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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCCMin_59May28REGULAR, P~ZI;ETING Tt1AY 28th, 1959. 1221 tdeeting was called to order at 7:00 P, t<S. , the following Council r~?embers being present: Harold C. Nilsen, P,Zayor; George J. Shavor, Trustee; Millis 4Varkentien, Trustee. Also present were Frank N. Graham, Village Attorney; Ulm. E. Olsen, Treasurer; Vern J. Ljungren, Village Engineer and Ethel E. 'ldhite, Deputy Clerk and Deputy Treasurer. Absent Paul L. Coppini, Trustee and tiym. R. Utecht, Clerk. i~~7inutes of the regular meeting of May l~~th were approved as submitted. P~finutes of the Special Meeting of ?~iay 21st were approved as submitted. Lindig Mayor Nilsen stated that at the regular meeting of May l~.th a comm- Spiegler ittee had been appointed to study the problem of building permits for the proposed apartment buildings and called for reports. Shavor reported the various arguments against the project were re- peated in practically the same manner as they had been brought up at the other meetings. The purpose of the meeting; was to give the developer a. chance to come in and discuss the plan changes which they had agreed to make; but which they had never had a chance to present before. The meeting was not restricted -- it was left open to discussion of the advantages and disadvantages -- and the develop- er did have an opportunity to go into the matter of makings the pro- ject more attractive. V~~then the matter was referred to Dahlgrens the Planning Consultant, he proposed a somewhat revised plan of the grounds, playgrounds and parking which was at variance with the orig- inal proposal. We went right down the list of objections and the developer was agreeable to making most of the changes suggested. The parking in back was originally straight from sou+ h t th d ~ o nor an with the playground to the west which would have meant crossing the parking lot when going to or leaving the playground. Driveway was too long and would give an opportunity for someone to get up pretty good speed. Planner suggested shortening the driven^ray and provid- ing two more rows of parking where the playground was originally. For better appearance in the block9 some people think a stagnered arrangement of buildings is preferable to a straight line so it was suggested that two buildings be set back !~0' and the other two 1~5~. The Planner suggested the Designer could come up with a better looking brick, and I understand that the plan coming up tonight does have some improvements. Planner suggested ornamental fencing instead of wire fence orig- inally proposed and builder agreed to that. There was some question as to whether or not it would be desirable to have a concrete curb in front of the property. I see the developer has drawn in a curb which keeps margin of street Vrell defined. The Village is planning to put in water part way down Larpenteur in order to eliminate excessive construction costs later on, and the developer has agreed to use that water line off the 12" if condi- tions are right. This means that the costs would be spread against this property as well as other users of the water line. The parking lot would be properly surfaced -- ±.hat would be made a part of the specifications. J 1222 The side yard on the north was originally shown as 20' and it, was sug~:ested it might be made I~0' if Bracing for the other a-~artments would be adequate. The Developer has made all improvements suggested by our Planner and done everything r, t could ue reasonably expected, and agreed to substantially everything that was -requested. Nilsen asked what was the concensus of the feeling of this meeting. Shavor replied everybody participated very actively but there was disagreement as to whether the project should go in or not. Dahl- gren pointed out a number of very important points that should be considered -- one was the possibility of some undesirable type of business going in there, even on the corner, but the way it is zoned paw it might go into the whole area. With the increased value of land and the fact that the University of Minnesota has transferred a lot of its farm operations to Rosemount; also since the University must have had something in mind when they asked the Village to rezone the area back here to business some years ago, it is thought the University might release some of the land along Larpenteur for commercial use and 250f to 179' would. not be ade- quate for commercial use, which would require 3 or ~. hundred feet, there was some argument for leaving this stretch the full depths Nilsen said that at the meeting of the Planning Commission and the Village Council, the Planning Consultant was asked to consider the proposed land use