HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC MINUTES 08261975 Meeting Sheet
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Box: 35
Folder: CC MINUTES AND AGENDAS 1975
Document: CC MINUTES 08261975
CITY OF ST. ANTHONY
• COUNCIL MINUTES
August 26, 1975
The meeting was called to order by Mayor Aiedtke at 7:30 P.M.
Present at roll call : Sauer, Sundland, M;edtke and Stauffer
Absent: Haik
Also Present: Jerry Dulgar, City Manager
%dm Soth, City Attorney at 7:40 p.m.
Jim Fornell , Adm. Asst.
Motion by Councilman Stauffer and seconded by Councilman Sauer to approve the minutc
of the August 12, 1975 Council meeting.
Motion carried unanimously.
The minutes of the Special Council meeting August 19,1975, were corrected to
read:
Page 3 - para. 10: Substitute "the bank had" for "we received sufficient collates
Motion by Councilman Sauer and seconded by Councilman Sundland to approve the
minutes of August 19th, as corrected.
• Motion carried unanimously.
Mr. Richard Rymarchick, representing the Planning Board, appeared to present
the recommendations made by the Board at their meeting August 19, 1975•
He advised the Council of the unanimous decision of the Board to recommend denial
of the request to rezone the land located between American Monarch Corp. and the
Standard Oil station on 37th Ave. N.E. from Light Industrial to Commercial . Mr.
Rymarchick said the Board agreed with the resid-ants of the neighborhood that the
Country Kitchen restaurant which was proposed for the top level of one of two
buildings to be built by R.C.E. Corporation would tend to destroy the residential
nature of the neighborhood to the south and would result in an increase of
traffic on 37th Ave. as well as Belden Drive and Coolidge Street N.E.
Mr. Dick Ernst, the developer, showed drawings of the two buildings he was
requesting rezoning to build on the 322 ft. parcel of land new owned by American
Monarch Corp. , 2801 37th Ave. N.E. The plans inc',.-l-:�d 3 driveways with the
one planned to service the restaurant located , he -- ,�d, next to the gas station
In order that the flow of traffic to and f;-cm the ,-:•siaurant would be kept as
close to the corner of Silver Lake Road :end 37th Avg,. the other two driveways
would be constructed to take care of thr! offices in walk-in level of the
restaurant and the 2=story, 50 x 90 ft . office buildir-1 :» th2 west next to
American Monarch.
He told the Council that the two bus ,oings would provide th-r-1 ; 1or•rs of "prime
• office space" designed primarily for service office use.
Mr. Ernst said he planned to landsc4pr: the 35 feet set back from 370, Avenue in
a manner that would complement the neighborhood across 37ti-.. His
plans included landscaping between tier� •los king areas, the one to the east
which could accomodate 56 vehicles and L'J-hind the office building which
would provide parking for 35•
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• The developer said there is an 13 foot drop in grade from the corner of Silver
Lake Road to the west;:rn boundary of the area in question and he. disputed
arguments against the height oi= the buildings by saying neither would be higher
than the Thompson or Iverson homes across the road.
Mr. Art Thompsor,, 2900 - 37th Ave. M.E. and Mr. John Sambuco, 3613Belden Drive,
reiterated the objections they had voiced at the Planninq Board meeting the week
before, citing the petition from the neighbors against the proposal as well
as the effect on the aesthestics of the area, the noises they felt tolild be
generated at night by traffic, filtering and air condit;oning systems and garbage
trucks.
Mr. Ernst said the mechanical equipment for the building would all he placed on
the north side away from the residences.
Mayor Miedtke asked Mr. Rymarchick about the absence of stated rea«oils behind
the Planning Board's recommendation for denial of the request and said he feared
the land could be developed legally under its present zoning in a less attractive
manner than Mr. Ernst's proposal . He gave as an example the possibil ; ty of
a 35 ft. high building with cinder block facing.
Councilman Stauffer said the R-2 zon nq o-l= the land on the south side of 37th
Ave. was intended as a buffer betwAen the single family dwellings to the south
and the commercial area-of Apache Plaza and she also felt other industrial
uses possible under the present zoning could prove less desirable than the
• Ernst proposal which included attractive landscaping plans.
