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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC MINUTES 08281984 it Meeting Sheet 1111 lill gill j J 101878 *i Box:.21 Folder: CC MINUTES AND AGENDAS 1984 Document: CC MINUTES 08281984 ' a a �i CITY OF ST. ANTHONY COUNCIL MINUTES August 28, 1984 The meeting was opened at 7:30 P.M. with the Pledge Allegiance led by Mayor Sundland. Present for roll call : Marks, Ranallo, Sundland, Enrooth, and Makowske. Also present: David Childs, City Manager; William Soth, City Attorney; Carol Johnson, Finance Director;- and Larry Hamer, Public Works Director. The following amendments were made to the August 14th Council minutes: Page 1 , para. 3: Insert "(.arrived 7:35 P.M. ) " following "Marks". Page 2, para. 11 : Substitute "to the League meetings" for "at the meeting" in the last line. Page 4, para. 1 : Substitute a .period for "and" following ".City" in line 3. Motion by Councilman Marks and seconded by Councilman Ranallo to grant all the following licenses as listed in the August 28, 1984 Council agenda: Heating Licenses • O'Keefe Mechanical Northwestern Service, Inc. St. Marie Sheet Metal , Inc. Hutton & Rowe, Inc Contractors Licenses Creative Century Builders, Inc. , Minneapolis J. M. J. Construction, Anoka. Motion carried unanimously. The Manager reported the 49'ers had cancelled the picnic they planned for later that week because of the weather and had requested the temporary 3.2 beer permit they had been granted for that date be transferred to the' date on which the pic- nic would be rescheduled. Not desiring to set a precedent for automatic deference of such permits, the Council consensus was that the application would have to be resubmitted for Council approval , which in this case could not be before September 11th. In his August 28th memorandum dealing with the Hennepin County's billing for the City's share of the right-of-way acquisition costs for- the County Road D recon- struction, Mr. Childs had advised that the County had . ,billed for only the expenditures for the period ending August 8th, and had estimated the City's total costs would amount to $117,255. The Manager told Councilman Ranallo the City could lose its MSA allocation if those funds are not disbursed this year for this • project. Mr. Hamer confirmed that the State had been billed for $88,355. Motion by Councilman Marks and seconded by Councilman Makowske to authorize the • payment of $88,355 to Hennepin County as soon as the state reimburses the City for that amount from MSA funds. Mottdn carried unanimously. Motion by Councilman Marks and seconded by Councilman Enrooth to approve payment of $1 ,574.50 to Edward J. Hance for St. .Anthony prosecutions'August 1 , 1984. Motion carried unanimously. Motion by Councilman Ranallo and seconded by Councilman Enrooth to approve payment of $40,356.60 to Robert W. Moore Co. for trunk watermain construction on 29th Avenue N.E. , in relation to the water connection with Roseville. Motion carried unanimously. Motion by Councilman Makowske and seconded by Councilman Ranallo to approve payment of $26,304.16, representing the amount billed for March, -1984 by the Metropolitan Waste Control Commission. Motion carried unanimously. Captain Dick -Johnson of the City Fire Department, introduced Jay Olson, who was sworn in by Carol Johnson as the City 's new full time firefighter. He also pre- sented three of the four fire reserve recruits who had just completed their training as firefighters. The first of these was Andrea, Lundgren, 3005 Armour • Terrace, who, the Captain said, would be the first woman to serve in the depart- ment, and who, he assured the Council , had no difficulty keeping up with the vigorous training demanded of recruits. Steve Nerheim, a St. Anthony Reserve firefighter, commented that Andrea had done better than he when running the mile and a half. Captain Johnson concluded his presentation by introducing the other two recruits as- Steve Mach., son of a St. Anthony physician, and Paul Loyas, 3413 Roosevelt Street N.E. Mayor Sundland indicated he believed both the full time and part time firefighters should be credited for developing what he perceives to be a unique department which had grown under circumstances which were often difficult at first. He welcomed the recruits and thanked them for the effort they put forward for a job with little remuneration, except, perhaps, their own sense of self-satisfaction for providing service to the City. Brad Bjorklund told the Council he would be reporting to them seven items of business the Planning Commission had acted on during their August 21st meeting. First, the Commission representative pointed out what he personally believed had been a significant reference to the