for this narticula.r piece of property consi~'ering the development that was planned. The inequality of depths is the crux of the matter. In Gardner's report, they point out that it is not their intent to pass a legal opinion nor make recommenda- tions as to whether the application for said permit should. be granted or denied. However, their analysis does cover those factors which are pertinent to sound planning procedures. It further states 'Considering land use patterns alone, either a limited business or high quality apartment development aopears appropriate for this par- cel, with the latter being a preferred choice because of the in- equalities of the zoning boundaries on either side of° Fry Street." Architect Johnson said he had talked to Dahlgren and they feel they have Johnson accomplished what he has been asking for. They followed everything he asked for except the north side yard where Dahlgren had asked for L~0' plus or minus. They figure 27' is about as close as they can set the buildings which would leave a side lot of about 30e. They will put in a wood fence- They::have brought samples of brick for approval and selection. Present plan shows a nicely decorated, colonial red brick with wwhite shutters and white trim. The water situation is taken care of now. We have agreed to put in four wells which may be eliminated if proposed water supply is adequate, but we will still put in wells if necessary. Design of front entrance will be repeated on the rear of the building„ He said he would be glad to answer any questions. Nilsen asked Ohman of the Planning Commission if he didn't think the ner~ plan was quite an improvement. Ohman said the density was still too high, Dahlgren agreed that three buildings would be better than four or four buildings with 10 units each. Ohman said he canit see any difference whatsoever. They had looked at the 12 story build- ings which would fit right in with the neighl5orhood. He still thinks there will be a terrific traffic problem and. that parking space is short. Ohman said he thinks we should insist on the same density reauirements as Roseville ~rhich would rr~an cutting the proposed project to 3 - 16 unit buildings a.nd 1 - 10 unit building. Shavor said Dahlgren had pointed out that as you get closer to the City, you can expect a higher density, He thinks density of aHart- ments already located in Falcon Heights is 50~ higher than present proposal. Density of proposed project is only about 15~ higher than Roseville's requirements which isn't appreciable. He sa3.d Dahlgren feels the density is alright and he (Shavor) places a great deal of confidence in the opinion of a man who makes it his business to plan. Vdhen you go to a doctor, you take his advice. When we hire a planner, we should take his word. Ohman said they had hired a planner and the Council did not take his word. Shavor said first Manner doesn't have 110 the exper- ience Dahlgren has, Shavor thinks the opposition is based 90~ on emotion when you have 8 or 10 meetings on a piece of property. Ohman feels we can run into trouble. Shavor said that o.f the 3 planners we have had, 2 feel that there is no reason. for rezoning this particular snot. He doesn't know what we can rain except six months delay in getting it down on paper. 1223 Nilsen pointed out that Dahlgren had checked Loeck's plan. Loeck's is certainly competent, He is now Chairman of the Metropolitan Planning Commission. Nilsen also checked with i3onestroo who stated Dahlgren was highly qualified. The Council felt that inasmuch as we are so close to Roseville, we should engage a planner who was familiar with both Roseville and Falcon Heights. Robins, attorney for Spieler, said they had followed all the recommenda- tions that were made in the matter and they came to renew their reams st for the building Hermit. They expected to receive an answer one way or the other. They have no final specifications. Plans are the same except for the front and rear for which they will be bound by their statements in this matter. Korstad asked if Dahlgren didn't say the best use would be an office building. Shavor said Dahlgren hadn't flatly recommended an office building for that spot. He definitely stated an apartment building would be an appropriate buffer between the single family residential area and any business that might be established on Larpenteur. It is conceivable that a °~usiness might have gone on Larpenteur and then it would be logical to put the apartments on the north. Dahlgren said "Limited business or apartments, the latter being preferable." Korstad said present density would not meet Roseville's .requirements. Shavor said he would defy anyone to see a 15~ difference -- he didn:':t think that was any argument. Ohman said present density