Mr. Ernst pointed out that the present zoning was placed on the north side of
37th in 1960 and that he felt the owners of the four single family dwellings
built on 37th should have found out how the land on both sides of 37th were
zoned before purchasing their lots. He said he was willing to sign an agreement
that the Country Kitchen would not stay open past 11 :00 P.M. and the owners
of the restaurant had indicated they were willing to make the concessions necessary
to bring their sign into conformance with the City sign ordinance.
Country Kitchen would operate under a 20 year lease with Mr. Ernst who pointed
out it was to his advantage economically to see that the property was not
allowed to deteriorate.
Mr. Harvey Williams of American Monarch said his company favored the rezoning
and felt that since they paid $20,000 in taxes on the property, consideration
should be given to their right to sell tha parcel . He also advised the Council
that "the land to going to be developed sooner or later."
The City attorney was asked whether restrictions could be attached to approval
of rezoning and Mr. Soth said such a precedent had been set in other instances
of rezoning by the City but he suggested that an agreement to the restrictions
be signed by the developer and attached to the title of the property.
Councilman Sundland did not believe the neinhbors would be protected by the
restrictions since they might be difficult to enforce. He said he opposed
• "shoving restrictions dorm the throat of a potential resident", especially
since other eating places in the City are not similarily restrict:_�6. He
indicated his opposition was mostly to the restaurant but he felt the proposed
offices would be a good use for the land.
Councilman Sauer agreed with him and wondered if the lift stat=ion In that area
would be able to handle the extra load which would be imposed by the restaurant.
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• Motion by Councilman Stauffer and seconded by Mayor it?edtke to grant approval
to rezoning from Light Industrial to Commercial the easterly 322 feet of Apache
Terrace; Blk. i , I_ot 1 , subject to the following restrictio03:
1 . The pylon sign normally used by Country Kitchen to identify its restaurants
will not he allowed under the City sign ordinance.
2. Hours of or)eratioar for the restaurant will be restricted under a signed
agreement.
3. The property may only be developed as presented by the developer with
the height of the buildings the same as shown and detailed Landscaping
plans presented for final Council approval .
G. Only lighting of low intensity directed to the north to protect the
neighbors to the south will be allowed.
5. All the above conditions will "stay with the land".
Voting on the motion:
Aye: Miedtke and Stauffer
May: Sundland and Sauer
• Motion did not carry.
Mr. Ernst then requested he be given opportunity to present another request
to the Planning Board and in meantime seek a more favorable reaction to his
proposal from the neighbors. He also mentioned wanting to repeat his proposal
before the full Council membership.
Councilman Sauer and Sundland advised him that they were opposed to the
restaurant portion of his proposal and would probably not change their minds.
He said he did not want the developer to undertake th3 additional expense of
pursuing his request without realizing the probability of its defeat.
Motion by Mayor Miedtke and seconded by Councilman Stauffer to refer the request
for rezoning back to the Planning Board for their further consideration of the
actual traffic pattern studies for the area in question as well as the possible
usage which might legally be allowed for the American Monarch property under
the existing zoning.
Motion carried unanimously.
Mr. Rymarchick was then advised to have made a part of the public record the
reasons on which the Board had based its recommendation of denial of the Ernst
west.
. Rymarchick continued his report by rola}ing the Board's reasons for deferring
a decision regarding the Goodyear Tire ailcl Rubber Company's request for a free
standing sign and said they :could make their recommendations as soon as they had
11 the pertinent information about the sign's location and landscaping.
The City Manager replied to the Board' s v,iery about the use of the vacant
lot at the S.W. corner of Silver 'c;ke Road and 37th Avenue N.E. for a storage
area by telling Mr. Rymarchick the matter was in the hands of the City Attorney.
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• Action on the Herfurth Realty Co. sign was tabled until the road grade along
Silver Lake Road has been established.
Marlys Berg, Chairman of the Human Relations Committee discussed the departure
of Hans Selvog and said the committee felt his position as Community Youth
Representative should be retained but that a job description should be agreed
on before a successor to Mr. Selvog is hired. She said the former youth repre-
sentative felt the job required more supervision from someone to whom the counsell,
was accountable with more explicit guidelines of what is to be expected from
the job holder. The Council will await recommendations from the Committee
before filling the position.
