shaffer asked if the map indicates new water mains that are being added in the street reconstruction projects. Clancy stated that the map identifies only the size of water mains. e Eck asked about City Council discussion on re establishment of the Environmental Committee. Knoblauch stated that this committee existed for 7 years during the 1970s. Grimes stated that some of the duties of the former Environmental Committee are currently the responsibility of the Planning Commission. He stated that the City Council is interested in re-establishing the Environmental Committee as an advisory committee. v. Adiournment The meeting was adjourned at 8:30 p.m. - -)~~G Richa Greger, sec~