2008-08-05 City Council minutesAugust 5, 2008
Page 1
CITY OF MENDOTA HEIGHTS
DAKOTA COUNTY
STATE OF MINNESOTA
Minutes of the Regular Meeting
Held Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the regular meeting of the City Council, City of Mendota
Heights, Minnesota was held at 7:00 o'clock p.m. at City Hall, 1101 Victoria Curve, Mendota
Heights, Minnesota.
CALL TO ORDER
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
AGENDA ADOPTION
Ayes: 5
Nays: 0
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Ayes: 4
Nays: 0
Abstention: 1
CONSENT CALENDAR
Mayor Huber called the meeting to order at 7:00
p.m. The following members were present:
Councihnembers Duggan, Krebsbach, Schneeman
and Vitelli.
Council, the audience and staff recited the Pledge of
Allegiance.
Councilmember Duggan moved adoption of the
agenda as presented. Councilmember Krebsbach
seconded the motion.
Councilmember Schneeman moved adoption of the
July 15, 2008 minutes as revised. Commissioner
Vitelli seconded the motion.
Councilmember Krebsbach moved approval of the
consent calendar as presented, pulling items d and e
for further discussion and authorization for
execution of any necessary documents contained
therein.
a. Acknowledgement of the Minutes from the July
22, 2008 Planning Commission Meeting.
b. Acknowledgement of the Fire Department June
2008 Monthly Report.
August 5, 2008
Page 2
c. Acknowledgement of the June 2008 Treasurers
Report.
d. Acknowledgement of the Rogers Lake Water
Quality and Weed Control Report.
e. Authorization for City Administrator to issue a
Purchase Order for funds for Tennis Court
Maintenance.
f. Authorization for City Administrator to issue a
Purchase Order for funds for Ball Field Fencing.
g. Authorization for City Administrator to issue a
Purchase Order for funds for Trail Repair,
Maintenance and New Construction in Friendly
Hills Park/Decorah Lane
h. Authorization for City Administrator to issue a
Purchase Order for funds for Street Striping and
Paint Markings.
i. Appointment to the Position of Maintenance
Worker I, Street Department.
j. Approval of Temporary Liquor License for
Holy Family Maronite Catholic Church.
k. Approval of Sign Permit for Tommy Chicago's
Pizzeria at 730 Main Street #100 and 101.
1 Approval of Sign Permit for 3 Kittens Needle
Arts 750 Main Street #102.
m. Adoption of Resolution No. 08 -46 "A
RESOLUTION APPOINTING 2008
PRIMARY ELECTION JUDGES."
n. Adoption of Resolution No. 08 -47 "A
RESOLUTION ACCEPTING WORK AND
APPROVAL FINAL PAYMENT FOR JOB
NUMBER 200812 — COPPOCK
RESIDENCE."
o. Approval of the List of Contractors, dated
07/31/08.
p. Approval of the List of Claims, dated 08/05/08,
totaling $592,592.00.
Councihmember Duggan seconded the motion.
Mayor Huber referred to Item d and asked Guy
Kullander to speak on the Rogers Lake Water
Quality and Weed Control.
August 5, 2008
Page 3
Mr. Kullander said Staff was able to get a harvester
in Rogers Lake before the fishing derby to harvest
the weeds in the area of the fishing pier and the one
lot where the kids do their casting contest.
Mr. Kullander said harvesting by this method is
more expensive than a chemical treatment which
can be done in early spring. The DNR
representative for this area said that he has some
funding and would be willing to work with the city
and help fund a chemical treatment of that dock
area for next year. Mr. Kullander said it is not
known what the exact price is but estimates it as
being $500, and most likely will be less than that.
Mr. Kullander said homeowners that contacted him
about having weeds along their property on Rogers
Lake, to which they were informed that the city
could not fund that type of operation where it
benefits only their property and permits are required
on a per property frontage. The city would be able
to coordinate with property owners to come
together and work with the DNR. The homeowners
would have to pay for any treatment in front of their
property.
Councihnember Krebsbach asked if the neighbors
produced the Rogers Lake Report. Mr. Kullander
said that was the one the city commissioned two
years ago and the neighborhood group paid for 50%
of the report, and the other 50% was paid by the
city.
Councilmember Duggan said residents on
Copperfield Pond have come together to work with
the DNR, and that a certain triangular portion of the
pond was designated to each resident.
Mr. Kullander said the DNR regulations only allow
a certain portion of the pond to be treated each year,
thus is the reason that there be coordination with
residents.
Councihnember Vitelli moved approval of the
Rogers Lake Water Quality and Weed Control
August 5, 2008
Page 4
Report as presented. Councilmember Krebsbach
seconded the motion.
Councilmember Duggan referred to Item e and
asked how the plastic tennis courts holding up. Mr.
Kullander said it is holding up very well and there
are no problems reported. Mr. Kullander said it has
been nice when it rains, as a few minutes after the
rain has stopped, people can get back on the courts.
Councilmember Duggan asked if there are any other
courts scheduled for consideration for this type of
remodel next year. Mr. Kullander said the Parks
and Recreation Commission has made a
recommendation in the budget for next year to
resurfacing one court but that court has not yet been
selected. Mr. Kullander said he would guess it
would be either Friendly Hills or Ivy Hills.
Councilmember Duggan moved to authorize the
City Administrator to issue a Purchase Order for
funds for Tennis Court Maintenance.
Councilmember Schneeman seconded the motion.
Mayor Huber said tonight was the National Night
Out and did not know if any of the Council
members had the opportunity to visit the
neighborhoods. Councilmember Vitelli said he
went to Mendakota. Councilmember Duggan said it
may be difficult as the Council meeting is in
progress and thanked everyone who has been
participating this. Mayor Huber said this event is
always the first Tuesday in August.
Mayor Huber said he appreciated many of the local
merchants putting up signs in their storefronts
regarding the fund that is being established for the
Stoven family, which lost their home from fire.
This fund is being set up with American Bank.
PRESENTATION
August 5, 2008
Page 5
Finance Director Kristin Schabacker introduced Mr.
Tom Hodnefield to present the 2007 Audit and
answer any questions.
Mr. Hodnefield said the audit of the financial
statements.for the city was completed and reports
issued in June, 2008. Mr. Hodnefield said three
reports were issued in conjunction with the audit.
The first report is the "Annual Financial Report",
which are the city's financial statements. The
financial statements are the property of the city.
This document also includes the management
discussion and analysis that is prepared internally
by city staff.
Another report is the "State Compliance Report,
which tests compliance with certain Minnesota
statutes. There is one finding in there that the
recording of a certain meeting and the city has taken
action with that regard to prevent a reoccurrence.
The third report is the "Audit Management Letter"
which brings together a few things including the
overall financial analysis of the government wide
statements. This includes benchmarking
infonnation as well as required communications and
other matters. Mr. Hodnefield said there are no
earth shattering findings.
Mr. Hodnefield said there seems to be a report
absent on internal control, which is good news. Mr.
Hodnefield said the auditors do not audit the city's
internal control, but they need to gain an
understanding and awareness of certain items which
need to be put in writing. Mr. Hodnefield said
receiving no findings in this report is the exception,
not the norm.
Mr. Hodnefield said this audit could be
characterized as it was shown that there have been
major changes in either accounting standards or
audit standards that have been piling up. There
were some significant new standards involving
internal control and risk assessment that required
some careful planning and extra attention from the
auditors and city staff. Mr. Hodnefield said it was
August 5, 2008
Page 6
felt that city staff was well prepared with that regard
and it is reflected in the no report of findings.
Mr. Hodnefield said he is pleased to report for the
first time in several years that for the City of
Mendota Heights, they are not aware of any major
accounting or audit standard changes for next year.
Councihnember Duggan said Mr. Schabacker has
done an outstanding job and thanked Ms.
Schabacker.
Mayor Huber said one of the outstanding changes
was the city taking on the Par 3 golf course.
City Administrator Jim Danielson said the city
reviewed 6 candidates for the position vacated by
Sue McDermott. Mr. Danielson introduced John
Mazzitello, who accepted the position of Public
Works Director.
Mr. Mazzitello introduced his wife, Lari Ann
Mazzitello, and said he is very excited to get
started.
Mr. Mazzitello said he is a St. Paul native and a
graduate of Cretin Derham Hall High School in
1988, and earning an Air Force ROTC scholarship,
attended Marquette University and received his BS
in Civil Engineering. Mr. Mazzitello spend 6 years
in active duty in the Air Force, being stationed in
Italy, England, Saudi Arabia, and Alaska.
Mr. Mazzitello said he worked for the State of
Alaska, Department of Environmental Conservation
and Department of Transportation.
Mr. Mazzitello said he is presently working for
RLK Incorporated as a project manager for 4.5
years in commercial land development.
Bid Award
Ayes: 5
Nays: 0
UNFINISHED AND NEW BUSINESS
CRITICAL AREA PERMIT
1831 Hunter Lane
August 5, 2008
Page 7
Mr. and Mrs. Mazzitello, along with their 3 year old
daughter, are looking to relocate to Mendota
Heights.
Mr. Danielson said the bids were opened for the
Callahan Place street improvement project. The
engineer's estimated was for $666,023 and the low
bid was $533,540 from Northdale Construction.
Staff recommends the contract be awarded to
Northdale Construction.
Councilmember Duggan moved to award the
contract to Northdale Construction in the amount
not to exceed $533,540 for. the Caliah.an. Place
Street Improvement Project.
Councilmember Krebsbach seconded the motion.
Assistant City Administrator Jake Sedlacek
introduced Planning Case No. 08 -20 for a critical
area permit and modified site plan review for the
property located at 1831 Hunter Lane. This parcel
is guided and zoned R -1, single family residential.
The owners of the property would like to make a
number of changes to their home including an
addition on the south side of the home and
removing portion of the existing driveway.
The Planning Commission held a public hearing to
which no one came forward to speak on this case.