Zoning Ordinance dealing with "bays" which had been omitted from the July 17th Commission minutes.and corrected in the August 21st minutes. Next, Commissioner Bjorklund reported the motion dealing with the requested signage for the St. Anthony Court 'Townhomes in which had had made several cor- rections including the deletion of ".brick" from the description on line 33, page 2, • of the base grade on which the proposed sign would be positioned, and the addition of the phrase "the sign for the Hedlund P.U.D. " to be inserted after "permitted" in line 36 on the same page. The latter had been omitted from the minutes although Commissioner Bjorklund indicated he remembered including it in his motion. The Council accepted the amended motion as read by the Commissioner, in the following: -3- Motion by. Councilman Ranallo and seconded by Councilman Makowske to grant the • necessary variance to the Sign Ordinance to permit the St. Anthony Court Home- owners Association to erect on their property along Silver Lake Road the free standing monument type sign as proposed in the Pine Cone Nursery site plans sub- mitted for such a .sign June 19, 1984, and the sketch of the signage which had been included in the August 21 , 1984 agenda packet; contingent upon the sign's overall height not exceeding 60 inches from the base grade, and that all setbacks from the right-of-ways be maintained as proposed by Chester Krumm. The Council finds, as did the Planning Commission, that: 1 . This is the sign for the Hedlund P.U.D. in the Sign Ordinance for which the precedent has been set throughout the City; 2. The sign meets the general quality and design.criteria set for such signage; and 3. The Council and the Planning Commission have taken into consideration the fact that there was no opposition to the request expressed during any of the hearings on the matter. Before a vote was taken there was a very involved discussion of the proposal , as it did, or did not, relate to the Craig & Company signage to the north, and whether the Commission intended, with the reference to the townhome signage being "the sign for the P.U.D. ", to preclude any signage at all for the barber/ beauty shop. • Commissioner Bjorklund told Councilman Marks there might have been an indirect reference to the Craig & Company signage in the phrase, but that the Commission had not considered. it to be a germane question, since they had, during their June 19th meeting, recommended that staff be directed to take down the existing beauty shop sign because of its damaged condition and because it was not in conformance with the City Sign Ordinance. Mr. Childs responded by saying he had taken no action on -the June direction because he thought the matter should be clarified further since it was hard for him to understand how a City could takeaway signage which is necessary for an established. business. He said he was not with the City when the signage was originally permitted, and was having a hard time . keeping the issues of the two usages separated in his mind. Craig Morris, the proprietor of the business in question, was present. Before he spoke, the Mayor stated that, in his own mind., .there was no question but that any type of business which operates out of what is Mr,�,'Morris ' shop would have to have some sort of business i.dentification. Mr. Morris proceeded at great length to attempt to justify his signage as permanent, recalling that, at one time, on a date he could not identify, for -which he and his associates had hired their own stenographer to take notes, the Council had taken up the consideration of signage for the building he was converting to a barber/beauty shop at 3909 Silver Lake Road in relation to the future development of the rest of the Hedlund property north of that building. The hair stylist told the Council that when those notes were consulted after that meeting, it was noted that, what Mr. Morris considered to be a vital statement from Mayor Sundland, • was not reported in the official minutes of that meeting. According to Mr. Morris, "Bob Sundland stated at that time, that he believed the City would have to give Craig a sign and whoever came into the P.U.D. after him, would have to apply for a special use permit (for signage) This statement was made, Mr. Morris said, in response to "Mr. Marks asking whether a temporary sign was going to be given to Mr. Morris". -4- Although Mr. Morris was uncertain of the year of the incident, he did recall that • "all but two of you on the Council were there and must remember Cthe Mayor's state- ment)". Councilman Enrooth told him .he was on that Council , and very much involved in the sign approval process, and he surmised the date to be sometime in 1980. Mr. Morris apologized for