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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-09-25 - Charter Commission Agenda Packet.docxLINO LAKES CHARTER COMMISSION MEETING AGENDA 6:30 PM Thursday, January 9, 2025 City Hall/Community Room 1. Call to Order and Roll Call 2. Setting the Agenda 3. Open Mike / Public Comments 4. Old Business a. Approval of October 12, 2023 Minutes b. Approval of July 8, 2024 Minutes 5. New Business 6:30 PM a. Open Mic i. Clarifying language for the open mic, it states "residents" b. Notification to Residents i. What is the existing city ordinance for notifying residents for proposed developments or land use changes c. Zoning Regulations: Minimum Distance Between Businesses i. Is there any way of limiting distance of similar businesses within one area 6. Adjourn Next meeting Thursday, April 10, 2025 at 6:30 PM, City Hall Chair Caroline Dahl, Vice Chair Anthony Frolik, Secretary Waylon Vanderpoel Charter Commission October 12, 2023 Page 1 1 DRAFT 2 CITY OF LINO LAKES 3 CHARTER COMMISSION 4 5 6 7 DATE 8 TIME STARTED 9 TIME ENDED 10 MEMBERS PRESENT 11 MEMBERS EXCUSED 12 MEMBERS UNEXCUSED 13 STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT 14 OTHERS PRESENT: 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 October 12, 2023 6:31 p.m. 7:18 p.m. Dahl, Frolik, Hausladen, Herr, Nicholason and Trehus Aldentaler, Damiani, Rodriguez and Vanderpoel None None None CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL Chair Dahl reconvened the meeting of the Lino Lakes Charter Commission at 6:31 pm on October 12, 2023. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Chair Dahl lead the Pledge of Allegiance. SETTING THE AGENDA Commissioner Trehus stated that he has asked about the stormwater management fee and suggested that they add an item to discuss that to the agenda tonight. The agenda was accepted with the addition. OPEN MIC/PUBLIC COMMENT No one present opted to speak for the open mic. OLD BUSINESS A. Approval of April 13, 2023 Minutes Chair Dahl noted the following change to the approval of the minutes as follows, "October 17, 2423 2022." MOTION by Commissioner Frolik, seconded by Commissioner Reynolds, approving the meeting minutes of April 13, 2023 with the noted correction. Motion passed unanimously (Trehus abstained). NEW BUSINESS A. Stormwater Management Fee Charter Commission October 12, 2023 Page 2 47 Commissioner Trehus stated that he was unsure if this would fall under the purview of the 48 Charter Commission. He asked if everyone in the City has to pay that fee. He commented that it 49 is a regressive tax and there is staff time used to process the payments. 50 51 It was determined that residents that have City water have the charge appear on their quarterly 52 water bill while those without City water receive a separate annual billing. 53 54 Commissioner Trehus commented that businesses pay based off their impervious surface, which 55 he agreed with. He asked if the Charter Commission would like to continue discussion on this 56 topic at the January meeting. 57 58 Chair Dahl commented that she would be interested in learning more about it. 59 60 A Commissioner commented that perhaps it would be helpful to have more information on the 61 purpose of the fee, how the amount of the fee was determined, and how consideration is made 62 whether to increase or decrease the fee. 63 64 Commissioner Trehus stated that perhaps it would be helpful to have the minutes from the City 65 Council meetings where this was discussed or a summary from City staff. 66 67 Chair Dahl commented that she will contact City staff in attempt to gain the information for 68 discussion at the next meeting. 69 70 Commissioner Frolik commented that this fee was part of the annual approval of the fee schedule 71 which was done by Ordinance in November of 2022. 72 73 NEXT MEETING DATE 74 Chair Dahl noted the next regularly scheduled meeting date is January 11, 2024. 75 76 Chair Dahl noted that she would follow up with the City Clerk to determine if the vacancies on 77 the Commission continue to be advertised to the public. 78 79 Commissioner Trehus reviewed the Commission members with expiring terms. 80 81 ADJOURN 82 MOTION by Commissioner Trehus, seconded by Commissioner Herr, to adjourn the meeting at 83 7:18 p.m. Motion carried unanimously. 84 85 Drafted by: Amanda Staple, TimeSaver Off Site Secretarial, Inc. 0j, Charter Commission July 8, 2024 Page 1 1 DRAFT 2 CITY OF LINO LAKES 3 CHARTER COMMISSION 4 5 6 DATE July 8, 2024 7 TIME STARTED 5:00 p.m. 8 TIME ENDED 5:55 p.m. 9 MEMBERS PRESENT Chair Caroline Dahl, Vice Chair Anthony Frolik, 10 Secretary Waylon Vanderpoel, Commissioners Kelli 11 Damiani, Coral Digatono, John Grattan III, Dean 12 Hausladen, Eric Holmstrom, Dan Nicholson, Angela 13 Obert, Melissa Rodriguez, and Mike Trehus 14 MEMBERS EXCUSED Commissioners Donald Aldentaler, Robert Herr, and 15 Justin Reynolds 16 MEMBERS UNEXCUSED None 17 STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT City Clerk Roberta Colotti, City Administrator Sarah 18 Cotton and City Attorney Jay Squires 19 OTHERS PRESENT: Council Member Dale Stoesz 20 21 22 CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL 23 Chair Dahl reconvened the meeting of the Lino Lakes Charter Commission at 5:00 pm on July 8, 24 2024. 25 26 PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 27 Chair Dahl led the Pledge of Allegiance. 