Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC MINUTES 05242005CITY OF ST. ANTHONY CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MINUTES MAY 24, 2005 CALL TO ORDER Mayor Faust called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. 8 PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE. 9 Mayor Faust invited the Council and audience to join him in the Pledge of Allegiance. 10 11 ROLL CALL. 12 Present: Mayor Faust; Councilmembers Gray, Stille, and Thuesen. 13 Absent: Councilmember Horst. 14 Also Present: City Manager Mike Mornson and City Attorney Jerome Gilligan. 15 16 17 CONSIDERATION, DISCUSSION, AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON ALL OF THE FOLLOWING 18 ITEMS. 19 20 I. APPROVAL OF May 24, 2005 CITY COUNCIL MEETING AGENDA. 21 Motion by Councilmember Thuesen, seconded by Councilmember Gray, to approve the City 22 Council Meeting Agenda of May 24, 2005. 23 24 Motion carried unanimously. 25 26 II. 27 28 29 III. 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 PROCLAMATIONS AND RECOGNITIONS. None. CONSENT AGENDA. A. Consider May 10, 2005 Council meeting minutes. B. Consider licenses and permits C. Consider payment of claims. D. Resolution 05 -41. re: Consider anproval of Joint Cooperation Aereement with Hennenin County. Mayor Faust requested two changes be made on the May 10, 2005 Council meeting minutes. On page 7, line 17 should read "are there any figures of how many illegal hookups ?" Page 9, line 28, "Minnesota" should be changed to "Mississippi ". Motion by Councilmember Stille, seconded by Councilmember Gray, to approve the Consent Agenda items. Motion carried unanimously. IV. PUBLIC HEARINGS. A. For intoxicating liquor license for St. Anthony Restaurant Group, dba Huskies Restaurant and Bar. Mayor Faust opened the public hearing at 7:04 p.m. City Council Regular Meeting Minutes May 24, 2005 Page 2 2 Mr. Morrison stated this is the City's third liquor license public hearing since the hearings 3 started. The police department conducted their investigation, and no concerning items were 4 discovered. He noted the difference between this request and the other two is that the other two 5 were in the Silver Lake Village Project, which was a PUD. This project cannot happen until the 6 planning and zoning issues are approved by the Council. No hearing is required for renewal or 7 the transfer of a license. The fee for on -sale intoxicating liquor is $8,000, and for Sunday on -sale 8 is $200. The City Ordinance allows for three liquor licenses. The state law allows the City to go 9 up to six licenses. If there are further requests, consideration will have to be given to amend the 10 City Ordinance. 11 12 Robert Foster, resident and attorney for the St. Anthony Restaurant Group, stated as this plan 13 was originally drafted, it was anticipated there would be a retail space in the lower portion and 14 there would be a 4,500 square foot additional building on the site. It was originally planned to be 15 a 6,000 square foot building. He said he is requesting the restaurant/bar that was scheduled to be 16 in the outbuilding now be in the end cap building. The applicant is the St. Anthony Restaurant 17 Group and it owns two other restaurant groups and bars. They own Jackson Street Bar and Grill 18 in Anoka, which is similar in size to the restaurant they are asking be approved in St. Anthony. 19 When this was originally considered by the Council, the Council was looking for a restaurant 20 that replaced the Stonehouse that was on this site and was City owned so that charitable 21 gambling could be replaced. He and the applicants met with the charitable gambling 22 representatives and have reached a tentative gambling agreement that would come into this site. 23 24 Mr. Foster explained this sports bar was going to be named "Huskies" because it reflected the 25 name of the sports team in the city. Many residents spoke against that name. The applicant is 26 now working with a restaurant planner to come up with a new name. They will request approval 27 of the new name by the Council. The hours the restaurant will be open is 11 a.m. until 1 a.m. It 28 will be a family type restaurant. There will be numerous TV sets with various sports games. He 29 said the Jackson Street Bar and Grill in Anoka has a great reputation with city officials and with 30 the community. They hope to bring the same management style to this restaurant. 31 32 Councilmember Stille asked him to talk about the training of the employees in regards to carding 33 people. 34 35 Mr. Foster responded that they are not a chain restaurant, so the training may be somewhat less 36 formalized. Both establishments the client operates have rigorous training for the employees to 37 ensure no underage drinking occurs or other liquor violations. All employees will be trained in 38 advance. 39 40 Councilmember Stille asked what the historical food/alcohol sales are. 41 42 Mr. Foster explained one of the facilities is a bar, so they have predominantly liquor sales. In 43 Anoka, there is a requirement that they provide 50% or more food and they meet that 44 requirement. 45 46 Councilmember Thuesen questioned what would determine the actual seating numbers. 