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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCCMin_03Jun11 CITY OF FALCON HEIGHTS COUNCIL MINUTES JUNE 11, 2003 Mayor Gehrz convened the regular City Council meeting at 7:00 PM. PRESENT: Mayor Sue Gehrz, Council members Laura Kuettel, Robert Lamb, Peter Lindstrom and Richard Talbot Also present: City Administrator Heather Worthington, Deputy Clerk Mary Shea Kodluboy, City Attorneys Roger Knutson and Thomas Scott COMMUNITY FORUM: There was no commentary from the audience. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Mayor Gehrz asked that an additional phrase be added on page 4, paragraph four, second to last sentence, with the sentence to read as follows: There will be a fall session for residents and people representing businesses in the community. The Council minutes dated May 28, 2003, were unanimously approved as amended. PUBLIC HEARINGS: None Scheduled CONSENT AGENDA: Kuettel moved that the Consent Agenda be approved, as outlined below. The motion was unanimously approved. 1. General Disbursements through June 6, 2003 in the Amount of: $ 20,493.08 Payroll (5/15/03-5/30/03) $ 12,412.41 Licenses – The Council, to encourage residents to patronize local businesses, read aloud the names of the most current businesses renewing their licenses for 2003. POLICY AGENDA: Variance Request for Dino’s Gyros Administrator Worthington said that George Sherman, the developer of the SE Corner project, submitted a site plan in late April for the new Dino’s restaurant, which is proposed for the current Embers site on the NE corner of Snelling and Larpenteur Avenues. The original site plan called for a front yard setback of 10.9 feet, and a lot coverage variance of 8.9% from the required 25%. Subsequently, the Planning Commission voted unanimously at their May 27th meeting to recommend approval of the front yard setback variance, and denial of the lot coverage variance. FALCON HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES -2- June 11, 2003 Variance Request for Dino’s Gyros (continued) Administrator Worthington said that after the Planning Commission meeting, staff received two amended site plans from Sherman and Associates, the second of which shows a front yard setback variance request of 14.25’, and she utilized the overhead projector to illustrate and describe the new site plan. The lot coverage variance request has been eliminated because the new site plan shows green space of 33.63%. This site plan also eliminates the drive-through, which had been a concern of the residents in the immediate area. Consequently, a front yard setback variance of 14.25’ is required for Dino’s to meet front yard setback zoning requirements, but the lot coverage variance request has been withdrawn. There is an addition of one curb cut and it is believed this will help divert traffic to Snelling rather than through the neighborhood. Traffic projections will be the same as for an Embers type restaurant. Council member Lindstrom, Council liaison to the Planning Commission, said the Planning Commission recommended approval of the front yard setback variance. City code calls for a setback of 30’, but there is only one business in Falcon Heights that conforms to the code. When Parcels C and D go to Dino’s, that will increase their front yard setback to over 50’. Administrator Worthington said their new front yard setback would be 68.25’. Council member Kuettel asked Administrator Worthington to illustrate the new setback on the overhead projector and she did so. Administrator Worthington said the City will be picking up the two parcels and they will be conveyed to Dino’s in the fall. Council member Kuettel commented that the variance would almost be a temporary one. Council member Lamb said that the plan now shows that about 33.6% of the site will be green. How does that compare to Embers? Administrator Worthington said that 8% of the Embers site is green. Council member Lamb said that obviously today there is a situation where the alley comes into the frontage road. He asked how the new configuration would affect residents exiting west on the alley. Administrator Worthington said that it wouldn’t affect their access. Mayor Gehrz asked Administrator Worthington who currently owns the Embers property. Administrator Worthington said that a private property owner owns it. An eviction notice has been served on the current tenant in the building. The Embers property has been sold to George Sherman. Mayor Gehrz said the owner of the property has the right to sell their property if they so choose. Dino’s will be the new occupant in a new building. She said that she heard a lot of the residents say that they really like Dino’s but are really concerned about the impact of the drive-through. Dino and his family, after listening to the concerns of the citizens and the City, have withdrawn their request for a drive-through. They have made a big financial sacrifice by doing so. FALCON HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES -3- June 11, 2003 Variance Request for Dino’s Gyros (continued) Mayor Gehrz opened the meeting to the audience for commentary. Mr. Thomas Lagason, Chairperson of the Planning Commission, asked if there are any concerns about the driveway location on the proposed plan. It was probably put there to add green space, but it puts the exit closer to the residents. Administrator Worthington explained traffic stacking room and said that if the driveway were located north of Parcel C, there would only be stacking room for one car length. It would drive traffic back into the neighborhood. What is being proposed is a marked improvement because it will provide enough stacking room to Snelling. Overall, the impact on the neighborhood will be an improvement. The changes made are based on the traffic study that was done in May. The two experts who did the traffic study believe this is an improvement. Mayor Gehrz said there is a stop sign with no right turn. People will be asked to make a left turn only. This will discourage people from turning right. Ms. Jeanette