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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCCMin_04Aug11 CITY OF FALCON HEIGHTS COUNCIL MINUTES August 11, 2004 Mayor Sue Gehrz called the regular Council meeting to order. PRESENT: Mayor Gehrz, Council members Laura Kuettel, Robert Lamb, Peter Lindstrom and Richard Talbot Also present: City Administrator Heather Worthington, City Attorney Roger Knutson, Planning and Zoning Coordinator Deb Jones and Deputy Clerk Mary Shea Kodluboy COMMUNITY FORUM: There was no commentary from the audience. PRESENTATIONS: None Scheduled APPROVAL OF MINUTES: The Council minutes dated July 28, 2004 were unanimously approved as submitted. PUBLIC HEARINGS: None Scheduled CONSENT AGENDA: Kuettel moved approval of the Consent Agenda, as outlined below. The motion was unanimously approved. General Disbursements through August 6, 2004: $ 25,030.83 Payroll (07/15/04-07/30/04): $ 14,674.39 2. Acceptance of low bid for crack sealing from Astech Corp in the amount of $15,986.00. Bids were received from the companies outlined below: Astech Corp. $ 15,986.00 Allied Blacktop 18,622.00 Bergman Co. 18,910.00 3. 5% step increase for Mary Shea Kodluboy, Deputy Clerk 4. Adoption of Resolution 2004-14 appointing election judges for the State Primary on September 14, 2004 FALCON HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES -2- July 28, 2004 POLICY AGENDA: Proposed ordinance providing for the addition of rental storage space as an Interim Use in B-3 Zone (continued from July 14, 2004) Mayor Gehrz, for the benefit of the people in attendance and the viewing audience, explained the protocol that would be followed regarding this item: Deb Jones, Planning and Zoning Coordinator will present the staff/Planning Commission report, followed by an opportunity for Council members to ask questions of staff. The audience will be invited to participate, followed by Council discussion and a decision. Deb Jones, Zoning and Planning Coordinator for the City, introduced herself and said she also serves as the staff liaison to the Planning Commission. She then presented her report and findings to the City Council, as outlined below. On June 22, the Planning Commission considered an application from TIES, 1667 North Snelling Avenue, to amend the zoning code to add the following as an interim use in the B-3 Zone, the Snelling-Larpenteur Community Business District: Private storage of vehicles, small trailers, recreational vehicles, equipment or tools, community theatre equipment, materials and similar items, when stored within existing accessory structures. If the application were to be approved, an interim use permit would have to be sought and granted in order for a property to be used for this purpose. The actual permit is not being applied for at this time, only the amendment to the code to allow the potential interim use. This case was initiated by code enforcement action. March, 2004: Old Town Services, tenant of TIES, approached the City about the possibility of having a sidewalk sale. Old Town turned out not to have a license to do business in the City and the business described on their business card was not a legal use in the zone. April 2: City Staff met with the owner of Old Town and TIES personnel, who assured staff that Old Town was using the premises only for storage. Further, they had also rented storage to other individuals. Storage is also illegal in the zone except as an accessory use. TIES was required to cease the illegal use, which they did by the end of April. Enforcement case resolved. At the request of TIES, staff informed them (April 12 meeting and correspondence) of the procedure needed to amend the code to make the rental of storage legal. They decided to pursue this course. Application received May 7. (City immediately gave notice of extension to 120 days.) FALCON HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES -3- July 28, 2004 Proposed ordinance providing for the addition of rental storage space as an Interim Use in B-3 Zone (continued from July 14, 2004) Ms. Jones said the staff recommendation and findings to deny the application were based upon: Interim use intent and purpose – no fit B-3 intent and purpose – no fit If the City were to grant this ordinance, an interim permit would be required, as stated in Chapter 9, Section 15.08, with procedures similar to those for a Conditional Use Permit. The City understands that it is the intent of TIES, if this ordinance is adopted and a permit is granted, to rent or lease storage space to businesses and private individuals. City staff has the following objections to the proposed use: The proposed use does not fit the purpose and intent of the Snelling and Larpenteur Community Business District, as set forth in Section 9-10.01 Subdivision 1. The proposed use would apply to all properties in the B-3 zone, not just the TIES property, and would enable any property owner in B-3 to consider a similar use. The proposed use is not the “highest and best” use of land in the central commercial district of the City. Owners of other properties at Snelling and Larpenteur have invested and will invest millions of dollars to redevelop their properties and to enhance the appearance and quality of existing development. This proposed use does not complement those efforts. The proposed use is vaguely worded enough to include the possible storage of items and materials which