The Planning Commission voted 7 -0 to approve the
critical area permit and modified site plan in
accordance with the Planner's recommendation.
Councilmember Krebsbach asked for clarification
on the positioning of the home and asked if all the
neighbors have been notified. Mr. Sedlacek said the
neighbors have been notified and signed off their
approval of this project.
Ayes: 5
Nays: 0
CRITICAL AREA PERMIT
1921 Glenhill Road
Ayes: 5
Nays: 0
August 5, 2008
Page 8
Councilmember Duggan moved to approve
Resolution No. 08-48: "A RESOLUTION
APPROVING A CRITICAL AREA PERMIT AT
1831 HUNTER LANE, WITH THE FINDING
THAT THE IMPROVEMENTS WILL REDUCE
THE IMPERVIOUS SURFACE BY 1,104 FT."
Councilmember Vitelli seconded the motion.
Assistant City Administrator Jake Sedlacek
introduced Plarming Case No. 08-21 for a critical
area permit and modified site plan review for the
property located at 1921 Glenhill Road. This parcel
is guided and zoned R-1, single family residential.
The owners of the property would like add a new
deck onto the northwest corner of the home to
accommodate a hot tub. This deck would be 16 ft.
by 18 ft. and would be all new impervious surface.
The Planning Commission held a public hearing to
which no one came forward to speak on this case.
The Planning Commission voted 7-0 to approve the
critical area permit and modified site plan in
accordance with the Planner's recommendation.
Councilmember Krebsbach said she is a neighbor
and received notification.
Councilmember Duggan asked why the applicant
was not being charged a fee. Mr. Sedlacek said the
applicant withdrew their original application to
redraw their plan, changing from a swimming pool
to the current plan, and therefore does not get
charged a second fee.
Councilmember Schneeman moved to approve
Resolution No. 08-49: "A RESOLUTION
APPROVING A CRITICAL AREA PERMIT AT
1921 GLENHILL ROAD."
Councilmember Vitelli seconded the motion.
CRITICAL AREA PERMIT
1040 Sibley Memorial Hwy.
Ayes: 5
Nays: 0
August 5, 2008
Page 9
Assistant City Administrator Jake Sedlacek
introduced Planning Case No. 08 -22 for a critical
area peuuiit and modified site plan review for the
property located at 1040 Sibley Memorial Highway.
This parcel is guided and zoned R -1, single family
residential. The applicant wishes to put a new
addition on to the southeast corner of the home.
This addition will actually enclose an existing patio,
which will also include re- roofing a portion of the
home.
The Planning Commission held a public hearing to
which no one came forward to speak on this case.
The Planning Commission voted 7 -0 to approve the
critical area permit and modified site plan in
accordance with the Planner's recommendation.
Mr. Sedlacek said this application will not present a
negative impact and the home is only slightly
visible.
Councilmember Krebsbach asked where the
driveway was located. Mr. Sedlacek explained how
that driveway is laid out, leading to a tuck under
garage.
Councilmember Krebsbach asked if the entrance to
the home was on the cul -de -sac. Mr. Sedlacek said
it was technically to the rear of the home.
Councilmember Duggan moved to approve
Resolution No. 08 -50: "A RESOLUTION
APPROVING A CRITICAL AREA PERMIT AT
1040 SIBLEY MEMORIALHIGHWAY ."
Councilmember Vitelli seconded the motion.
WETLANDS PERMIT Assistant City Administrator Jake Sedlacek
2465 Westview Terrace
Ayes: 5
Nays: 0
MENDOTA MALL ASSOC.
August 5, 2008
Page 10
introduced Planning Case No. 08-23 for a wetlands
permit for the property located at 2465 Westview
Terrace. The applicants are new to Mendota
Heights. Mr. Sedlacek said the previous owners
have maintained all the land up to the wetlands as a
manicured lawn. The applicant is proposing to
construct a fence in the back yard, not the entire
yard, but for a safe play area for their children.
Mr. Sedlacek said the applicant will keep the 55+
feet of wetlands between the fence and the wetland
in a natural, undisturbed state. Mr. Sedlacek said a
vinyl coated chain link fence will be installed, and
the post installation will be the only effect to the
property.
Mr. Sedlacek indicated the property owners that
have been notified.
The Planning Commission held a public hearing to
which no one came forward to speak on this case.
The Planning Commission voted 7-0 to approve the
wetlands in accordance with the Planner's
recommendation.
Councilmember Duggan moved to approve
Resolution No. 08-51: "A RESOLUTION
APPROVING A WETLANDS PERMIT AT 2465
WESTVIEW TERRACE."
Councilmember Vitelli seconded the motion.
Mayor Huber said this has been an application on
the table for a very long time, and wanted to make
sure all the current documents were available.
Mayor Huber said he believes everyone has a
reviewed suggested resolution should this be in the
negative. There is also a document provided by
Councilmember Duggan and is not sure this
document has been reviewed by the applicant.
Mr. Sedlacek introduced Planning Case No. 08-11,
which is Mendota Mall Associates, looking to do a
redevelopment of the Mendota Plaza Shopping
August 5, 2008
Page 11
Center. Councilmernber Duggan asked if this is the
same plan that was reviewed by the Planning
Commission. Mr. Sedlacek said that was correct
and reviewed the site plan. The applicant has also
provided a detailed packet of information.
At the May meeting, the Council asked the
applicant to come back with resolutions on the
points that were made by the Council. There are a
number of details that can be discussed, of them,
there are several major issues that need to be
focused on. The first of those is that this property is
guided as mixed -use PUD, which historically the
Council has seen as a typical retail development.
Back in the conceptual phases of this, about two
years ago, the applicant provided a concept plan
which showed the retail portion along Highway
110. Council then directed the applicant show more
of what the site will look like when fully developed.
Since that time, the applicant has provided a site
plan with some office, housing, child care; giving a
better focus on what this site will look like at the
full built out phase.
Mr. Sedlacek said this is to be a phased
development. The first phase includes the
renovation of the existing building, with the
addition of a Walgreens and retail area on the
northeast corner. The applicant has stated that in
order to make any phase of this work, they need the
wetlands permit and the conditional use permit for
grading in order to make the soils balance on the
site.
Mr. Sedlacek said the bigger question that the
Council needs to wrestle with is whether this
proposed development fit with the character of
Mendota Heights, and with what the Council and
Planning Commnission has envisioned.
There has been lengthy discussion on this at
different levels, including workshops, Council
meetings, Planning Commission meetings and Staff
meetings.
August 5, 2008
Page 12
Mr. Sedlacek said the wetlands are another
significant barrier that has been struggled with
between the city and the applicant. The city has
asked multiple times to save the creek/ditch/
wetland, which is a little over one acre. The
applicant is proposing to remove just under one acre
of the wetlands and have stated they can't feasibly
preserve the wetlands and maximize the
development of this site. That has been a point of
contention back and forth. Some recent infoiiiiation
has been received indicating that this requires a
Minnesota Wetland Conservation Act permit, which
is an application which is reviewed by the Arny
Corps of Engineers, state agencies, watershed and
Dakota County authorities. The notes of the (TAP)
Technical Evaluation Panel) has been submitted in
the Council packets. Mr. Sedlacek said it is also
important to note that the City Council is the local
government unit that makes the decision on this
WCA (Minnesota Wetlands Conservation Act)
permit. The reason this has been brought up is that
the tech looked at this as a pre - application before
the application was complete. At the request of the
applicant, they got together and reviewed the
proposed project and provided some feedback
before the application was complete.
Mr. Sedlacek said the application is complete and
Staff has received feedback from TEP and they are
not in favor of the application as proposed. As
such, as the Council considers all the applications
before them this evening, they need to understand
that any approvals that would be done would also
have to balance on that wetlands conservation act
permit which the Council must act on.
Mr. Sedlacek said because the TEP did not support
the application, the Council would have to have
findings against that TEP.
Mr. Sedlacek said this property is guided mixed -use
PUD with a number of different zoning
designations. The majority of the site is B -4, which
is business and is the most permissive use for
commercial /retail development. The eastern edge is
zoned R -1 -A, low density residential. The lower
August 5, 2008
Page 13
corner by the Dakota County CDA property is
zoned as high density residential.
Councilmember Krebsbach asked for a minute to
read a memo from Dakota County's Al Singer that
Mr. Danielson provided at the meeting. Mr.
Danielson said Mr. Singer said he is planning on
coming to this meeting to speak.
Councilmember Vitelli said with regards to the
Corp of Army Engineer's response and their
statement that a rebuttal would have to be provided
if the Council does not go along with their
recommendation, and asked who would have to
develop that and who would have to pay for that.
Mr. Sedlacek said that would be a Council action,
making a finding to support the application against
the recommendation from TEP, therefore the city
would be making that finding. Mayor Huber said
the City Attorney would have to investigate that.
Mr. Sedlacek said the fact that this went to the Corp
of Engineers did not follow protocol as the
application, once it was complete by the city, would
be sent out to the TEP who in turn will send to the
Corp of Engineers. Without it being a complete
application, Mr. Sedlacek said he does not know if
the city will have specific feedback to the Corp of
Engineers. They have provided feedback as part of
the TEP, and Staff now knows that they have
provided specific feedback to the applicant as well.
Mayor Huber said he presumes that should the
Council go that route, they would need to have
findings of fact as to why they went a different
direction. The Council would have to go through
the notes of the TEP to see why they carne up with
the conclusion that they did.
Councilmember Vitelli said he does not want the
city's taxpayers to be paying for this rebuttal.
Councilmember Duggan said a lot of information
has come forward since the Planning Commission
meeting, such as material regarding the wetlands
and the preservation of this as something that has
happened either after the fact, or has not been
August 5, 2008
Page 14
highlighted for the benefit of the Planning
Commission. Councilmember Duggan said he
watched the meeting and appreciated their debate.
