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2023-07-05 Regular Meeting July 5, 2023 — 6:30 PM Council Chambers Hybrid Meeting CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MINUTES City Council meetings are being conducted in a hybrid format with in -person and remote options for attending, participating, and commenting. The public can make statements in this meeting during public comment sections, including the public forum beginning at 6:20 pm. 1. Call to Order Mayor Harris called the meeting to order at 8:00 pm. 1A. Pledge of Allegiance and Land Acknowledgement Mayor Harris led the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance and read the City’s Land Acknowledgement statement. 1B. Roll Call Present: Mayor Shep Harris, Council Members Sophia Ginis, Maurice Harris, Denise La Mere- Anderson, and Gillian Rosenquist Staff present: City Manager Cruikshank, City Attorney Cisneros, Community Development Director Flores, Housing and Economic Development Manager Shoquist, Planning Manager Zimmerman, City Planner Campbell, Recreation Supervisor Stutzman, and City Clerk Schyma 1C. Proclamation Recognizing July as Parks and Recreation Month Recreation Supervisor Stutzman discussed the staff report and proclamation. The Council thanked the City’s Parks and Recreation staff for their hard work and dedication for the residents of Golden Valley. Motion by M. Harris, Second by Ginis to adopt a Proclamation Recognizing July as Parks and Recreation Month. Motion carried 5-0. 2. Additions and Corrections to Agenda Motion by Rosenquist, Second by La Mere-Anderson to approve the agenda as submitted. Motion carried 5-0. DocuSign Envelope ID: 8E17152A-78F4-4751-8BED-0049FF4D79F6 3. Consent Agenda Approval of Consent Agenda - All items listed under this heading are considered to be routine by the City Council and will be enacted by one motion. There will be no discussion of these items unless a Council Member so requests in which event the item will be removed from the general order of business and considered in its normal sequence on the agenda. Motion by Rosenquist, Second by M. Harris to approve the Consent Agenda as revised: removal of Items #3C.1. Receive the Open Space and Recreation Commission (OSRC) 2022 Annual Report and Approve the 2023 Work Plan. Motion carried 5-0. 3A. Approval of City Council Minutes: 3A.1. Minutes of the Regular City Council Meeting of June 20, 2023 3B. Approval of City Check Registers 3C. Boards, Commissions, and Task Forces: 3C.1. Receive the Open Space and Recreation Commission (OSRC) 2022 Annual Report and Approve the 2023 Work Plan 3D. Bids, Quotes, and Contracts: 3D.1. Approve Agreement with Bituminous Roadways, Inc. for the 2023 Scheid Park Tennis and Hybrid Pickleball Court Reconstruction Project 3D.2. Approve Agreement for Yosemite Park Play Structure Replacement and Shade Structure Addition with Minnesota-Wisconsin Playground Inc. 3D.3. Authorize Agreement for DeCola Ponds SEA School-Wildwood Park Restoration Project #23- 14 with Landbridge Ecological 3D.4. Authorize Agreement for Referendum Communications & Consulting Services with Rapp Strategies, Inc. 3E. Adopt Resolutions 23-058, 23-059, and 23-060 Approving Transfer of Home Ownership Program for Equity (HOPE) Properties to the Housing and Redevelopment Authority 3F. Adopt Resolution No. 23-061 - Reimbursement Agreement for the Remote Fire Station 3G. Adopt Resolution No. 23-062 Approving Amendment to Compensation and Classification Tables 3. Items Removed From the Consent Agenda: 3D.1. Receive the Open Space and Recreation Commission (OSRC) 2022 Annual Report and Approve the 2023 Work Plan Mayor Harris discussed the Council’s goal of implementing a Naming Policy in the City. He wants to see this finalized by the end of the year since it has been on the goals list for seve ral years. City Manager Cruikshank responded that City staff will have a proposed draft policy for the Council to review at the September work session. Council Member Ginis agreed with Mayor Harris that staff should be actively working on a draft of the Naming Policy while also focusing on gathering community input on the topic. DocuSign Envelope ID: 8E17152A-78F4-4751-8BED-0049FF4D79F6 Motion by M. Harris, Second by Rosenquist to receive the Open Space and Recreation Commission 2022 annual report and approve the 2023 work plan. Motion carried 5-0. 4. Public Hearing 4A. Adopt Ordinance No. 765 Approving Zoning Map Amendment for 208 Meander Road Planner Campbell discussed the staff report including setbacks, buildability/variances, and discussion at the Planning Commission. Mayor Harris opened the public hearing. Mark Westby, 204 Meander Road, stated he lives directly adjacent to the property and does not support this project. He was hoping to purchase the remnant parcel of land to have a garden or for the city to add a park or simply maintain green space. Michael Hess, 240 Meander Road, stated he lives in the area and supports the HOPE program in concept but does not believe this site is buildable. He believes this house would have an impact on the neighborhood and would prefer to see it as a park. Tim Fitzpatrick, resident on Paisley Lane, stated his environmental concerns with rezoning this property for residential use because of the noise pollution and