could have a negative impact on neighboring residential and commercial properties and on public health and safety. Even if specific conditions and limits were included in the actual permit, enforcement would be costly and difficult for the City. Staff is not confident that effective enforcement would even be possible. There are security risks related to the storage of materials, especially vehicles, in a location immediately adjacent, not only to a residential neighborhood and to the commercial core of the City, but to one of the busiest intersections in the Metro area. FALCON HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES -4- July 28, 2004 Proposed ordinance providing for the addition of rental storage space as an Interim Use in B-3 Zone (continued from July 14, 2004) Ms. Jones said that all of the aforementioned objections apply, whether the proposed use were to be interim, conditional, accessory or permitted. In addition: The proposed use does not fit the purpose and intent of the Interim Use Permit, as defined in 9-15.08 Subdivision 1. The applicant is not presenting this as a temporary use (paragraph a), a presently acceptable use that is expected to become unacceptable or to be replaced in the future by a permitted or conditional use in the district (paragraph b), or a use in anticipation of long range change to the area (paragraph c). At this time there is one other interim use provided in the City Code, the Farmer’s Market at Twin City Co-op Credit Union, approved in 2003. The storage use proposed by TIES shares little if any similarity to the Farmer’s Market use in B-2. Farmer’s Market is on site for a period of five hours or less, one day per week, five months of the year. Storage at TIES would be round the clock, seven days a week, all year. Farmer’s Market is a public service and community amenity provided by Twin City Co-op Credit Union without charge to the Community or to the Market. Storage at TIES is intended as a revenue-producing business unrelated to the nonprofit organization’s educational mission. Farmer’s Market is located in the B-2 zone, which is dissimilar to B-3, both by location and use. As a result of these findings, staff recommended denial of this request to the Planning Commission. June 22: The Planning Commission held a public hearing, attended by several residents of Hollywood Court, who consistently described TIES as a good neighbor. On the grounds of respect for the City’s Comprehensive Plan, the Planning Commission voted 5 – 2 to deny the application. The Comprehensive Plan is something that had been arrived at with great care. This would compromise it. At a future meeting, the Planning Commission will discuss the topic of leased storage. Council member Talbot asked if the Fire Chief had had any input. Ms. Jones said this item was discussed with him informally. It was her impression that it would be an ongoing concern, as far as inspections, simply because of the magnitude, the size, and the amount of time it would take. The City would require frequent inspections, because of the security issues, which would be more burdensome for staff and TIES. TIES would be required to do a lot of documentation. FALCON HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES -5- July 28, 2004 Proposed ordinance providing for the addition of rental storage space as an Interim Use in B-3 Zone (continued from July 14, 2004) Mayor Gehrz said that in the definition of the B-3 Zone we make a lot of references to commercial, retail and service. Now, TIES is primarily office use and that fits in with the concept of commercial, retail, and service, right? Ms. Jones said that office use is a permitted use in the B-3 Zone. Mayor Gehrz said that it can sometimes be confusing if the term office use isn’t used in there too. She said she wanted to add that for the benefit of the viewing public. Mayor Gehrz said that her next question deals with accessory uses. It sounds like the situation right now is that TIES is leasing to several different entities. If an entity is renting an office at TIES, is it legal for them to store their material there? Ms. Jones said yes and mentioned, as an example, the National Youth Leadership Council. They rent space there and she understands they store materials there. That is accessory to their use. However, if an employee of a non-profit that rents office space from TIES rents space to store a boat, that is not an accessory use. The kind of property that is leased for storage alone is more usually associated with an industrial warehouse type of zoning, which Falcon Heights doesn’t have. Mayor Gehrz said that with the issue of housing and our commercial core, we have new housing and commercial under construction on the SE Corner. Within the City code it is permissible to have housing and commercial, provided that it is put in as a Planned Unit Development (PUD). It is part of a total package that has gone through approvals by the Planning Commission, a Comprehensive Plan change, the City Council and the Metropolitan Council. Ms. Jones said that is an example of a rezoning. It is no longer part of the B-3 Zoning District. It is a separate zoning. The process was lengthy and involved. Mr. Thomas Bertz, Director of Special Projects and Facilities Manager for TIES, introduced himself and described TIES, a non-profit cooperative that provides technology and information resources to school administrators, educators