Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC MINUTES 02241987 Meeting Sheet IIIIII VIII VIII VIII VIII VIII IIII IIII 101678 Box: 21 Folder: CC MINUTES AND AGENDAS 1987 Document: CC MINUTES 02241987 C=TY OF S T . ANTHONY COUN C 2 L M=NUTS S • FEBRUARY 2 4 , 1 9 8 7 The meeting was opened at 7:30 P.M. with the Pledge of Allegiance led by Mayor Sundland. Present for roll call: Marks, Ranallo, Sundland, Enrooth, Makowske. Also present: William Soth, City Attorney Donald Hickerson, Police Chief FEBRUARY 10, 1987 COUNCIL MINUTES APPROVED Motion by Makowske, seconded by Sundland to approve the above with the following changes: Page 4, para. 1: Substitute "recommended information be made available through the AMM and that a pairing system be set up to help disseminate information" for "agreed the issue deserved further discussion. " Page 5, para. 6: Substitute "Hennepin Avenue United" for "Grace" , line 5. Motion carried unanimously. LICENSES/PERMITS/PETITIONS Before moving the licenses in the agenda packet, it was confirmed that Scarpelli' s is the trade name for Silver Lake Pasta in Apache Plaza. Councilmember Makowske indicated she had checked with City Manager Childs regarding the location of the cigarette machines and found that both were located where they could be easily supervised by the grocery store and restaurant owners. Council Action Motion by Ranallo, seconded by Enrooth to grant all the following licenses and permits as listed in the February 24th Council agenda packet: Rubbish Removal Keith Krupenny & Son (renewal) Cigarette Woodside Enterprises at Baker' s Square Red Owl Stores, Inc. , 2508-38th Avenue N.E. Bench • St. Anthony Self-Service Laundry Manor Wash & Dry -2- Heating O'Keefe Mechanical, Eden Prairie, MN Contractor Watson Forsberg Lawrence Signs, Inc. Wine Silver Lake Pasta Motion carried unanimously. CLAIMS Motion by Marks, seconded by Ranallo to approve payment of all verified claims listed in the February 24th agenda, including the January 31, 1987 City accounts payable and the January 31 and February 17, 1987 liquor accounts payable. Motion carried unanimously. • Motion by Marks, seconded by Enrooth to approve payment of $1,825.00 to the Edward J. Hance law firm for prosecution services from January 21 through February 4, 1987. Motion carried unanimously. Motion by Ranallo, seconded by Marks to approve payment of $909. 52 to the Briggs and Morgan law firm for legal services rendered through January 31, 1987 in conjunction with the City' s lawsuit against the U.S. Army et al related to St. Anthony' s water contamination problems. Motion carried unanimously. Motion by Enrooth, seconded by Makowske to table action on the $4,098. 19 bill from BWBR Architects for further information from the City Manager. Motion carried unanimously. Motion by Ranallo, seconded by Marks to approve payment of $1,284.90 to Rieke-Carroll-Muller Associates, Inc. for their preliminary report on the proposed reconstruction of St. Anthony Boulevard from the railroad bridge to Ridgeway Road in accordance with the limitations imposed by the City for those fees. Motion carried unanimously. -3- Motion by Marks, seconded by Makowske to approve payment of $1,878.97 for the Kenzie Terrace traffic study and $1,401.75 for the 1986 MSA information to be paid to Short-Elliott-Hendrickson, Inc. , consulting engineers. •Motion carried unanimously. TRI-CITY AMERICAN LEGION PRESENTS CHECK FOR BULLET-PROOF VESTS TO POLICE CHIEF John R. Hearn, 3607 - 37th Avenue N.E. , and Joseph W. Aselak, 2647 Jefferson Street N.E. , American Legion Post #513 Commander and Manager, were present to give Chief Hickerson a $2,500 check to purchase ten bullet-proof vests for the St. Anthony Police Department. In presenting the check, Commander Hearn said: * the same donation had been made to New Brighton and would be made to Columbia Heights; * the following month the Legion would be purchasing some type of equipment for the three cities ' fire departments; • * he was making good on his promise not to forget St. Anthony after the Legion moved to New Brighton. Mayor Sundland expressed the appreciation of the Council and the residents of St. Anthony, saying: * in today' s environment, bullet-proof vests are necessary tools of the trade for the police; * the generous donation would help alleviate some of the ongoing budget problems the City faces; * he had relayed the Fire Department' s interest in an electronic heat sensor to Commander Hearn when he had asked for a "shopping list" for the next Legion donation; and * he thought a letter of appreciation for the Legion' s generosity would be in order. Council Action Motion by Marks, seconded by Enrooth to request a letter of appreciation be sent to the Tri-City American Legion Post #513 for their $2,500 check to the St. Anthony Police Department. Motion carried unanimously. i • -4- REPORTS COUNCIL REPORTS Property Tax Information Suggested Meeting of the Ramsey County League of Local Governments and City Residents Councilmember Ranallo reported attending a very informative seminar on the proposed property tax reforms which had been sponsored by the Board of Realtors the previous week. The Councilmember said he had intended to ask the City Manager that evening whether he thought the City residents might be interested in hearing what Glen Dorfman had to say