the sign in front of his shop, which he acknowledge was an "eyesore", having 'suffered a great deal of damage in the tornado. He requested assurance that, if he sells his business, the buyers could have signage, although, he conceded that "they could possibly live with .a smaller sign". The Craig &. Company owner agreed the townhomes north of him also needed recognition. Councilman Marks told Mr. Morris it was his recollection that the Council at the time his sign was being considered, had no idea at all that the property to the north of him would eventually be developed for townhomes, but rather expected his shop would become a part of a mini-mall . The P.U.D. was therefore- written to anticipate one large sign for the entire development, with a temporary sign granted for the beauty shop. Now that the rest of the P.U.D. had happily gone residential , the Councilman indicated he agreed with -the Mayor that the time had come to look at separate signage for Mr. Morris' building. Councilman Ranallo-concurred with that assessment, adding that such signage would have to be reduced in size and designed to conform to the City's standards for free standing signs, and to fit in with the townhome signage next door. Mr. Morris persisted in his contention that the Mayor's statement, which had not gotten into the minutes, meant his sign was never intended to be temporary. Councilman Enrooth indicated there was no confusion in his own mind that the signage which had been originally granted to Craig Morris- had been anything but "temporary", no matter what comments, official or otherwise, were made about it during the meeting in question. Councilman Makowske, responding to Mr. Morris ' allegations that .the. Planning Commission had no knowledge of the Mayor's statement, told him she was a Com- missioner at that time and was certain the Planning Commission had recommended only "temporary" signage for Mr. Morris' business. However, she stated that she also recognized there was a need for signage for any business at that location. Commissioner Bjorklund told the Council he perceived the .Onsensus-`of the current_, Commission members would be that any business in that area would have to have -some sort of signage but it would have to conform to the criteria set for free standing signs. He indicated he didn't consider the dispute about past Council. minutes to be germane to the question before the Council . The Mayor told Mr. Morris what he is saying today is no different than what he said years ago, that the shop would have to have signage, which it has. He told the hair stylist, "We're not going to tear down your sign. We're just saying it has to be rebuilt to conform to the City ordinances. Councilman Ranallo added that he had no recollection of the beauty shop sign ever being .considered "the sign for the P.U.D. " but, rather, a temporary sign had been given to Mr. Morris to provide the identification the hair stylist had insisted he needed to get into business. The intent .at that time, the Councilman said, had • been to wait until the rest of the Hedlund property was developed, at which time, the Council could sit down with Mr. Morris and the other use owners to see just -5- what type of permanent signage they would need. "This is exactly what the current • Council is doing", Councilman Ranallo told Mr.- Morris, "and it's now up -to you to come in with' 'a sketch and a proposal for a sign which would fit into the activities on that street and with the townhome signage next door". The Councilman continued by saying he agreed with the Mayor that "to tear down your sign would leave you with no identification, which would not be fair", but he indicated he perceived, "no one here seems to want to do that, in spite of the Commission direction, which .was certainly justifiable at that time". Councilman Ranallo concluded by telling Mr. Morris, "Your signage has always been a thorn in the City's side because it is non-conforming and doesn't fit into that location. '' Now it's up to you to propose appropriate signage which would conform. to the existing signage along that street. " When Mr. Morris asked what square footage he would be permitted, Councilman Enrooth called the question, indicating he did not believe. the conversation was germane to the motion for approval of the townhome signage before the Council . The Mayor told the hair stylist he would have to go through the required process for granting . signs and took the vote on the motion, which was carried unanimously. Mr. Morris inquired whether he could tell -his prospective buyers they could have a sign similar to the realty sign south of his shop. Mayor Sundland reiterated those specifications would have to be negotiated through the normal process