and students. TIES is owned by 37 Minnesota school districts that represent about 40 schools with a total enrollment of more than 245,000 students. Mr. Bertz said that he wanted to provide some rebuttal to the bulleted items outlined in the staff report. (The staff report bulleted items that Mr. Bertz numbered 1-10 for the purpose of his response are found on pages 3-4 of these minutes.) What is TIES trying to accomplish? Mr. Bertz said they want to maximize usage of the empty spaces within the TIES complex. Originally, they wanted to pursue a Conditional Use Permit but after discussing this with a number of planners and City staff, they suggested applying for an Interim Use Permit instead, with an eventual move toward a Conditional Use Permit. FALCON HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES -6- July 28, 2004 Proposed ordinance providing for the addition of rental storage space as an Interim Use in B-3 Zone (continued from July 14, 2004) Mr. Bertz gave a brief description of the five structures on the TIES property that would be involved. He said the space is used by TIES staff and families and tenants’ staff and families. The parking storage is seasonal, six month contracts, and comprised of boats, cars, snowmobiles, jet skis, etc. The space could be made available to the community. A majority of the approved uses are high traffic and generate far more traffic than what they would do. Not sure would apply. There are no other businesses with existing accessory structures except for Buck’s and Warners’ Stellian. 3. He thinks this is subjective and is not the highest and best use. 4. TIES wants to use the accessory structures as they have been doing for the past two years. Minimal use, entirely internal storage, and it does not detract from property values. He thinks the wording of the proposal is innocuous and restrictive. The buildings are inspected annually by a number of insurance inspectors and the Fire Department, and they are no notice inspections. This situation could be happening right now. When was the last time the City inspected what the neighboring businesses are storing in their buildings? What about in the residential areas? You can never have total enforcement. They are requesting an IUP, which gives the City the ultimate tool, revocation of the permit. Security. For last three years they have not been a problem. There is no exterior storage, only internal. He disagrees with this point. The original intent was to move to a CUP and he believes this falls under the second part of City code 9.15.08. 9. There would be a maximum of 24 contracts that are either 6 or 12 month contracts, stored for summer or winter, and wouldn’t be accessed hourly, much less daily. The Farmer’s Market generates much more traffic and neighborhood disruption than what they would generate. 10. Unrelated revenue. The Farmer’s Market may be a public convenience but it is not a free public service. Vendors pay dues to the Farmer’s Market Association to participate. They are for profit organizations and companies and are there to generate money for themselves and their businesses. FALCON HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES -7- July 28, 2004 Proposed ordinance providing for the addition of rental storage space as an Interim Use in B-3 Zone (continued from July 14, 2004) Mr. Bertz said that education is in a revenue poor environment. The storage rental fees help pay for grounds maintenance and the annual payment TIES pays to the City for services in lieu of taxes. They might have to take revenue from school based product lines. There is limited traffic impact, limited hours, no additional load on City utilities, no external storage and no new construction. He is not aware of any complaints about this from neighbors. Recent discussions with a number of individuals have led them to believe they would have minimal impact on Hollywood Court, other B-3 businesses and the City in general. They are a non-profit, educational organization. They have worked hard to be good neighbors and property owners. They have helped Hollywood Court neighbors with traffic issues and have tried to maintain positive working relationships. Council member Kuettel said that TIES has been there for three years. She asked Mr. Bertz if TIES has been renting storage space for two years, and he said yes. Mr. Bertz said TIES has been there since 2001. Council member Kuettel said that he mentioned reconsideration of the pilot (payment to City for services in lieu of taxes). TIES was able to do the pilot the first year when they didn’t have the rental income. Mr. Bertz said that he believes the first year TIES paid full taxes. The second year they did the pilot they used the storage rental income and revenue from State Fair parking to cover the pilot and grounds’ maintenance. Council member Lamb said that TIES is tax exempt, non-profit. Don’t they jeopardize their status when they engage in side businesses like this? Mr. Bertz said this income is considered incidental to their primary revenue stream. Their auditors and accountants have no problem with this. They are not a 50l(C)(3). They are a non-profit government organization, a school district. Council member Lamb said that TIES is clearly a non-profit organization. He is wondering what it does when it engages in for profit activities. For example, if another non-profit organization ran a gas station for profit, to