about how appraisals are made and mill rates designated to various governmental bodies statewide. The following conversation about his suggestion ensued: Ranallo -said he thought St. Anthony residents might be interested to learn that a $75,000 house in the metropolitan area is taxed much higher than the same priced house in a rural area even though the same degree of school and city services are provided in both regions; -thought this information might give the residents a new insight into what changes in the property tax system might entail for St. Anthony. Enrooth -suggested that if the presentation hadn't been given in the metropolitan area yet, it might be well to broaden its scope and not just limit it to City residents. Makowske -wondered if the Ramsey County League of Local Governments might be interested in adopting the presentation for its April meeting and holding that meeting in St. Anthony. Ranallo -agreed to discuss the possibility of holding the meeting in the St. Anthony High School auditorium with Mr. Childs; -said he thought the presentation should be given sometime before May but after the residents who go away for the winter have returned to their homes in St. Anthony. Councilmember Marks Reports Attendance at February RCLLG Meeting The above meeting was held in the Maplewood City Hall and featured a report on Metropolitan Council activities by Councilmember Chuck Wiger who was filling in for Chairman Steve Keefe, who had pneumonia. • -5- St. Anthony Councilmember Chosen to Chair Youth Service Bureau Executive Board Councilmember Marks, who has served as the Council' s representative on that Board for the past three years, reported he had been elected to chair the group at their February 19th meeting. The new Board Chair said he had recently met with the principal of St. Charles School, Gary Wilmer, regarding the provision of youth services for that school. Councilmember Marks said he had found Mr. Wilmer very anxious to become more involved in the program and for the school to have representation and input to the Bureau programs. He had also contacted Reverend Seefeldt of Nativity Lutheran Church to encourage the clergyman' s continued involvement in the program, the Councilmember reported. The new Bureau Board Chair concluded his report by saying he anticipated a very interesting year ahead since the Bureau had doubled its budget and staff and was consolidating some of the issues it plans to pursue, including the Rule 29 mental health clinic. Sundland and Marks to Attend National League of Cities in Washington, D.C. • The Mayor indicated the above and said one of their prime objectives would be to contact the Minnesota Congressional Delegation to continue to "grease the skids" to get a charcoal filtration for City wells. He indicated he had been told by a Congressman that day that the overturning of the President' s veto of the Clean Water Act might be beneficial for the City in that regard. DEPARTMENTS AND COMMITTEES The following reports in the February 24th agenda packet were briefly noted and ordered filed: *Prosecutor' s report on matters conducted at the Hennepin County District Court on February 4, 1987; *December Financial Report. CITY MANAGER New Telephone System to be Considered for City Offices Mayor Sundland was asked by Councilmember Ranallo for his reaction to the reference in the February Staff Notes to Mr. Hamer' s investigation of a new phone system which the City would own rather than rent from AT&T. The City pays between $4,200 and $4,500 per year to rent the existing system. The Public Works Director had already received one proposal under which the City could own the equipment for $6,252. The Mayor made the following comments: -perceived the equipment the City now rents was very outdated and didn' t perform as necessary in a business office today; -could see nothing wrong with City owning its own equipment because most vendors offer warranties or there are service contracts avail- able to provide protection from major catastrophes in the system; -agreed with Councilmember Ranallo that the City Manager should be requested to look into the new system and return to the Council with his recommendations and proposals for upgrading the outmoded tele- phone system. Methods for Increasing Recyclables Collections Explored Councilmember Ranallo referred to the Staff Notes report that Mr. Hamer had attended a meeting with Ramsey County regarding curbside pickups of recyclable materials by saying he and the Mayor had attended a meeting with the Hennepin County Commissioners where incentives to get residents to bring their own materials to a designated collection location were discussed. The following comments were made in response to the Staff Notes reference to Mr. Hamer' s attendance at a meeting with Ramsey County regardig curbside pickups of recyclable materials under a .grant program providing up to 75 cents per month/household for pick up: Ranallo -reported he and Mayor Sundland had attended a meeting with the Hennepin County Commissioners where incentives to bring recyclables to a designated spot were discussed; -recalled that there had been problems with curbside pickups in St. Anthony in the past; -indicated he would prefer the City would concentrate on inducing residents to bring their materials to the City' s recycling center; and -told how some cities reported offering rebates on water bills to anyone who delivered their own recylcables to designated collection spots. Sundland -said he had learned at the Hennepin County meeting that curbside collections were often very expensive under- takings; -reported the County Commissioners were amazed at the suc- cess the City had already experienced with its recycling • center. t . -7- Makowske -perceived many of St. Anthony' s residents are senior citizens who might have neither the inclination or trans- portation to take their recyclables to the center; and -thought the City would eventually have to undertake both collection systems. Ranallo -responded by saying, surprisingly the majority of the residents who bring their recyclables to the center now are seniors. Enrooth -said it would be important to have regular pickups if the program is to be undertaken; -wouldn't want junk sitting around as in Minneapolis now; -suggested some service organization might have an interest in underwriting this program. Sundland -recalled the "Clean-Up Days" which had been sponsored by the JC' s which might be used as some other service club as the basis for an expanded program of collections. Marks -agreed the collections would have to be made at least monthly to be effective; -suggested that might be a problem in harsher winters. Sundland -was concerned that the problems the City had experienced with garbage cans sitting at curbside all week before the staff had worked with the rubbish haulers to schedule regular pickup days for specific neighborhoods might be repeated with monthly pickups. The Council agreed to wait for further input from the City Manager on the issue. Robert Spano Appointed as St. Anthony' s Representative to the Eastside Hennepin County Human Services Advisory Committee Mr. Spano' s January 30th letter indicating his interest in the above service had been included in the agenda packet. The Manager had been directed at the last Council meeting to contact Hennepin County to see if he would be eligible to serve because his residence was north of 37th Avenue N.E. and therefor in Ramsey County. Mayor Sundland said he perceived Hennepin County had considering having a representative from St. Anthony on the Committee was more important than where he lived. • -8- Council Action Motion by Marks, seconded by Ranallo to appoint Robert M. Spano, 4009 Silver Lake Road, to serve as St. Anthony' s representative to the Eastside Hennepin County Human Services Advisory Committee. Motion carried unanimously. Tom Gould Appointed to Serve as Back-Up Person to Dave Mikkelson on the North Suburban Cable T.V. Commission Council Action Motion by Ranallo, seconded by Marks to appoint Thomas Gould to serve as St. Anthony' s Alternate Representative to the North Suburban Cable T.V. Commission now that Dave Mikkelson has assumed Alan Kaeding' s position on the Commission. Motion carried unanimously. UNFINISHED BUSINESS Council Approves Second Reading of Gambling Ordinance Amendment • Mr. Soth explained that the Ordinance amendment would allow only small occasional church-type gambling events in the City. Council Action Motion by Ranallo, seconded by Makowske to approve the second reading of Ordinance 1987-001. ORDINANCE 1987-001 AN ORDINANCE RELATING TO GAMBLING; AMENDING THE 1973 CODE OF ORDINANCES BY ADDING A SECTION 445 Motion carried unanimously. City Attorney Directed to Rewrite Parking, Family Definition Ordinance The Council had delayed action on Ordinance 1987-002 for the return of the surveys the City Manager had made of between 30 and 35 other municipalities to ascertain how many unrelated persons they defined as "family" in their Ordinances. The results of that survey had been reported in Mr. Childs' February 19th memorandum which indicated ten of the cities who had responded allowed only four unrelated individuals within their definition of "family" in R-1, R-2, and R-3 dwellings. Five cities, including Minneapolis, only allowed three. • -9- The Ordinance which had been written by the City Attorney had amended the definition of "Family" to allow only three, rather than six, unrelated persons to reside in one unit, in accordance with the recommendations of the Planning Commission after their January 20th hearing on the proposed changes. Four Councilmembers Favored Changing Ordinance Number to Four - One Preferred Three The perceptions of the above were as follows: Sundland -indicated he would have no problem with changing the number to four. Enrooth -said that was the number he had always expected the Ordin- ance to allow and was the number he felt he could support best after the Council' s conversations January 27th and after seeing what the majority of other municipalities considered reasonable. Marks -said he was sure it had been the Planning Commission who had reduced the number to three but he would be in favor of • increasing it to four. Ranallo -said he could support four because the City Attorney had interpreted that to mean "four unrelated persons, whether or not one was a homeowner." Councilmember Makowske said she wanted to stay with three because she was concerned with (1) Minneapolis only allowing three; ( 2) the close proximity of the U of M to St. Anthony; and ( 3) the availability of housing in the City. The Mayor told her he recognized her concerns