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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05/03/1995 Council Minutes1 1 1 COUNCIL WORK SESSION CITY OF LINO LAKES COUNCIL MINUTES MAY 3, 1995 DATE Ma.y 3 , 199 ....:::::................................................................ ......................:...:...: TIME ;STARTED ....................................................................... ............................... ....................................................................... ............................... MEMBERS PRESENT; Reinert, N MEMBERS ABSENT;: None nether, Elliott, Bergeson Staff members present: Acting City Engineer, John Powell, Planning Coordinator, Mary Kay Wyland; Community Development Director, Brian Wessel; Chief of Police, David Pecchia; Parks and Recreation Director, Marty Asleson; City Administrator, Randy Schumacher and Clerk - Treasurer Marilyn Anderson. BEHM'S CENTURY FARMS PRELIMINARY PLAT, GARY UEDE AND JOHN JOHNSON Ms. Wyland explained that she and Mr. Brixius, City Consulting Planner met with Mr. Uhde and Mr. Johnson to review the questions raised at the April 24, 1995 City Council meeting. The first question involved a temporary cul -de -sac that would be constructed at the west end of Phase I. Mr. Uhde is proposing to extend the line for Phase 1 west to allow the temporary cul -de- sac and to include two (2) lots in Phase I that had been proposed for Phase II. The second concern was Lot 18. Mr. Brixius felt that this was a "butt" lot and this was not good planning. Mr. Uhde proposed that this lot and the lots on either side of the lot be developed with the driveways extend north to the street. Normally the lots on either side of Lot 18 would have driveways extending either east or west. Mr. Uhde proposed placing restrictive covenant on the lot to insure that the driveway would be constructed extending north. The third issue involved restrictive covenants. A copy of the restrictive covenants has been received and reviewed by Ms. Wyland and Mr. Brixius. Mr. Brixius was satisfied with them. Mayor Reinert noted an area of the restrictive covenants which referred to "visiting aircraft ". Ms. Wyland will check to see if PAGE 1 COUNCIL WORE SESSION MAY 3, 1995 this issue is addressed in the current homeowners associations by -laws. Mayor Reinert asked what assurances does the. City Council have that all requirements will be met. Ms. Wyland explained that all documents would be recorded and /or noted on the final plat. Mr. Johnson explained that the protective covenants on each lot will be enforced when the building permit is approved. Mr. Asleson asked if the trail issue had been resolved. Mr. Johnson explained that the matter will go to the Rice Creek Watershed District at their first meeting in May. Mr. Asleson expressed concern that Rice Creek Watershed District may not approve the plan for extending a trail through a portion of wetland. He felt that if a direct route to the park area is not approved by the Rice Creek Watershed District, a neighborhood park should be established in the eastern portion of the plat. Mr. Johnson explained that regardless of what the Rice Creek Watershed District said about the trail through the wetland, no neighborhood park would be constructed in Phase I. He explained that if necessary, a neighborhood park would be established in Phase II. Mr. Asleson said he would like the matter decided before the final plat was approved. Mayor Reinert asked Ms. Wyland to review the issue of the "butt" lot with Mr. Brixius and to provide a recommendation regarding the park dedication for the regular Council meeting on Monday. SENIOR HOUSING UPDATE, RANDY SCHUMACHER Mr. Schumacher gave a brief background on this matter and noted that the senior housing proposal was first introduced to the City Council about three (3) years ago. The original proposal was for 90 units and federal tax credits along with some City assistance was needed to help make the rent on some units affordable to low and moderate income persons. Staff met with the developer, Cottage Homesteads about three (3) weeks ago. A revised project consisting of 47 units plus a clubhouse and 10 single family homes was discussed. Federal tax credits for the revised plan have been allocated and the developer is seeking additional financial assistance from the City to keep the rents as originally planned. Mr. Schumacher noted that the developer, Roger Derrick as well as Mike Saxton and Terry Schmidt were here to answer questions about the proposed development. He explained he has asked Mr. Sid Inman to prepare an analysis of the financial information prepared by the developer. The analysis will not be available PAGE 2 1 1 1 COUNCIL WORK SESSION MAY 3, 1995 until the middle of next week. Mr. Schumacher explained that a development agreement must be completed and the proposal has to be presented to the Planning and Zoning Board and the Park Board. Mr. Derrick explained that he had recently completed a senior project in Oakdale consisting of 114 units. He noted other projects he has completed in the metro area. Mr. Derrick explained that all financing has been