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2001-11-20 City Council minutesPage No. I November 20, 2001 CITY OF MENDOTA HEIGHTS DAKOTA COUNTY STATE OF MINNESOTA Minutes of the Regular Meeting Held Tuesday, November 20, 2001 Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the regular meeting of the City Council, City of Mendota Heights, Minnesota was held at 7:30 o'clock p.m. at City Hall, 1101 Victoria Curve, Mendota Heights, Minnesota. The following members were present: Acting Mayor Dwyer, Councilmembers Krebsbach, Schneeman and Vitelli. Mayor Mertensotto notified Council that he would be absent. AGENDA ADOPTION Councilmember lerebsbach moved adoption of the revised agenda for the meeting. Councilmember Schneeman seconded the motion. Ayes: 4 Nays: 0 FLAG CEREMONY Cub Scout Troop Den 8, Pack 39 conducted a flag ceremony to open the meeting. CONSENT CALENDAR Councilmember Schneeman moved approval of the consent calendar for the meeting, revised to move items 51, WMO Joint Powers Agreement, to the regular agenda, along with authorization for execution of any necessary documents contained therein. a. Acknowledgment of the minutes of the October 10, 2001 Airport Relations Commission meeting. b. Acknowledgment of the November 14, 2001 Airport Relations Commission meeting. c. Acknowledgment of the November 13, 2001 Parks and Recreation Commission meeting. d. Acknowledgment of the unapproved minutes of the September 5, 2001 NDC4 Commission meeting and the October 3, 2001 NDC4 Executive Committee meeting. e. Acknowledgment of the October, 2001 Treasurer's monthly report. f. Acknowledgment of the October, 2001 Fire Department monthly report. Page No. 2 November 20, 2001 g. Acknowledgment of the City of St. Paul water rates for 2002. h. Confirmation that the city will not purchase additional liability insurance and does not waive the monetary benefits on tort liability. i. Acknowledgment of a letter of resignation from Recreation Programmer Mary Hapka, effective November 15, 2001. j. Authorization for the issuance of any necessary building permits for exterior modifications at the Mendota Corporate Center, 1110 Centre Pointe, contingent upon verification of compliance with all applicable codes. k. Authorization for the issuance of a sign permit to Sign A Rama for a 27 square foot non - illuminated sign within a circular landscape feature near the front entry at 1168 Northland Drive. 1. Adoption of Resolution No. 01 -72, "RESOLUTION ACCEPTING WORK AND APPROVING FINAL PAYMENT FOR YEAR 2000 STREET IMPROVEMENT PROJECT (IMPROVEMENT NO. 2000, PROJECT NO. 1)." m. Approval of the list of contractor licenses dated November 20, 2001. n. Approval of the List of Claims dated November 20, 2001 and totaling $509,385.29. Counciimember Vitelli seconded the motion. Ayes: 4 Nays: 0 WMO AGREEMENT Council acknowledged a memo and proposed resolution from Engineer Mogan with respect to approval of a revised Joint Powers Agreement for the Lower Mississippi River Watershed Management Organization. Engineer Mogan informed Council that the original WMO agreement must be modified in response to mandates adopted by the legislature requiring a second generation water management plan. The modifications to the original agreement deal with issues, like water quality, which were not part of the original plan. Page No. 3 November 20, 2001 t Acting Mayor Dwyer pointed out that if the cities do not act together in joint powers, that state will act for the cities. Attorney Schleck informed Council that he has reviewed the revised agreement and his concerns have been resolved. Councilmember Schneeman moved adoption of Resolution No. 01- 73, "RESOLUTION APPROVING A REVISED AND RESTATED JOINT POWERS AGREEMENT ESTABLISHING A WATERSHED MANAGEMENT ORGANIZATION FOR THE LOWER MISSISSIPPI RIVER WATERSHED." Councilmember Krebsbach seconded the motion. Ayes: 4 Nays: 0 PUBLIC COMMENTS Mr. Bob Kreuser expressed the opinion that the naming Ross Feffercorn as the developer for Town Center is a conflict of interest. SKATEBOARD PARK Mr. Matt Englehart was present to ask Council to approve creating a skateboard park in Mendota Heights. He presented Coimcil with a petition signed by 100 individuals supporting the request. He described the types of equipment that would be needed and informed Council on the possible costs for different types of facilities. Councilmember Schneeman noted that the Parks and Recreation Commission received a presentation from Mr. Englehart at their last meeting and suggested that perhaps the city could use the paved hockey rink in Friendly Hills for a skateboard park during the summer. Acting Mayor Dwyer stated that the Parks and Recreation Commission has asked Council to see if any money can be found in the budget to purchase equipment. Council also briefly discussed the matter at the recent budget workshop. Council will continue to think about the matter and discuss the issue with the Parks Commission. He thanked Mr. Englehart for presenting a very good case on why a skateboard park in Mendota Heights is so important to young people in the community. PARKVIEW CAT CLINIC Council acknowledged a memo from Assistant Hollister, along with a letter from Dr. Matthew Stunner with respect to relocating the Parkview Cat Clilnic from Lilydale to the building located at 780 South Plaza Drive. Dr. Stunner