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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-09-25 - Charter Comm Minutes - Final2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 Charter Commission January 9, 2025 Page 1 DATE TIME STARTED TIME ENDED MEMBERS PRESENT MEMBERS EXCUSED MEMBERS UNEXCUSED STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT OTHERS PRESENT: CITY OF LINO LAKES CHARTER COMMISSION January 9, 2025 6:30 p.m. 8:04 p.m. Dahl, Damiani, Digatono, Frolik, Grattan, Hausladen, Holmstrom, Obert, Reynolds, Rodriguez, Trehus, and Vanderpoel Aldentaler, Herr, and Nicholason, None City Clerk Roberta Colotti None CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL Chair Dahl reconvened the meeting of the Lino Lakes Charter Commission at 6:30 p.m. on January 9, 2025. SETTING THE AGENDA Chair Dahl requested to reorder the New Business items, placing item 5A at the end and shifting the others up. Commissioner Trehus requested to add an item as the first order of business under New Business, to be 5A, titled New Member Information. The agenda was accepted as amended. OPEN MIC/PUBLIC COMMENT No one present opted to speak for the open mic. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Chair Dahl led the Pledge of Allegiance. 36 OLD BUSINESS 37 A. Approval Of October 12, 2023 Minutes 38 Commissioner Trehus requested that on page two, line 79, the minutes be revised as follows, 39 "Commissioner- T,.oh„s revie _ e The Commissioners reviewed the Commission members with 40 expiring terms." 41 42 Chair Dahl requested that the minutes posted online with the agenda be marked as draft until 43 they are approved. 44 45 MOTION by Commissioner Frolik, seconded by Commissioner Obert, to approve the October 46 12, 2023 meeting minutes with the requested change. Charter Commission January 9, 2025 Page 2 47 48 Motion passed unanimously. 49 5o B. Approval of July 8, 2024 Minutes 51 Chair Dahl asked that members review the minutes to determine which statements they made. 52 The Commission provided input to fill in the names of speakers and highlighted items. 53 54 The City Clerk confirmed that she would make those changes as discussed. 55 56 MOTION by Commissioner Obert, seconded by Commissioner Grattan, to approve the July 8, 57 2024 meeting minutes with the noted corrections. 58 59 Motion passed unanimously. 60 61 NEW BUSINESS 62 A. New Member Information 63 Commissioner Trehus commented that new Commission members should be provided with 64 information when they join, noting the three-ring binders that other members have. 65 66 The new members confirmed that information was provided to them in digital format, or through 67 links to the website. 68 69 Commissioner Frolik commented that the bylaws and City Charter are available on the website. 70 71 B. Notification to Residents 72 i. What is the existing City Ordinance for notifying residents for proposed 73 development or land use changes 74 Chair Dahl commented that in the past she believed that notification was provided through a 75 registered letter and that had been changed to a letter to the resident of the property. She also 76 believed that the previous distance for notification was 600 feet but noticed that the ordinance 77 seems to state a distance of 300 feet. 78 79 The City Clerk stated that the Community Development Director provided a memorandum 80 explaining the process that is used for notification which follows the requirement of State 81 Statute. 82 83 Chair Dahl stated that in conversations with residents, she often hears complaints that residents 84 were not notified of things. She stated that she would prefer to use a registered letter method, 85 although recognized that would be an additional cost. She also provided input on the methods of 86 notification used by the City of Blaine which includes a mailing, publication in the newspaper, 87 and a sign posted on the property advising that the site is the subject of a land use application. 88 89 Commissioner Rodriguez noted current ordinance regulations that limit the size of signs to two 90 by four. 91 ON Charter Commission January 9, 2025 Page 3 92 Chair Dahl noted the comments from staff in the memorandum and it appears this will continue 93 to be a topic of discussion in 2025. 94 95 Commissioner Obert asked if notification could be sent out through text or email. 96 97 Commissioner Frolik commented that he would believe the City to be hesitant to send texts to a 98 phone number without permission but perhaps residents could sign up voluntarily. He stated that 99 his neighbor is on the Planning and Zoning Board and hears the same comments about 100 notification and responds by saying that information is available on the website. He commented 101 that the City does use a wide number of platforms to provide notification to residents. 102 103 Commissioner Digatono stated that it would seem that people want the mailed notification to be 104 sent to a larger distance. 105 106 Chair Dahl commented that many people would not know that something is going on and 107 therefore would not know to go to the website. 108 109 Commissioner Trehus agreed that many residents felt that the notification was inadequate this 110 past year. He believed that this item and the following agenda items would be good topics to 111 discuss in a joint meeting session with the City Council. 112 113 MOTION by Commissioner Trehus, seconded by Commissioner Damiani, requesting a joint 114 meeting to be scheduled with the City Council. 115 116 Motion passed unanimously. 117 118 The City Clerk stated that she will let the Council know the Commission is interested in holding 119 a joint meeting. 120 121 Commissioner Trehus commented that in the past there was an annual joint meeting of the City 122 Council and Charter Commission held in April. 123 124 Commissioner Obert stated that she looked up the temporary signage allowance and provided the 125 allowed dimensions, which would allow for posted signage to notify residents of land use 126 applications. 127 128 Commissioner Frolik reviewed that the Chair is to submit an annual report to the Commission on 129 or before the April meeting. 