completed. Another lender has been secured and NSP will buy the federal tax credits. He noted that he is ready to bid the project and start pre- marketing the housing units. There is a requirement that a certain number of the units be pre - leased before construction can actually begin. Mr. Derrick explained that he would like to give the senior citizens of Lino Lakes first chance to rent the units and would like to have a marketing person in the senior center to sign reservation forms. When the list of reservations is completed, the list will be sent to a management company that takes the full application and then a lease is signed. Mr. Derrick said he would like to get word to the community regarding the availability of the senior housing units through the local newspaper, City newsletter or other local information channels. Council Member Kuether asked if there is any assurance that Lino Lakes residents will get first chance to rent the units five (5) years from now. Mr. Derrick explained that it is illegal to give a guarantee that Lino Lakes residents will get first consideration. If the City had a public housing authority, he could work through this agency and guarantee that Lino Lakes residents would get the first opportunity to rent units as they become available. However since there is no public housing authority, Mr. Derrick said he would work with the City to see that Lino Lakes citizens would get the first opportunity to rent units as they become available. Mayor Reinert asked about the financial structure of this project. Mr. Derrick explained that the Tax Increment Financing (TIF) remains the same as originally presented. However, a portion of the TIF will involve the 10 single family homes. These homes will be constructed for first time home buyers. NSP will purchase the tax credits and be the major financier of project. The City has agreed to certain financial concessions regarding costs of permits and Cottage Homesteads will be asking for additional assistance of approximately $71,000.00 so that rents can be kept at the figure originally quoted. Mr. Saxton said he understood the need for a financial analysis as Mr. Schumacher has outlined. However, he noted this project has been scrutinized by everyone involved. Mr. Saxton said that PAGE 3 COUNCIL WORK SESSION MAY 3, 1995 Cottage Homesteads has met all requirements and if for some reason the City cannot provide the extra $71,000.00, the rents will have to be adjusted accordingly. Mr. Schumacher noted that the original City subsidy was for 90 units. Now the number of units has been reduced to 47 and an analysis is being made of how many dollars should the City subsidize 47 units. Mr. Saxton said the formula has not been changed. The TIF is still 90%, however, this will not generate enough subsidy for only 47 units. The 10 single family units are needed to keep the rent at the agreed upon rate. Mr. Schumacher asked if the project is reduced from 90 to 47 units, shouldn't the dollars be reduced proportionately? Mr. Saxton said the City is still capturing 10% and the project will need the proper zoning and additional support from the City. All other financial commitments have been secured. Council Member Kuether asked what are the financial qualifications for securing a unit. Mr. Derrick explained. Mayor Reinert noted that this project was started more than three (3) years ago. He also noted that a project in Circle Pines is already under construction and they started their project after this one was started. Mr. Derrick explained that the delay was in obtaining the tax credits. He said he was not aware of how Circle Pines obtained their tax credits so fast. Mayor Reinert asked if the City is being asked to contribute additional dollars to the project. Mr. Saxton said no additional TIF dollars, however, he is asking for further concessions on building permits. Mr. Powell said he believed that Cottage Homesteads is asking for further concessions on permits in the amount of approximately $71,000.00. Mayor Reinert asked what would happen if the City refused to provide additional contribution. Mr. Saxton said the rent would increase approximate $15.00 per month which means that they may not be rented to Lino Lakes residents. Council Member Bergeson asked what the City would gain by approving the Cottage Homestead project. Mr. Saxton said that the City would be providing housing for the seniors of Lino Lakes who do not have a lot of money to pay for rent. Council Member Bergeson said he would like to see a comparison of what the City is contributing to the project and what the City will gain from the project. Mr. Saxton said that one benefit is that the rent will be reduced by $120.00 per month with City subsidy. Mayor Reinert said he felt the project was important because it gives the City a balance of available housing. However, he felt PAGE 4 1 1 1 COUNCIL WORK SESSION MAY 3, 1995 that Council Member Bergeson's question needed to be answered. He noted that the City Council has worked on this project in extremely good faith, however, the City must deal with what is here today and let the market place determine what the rents should