and his architect, Mr. John Knapp, were present for the discussion. Page No. 4 November 20, 2001 Acting Mayor Dwyer stated that Dr. Starmer would like Council to consider a proposal to relocate the clinic to the former dental office building at 780 South Plaza Drive. The question is whether it is properly zoned for a cat clinic. The zoning is B1, and the question is whether the clinic would fall within the permitted or conditional uses in B -I or whether the ordinance could be amended to allow it as a conditional use. One of the concerns two weeks ago during Council's discussion over a proposal from the Tae Kwon Do school for the same property was traffic on South Plaza Drive. Dr. Stu mer has indicated in his letter that his business would only generate one to two cars per hour during the day. Dr. Sturmer stated that there would be more traffic in the morning when pets are dropped off, and there would also be more traffic from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. Otherwise, there would only be one to two cars per hour. Appointments are required. Mr. Knapp stated that Dr. Stunner would like to expand the building, adding 2,000 square feet to the back of the structure. He informed Council that he has designed over 500 cat clinics and feels that the city's zoning ordinance is almost silent on cat clinics. The ordinance mentions veterinary clinics, but Dr. Sturmer's clinic only treats cats. Acting Mayor Dwyer stated that the veterinary clinic is identified as a use in the B -2 zoning category. This South Plaza property is zoned as B -1, and the district uses say nothing about veterinary clinics. As it is acknowledged in B -2 and B -1 is silent, one could make an argument that there could only be veterinary clinics in B -2 districts. If Council finds this use is substantially similar to a permitted or conditional use in B -1, Council could accommodate the applicant. He stated that he is troubled that the ordinance does allow veterinary clinics in B -2 and questioned whether that forecloses anything in another district. Attorney Schleck responded that when the original zoning ordinance was codified, it was anticipated that uses such as the use for care and treatment of animals would be restricted to B -2 areas and it would not be something that would be sited within the B -1 district. Council in its ability to determine what is a substantially similar use could find it is substantially similar to a hospital or clinic, but he cautioned that the ordinance specifically refers to those uses as being for human care. He stated that he would reason that the language "for human care" is included is because someone anticipated that someone might deem animal care to be an allowed use. Clinics for Page No. 5 November 20, 2001 animals is specifically defined in B-2. It would be difficult to say that caring for cats is substantially similar to human care. Acting Mayor Dwyer responded that if Council were to ask the question on whether this is a good place for a cat clinic, he would say yes. He stated that Dr. Stunner has addressed the traffic problem, and Council must wrestle with the technical issues of whether this is an appropriate use. Councilmember Krebsbach commented that there would be disposal issues, etc. She stated that she is not sure about having the clinic so close to a residential district. Councilmember Dwyer stated that it is curious that a mortuary is a conditional use in B-1. He stated that staff has suggested that one approach would be for Dr. Starmer to apply for a zoning ordinance amendment to add cat clinics as a conditional use in the B -1 district. Mr. Knapp stated that the original definition of veterinary clinic in B-2 would not be correct for the cat clinic because it includes dogs and other animals. Dr. Stunner only deals with cats, which substantially reduces problems such as traffic. Councilmember Schneeman stated that no noise from the facility can go outside the lot and it also dictates how the structure must be constructed. With a conditional use permit, Dr. Stunner would never be able to have dogs at the clinic. She stated that she looked at the site today and there is some screening in the back and plenty of parking and room for expansion. Dr. Stunner stated that he understands why veterinary clinics are allowed in B-2 districts since the 1970's, but cat clinics are different — they are offices of professionals. MARIE AVENUE Council acknowledged a memo from Engineer Mogan regarding ASSESSMENTS a review of the assessments for the Eagle Ridge East properties as part of the Marie Avenue mill and overlay project assessment roll. Engineer Mogan stated that the assessment hearing was held on November 6 for consideration of assessments for the Marie Avenue project. Mr. Michael O'Brien appeared before Council to rais some questions on the assessment policy and how it applied to the Eagle Ridge East properties and whether it was an equitable policy for this project and fature projects. Based on that discussion, he did more analysis on the situation. A couple of points have been made about Page No. 6 November 20, 2001 the similarities between the pavement that serves Eagle Ridge East and Victoria Highlands. When Victoria Highlands developed in 1989, the developer entered into an agreement whereby the city and the developer agreed there would be