had originated with what had happened in her neighborhood when the homeowner had moved away and rented to young persons which had resulted in four people living there officially but others staying there unofficially. He said he didn' t think adding another person to the Ordinance restriction would guarantee that wouldn' t happen again. Mayor Sundland said that situation had probably been the first one where parking on the lawn had become a real problem. Councilmember Makowske persisted in her opinion that "three would be a good workable number." She said she considered the Planning Commission recommendation to have been a good one considering that most St. Anthony homes have three bedrooms. Residents State Their Positions on the Changes • Three residents were in attendance for the lengthy discussions which ensued. Bernhard Preussner, 3209 Skycroft Drive, indicated he was • -10- present only to observe. Jeff Lofgren, 3109 Stinson Boulevard, made a suggestion relating to the unrelated persons issue at the conclusion of the discussion. Ted Misiak, 2812 - 30th Avenue N.E. -said the restriction of vehicles a homeowner could park in his own driveway really bothered him; -recalled that the City' s population had gone from over 10,000 to around 4,000 (7,770) since he had moved to St. Anthony and when there had been more large families with lots of kids and cars parked all over, there had been less problems with parking than since the population had gone down; -indicated he had only a one car garage which he uses to store the lawn mower, snow plow, bicycles, etc. , which his family uses and therefore needed to park the six cars his current family of five has on his driveway; -said later he occasionally parks a boat on the driveway when he brings it back from the lake and that one son also drives a motor- cycle to the University because it is cheaper and easier to park than a car; • -thought if he couldn' t park all those vehicles on the driveway, some of them would have to be parked in the street which could create a safety hazard for children and people walking or jogging past his house; -agreed cars should not be parked on lawns and that "junk" cars are put away from sight; but -didn' t see why his vehicles all which are licensed, and not "junky" , couldn' t be parked on his driveway as long as they fit there; -wanted to know whether the police would be tagging guests' cars if they stayed overnight; -asked "what' s the point of living in St. Anthony if you're not allowed to have motorcycles or boats?" His comments drew the following responses: Sundland -assured Mr. Misiak that the "police wouldn't be driving around tagging guests" and would probably never bother him as long as his neighbors weren't complaining; -told him the purpose of the Ordinance was to prevent people • from storing cars without motors, etc. on their property where they create "eyesores" for the neighbors; • -11- -said he had also perceived there were fewer complaints when there were more people living in St. Anthony when he moved here thirty years ago and it appeared that since the com- munity had become older, the complaints about cars and property conditions had increased rather than decreased with fewer people. Enrooth -told Mr. Miskak the Council perceived they need an Ordin- ance to force the removal of some of the "junky, non- drivable" vehicles parked in some yards around the City; -said he didn't know any other way to get this done but questioned how many complaints there had really been. Ranallo -countered by saying he perceived Councilmembers had been getting these types of complaints for years; -said one caller that evening had indicated he not only favored what the Council was trying to do but wanted the Ordinance tightened up even more so no more than four vehicles could be parked anywhere on the property. When Mr. Misiak said he believed it was unfair to allow people to live in apartment buildings to have as many cars, boats, motorcycles, etc. as • they want parked around those buildings where their neighbors have to look at them, Councilmember Makowske conceded that the Ordinance would affect only R-1, R-2, and R-3 property and not apartment houses. She told the resident one of his statements had caused her to reconsider how the Ordinance might be written and suggested the wording might be changed to eliminate the specific reference to any number of cars as long as they are parked on paved surfaces. Councilmember Ranallo protested this change, saying "then people will be paving their whole back yards. " Councilmember Enrooth pointed out that St. Anthony already had a number of homes with blacktopped back yards. Mr. Misiak indicated he believed that "as long as people buy their homes and pay taxes, they should be able to use that property as they need." Councilmember Enrooth said that was true as long as the use of that property is within the confines which considers the neighborhood and the problems the Council is considering now are the complaints coming from different neighborhoods. The Councilmember said he thought one of the reasons there are more problems now than in the past might be because as the houses get older and their owners come into more discretionary income, they seem to be better able to accumulate more and more vehicles. Councilmember Enrooth told Mr. Misiak the Council