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1994-10-24 Council-Plng Comm WorkshopCITY OF MENDOTA HEIGHTS DAKOTA COUNTY STATE OF MINNESOTA Minutes of the Special Meeting City Council/Planning Commission Workshop October 24, 1994 Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the special meeting of the City Council and Planning Commission, City of Mendota Heights, was held at 7:00 o'clock P.M. at City Hall, 1101 Victoria Curve, Mendota Heights, Minnesota. Mayor Mertensotto called the meeting to order at 7:00 o'clock P.M. The following members were present: Mayor Mertensotto, Councilmembers Koch, Huber, Krebsbach and Smith. Planning Commission Members: Tilsen, Dwyer, Betlej, Koll, Lorberbaum, Duggan and Friel. Also present were City Administrator Lawell, Public Works Director Danielson, Administrative Assistant Batchelder, Planner Uban and Associate Planner Duan. HIGHWAY 55/HIGHWAY 110 LAND USE STUDY Mayor Mertensotto made introductions around the table. Administrator Lawell stated that Dahlgren, Shardlow and Uban had been retained to conduct a study of the Highway 55/Highway 110 Corridor and that Phase I of the Study has essentially been completed. Uban stated the purpose of tonight's workshop is to present findings from DSU's initial research on this Corridor, as specified in the contract. Planner Uban introduced Hongyi Duan and stated she is new to the firm. Using slides and overheads, Uban discussed their findings of the Corridor Study to date. Uban stated the bridge is a very important river crossing and that at one time the Mendota Bridge was the main link between Hennepin and Dakota Counties prior to the construction of the I-35E and 1-494 bridges. He stated this bridge creates a strong focus in Mendota Heights and that this is the major link for Highway 55 from Minneapolis to Rochester. Uban outlined the Garron site and its location. He stated the City had been contacted by developers who had expressed an interest in corporate office or multi-family housing for the Garron site. He stated this will be a signature site for Mendota Heights and that it possesses great views of the river valley. Uban demonstrated how the highway right -of -way slopes away from this property and stated there is a lot of opportunity for a parkway setting with plantings, seedings and an attractive landscaped right-of-way. Uban stated meetings had also been held with represent ' atives from Acacia Cemetery and they had indicated an interest in selling some of their property for development. Uban described Acacia's entrance off of Pilot Knob Road. Planner Uban highlighted the discussions with Catholic Cemeteries, who own Resurrection Cemetery. Uban stated that Highway 13 is now a frontage road and comes very close to Lake Augusta and provides views as it passes this area. Uban stated that Catholic Cemeteries has indicated an interest in expanding the use of their land and are considering a public/private concept. He stated that Catholic Cemeteries had indicated an interest in exploring ways of looking at surplus land that will not be used for future cemetery. Uban stated that Catholic Cemeteries is currently in the midst of their own master plan. He indicated they have mentioned bus routes as a service that is lacking for their customers. Uban stated the Lexington/Highway 110 intersection is also a part of the study and described how the southwest corner is currently vacant. Uban discussed the SOS/Curley property and some of the recent proposals that had been made by developers to staff. Uban described other opportunities that exist besides Acacia and Garron, in particular, some of the vacant land that is south on Highway 55. Uban described the new Highway 13 intersection and stated the new section of Highway 13 from Highway 55 to Eagan should be revisited as part of this planning process. Uban pointed out some residential structures along this corridor and some of the outside storage and truck dock concerns. Uban stated that the landscape plan on the rear of the Hudson property is still being worked on by City staff with Hudson Company. Uban described the mess at the McNeill property and City staff's attempts to enforce some clean up activity. Uban stated the LCS Metal Company ought to provide more screening along Highway 13. Uban described the Mendota Heights Road/Highway 55 intersection and the Northland Plaza plat. Uban also described the Pilot Knob Road/I-494 intersection and stated that United Properties considers this the main entrance to the Industrial Park. Uban stated that United Properties has always considered the property on the corner to be an ideal location for a restaurant and convenience, convenience/gas store, however, United Properties stated there are "not enough roof tops" to provide more than just a lunch time business at this location. Uban returned to a discussion on the Garron site and stated this site could work very well for the City as a gateway signature entrance but that it is going to require some patience, some public/private partnership and some good planning. Uban discussed traffic information in the Corridor and stated that recent MnDOT projections show that traffic is actually less than from their earlier projections. Uban highlighted a land owner map and a comprehensive plan map. Uban stated that the motel and"the greenhouse in the B-3 District have lost visibility and access as the highway has been lowered in front of their location. Uban highlighted the zoning for the Corridor sites. Uban stated the Garron site is currently zoned B-1A with the Northland Plaza (MIST) site currently having a B-3 zoning designation. Uban stated the B-3 zoning designation provides a location for service type land uses, however, any developer locating service businesses here would need to look at the traffic counts, nearby residential