a road constructed to serve the properties but that it would be classified as a private street because it did not meet the city requirements for width and also there was a different curb and gutter design than the city standard. For those reasons, the street is private even though it ftinctions as a public street. The property owners incurred considerable expense to construct the street and when it needs to be reconstructed, because it is a private street, the city will not participate in the cost. For that reason, he did not feel it was proper to include the Victoria Townhomes in the Marie Avenue assessments. The -property owners are already paying a portion of their taxes into the Infrastructure Reserve Fund that helps defray the costs for the property owners who have a street reconstruction project go by their houses, but they are not eligible to draw from the fund to rebuild their street. The Eagle Ridge residents have made the argument that their access is no different, but he sees it s a common driveway rather than a street. There are two driveways that serve the seven Eagle Ridge East homes. He showed photographs of the access, stating that six of the homes have access from one driveway and one has access from a single driveway, similar to the single family residences to the west and east. He stated that the accesses are driveways because they do not meet the city standard for emergency vehicle access, they do not have curb and gutter, and the city had no input into their design. Acting Mayor Dwyer stated that the rule Council is working with is that properties that have a driveway that runs into Marie Avenue are subject to an assessment for improvements made to Marie. The question is whether this is a driveway that selves the property owners or whether it is a street. Mr. Michael O'Brien, 886 Marie Avenue, introduced four of the Eagle Ridge East property owners, who were present for the discussion. Two of the owners could not attend. Mr. Tom Mairs, 894 Highview Circle South, stated that he does not represent the Victoria Townhomes Association and is only speaking for himself. He was present because he was present at the hearing and did not understand the assessment policy. He stated that if it turns out that the Victoria Townhomes properties get assessed, so be it. He further stated that it does not appear that the policy is equitable. Page No. 7 November 20, 2001 Acting Mayor Dwyer suggested that the Victoria Townhomes properties be assessed the same amount as the Eagle Ridge properties. Attorney Schleck responded that they cannot be included in the current assessment but that it could be possible to do a second assessment roll. Co-uncilmember Schneeman stated that when the people in Victoria Highlands want to redo their street they have to pay for it, so they do not get the same break that Eagle Ridge does because the city is sharing the cost of Marie Avenue. Public Works Director Danielson stated that Marie Avenue is much wider than a typical street. If it were a normal street, the property owners would have been assessed for 50% of the reconstruction cost. Because staff wanted to be fair, they recommended using the same per lot assessment amount as other reconstruction projects. Mr. Mairs stated that the Victoria Townhomes owners blacktopped their street a couple of years ago. Acting Mayor Dwyer stated that it could be argued that whey the Eagle Ridge East owners do their driveway, the city does not help. They consider it a street. The issue is whether it is a street or a driveway. Councilmember Vitelli stated that the key difference he sees with Eagle Ridge East is that it looks to him that as it enters Marie Avenue it is a driveway. The Victoria Highlands entrance to Marie appears to him to be a street. Also, looking at the pictures that staff presented earlier, the Eagle Ridge East access is a driveway. Acting Mayor Dwyer stated that when a driveway intersects a street, people are assessed for the street. The people in Victoria Highlands do not have a driveway entrance that intersects with Marie. He stated that while it may not be the perfect solution, he is inclined to defer to the recommendation of the city engineer. It is not the perfect solution, but there is logic to it. Mr. O'Brien stated that he understands it is not a perfect world, and he is not trying to stick the Victoria Highlands owners with additional cost. He also did not know if there should be a rationale to say that city coffers should increase by the assessments to Victoria Highlands. He stated that he absolutely did not want to lobby any Page No. 8 November 20, 2001 Councilmembers or staff, and that he spoke to the City Administrator and Engineer Mogan since the hearing to get information. He does not agree with Engineer Mogan , but there is nothing wrong with an honest disagreement. He stated that the Eagle Ridge owners are interested in the question of equity and fairness. The word fairness is used often in the city's street reconstruction policy. He stated that if some of the issues are not straightened out now, it could cause problems in the future. He stated that did not know until today how the $1,300 assessment was arrived at. He stated that it seems to him that the .8 mile should not be levied against Eagle Ridge East. After reading the city policy, he got the impression that