him somehow that would not be right. It does make sense that there is some incidental number in here. He also fully acknowledges that it isn’t the City’s jurisdiction to regulate what their tax status is anyway. The question still remains, whether engaging in that activity or to what extent can you engage in that activity and still maintain your non-profit status? If you had 400 buildings could you rent out storage in 400 buildings and still be a non-profit organization? Mr. Bertz said it is directly related to the amount of revenue received from the leasing of those buildings. It is fairly low, $3,000 to $4,000. It has the potential, if he organizes things differently, to result in about $12,000 of revenue. Their revenue stream allows them in the neighborhood of about $25,000-$30,000 of unrelated business income. Council member Lamb said he wanted to clarify or expand something Mr. Bertz had said earlier. If the City would consider this, would Mr. Bertz be willing to work with staff, or whoever was able, to draw up a very specific list of conditions of what would be allowable and what would not be? Mr. Bertz said absolutely. FALCON HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES -8- July 28, 2004 Proposed ordinance providing for the addition of rental storage space as an Interim Use in B-3 Zone (continued from July 14, 2004) Council member Lamb said this would mean a much more tightly worded document than is being presented this evening. For example, it would seem very logical that the City wouldn’t want any flammables stored there. When you talk about boats, automobiles, etc., in your mind is it reasonable to say that all of the fuel would have to be eliminated from them before they were stored? Mr. Bertz said that might be possible with jet skis or snowmobiles, but some gasoline would have to be left in the automobiles in order to be able to drive them in and out. Council member Talbot asked if Ciatti’s is in the B-3 Zone, and Administrator Worthington said yes. He asked if Ciatti’s has a CUP regarding the number of parking spaces they must have. Administrator Worthington said she wasn’t aware of one for Ciatti’s, but there is a CUP for Falcon Crossing regarding parking spaces and they are currently in compliance. Council member Talbot said that if the ordinance were changed, it is not inconceivable that Ciatti’s could rent some of their surface parking spaces to RV’s 24/7, 365 days a year. Administrator Worthington said yes. Mr. Bertz asked how you can assume that? Do you assume the flat lot is an accessory structure? Administrator Worthington said no, but it is land owned by the current property owner. Mr. Bertz said that the current wording restricts it to currently in use existing accessory structures. He thinks those three key words are what’s important. Buck’s and Warners’are the only businesses that could have storage like this. City Attorney Knutson said that with regard to the proposed interim use language, the word existing really adds nothing. Obviously, you can’t store stuff in a structure that doesn’t exist. Existing doesn’t mean it has to be existing at the time the ordinance is adopted. It just says existing, so you could build a new one. Mr. Bertz said the intent of the wording is existing at the time of the ordinance. Attorney Knutson said that is not what it says. Mr. Bertz said that in legislation you deal with intent. He is willing to work with the City if it takes language to straighten this out. Attorney Knutson said you don’t get to legislative intent if the language is clear and he thinks it is clear. Mr. Bertz said he would agree with that. Council member Talbot asked where storage facilities are typically located. Administrator Worthington said they are located in light industrial or heavy industrial, typically in industrial areas. They are never located adjacent to residential, not in the modern zoning codes in the metro area. Mayor Gehrz said that if an employee came up to you and said, Tom, can I store my snowmobile for free, would you? Mr. Bertz said that if the City Council says TIES can’t do this for a fee but can do it for free, they will do it. However, the ability to derive revenue is there and TIES wants to make use of the space and cover some of their costs. The space is just sitting there. Mayor Gehrz asked him if the space would be used for storage whether revenue is generated or not, and Mr. Bertz said yes. FALCON HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES -9- July 28, 2004 Proposed ordinance providing for the addition of rental storage space as an Interim Use in B-3 Zone (continued from July 14, 2004) Mayor Gehrz said the idea is to increase revenues from $2,000-$4,000 to $12,000, and she asked Mr. Bertz to describe how he would do that. He described the internal reconfiguration that would be done in each of the five buildings to permit more storage. She asked Mr. Bertz if he will advertise if he doesn’t have enough people who meet his criteria, and Mr. Bertz said no, staff and tenants come first. Mayor Gehrz said that once a year the Fire Marshal and insurance companies go through. TIES would be asked to limit who has access to rent there. Part of the inspection process has to be tying those vehicles with people who actually work in the building and she asked Mr. Bertz if he has a record of who has used the facilities. Mr. Bertz presented a list showing summer and winter use and