47 City Council Regular Meeting Minutes May 24, 2005 Page 3 Mr. Foster answered it is based on the charitable gambling booth. The anticipated seating is 100 to 125. If the charitable gambling booth goes where it is anticipated, it will likely take the place of a large round table, which is 10 seats. 4 5 Councilmember Thuesen asked what the procedure is if it looks as though capacity will be 6 exceeded in a given evening. 8 Mr. Foster said he will have to confer with the client, but he understood they will have to limit 9 the patrons in order to fit in the parking. He said the plan is to have a spectators' area for sports 10 on site. There is a tenant mix in the building, and he said they believe there will be sufficient 11 parking at the busy times of the restaurant. For example, one of the tenants is Curves, and their 12 primary hours are during the day. The primary use of the restaurant is over the noon hour, and 13 then over the evening hours when adjacent businesses are not operating as heavily. They believe 14 complementary uses on the site have been created. He added that the parking variances 15 requested have been for 18 spots, and with 115 seats, he believes the parking can handle 16 overflow issues. 17 18 Councilmember Gray asked if they anticipate requesting to stay open until 2:00 a.m. 19 20 Mr. Foster said the operators have requested to not stay open until 2:00 a.m. 21 22 Mr. Dennis Cavanaugh, 2909 St. Anthony Boulevard, stated he lives within 250 feet from the 23 proposed bar. He said this request has to be placed in a larger context. The City went to great 24 lengths granting variances for Spectators and it never happened. He questioned whether this 25 restaurant satisfies the City's requirements. The operators never spoke as to their vision for the 26 restaurant and this is troubling. Secondly, he said the selection of the name "Huskies" was 27 troubling, especially considering Mr. Foster lives in this city. He said the attorney for the 28 restaurant is the attorney representing AMCON, and he said he finds this confusing. He reported 29 he went to the Anoka Jackson Street Bar and Grill. The menu is bar food. It was a very nice bar 30 and grill, but he said he didn't think a bar is needed in St. Anthony. He recommended the 31 Council disapprove of this request. 32 33 Barry Tedlund, 3 Island View Lane, St. Paul, said he represents some businesses on the south 34 side of the City. He noted the original promise was a 6,000 square foot restaurant. AMCON 35 seems to give the tone that it is giving a favor by putting in a smaller restaurant, but he was 36 looking forward to a larger restaurant. This will be a 4,500 square foot bar and grill instead of a 37 6,000 square foot restaurant. He said he wants the promises held. He said they welcome 38 complementary businesses and efforts that enhance the beauty of the south side of the city. He 39 said they feel that putting three more businesses on a corner where one 6,000 square foot 40 restaurant was planned defeats the purpose. 41 42 Mayor Faust closed the public hearing at 7:27 p.m. 43 44 V. REPORTS FROM COMMISSION (VICTORIA YOUNG, PLANNING COMMISSIONER 45 PRESENTING). 46 A. Resolution 05 -42: A lot coverage variance for the property at 3217 — 3 1't Avenue NE City Council Regular Meeting Minutes May 24, 2005 Page 4 1 Planning Commissioner Victoria Young said the variance was for the construction of a 120 2 square foot deck on the back of their home. The hardship on this lot is that the house is set deep 3 on the lot with a deep driveway. In order to build their proposed deck and comply with the 4 City's lot coverage requirements, they would have to move their garage forward 10 feet. This 5 would put the garage up against the house and seems a bit unreasonable. However, the property 6 file shows the hardship was not created by the property owners, but rather as the result of the 7 original codification of the City's Zoning Ordinance which occurred in 1976. She noted that 8 both petitioners were available at the Planning Commission meeting and answered all questions. 9 The Planning Commission unanimously recommended approval. The intended deck is planned 10 to be made of some artificial wood material with bushes under it, and rock. She asked if that 11 would count toward the impervious surface of the site, noting it is already a legal nonconforming 12 site. 13 14 Councilmember Stille stated with regard to the 120 square feet, and as long as a deck has slats 15 and can drain, and there is no new net surface, yes it would. 16 17 The applicant said this is part of a three -year process of improving the home. There is a large 18 French door to the backyard, and it was anticipated to put the deck on this year. This is why he 19 did not pull a permit to put the deck on last year. 20 21 Motion by Councilmember Gray, seconded by Councilmember Thuesen, to approve Resolution 22 05 -042 re: A Resolution Approving the Lot Coverage Variance for the Property Located at 3217 23 31't Avenue NE. 24 25 Councilmember Stille requested the consideration of replacing the third finding, or eliminating it. 26 If the people were living in the house prior to 1976, then the City creates the hardship. New 27 buyers after 1976 are aware of the Ordinance and buying the house knowingly so. The City may 28 not have created this hardship. He said he did not want to get in the habit of using the date of 29 codifying as an excuse for such requests. 