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HomeMy WebLinkAbout9 4 07finalwilliams City Council Date: 9/4/07 REGULAR Item: Motion ITEM: Request by Mr. Todd Williams to attend the review agency meetings on the Village Alternative Urban Area wide Review (AUAR) Process REQUESTED BY: Todd Williams, Resident, 3025 Lake Elmo Avenue North SUBMITTED BY: Susan Hoyt, City Administrator SUMMARY AND ACTION REQUESTED: The city council is being asked to consider permitting Mr. Todd Williams to attend the agency review meetings that are part of the Village AUAR process and are not public meetings (Attachment 1). The Village AUAR process approved by the city council was chosen because it provides several opportunities for the public to be informed and to provide questions and input into the critical environmental processes. There are 15 scheduled public meetings with this topic. The agency meetings are not public meetings but are designed to provide representatives from many state and local agencies an opportunity to receive information and ask questions about the AUAR information before the agencies are officially required to comment in the Village AUAR through the formal environmental review process. (Attachment 2). The information presented at these agency meetings is presented in the same detail at the public AUAR advisory panel meetings and other public meetings. The comments made at these agency meetings are recorded and available to the public. Mr. Williams expressed an interest in being able to observe these meetings so that he can hear the discussion and see the data that the agencies are reviewing because the Village is an important community issue and because he wants to receive technical information on this topic. The city council approved a process that includes several opportunities to members of the public to participate and receive the same and more information than the agencies receive as well as to receive the agency comments. These opportunities include: o 6 public advisory panel meetings that are open to the public and members of the public are allowed to ask questions and comment and where all information presented to agencies is available, sometimes in more detail than at the agency meetings , o 2 public open houses, o 4 city council workshops o 5 city council meetings o 30 day official public comment period on the AUAR o the opportunity to add more public informational meetings should it be desired during this process ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Often, meetings between a staff or the staff and citizens involve one or more interested property owner in a specific topic like discussing a possible variance on a property or street repairs along a particular street which involves property owners. The AUAR process includes several different types of meetings to address and get input on the same type of information. These meetings include staff meetings with the consultant, the review agencies before the formal review comments are requested in the AUAR process, meetings for the advisory panel, meetings for the city council and general open houses. These meetings serve different audiences even though the information is the same. The AUAR includes four agency meetings throughout the process that are designed for the agency representatives from a variety of agencies including DNR, the MPCA, the MDH, Washington County transportation and parks, Vermillion Watershed District, the Metropolitan Council and the Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC) and others to allow representatives of the agencies to ask questions and to share comments with the AUAR project leaders from Bonestroo prior to the formal submission of the AUAR document. The information in these meetings is the same information provided to the AUAR advisory panel and is publicly posted on the Bonestroo Village AUAR web site. CONCLUSION As Mr. Williams’ points out the Village AUAR process is important to the entire Lake Elmo community. His interest in this topic is appreciated as is the interest of a variety of citizens and property owners in the Village area and in Lake Elmo as a whole. Because of the Village’s significance to the community’s future, the city council approved an extensive process that is comprehensive with several opportunities for public information to be shared and for public input. Since the AUAR process includes a variety of meetings designed for different audiences and since the information and comments from the review agency meetings are available to the public, the council can decide if there is a reason to change the process that was adopted by the city council by either making these public meetings or by allowing Mr. Williams to be the only citizen to attend the agency meetings for the purposes of observation of the discussion. MOTION FOR CONSIDERATON, IF ACTION IS DESIRED • MOTION 1 Move to allow Mr. Todd Williams to attend and to observe the three agency meetings that are part of the AUAR process. • MOTION 2 Move to deny the request from Mr. Todd Williams to attend and observe the three agency meetings that are part of the AUAR process. ORDER OF BUSINESS o Introduction Susan Hoyt, City Administrator o Report Susan Hoyt, City Administrator o Questions from the council Mayor and Council members o Request Todd Williams, 3025 Lake Elmo Avenue North o Questions from the council Mayor and Council members o Questions/comments from the public, if any (3 minutes) Mayor facilitates o Call for a motion Mayor facilitates o Action, if any desired City Council ATTACHMENTS: 1 Letter from Mr. Williams 2 Approved process for the Village AUAR