would be equal to putting a 6 family unit and 9 cars on his property. Klein said he couldn't understand why Dahlgren was hired because he is fam- iliar with Roseville, and then when it comes to density, they are compared with St. Paul. Dahlgren did state best use for remaining land would be office buildings. An overall plan should be made at this time. Dahlgren feels there has been a lack of planning and he feels that some of the businesses now here will not be here very long. Shavor said that Dahlgren did predict that some of the buildings now housing business establishments would be turned .over for offices but , he did not deviate from his original plan which said "Limited business or apartments, the latter being preferable." Klein said Dahlgren 122I~ tried to be fair. Shavor said if an office building did go in there, you would probably have more trouble with traffic. Cars would be coming and going all day long and they are going to park as close to the front door as possible. P]hat about set-backs? An office building would probably ccver a lot more of the land than the apartments would. What about height? An Office Build- ing would probably be higher and leave less side yard. Kors+„ad said they could probably having parking :~t the rear. Shavor said a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. You have the choice of taking these apartments or something that will give less set-back and more traffic. Schultz asked if it wasn't possible that it would be quiet Saturdays, Sundays and Holidays if there was an office building there. Kulkay said Loeck's report stated we should develop a wait-and- see policy subject to the development of the surrounding community. Their proposal was to hire a planner and set up ordinances so the Council would have control of what would go on a particular piece of property. Shavor said Dahlgren checked Loeck's map. The broperty in ques- tion was zoned business on Loeck's map, and Dahlgren didn't see any reason for rezoning it. Kulkay said Council could specify exactly what type of business could go where. Shavor said the Council can't control what comes into the Village. Kulkay said 675 people signed a petition asking for an over-all plan for the Village. Nilsen said such a complete study would cost X2,500.00 and there was a -uestion about available funds. Y1e would have to wait six months or a year before Federal funds would become available. Nilsen said he is prepared to go ahead with this planning, but that after we have worked it up, we will run into the same kind of problem we have before us tonight. Back in January he asked the public not to be emotional, but to be objective. Somebody is bound to get hurt. The Council's business is to protect the Public Interest. Y,(e have no desire to inflict upon ar;y citizen anything objectionable as far as we can control it. Mrs, Kittleson said 675 people asked that this property be rezoned and she didn't see how they can refuse to rezone it. ~Plarkentien said he had been asked by many people what the petition was about -- they didn't understand it. Korstad called the Council's attention to the petition by Carlton D, Kittleson, Jr. and others requesting that the property described as: The westerly 285' of lot 8 Annie L. Hendrickson's Acre Lots, Ramsey County, Village of Falcon Heights, Minnesota, excepting from said tract the following described parts: (1) The Nor th 850 feet of said tract (2) The ti'lest 60 feet of the south 195 feet of said tract; and (3) The South 179 feet of said tract lying Easterly of the Westerly 60 feet of said tract be rezoned from Business District classification to a Residence r'$" classification, subject to the present non-conforming use. 1225 Graham said our procedure was outlined by the ordinance. If petition is sufficient, the Council, under its ordinance, is obligated to set a hearing on the petition at a date not less than ten days nor more than thirty days. Notice must be posted in the 3 designated posting places and, in the past, we have published a notice in the Rose Tribune as well. In Graham's opinion, no building permits should be issued permitting the use of the land referred to in the petition for any use which would not be permitted if the rezoning were granted, After further discussion, Shavor moved that the Village Council set a hearing for the rezoning as outlined in the petition for June 9th at 8 P, i.2., and directed the Clerk to post the notices at the three designated Hosting places. Also to see that the notice was published in the Rose Tribune. Seconded by Warkentien and unanimously carried. It was moved by Nilsen, seconded by Warkentien and unanimously voted that the petition be referred to Attorney Graham for checking. Nilsen moved that Attorney Graham draft