Pasek, 1526 Crawford, asked if this would encourage people to use the alley. Administrator Worthington said the alley is a circuitous route. Making the alley one way was discussed but the garage openings vary. This can be explored with the task force that will be created to study the traffic in that area. Ms. Ginny Blase, 1532 Crawford, said that people use the alley and it wasn’t in the traffic study. Put some sort of a speed limit in place. People drive 30-40 miles per hour down the alley. Residents have to be careful when backing out into the alley. There should be a stop sign where the shopping exit intersects with the alley. She thanked Dino and his family for reconsidering the drive-through. Ms. Rachel Berger, 1516 Crawford, said that the stop sign with a no right turn is a good thing. Do you expect traffic from Larpenteur? Administrator Worthington said there will be some traffic that will head in that direction. The traffic study reflected traffic counts based upon a drive-through restaurant. The counts will be revised. People will use that route. Ms. Berger asked what the group would do with the study. Will it be enforced? Administrator Worthington said that a component in the study would be traffic enforcement. Council member Talbot said that people blow the light on Arona and Larpenteur. In any neighborhood, the people who are the least careful about stop signs are the residents. Ms. Berger said that people who aren’t from the area are the ones roaring down the streets and the alley. If this is a problem for the neighborhood, what exactly can be done about it? Mayor Gehrz said that a traffic study is only going to work if people follow the study’s recommendations. The City will commit staff time and resources. The task force will also include residents from other areas and members of the business community. People will need to come together for a number of meetings to look at issues and options. The task force will learn about what other communities are doing to address traffic issues, and, at some point a traffic engineer will become involved. Any solution has impacts somewhere else. There will need to be processes to engage the broader neighborhood. FALCON HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES -4- June 11, 2003 Variance Request for Dino’s Gyros (continued) Mr. Scott Noble, 1539 Crawford, asked if the exit would line up with Asbury. Administrator Worthington said she didn’t know if it lines up or not. Her hunch is that it doesn’t but she will check and get back to him on that. Mr. Raymond Wirth, 1795 Pascal, said the first meeting regarding Embers was held on May 13. At that time he mentioned it was his impression that this was a done deal. The property hadn’t been purchased at that time. Who has bought it? Administrator Worthington said George Sherman has purchased the property. He will convey the property to Dino once the building is built. Mr. Wirth asked if they would get TIF. Administrator Worthington said that property is not a part of the TIF District. Mr. Wirth said he feels this is unfair to the guy who leased the Embers’ building. A lot of people enjoy going to Embers. He asked if the Council looked at the petition he presented to the Planning Commission. Mayor Gehrz said she had not seen it, but part of the reason people would have signed the petition was because of concern about a drive-through. The owners of the Embers property have the right to sell their property. If you want to sell your house, the City can’t tell you not to. Mr. Wirth said that this looks like it’s intentionally on a fast track. Administrator Worthington explained there is a State statute that lays out a specific process that must be followed with applications, and the statute stipulates a 60-day review. If the City Council doesn’t make a decision within the 60-day review period, there is an automatic approval of the application. She said the City did not initiate this process. Mr. Wirth said that people think this was a done deal. He feels bad about Falcon Heights. Mayor Gehrz thanked Mr. Wirth for his comments and said she knows that he put in a lot of time, which shows that he cares about this community. You don’t always have the result that you would like to see. The fact that there is a new plan for Dino’s shows that Dino and his family listened to the concerns of the community. This is a real sign of success. Council member Lamb said that the SE Corner is a huge project and it will have a huge impact. The developer has tried to relocate the businesses and should be applauded for his efforts. Dino’s has been a business in the community for many years and Dino has addressed many of the residents’ concerns. Lindstrom moved approval of a front yard setback variance request of 14.25’ for a new Dino’s Gyros restaurant, which will be developed on property with the current address of 1700 Snelling Avenue North. The motion was unanimously approved. FALCON HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES -5- June 11, 2003 Request to Allow Permit Parking on Garden Avenue Administrator Worthington said that in March, 2003, a resident on Garden Avenue submitted a petition for permit parking on Garden Avenue. This plan was reviewed by staff, and forwarded to the Planning Commission for their consideration at the May 27th meeting. Staff monitored on-street parking in that area during the months of April and May. At various times, staff observed between two and nine vehicles parked in that area. The day on which nine vehicles were observed, two of them belonged to contractors doing work on a house in the area. Subsequently, staff recommended denial of the request, due to relatively little on-street parking, and the difficulty in enforcing permit parking in other areas of the city. The Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend denial of the request to the City Council, with the direction that staff look for alternative ways to address the concerns of the residents. Parking in the radius curve is problematic for garbage trucks and emergency vehicles. Public Works is studying