with which signs are granted in the City. He suggested that Mr. Morris consult the City Manager for suggestions for a sign which would be apt to get both Council and Commission approval , indicating the dimensions of that sign might well be within the parameters recommended by Mr. Childs in his August 24th memorandum dealing with both the townhome and beauty shop signage. Chester Krumm, President of the Townhouse Association, had clarified several points about the signage he proposed during the Council consideration of his application. The Council next heard Commissioner Bjorklund's report on the request for the garage expansion at 3420 Harding Street N.E. , which the Commission had tabled because of neighbor opposition. Mr. Childs said there had been no further com- munication on the proposal and no Council action was deemed necessary. Commissioner Bjorklund read the unanimous recommendation for Council approval of the variances which would be necessary for Isaacs and Associates to convert the Northgate Motel property into 19 units of office condominiums and the members of the development team, Mr. Isaacs; Richard Kleinbaum; and Dan Gleeson , presented the site plans and colored renderings of their proposal . Mr.. Isaacs told the Council he anticipates an October 1st closing and that the project would be completed by. spring. Motion by Councilman Marks and seconded by Councilman Enrooth to.grant Isaacs and Associates, 357 East Kellogg, St. Paul , - the necessary parking and setback variance to allow the conversion of the Northgate Motel , 2526 Highway 88, into approximately 19 units of office condominiums; specifically, an eight stall variance to the City Ordinance requirement for 74 parking spaces, with no more than 50% of those, down- graded to 8"71/2 ,X 19 foot spaces to accommodate compact cars; and the variance necessary to allow the extension of the existing north line of the condominiums on • that side. The variances are granted contingent upon the building mechanics being enclosed to the extent they don 't increase the ambient sound units and the landscaping is done according to the building footprint plan presented by the architects. -6- The Council finds, as did the Planning Commission, that: • 1 . The removal of the existing non-conforming free standing sign in front of the building seems to be a good trade-off for granting the variances; 2. The hardship would be to turn down a project such as this one which would be such an asset to the community when compared to the existing structure; 3. Granting these variances could not be expected to be detrimental to abutting properties; and 4. The three conditions which require satisfaction appear to have been met with the proposal as presented. Motion carried unanimously. Commissioner Bjorklund read the motion recommending Council approval of the lot split and variances necessary to develop two lots on the property owned by Elizabeth Johnson, 3601 Stinson Boulevard. He told. the.Council the only neighbor .present for the hearing had appeared to have left that meeting .satisfied with the type of home Joe Mezzenga had indicated he might build on the new lot. Councilman Ranallo noted that, if this house is built with the garage fronting on the street, it would be similar to another house like it on Edward where he perceives there could be a problem with snow storage. The Councilman was concerned that, with the existing elevations in that neighborhood, there could be some serious water problems as empty lots are developed. Mr. Hamer indicated he also perceives the possibility that smaller backyards could accentuate drainage problems and told the Council he is closely monitoring the grade plans for all new construction in that area. Motion by Councilman Marks and seconded by Councilman Ranallo to grant the request from Elizabeth Johnson, 3601 Stinson Boulevard N.E. , for subdivision without platting and a variance to allow the split of an existing 50 X 239.25 foot lot fronting on Stinson Boulevard and Roosevelt Street N.E. , into two lots which would be approximately 50 X 120 feet in size and a total of 6,000 square feet each, where"_the Gity Ordinance requires 75 foot frontage and a total area of 9,000 square feet, for a single family dwelling, which would result in the retention of the existing residence fronting on Stinson Boulevard and the creation of another buildable lot fronting on Roosevelt Street N.E. The Council finds, as did the Planning Commission, that: 1 . Another single family home could be added to the City stock; 2. There have been ample examples of precedents of this type permitting similar size lots to be built in the City, and in that particular neighborhood; 3. There is some indication that historically this property