who has what vehicle. Mayor Gehrz commented that the list doesn’t indicate who the people are and where they work. That is an issue that has to be addressed. Council member Talbot asked which areas are currently sprinklered. Mr. Bertz said that Building A is. Buildings B, C, D and E are not. Mayor Gehrz asked for commentary from the audience and there was none. Mayor Gehrz said the City Council would now discuss the Planning Commission’s recommendation and decide whether they want to support the Planning Commission’s recommendation or do something different. Council member Talbot asked Council member Lindstrom, the Council Liaison to the Planning Commission, what were the reasons two Commissioners voted for the proposed ordinance. Council member Lindstrom said they voted for it at the June meeting because they were under the impression it needed to be acted upon within 60 days. They were hoping for additional time to find some compromise language. He outlined the points the five Commissioners brought up in voting against the proposed ordinance. The main factor was dealing with the Comprehensive Plan they created in 1990 and relooked at in 2000. The Comprehensive Plan looked at Snelling and Larpenteur as the focal point of the City. It was reiterated, in June, that there was no thought of putting essentially a mini storage facility at that location. Second point: Safety. This is an incredibly busy intersection. The City would be guessing many times on what would be located in that storage facility. Bottom line: This is not a good use of what is essentially the downtown of Falcon Heights. When you think of Falcon Heights you think of Snelling and Larpenteur, and do you really want a mini storage facility right there? Well, for him the answer is no. He has nothing against TIES. TIES is a fantastic neighbor. Maybe a dozen people from Hollywood Court said they have been a great neighbor, and they should be thanked and commended for being a good neighbor. Look at mini storage and what that entails. It is not a good fit. FALCON HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES -10- July 28, 2004 Proposed ordinance providing for the addition of rental storage space as an Interim Use in B-3 Zone (continued from July 14, 2004) Council member Lamb said he would be inclined to table this and ask staff and TIES to work out conditions under which this would be more acceptable. Conditions: What would be stored there. Paperwork. Inspections. Insurance coverage. As he understands it, there won’t be any signs out there. Mini storage, to him, means there is signage. There won’t be any advertising. This is a low key thing. He listened to the distribution of the activity. The buildings won’t change. Fundamentally, we have to respect property owners’ rights to use their property as long as it is consistent with public health, safety, morality, etc. If the City and TIES can come to an agreement, he doesn’t see where we will compromise public health, safety, morality, etc. The language in the permit would have to be fairly restrictive. His recommendation would be to table this for 30 days. Ask staff and TIES to get together. Come together on the language of the permit and see what happens. An IUP does give the City the ability, at regular periods of time, to revoke the thing and reverse direction if this is something other than what it is being portrayed as. Some of the objections that staff made are very valid, although he thinks they can be addressed. Some of the other objections have a little bit less merit. In response to a question from Council member Lindstrom about the 120 day time line, Administrator Worthington said that September 7 is the deadline. The Council will only meet one more time between now and September 7. This item would need to be brought back to the Council at the August 25 meeting. Mr. Bertz asked if he could waive the 120 day limit. Attorney Knutson said TIES would have to grant an extension in writing before the clock would run out. Realistically, the City would need this in writing before the next Council meeting. Mayor Gehrz said that if the City doesn’t get the extension in writing and the Council doesn’t take any action tonight, what will happen? Attorney Knutson said if the Council doesn’t do anything and time runs out, then the amendment happens by default. Mayor Gehrz said she wouldn’t be comfortable leaving it that way. Mayor Gehrz said that procedurally, the Planning Commission has asked to look at the issue of storage. It would make good sense for that to happen before this comes back to the Council again. When would the Planning Commission be doing that? Council member Lamb said there is one more Council meeting before September 7. If the City doesn’t get the waiver by August 25, this will be on the August 25 agenda for an up or down vote. Council member Talbot said the Planning Commission was asked to advise the City Council on up or down on storage, a changed use in the B-3 Zone. They said no. The allowed uses for the B-3 Zone are comprehensive, have planning, purpose and continuity to the other districts that are set aside for specific purposes. FALCON HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES -11- July 28, 2004 Proposed ordinance providing for the addition of rental storage space as an Interim Use in B-3 Zone (continued from July 14, 2004) Council member Talbot said that if 80% of the storage is not sprinklered, wouldn’t