had been assuming most homes had two car garages in which the homeowner could park two of his vehicles and still park four more on the driveway. He said either a -12- homeowner who did not would have to seek a variance to the Ordinance requirement, or perhaps that exception should be written into the Ordinance at the start. When Mr. Misiak said most of the residents in his neighborhood had only one or no garage at all, and, although he was also concerned about the appearance of his neighborhood, still couldn' t understand why he was restricted in his use of his own driveway, he was told the following: Sundland -explained that the City is only trying to establish some foundation to handle problems which must exist considering the number of calls Councilmembers have gotten over the years; -said there are situations where some persons simply won' t pay any attention to their neighbors' complaints about cars on the lawns, old buses parked in front of houses, etc. Ranallo -told the resident he had built a tool shed in his own back yard to store his lawn mower, bicycles, etc. in; -indicated the Council were trying to upgrade the appearance of the City' s neighborhoods by attempting to prevent people from parking six, seven, or eight motorcycles, boats, cars, etc. in their yards at a time; -asked Mr. Misiak if he wanted "St. Anthony to look good or like a dump because that was the way it' s beginning to look now" ; -indicated a drive down the City streets would show two or three pickups loaded with junk constantly in driveways; -went on to say he believed the Ordinance the Council was trying to write was the only way the City could keep condi- tions from getting worse and to force those who don't care about their neighbors to change; -indicated Mr. Misiak should apply for a variance to the Ordinance since the resident had said he had five people living at home who all needed cars and motorcycles to get back and forth to work and school. Marks -suggested situations like Mr. Misiak' s should be written into the Ordinance. Sundland -responded that he didn' t think the City could possibly write an ordinance which anticipated every legitimate hardship for which residents would be seeking a variance; • • -13- -told Mr. Misiak he also only had a one car garage and he wouldn' t expect him to have a problem getting a variance. Mr. Misiak foresaw it might be hard to sell lower priced homes like his own to young families if they found out the City won' t allow them to have boats, campers, motorcycles, etc. Councilmember Ranallo told him the complaints the Council are getting right now are from people who bought in St. Anthony thinking it was a "nice community" and now perceive it' s beginning to look "dumpy. " The Councilmember also recalled that some propospective buyers had decided not to buy in St. Anthony because of the appearance of some of its yards. Mayor Sundland said Mr. Misiak and Councilmember Ranallo might both be right but he could see where the Ordinance might have to be tempered somewhat to accommodate people like Mr. Misiak who say they need six cars temporarily to accommodate their growing family' s requirements. He said as far as parking boats on the front driveways went, he doubted the time Mr. Misiak was talking about would draw any neighbor complaints. Rather, it would be the boats which are parked in the same location for more than a year which would draw neighborhood objection. Enrooth -suggested the following scenario would follow after a com- plaint is lodged: a. the City Manager or Public Works Director would stop to talk to the homeowner against whom the complaint had been made; b. that homeowner would be told he was not in com- pliance with the City Ordinance and must correct the problem within a certain length of time; c. if the conversation indicated the homeowner had a legitimate hardship which prevented compliance with the Ordinance, the variance recourse would be sug- gested to him or her; and d. hopefully, by utilizing the process, the homeowner would solve his problems at the same time the City would retain control over situations they have no control over now. Soth -advised it would be very difficult to write every situation into the Ordinance; -suggested the City might want to retain the option of tel- ling the homeowner his use was not appropriate for a variance. • • -14- Sundland -reiterated that many of the hardships which are cited would only be temporary because, "eventually, children do move away from home. " Ranallo -told Mr. Misiak the City would probably never receive a complaint about his parking situation because the majority of his vehicles would be gone most of the time; -explained again that what the City was trying to do was to provide a vehicle for forcing the removal of vehicles which have become eyesores for the neighborhood because they are parked on the driveways for long periods of time without ever being moved; -suggested the Ordinance could always be modified later if it proves to impose too many hardships for the residents. Sundland -pointed out that Jeff Lofgren had parked an old beer truck on Stinson Boulevard for a long time but had removed it after the City told him the neighbors were complaining about it. Ranallo -_added that the same truck had been parked for five years in • other City locations and, because no one