fumes from train traffic. Ruth Paradise, 8515 Duluth Street, stated her support for the project and noted that the home would be smaller than some of the neighborhood but the variances seem reasonable and this could be a great lot for a HOPE property. Linda Geiser, 5924 Glenwood Avenue, stated she moved to the neighborhood for the green space and this is the last lot in the area with remaining green space. She supports affordable housing but does not believe this site is buildable. Mayor Harris closed the public hearing. Council Member Ginis stated that one property in the neighborhood that is smaller than the rest will not impact property values. She asked staff to clarify the process of deciding what will be done with remnant parcels the City owns. Council Member Rosenquist stated that her main concern is that the overall goal is to build affordable housing which keeps the character of the neighborhood so that the transition for that house is seamless. She questioned the buildability of the site and stated that she had driveway concerns especially during the winter months. She feels the parcel is lacking backyard space as well. Mayor Harris discussed Paisley Park and the ‘playground desert’ in this area. Mayor Harris asked for a motion on this item. Hearing no motion, he stated that the item will fail unless a council member begins a discussion and moves the item forward. DocuSign Envelope ID: 8E17152A-78F4-4751-8BED-0049FF4D79F6 Council Member Rosenquist stated this is a big issue and Council were still considering the questions that were raised during the public hearing and from the staff presentation. She added that calling for the motion went very quickly and she was still gathering her thoughts on the item. Mayor Harris stated he would call for a short recess if the Council decides they need a few minutes to ponder the item quietly before bringing the item and motion back for consideration. No recess was called for since Council began further discussion on the item. Council Member Ginis stated her reasons for pausing on this item and needing time to process her thoughts about the project. As the newest member of the Council she is still getting up to speed on the process and project. She does not want to send any signals to housing-partners that Golden Valley is not open to affordable housing but she does question the buildability of a couple of the sites up for consideration tonight. She believes she is in support of advancing the project but does think further outreach is needed to the neighbor who was maintaining the remnant parcel and is disappointed in not being able to purchase that lot. Council Member Rosenquist stated she has been supportive of this in the past and visited the site today. She added that additional maps were shown tonight that Council had not seen before so she needed a brief pause tonight before offering a motion. Council Member Harris stated he lives next to train tracks and a busy street which can be noisy so that is not necessarily his main concern. He is questioning whether or not the lot is buildable especially considering how much the City needs housing, especially affordable housing. He added that his goal is not to hold up the process but questioned whether the Planning Commission should see this again since they recommended denial since they had not seen any proposed site plans prior to voting on the item. Council Member La Mere-Anderson stated she has sat through this conversation many times as the Planning Commission liaison and the questions at those meetings are the same ones being raised tonight. She is struggling with the whether or not the site is buildable and if it w ould fit into the character of the neighborhood. She wants to see affordable housing in the City but is unsure if 208 Meander Road is the right place for it. City Planner Campbell stated that GMHC provided the site plan to staff after the Planning Commission meeting because the commissioners could not see how the site was buildable. The Planning Commission has not seen the drawing. He stated that GMHC relayed that one of their models would fit the plans and they did not believe there were other issues on the site that would impact buildability. Mayor Harris asked about the possibility of sending this item back to the Planning Commission to look at the plans and possibly having the builder-partners attend the meeting to answer questions. Housing and Economic Development Manager Shoquist discussed what may happen if the Council decides to send this item back to the Planning Commission causing a delay including the impact to funding, grant requests, and hardship to builder-partners. DocuSign Envelope ID: 8E17152A-78F4-4751-8BED-0049FF4D79F6 Planning Manager Zimmerman stated the Planning Commission could reconsider this item at their July 24 meeting to meet notice requirements. City Manager Cruikshank asked the Council what they hoped to gain by sending the item back to the Planning Commission. Planning Manager Zimmerman stated that in the future when there are unique lots that could raise questions about buildability, staff would ask the builder-partners to provide building site options before it comes to the Planning Commission. He stated that normally a builder -partner does not want to invest a lot of time and money