TIES’ insurance company increase their premium rates? How much potential revenue would be offset by increased insurance rates? The two members of the Planning Commission who voted yes didn’t have clear or pressing reasons. They wanted to wait for more time and more information. He supports the Planning Commission’s recommendation. Council member Kuettel said that TIES has all of this storage and in their mind they think they should store things there. Unfortunately, the location is the City’s downtown. The City has code already in place that doesn’t accommodate this storage. She is stuck between using, not using. These are storage buildings. She is prepared to vote tonight. Mayor Gehrz said that zoning is the major tool that cities have to protect the investments of people in private and commercial property. That zoning is sacred and an important obligation that the City has. It means there are carefully thought out laws determining what’s appropriate within the City. The process includes staff, the Planning Commission, City Council and residents in the development of the Comprehensive Plan. The Comprehensive Plan then goes to the Met Council for their review and approval. Cities take zoning responsibilities very seriously and that is appropriate. We should do that. Some of the issues that concern her about this request: Right now it can sound not that bad, particularly if tighter controls were put in place and it did not compromise things too seriously. However, what can happen when you make a zoning change, and we have heard this concern expressed by a couple of the residents who attended the Planning Commission meeting, is what she would call mission creep. TIES is not always going to own that building. Things change when you get the camel’s nose under the tent. Then there’s the next owner, and the next City Council, and the next Planning Commission. Precedent is important and that camel’s nose under the tent is important. She understands TIES’ intent, what they are trying to do and accomplish, and can appreciate that. With many of our businesses, it isn’t unusual for them or our residents to come in with a plan to improve their property or increase their business revenue. The only protections the City has for the other residents and businesses from those glorious ideas are zoning codes and how they are enforced. Right now it sounds fairly limited. What starts out seeming to be tightly controlled doesn’t always stay that way. We would not be protecting our property owners, residential and commercial, by overturning the recommendations of the Planning Commission. Their recommendation was well thought out. Enforcement would be a difficult issue, maybe not so much right now but as this moves on. She would not be in favor of overturning the Planning Commission’s recommendation. Council member Lindstrom said that with regard to the camel’s nose under the tent, the residents on Hollywood Court know all about that with the State Fair. One year it’s the MSRA. The next year it’s an auto show. FALCON HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES -12- July 28, 2004 Proposed ordinance providing for the addition of rental storage space as an Interim Use in B-3 Zone (continued from July 14, 2004) Council member Lindstrom said that the Planning Commission, over the last year, has been looking at the entire code, making it simpler and more user friendly. Adopting a more lengthy interim use document would only muddle it up even more than it is now. How are some things going to be measured? It seems that would be heading in the wrong direction. Council member Lamb said that TIES isn’t going to advertise and isn’t going to solicit outside customers. The gentleman has stated that if we do not approve this and the tenants and employees of TIES come and say, now can we store for free, that he will probably grant it. We have more control and that is what IUP’s are for anyway. This argument of the slippery slope, we hear that all the time. The decision before us today is whether to allow TIES to rent the space under limited circumstances. We can all make arguments about what this might lead to. We are here to make some decisions, which we are going to make, but we don’t do justice to the question in front of us when we get off into all of these things that it may or may not lead to. If these things develop we can change the rules to address the new developments. This is a use that is transparent to the community, as he understands it. It helps TIES raise some revenue and doesn’t cost the City anything. They have stated fairly categorically that they are willing to work with the city to come up with an appropriate list of conditions and documentation that we might want. We do an injustice to this request and he thinks it is not the purpose of government to be rigid and say the rules can’t be bent. If the Council is going to vote on this tonight, and he recommends they don’t, he will vote to support the TIES’ position. Ms. Jones reminded everyone this policy agenda item is to add an amendment to the code. It is not the specific permit for this particular use. It is just to make it possible for TIES to apply for an Interim Use Permit, or anyone else who fits the conditions. The use option really does not address revenue; it is the actual use by third parties, whether or not rent is collected. She also stated that staff objections did not mention any impact