might have been divided into two entities in the past; and 4. All conditions which are required by law to be satisfied affirmatively have • been done so. Motion carried unanimously. -7- The Commission spokesman explained to Councilman Marks that the new owners of the station at the northeast corner of Silver Lake Road and 37th Avenue N.E. had decided • they would retain the gas pumps left by Jet Gas along the Silver Lake Road side of the station, which would entitle Rapid Oil Change, Inc. to have the same signage permitted gasoline service stations. He also indicated he had found after the meeting that Rapid Oil was not the company he.thought he had done some work for, so he could have voted on the Commission 's motion, which he read. E. F. Flaherty, President of Rapid Oil Change, Inc. , 2950 - 4th Avenue South, was present, but did not speak. Motion by Councilman Ranallo and seconded by Councilman Makowske to permit Rapid Oil Change, Inc. , to erect a pylon sign on their property at 3001 - 37th Avenue N.E. , no larger than the 50 square feet permitted for that type of sign by the City Ordinance, and to grant the service center the variance necessary to utilize the 114 square feet, permitted for that building, for two signs which may be located at the firm's discretion. Motion carried unanimously. Chris Kelly, General Manager of Sunset Memorial Park cemetery, was present to discuss the proposal to erect a new mausoleum on cemetery property near the St. Anthony Office Park. He showed a colored rendering of a similar building his firm had constructed at another location and the blue prints for the St. Anthony construction. The Manager explained that the site plans included in the agenda packet had been drawn up in 1963 and had several inaccuracies, including a build- ing which had never been constructed. Mr. Kelly was advised that the state would probably never permit a permanent access from Highway 88 but might allow a work • exit if the elevations can be corrected. Motion by Councilman Marks and seconded by Councilman Enrooth to give approval to Sunset Memorial Park Association to erect a mausoleum as they propose in the cemetery (_east of St. Anthony Boulevard and south of Highway 88) . :The Council agrees with the Planning Commission that the new construction would be very com- patible with its natural surroundings and with the City's Recreational Open Spaces Zoning as it pertains to the cemetery. Motion carried unanimously. Bernard Preussner, 3209 Skycroft Drive, had requested to speak to the Council pro- testing what he perceives to be an ongoing denial of his rights by his neighbors, the Kelly's, who live across the street. at 3208 Skycroft Drive. He said when he called the City Attorney in June to complain about that family consistently parking several of their automobiles in front of his home, and "changing oil and anti- freeze right in the street in front of my property, I .was told there is nothing I can do about it under your ordinances, except to take it. " Mr. Preussner said he again called the police on August 16th with the same complaints and wondered if the City couldn't write an ordinance which would prevent auto repair on the City streets. Mr... Hamer said he talked to Mrs. Kelly and was told she would attempt to correct the problem. He said he was closely monitoring the situation and would continue to do so. • Mr. Preussner had previously requested the City Ordinance be rewritten to restrict parking on the streets and the Mayor reiterated the problems inherent in arbitrarily -8- enforcing parking restrictions. When. the resident said the same family pushes the • snow from their property to in .front of his home, the Public Works Director indicated the City Ordinances do prohibit .that and said he.has been making every effort to enforce that law, but indicated he might have missed a violation in front of Mr. Preussner's house. Motion by- Councilman Ranallo and .seconded by Mayor Sundland to direct the City Manager and Attorney to research an ordinance which would reasonably address the problem of repairing automobiles on City streets. Motion carried unanimously. Councilman Marks reported the Suburban Youth Service is experiencing funding pro- blems and is trying to get $20,000 from the youth support network. Several negative balance items in the July 31st Financial report were discussed with the Manager and Carol Johnson who confirmed thatthese balances were a result of expenditures being made before revenues were col.lected. Mr. Childs suggested the Council members could see that illustrated if they cross referenced the budgeted amount for those items. However, he added, this might not be true with liquor revenues, which the Manager anticipates .won't come in as