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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes04_0928City of Falcon Heights Planning Commission Minutes September 28, 2004 PRESENT: Commissioners Tracy, Lukermann, Harris, Lageson, Maher, Heideman, Ryan, Ziebarth, Council Member Lindstrom. Also present was Staff Liaison Deb Jones. ABSENT: DeLeo The meeting was called to order by Commissioner Harris at 7:00 p.m. The minutes of the August 24, 2004, meeting were approved. PERMIT PARKING ON LINDIG Staff liaison Jones gave an introduction of the issue before the Commission. Residents of Lindig Street have presented a valid petition to institute permit parking along the whole length of the street on the grounds that parking by non-residents is creating a hardship for residents. If the Commission recommends approval and Council approves, Lindig will have the same parking restriction as Tatum and most of the University Grove. That is, parking will be restricted to two hours between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, unless the car displays a parking permit. Permits will be available to residents of Tatum according to the terms of the City parking policy. Lindig, the first north-south street west of Fairview, has access from Larpenteur and no outlet at the north. There is turn-around space at the north end on City property. The street width is narrower than average for Falcon Heights. Approximately 300 feet at the south end of the street is restricted 2-hour parking on weekdays between 8 and 4, with no permit option. There are presently no other parking restrictions on the street. City Staff have been aware of the problem for some time, Jones said, and have observed informally that Lindig seems to be “parked up” most weekdays. The area most affected is the stretch just north of the present restricted zone. Parking is dense on both sides of the street. There is usually ample parking available on the northern third of the street. Earlier this year Lindig residents approached the City with concerns about non-resident parking. Staff sent a letter to residents in June informing them that parking restrictions can only be initiated by resident petition. After the petition was received, Staff counted parked cars over the space of a week and confirmed that on that section of Lindig, most or all on-street parking is taken during daytime hours. Staff also observed drivers using private driveways to turn around instead of going to the circle at the north end. The available parking at the north end is quite a long walk from the apartments at the south end. Jones noted that the apartment residents, although they were not included in the petition, are the most affected by the present situation because their building is in the existing 2-hour zone. Most of them also gave their signatures in support of permit parking. City Staff recommends approval of the petition and also recommends that permit parking be applied to the whole street so the problem won’t simply be moved north a few hundred feet. Commissioner Harris asked if enforcement would be a problem. Ms. Jones responded that enforcement is always a concern because of limited resources. It would be necessary for Lindig residents to be somewhat proactive in reporting violations. In response to a question from Commissioner Lageson, she said that the City would go through several steps before beginning enforcement. Residents will be notified before permit parking goes into effect and given time to get permits. Letters will be placed on non-residents’ cars. Signs would be put up. Enforcement would be intense for several weeks after the ban goes into effect, so that car owners would get the message. The hope is that people will honor the posted signs, as they seem to do on Tatum. Commissioner Ryan asked why not have permit only and no two hour allowance. Jones said that this was to minimize inconvenience for residents, so they don’t have to get a temporary permit every time they have someone over for a short time or have a service vehicle present. PUBLIC HEARING: PARKING ON LINDIG The public hearing was opened by the Chair. The first speaker was a resident at the apartments at 1707 Lindig who did not give her name. She is concerned about having parking available for her health caregivers and family members who come to her aid. She asked, why not open part of Tatum back up? Ms. Jones responded that the City has issued parking permits to accommodate the needs of residents who need parking for caregivers, so this could be taken care of . Also, permit parking on Tatum was initiated by petition also, and that they would have to be the ones to change it back. Phil Aldred, 1753 Lindig, said he signed the petition but is opposed to permit parking because his family has more cars and the permit requirement would be an inconvenience. He needs street parking because he has a short driveway and therefore less off-street parking than some of the other homes on the street. “Be careful what you ask for,” he said. Charles Johnson, 1718 Lindig, said he has observed problems caused by the dense parking, including snow plowing last winter, difficult access to mailboxes for the postal service, and problems with “all the garbage trucks that came through.” He supports the petition. Gene Gennaro, 1771 Lindig, who initiated the petition, said he has grandchildren that come to visit and his concern is safety – because of the extra traffic and the turn-around issue. Harvey Hulstrom, 1707 Lindig apartments, spoke in support of the petition. He has been ticketed in the 2-hour zone. He said people started parking north of the sign when the “Starts Here” sign was added. He said, keep in mind that the restriction is only 8 to 4 on weekdays. Jim Nestingen, 1777 Lindig, said he signed the petition and supports it but is sympathetic to Mr. Aldred’s concerns. He is concerned about enforcement, especially considering City budget cuts and the changes for the State Fair this year. The residents were given no warning of the State Fair restrictions. He has “some discomfort” with going to permit parking but said that the problem is real. There were other residents present, but none came forward to speak. Commissioner Harris asked people to give a show of hand on whether they support permit parking. The majority indicated support. The public hearing was closed. PARKING ON LINDIG: DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATION Commissioner Tracy asked Commissioner Lukermann if permit parking works in the University Grove. Lukermann indicated that it does. Lukermann moved, Maher seconded, that the Commission recommend approval of the petition. The Commissioners held a brief discussion touching on most of the points that had been raised, then voted unanimously to recommend approval. The issue will probably come to the Council on October 13. INFORMATION AND ANNOUNCEMENTS Ms. Jones reported back to the Commission on concerns that were raised last month. No one is sure why there is no emergency light at Roselawn and Larpenteur, but according to a representative of the Sheriff’s office, those white lights are “not for civilians” anyway. All citizens need to do is obey the traffic signals. The emergency light just means that the override is temporarily in effect. Commissioner Lageson said he was concerned about some potential safety hazards for pedestrians. There is a broken sign on the north side near the credit union and another on the south side of Roselawn between Tatum and Fairview. This will be reported to Public Works. Commissioner Harris asked about the bus bench situation and whether the planned bench has been installed in front of 1666 Coffman. Councilmember Lindstrom said the bus bench study is ongoing and he will find out if the Coffman bench is in place. Mr. Lageson asked what would be needed to allow dogs in city parks. Mr. Lindstrom said that it would have to go through the Parks and Recreation Commission. They revisit this issue every few years and opted last time (5 – 6 years ago) to keep the restriction. In response to a question from Commissioner Ryan about the Curtiss Field pond, Mr. Lindstrom said that the City is in continuing discussion with the contractor. Recent rains washed soil into the bottom of the pond. The contractor has to correct the situation within the next two weeks or pay penalties. Another problem is the sidewalk, which has more slope than the specs. Mr. Ryan said the park looks very nice but he is concerned about the standing water in the pond and potential liability for the City. In response to a question from Commissioner Lukermann, Mr. Lindstrom gave a brief update on the SE Corner project. The senior building is open, and several residents have moved in. There will be an open house later in the fall. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at approximately 8:07 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Deborah Jones, Staff Liaison