complained, no mention was made of it. Sundland -indicated that, on the other hand, there were instances where the City had failed to get the same cooperation even to registered letters, phone calls, or visits from City staff; -said it was this type of situation which had generated many complaints from the neighbors who are fast losing their patience with the City' s inability to do anything to cor- rect these situations. Marks -indicated he perceived there was no unanimity in the community over this situation; -reported many people like the man who called him that evening are all for the Ordinance, but others like Mr. Misiak who have children going to school and working part time at different places, said they would have problems with the proposed changes; -perceived one of the reasons there are more vehicles in the City know than in the past might be that there are more wives who work than there were ten years ago; • -was concerned the Council might, again, be interpreting an Ordinance to mean something different than what was written; ti • -15- -pointed out that there was nothing in the proposed document they had been provided that evening which allowed temporary parking for guests and that no standard had been established for when the Ordinance would be enforced; -said he would have an "ethical" problem with writing another Ordinance which the City doesn't intend to enforce. In regard to the stipulation that vehicles could only be parked on paved surfaces, the Councilmember said there were some homes in St. Anthony, like his own, which don' t have any asphalt at all, which he assumed would be in violation of the law immediately upon passage of the Ordinance. If the City considered such situations to be grandfathered in, the Councilmember said, he perceived the Ordinance would be rendered ineffective for the problems which the Council hoped to address. The following responses were made to his statements: Ranallo -said he would have no problem with allowing "defined gravel driveways" but wouldn' t want people just throwing sand all over their backyards for parking. • Soth -perceived the problem with gravel parking areas could be easily dealt with in the Ordinance but trying to establish time restrictions might be tough because specifying hours vehicles could be parked might create enforcement problems for the police, who would have to drive around marking cars, etc. Ranallo -reiterated that another problem with the Ordinance as it was presented that evening, was that it failed to provide restrictions against vehicles being parked in backyards. Sundland -agreed with the City Attorney that setting time limits would be an unwieldly proposition requiring enforcement on an on- going basis to keep it consistent; -perceived that would require more police manpower than the City could afford; -wondered if perhaps the Ordinance might not have to be rewritten in specific terms which only addressed the problem of parking on lawns. Makowske -said she could now see where the whole Ordinance might have to be reworked and suggested the City might want to restrict parking to only paved or graveled surfaces without being specific about the number of vehicles; • -concluded the Ordinance could always be made more restric- tive later on if it didn' t correct the existing problems. • -16- The Mayor said he sensed Mr. Misiak had been mostly concerned about the police enforcing the Ordinance too strictly. Councilmember Marks said that might be possible with so many new young policemen on the force who might want to increase their productivity in this area the same as they have tagging speeders on Silver Lake Road. When Councilmember Enrooth said he thought there might be no more than six or seven people in the Village whose performance made this Ordinance a necessity for dealing with them, Councilmember Ranallo said he thought that estimate might be too low. Mr. Misiak said he thought there were a lot of people in St. Anthony who were not even aware the Council was still working on the Ordinance because the only notice they had received had come several days after the Planning Commission hearing was held. Mayor Sundland agreed the Council was "going to have a hard time living that down" , but assured the homeowner an honest attempt had been made to invite the residents to give the Council the benefit of their comments at the Commission' s public hearing which had been thwarted by a computer breakdown. However, he pointed out, the Council' s apologies had been expressed through the news articles which Mr. Misiak said he had read and • the Council had been trying ever since to erase the impression that they were "trying to jam this Ordinance down the residents' throat." Mayor Sundland said evidently a few people had learned about the hearing because there had been some residents present to give the Commissioner' s their opinions of what should be done. And, he said, he had gotten a number of calls about the issue since that time, most of which were in favor of the changes. He had discounted one letter he had received against the proposal because it had not been signed, the Mayor said. The Mayor said he could see some real merit in Councilmember Makowske' s suggestion that the number of vehicles not be specified in the Ordinance but that parking be restricted to paved or graveled surfaces. He said he