28 29 SETTING THE AGENDA 30 The agenda was accepted as presented without additions. 31 32 OPEN MIC/PUBLIC COMMENT 33 No one present opted to speak for the open mic. 34 35 NEW BUSINESS 36 37 A. Petition for a Charter Amendment, Adding a New Section 1.04 to Charter Chapter 38 1. 39 B. Petition for a Charter Amendment, Adding a New Section 12.15 to Charter Chapter 40 XI1. 41 The City Attorney reviewed the process for a Charter amendment by petition and stated that the 42 Commission would need to acknowledge the petitions and pass them to the City Council. He 43 explained that the Charter Commission can only acknowledge the petitions and cannot change 44 them prior to passing to the Council. He explained the due diligence that the City Council and 45 himself would do once received. 46 Charter Commission July 8, 2024 Page 2 47 Commissioner Trehus distributed a draft resolution that he would present in response. 48 49 The City Attorney stated that the draft resolution provided by Commissioner Trehus includes 50 authority that the Commission does not have and therefore he would recommend that the 51 Commission acknowledge the petitions as he previously recommended. 52 53 Chair Dahl suggested that details of the petitioned amendments be included in the resolution and 54 the City Attorney agreed those references could be added. 55 56 Commissioner Trehus continued to express his opposition to acknowledging the petitions. 57 58 The City Attorney provided additional details on the proper process for receipt, 59 acknowledgment, and review of the petition. He explained that the only action of the 60 Commission is to acknowledge the petitions. 61 62 The City Clerk provided additional details on the responsibility of the Charter Commission to 63 receive and forward the petitions submitted, noting that the City Council will then determine if 64 the petitions are technically sufficient and legally valid. 65 66 MOTION by Commissioner Trehus, seconded by Commissioner Damiani, to adopt the draft 67 resolution that he presented. 68 69 Further discussion: A member of the Commission asked for details on how the Charter 70 Commission could request to amend the Charter. 71 72 The City Clerk clarified that the Charter Commission can meet and propose amendments to the 73 Charter. She explained that in this case, residents have joined together to sign and submit 74 petitions and the role of the Commission is simply to acknowledge receipt and forward that on. 75 76 A member of the Commission asked for clarification on who should abstain from the vote and 77 the City Attorney provided input. 78 79 Motion passed 9 ayes — 2 nays (Frolik and Vanderpoel) — 1 abstention. 80 81 A member of the Commission asked for reconsideration given the advice received prior to the 82 vote. 83 84 A member of the Commission expressed frustration with what the Commission adopted. He 85 noted that there was a concern that the motion suggested by staff did not include the titles of the 86 petitions, so language was developed to include those details but then the Commission instead 87 chose to use the draft of Commissioner Trehus rather than actual legal counsel. He expressed 88 concern that this action would be defective and would work against the desires of the residents 89 who submitted the petitions for their requests to move forward. 90 91 The City Attorney explained that the Commission could reconsider the motion that was adopted 92 if someone who voted in favor of the motion made such a request. He reiterated his opinion on Charter Commission July 8, 2024 Page 3 93 the draft submitted by Commissioner Trehus and again stated that he preferred the version 94 recommended by the City Clerk. He stated that regardless of what happens today, whether this 95 motion was passed or the motion by the City Clerk, the Council will continue in the process. 96 97 A member of the Commission expressed concern with the motion that was adopted, noting that 98 they were confused and believed they were voting on the language recommended by the City 99 Clerk. 100 101 MOTION by Commissioner Digatono, seconded by Commissioner Damiani, to 102 reconsider/rescind the motion that was adopted. 103 104 Motion passed 9 ayes — 2 nays (Trehus and Hausladen opposed). 105 106 MOTION by Commissioner Digatono, seconded by Commissioner Damiani to receive the two 107 petitions for Charter amendment of Sections 1.04, Segregations Prohibited and Section 12.15, 108 Limitations of Pace of Residential Development and forwarding to the City Council in 109 accordance with Minnesota Statute 410.12. 110 III Motion passed unanimously. 112 113 NEXT MEETING DATE 114 Chair Dahl noted the next regularly scheduled meeting date is October 10, 2024. 