Councilmember Duggan said as he watched the
webcast of the meeting, he was very concerned
about the Planning Cormnission's motion to
recommend approved with the deletion of Item #25
as the Planning Commission did not specifically say
what that condition was for the audience's sake.
COuncilmember Duggan said it was, he found out,
in relation to Dakota County's concerns.
Councilmember Duggan said he has two issues: 1)
the community should know clearly that he does not
believe anyone on the Planning Commission or
Staff or City Council is against developing Mendota
Plaza. Councilmember Duggan said he does not
believe anyone has actually said that. The City
Council is challenged with the plan that has been
presented, as it should be in relation to the character
of the City of Mendota Heights that the community
has come to enjoy these last years. The city's
forebearers caused this to happen. Residents see
this as a unique city, and would like this
development to also be unique in its character, and
not just another strip mall.
Councilmember Duggan said the challenge is that
the Council is looking at approving or denying the
proposal for 7 or 8 units containing retail,
restaurant, office and eventually housing. All the
Council stated when potentially agreeing to making
this land a mixed-use PUD that part of the mixed
use would be housing, and the Council has seen
little to nothing to tell them other than an outline on
the map of where housing might be.
Councilmember Duggan said that concerns him that
after all this time, there is nothing there showing
what the housing would be. Councilmember
Duggan said he has not seen any plans for the Phase
II office space either. There have been talk and
sketches about the physical parts of the restaurant
and retail buildings (Lots 3 and 4) and their
placement.
August 5, 2008
Page 15
Councihnember Duggan said Councihnember
Vitelli had asked for a binder be put together with
information, and asked Councihnember Vitelli if
this binder that was provided by the applicant
addressed the questions any differently or any better
than when it was presented to the Council 3 to 7
months ago. Councilmember Vitelli said there were
a few improvements, but there are several issues
still hanging and some items that have not been
addressed at all.
Councilmember Duggan said it troubles him when
he thinks of some of the developments that have
taken place in Mendota Heights, such as the
Summit Development. Councilmember Duggan
said that development did not just happen, and the
Council was not presented with a plan that was
accepted. The Curley Addition area, which holds
the bank and gas station, was not "here's the plan".
The Council and the Planning Commission worked
and massaged this plan at the time to come up with
what most people are comfortable with.
Councilmember Duggan said the same is true when
the Council worked with United Properties to
develop the industrial area.
Councilmember Duggan said he believes that as a
result of all the work that the Council and Planning
Commission has done with the developers, 99% of
residents are happy with the city that Mendota
Heights is today. The key factor is that Council and
Planning Commission continue to say they want
something better, different, more unique, and
something of quality that will stand the test of time
in 50 years from now.
Councihnember Vitelli said one of the most
important statements made in the City Planner's
report is that as Staff evaluated the Mendota Plaza
proposal, they recommended that a PUD should not
be approved until the city says there are no
outstanding issues. Councihnember Vitelli said
when he looks at the recommendation that is before
the Council on an approval, there are 22 conditions.
Councilmember Vitelli said the City Planner, if he
August 5, 2008
Page 16
were here, would advise the Council not to approve
this application until these conditions are taken care
of.
Councilmember Vitelli said the City Planner
continued to say that the rezoning, preliminary plat,
wetlands permit, conditional use permit may not be
considered in conjunction with the preliminary plan
which should be held until the PUD is ready for
approved. In addition, before a preliminary
development plan is approved, the city should have
site and building plans that reflect each of the city's
objectives. Councilmember Vitelli said he does not
think they are there yet and agrees with all the
comments made by Councihnember Duggan.
Councilmember Vitelli said the City Planner gave a
list that includes 5 key issues: 1) treatment and
preservation of the creek and outstanding issues
with Dakota County; 2) placement of the proposed
trails including outstanding issues with Dakota
County; 3) wetland mitigation and replacement
including outstanding issues with the Army Corp of
Engineers and Dakota County; 4) survey details,
traffic design issues and peiinits including
outstanding issues with MnDOT; 5) clustering of
buildings and creation of a unique integrated mixed
use development which has been the message that
Council has been repeating and repeating, and
basically it is still a strip mall.
Councilmember Vitelli said the Planner feels these
outstanding issues have not been addressed
adequately at this time, and along with Staff, has
recommended denial of the application that further
work be done to resolve these issues.
Councilmember Vitelli said he would never
consider supporting a resolution to approve this
with 22 conditions.
Councilmember Krebsbach said the Council needs
to look at the major pieces and does not know if
they can be resolved at this time. Councilmember
Krebsbach said she appreciates that the applicant
continues to have the setback along Highway 110,
August 5, 2008
Page 17
and realizes that should there be another
configuration that includes the creek in a different
wetland configuration, that might have to be a point
she would give so that the wetland can remain.
Councilmember Krebsbach said she does not see
that this plan that ultimately should not be
approved, and that the Council does not seem ready
to approve. Councilmember Krebsbach said the
bigger pieces are not in place and would hope that
the developer would grant an extension, continuing
to move forward to a level of resolution versus a flat
denial, and does not know how much longer this
should continue. Councilmember Krebsbach said
she asked for this the last time, and received now,
and appreciates that on both sides. Councilmember
Krebsbach said the positioning of the wetlands, the
trail system, and the traffic routing through the site
are key pieces and does not believe everyone has
come to a resolution on those.
Councilmember Krebsbach said one area she has
not brought forward at all is what kind of
landscaping is on the westerly side where
Walgreens is, and how far that actually is on the
roadway, and what the visibility is off Dodd Road.
The country club has not weighed in with any
concerns, but one can see the rooftops when golfing
off on the right of the course. Councilmember
Krebsbach said she believes Paster Enterprises has
made a significant step towards an acceptable plan,
and does not see that this ultimately needs to be
denied, however all the pieces are still not in place
at this time.
Councilmember Vitelli asked Councilmember
Krebsbach if she had any thoughts on signs.
Councilmember Krebsbach said she is not going
there because she believes that is down the road.
Mayor Huber asked Ms. Diehm for clarification,
where the Planning Commission did approve this
but with conditions on a 4-3 vote. There has been
some debate on this and the applicant has responded
to these conditions in the Planners Report. Mayor
Huber asked if this proposal were to be approved
August 5, 2008
Page 18
with conditions, would those conditions stand on
their own, and there is no presumption that they
have already been answered, or to the extent that
there is a condition that the applicant has provided a
response to, the determination as to whether or not
that condition has adequately been responded to is
for Staff to determine going forward, and not a
reliance on an answer that has been provided in the
past. If the condition is on there, the suggestion is
that the response hasn't been taken care of. Ms.
Diehm said that is an accurate characterization and
the recommendation that came from the Planning
Commission is just that, a recommendation. It is up
to the Council to determine what conditions should
be attached, and at that point, if it is approved with
conditions, Staff would have to go through each of
those conditions to make sure they have been
satisfied.
Councilmember Duggan said it is appropriate to
acknowledge and note that the Paster family has
made many contributions to the community of
Mendota Heights, particularly the use of the
property for all sorts of events such as the spring
clean up and the fall bonfire. Councilmember
Duggan said they have been a good citizen of this
community and it is important to recognize that. It
is also important to recognize that the Council is not
against the development of the Plaza, but is not
comfortable with the plan as presented, and the
Council is trying to massage and work around what
the Council thinks is a better plan, and the Planning
Commission has asked Staff and Paster Enterprises
to come up with something that has the quality of
The Village across the street. It does not have to be
The Village, and the Council has said that a long
time ago. The Council clearly said that they have a
big concern about the creek area, and that has
clearly been delineated to them by their own
engineers in 2005 when they talked about water in
the creek of 12 inches, 24 inches, and 3 inches —
that is a significant amount of water and yes, there
are dry years, but it is an amenity. Councilmember
Duggan said when the applicants were interviewed
for the Public Works Director position, they were
shown this site plan and asked for their feedback.
August 5, 2008
Page 19
Every one of them hit on the wetland/creek as an
amenity. They all said the creek needs to have
something done with it other than having it piped.
Councilmember Duggan said he felt that the piping
was a maybe disservice to several areas (Sunfish
Lake, through Copperfield Park, into Friendly Hills
Marsh, and through the Paster property).
Councilmember Duggan said he believes that over
the years, people may not have given this much
thought, but when it gets covered up, residents will
wonder why it was done. There is not a lot of green
open space any more in Mendota Heights.
Councilmember Duggan said he is very proud that
this Council made efforts and has preserved the
Pilot Knob site with the help of Dakota County, the
DNR and other people. Also, just this last month,
the conservation easement went onto 156 acres at
the Dodge Nature Center and the city will never see
housing on this land, except for perhaps an
interpretation center. Councilmember Duggan said
when looking at the Paster site, it is bookended by
Dodge Nature Center and Mendakota Country Club,
and does the Paster proposal compliment those two
sites, and does it make a contribution that says
"yes"? Councilmember Duggan said the answer is
no, that the Paster plan is taking advantage of the
contributions of both sides and does not believe the
plan compliments the comprehensive plan, which
asks the city to preserve the waterways.
Councilmember Duggan read the part of the
comprehensive plan that talks about the
preservation of wetlands, which also includes
drainage areas, and said this creek is definitely a
drainage area. Councilmember Duggan said Mr.
Singer from Dakota County feels this wetland has a
lot of potential and believes something can be built
using this amenity. Councilmember Duggan said
the city can ask for more green space than what is
required.
Mayor Huber asked the applicant to speak at this
time.
August 5, 2008
Page 20
li
Ken Henk, Paster Enterprises, said a lot of the
conditions are procedural and will be taken care of
throughout the course of the developrnent phase.
Mr. Henk said Mr. Grittulan wrote a very thorough
report, and it seems the Planner feels that a lot of
these issues were addressed, those having to do with
building finishes and similar items. Mr. Henk said
all the Phase I buildings have the same architectural
design incorporating a multitude of quality
materials, including brick that is identical to The
Village.