base and how to attract business here. Uban outlined the airport runway systems and discussed possible runway alternatives. Uban again emphasized that the projections on the traffic counts are being lowered by MhDOT, probably because of interstate capacity. Uban again raised the issue of how much service base can Mendota Heights attract in the B-3 zoning locations given the traffic counts and the residential service base. Uban stated presently most employees in the industrial park using the Pilot Knob/I-494 intersection and they can go a couple miles south on Pilot Knob into Eagan to find restaurants and convenience locations. Uban stated perhaps the Lexington/Highway 110 intersection has more residential base to support business services. Uban outlined the vacant lands that have potential development as follows: 1. Garron/Mulvihill site 2. Western Resurrection Cemetery 3. Lexington/Highway 110 Intersection 4. The Northland Plaza/Roger's Road area 5. George's Golf Range area 6. United Properties/I-494 frontage The Planning Commission and City. Council discussed the assumptions used for the traffic counts. Planner Uban stated that Highway .110 does more to service Mendota Heights residents than Highway 55 which tends to be more through traffic from southern Dakota County. Commissioner Friel questioned the rationale for the current R-3 zoning on the Acacia site. Mayor Mertensotto stated United Properties sees the Highway 110/Lexington business park as being appropriate for office/warehouse. Mertensotto stated the City,should count on the Furlong neighborhood being there for a long time due to the recent sound insulation program. The Mayor stated MAC would have bought out Furlong if the money had ever been available. Planner Uban stated the Garron site has extremely good views and the western Resurrection site is in a prominent location along the shores of Augusta Lake. Uban stated that as gateway locations, it would make sense to have corporate office or high density residential in this area. Uban raised the issue that if all of Pilot Knob Road is planned industrially, then will people want to drive through to get to the Garron site for residential housing. Uban stated the views are fantastic, however, the access must come from Pilot Knob Road. The Planning Commission and City Council discussed the appropriateness of housing in the Garron and Acacia locations. Sound attenuation in the Furlong neighborhood was also discussed. Mayor Mertensotto stated that while United Properties wants this land to go industrial, it may not be in the City's best interest. Councilmember Huber stated a single tenant, quality corporate office on the Garron site would be the best. Planner Uban stated this is a very visible location and pointed out a similar corporate office structure on the bluffline as you enter Eagan on 1-494. Councilmember Krebsbach stated the City must protect the trees along the bluffline. She stated she would not be opposed to a quality townhouse project on the Garron site similar to the Strub development in Lilydale. Krebsbach stated it is important to keep the front of this property treed. Krebsbach stated it would be in the City's best interest to de- industrialize the look along Highway 55. She further stated a small convenience/grocery/gas would work on the Northland Plaza site which is currently zoned B-3. Planner Uban stated it is important that City encourage reforestation along the new highway right-of-way and that right now is the time to ask MnDOT to review their landscaping plan with the City. The Mayor stated the City needs to de- emphasize the industrial look the closer you get towards Highway 110. The Mayor stated that Acacia Cemetery wants to achieve the highest land use on their vacant land but that again, industrialization should be de-emphasized in this area. Councilmember Smith stated the northern end of Pilot Knob Road could tie into the Highway 110 land uses and that the Garron site could be pure office. Commissioner Betlej stated there is an access problem to the.Garron site as.there is no direct access from the highway system. Planner Uban stated the developers that had met with staff and planner indicated the office market is not great right now and the airport noise is an impact in this area. The Council and Commission discussed appropriate land uses for the Garron site. Mayor Mertensotto stated the Garron site could be tied in as part of the office complex south of Highway 110. The Mayor stated this will take a long time to happen and the market may not be there at this time. Air noise attenuation was discussed. Councilmember Smith pointed out that the Garron site probably receives more back jet noise than overhead flight noise due to its location on the bluffs. Smith stated that Acacia Drive is a beautiful amenity to the cemetery and that it would be unfortunate to place office/warehouse on either side of this road. She stated she felt this area of land should not be used as intensely as the industrial land uses to the south. Councilmember Krebsbach agreed and stated that industrial land uses need to be minimized in the Acacia Cemetery area. Planner Uban stated a portion of Lake Augusta is actually in the City of Mendota and he described the park activities and service possibilities along the frontage road in this location. Commissioner Tilsen stated that by saving trees and providing good screening that light industrial would work along Acacia Avenue. Tilsen stated that tight, stringent rules through zoning are needed to satisfy concerns about visual appearances in this area. Western.. Resurrection was discussed by the Council and the Commission. Planner Uban stated that Catholic Cemeteries people had indicated a need for better business services such as buses, gas stations and restaurants. Commissioner Betlej stated it