09/26/2011 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Search

• • • CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION DATE TIME STARTED TIME ENDED MEMBERS PRESENT MEMBERS ABSENT DRAFT CITY OF LINO LAKES MINUTES September 6, 2011 : September 6, 2011 . 5:30 p.m. . 9:00 p.m. : Council Member Gallup, O'Donnell, Roeser and Mayor Reinert : Council Member Rafferty Staff members present: City Administrator Jeff Karlson, City Engineer JasonWedel, Director of Finance Al Rolek, City Attorney Joseph Langel, Community Development Director Michael Grochala, Public Services Director Rick DeGardner, Public Safety Director John Swenson, City Clerk Julie Bartell 1. Fence at 1205 Buckthorn Lane — City Engineer Wedel explained that the owners of the property at this address, Michael and Tracey Jansen, are interested in putting up a fence around their property. They applied for a fence permit and a standard encroachment agreement with that. When the application was reviewed by staff it was determined that the property has certain easements that were included when the lot was platted. The city has certain criteria related to the granting of encroachments and the Jansen's request for a fence permit was administratively denied based on those criteria, specifically the presence of underground utilities. Since the Jansen's are still interested in pursuing a fence, staff did investigate the possibility of flexibility on placement however that was not fruitful. They are currently requesting permission to construct a fence that could be taken down at city request - a fence of a temporary nature. Staff is recommending that a fence be installed only if it can meet city criteria. Mr. Jensen told the council that he is considering not using cement posts but rather fence post spikes instead; he has used them successfully in the past. They would be of a temporary nature. He confirmed that there is not a homeowner covenant issue with the fence. When the mayor asked staff about the possibility of allowing a temporary structure, the City engineer explained that it would be a deviation of what the city has required for decades (encroachment criteria). Mr. Wedel also pointed out that there could be a different owner down the line that wouldn't be in tune with a "special" agreement. Community Development Director Grochala added that one concern in using the spikes is that the underground pipes could actually be at different depths. When the mayor asked if there are other cities allowing such temporary spikes, staff replied that they are not aware of any. The council discussed the issue of the corner of the property and the bike paths that meet there; there is a visibility question also.