Mr. Henk said he will be present the plan in full as
most everyone knows what is being proposed, but
did a brief overview of the layout. Mr. Henk said
design guidelines have been included that will
ensure that all future phases snatch the same
building materials and design intent of the Phase I
buildings as the project continues to incorporate
residential housing and retail elements.
Mr. Henk said the development agreement will be
drafted to ensure the City of Mendota Heights
interests are maintained through out the phases of
this development.
Mr. Henk said this is a mixed use PUD combining
B -1 and B -2 commercial zoning along with R -2 and
R -3 residential zoning. The mix does not call for
certain percentages and the applicant is proposing
overall 100,000 sq. ft. of retail, 100,000 sq. ft. of
housing and 50,000 sq. ft of other office /daycare
uses. Mr. Henk said this would seem to be a fairly
good balance. This project is also financed entirely
from private funds and no public funds have been
requested for this developrnent.
Mr. Henk said they have listened to the comments
from Staff, the Planning Commission, and the
Council and have not ignored any of those
comments. Mr. Henk said these comments have
been taken to heart and will implement the ones
they can, and some they can modify. There are
other they felt just cannot be accommodated. Mr.
Henk said they are not proposing an urban village,
but a mixed use suburban development
August 5, 2008
Page 21
incorporating both new and the existing building.
This mixed use is designed to combine both
commercial and residential. Mr. Henk said they
have looked at ways to utilize the man made ditch
through this property looking at all the photos from
the wetlands study and it is the opinion of the
applicant that this is a low swale from when this
property was a par 3 golf course, and in the early
60's, this ditch was channelized and since then, a lot
of vegetation has grown up around it.
Mr. Henk said that pictures have shown over the
years that more and more trees have grown and now
they are going to add more trees. Mr. Henk said
this has been an ongoing changing property through
the past decades.
Mr. Henk said the channel cuts diagonally through
the property and the thought was that this segments
what the applicant would like to tie together. Mr.
Henk explained on the site plan how they would cut
back this channel and cover it up. Mr. Henk said
studies have shown that this would be a no impact
plan and would better connect the northeast section.
Part of the existing retention pond would be kept
and increased in size. Mr. Henk said he was
concerned about the 15 -ft walls that would have to
be put in, creating a moat type feature. Mr. Henk
said they have not looked very far into this and have
been waiting to get more information from the
Army Corp of Engineers.
Mr. Henk said Mr. Danielson received information
from Mr. Al Singer previously, stating that the
topography causes a lot of challenges to relocate the
ditch. Since that time, the Dodge Nature Center has
provided a letter stating they really don't want this
greenway through their property. McDonalds
pinches down to the northeast, and challenges
continue through this area.
Mr. Henk said they just received another memo
from Mr. Singer but cannot comment on it at this
time, needing more time to study it and judge it on
its merits. Mr. Henk said they have provided an
alternative plan showing a walkway through the
August 5, 2008
Page 22
property, and Mr. Henk said he sent a letter on July
20th to Mr. Danielson proposing adding about 750-ft
i ■ to 850-ft walkway along the pond and restaurants,
leading to a gazebo type gathering place. The plan
also shows a formalized landscaping plan with that.
Mr. Henk stated in his letter to Mr. Danielson that
although the wetlands are man made, the applicant
is forced to mitigate this at a 2.25 to 1 ratio — there
is 90,000 sq. ft. and the applicant needs to replace
40,000. On top of that, they are retaining 30,000 ft.
of a pond that is very accessible to the public with
added walkways.
Mr. Henk said it all seems to come down to the
urban village clustering of the buildings and the
amount of parking with it, the applicant has reduced
the parking to 5 spaces per 1,000 as opposed to the
ordinance requirement of 7 spaces per 1,000. This
has been a 20% reduction in parking. Parking has
also be segmented so there is not large sea of
parking. Mr. Henk said they are down to the swath
and the question is what do they want to do with it.
Councilmember Vitelli said this thing is so fluid as
the applicant put in walkway paths, which is a new
idea. Councilmember Vitelli said the applicant is
asking the Council to approve something and the
Planner said because this is a PUD, the design is
very key and the City should not approve this until
the design is well defined yet. Another key issue is
the Dakota County recommendations which the
applicant can't meet. Councilmember Vitelli said
rather than bring forth a few ideas on how the
applicant could come close to meeting the city's
desire to preserve some of that green area, and that
the applicant gave a whole litany of all the reasons
it can't be done, if this were a business deal, he
would tell the applicant to go home and tell him
how this can be done. Councilmember Vitelli said
he cannot approve this as it is, and that the last
several meeting minutes have shown how things are
changing and are not well defined. Councilmember
Vitelli said this bothers him and does not think the
city can approve this at this time.
August 5, 2008
Page 23
Mayor Huber asked Mr. Henk about the continuous
suggestion to pull the wetland through the site
creating a separation and asked for clarification on
the map to show Phase I structures that are
proposed. Mr. Henk showed an aerial photo
showing the Phase I and Phase II. Mayor Huber
said when looking at this, even without the
wetlands, the project is separated by several
hundreds of feet of asphalt, and the reality is that
there are two clusters. Mayor Huber said the
applicant is then saying that by preserving the
wetland, this will cause separation, but there is
already separation in the project. Mr. Henk said
they would like nothing better than to not spend
$80,000 on wetland mitigation, plus the cost of a 5-
ft diameter, 600 ft. pipe.
Mayor Huber said he appreciates the material book
that the applicant provided and asked Mr. Henk to
talk about the walkway proposal. Mr. Henk said
currently, there is an existing city trail along Dodd
Road which continues to the southeast corner. There
is a missing piece that is not connecting this trail to
another one. Mr. Henk said as part of the park
dedication fee for the undeveloped portion, there is
a cost involved (10% of the assessed value). If the
assessed value of this piece is $460,000, there is
$46,000 that could go toward this trail and would
connect the perimeter piece. Mr. Henk explained
how the trail would run through the project,
dropping down west of the residential and
connecting to South Plaza Drive. Mr. Henk said
there is an existing trail that stops at the McDonalds
and the applicant would connect and continue this
through. The sidewalks are to be 20 -ft wide with
15 -ft. light poles and landscaping.
Mayor Huber said he realizes the housing will be
coming in later down the road, and is not asking the
applicant to commit, but would like to know what
style of housing would be going in there. Mr. Henk
said a number of groups have been interviewed,
more senior housing than market rate, and it was
found that as the process gets into senior housing,
there is an independent component, with added
services in the assisted living and possibly a
August 5, 2008
Page 24
memory care unit which makes these more of a
campus type situation, and these takes many acres
which the applicant does not have in mind. Mr.
Huber said it may be a combination. Mr. Henk said
there is a question whether it is a good thing for
housing to have a mix of ages and believes the CDA
is wrestling with this now. They have done a great
job with their housing, but they have no services.
As the population ages, that is one of the things that
they may want to look for in this area.
Mayor Huber said it is his concern that the way the
applicant has the segmentation and the walkways,
and looking at the senior housing, it's not clear to
him how in this design the residents are feeling
welcomed and embraced as they seem separated
from what he believes could be services they would
want to stroll down to in the spring and fall, such as
a coffee shop. Mayor Huber said he does not see
how this design will help people who will have to
cross over through parking lots. Mayor Huber said
the city is not requesting the applicant to be another
"Village ", but at the same time there are aspects in
the Village where the people that do live there have
more accessibility to the shops and restaurants
around there. Mayor Huber said he is not seeing
that in this plan. It seems like it's a significant
shortcoming as to how these two things are spread
apart, and the flaw he keeps seeing is that everyone
wants to try to preserve the wetlands but there is a
separation that exists whether there is wetlands
there or not. Mr. Henk said he thinks the housing
layout corning from the input of different housing
people they have talked to orients it more toward
the CDA housing. Those individuals have a beaten
path through what is just open space to get to the
Plaza, and that is not right. Mayor Huber said with
this plan, it would seem they would have to weave
their way through parking lots, and he does not see
how that is good planning.
Mr. Henk said this is a great plan as it ties in with
the overall county plan for greenways. Mayor
Huber said the applicant's response to Item #3 is to
not take pedestrians through the site and through
this wetlands walkway, and the applicant is then
August 5, 2008
Page 25
suggesting that they would like to have the state,
county or city fund the building of a bridge or
tunnel. Mayor Huber said he does not believe that
will happen in his lifetime. Mayor Huber said there
is not enough money and although the residents will
need to cross Highway 110 at grade, they are at
least crossing at a controlled intersection. Mayor
Huber said the Council needs to figure out how all
this fits in and the practical answer is that pedestrian
traffic, to the extent that they are trying to flow
through the site and get to the other side of
Highway 110, in all reality it will be at grade. And
everyone needs to figure out how to make that
happen, and that includes working with the existing
wetlands on this site for a long time. Mayor Huber
said everyone keeps talking about it, and he realizes
that this is not what the applicant wants to hear, but
this is appropriate planning.
Mr. Henk reviewed some cross sections of the ditch
showing the steepness of this, and with the depth of
the ditch, it will require a 111 -ft. wide area for a 3
to 1 slope. As going farther into the center of the
property, it would require a 127 -$. wide area.
Discussion of adding retaining walls would have to
fall on this area, and he does not believe anyone
would like 15 -ft. high walls.
Councihnember Duggan said the applicant has
consistently stayed with the fact that it would have
to be shored up or have a wall built there rather than
being left natural. Councihnember Duggan said this
has been left natural for about 50 years, not wearing
away or disappearing, and has not eroded.
Councihnember Duggan said he does not
understand why the applicant feels there has to be
some sort of retaining wall there, and asked the
applicant if they have considered not having a
retaining wall. Mr. Henk said a 3 to 1 slope is a
standard and in the early 60's, no one had the
foresight to have the waterway meandered. Mr.
Henk said the grading of the property would cause
the need to stabilization of the ditch.
