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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02/02/1994 Council MinutesCITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION CITY OF LINO LAKES COUNCIL MINUTES FEBRUARY 2, 1994 DATE February 2, 1994 TIME STARTED . 5..:;00 P.M. TIME -.ENDED.` 6:08 P.M. MEMBERS PRESENT: Reinert, Neal, Elliott, Berge MEMBERS ABSENT ;• Kuether son Staff members present: City Engineer, Darrell Schneider; Planning Coordinator, Mary Kay Wyland; Community Development Director, Brian Wessel; Consulting Planner, Al Brixus; City Administrator, Randy Schumacher and Clerk -Treasurer Marilyn Anderson. Mayor Reinert made a brief statement regarding Council Member attendance at Council work sessions. REVISION OF WEIGHT RESTRICTION POLICY Mr. Schumacher explained the present weight restriction policy for City streets during spring thaw and noted that Mr. Volk is considering enforcing the weight restrictions as required by the City Code. This matter will be discussed at the next Council work session and at the builders and developers meeting which is scheduled for February 18, 1994. Mayor Reinert asked Council Members to let Mr. Schumacher know immediately if they do not support the proposed City Code enforcement. REQUEST FOR VARIANCE FOR HOUSE CONSTRUCTED WITHIN THE SET BACK RESTRICTION Mr. Schumacher explained that he has been informed by the Building Inspector that a house was constructed during this winter season and it does not meet side yard setback requirements. The error was unintentional and the homeowner on the adjoining lot has been made aware of the error. The adjacent PAGE 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION FEBRUARY 2, 1994 homeowner supports the variance request. LEHMAN PROPERTY WEST OF RICE LAKE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL Mayor Reinert noted that he has been approached regarding the condition of the Lehman property west of the Rice Lake Elementary School. He asked that the Building Official contact Mr. Lehman and work with him to bring the property into compliance with the City Code. COMPREHENSIVE LAND USE DISCUSSION Mr. Schumacher explained that at recent project management meetings, issues have come up that appear to require that the City Council take an overall view of where this City is going. The Comprehensive Land Use Plan is out of date and is no longer beneficial to the staff as a planning tool. The staff considers this a high priority issue. Mr. Schneider presented a number of maps which outlined the MUSA area, wetlands, regional parks and other considerations affecting potential growth in the City. He gave a brief introduction to the maps and noted that these maps are being used in the Growth Study. Mr. Brixius gave a brief history of the growth of the City from the 1970's through today. He noted that the average annual growth has more than doubled over the 1980's rate. Available land, favorable interest rates and attractive environments have accelerated the City's growth. Between 1990 and 1993, Lino Lakes has added 1,112 new homes. Based on the previous three years demand, the City does not have an inventory of final platted lots to meet the demand. The current supply of final platted lots represent less than a one year supply of lots. In 1989, Lee Maxfield prepare a housing market study for Lino Lakes. This study recommended a three year 1990-1992 lot supply of 360 - 450 lots and a three year 1993 - 1995 lot supply of 270 per year. Maxfield also recommended that the City evaluate new home sales annually so that lot inventories could be increased or decreased to reflect changing market conditions. Using Maxfield's recommendation, Lino Lakes, at its present rate of growth, should have a three year inventory of 550 to 600 lots available with another 275 in the planning stages. Contributing to the City's declining lot supply is the declining development densities that are being achieved due to environmental restrictions (i.e., wetland regulations, local lot area standards). Most recent R-1 plats including Apollo Meadows, PAGE 2 3 CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION FEBRUARY 2, 1994 Black Duck Estates, Shores of Marshan Lake and Fox Trace, have had gross densities ranging from 1.99 to 2.61 per acre. Average densities for these R-1 plats are 2.21 units per acre. R -1X plats, including Quail Ridge, Woods of Baldwin Lake and Pheasant Hills, Fifth Addition range from 1.3 units to 2.1 units per acre. Gross density averages 1.5 units per acre. Mr. Brixius suggested that the City Council decide how the City will accept growth. He presented three growth options. Option No. 1 - Slow Growth - 100 - 250 units annually. Mr. Brixius noted that declining lot supply will slow residential growth. Factors affecting this trend include: 1. City Charter 2. Current MUSA Distribution Patterns/Inflexibility 3. Unsewered Versus Sewered Neighborhoods 4. Land Availability 5. Low Development Densities Due to Environment Option No. 2 - Moderate Growth - 250 - 400 units annually. Factors affecting this option include: 1. Expand Supply of Land for Urban Development 2. Increase Supply of Residential Lots 3. Establish some Flexibility in the MUSA Distribution 4. Establish