115 116 ADJOURN 117 Chair Dahl adjourned the meeting at 5:55 p.m. 118 119 Drafted by: Amanda Staple, TimeSaver Off Site Secretarial, Inc. 120 3 LINO LAKES CHARTER COMMISSION RESOLUTION NO. 24-01 TAKING ACTION AS SPECIFIED BY THE LINO LAKES CITY CLERK REGARDING TWO CITIZEN PETITIONS FOR CHARTER AMENDMENTS WITH RESPECT TO THE PROVISIONS OF MN STATUTES 410.12. WHEREAS, Article VII Sec. 5 of the Constitution of the State of Minnesota states "Home rule charter amendments may be proposed by a charter commission or by a petition of five percent of the voters of the local government unit as determined by law and shall not become effective until approved by the voters by the majority required by law;" and, WHEREAS, MN Statutes 410.12 Subd. 1 states "The charter commission may propose amendments to such charter and shall do so upon the petition of voters equal in number to five percent of the total votes cast at the last previous state general election in the city; and, WHEREAS, On July 1, 2024, two citizen petitions for two proposed charter amendments were filed with the Lino Lakes Charter Commission (LLCC), specifically with Chair Dahl; and, WHEREAS, On behalf of the LLCC, on July 1, 2024, Chair Dahl transmitted the two aforementioned petitions to the City Council in the office of the City Clerk of Lino Lakes; and, WHEREAS, Since July 12024 the City Clerk of Lino Lakes has been working to determine the technical sufficiency of the aforementioned petitions; and, WHEREAS, Since July 12024 the City Attorney for Lino Lakes has been working to determine the legal sufficiency of the aforementioned petitions; and, WHEREAS, In 2008 a Citizen Petition was found sufficient by the Lino Lakes City Council and proceeded without contest to the November 2008 Election day ballot, yet the record shows no vote of any kind by the LLCC on the matter; and, WHEREAS, After conferring with the City Attorney, the City Clerk of Lino Lakes has called for a meeting of the LLCC on July 8, 2024 for the purpose of proposing the two amendments based on the submission of the petitions. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Lino Lakes Charter Commission, as explicitly and precisely required by MN Statutes 410.12, that the two aforementioned Charter amendment proposals are proposed to be submitted to the voters in an election in accordance with the statute, contingent upon their certification by the City Clerk as required by MN Statutes 410.12 Subd. 3 and other laws and rulings of courts of competent jurisdiction as may apply. Adopted by the Lino Lakes Charter commission this 81h day of July, 2024. Attest Roberta Colotti, City Clerk Caroline Dahl, Chair Lino Lakes Charter Commission January 2025 Agenda Topics: Staff Reports a. Open Mic i. Clarifying language for the open mic, it states "residents" City Code CHAPTER 3. COUNCIL PROCEDURE SECTION 3.01. COUNCIL MEETINGS. The Council shall meet regularly at such times and places as the Council shall designate by ordinance..... During any of its public meetings, the Council shall not prohibit, but may place reasonable restrictions upon citizen's comments and questions. CITY OF LINO LAKES, CITY COUNCIL, RULES OF DECORUM Addressing the Council. At the start of each City Council meeting, in accordance with the City of Lino Lakes Charter, the City Council shall accept comments from the public on any matter, whether on the agenda or not. Comments will not be accepted during specific agenda items unless a Public Hearing has been noticed. 1) Members of the public who wish to address the Council shall sign -in prior to the start of each Council meeting. Sign -in information shall include: Name, address, email/telephone, and topic of discussion. 2) The City Clerk shall retrieve the sign -in sheet at the beginning of the meeting and shall provide the sign -in sheet to the presiding officer who will recognize each member of the public who wishes to speak. 3) When recognized by the presiding officer, each member of the public addressing the Council shall step up to a microphone provided for the use of the public after being recognized by the presiding officer and give his/her name and address in an audible tone of voice for the records, state the subject to be discussed and state who the speaker is representing if representing an organization or other persons. 4) Unless further time is granted by a majority vote of the Council, remarks from the public shall be limited to four (4) minutes. All remarks shall be addressed to the Council as a whole and not to any member thereof. 5) No person other than members of the Council and the person having the floor shall be permitted to enter into any discussion, either directly or through a member of the Council, without permission of the presiding officer. 6) No question may be asked of a Councilmember or a member of the staff without the permission of the presiding officer. 7) Speakers shall offer comments that are courteous and respectful. Comments that are abusive, harassing, that constitute an attack on others, including City staff, or that violate privacy rights, will not be permitted. Violation of these public comment rules will result in the speaker being ruled out of order and the termination of the comment. 8) In order to expedite matters and to avoid repetitive presentations, whenever any group of persons wishes to address the Council on the same subject, it shall be proper for the presiding officer to request that a spokesperson be chosen by the group to address the Council and, in case additional matters are to be presented by any other member of said group, to limit the number of such persons addressing the Council. 