Councilmeinber Duggan talked about the very high
wall at the Wilder Building on University Avenue,
August 5, 2008
Page 26
and how it is broken up with landscaping so one
does not notice the wall. Mr. Henk asked if this
wall was on grade going up. Councilmember
Duggan said that was true. Mr. Henk said he does
not believe anyone would see this proposed wall as
it would be set down.
Councilmember Duggan asked if the $80,000 that
the applicant would save by not having to spend it
for wetland mitigation somewhere else could be
used to have big earthmovers come in and work
with the site and recreate it into something with
more curves and soften it a bit more and maybe
Dakota County would be willing to help with this.
Councilmember Duggan said he believes there is an
area there that something could be done with that
area that is not as catastrophic as the applicant
portrays it to be with that 15 -ft. retaining wall. Mr.
Henk said that wall would not be acceptable with
anyone.
Mr. Henk said it was their initial thought in 2003
that this water should be treated as an amenity and
when the surveyors studied the land, it was found
that there was so much earth that needed to be
moved, and it became too difficult to deal with.
Councilmember Duggan asked how that would
compare to the amount of fill that would have to
bring in to level this whole site based on the initial
plan. Mr. Henk said one always needs to look at
balancing the site, and not importing or exporting
fill in or out of the property. Councilmember
Duggan said that was part of the original plan
submitted last year was for a conditional use permit
to fill the site. Mr. Henk said the conditional use
permit is required if they import or export 400 cubic
yards which is not a lot. Councilmernber Duggan
said he was not aware of a request for a fill permit
until recently in relation to this unless it was
included in the plan and that the applicant feels it is
there so they have to do it anyway. Mayor Huber
asked how much fill is planned to be brought in.
Mr. Henk said they are planning about 6,000 cubic
yards but looking at the residential area knowing
that this will have parking below. Mr. Henk said
they don't want to bring that much in but they are
August 5, 2008
Page 27
looking for the balance on the residential piece. Mr.
Henk said they have applied for the permit as they
assume they will move more than the maximum
allotted 400 cubic yards. Mayor Huber said it is not
know yet exactly how much fill will have to be
brought in because there was a lot of discussion on
this topic before with the OPUS project, where they
brought in a lot more fill than was anticipated.
Councilmember Krebsbach said it seems that the
excavation of one end of the site will be done to put
more fill into another end of the site, leaving that
excavation portion much lower and then more dirt
will have to be brought in to raise that level as well,
thus the need for the high walls for the pond.
Mayor Huber said when Staff issues a fill permit,
they always ask the applicant how much fill will be
coming in. Usually, Staff gets a response on how
much more fill will be brought in.
Aaron Hemquist, RLK, said the conditional use
permit is actually for excavation in excess of 400
cubic yards and that does not mean they are
bringing in 400 cubic yards, but they are moving
400 cubic yards on the site.
Councilmember Krebsbach asked how many cubic
yards will be moved. Mr. Hemquist said they
estimated at roughly 10,000 cubic yards overall.
Councilmember Krebsbach said it seems they will
be moving the dirt to raise the restaurants, which is
a low area now, and thus the high walls will be
needed. Mayor Huber said the visualization on
10,000 cubic yards is about 1,200 dump trucks.
Councilmember Duggan asked how much fill would
be needed it they were to dig under the housing for
the underground parking. Mr. Henk said he does
not know as that is a minor amount and explained
on the map how the dirt would be moved.
Councihnember Krebsbach said she read that the
original shopping center site is about 10 acres and
the whole site is about 21 acres, and feels that what
this whole discussion is about is what was
August 5, 2008
Page 28
purchased for the underlying fee cost in 2003. Mr.
Henk said that is the 8 acres and the rest is 13 acres.
Councilmember Krebsbach asked if the original
shopping center was 13 acres and not 10. Mr. Henk
said that is correct. Councilmember Krebsbach said
this idea of working with the existing shopping
center is only a piece of the whole picture and the
Council is really working with the whole purchase
that was made in 2003 that always had this water on
it and had the different variations in grade.
Councilmember Krebsbach said this seems like this
is a public works project and if looking at the
topographic map, the creek comes in and actually
goes through the Dakota County property as well.
Councilmember Krebsbach said it seems to have the
water meander through the property, this would be
part of a wetlands or watershed district that comes
from Sunfish Lake through the other ponds, and
what goes on there is very important because the
water has to move. Councilmember Krebsbach said
she would be very interested to have Dakota County
involved in this, working on a trail system that
would benefit both sides.
Al Singer, Land Conservation Manager for Dakota
County, said the county had responded with their
interest in this project, clearly recognizing that this
is the city's decision about what happens on this.
Dakota County had no land use authority in this
project, and recognizes the inherent rights of the
private property owners in teiiiis of trying to
develop and gain economically from what they see
is the highest and best use of this property.
Dakota County's position from the beginning is to
look at it from a county -wide perspective and to see
how various systems come together in ways that
typically cities and individual property owners don't
necessarily take that perspective because their
jurisdictional authority begins and ends at certain
boundaries. However, water and recreational
entities do not stop at political boundaries. The
county has suggested there may be a new and better
way of looking at things, without the focus on
jurisdictions and individual properties, and see how
systems come together and see how these things can
August 5, 2008
Page 29
be integrated in a way that is meaningful. In this
case, the county is suggesting there is an inherent
benefit by combining water quality, recreation,
wildlife habitat and economic development in a
project. The county has already identified Mendota
Heights as the location of the North Urban Regional
Trail (NURT), and there is a tremendous green
space through the adjacent Dodge Nature Center
and Friendly Marsh, and there is water that
interweaves in this area. There is an economic
opportunity taking place at Mendota Plaza as well.
The county has therefore recognized this area as a
key area for the northern part of the county that
provides an opportunity to provide all those kinds of
public benefits.
Mr. Singer said the county does not have all the
answers and recognizes that there are challenges
with the topography, but feel this is really worth
looking at.
Mr. Singer said the developer has initially said that
the water should be piped, and disappear, and there
was no way for people to flow through this
particular site from a recreational and economical
standpoint. Mr. Singer said they are seeing how
office tenants will be much more attracted to office
space with lots of green space, and this space would
be very unique as there is not a lot of such amenities
in the area.
Mr. Singer said the county wishes to play a role in
this, and there could be some funding available
through the Familand and Natural Area Program to
acquire some of the land so that a corridor could
accommodate the water aesthetics and recreational
purposes. The county is looking at instituting a new
budget area within the county that says they want to
cooperative and work with cities to help build these
greenways because there are mutual benefits to
doing this.
The county feels this could be a regional trail
corridor where eventually Metropolitan Council
money could be available to doing this. The county
has been very successful in receiving federal
August 5, 2008
Page 30
funding for trails throughout the county (about $3
million). The challenge of the bottleneck at Dodd
Road and Highway 110 would be ideal for being
able to be creative and think about multi - module,
multi - beneficial projects that would help to
accolninodate or gain several different things.
Mr. Singer said in this ocean of asphalt, even
though there are going to be 300 trees which will
obviously take awhile, it is not very pedestrian
friendly. Mr. Singer said if this project is to be
pedestrian friendly, he does not believe this
proposal gives that. It also does not invite people to
come from outside by foot, bicycle, etc. into the site
which could draw customers for people. There are
tremendous amenities associated with the Dodge
Nature Center, and understands the nature center
does not want to have a trail through their property,
there could be a trail that goes through along the
existing creek through Friendly Marsh that would
allow this. Mr. Singer said the county does not
want to see an opportunity lost to spend more time
and county resources to seek creatively how they
can help the development and maintain the natural
flow of water, recognizing this is not a pristine area.
Mr. Singer apologized to the developer for the last
minute distribution of infouiiation.
Councilmeinber Krebsbach asked what Dakota
County would do, having the creek running through
their property. Mr. Singer said he cannot speak for
CDA, but he has been working with CDA in saying
this really could be an amenity to the residents
there. Mr. Singer said historically, CDA has not
been thinking about natural resource areas and how
water, recreation, and habitat all work together so
they have been working with the CDA to begin
thinking about this. Mr. Singer said in talking with
the Executive Director of CDA, Mr. Mark Alfers
would be very interested in trying to come up with a
compatible design that would accomplish all those
objectives.
Councilmember Krebsbach asked Mr. Singer to
comment on the 15 -ft walls by the water. Mr.
August 5, 2008
Page 31
Singer said he is not an engineer, but it is known
that banks that have more than a 3 to 1 slope are
somewhat unstable, however there is a lot of
existing vegetation there which would stabilize
some of those slopes. It depend on what happens
above that if there will be a change in the grade, or
if water will be introduced in that area. The county
has suggested that this be looked at as a corridor
and the corridor has three or four functions: 1) to
convey water, preferably exposed to be an amenity
and serve habitat functions; 2) that it provides a
recreational corridor that people to be able to use
and enjoy; 3) that is be an aesthetic benefit to the
development that it would attract a business in a
way that might not be available to other places; 4)
be a signature marketing tool for this portion of
Mendota Heights, creating a sense of community
pride and economic benefits. Mr. Singer said it's
not useful to think about the walls, but it is
important to look at this as a corridor with potential
multiple purposes and this will take more study and
time.
Councilmember Krebsbach said she has stated, and
believes there is another council member that is
interested, that there is a desire for an overpass for
bicyclist over Highway 110 for safety reasons,
connecting The Village and Mendota Plaza.
Councilmember Krebsbach said she had a
conversation with Representative Hanson about
this, and he thought with the enriched highway
funds and the safety issue, that Mendota Heights
would have a chance at something. Councilmember
Krebsbach asked Mr. Singer if he sees any
possibility of this. Mr. Singer said he has had to
privilege of sitting on the Enhancements
Committee, where all of the federal funding goes to
metropolitan projects for transportation, safety
perspectives, environmental enhancements and
historic preservation. This is the kind of project that
would rate very highly because of the connectivity
and safety issues, and the ability to bring more
people to economical areas.