the city is trying to spread the costs of improvements fairly against all of the properties in the city. This is a question of unfairness that he would like to get corrected for the Eagle Ridge people and also for the future so that there are no more problems. Engineer Mogan pointed out that there was an agreement made with a developer, and in some way that is being passed on to the rest of the city. Engineer Mogan pointed out that the street in Victoria Highland is private. He did not think, it is any different fi-om what Eagle Ridge East has. There are 31 or 32 people in Victoria Highlands, which is certainly more than in Eagle Ridge East. While the people in Victoria Highlands paid for their road, they did that on their own volition and they accepted it, and he did not see how that would be more excused than Eagle Ridge East. The Eagle Ridge owners plow and maintain and the Victoria Highlands owners plow and maintain. He did not think it would be fair for Eagle Ridge East owners to pay for the two driveways. He stated that the Victoria Highlands owners will be paying for their own plowing and paving in the future, and so will the Eagle Ridge East owners. He did not think there is any difference between the two developments. Councilmember Krebsbach stated that she expected that she would consider the Eagle Ridge driveway a street but when she looked at the photos, she concurs with Councilmember Vitelli that it is a driveway compared to the Victoria Highlands street. When Victoria Highlands came before Council to help repair their street, she voted against it because it was a private street. The owners invested in the storm sewer and the cost for their street reconstruction will be much more expensive than reconstructing the Eagle Ridge accesses. A typical driveway costs $1,200 to $1,800 to repave. Most people are spending that every other year. What the Eagle Ridge East residents spend to resurface their driveway is comparable to what other home owners would pay to resurface their driveways. Their cost to maintain their collective driveway is probably comparable to what Ayes: 4 Nays: 0 Page No. 9 November 20, 2001 single family homeowners pay. That is the cost for maintaining a driveway, not the cost for maintaining a street. She reiterated that she sees the Eagle Ridge access as a driveway compared to the street that serves Victoria Highlands. Acting Mayor Dwyer moved to confirm that the assessment roll adopted on November 6, 2001 was the appropriate and proper assessment roll and was valid. Councilmember Vitelli seconded the motion. Councilmember Vitelli stated that 26 property owners were assessed $1,300 for the Marie Avenue project, which is a small fraction of the $375,000 project cost. All of the residents of the city paid to the remainder to have Marie Avenue improved. Eagle Ridge East has a driveway onto Marie Avenue. He stated that he has a driveway onto Sylvandale. When Sylvandale was improved, he was assessed $1,300. He uses his driveway to access the street, so he paid the assessment. Eagle Ridge East has a driveway that six owners share to access Marie Avenue. Mr. O'Brien responded that the target of the policy is to assess about 50% of a project. He had no problem with paying a tax to assist with street project costs but does have a problem with the very small number of people paying for Marie Avenue. He understood that the rest of the city picks up the balance of the cost for Marie Avenue, subject to a credit for MSA. Councilmember Vitelli responded that there were streets that intersected Sylvandale but the people who live on those streets did not pay for the Sylvandale improvement. Eagle Ridge East has a driveway, and he thinks the property owners should pay like everyone else. PROPERTY ACQUISITION Council acknowledged a memo from Administrator Lindberg along with a proposed purchase agreement, drafted by Facgre & Benson, for the Oasis Market/Twin Cities Stores property. City Attorney Schleck recommended that Council convene in closed session to discuss the proposed purchase agreement with legal counsel, since the matter is in litigation. COUNCIL COMMENTS Councilmember Vitelli stated that most of Council visited Margaret's House treatment facility during its open house. He felt Page No. 10 November 20, 2001 that it will be a great success and was proud that Council approved it. Acting Mayor Dwyer informed Council that he and Councilmember Schneeman met with representatives from St. Thomas Academy this afternoon to discuss the proposed hockey arena. ADJOURN TO CLOSED Council adjourned to closed session at 8:56 p.m. for discussion on SESSION acquisition of the Oasis Market/Twin Cities Stores property RECONVENE The meeting was reconvened at 9:45 p.m. OASIS MARKET ACQUSITION Councilmember Vitelli moved to authorize Acting Mayor Dwyer to execute a purchase agreement with Twin Cities Stores, Inc., as drafted by Faegre & Benson, for the acquisition of the Oasis Market/Twin Cities Stores property located within the Town Center site. Councilmember Schneeman seconded the motion. Ayes: 4 Nays: 0 ADJOURN There being no ftirther business to come before Council, Councilmember Vitelli moved that the meeting be adjourned.. Councilmember Krebsbach seconded the motion. Ayes: 4 Nays: 0 TIME OF ADJOURNMENT: 9:50 p.m. KyAleen M. Swanson City Clerk ATTEST: Michael Acting b