into planning for a site that has not been approved. However, this may be a situation where the builder-partners would be amenable to providing site plans. Motion by Rosenquist, Second by Ginis to Adopt Ordinance No. 765 Approving Zoning Map Amendment for 208 Meander Road. Mayor Harris asked if Council was ready to vote on the item or if they needed more time. The Council consensus was that they were prepared to vote on the item. Motion carried 5-0 with unanimous approval. (In Favor: S. Harris, Ginis, M. Harris, La Mere- Anderson, Rosenquist. Opposed: N/A) 4B. Public Hearing for HOPE Property at 4707 Circle Down - Ordinance No. 766 and Resolution No. 23-063 - Zoning, Land Use, and Preliminary Plan for Subdivision Planner Campbell discussed the staff report. Mayor Harris opened the public hearing. Melissa Caulfield, 4720 Circle Down, disputed staff claims about providing notification to the neighborhood. She stated she believes in affordable housing but not at the expense of current residents. She added that noise pollution is negatively impacting current residents and adding another home instead of green space will make the problem worse. She wants the Council to consider making the lot a permanent green space. Mayor Harris closed the public hearing. Council Member Rosenquist asked about future noise studies for these sites. City Planner Campbell discussed the budget and future allocation for incidental costs li ke noise studies for future HOPE projects. Council Member Ginis stated her concerns for this site are the proximity to the freeway wall, exit ramp, and the issues that accompany locations like this site. She further talked about the importance of this site to the neighborhood who have been using this site as green space. DocuSign Envelope ID: 8E17152A-78F4-4751-8BED-0049FF4D79F6 Council Member Harris stated his main concern is the proximity to the exit ramp and if future highway projects could impact his property. City Attorney Cisneros discussed the eminent domain process if MnDOT changed their plans in the future and decided they needed the site. City Planner Campbell discussed the Public Land Disposition Policy and the process for looking at the inventory of City-owned properties. Mayor Harris stated that the first vote for the future land use map amendment requires approvals from two-thirds of present council members to pass. Motion by Rosenquist, Second by La Mere-Anderson to adopt Resolution No. 23-063 Approving Future Land Use Map Amendment, changing the land use for 4707 Circle Down to Low Density Residential, and to authorize staff to forward the request to the Metropolitan Council for review. Motion carried 4-1. (In Favor: S. Harris, M. Harris, La Mere-Anderson, Rosenquist. Opposed: Ginis) Motion by Rosenquist, Second by La Mere-Anderson to adopt Ordinance No. 766 Approving Zoning Map Amendment changing the zoning for 4707 Circle Down to Single-Family Residential (R- 1). Motion carried 4-1. (In Favor: S. Harris, M. Harris, La Mere-Anderson, Rosenquist. Opposed: Ginis) Motion by Rosenquist, Second by La Mere-Anderson to approve the proposed Preliminary Plan for Subdivision for 4707 Circle Down, subject to the following conditions: 1. The applicant shall modify the final plat to accommodate corrections from City Engineering staff. 2. The City Attorney will determine if a title review is necessary prior to approval of the final plat. Motion carried 4-1. (In Favor: S. Harris, M. Harris, La Mere-Anderson, Rosenquist. Opposed: Ginis) 4C. Public Hearing for Preliminary Plat for Minor Subdivision and Subdivision Variance - 5317 Glenwood Ave City Planner Campbell discussed the staff report and noted the applicants are in attendance for any questions the Council may have. Mayor Harris opened the public hearing. As there were no comments, the public hearing was closed. Motion by La Mere-Anderson, Second by M. Harris to approve the subdivision variance for a reduction of 6.56 feet off the required 160 feet of lot width to divide the property. Motion carried 5-0. DocuSign Envelope ID: 8E17152A-78F4-4751-8BED-0049FF4D79F6 Motion by La Mere-Anderson, Second by M. Harris to approve the proposed Preliminary Plan for Subdivision for 5317 Glenwood. Motion carried 5-0. 4D. Adopt Ordinance No. 767 Approving Conditional Use Permit No. 175 to Allow for a Drive-thru Facility at 8240 Golden Valley Drive Planner Manager Zimmerman discussed the staff report. Mayor Harris opened the public hearing. As there were no comments, the public hearing was closed. Motion by Ginis, Second by M. Harris to adopt Ordinance No. 767 approving Conditional Use Permit Number 175 allowing for a drive-thru facility at 8240 Golden Valley Drive. Motion carried 5-0 with unanimous approval. (In Favor: S. Harris, Ginis, M. Harris, La Mere- Anderson, Rosenquist. Opposed: N/A) 5. Old Business 6. New Business 6A. Review of Council Calendar Mayor Harris reviewed upcoming city meetings, events, and holiday closures. 6B. Mayor and Council Communications 1. Other Committee/Meeting updates 7. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned by unanimous consent at 11:12 pm. ________________________________ ATTEST: Shepard M. Harris, Mayor ________________________________ Theresa J. Schyma, City Clerk DocuSign Envelope ID: 8E17152A-78F4-4751-8BED-0049FF4D79F6