a necessary revision of the present zoning ordinance to avoid a repetition of the present situa- tion. Seconded by Shavor and carried. Check Sig- It was moved by Warkentien, seconded by Shavor and unanimously voted natures that the Village Officials who are authorized to sign checks be per- mitted to shorten their signatures as follov~s: H. C. Nilsen (P~Rayor) W. R. Utecht (Clerk) W. E. Olsen {Treasurer) Dance It was moved by Warkentien, seconded by Shavor and unanimously voted Village to permit the Rebels Custom Car Club to use the Village Hall for a Hall dance Friday, June 5th, 1959 from 7:30 until 11 P. Pd., subject to the rules and regulations set out which are to be made known to them. Unlicensed After discussion, Shavor moved that the list of Unlicensed I~Saster Plumbers and Gas Installers submitted by Eha and the ~,.ist of Unlicensed Plumbers P~2GI reported by Dunkel be referred to Attorney Graham. Seconded by Nilsen and carried. Trash A copy of the suggested trash burning ordinance was given to each Burning member present and referred to those who were absent for study and Ordinance recommendations. Zoning Re- Copies were passed around for study by Members of the Council. view. Larpenteur Graham advised he doesn't feel passing the resolution suggested by Avenue the Board of Vi(ater Commissioners obligates us to do the work immediatel~r. Water P:4ain After further discussion, it was moved by Shavor, seconded by Warlcen- tien and unanimously voted to approve the following resolutions RESOLUTION ACKNOVdLEDGING AP1D ACCEPTING EXTENSION OF 1~IATER SERVICE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN CONDITIONS: 1"1HCREAS, The Board of UJater Commissioners of the City of St. Paul. by resolution passed April 13th, 1959, recommended the extension of water mains on Larpenteur Avenue from Snelling Avenue westerly a distance of approximately tt51~0 feet subject to certain conditions as set out in the said resolution; and 1226 ti'VHEREAS, The City Council of the City of St. Paul thereafter, on April 23rd, 1959 concurred in and approved the said action of the Board of V~iater Commissioners of the City of St. Paul and authorized the extension of future water service in Falcon Heights as outlined in the said resolution of the '3oard of 'eater Commissioners dated April 13th, 1959 and subject to the provisions, terms and condi- tions of the resolution of the Board of lTtater Commissioners, NOVJ THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Village Council of the Village of Falcon Heights hereby acknowledges receipt of a copy of the reso- lution of the Board of 1r~ater Commissioners dated April 13th, 1959 and a copy of the resolution of the St. Paul City Council dated April 23rd, 1959, referred to above, and agrees to comply v~rith the provisions, terms and conditions of said resolutions when the ex- tension is made by the Villa{~e. RESOLVID FURTHER, that the Village Clerk be authorized and directed to send a copy of this resolution to the Secretary of the Board of ~Fater Commissioners of the City of St. Paul and to the City Clerk of the City of St. Paul. Tatum St. I~.4ayor Nilsen expressed his opinion that they should figure out some way of posting Tatum Street to protect it from the heavy traffic during construction of Larpenteur Avernie. The matter was referred to Engineer Ljungren who will study it and come up with a definite recommendation. Suburban It is thought that the Suburban Sanitation Corporation, Fridley, Sanitation T;iinnesota, has the most feasible plan for rubbish disposal. ti;rar- Fridley kentien and Shavor are going out to look it over and will reX;ort to the Council later. Thermofax Letter from Thermofax offering a contract of ~S35.00 a year for servicing our Thermofax Copying ~aachine was reed and discussed. It is the concensus of opinion that we will be better off to pay for service as needed rather than enter into a yearly contract fer service. Fire Dept. V'darkentien reported the Firemen had asked if we could get 1t telephone Training poles for use in erecting a training tower, Graham pointed out that Towers. such a tower might be an 'Attractive Nuisance". Kulkay then said there would be no cross bars until second story height~rras reached - to get that hich, you would have to climb the poles. The Deputy Clerk was instructed to contact the Coon Rapids Fire Der,artment who have a 3 story tower and get information as to height, spacing, etc. Schifsky Regarding i~aryland Casualty Co. bond No. 90-533581, Ljungren advised Tatum St. the work was com?