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03-27-06 Joint PC-EC Minutes e Joint Meeting of the Golden Valley Planning Commission and Golden Valley Environmental Commission March 27, 2006 A joint meeting of the Planning Commission and Environmental Commission was held at the Golden Valley City Hall, Council Conference Room, 7800 Golden Valley Road, Golden Valley, Minnesota, on Monday, March 27, 2006. Environmental Chair Baker called the meeting to order at 6 pm. Those present were Mayor Loomis, Council Member Scanlon, Planning Commissioners Cera, Eck, Keysser, Schmidgall and Waldhauser and Environmental Commissioners Baker, Hill, Kaisershot, Pawluk, St. Clair and Sipala. Also present was Director of Planning and Development, Mark Grimes, City Engineer, Jeff Oliver, Environmental Coordinator, AI Lundstrom, Planning Intern, Aaron Hanauer and Administrative Assistant, Lisa Wittman. I. Presentation and Discussion of Lighting Regulations. e Hanauer discussed the previous joint meetings between the Commissions and explained that the goal of this meeting is to hear from the Commissioners what they would like to see in an outdoor lighting ordinance. He showed the Commissioners a PowerPoint presentation and discussed the purpose of a lighting ordinance. He discussed various types of lamps, fixtures and lenses and showed examples of overillumination, glare, light trespass and up lighting. Hanauer discussed various parking lots and driveways, including auto dealerships, and showed examples of darkly lit parking and overly bright parking lots. Baker asked if both of the auto dealerships could be seen from the highways. Loomis said yes. Waldhauser added that a lot of people look at cars at night when sales people aren't around. Baker asked if there was much difference in the pole heights in the examples shown. Hanauer stated there was some difference in the pole heights and that is another area where he would like feedback from the Commissioners. Hanauer showed examples of accent lighting and up lighting and stated that some cities put restrictions on such lighting such as only allowing it for flags. Keysser asked Hanauer if he had any examples of residential lighting. Hanauer stated that is an issue he also wants the Commissioners to discuss. Baker asked about the nature of the complaints the City has received over time. Grimes stated that he doesn't hear a lot of complaints about lighting but he does hear from residents if there is a lighting situation that is really over the top such as a couple of the car dealerships and the MRI clinic. Loomis added that she has received complaints about lighted ball fields as well. e Schmidgall said he would support a very restrictive ordinance especially as businesses change or new buildings are built. He said the energy savings would be great and that there is way more lighting than is needed. e e e Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission March 27, 2006 Page 2 Pawluk stated that he doesn't want to impinge on ball fields because there is a very limited amount of time to play on these fields and it is next to impossible to get games in before it gets dark. He said he is concerned that there will be a whole new set of problems if lights can't be on at ball fields. Grimes suggested that language could be put in the ordinance that would allow games to finish. They just could not start after 10 pm. Sipalareferred to residential lighting and stated that he doesn't think most people would talk to the City about motion lights but maybe a reminder or some "good neighbor" education would help. Kaisershot referred to page 11 in Hanauer's materials and questioned the lighting ordinance causing more energy to be used. Hanauer explained that if the City were to require people to use full cut-off fixtures they would need to use more of them. He stated that is something to be aware of. Waldhauser stated that promoting energy efficiency is one of the City's goals and there is an environmental impact that goes beyond dollars and cents and communicating that would be helpful to people. St. Clair suggested talking to insurance companies about any suggestions they may have about lighting levels in parking lots. Hanauer referred to the City of Plymouth's lighting ordinance and stated that they've divided their city into three zones, one for parks, one for residential and one for industrial and commercial. Waldhauser referred to street lights in residential areas and stated that they are not very aesthetically pleasing and she would like to see them at a more human scale. Baker asked about the life of street lights. Oliver explained that a lot of street lights are replaced when streets are reconstructed. He stated that residential street lighting is done by petition so people have the option to have standard light fixtures or decorative ones for a higher cost. Hanauer stated that he understands the Commissioners concerns to be uplighting, energy consumption and education for residents. He gave the Commissioners a survey and asked them to rank their top concerns. He explained that the next step would be to hire a consultant to write a draft ordinance and bring it back to this same group. The meeting was adjourned at 7 pm.