Councilmember Krebsbach asked Mr. Singer if the
trails should be connecting along Highway 110 or
August 5, 2008
Page 32
should they be looking at something for the right in
and right out area. Mr. Singer said the county has
been looking at trying to combine the pedestrian
function with the water going diagonally but there
has not been enough study to say definitively what
is possible and what the costs would be.
Mr. Henk said if the applicant elects to work with
the county, what would the procedure be and would
they be back at the concept review stage. Mayor
Huber suggested having more conversation. Mr.
Henk reviewed the site plan and talked about some
of the options if incorporating this corridor. Mr.
Henk explained how the applicant could grant an
easement across the front since the buildings are
130 ft. back anyhow, and create some type of
corridor there, or eventually it's jumped over to The
Village or eventually may tunnel underneath. Mr.
Henk said they can leave those options open and
this is a plan overall for the county that is not going
to happen all at once. It is different segments and
he understands the county's position to look at all
these areas throughout the county to preserve them
the best they can.
Councilmember Krebsbach asked Mr. Henk asked
if there is a possibility. Mr. Henk said they would
prefer to go along the north rather than come
through it, but it does not address the trail along the
waterway. Councilmember Krebsbach asked Mr.
Henk if he could see the plan having the water
feature cutting through or in a culvert. Mr. Hank
said he still see this in a pipe. Mr. Henk said when
the applicant purchased the property, they did a full
blown hydrology study and if this was all on grade,
there would not be a huge problem.
Mayor Huber said there has been a lot of discussion
on the wetlands and is not sure new ground is being
broken at this time.
Councilmember Duggan asked if there is any reason
why the applicant can't bring the buildings of Lots
3, 4, and 5 closer together giving a more effective
cluster. Mr. Henk said explained that they are
trying to preserve the naturalness of areas, and how
August 5, 2008
Page 33
moving those buildings closer would affect how the
parking would be laid out and trying to keep the
parking areas away from the nature center.
Councilmember Duggan said that the building is
closer to the nature center than what is allowable
under regular zoning requirements. Mr. Henk said
the side yard setback for B -2 zoning is 15 -ft.
Mayor Huber said the sites of those buildings do not
bother him so much.
Councilmember Duggan suggested moving other
buildings around by where the Walgreens would be
going in. Mr. Henk said moving the Walgreens
further back creates a larger parking field in front of
the building. Councihnerber Duggan suggested
putting more green space in there. Mr. Henk said
Walgreens requires parking spaces that would be
lost if moving the building back. Councilmember
Duggan asked if shared parking would work here as
he sees Walgreens as an intermittent end where
people pickup their medicine or whatever versus
going to the office and having meetings with
accountants or lawyers, or has the applicant
consider the first store by the office being a coffee
shop or other small service oriented business. Mr.
Henk said this could be in the future phase for a
three story office building. Councilmember
Duggan said he may like to drop his future
grandchildren off at the daycare and walk to the
office for a cup of coffee or to the drugstore to
pickup some medicine, and would the buildings be
closer together, clustered, so he could easily do all
this. Mr. Henk explained how the buildings could
be moved closer. Councilmember Duggan said he
appreciates how the applicant has broken up the
parking and still wants to address the idea of
clustering the buildings better.
Mayor Huber invited members of the audience to
address the Council with questions and comments.
Bob Kowalski said it is always a pleasure to work
with the City of Mendota Heights, and said he is
here as an observer. Mr. Kowalski said Edward and
Howard Paster are wonderful people and has had
lunch with both of them. They are both dynamic
August 5, 2008
Page 34
and successful and has brought a lot to not just
Mendota Heights, but to other communities
throughout the metro area.
Mr. Kowalski said he was the first retailer in The
Village, and after three years, is still excited to be
there. Mr. Kowalski said this is a passionate and
complex issue and there are a lot of moving parts.
Mr. Kowalski said Mr. Singer is a breath of fresh air
and he asked that the Pasters think larger. Mr.
Kowalski said they can all help each other and the
best thing that can be done is to think of what serves
the large purpose for the City of Mendota Heights
and their residents. This creek is a wonderful thing
and it's important to keep this amenity.
Mr. Kowalski said Mendota Heights is a very
unique piece of property and development. It's a
hamlet and not a suburb. Sunfish Lake has the
highest income per capita in the State of Minnesota,
and the surrounding area is very successful and
special place.
Mr. Kolwaski said the process is painful and does
take longer than anyone would wish, and it costs
more money would wish, but it is very important as
we have only one shot at this. He would like to see
the best incorporated on this site in the best that the
Pasters bring, which are many great things. Mr.
Kowalski referred to Movie Night and said it is a
fun thing to see families sitting in the park watching
movies in a safe environment, as well as watching
kids have ice cream and adults enjoying a glass of
wine. Mr. Kowalski said a community and
gathering place was created, commending all those
that participated in building this environment. Mr.
Kowalski said this could be as great as a state -wide
destination if balancing the village concept and
green space. Mr. Kowalski said he is a big
proponent of a bridge or pass over and is excited to
learn there are funding possibilities.
Mayor Huber said about 10 or 11 emails were also
received, mostly in support of the project.
August 5, 2008
Page 35
Gary Frisch, a resident of Mendota Heights for 35
years, said he has been before the Council on this
issue. Mr. Frisch said he was in favor of the
shopping center and thinks the way it looks now is a
tragedy for the community and the efforts going
forward would seem to be an opportunity to do it at
this time. Mr. Frisch said his concern is that this is
being micro-managed which seems to cause this
delay and deferment on making a decision. Mr.
Frisch said the issues that are raised are the same
that are raised all over the metro area. Mr. Frisch
said he is an attorney who represents developers all
over the metro area and is a developer himself as
well. Mr. Frisch said he sees this opportunity all
over the metro area and thinks the Council has the
responsibility of making a decision and moving this
forward so the residents of the corrnnunity can have
a enhancement to the community.
Mr. Frisch said he sees this shopping center and the
interior action of housing and all the rest is
extremely comfortable for him as a resident, and
would be proud to have this in his community, and
thinks that to go forward is something the Council
should be doing and not getting hung up on a lot of
the details that are being worked out.
Mr. Frisch said a lot of people have different
opinions on how to proceed, and is disappointed
that this has been through the process many times
and the Council is not prepared to make a decision
on this one way or the other.
A resident — resident of Mendota Heights since
1973 and is wondering if it would be feasible to
take the creek and alter it, moving it over between
the Dodge Nature Center, bringing it up to Highway
110 and bring it around that way, moving buildings
to align with the other buildings and have bridge
across the stream going to Highway 110.
Mayor Huber thanked residents for their input, and
said many of the emails have said they would like to
see Mendota Plaza improved, and that this property
has been in its present condition for way too long.
Many of the emails are urging the Council to
August 5, 2008
Page 36
approve this because they want to see something
better than what is there. Several emails have
touched on the wetlands. Mayor Huber said one of
the letters suggested that the Council is trying to
scuttle Walgreens in advance of a different
drugstore, and that is not what the Council does.
The Council does not pick winners and losers in the
retail business. Mayor Huber said he believes retail
has the shortest shelf life of any building that gets
built because what is hot today is almost certainly
cold tomorrow. The Council can not pick who goes
into this site or any other site.
Mayor Huber said the Council is trying to create a
development that has an opportunity to have some
permanence. Mayor Huber said whether it's a
resident coining in wishing to put an addition on
their house, or whether it's a commercial business
that wants to put a building in the commercial
district, whether it's retail here, he could care less
who is in that structure. Mayor Huber said he is
concerned about what that structure will look like in
30 years from now.
Mayor Huber said this is a PUD, and there are a lot
of specifics that goes into a PUD application. If this
was a resident building a house on a traditional
residential lot, there are distinct setbacks from the
side yard, from the front, and from the back. There
are also site restrictions. There is all that stuff as it
is laid out in the ordinance. The applicant needs to
comply with that or they come to the Council to
apply for the variance.
Mayor Huber said in a PUD, there is an
extraordinary high level of detail that must be
presented that the Council must review and have the
opportunity to comment on because it is a PUD
versus an approval that is more dictated by how the
ordinance goes forth.
Mayor Huber said he appreciates the fact that it
seems the Council is going into a lot of detail but
the very nature of applying for a PUD goes along
with it. It's like trying to separate thunder from
lightning — you just can't do it.
August 5, 2008
Page 37
Councilmember Duggan said according to the
Pioneer Press, this is approximately a $40 million
development and he does not think a $40 million
development should be passed over loosely or
carelessly over a short period of time. When
looking at The Village, that was at least five years
in the planning.
Councilmember Duggan said he shared with
Edward Paster that if the Council is hung up on the
wetlands area, and if Phase I where Walgreens and
possibly the future three story office building and
the child care facility — those three are partially
clustered in relation to grading, sewer, water, and
utility — could this be something the Council could
look at, holding off on the challenge with the
wetlands, and to possibly tie in more what is
proposed by Mr. Singer, which he thinks has great
potential. But because this has not been looked at,
and try to determine what would come of it, can a
Phase I be only the Walgreens and maybe the three
story office and the child care facility.
Although this is not before the Council at this time,
it would be easy to have this before the next
Council meeting as an example or when the
applicant is ready for it. Until the Council can get
their hands around what to do with the wetlands,
other than just tonight possibly saying no or
possibly saying yes, he does not know what that
might be.
Councilmember Krebsbach asked if that would be a
full PUD but would be phased in and the Council
would look at approving Phase I moving towards
the completion of a full plan. Councilmember
Duggan said he believes so as he supports the
development of Mendota Plaza and does not think
anyone has said no to the idea of developing
Mendota Plaza. Councilmember Duggan said the
applicant even agrees that the building is not good
and needs to be changed. Councilmember Duggan
said he does not want to say "no" to this tonight
because he doesn't think it's the right approach to
take, but rather to say what is it that will work here,
August 5, 2008
Page 38
and believes the Walgreens and the three -story
office /retail and daycare (or whatever those
buildings might be) going up in the next 5 to 7
months, whatever time it will take, putting in
utilities and grading, for that particular area, and
seeing that as Phase I. This would get Paster
Enterprises started on the project and gives
everyone time to go to the drawing board to see
what will Dakota County and whomever else do
with that northeast corner. At the same time, there
is still the residential area which might end up in
Phase II. Councilmerber Duggan acknowledged
that having something on Highway 110 is much
more attractive and desirable, he has a feeling that
the Council is not ready for that yet.