on traffic, appearance, or any factor of that kind. That was not included in the staff findings. Lamb moved to table this item and address it at the next City Council meeting, unless TIES provides a waiver of time limits prior to the next City Council meeting, for the purpose of TIES and staff to work out appropriate restrictive language for an interim use amendment to code that would allow an Interim Use Permit, for the purpose of storage, to be granted in the future. The motion was defeated 3-2, with Gehrz, Lindstrom and Talbot opposed, and Lamb and Kuettel voting in favor. Lindstrom moved denial of the request for an ordinance providing for the addition of rental storage space as an interim use in the B-3 Zone, and adoption of the Planning Report by Deb Jones, Planning and Zoning Coordinator, as the written findings. The motion was approved 4-1, with Gehrz, Kuettel, Lindstrom and Talbot voting in favor, and Lamb opposed. FALCON HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES -13- July 28, 2004 Proposed ordinance providing for the addition of rental storage space as an Interim Use in B-3 Zone (continued from July 14, 2004) Mayor Gehrz said the Planning Commission has asked to take up the issue of storage as they study the code. This doesn’t rule out possibilities in the future. Council member Lindstrom said the Planning Commission voted to look at storage. Repainting City streetlights along Larpenteur Avenue Administrator Worthington said the decorative streetlights along Larpenteur Avenue are in need of repainting. In the 2004 capital budget, the City Council allocated $7,000 from City-wide Public Facilities Capital Improvements for light pole painting. The City received two bids for this work: Aerial: $ 7,175 Outdoor Lighting Services: $ 6,150 There are three paint color chips to choose from: Architectural bronze, dark forest green, and John Deere green. The five property owners immediately adjacent to the Snelling/Larpenteur intersection were contacted: Sherman Associates, TIES, Wellington Properties, Ciatti’s and Warners’ Stellian. Two responded and said their preference was the architectural bronze. General discussion followed. Kuettel moved acceptance of the low bid from Outdoor Lighting Services in the amount of $6,150 to paint 41 decorative streetlights the color dark forest green. The motion was unanimously approved. REPORTS FROM COUNCIL MEMBERS: None INFORMATION AND ANNOUNCEMENTS: Proposed Water Rates for 2005 Administrator Worthington said the City has received a letter from Stephen Schneider, General Manager, St. Paul Regional Water Services, indicating that he is proposing a 5 cent/100 cubic feet rate increase to the Board of Commissioners for 2005. The Board will consider this for the next few months and make their recommendation to the Saint Paul City Council in October. FALCON HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES -14- July 28, 2004 INFORMATION AND ANNOUNCEMENTS: Council member Lamb said the City received a letter from Keystone Community Services thanking Falcon Heights residents for their donations of money and food to their food shelf program earlier in the year. He read the letter aloud for the benefit of the viewing audience, and it is outlined below. “Thank you so much for your generous donation of $1,000.00 and 3,155 pounds of food to Keystone Community Services Food Shelf Program during the first six months of 2004. As you may already know, Keystone Community Services resulted from the merger of Merriam Park Community Services and Neighbor to Neighbor, two community based agencies with similar services, missions, values and a long history of working together. Keystone provides a range of quality human services for children and youth, individuals and families, and seniors. We appreciate your donation and your choosing Keystone to meet human service needs and help make life in our community better for all our neighbors. With your help and the help of more than 60 dedicated volunteers, we expect to distribute over 500,000 pounds of food through 10,000 food shelf visits in 2004. With the merger we now run four food shelves. Our Midway Food Shelf alone saw as many as 500 visits a month in 2003. We always like to hear from you. We value your input as well as your support. Again, thank you. Greg Wandersee, President” Council member Lamb thanked everyone for participating in the food drive. Mayor Gehrz said she wanted to give a big thank you to the Parks and Recreation staff, the Parks Commission, the Lions, Junior Leaders and all of the people who came to the Ice Cream Social. She thanked Laura Kuettel and Chuck Long for being in the dunk tank. Council member Lindstrom said the Lions had their meeting the other night and could not remember a more successful Ice Cream Social. Mayor Gehrz said there was a wide range of ages represented at the Ice Cream Social. The current issues of the Sun Focus and the Roseville Review have photographs and there are also photographs on the City web site. She said that earlier in the year the City won the Business Journal’s “Best in Real Estate Award for Mixed Use Development. There was a huge dinner and the finalists in each of the categories of real estate were in attendance. A DVD of her application interview was shown for the benefit of the viewing audience. The regular City Council meeting was adjourned at 8:45 PM. Respectfully submitted, Mary Shea Kodluboy Deputy Clerk