08-26-2020 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES CITY COUNCIL AUGUST 26, 2020 RESOL UTION NO. 2020-8-103 — APPROVING THE CONSENT AGENDA WHICH CONTAINS THE FOLLOWING: *APPROVAL OF THE VOUCHERS The foregoing resolution was duly seconded by McGraw. Roll Call Vote: Keis/Torlcelson/Fischer/McGraw Ayes (4). Nays (0). Resolution adopted. RESILIENT COMMUNITIES PROJECT (RCP) PRESENTATION The Parks & Rec/Community Services Manager explained that the Resilient Communities Project (RCP) Fellows Program organizes interdisciplinary teams of University of Minnesota - Twin Cities (UMN) graduate and professional students to assist local government agencies with projects and initiatives aimed at advancing their community's sustainability, livability, and resilience. He stated they will be giving a presentation on the work they have completed and discuss next steps. He noted that a revised timeline has been drafted due to the pandemic. The RCP Fellows introduced themselves and gave an overview of the project they are working on in Little Canada for Pioneer Park. CONSIDER MINIMUM DISTANCE REQUIREMENTS BETWEEN LIQUOR STORES The City Cleric reported that staff has received a request for the Council to consider amending the code to add minimum distance requirements between liquor stores. She stated that this is a preliminary discussion to get an idea of whether there is Council support before submitting a formal request and drafting a code amendment. She reported that the City Code allows for three off -sale liquor licenses in the City, and there is currently one issued. She stated that over the years there has typically been two liquor stores in the city, and there was a third for a short time. She noted that for many years two of the stores were located next door to each other, but the second store closed in September 2016. The City Clerk explained that staff researched whether other metro cities have distance requirements for off -sale liquor licenses, and found that three out of 16 cities surveyed have half - mile or one -mile distance requirements between stores. She stated that most cities choose not to put restrictions on retail businesses; rather allowing the market to self -monitor what and how much the area can support. She noted that with the limited amount of commercial area in Little Canada, there have been several instances of the same or similar businesses very close to each other. Torkelson stated this is difficult because he knows that having too much of one type of business in one area, but he also understands not wanting any Little Canada businesses to struggle. Keis stated that he feels the market should take care of itself and two liquor stores existed next door to each other for many years. Fischer stated that it is not the City's place to decide where 2