also agreed with her that it would be better to have a less restrictive law written at this time which could be tightened up later, if necessary. Additional comments were: Makowske -told Mr. Misiak the public hearing before the Planning Commission had only been the start of the process and the Ordinance still had to be given three readings before it would be adopted, which should leave enough time for further resident input. Ranallo -said he was concerned that only those who were against the Ordinance were being heard now because none of the people • who had called him in favor of the restrictions were present to reiterate that support. However, he also perceived there • -li- were issues in the Ordinance as it now stood which might need changing. Makowske -agreed that St. Anthony residents make good use of their backyards and wouldn' t be too happy to have the "eyesores pushed from the front to the backyards. " Soth -suggested the Council might want to amend the wording to indicate that "all vehicles parked on any City lot shall be parked on surfaced pavement or a defined gravel drive- way in the front yard." Enrooth -perceived that might solve the problem of "people just throwing gravel around their backyards" , but -questioned how much control the Council really wanted to exercise in this regard. Sundland -reported that he, like Councilmember Ranallo, had gotten a good number of calls expressing a desire that the City cut down on the number of vehicles parked on residential • property but perceived most of the callers had not appeared to be objecting to families like the Misiak' s, whose cars are used on a regular basis. Ranallo -agreed with Mr. Misiak that it had been unfortunate that the residents had learned about the public hearing on these changes too late to attend the Commission meeting; -indicated he perceived there was no real pressure to get the Ordinance passed right away since the City had lived with the existing Ordinance for over twenty-five years, and "another two weeks can't make that much difference" ; -suggested that it might be better to start the process all over by rewriting the Ordinance and notifying the residents that "this is the Ordinance the Council is considering pass- ing. " -said that would give everybody, including the people who favor more restrictions an opportunity of being heard. Enrooth -indicated he would just as soon see the next reading delayed until after the next water bill goes out or a special mailing can be sent to the residents. Sundland -saw no urgency to get the Ordinance passed; • -pointed out that he perceived the law making process was working just as intended by statute with the Council first putting together an Ordinance; taking it apart in response i tA -18- to resident input and, hopefully, finally writing a workable law which will get to the bottom of the problems residents are complaining about. He said this supported his contention that the Council does listen to the residents and is sincere about getting an enforceable Ordinance; -cautioned against writing an Ordinance which resulted in "a parade of people" coming before the Council to get variances. Ranallo -said he still thought most people wanted some restriction of the number of vehicles and wondered if five might be a more reasonable number for the vehicles listed in the Ordi- nance as long as they can only be parked on surfaced areas. Makowske -said she didn' t think it was the number of vehicles that bothered most people but rather most of the residents who had called her had been more concerned about the appearance of lawns after cars are parked on them all winter. Ranallo -said one of his callers had complained about a large sailboat which had been parked on his neighbor' s lawn for • a long time and even hung out over the City' s boulevard. Marks -reiterated that he still maintained the timing aspects of any restrictions had to be addressed. Soth -said it would be easy to write procedures into the Ordinance but perceived the City would have to be very specific regarding the number of vehicles which could be parked in an area for a specified time. He suggested the Council might even have to address the question of whether the vehicles were owned or operated by the homeowners. In regard to the number of unrelated persons who would be allowed to live in a residence, Mr. Lofgren suggested the Council might want to specify that "only a homeowner and three unrelated persons could live in a residence" because he perceived an owner wouldn' t want to "trash his own investment." There was general agreement that specifying four unrelated persons in this manner might provide a satisfactory method of preventing what Councilmember Makowske had been afraid of. Council Action Motion by Ranallo, seconded by Makowske to request the City Attorney to rewrite the Ordinance along the lines of the ideas the Council had thrown out that evening and to delay the first reading of the Ordinance until staff has figured out -a way of letting the residents know when the • Council would be giving the first reading to the changes. Motion carried unanimously. .19• ADJOURNMENT Motion by'. Enrooth, seconded by"•Marks to adj:ourn;aYie meeting at 9. 05 PM _. Motion:carried unanimously 1. Respectful-ly :subft itted j left, ,Cro_we,,, Secretary.- f 04 ATTEST. 'City G1erk - i .c�k. 1. R . S