130 131 C. Zoning Regulations: Minimum Distance Between Businesses 132 Is there any way of limiting the distance of similar businesses within one area 133 Chair Dahl asked if there is a way to limit similar businesses within one area. 134 135 The City Clerk stated that a memorandum was prepared by the Community Development 136 Director on this topic and was included in the packet. It was noted that further legal review 137 would be required to fully answer this question. Charter Commission January 9, 2025 Page 4 138 139 Chair Dahl stated that there is an existing tire shop and now a new one will be opening soon 140 across the street, which she did not see as competition but an issue that would cause one business 141 to go out of business. She asked if something could be put in ordinance to ensure a distance 142 between similar types of businesses. 143 144 Commissioner Damiani used the example of gas stations, banks, and liquor stores that commonly 145 choose to be located in similar manners. 146 147 Commissioner Rodriguez commented that she did not believe that the City should limit who goes 148 into business or which property they purchase. She stated that customers will choose the 149 business they want to frequent. 150 151 Commissioner Trehus commented that quality design was a topic during the recent elections, 152 which is why he believes that this topic would also be good for the joint meeting with the City 153 Council. 154 155 Commissioner Digatono asked if there are any locations that provide the opportunity for small 156 businesses to open. 157 158 Commissioner Reynolds stated that he struggles to say that businesses cannot come to the 159 community as there is a desire for business, but also does not want to see another business 160 pushed out by a new business. 161 162 Commissioner Hausladen stated that the City has always bent over backward for development at 163 the expense of the residents. He stated that if there are too many of the same business there will 164 be saturation, and some will struggle. 165 166 Commissioner Grattan agreed that it is great to have new businesses, and a business will not 167 choose to locate somewhere they do not think they can compete. 168 169 Commissioner Holmstrom stated that he does not support additional government regulations, 170 especially controlling capitalism. He stated that someone opening a tire shop across the street 171 from another tire shop must be confident in their ability to provide a good service to the 172 customer. He stated that a small business tire shop will most likely not choose to locate across 173 from a franchise and noted that competition will only improve the market for the customer. 174 175 Commissioner Rodriguez asked for more information on the process for businesses to come to 176 the city, whether that is market -driven or whether a member of staff solicits desired businesses to 177 come to Lino Lakes. 178 179 Chair Dahl noted that Tax Increment Financing (TIF) is also a tool for community development. 180 She thanked staff for the report. 181 182 Commission Consensus Charter Commission January 9, 2025 Page 5 183 It was the consensus of the Commission to forward the question to the City Attorney for further 184 review prior to the next Charter Commission meeting. 185 186 D. Open Mic 187 i. Clarifying language for the open mic it states "residents" 188 The City Clerk provided an overview of the time allowances for open mic at a regular City 189 Council meeting, noting that four minutes is the current standard time allowance. 190 191 Chair Dahl commented that she believes it is important for the voices of residents and others to 192 be heard. She suggested that there be a sign -in sheet for residents and another for non-residents, 193 noting that they could then alternate between the lists to ensure everyone can speak. She asked if 194 there could be a possibility of establishing a longer time for someone speaking in representation 195 of a group of people. She recommended a seven -minute time for those representing a group. 196 197 Commissioner Digatono recognized that there have been a lot of public comments at Council 198 meetings in the past year and when there have been speakers representing larger groups, they 199 were still limited to four minutes. 200 201 Commissioner Obert stated that if there is a large group, a few members could speak in four- 202 minute increments to communicate the message of the group. 203 204 Commissioner Grattan stated that perhaps someone speaking for a group could list the residents 205 in that group that they are representing which could then provide additional time for that speaker. 206 207 Commissioner Damiani referenced the requirements of the sign -in sheet to provide contact 208 information and asked how they would prove that non-residents are providing accurate 209 information. 210 211 Commissioner Holmstrom stated that when attending Council meetings, he cross-checks the 212 names and addresses that are provided while the person speaks. 213 214 Commissioner Reynolds stated that some cities require sign -in to occur prior to the meeting, 215 which allows staff to check that the information provided is correct. 216 217 Commissioner Vanderpoel stated that under the current rules the City Council can vote to extend 218 a speaker's time and as a result he his ok with the current rules as written. He acknowledged the 219 difficulty in balancing people's right to be heard while also being reasonable to the elected 220 officials and did not have any issues with the current sign -in process and time limits. 221 222 Commissioner Reynolds concurred with the comments of Commissioner Vanderpoel. 223 224 Joint Meeting Topic 225 Commissioner Trehus stated that he would also like to discuss adding another item to the joint 226 meeting related to the stormwater utility fee, as residents with private water and septic still 227 receive an annual bill for $45. 228 Charter Commission January 9, 2025 Page 6 229 Commission Consensus 230 It was the consensus of the Commission to a discussion of the stormwater utility fee to the 231 agenda for the joint meeting with the City Council. 232 233 NEXT MEETING DATE 234 Chair Dahl noted the next meeting date is Thursday, April 10, 2025. 235 236 ADJOURN 237 MOTION by Commissioner Obert, seconded by Commissioner Damiani, to adjourn the meeting 238 at 8:04 p.m. Motion carried unanimously. 239 240 Prepared by: Amanda Staple, TimeSaver Off Site Secretarial, Inc.