budgeted and would require a budget adjustment sometime soon. The August 22nd staff notes; water supply report from the -Minnesota Department -of Health; and a letter from Bill Soth regarding his intention of separating Doppler Radar costs from other .billings, were discussed briefly and ordered filed. • As the Mayor had requested at the August 14th Council meeting, the Sister Cities International program had been included in the Council agenda and related litera- ture included. in the packet for Council consideration. Councilman Makowske indicated her first impression of the proposal had changed and she now believed that if the program .had the support of the community it might be a worthwhile project for the City to undertake. Mayor Sundland reiterated he perceives the program offered an opportunity for people-to-people rather than government-to-government contact. and for better relations among nations once they get to know each other better. Councilman Ranallo was concerned that the ethnic makeup of the City might prompt a dispute over just which cities should be contacted by.City residents and groups but was later convinced that there might be no ethnic ramifications at all if the selection is made by service boards, churches and schools: . Councilman Marks noted that the program had the strong support of the National League of Cities who had offered many resource materials to help communities to implement the program. Motion by Councilman Ranallo and seconded by Councilman Enrooth to request staff to contact the various community churches, schools, and service organizations to see if there is any interest in setting up affiliations with a city or cities in other countries through the Sister Cities International , including the payment of the membership fees for the International . Motion carried .unanimously. • Motion by Councilman Marks and seconded by Councilman Makowske to adopt the resolution which authorizes the City's participation in the Community Development Block Grant. program. RESOLUTION 84-034 t A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE .MAYOR AND CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE THE JOINT .,C.00PERATION AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF ST. ANTHONY AND HENNEPIN COUNTY RELATING TO THE URBAN HENNEPIN COUNTY COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT .BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM Motion carried unanimously. Mr. Hamer reported that three firms. had*taken the specifications for the reservoir reroofing project but, only one had submitted a bid before the closing time. The Public Works Director told Councilman Makowske that firm, Allied Protective Coating, Inc. , had been in business about fifty years and there is a warranty for workman- ship which mandates an annual inspection to correct any deficiencies. Motion by Councilman Marks and seconded by Mayor Sundland to accept the bid of $34;890 and award the contract for reroofing the water reservoir to Allied Protective Coating, Inc. , Minneapolis. Motion carried unanimously. Motion by Councilman Marks and seconded. by Councilman Ranallo to approve the second reading of the fire code ordinance amendment. ORDINANCE 1984-004 AN ORDINANCE RELATING TO HIRE PREVENTION; AMENDING • - SECTION 350 OF THE 1973 CODE OF ORDINANCES Motion carried unanimously. The rebuilding of Apache Plaza was discussed briefly, with Mr. Childs indicating he had been requested to meet with Dennis Cavanaugh, President of C. G. Rein Company, for a progress report. He drew the Council member's attention to the paving of the parking lots where he said he understands a new traffic pattern would be set up to solve some of what the center management perceives to have been problems in the past. Councilman Ranallo wondered what had ever happened to the landscaping program the owners had presented-when they were approved for Revenue Bonds and he was told the Community Marketing Committee and the community garden clubs: are providing input for the reconstruction process. Mr. Childs reported Midwest .Federal has also begun reconstruction of their building. - The retaking of the official pictures of the Council was scheduled just prior to the September 11th Council meeting. Motion by Councilman Ranallo and seconded by Councilman Makowske to reschedule the September 11 , 1984 Council meeting .to open at 8:00 P.M. after the primary election- polls have closed. Motion carried unanimously. Motion by Councilman Ranallo and seconded by Councilman Enrooth to adjourn the • meeting at 9:10 P.M. for the meeting of the St. Anthony Housing and Redevelopment Authority which followed immediately. Motion carried unanimously. -10- Respectfully submitted, L ecretary ATTEST: City Clerk •