Development Pattern that Allows Reasonable Extension of Services 5. Establish Policy for Addressing Urban/Suburban Conflicts Option No. 3 - Strong Growth - 400+ - Factors affecting this option are nearly the same as Option No. 2. Mayor Reinert said he felt the City Council must think about the optimum level of building permits per year. He noted that at one time the City Council had talked about 250 permits per year. Mayor Reinert asked that if the Council Members have a strong feeling on this matter, it should be made known at this time. Mayor Reinert said that the Economic Impact Study would have given the City Council a better idea of what direction to go. He suggested that the City may be on a collision course with the school district because they are already talking about another facility and the City Council is talking about additional space needs and additional police and public works requirements. Mayor Reinert noted that both entities will be vying for the same tax dollar. Council Member Bergeson said his concern is that if the City Council takes a position that would limit growth, how will that PAGE 3 1 1 1 1 CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION FEBRUARY 2, 1994 affect economic development. He noted that potential businesses looking at the I35W/Lake Drive area want to know where are the customers for their businesses. Will potential businesses go elsewhere? Council Member Elliott noted that most businesses "feed" on "flow-through" traffic. Council Member Bergeson agreed but said many businesses located off the freeway want to know where their customers will come from. Mayor Reinert agreed that the City Council will need to look at the impact of limited growth. He also noted that currently Lino Lakes is not recognized as a City with 12,000 residents. Mr. Schneider continued the presentation to the City Council by stating that the exhibits show that there is limited developable land in the current MUSA area. He said he is not recommending that the development spread all over the City. He is asking the City Council to look at the situation and give the staff and consultants a definition of the direction they would like to see the City go. Mr. Schneider explained that the real issue is wetland. There are about 3,000 acres of lakes and ponds in the City plus 2500 acres of regional park. An additional 20% of land in Lino Lakes is part of the national inventory of: wetlands. To make things worse, as wetlands are delineated for plats, the wetlands almost double. Mr. Schneider used the proposed plat of Trappers Crossing (LaMotte/Whitcomb proposal) to show the amount of land that is now being defined as wetland. He also noted that there are other areas outside of the MUSA that are ready to develop and explained there is a significant amount of wetland in these areas. One question to be answered before these areas are included in the MUSA is will it be feasible to extend utilities into these areas. Mr. Schneider continued by noting that there is limited land available for platting at this time and the goal of 400 lots cannot be achieve on a short basis. Only about 250 to 300 lots can be developed within the next several years. In addition, the City Charter makes it more difficult to plan and this puts the City in a position in which it can only react to development proposals. Mayor Reinert asked if it is logical to allow development on the east side of the City? He noted the cost to extend services and asked if it is reasonable to spread out all over the City thus not only creating a need to extend utility services but also extend police and public works personnel and equipment and placing an additional burden on the school districts. Mayor Reinert said he is not willing to do this at this time. Mr. Schneider explained that the City has sent a message to the landowners on the east side of the City by extending the MUSA to some of that area. The message is that the City considers the PAGE 4 CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION FEBRUARY 2, 1994 area to be developable. Mayor Reinert felt that this is a poor message. Mr. Brixius noted that growth within the community impacts the land use, environment, transportation, utility services and finances. To minimize the negative aspects of urban development, the City growth should be planned, controlled and orderly. The City should provide for manageable time period, address changing development and market trends, and identify logical utility expansion and urban growth areas. The Comprehensive Land Use Plan should be updated to indicate compatible land use patterns and orderly staged growth. Policies that define growth objectives, define development quality and integration of development/environment should be prepared. Mr. Brixius said that a staged, orderly growth philosophy encourages growth radiating from existing development area. He noted that past planning efforts have promoted this concept. The benefits of staged growth include development concentrated in a more confined service and utility area, reduced City costs for utility and services, reduced emergency and public works response time, reduced land use compatibility problems, and promote infill development policy