Councihnember Duggan said rather than since the
Council only has until the 13th of this month and
meet that deadline having an extension from Paster
Enterprises with the understanding that the Council
will seriously look at Phase I being the Walgreens,
three -story office building and child care and he
would be in support of that.
Councihnember Krebsbach asked if the exterior of
the shopping center materials would adhere to all
the details in the PUD. Councihnember Duggan
said to build a Walgreens, part of the existing
shopping center would have to be torn down and
part of that would make sense to then, as agreed by
both parties, update the rest of the building.
Councilmember Schneeman said those options are
not what is in front of the Council at this time.
Councihnember Krebsbach said she would like to
see the Pasters agree to an extension because one of
the things the Council should be looking at is what
Dakota County would be able to do.
Councihmember Krebsbach said the park at The
Village is actually owned by the city and
commended the applicant for wanting to do all the
public works on that, but it does not seem to be
acceptable to the Council as each member has a
August 5, 2008
Page 39
little different idea of what should go along
Highway 110.
Councilmember Krebsbach said she is very satisfied
with the setback but certainly will join with the
other council members if they are interested, in the
water feature going through there. There seems to
be so many issues.
Councilmember Schneeman said the Council can
not quit here and redesign the project as it's not fair
to the applicant. Councilmember Schneeman said
she takes her vote on the PUD and the permits as a
huge responsibility and take this very seriously.
Councilmember Schneeman said she told Edward
Paster that she has spent hours and drove 210 miles
to the meeting tonight so she could vote and talk
about this.
Councilmember Schneeman said after all the
meetings and task forces and committees, this has
been talked to death. All involved have been
thoughtful about this case from the beginning and
the Council is excited with the beautiful vision for
this center.
Councilmember Schneeman said her concerns that
have been raised to Howard Paster and Ken Henk
had not been addressed as far as she is concerned.
There has been no real commitment made to the
housing component, which is part of the PUD, and
there has been no assurance that this will really
happen.
Councilmember Schneeman said there was a
feasibility study with Maxfield Research and the
Council was not apprised of this, which would have
been very helpful. This was done with The Village
proj ect.
Councilmember Schneeman said the re- skinning of
the existing building should be as attractive on the
back should as on the front as there will be three
buildings on that side. Councilmember Schneeman
said these people will be looking at the back of the
August 5, 2008
Page 40
existing building and feels that staining the concrete
block looks cheap and incomplete.
Councilmember Schneeman said the wetlands
mitigation has not been reconciled, and as she is a
commissioner on the watershed, she knows how
important the wetlands and the water flow and
preservation of the creek area is.
Councilmember Schneeman said she has tried to be
fair with her comments, and acknowledged that the
Pasters have been good neighbors and good people.
Councilmember Schneeman said she has to be true
to herself and to what she thinks Mendota Heights'
residents want in that center. Councilmember
Schneeman said it will be here for many, many
years to come and has always felt this to be a great
gem of a property if it is developed in a pedestrian-
friendly manner.
Councilmember Schneeman said she appreciates all
the good comments and the residents that have
come to speak.
Mayor Huber said Staff prepared two resolutions
for the Council to decide on — one to accept and one
to deny. Mayor Huber said there have been some
thoughts on where to go from here, and he thinks
there are three options, either vote it up with
conditions, vote it down with findings, or vote to
extend. Mayor Huber said he is personally
uncomfortable with heading down a third path of a
revised Phase I because he is not sure everyone
wants to start drafting again. Mayor Huber received
acknowledgement from the City Attorney that she is
not comfortable with that either. Mayor Huber said
because of the deadline looming, the process needs
to have a joint agreement signed tonight to delay or
to vote up or down. Ms Diehm said that any
phasing would need to be done at a subsequent
meeting in which case the Council would still need
the extension tonight.
Mayor Huber said the concept of an extension,
which he shared with Howard Paster earlier, is not
very appealing unless both sides are really willing
August 5, 2008
Page 41
to look at each other square in the eye and say "I
know where there is some stuff that we just have to
give on ". Mayor Huber said there are some lines in
the sand that the Council will not back off of.
Mayor Huber said an extension will not be more
discussion of what is in front of the Council at this
tune, and this would not be a productive exercise,
given the time that was put into this, not only for the
3 -4 years as laid out in the memo, but for the twenty
years this has been talked about.
Mayor Huber said he can understand the frustration
expressed by residents that this is taking so long.
Mayor Huber said he does not want to go down the
part of an extension unless the applicant really
believes that there will be some significant changes
in the forthcoming plan.
Councilmember Vitelli said the Planner's Report
says "because a planned unit development approval
is highly design sensitive, the rezoning of the
property should occur only after a plan has been
submitted which the city finds acceptable under its
PUD regulations ", and this says the Council should
not go ahead and approve a PUD until there is a
well defined plan that addresses all the issues that
the Council is happy with. Councilmember Vitelli
said the Council does not have that.
Councilmember Vitelli said if the Council were to
approve this tonight, with this multitude of
conditions, the Council would be just pushing out
the problems. Councilmember Vitelli said some of
these problems can be taken care of by Staff, a few
will have to jump over hurdles to get approvals
from MnDOT but there will be other issues that will
have to be resolved that will continue to be time
consuming.
Councilmember Vitelli said a specific design is
needed that everyone agrees on, and that once there
is such a design, then the other approvals can be
secured by MnDOT, Dakota County and any other
entity that need to approve the design.
August 5, 2008
Page 42
Councilmember Vitelli said he has been involved in
this for a year and a half now, and does not see
adequate progress. Back in October of last year,
there were meetings, and one key point was to treat
the creek as an amenity and that has not been
addressed. Councihneinber Vitelli said the Council
asked the applicant to deal with the water flow, and
asked to have clustering of buildings.
Councilmember Vitelli said he agrees with the
Mayor that to extend this application will only lead
to more extensions and progress is not being made.
Councilmember Vitelli asked what the down side is
to deny this. Then if the Pasters want to continue to
pursue, they have all the issues and they can bring
forward something at a later date. Councilmember
Vitelli said it would be his recommendation to deny
this.
Councilmember Krebsbach said the fundamental
infrastructure issues have not been taken care of.
Councilmember Krebsbach said she appreciates the
setbacks on Highway 110, but because of the
interest of the Council is for the water feature, she
would want to continue working with the applicant
should they grant an extension, but at this point, this
is not a proposal she can approve.
Mr. Henk said they have been trying to collectively
create a master plan for the 21 acres, and this plan
needs to be looked at as the full 21 acres and not
break it up. Mr. Henk asked if this will take them
back to the concept review and start over, and if so,
it would not make any difference to extend or deny
with so many issues at hand.
Mayor Huber said, hypothetically if this were
denied, the city's legal counsel in the past has said
that if the Council wishes to turn this down, to go
ahead and do so without making promises on how
quickly the applicant can come back, don't start
making promises about coming back to the Council
instead of going back to square one. Mayor Huber
said at the time, that legal counsel recommended
turning this down and then the applicant is always
August 5, 2008
Page 43
free to contact the city about restarting the process
and the Council can then consider whether or not
waive the 6 months and do some other things.
Ms. Diehm said that is a fair assessment, and the
Council would have to take a look at the code
provisions that provide for the 6 months time period
and see if the Council even has the authority to
waive that. Some codes are written in a way that
that is possible. Ms. Diehm said that if the Council
extends this, the process would be continued at the
same spot. The Council could choose to send this
back to the Planning Commission if it was felt that
there are significant changes, but the Council had
the authority to halt the process and continue as is.
If the Council denied this, that would have to be
something to be dealt with later, and these promises
should not be made tonight.
Councilmember Krebsbach asked Ms. Diehm that
should the Council keep the process open, what
kind of public investment there might be coming
from the County in particular for the wetlands or the
trail, and if there is a proposal before the Council,
would the Council be more likely to be in the
pipeline for any kind of resources that would come
to this project? Ms. Diehm said this may be a
question for someone from the County.
Councilmember Krebsbach asked if the Council
votes to continue instead of denying, would the
Council still be in the pipeline for proposal to have
funding and public resources come to this project.
If the resolution between the developer and the city
is that there is some sort of water amenity, the
Council would be looking for some public resources
to support that. Councilmember Krebsbach said if
this were extended, would the Council be more
likely get those because they could get the proposal.
Mayor Huber said the governing body would be
much more comfortable if they had an approved
project that they knew exactly what they were
dealing with. Mr. Singer said he agrees with that
statement. Mr. Singer said the county would be
reticent to invest funds in the undetermined project.
August 5, 2008
Page 44
Councilmember Krebsbach asked if this was denied
and the project sat for 6 months, how does that
affect the county's timeline. Mr. Singer said he
does not believe that would impact what the funding
possibilities might be from the county's perspective.
The county would like to be able to influence things
in a positive way through this process and believe
they have enough ideas about where this is going
and what are the issues and opportunities.
Councilmember Krebsbach said the Council would
not need to have an active proposal in front of them.
Mr. Singer said the Council would not.
Councilmember Vitelli said if there is a good idea,
funding could be obtained.
Councilmernber Duggan said for discussion
purposes, if the Council agreed to this proposal, the
applicant would start bringing in equipment and
tearing down part of the building, and getting set up
to build the Walgreens. Councilmember Duggan
said he doesn't believe the Council knows enough
about the Walgreens building that is being proposed
but has a fairly good idea, and that is why he
suggested to Edward Paster that this might be a
reasonable way to start the project.