signage limiting parking on one side in the radius area. Mayor Gehrz, for the benefit of the cable television audience, explained the petition process that is followed for requests of this nature. A petition with a sufficient number of resident signatures is submitted, along with a $100 fee. Staff study the request and bring a recommendation before the Planning Commission and City Council. If permit parking is approved for a particular area, residents then have to buy permits from the City every year in order to park their own cars on the street. In response to a question from Council member Lamb, Council member Lindstrom said that half the people in attendance at the Planning Commission meeting were in favor of permit parking, half opposed. Council member Lamb asked if, as part of the study, staff looked at the availability of off-street parking for the residents. Administrator Worthington said that each house in that area has about four off-street parking spots, in addition to two spots in each garage. Mayor Gehrz said that she was pleased the Planning Commission recommended denial. She lives in a neighborhood that has permit parking and it is not a one-sided wonderful thing. The idea of looking carefully at other options makes a lot of sense. She thought the Planning Commission made a good call. Council member Lindstrom said that staff should definitely look at the corner of Garden to make sure fire and emergency vehicles can get through there. Mayor Gehrz said there is a clearly inviting pathway there. The Council might want to revisit the original purpose of that pathway and look at it as an access for fire trucks. Administrator Worthington said there is a big cul-de-sac at the end of that portion of Prior. The path was put in to accommodate the residents from the Falcon Woods area. FALCON HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES -6- June 11, 2003 Request to Allow Permit Parking on Garden Avenue (continued) Council member Kuettel said that she knows of one community that switches limited parking from one side of a street to the other every six months. Talbot moved denial of the petition application for a permit parking area on Garden Avenue. The motion was unanimously approved. Consideration of the Development Agreements for the SE Corner Redevelopment Project: * FALCON HEIGHTS TOWN SQUARE LIMITED PARTNERSHIP * TOWN SQUARE SENIOR APARTMENTS LLC * TOWNHOMES AT TOWN SQUARE LLC Administrator Worthington said the Council is being asked to review and approve the development agreements for the SE Corner project. There are three agreements—one for each component of the redevelopment: Multi-family, senior housing, and townhomes. These agreements set forth the conditions of the development, including the financial stipulations for the redevelopment. Mr. James Prosser, Ehlers and Associates, said that this has been carefully and meticulously planned, beginning in 2002. The developer has been working with the attorneys, property owners and the City. The agreements address the basic issues related to the assistance the City is providing. A development agreement is a type of risk management agreement. It specifies the type of development that will occur, the appropriate amount of assistance that will be provided, and helps controls the financial risk to the City. How do we know the developer is getting the appropriate amount of assistance? The developer has to provide a pro forma and that information is reviewed by Ehlers, who establishes the “but for”. Ehlers has reviewed a number of different updates of information and has determined that the level of assistance being provided is appropriate. What is the financial risk to the City? The City is not at risk if the development does not generate the additional increment that is projected. The development freezes up taxes on that property at its current level. The property will carry a much higher level of the tax capacity for the community and have a positive impact. The agreements are right on target and incorporate the appropriate risk management topics. Council member Lamb asked how the City would generate the funds to make the payments to the developer. Mr. Prosser said that what happens is that there is a captured tax value for the property, and the City, School District and County receive that value for the term of the TIF District. As tax rates increase, the additional tax increment is captured by the City and is given to the developer. This is a very difficult project because of the cost to buy the buildings and relocate the businesses. The taxing jurisdictions will continue to receive the same as they have been getting. FALCON HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES -7- June 11, 2003 Consideration of the Development Agreements for the SE Corner Redevelopment Project (continued) Council member Lamb said that in 2002, the City, School District and County received $X in taxes from that property. According to what the City is doing here, they will continue to receive the same level they received in 2002. Any payment to the developer is generated by the increase in the value of the property. At the end of the TIF period, the property will come on the tax rolls at full value and be taxed at full value. The City will have removed a blighted property, which should have a beneficial effect on the value of neighboring properties. The value of the property, as it exists, continues to go down. If the City did nothing, it would end up with fewer dollars than in 2002. People get upset about TIF. This is why the Council makes the choices that it makes. There is a need to understand the direct and indirect effects on taxes. Mr. Prosser said that all over the community property values are enhanced. There really aren’t tools around any more to help recycle properties. TIF has to be used wisely. This is a classic case where it is being used wisely. Council member Lamb said this is why the City hires consultants. He asked Mr. Prosser to describe his firm’s experience, for the benefit of the audience in attendance and the cable audience. Mr. Prosser