Mr. Soth read the changes which he termed as more changes in wording than
substance in the revised Parkview site lease. After a discussion of the portion
dealing with subleasing the following motion was made:
Motion by Councilman Sauer and seconded by Councilamn Stauffer to approve the
ParkView Site Lease Agreement as presented and to authorize the Mayor and City
Clerk to sign the lease.
Voting on the motion:
Aye: Sauer, Stauffer and Miedtke
Nay: Sundland
• The City Attorney explained the reasoning behind his firm's request to be formally
appointed to defend all those named in the suit brought by Barb Davidson to
protest her dismissal from City employment.
Motion by Councilman Sundland and seconded by Councilman Stauffer to authorize
the Dorsey Firm to defend the City of St. Anthony, the City Manager, the Community
Services Director and the Mayor in the suit filed against them by Barb Davidson.
Motion carried unanimously.
Councilman Stauffer mentioned complaints she had received regarding the peeling
of the new surface of the tennis courts and the height of the nets. Mr. Du•lgar
said that as soon as the company who had installed the surfacing found the reason
for the defect they would rectify it. fie also told of the efforts being made
to keep the nets at standard height.
The councilwoman then reported that Mr. Harry Lukow, a resident of the City
who is blind, had complained to her that he had walked into a fire hydrant
which is in the middle of one of the City' s walkwa,,s. Mr. DLilgar was to
investigate the matter and see what could be done to provide protection for the
handicapped.
The Manager was also to contact the Minnesota Highway Deet. regarding their
failure to provide low curbs for bikers in the construction of the intersection
of Silver Lake Road and St. Anthony Blvd.
• Mayor Miedtke reported that the Certificate of Commendation would be presented
to the St. Anthony High School Ban:; during the fund raiser event sponsored by
the parents and friends of the band o;id to he held September 28 at 1:00 P.M.
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The Mayor then designated the dates of September 16, September 30 and October 7
as Special Council meeting nights for work sessions on the new zoning ordinance
and the budget with September 16th specifically designated as the date for
consideration of the budget.
Mr. Forneil told Counciiman Sauer that the Community Calendar :Mould go to press
the following week.
Mr. Dulgar reported a pubiic herring on the filling of the ponds near the south-
east corner of Silver Like Road and County Road "E" would be held by the Rice
Creek blater3hed District and it was decided that the letter the Manager had
been directed to write to the Chairman of the district would adequately express
the City's opposition to the project.
Mr. Duigar reported that the City is continuing to televise the sanitary lines
whenever they are able to secure the equipment but to date had found no major
blockages to explain the back-ups. He also stated repair had begun on the minor
breaks which the Maintenance Dept. had found to date.
Motion by Councilman Sauer and seconded by Councilman Sundland to approve the
licenses listed in the August 25, 1975 Agenda.
Motion carried unanimously.
Motion by Councilman Sundland and seconded by Councilman Stauffer to approve
• payments of $253.44, $71 .03 and $346.08 to Comstock & Davis.
Motion carried unanimously.
Motion by Councilman Stauffer and seconded by Councilman Sauer to approve
payment of $3,024.56 to the Dorsey Firm.
Motion carried unanimously.
Following the comments from the Mayor and Manager that it was doubtful that the
City was getting its money's worth from membership in the Ramsey Co. League of
Municipalities the following motion was made:
Motion by Mayor Miedtke and seconded by Councilman Sauer to drop City membership
in the Ramsey Co. League of Municipalities for 1976 and not pay $167.04 dues.
Motion carried unanimously.
Motion by Councilman Sundland and seconded by Councilman Stauffer to approve
payment of all verified claims listed in the August 25, 1975 Agenda..
Motion carried unanimously.
Motion by Councilman Sundland and seconded by councilman Sauer tr, adjourn the
meeting at 9:48 P.M.
• Motion carries; unanimous], .
ATTEST:_ Qiayor
ClerkQ_4-4
C ty Ma ager