makes sense to put this type of retail service on the Curley property at Lexington and Highway 110. Betlej stated that retail does not make sense further south or west of Lexington and Highway 110 intersection. Planner Uban raised the issue of business relocation due to construction of the north/south runway. Uban stated the City should consider now whether we want freight terminals, taxi uses, or park and rides in Mendota Heights as these land uses may wish to relocate due to new airport construction. Uban stated that some businesses that will need to relocate might be looking at our area. Uban stated United Properties feels strongly that the office market is not strong in this area and that the offices south of the airport are currently not doing well and that the major locations for new office construction is the western metro area, the southwestern metro area and downtown Minneapolis. The Council and Commission discussed Highway 110 as a parkway ir design and what appropriate controls along Highway 110 would be. The Council and Commission discussed office/warehouse in Centre Pointe Business Park and were of a consensus this is not an appropriate use at this time. Commissioner Duggan stated the City needs to amend its Comprehensive Plan. The Council and Commission discussed traffic counts in the Corridor and their accuracy. The Council and Commission discussed a possible six month delay in the land use study. Planner Uban recommended the City should continue to discuss what they want in this area and plan for it before a developer forces the issue. Uban stated it was in the City's best interest to narrow the possibilities of what could occur on these vacant parcels especially if the City desired a parkway along Highway 110. The Council and Commission directed the City Planner to provide two scenarios at the next workshop and a recommendation on appropriate land uses. Access issues along Highway 55 and sign visibility issues along Highway 55 were discussed. The Council and the Commission again discussed the parkway design along Highway 110 with office land uses along the southern boundary of Highway 110. The City Council preliminarily authorized ordered work to begin on Phase II of the study which will include a recommendation from the Planner about appropriate land uses at the next workshop between the City Council and the Planning Commission. The Council and Commission discussed the preservation of treed areas and the City's current tree protection ordinances. The City Council directed staff to look at the ordinance changes to address the preservation of trees for new development. STADIUMS IN THE R-1 ZONE Administrative Assistant Batchelder stated the City Council had directed staff and the Planning Commission to begin work on possible zoning ordinance amendments to better control the addition of athletic stadiums in the R-1 zone and to provide some standards for their provision. Batchelder stated that one standard that had been discussed previously was to provide a setback of 1,000 feet or more from the nearest residential structure. The Council and Commission discussed the use of lights at the St. Thomas Academy Stadium and potential methods of enforcing limitations. Commissioner Friel stated there is no way to police the limitations placed on St. Thomas Academy unless the City required a license for lights on the nights an applicant would seek to use them. Friel stated under a licensure arrangement, there would be permit approval needed for additional nights beyond those specified in the license. The Commission discussed the licensure of lights at athletic fields. Commissioner Duggan suggested that City staff have a map to show where lighted fields could exist in the City. Commissioner Friel stated athletic fields should not be allowed to grow incrementaly in the City and that there needs to be language to distinguish between athletic fields and the stadiums. The Council and the Commission came to a consensus there should be no lighted stadiums or lighted ballfields in City parks. Commissioner Tilsen also suggested licensure for PA systems and to limit their use. The Council and Commission directed staff to consider standards for athletic fields and stadiums for the following factors: 1. Distance and location 2. Lights 3. Parking 4. Traffic 5. Public address systems The Council and Commission discussed the use of certain exterior materials such as concrete and that the Americans with Disabilities Act standard should be followed. The Council and Commission suggested that the St. Thomas Academy stadium should be used as a standard for future facilities. The Council directed staff to call a public hearing when these ordinance amendments are ready and to notify the School District. The Council directed staff to send a letter to St. Thomas Academy about their use of lights. CRITICAL AREA ORDINANCE The Planning Commission and City Council discussed the criteria which would trigger a review by Planning Commission for building permit requests in the Critical Area Overlay District. The Council and Commission discussed sight lines in the river valley. The Council and Commission discussed requiring signatures of consent from neighbors before a modified site plan approval can proceed to City Council. The Council and Commission discussed a dollar limit or a standard of being within 300 feet from the crest of the bluff as a trigger for the Critical Area Ordinance/ Planning Commission review. The Council directed staff to come back with suggested language on when a Critical Area Ordinance could proceed to Council and when it must have Planning Commission review. ADJOUP104ENT There being no further business, the Joint city Council/Planning Commission Workshop adjourned at 10:15 o'clock P.M. Respectfully submitted, Kevin Batchelder Administrative Assistant