~leted August 15th, 1959, accepted August 20th, 1959 Bond at a final contract price of :7991.81. The Deputy Clerk was in- structed to pass this information on to the I~laryland Casualty Co. 11 1 Streets Ljungren advised he had issued a ~nrork order to the County April 27th covering patching Village streets and alleys as directed, He met with Emil, the Supervisor, on the 15th and went over all the streets ~rrith all the complaints received, and the only area where he did not tell him to go ahead was on Idaho and Pascal because we wanted to handle that separately. Regarding the ward rail for the sump hole, this would require 1227 about 100 feet of guard rail. The posts would cost about 97.00 each and 3~l~" wire rope about 20¢ afoot. 'dde would also have to get per- mission from the Highway Department. Suns would cost about ~k6.00. There is no reason for the public to drive down there. Tracks may have been made by people driving down to the skating rink. It was decided to wait and see tivhat happens. Nilsen reported a bird bath on Autum near Blide's. Ljungren said he had checked there about three weeks ago after a rain. Will check again. Ljungren reported he had talked with Souter about draining across Roselawn and Souter didn't offer any encouragement. This matter will have to be apnroaced through the Roseville Council. It was mentioned that if Roselawn is used for a detour, someone is likely to have an accident. The shoulder is too raw, Someone will go off and have a bad accident. Ashbach told Nilsen he is going to tear up all of Larpenteur. Nilsen told Ashbach he will have to maintain access to "s~iando Photo, resi- dents and for the Fire Department. Ljungren advised that the law specifies no two adjacent cross roads may be closed off at the same time without specific permission from the Village Engineer. They must maintain a smooth and passable road at all times. Simpson and Crawford is so flat they can't do anything without a pipe or recutting the gutter. Shavor said he thought if someone went out with a hand shovel sort of "worried" the grade north of Crawford and Arona, it could be worked out. Ljungren said the cost of a dry well, etc. would go a long way towards getting a proper storm sewer which could be run to Larpenteur and Arona. A catch basin at Arona and Crawford might help. State Board of Health will not approve com- bining storm and sanitary sewer lines. On Idaho and Pascal they thought they should take care of Idaho first and then pick up Pascal. We can drain a lot of water off the inter- section by taking care of Pascal. Warkentien moved that T. A. Schifsky & Son perform the work necessary on Pascal north and south of the Idaho intersection to relieve drain- age under the direction of the Engineer. Seconded by Nilsen and un- animously carried. Gas Line Ljungren advised he received a sketch covering the gas main along Larpenteur. Northern States has set a location exactly where our sewer line is. Ljungren called NSP and told them we want to reserve at least 5 feet for a future sidewalk which left 1t feet from the edge of the sidewalk and the sanitary sewer. It seems reasonable to put the gasline at 6 feet to Fairview. Water Ljungren reported he had conferred with Len Thompson of the St. Paul connections Vdater Department who has agreed that the water department will not grant permission to anybody to hook on to the water lines except at the specific request of the Village. Shavor moved that the Village Engineer be authorized to arrange an agreement with the ti"dater Department whereby all connections in the Village for water service shall be first approved by the Village before permit is granted. Seconded by Nilsen and carried unanimously. 1228 Curbing It was decided that, the people on Hoyt should arrange to pay Vern Hoyt Ave. Ljungren X200.00 for engineering services before proceeding with the rest of the ~~rork. `3arkentien will talk to Gammel. Rezoning Nilsen moved that the rezoning petition filed by Korstad be Petition referred to C. K. Otis, Secretary of the Planning Commission, for its recommendation with the request that, they submit their recommenda- tion in writing prior to the hearing set for June 9th, at 8 P. rd, Seconded by Shavor and unanimously carried, Ordinance After discussion, adoption of Ordinance 52, AN ORDINANCE AP.~~L~IDING No. 52 ORD hTAPyCE N0. 8, E^.TITLED "AN ORDINANCE PROVIDING A ZONING PLAN FOR THE VILLAGE OF FALCON,H.uIG~S", was moved by Warkentien, seconded by Shavor and unanimously carried. dills On motion by Nilsen, seconded by Shavor, the following bills were ordered paid: St. Paul Dispatch, weed notice It.ll David P. Cartwright, Safety Council 10.00 V~fm. Jastrow, ~'~ay insp. 26.00 exp. 30.00 56.00 Tuiilner W. Carley & Associates 1113.00 W. F. Smith, Tire & Battery t~..58 U. S. Postmaster, stamps 8,00 Pure Oil, gas, oil, grease, etc, 135.53 Adjourn- On motion, the meeting adjourned at 11:15 P. M. went Signed /;~'~/ .~~ . ,EM ~ .____.- Clerk -~ Approved, ~f T~,2ayor. 1 C