9) Violation of these public comment rules will result in the speaker being ruled out of order and the termination of the comment. Current City Council Agenda page language: ➢ Public Comment Sign -in prior to start of meeting per Rules of Decorum b. Notification to Residents i. What is the existing city ordinance for notifying residents for proposed developments or land use changes Notification requirements for development projects —preliminary plat, zoning text and map amendments (rezonings), Conditional Use Permits and Interim Use Permits are prescribed by state law (multiple sections depending on action) and codified in Chapters 1001 (Subdivision) regulations and 1007 (Zoning) of City Code. 1001.042 provides the notification requirements for preliminary plats. Section 1007.015 through 1007. 025 covers the specific zoning action requirements. There have been discussions by the Planning & Zoning Board and City Council regarding development notification. Staff is working on signage that will be placed on properties proposed for development. We will likely implement this in 2025. C. Zoning Regulations: Minimum Distance Between Businesses i. Is there any way of limiting distance of similar businesses within one area Any restrictions on uses or separation of specific uses would require further research and review by the City Attorney. What is the public purpose would be the first question that needs to be addressed. At the core businesses generally have the right to do business unless there is a public health, safety or welfare reason that they are to be denied. It would be advised to review individual business types vs. a general blanket policy for all businesses. MEMO To: Charter Commission From: Caroline Dahl, Chair Topic: Open Mic Date: January9, 2025 The updated 2024 Rules of Decorum. It clearly states " "Addressing the Council. At the start of each City Council meeting, in accordance with the City of Lino Lakes Charter, the City Council shall accept comments from the public on any matter, whether on the agenda or not." After some research, it appears that this could cause the city to face constitutional challenges primarily under the First Amendment. The Supreme Court has established a 3-prong test for time, place and manner restrictions, which includes: Content Neutrality: The regulation must not be based on the content of the speech. Narrow Tailoring: It must be narrowly tailored to serve a significant governmental interest. Alternative Channels: It must leave open ample alternative channels for communication. Residency requirements often fail this test because they: • Discriminate based on speaker identity: This can be seen as speaker discrimination, which the Supreme Court has ruled offends the First Amendment. • Lack compelling interest: While states ae an interest in regulating elections, residency requirements for public speaking do not directly serve this interest and may be seen as an unconstitutional burden on political speech. • Restrict access to audience: Limiting public speaking to residents can thwart access to the intended audience, potentially violating the First Amendment by not providing alternative channels for communication. • Cause Administrative Burden: Requires verification of residency, adding administrative tasks for the city. • Potential for Bias: May lead to decisions that favor residents over non-residents, potentially causing inequity. While all of the above may be true, the argument for installing residency requirements for public speaking could be as follows: • Community Engagement: Residency requirements ensure that speakers are familiar with local issues, fostering a sense of community and encouraging officials to more engaged with local events. • Accountability: Residents have a vested interest in the community, making officials more accountable to those they represent • Local Representation: It promotes decisions that benefit local residents, ensuring that elected officials have a stake in the community's well-being. CITY OF LINO LAKES CITY COUNCIL RULES OF DECORUM Members of Council. While the meeting is in session, the members must preserve order and decorum. A member of the Council or member of the public shall neither, by conversation or otherwise, delay or interrupt proceedings or the peace of the meeting nor disturb any member while speaking or refuse to obey the orders of the presiding officer. Recognition. No person or member shall address the other members without being recognized by the presiding officer. Staff. Members of the City staff shall observe the same rules of order and decorum as are applicable to the City Council. Addressing the Council. At the start of each City Council meeting, in accordance with the City of Lino Lakes Charter, the City Council shall accept comments from the public on any matter, whether on the agenda or not. Comments will not be accepted during specific agenda items unless a Public Hearing has been noticed. 1) Members of the public who wish to address the Council shall sign -in prior to the start of each Council meeting. Sign -in information shall include: Name, address, email/telephone, and topic of discussion. 2) The City Clerk shall retrieve the sign -in sheet at the beginning of the meeting and shall provide the sign -in sheet to the presiding officer who will recognize each member of the public who wishes to speak. 3) When recognized by the presiding officer, each member of the public addressing the Council shall step up to a microphone provided for the use of the public after being recognized by the presiding officer and give his/her name and address in an audible tone of voice for the records, state the subject to be discussed and state who the speaker is representing if representing an organization or other persons. 