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02-13-17 PC Minutes Regular Meeting of the Golden Valley Planning Commission February 13, 2017 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, February 13, 2017. Chair Segelbaum called the meeting to order at 7:03 pm. Those present were Planning Commissioners Baker, Blenker, Johnson, Segelbaum, and Waldhauser. Also present were Planning Manager Jason Zimmerman, Associate Planner/Grant Writer Emily Goellner, and Administrative Assistant Lisa Wittman. Commissioners Blum and Kluchka were absent. 1. Approval of Minutes January 23, 2017, Regular Planning Commission Meeting MOVED by Waldhauser, seconded by Johnson and motion carried unanimously to approve the January 23, 2017, minutes as submitted. 2. Comp Plan Discussion — Demographics Zimmerman referred to the Community Data Report included in the agenda packet and explained that it will be used in the Community Profile Chapter of the 2040 Comprehensive Plan Update. He noted that it will also be used to support the themes that have emerged after the Open House, online survey results, and through conversations with Commissions and the City Council. He showed the Commissioners two word clouds. One demonstrated the words people have used to describe Golden Valley today and the other demonstrated Golden Valley's future. He stated that "Suburban Evolution" has emerged as the overarching theme for the Comprehensive Plan update. Some of the other themes include: supporting the emergence of a dynamic town center, showcasing Golden Valley as a "green" community, emphasizing all aspects of a multi-modal transportation system, striving to be more inclusive, and making important investments in infrastructure. Zimmerman stated that the data in the report is showing that the population is growing, aging, and becoming more diverse; the number of households is increasing, but they are smaller in size; there are more multi-family buildings and more renters; the household cost burden has increased, especially for renters; employment continues to grow; and a large majority of workers drive to work alone. Goellner discussed some national trends including: an aging population, a widening gap in incomes, housing costs rising faster than incomes, higher educational attainment, the demand for housing in central cities and inner-ring suburbs, the demand for multiple transportation options, more unpredictable and severe weather events, changes in technology, and the rise of shared economy. Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission February 13, 2017 Page 2 Zimmerman referred to a chart showing population and stated that Golden Valley's population reached a low point in 2000 and has since rebounded. He stated that the City is already surpassing the Met Council 2015 estimates for where they thought Golden Valley would be in 2020 and that the demographic trends in the Twin Cities metro area anticipate a 27% population growth in the next three decades, from 2.85 million in 2010 to 3.63 million in 2040. Waldhauser asked about pending apartment projects coming on-line. Baker noted that there is a 5% increase between 2010 and 2015 and yet the size of the households has dropped so there has to be more units somewhere. Zimmerman stated that there is a rise in the number of apartment units coming and that the household size is starting to trend upward. He explained that the 2015 numbers are a Met Council estimate compared to 2010 census data so the actual numbers might have been different from the estimated numbers. Johnson asked when the Met Council estimates are created. Zimmerman stated that the 2015 estimates are their current estimates that were released in 2016. Johnson asked how the City gauges the accuracy of the Met Council estimates. Zimmerman stated the Met Council has forecasters that have the data and systems to provide these estimates. Johnson said it would be helpful to know how the Met Council comes up with their estimates. Baker agreed and stated that a lot of decisions are based on these Met Council estimates. Zimmerman referred to a graph showing population by age and stated that Golden Valley still has an older population but it is starting to see a spurt of people in their early thirties so over the next several years the City will have to figure out where the aging population will live. Baker asked about the rationale for wanting older people to stay in Golden Valley. Zimmerman stated that he has heard from many people that they want to stay in Golden Valley with their social circle and families, but they don't necessarily want to maintain a house and yard. Zimmerman discussed a graph regarding population by race and ethnicity and noted that there has been an increase in diversity in Golden Valley. He stated that in 1990, 94% of Golden Valley residents were white and over the last 30 years that has steadily dropped to approximately 82% of residents who are white. Johnson asked if the Met Council has targets on where cities are supposed to be in terms of diversity. Zimmerman stated that the Met Council doesn't have targets, but they have numbers on how they think the metro area will change. As a region, the share of persons of color is expected to rise from 9% in 1990 to 41% by 2040. Baker asked if Golden Valley is tracking with the Met Council estimates. Zimmerman stated that Golden Valley was at 6% people of color in 1990 compared to 9% metro wide so Golden Valley isn't moving as quickly as some other areas, but is following that same trend line. Goellner referred to a graph regarding educational attainment and stated that more people who live in Golden Valley are gaining bachelor or graduate/professional degrees and that there have been less people over time who are not gaining their high school diploma. She stated that the level of educational attainment is higher in Golden Valley when compared to attainment in the seven county metro area which indicates higher incomes as well. Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission February 13, 2017 Page 3 Zimmerman referred to a graph regarding poverty levels and noted that the percentage of Golden Valley's population living below the poverty level has been increasing, roughly doubling from 4.3% in 1990 to 8.2% in 2015. Baker asked how that compares to the metropolitan area. Goellner said Golden Valley's numbers are lower than other communities in the metro area. Waldhauser asked if there is a breakdown of age and/or ethnicity for the numbers on the poverty level graph. Goellner said she doesn't have data for Golden Valley specifically, but that she would look for more information. Zimmerman discussed the number of households and household types in Golden Valley. He noted that there hasn't been much change in this data since the 1990 census, but that the number of households has been rising and is forecast to continue to rise which is consistent with the recent approval of large multi-family buildings. The data regarding household types shows that a smaller percentage of households have children, and a greater percentage of residents live alone which is consistent with an aging population. Zimmerman next discussed the housing types in Golden Valley and said there has not been a lot of change since 1990. He stated that although single family homes dominate the housing landscape, almost all types of housing have been increasing, most notably the multi-family housing stock. Blenker asked if the housing types graph refers to the number of units. Zimmerman said yes. Blenker noted that approximately two-thirds of the units are single family homes and the other one-third are townhomes or apartments. Baker said it would be interesting to learn about the long term implications of continued apartment growth. Zimmerman referred to a graph showing housing tenure and vacancy and noted that fewer residents are living in owner occupied housing; more are renters. Waldhauser asked if the City knows how many rental units are single family home versus multi-family buildings. Goellner stated that there are approximately 400 single family homes that have a rental license and that rentals are predominantly in multi-family buildings. Zimmerman discussed median home values, median household income, and the percentage of households with cost burden and noted that the median home value in Golden Valley dipped in the early 2010s, but appear to have stabilized. The median household income also dipped after 2010 while median rents increased. Waldhauser asked what is included in the percentage of household costs. Goellner stated the costs include utilities and rent, not maintenance. Waldhauser said she thinks the graphs understate the cost of owning a house. Zimmerman referred to a graph illustrating employment in Golden Valley and said employment in Golden Valley has been steadily rising throughout the 1990s and 2000s. He added that in the Twin Cities metro area, employment figures are forecast to increase 30% from 1.55 million in 2010 to 2.02 million by 2040. Blenker asked about the top employers in Golden Valley. Goellner said the top employers include: General Mills, Allianz, Courage Kenny, Honeywell, Tennant, and Mortenson. Zimmerman added that Golden Valley will see an increase in employment. Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission February 13, 2017 Page 4 Goellner discussed two graphs that showed means of transportation to work and travel time to work and stated that most Golden Valley residents drive alone to work which has not changed much in the past 25 years. She noted that this is typical for communities with robust roadway networks, but has the likelihood of decreasing between today and 2040. She stated that most residents drive to work and arrive within 30 minutes and that the majority of residents work in communities outside of Golden Valley. Waldhauser stated that it is interesting that the means of transportation to work doesn't change, but people have said multi-modal transportation is important to them. Goellner stated that multi- modal transportation can't be more convenient until more people use it because expansion of the system is based on existing ridership levels. She also stated that the data hasn't changed much over time because the highway access in Golden Valley hasn't changed. Johnson referred to the graph about employment and asked why the information is split between Met Council forecasts and DEED estimates. Zimmerman explained that DEED doesn't do forecasts and that the Met Council relies on DEEDs numbers for their forecasts. Johnson said there seems to be quite a difference in expertise for the Met Council to go from housing and population to employment. Zimmerman reiterated that this is the type of data that staff thinks is important to include in the first chapter of the Comprehensive Plan. He said he would like to hear from the Commissioners if there is more information they would like to see added in order to address some of the goals in the Comprehensive Plan. Segelbaum asked about the next steps in the Comprehensive Plan Update process. Zimmerman stated that there will be "Comp Plan Conversations" throughout the summer. These conversations/mini open houses will occur prior to the first Planning Commission meetings of the month at 6 pm with an additional meeting scheduled on August 7. Then staff will recap the "conversations" at the Council/Manager meeting each month. In late 2017, a final draft of the Plan will be reviewed by the Commissions and will be sent to the City Council for review and comment. In early 2018, there will be a comment period for the public and neighboring communities. The plan will then go to the Planning Commission and City Council in mid-2018 for approval and will be submitted to the Metropolitan Council. The Commissioners talked about the process and how they will review the Plan and provide feedback. Johnson asked for more data on climate change and storm data change. Goellner said she would send the Commissioners additional information. Waldhauser suggested reviewing information on the built environment as well as the natural environment. Zimmerman said he will also be working with the staff liaison to the Environmental Commission in regard to the Sustainability and Resilience Chapter. Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission February 13, 2017 Page 5 3. Reports on Meetings of the Housing and Redevelopment Authority, City Council, Board of Zoning Appeals and other Meetings No reports were given. 4. Other Business • Review Planning Commission Bylaws Zimmerman explained that the Planning Commission bylaws need to be amended because the City Council is going to appoint a youth member to each Board and Commission as a way to involve teens. Baker asked if the youth member would contribute to a quorum. Zimmerman said no, they would be a non-voting member. Blenker asked if any youth have expressed interest in being appointed to a board or commission. Segelbaum stated that there used to be a teen committee but there really wasn't enough for them to do on their own so he thinks this is a good way to include them. Johnson agreed. Waldhauser said she thinks a teen member would be better suited for the Planning Commission rather than the Board of Zoning Appeals. Segelbaum expressed concern about a teen member not wanting to participate in the entirety of ineetings. • Council Liaison Report No report was given. 5. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 8:26 pm. � � JJJ � r � ...,,.. � �� John Klu a, Secretary ' a Wittman, Administrative Assistant