implementation. Concerns associated with staged growth are the current piecemeal development patterns, the current one and 2.5 acre lots and the amount and placement of wetlands, park land, and interstate highways. Mr. Brixius continued by saying that financial planning is also important to orderly staged growth. Planning must be fiscally responsible and take into consideration staged growth, quality development/high value development, mixture of land use types (i.e., economic development, industrial), reasonable utility planning, timeliness and workable densities. Some problems in achieving these goals is the City Charter, the current one and 2.5 acre lots and the long utility extensions. Other issues to be considered are land supply for urban development and the future growth direction. The MUSA area is a major development factor and the possible expansion of the MUSA must take into consideration factors such as distribution of the MUSA, the current sewer service district/service area, costs of utility extension, the affects the City Charter will have on development and the utility need area. The physical barriers consist of interstate highways, regional park, City of Centerville, existing development and wetlands. Unsewered suburban lots of less than 10 acres can create barriers and are sometimes difficult to resubdivide. The final planning issue is the relationship between the City Council, Planning and Zoning Board and City staff. The City Council must define the growth PAGE 5 1 1 1 1 1 COUNCIL WORK SESSION FEBRUARY 2, 1994 direction of the City. This definition should reflect a consensus among the decision makers (City Council). A well defined growth statement from the City Council will promote uniform and equitable treatment of all projects and help to avoid the situation where staff becomes an advocate for a project. A developer proposal can initially be greeted or discouraged by staff depending upon the City Council philosophy for that particular area. Mr. Brixius explained that staff has spent a considerable amount of time preparing maps and text to document the current MUSA. He noted that it may be difficult to convenience Metropolitan Council that there is less usable land in MUSA than perceived without this documentation. Mr. Brixius also noted that land in the MUSA may be taxed differently so any modification of the MUSA area must include a real plan for development of the area. Mr. Wessel noted that although the emphasis now is on residential development, there is a strong relationship between this and economic development. There are approximately 1,150 acres within Lino Lakes zoned industrial, commercial, retail or general business. Thirty nine percent, or approximately 450 acres are available for development (less land that has been developed and land impacted by wetlands). Mr. Wessel said his concern representing economic development is that a clear direction be developed and communicated regarding the pace and intensity of residential development for the following reasons: 1. Economic Development Relationship: Prospective businesses considering locating in Lino Lakes are concerned with existing and future roof tops. 2. Attitude: The pace of residential development is reflective of the City's receptivity to responsible and timely quality economic development. 3. Planning: Specifically anticipating economic development growth by facilitating roads and utilities for both the I -35W and I -35E interchange areas. Mr. Wessel explained that a clear and consistent message regarding residential development will provide a professional and responsive perception of Lino Lakes. Mr. Schneider explained that he will be making this same presentation to the Planning and Zoning Board. Mayor Reinert suggested that the Planning and Zoning Board, Charter Commission and Economic Development Authority Advisory PAGE 6 4 u COUNCIL WORK SESSION FEBRUARY 2, 1994 Board get together with the City Council to discuss this matter. This would eliminate any communication problem between the boards. Everyone will get the same message at the same time. Mayor Reinert noted that although the City Council sets policy, all boards and commissions should know what the City Council is thinking. Mr. Schumacher said he would plan a meeting for March. The purpose of the meeting was to get some issues open and show the need for the City Council to set a plan to share this plan with staff, boards and commission. Mr. Schumacher will "reshape" the information provided this evening and present it to the City Council at a work session prior to the March meeting. Mr. Brixius said he would be available if further information is need for the meeting in March. Mr. Mesich was in the audience and suggested that a representative of the school district also attend the March meeting. This portion of the meeting was adjourned at 6:08 P.M. The City Council interviewed several candidates for positions on the Park and Recreation Board, Planning and Zoning Board, and the Economic Development Authority Advisory Board. These minutes were considered, corrected and approved at a regular City Council meeting held on February 14, 1994. JJ Marilyn C3. Anderson, Clerk -Treasurer Vernon F. Reinert, Mayor PAGE 7