be. Mayor Reinert said he personally felt that the City should not offer any more permit concessions for the project. Mr. Saxton said that his company has also worked diligently on this project and has not missed any time limits on any portion of the project. However, he felt that his company was caught up is a political situation when the application for tax credits was submitted. Mr. Saxton said that there is no question that the project will be done, the only question is the amount of rent on each. Mr. Schmidt asked if this means that there will TIF on the 10 family single family units as well as the 47 cottage units? Mr. Schumacher said that the TIF district is in place, the only questions are what percent will be included in the development agreement and should the 10 single family units be included in the TIF subsidy. Mr. Saxton explained that HUD sets the limit of the rents. He is planning to increase the rents by 3% each year because it is expected that costs such as taxes will increase by that percentage. However, rents can never be raised above the HUD cap. Mr. Saxton said that he will try to make sure that Lino Lakes residents get the first opportunity to rent the units as they become available. However, he could not guarantee that this will happen. Mr. Saxton explained that HUD only requires that these units be dedicated as senior housing for 15 years. He said that the deed restrictions will include language guaranteeing that this project will be senior housing for at least 30 years. Mr. Saxton asked what would happen to the project if Cottage Homesteads of America, Inc. went bankrupt. He explained that NSP will own 99% of the project and the general partners will own 1 %. Mr. Schumacher asked what guarantee is there that you will continue as owners of the project. He noted a project in another City where the owners had problems and ownership changed about half of the way through the project. Mr. Derrick said that there is no guarantee that they will continue their ownership. He noted that the City will have control of the project through the development agreement. Mr. Schmidt and Mr. Saxton gave brief explanations regarding their involvement in other projects and PAGE 5 COUNCIL WORK SESSION MAY 3, 1995 the desire to remain partners in this proposal. Mr. Schumacher explained that the Planning and Zoning Board will review this project at their May 10, 1995 meeting. A development agreement will be prepared and the project should be before the City Council for their consideration May 22, 1995. Mr. Chris Lyden, 6275 Holly Drive said that he felt that there was an obvious need for senior housing. He asked how does the City know that this project will be a good experience for Lino Lakes? Mr. Derrick said that he felt that there will be a greater involvement by the City of Lino Lakes as compared to other such projects. He further explained how he felt that this would be a good experience for the City. This project will proceed through the planning and approval process as outlined by Mr. Schumacher earlier. CITY ENGINEER SEARCH UPDATE, RANDY SCHUMACHER Mr. Schumacher handed each Council Member a brochure from the Breimeyer Group containing a schedule for the search for a new City Engineer. He explained that Mr. Breimeyer was here today to talk to several staff members and will talk to each Council Member to get an idea of what type of a person the City is looking for. RECYCLING DAY, RANDY SCHUMACHER This is just a reminder that Saturday May 6, 1995 is recycling day in Lino Lakes. ELECTIONS, PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY, MARILYN ANDERSON Mrs. Anderson explained that the State Legislature is considering legislation that would require a presidential primary in 1996 but would not provide funding for the municipalities to conduct the primary. She will keep the City Council updated on this matter. REGULAR AGENDA The City Council reviewed the agenda. Mr. Wessel noted that the Economic Development Authority will meet at 6:00 P.M. prior to the regular Council meeting. The request is to modify the TIF plan for District No. 1 -4. The modification is for the Blue Heron project which will be before the Planning and Zoning Board on May 10, 1995. Mr. Wessel noted that TIF assistance is proposed for this project and noted that they are well within the guidelines for a TIF project. PAGE 6 1 1 1 COUNCIL WORK SESSION MAY 3, 1995 Mr. Powell explained that he will be recommending that the City Council deny a petition requesting an Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW) for Trapper's Crossing. He noted that SEH reviewed the petition and prepare a "point by point" response to the citizens concerns. SEH has found that there is no mandatory requirement for an EAW for Trapper's Crossing. The City Council has the option of ordering a discretionary EAW if it is determined that Trapper's Crossing will have a significant impact on the surrounding properties. Mr. Powell will be recommending that a discretionary EAW not be ordered since it cannot be shown that there will be significant impact. Mr. Powell updated the City Council regarding the Lake Drive (CSAH #23) /Hodgson