4) Unless further time is granted by a majority vote of the Council, remarks from the public shall be limited to four (4) minutes. All remarks shall be addressed to the Council as a whole and not to any member thereof. 5) No person other than members of the Council and the person having the floor shall be permitted to enter into any discussion, either directly or through a member of the Council, without permission of the presiding officer. 6) No question may be asked of a Councilmember or a member of the staff without the permission of the presiding officer. 7) Speakers shall offer comments that are courteous and respectful. Comments that are abusive, harassing, that constitute an attack on others, including City staff, or that violate privacy rights, will not be permitted. Violation of these public comment rules will result in the speaker being ruled out of order and the termination of the comment. 8) In order to expedite matters and to avoid repetitive presentations, whenever any group of persons wishes to address the Council on the same subject, it shall be proper for the presiding officer to request that a spokesperson be chosen by the group to address the Council and, in case additional matters are to be presented by any other member of said group, to limit the number of such persons addressing the Council. 9) Violation of these public comment rules will result in the speaker being ruled out of order and the termination of the comment. After Motion. After a motion has been made or a public hearing has been closed, no member of the public shall address the Council from the audience on the matter under consideration. Conduct. Any member of the Council, staff, or person indulging in personalities or making impertinent, slanderous or profane remarks or who willfully utters loud, threatening or abusive language, or engages in any disorderly conduct which would impede, disrupt or disturb the orderly conduct of any meeting, hearing or other proceeding, shall be called to order by the presiding officer and, if such conduct continues, may at the discretion of the presiding officer, be ordered barred from further audience before the Council during that meeting. Members of the Audience. No person in the audience shall engage in disorderly or disruptive conduct such as audible commentary during a meeting, hand clapping, stamping of feet, whistling, using profane language, yelling and similar demonstrations, which conduct disturbs the peace and good order of the meeting. City Council Work Sessions. The City Council Work Sessions are used by the Council and staff to discuss upcoming issues and matters requiring action by the Council and action items will be moved forward to future City Council Regular Meeting Agendas for consideration. Work sessions are for discussion by the Council and staff and, at times, for presentations by various community groups, applicants, or principal participants related to specific agenda items as determined by the majority of the Council. There is no public comment at work sessions. ENFORCEMENT OF DECORUM Warning. All persons shall, at the request of the presiding officer, be silent. If, after receiving a warning from the presiding officer, a person persists in disturbing the meeting, said officer may order this person removed from the meeting. If this person does not leave willingly, the presiding officer may call a recess and order that the person be removed by the Sergeant -at -Arms. Sergeant -at -Arms. The Lino Lakes Director of Public Safety, or such member or members of the Police Department, shall be Sergeant -at -Arms of the Council meetings or as asked to be present at board or committee meetings. The Chief or other Police Department representative shall carry out all lawful orders and instructions given by the presiding officer for the purpose of maintaining order and decorum at the Council meeting. Upon instruction of the presiding officer, it shall be the duty of the Sergeant -at -Arms to remove from the meeting any person who intentionally disturbs the proceedings of the Council. Resisting Removal. Any person who resists removal by the Sergeant -at -Arms may be charged with Disorderly Conduct. Motions to Enforce. Any Council member may move to require the presiding officer to enforce these rules and the affirmative vote of a majority of the Council shall require the presiding officer to do so. Adjournment. In the event that any meeting is willfully disturbed by a group or group of persons so as to render the orderly conduct of such meeting unfeasible and when order cannot be restored by the removal of individuals who are creating the disturbance, the meeting may be adjourned with the remaining business considered at the next regular meeting. Special Meetings. If the matter being addressed prior to adjournment is of such a nature as to demand immediate attention, the presiding officer may adjourn the meeting to another date. Use of Cameras and Recording Devices Limited. Cameras, cell phone cameras, electronic sound recording devices and any other mechanical, electrical or electronic recording devices may be used in the Council Chamber, but only in such a manner as will cause a minimum of interference with or disturbance of the proceedings of the Council and at the discretion of the presiding officer.