07/25/2011 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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P17 CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION July 11, 2011 DRAFT 45 Regarding this year's Charter Commission appointment/reappointment process, the city 46 clerk is directed to centralize the appointment process at city hall. Therefore the 47 application form will direct applicants to submit their information to city hall and the city 48 clerk will submit applications received to the chief judge. 49 50 The council will further discuss the appointment process at the August work session. 51 52 2. 7301 Apollo Ct. (Open Mike 6 -13) — Community Development Director 53 Grochala recalled that the council heard at a recent open mike from the property owner 54 and owner's attorney of 7301 Apollo Drive. They expressed concern that the business 55 there is not being allowed to store materials and products outside of the building. The 56 council has heard that the zoning of the property does not allow outdoor storage and does 57 not meet the requirements for a conditional use permit. Therefore staff has initiated an 58 enforcement action asking the owner to correct the violation. Mr. Grochala said he is 59 aware that there has been some action taken but they are still in violation. If the council 60 feels that the use is appropriate, they would have to move to change the city ordinance 61 overall but that would impact all light industrial zoning. 62 63 The mayor noted that he sees that the city's ordinance is appropriate overall and he 64 doesn't see the need to change it. 65 66 Community Development Director Grochala remarked that the owner is planning on 67 attending a future work session (he was not able to make tonight's meeting) to further 68 discuss the matter with the council. 69 70 3. Weekly Progress Report — Administration Director Tesch reviewed the weekly 71 progress report. 72 73 Although it was not an item included on the report, a council member noted that there has 74 been some misconception about the community garden project. Specifically it should be 75 clear that the city has not funded the garden project and rather the small amount of 76 funding involved came through a grant from Anoka County. Also the plots were made 77 available to everyone for a small fee (and they were not all taken). The council suggests 78 that a sign at the gardens would be helpful in informing the public about the details of the 79 project. 80 81 4. Review Regular Council Agenda — The agenda was reviewed with comments as 82 follows. 83 84 Item 1A, Expenditures — A council member asked that he be provided with an 85 explanation of the software maintenance fees associated with the city's utility billing 86 system. 87 88 Item 6B, First Reading of Ordinance amending the zoning code relating to variances 89 - City Planner Smyser explained that numerous amendments to the zoning code are in the 2