Councilmember Duggan said the applicant has a
plan in good detail for the Walgreens part, and feels
this may be a good starting point for a Phase I.
Councihnember Duggan said he does not remember
hearing the Council say they would be against
anything in the northeast corner. Councilmernber
Duggan said he is hearing that the Council would
like to work with the applicant and Dakota County
to come up with something that will work in that
area, preserving as much of the creek or all of it as
much as possible. Councilmember Duggan said the
Council does not have their arms around this
because the applicant has not shown anything in
relation to this that the Council could work to say
yes or no. Councilmember Duggan said he would
like to see if the applicant is interested in pursuing
this idea of the Phase I element if it is acceptable to
the Council.
August 5, 2008
Page 45
Mayor Huber said his personal preference would be
that if this goes to a no, the applicant has had the
change to take in all of these comments, and that
will give them a chance to decide what they want to
pursue.
Mr. Henk said Paster Enterprises would prefer that
there be an extension so that they can regroup and
go through the process and work with the county
now that they have received more information from
the county.
Councilmember Krebsbach said she would support
an extension.
Ms. Diehm said the City would need a written
request prior to the end of the meeting tonight and
then the Council would need to vote to table the
matter that is before them.
Mayor Huber said he would not vote for the
extension if the applicant will continue to rehash the
same plans, and make no significant changes.
Councilmember Vitelli said he will not support an
extension.
Councilmember Schneeman said she would not
either.
Councilmember Vitelli said he would be willing to
make a motion to deny.
Councilmember Duggan said he looks at this as the
Paster Enterprise Group has given the Council a 21
acre plan that has phases, with no guarantees that
any of those future phases would ever happen.
Councilmember Duggan said he would make a
motion to the Council agrees to work with Paster
Enterprises to have a Phase I which would include
the Walgreens, the three story building and the
childcare center developed as Phase I of a long
range plan which should include possibly Phases II
and III, and that Dakota County, the City of
Mendota Heights, and Paster Enterprises work
August 5, 2008
Page 46
together to develop a plan for figure out the best use
of the amenity of the water.
Mayor Huber said Councilmember Duggan could
go ahead and make that motion, but he would doubt
there would be a second.
Councilmember Vitelli said the proper way to do
that would be to make a decision on what is in front
of the Council and let the applicant come forward
with a phased development. Mayor Huber said he
does not think there will be any support of that.
Councilmember Duggan said it the Council denies
this tonight, can the applicant come back with
something hew in the next two months come back
with a new proposal that would include a
Walgreens, the three story building and the
childcare center in a Phase I of the development.
Ms. Diehm said if the development changes, or the
application is significantly different than what was
proposed before, then there are no delays. The
applicant can come back a tomorrow with a new
proposal. The proposal that is in front of the
Council today has several approvals, so Staff would
have to look at which of those approvals would
need to be granted in order for a limited part of this
project to move forward.
Ms. Diehm said the Council could, in their denial,
deny without prejudicing the application, which
would preserve as much right as the Council would
have in looking at the code to see what authority
there would be to waive the time limits.
Ms. Diehm said the plan with a phased approach, as
suggested by Councihnember Duggan, would
require a new application.
Mayor Huber said Mr. Henk would have to have
confidence that the majority of the Council wants to
look at this in a piecemeal fashion. Mayor Huber
said he does not want to look at the plan this way.
Councilmember Krebsbach and Councilmember
Schneeman said they would not either. Mayor
Huber said Mr. Henk would really be dead on
August 5, 2008
Page 47
arrival because four council members are saying
that they will not entertain that idea.
Councilmember Duggan asked for help in
understanding the difference between the piecemeal
fashion and the phased development that they have
proposed, as both are staggered processes.
Mayor Huber said with an entire site design, it is
know what ultimately is going to get built absent
some action by the Council. It's one thing to say
this is what it is going to look like, but housing has
changed, and how that will be pushed out for a few
years. It's a different thing to say let's build this
and then we will figure out how to fill in the rest of
the parcel. This is two completely separate
situations.
Councilmember Krebsbach said she would not
support that.
Councilmember Krebsbach asked if the applicant
has submitted a written request. Ms. Diehm said
the applicant has submitted an adequate written
request to delay this application.
Mayor Huber asked Mr. Henk if he, without having
to tell where changes will be made, and that he has
listened to all these conversations over the past
years, and that he understands that this needs to go
through some changes, willing to say that Paster
Enterprises is taking this under advisement and is
willing to take another stab at this thing.
Mr. Henk said they want to develop this 21 acres as
a quality development, and are committed to doing
so. Mr. Henk said they will continue to do so with
the caveat that they need to come up with
something they know they can market and know
that is economically feasible as any private
developer would. Mr. Henk said if taking out a
swamp on the property reduces the value such that
you are still doing all of these site improvements
but now there is no revenue coming in to cover it,
they need to go back to analyze all that. Mr. Henk
said he believes with the investment here, in the
August 5, 2008
Page 48
mid -80's, of this development initially, and the
Pasters sticking with that through this 22 year
period, and allowing the property to be used for all
the city events, he would prefer that the application
be extended understanding loud what the Council is
saying on major changes, specifically that wetland
area.
Councilmember Krebsbach said that everyone can
expect that is there is a vote for an extension, there
will be some accommodation on the applicant's
side, as well as acknowledging the investment that
the applicant has made.
Councilmember Krebsbach moved to accept the
request for an extension of Planning Case No. 08-
11.
Councilmember Schneeman asked what difference
is the extension or denial — the applicant will do the
same thing.
Councilmember Krebsbach said there needs to be a
second to her motion before discussion.
Councilmember Duggan said that is not necessarily
true.
Councilmember Schneeman said this is not fair to
be doing this extension, and said Mr. Henk wanted
the Council to make a decision one way or another.
Councilmember Schneeman said then the applicant
can go back and decide it they want to do a PUD or
want to do something different.
Councilmember Duggan seconded the motion.
Mayor Huber said he believes the motion is to table
the matter. Ms. Diehm said that is correct and the
applicant needs some direction as to how long of an
extension will be granted.
Councilmember Krebsbach said her motion is to
table this item.
Mayor Huber asked Ms. Diehm for clarification is
this case is extended, that becomes the new drop
August 5, 2008
Page 49
dead date. Ms. Diehm said that was true. Mayor
Huber said he can't extend to April 15th where the
discussions will continue because the applicant has
not defined the new August 13th plan. Mayor Huber
said the new drop dead date needs to be defined.
Then the applicant can come back any time prior to
that keeping in mind there needs to be appropriate
time. Ms. Diehm said that is correct, and typically
the Council would table the motion until the first or
second meeting in October.
Ms. Diehin said the applicant's request is not
complete in tetttis of how long the extension is and
they are open to working with the Council on an
appropriate date.
Councilmember Schneeman asked if this is
extended, does that mean the applicant has to come
back with all the answers to the issues that were not
addressed, and will an extension give them enough
time as she is trying to be fair to them.
Mayor Huber said they have all the discussion that
has been done and has seen the document that could
have been passed for denial. Mayor Huber said he
would think they would look at that.
Mr. Henk said they recently went through this
process with the City of Eagan and they asked for
180 days.
Councilmember Krebsbach said that would be the
same as denial.
Mr. Henk said they could still have enough time to
get it in sooner.
Councilmember Krebsbach said her motion is to
table for 180 days. Ms. Diehm said they have
submitted a written request and consent to an
extension of the time under Minnesota Statute 1599
for 180 days, and that becomes the drop dead date.
Ms. Diehm recommended tabling this to consider it
prior to that time.
Ayes: 5
Nays: 0
Ayes: 4
Nays: 1 ( Councilmember Vitelli)
COUNCIL COMMENTS
August 5, 2008
Page 50
Ms. Diehm said if the Council thinks there is a
chance that a new proposal will before the Council,
she would encourage them to table this under a
meeting in September or October, having the option
of tabling it again.
Mayor Huber said the applicant has submitted a
request to extend the deadline for 180 days, and
should the Council have a motion to accept that
request and table it to a future meeting. Ms. Diehm
said that would be appropriate. When tabling an
item, a date should be set when the discussions will
come up again. If the Council is not ready to deal
with it by then, they can table it again.
Councilmember Krebsbach withdrew her motion.
Councilmember Duggan withdrew his second.
Councilmember Duggan moved to accept the letter
of extension granted to the City Council by Paster
Enterprises.
Councilmember Krebsbach seconded the motion.
Councihneinber Duggan moved to table Planning
Case No. 08 -11 to the 2nd meeting in October.
Councilmember Krebsbach seconded the motion.
Councilmember Schneeman said she will agree with
this but she is not happy with it as she feels the
Council is just putting them off.
Councilmember Duggan congratulated St. Thomas
Academy on their Green Mobile which has been
featured locally.
Councilmember Duggan said there is an Irish Fair
that will be held this weekend on Harriett Island and
he will be reading in Irish at Mass on Sunday.
ADJOURN
Ayes: 5
Nays: 0
August 5, 2008
Page 51
Councilmember Krebsbach said her and her
husband recently joined the Mendakota Country
Club, which is an absolutely beautiful country club.
Councilmember Vitelli said he would like to reopen
discussions on the propose the I -494 exit to
Delaware Avenue, and would recommend highly
that the Council make their position clear that
Mendota Heights is not in support of this.
Councilmember Vitelli said he would like to have
Staff send out letters to anyone they can to get this
message across.
Councilmember Duggan said he encourages that as
well and would recommend Staff work on this and
get back to the Council as to where this is at.
Councilmember Schneeman said she believes that
letter was already sent out. Mayor Huber said Staff
will be directed to send one out again.
There being no further business to come before the
Council, Councilmember Duggan moved to adjourn
the meeting.
Councilmember Schneeman seconded the motion.
Time of • II 0 i ent :45 p.m.
Retie !'�'``�"�" fer
Rec vs'��'"g Secretary