Road (Highway #49) improvement. Phase II of the archeological study has been completed and the proposed mitigation will be approved by the State. Originally, the cost of the Phase II investigation was estimated to be $90,000.00. Later the cost was estimated to be $180,000.00. It has now been determined that the cost will be closer to the original estimate. Mr. Schumacher said that he and Mr. Powell met with representatives from the Historical Society and were told that the site is not a meaningful Indian historical site. The study should be completed within three (3) weeks and authorization for bids should be on the May 22, 1995 Council agenda. Mr. Lyden referred to the request for an EAW for Trapper's Crossing and noted that even though the project does not meet the threshold for a mandatory EAW, there still are issues to be addressed. Mr. Powell again explained that the City would have to determine that there is a significant impact to justify ordering an EAW. Mr. Lyden referred to the SEH report and noted that he is concerned because it appears that a culvert will bring drainage from Trapper's Crossing onto his property where his drainfield is located. He noted that it is functioning well now and asked if the developer is required to bear the costs of repair if the system should fail due to the construction. Mr. Powell said that there is no guarantee that this drainfield will not be impacted. He suggested that Mr. Lyden and the developer get together prior to the start of the construction and determine what the situation currently is and if it is functioning well now and fails during construction, it can be documented that the failure is due to the construction. The developer would be liable if it failed. Mr. Lyden felt that there was an error in the SEH report and asked how the City Council could approve the report. Mr. Powell explained the rules regarding an EAW. He also noted that the grading and drainage plan for the development has not been PAGE 7 COUNCIL WORK SESSION MAY 3, 1995 completed but will be thoroughly reviewed when it is available. Mr. Powell explained that the septic system can easily be monitored and would normally be monitored as part of the construction process. Ms. Caroline Dahl, 1101 Holly Court explained her concern regarding a buffer between Trapper's Crossing and her home water run -off. Mr. Powell explained that the City has adopted a local water management plan. Although the City has accepted the authority as a Local Government Unit (LGU) Rice Creek Watershed still will review all development plans and issue the appropriate permits as they have done in the past. Mr. Powell also explained that the grading and drainage plans have not been designed, however, the rate of water run -off from Trapper's Crossing cannot be increased. Flooding in the area will not be made worse. Ms. Dahl said that Mr. Brixius had written a letter to the residents indicating that the developer will contact them regarding the berm. As of yet, there has been no contact. Mr. Powell explained that Ms. Wyland will be handling the berm issue. He also noted the developer will be forced to follow the requirements of the City. Mr. Lyden said that holding ponds act as a "cup ". The residents had asked for the EAW because of the volume of run -off that will be created by the development. He felt that any increase in the volume of run -off would have a large impact. Mr. Powell said that the volume of run -off is a concern and will be monitored. Sue Walseth, 1101 Holly Drive expressed concern regarding the drainage from a culvert that will come to her property line. She suggested that the culvert be placed in the ditch. Mr. Powell explained that the drawings that were used were not drawn to scale. The developer cannot direct drainage onto her property without an easement. Ms. Walseth noted that there is a holding pond at the other end of her property and she did not want her pasture turned into a wetland. She asked if there was any guarantee that the pond will not overflow and spread sediment onto her property. Mr. Powell said that SEH has also mentioned this issue and it will be monitored in the same manner as Mr. Lyden's septic system. Council Member Bergeson asked that staff let the developer know about the concerns expressed by the residents this evening. The City Council returned to considering the agenda for Monday. Mr. Asleson outlined the proposal from Mr. and Mrs. John Lund to donate a parcel of land to the City for use as a trail between the PineRidge development and Shenandoah park. He noted that PAGE 8 1 1 1 COUNCIL WORK SESSION MAY 3, 1995 although the Lunds are donating the property, there will be expenses of approximately $3,000.00 to get the parcel detached from the balance of the Lund property, register the property in the name of the City and to upgrade the parcel with gravel base and blacktop. The Dedicated Park Fund will finance this acquisition. The meeting was adjourned at 7:50 P.M. These minutes were considered, corrected and approved at the regular Council meeting held on June 12, 1995. / I(r_,r A , / 1' Marilyr G. Anderson, Vernon F. Reinert, Clerk - Treasurer Mayor PAGE 9 9