said that Ehlers and Associates are pre-eminent specialists. Over the past five years they have assisted with over $1 billion in redevelopment in communities such as Richfield, Burnsville, Eagan. A Sherman project at Lexington and County Road E was one of the first projects that he worked on. Ehlers and Associates are very rigorous in their analyses. It isn’t just a run through. They take their responsibilities very seriously. Council member Talbot said the City did not use City taxes to purchase or develop this property. It only used money to hire expertise. The City is neither a developer nor a purchaser of property. Attorney Knutson said that this is a “pay as you go” TIF district. If taxes are not generated, the City has no obligation to pay anything. The risk will be on the developer, not on the City. The sole source of payment is the taxes generated by this project. Specific improvements have to be made and documented. The City and its citizens are not on the line for one nickel. What the City wants will get built. Council member Lindstrom asked if this prohibits the sale of the project. Attorney Knutson said the documents would be recorded and go with the property. Council member Lindstrom asked about the reimbursement of City costs and how that works. Attorney Knutson referenced the State statute that stipulates reimbursement of up to $5,000, off the top, for administrative expenses. Administrator Worthington said the number in the agreement is based upon the City’s current costs for maintaining the two other TIF districts that the City has. FALCON HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES -8- June 11, 2003 Consideration of the Development Agreements for the SE Corner Redevelopment Project: Council member Lamb asked what the current schedule looks like. Mr. George Sherman said the City has been seeing him for about two and a half years. This has been a complicated project. For the first 12-14 months there were many community meetings. He has raised about $35 million in debt equity. During the last nine months he has submitted a PUD to the City and completed working drawings, which have been bid out. There were twenty-five different tenants and by May 30, all were relocated, except one. This evening he is asking the City Council to approve the development agreements. He has been talking with Dino’s for about two years. Dino’s wants a freestanding restaurant, so construction of a new Dino’s on the existing Embers’ site will begin around July 10, with construction completion scheduled for mid-October. Asbestos removal in the old building will begin around August 1 and be completed by September 1. Demolition will start around September 5 and take about 30 days, with construction of the new buildings beginning around October 15. Tremendous response has been received from a variety of funding sources. The MHFA (Minnesota Housing Finance Agency) looks at this project as a cornerstone. HUD is looking at it very favorably. People have their names on waiting lists for the apartments and townhomes. Mr. Thomas Lagason, Chair of the Planning Commission, asked what is happening with Pizza Hut. Mr. Sherman said they were offered relocation in the new building and they turned the offer down because they want a drive through. They do not own the property but they have a lease on the building. His firm is working with them on identifying other potential sites. Mayor Gehrz thanked Mr. Sherman for all of the creative work. A lot of obstacles and changes were overcome to get to this point. Mayor Gehrz asked Attorney Knutson about the indemnification paragraphs in the agreements and the references to servants. Attorney Knutson explained that refers to anyone working for the City. It is old language, but traditional, and means that everyone is covered. In response to a question from Mayor Gehrz about the revised agreements, Attorney Knutson said that nothing was added to them—only deletions were made. Lamb moved approval of the development agreements outlined below. The motion was unanimously approved. * FALCON HEIGHTS TOWN SQUARE LIMITED PARTNERSHIP – Multi-Family * TOWN SQUARE SENIOR APARTMENTS LLC - Senior * TOWNHOMES AT TOWN SQUARE LLC - Townhomes FALCON HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES -9- June 11, 2003 Condemnation Resolution for: Snelling Avenue Frontage Road – South Portion Shopping Center and Adjacent Snelling Avenue Frontage Road Snelling Avenue Frontage Road – North of Larpenteur Mayor Gehrz asked that this item be tabled to a future meeting. Kuettel moved that the condemnation resolution for the Snelling Avenue Frontage Road – South Portion, the Shopping Center and Adjacent Snelling Avenue Frontage Road, and the Snelling Avenue Frontage Road – North of Larpenteur, be tabled to a future meeting. The motion was unanimously approved. REPORTS FROM COUNCIL MEMBERS: None. INFORMATION AND ANNOUNCEMENTS: Council member Lindstrom said that next week there will be a conference in Saint Paul on homeland security. Tom Ridge, Homeland Security Secretary, will be the keynote speaker at a symposium in Saint Paul on Thursday, June 19, and Mayor Gehrz will be one of the panelists. This is a great honor for her and for Falcon Heights. Council member Talbot said that after 9/11, Mayor Gehrz and Falcon Heights responded with a “what can we do rather than wait approach”. Out of that approach has grown a lot of good information. Mayor Gehrz said that the first CERT training would be held on Thursday evening, June 19. People have until June 15 to register for the training. The cost is $15.00 and covers seven sessions. To date, 13 people have signed up. Administrator Worthington said that people might have noticed the temporary waterlines this evening in the Grove University area. The work was to have started on Friday, June 13. A neighborhood meeting will be held at City Hall on Thursday evening, June 12, 6:30 PM, to discuss replacement of the water main and the trolley path. The regular City Council meeting was adjourned at 8:40 PM. Respectfully submitted, Mary Shea Kodluboy Deputy Clerk