30 31 Motion by Councilmember Thuesen, seconded by Councilmember Stille to approve Resolution 32 05 -042 re: A Resolution Approving the Lot Coverage Variance for the Property Located at 3217 33 31" Avenue NE with the removal of the third finding on the Resolution. 34 35 Motion carried unanimously. 36 37 B. Resolution 05 -43; A text amendment change to the Ordinance to allow cemeteries and 38 funeral homes in Zoning District R -1 as a conditional use. 39 Commissioner Young explained this resolution is regarding a text amendment. The request is to 40 add the words "funeral home" to Section 1605.01 of Chapter 16; and to change the permitted 41 uses to "cemeteries, mausoleums, crypts, vaults, and columbarium" within an R -1 District. She 42 summarized the background of the request and noted that Sunset Memorial Park is a legal non- 43 conforming use in the R -1 Zoning District. The ultimate request of this process was to build a 44 funeral home on this site. There was a request to change to a Recreational /Open Space site 45 earlier this year. Many people attended the public hearing and those who spoke cited 46 unanimously to disapprove this change. She explained the Planning Commission discussed the 47 issue, and some of the questions that were raised included: should a funeral home be allowed on City Council Regular Meeting Minutes May 24, 2005 Page 5 1 this site. Would there be a problem having funeral homes and cemeteries falling within two 2 different zoning districts. There was discussion about the historical nature of the site. The entire 3 site with all buildings is eligible for historic preservation. The Administration Building is maybe 4 not of historic significance, but the entire site and all the pieces of the puzzle may be. What 5 would the role of the Administration Building be in this text change. Perhaps we should impose 6 conditional uses to control the situation. She pointed out a motion was made to approve the text 7 amendment, but not seconded. A motion was made to deny and this was passed with one nay 8 vote. 9 10 Mayor Faust stated a note was received from Mr. Dan Tyson, which states his client requests the 11 postponement of the above hearing. 12 13 Mr. Tyson stated his client is requesting to not proceed with a vote on this matter. This matter 14 will be brought to this body at another time when the language of the Ordinance could be 15 modified and reviewed to ensure compliance with the inconsistent zoning his client suffers with 16 a cemetery in an R -1 District since it is a non - conforming use. He said that Alderwoods has 17 been on this journey for six months and tried to do everything the City has asked. The cemetery 18 is the favorite choice of our Chairman of the Board and is a very important place for 19 Alderwoods. He is asking to remove from the text amendment the reference to "funeral home" 20 and "crematorium" from the permitted uses, which was originally thought to be appropriate. He 21 said they heard from the City, and the people that attended the meeting, that a funeral home in 22 this location is something the City does not want. Therefore, they are removing this from the 23 request. He suggested leaving the Administration Building the way it is. The request now is to 24 make the zoning consistent with cemetery use. He noted this may bring issues to this body that 25 have not been considered before and may not have been considered by the Planning 26 Commission. He is asking that this issue be laid over to another time. He recognized there is a 27 60 -day constraint imposed by the state, which could be a concern. He stated his client authorized 28 him to waive the 60 -day rule. He asked that the cemetery be made a legal conforming use. 29 30 Councilmember Gray inquired what the advantage is for the client to change the zoning. 31 32 Mr. Tyson explained that his client originally request that ROS use be permitted. The Council 33 voted no on that issue. This was the selected method of approach with Staff and the City 34 Attorney to bring to this body. There are inconsistencies. To have a legal non - conforming use, 35 though legal, is a hardship for his client. He stated in recognizing that we did have a different 36 plan ahead in locating the new funeral home, we have removed it from the table. Now the 37 request is to change the uses within the zoning to allow cemeteries within the district. 38 39 Mayor Faust said he appreciates them try to clean things up. He pointed out that as long as they 40 are in a legally non - conforming use, they have full use of the property. He said it is difficult to 41 see that there is a legal hardship. It is grandfathered into the R -1. He stated he does not see a 42 compelling reason to change the use. He accepted their withdrawal of working with the Staff. 43 44 Mr. Gilligan, City Attorney, stated that while there may be something of a burden being legal 45 non - conforming, the only limitation is there cannot be expansion. Is a valid use of land as it 46 presently exists. 47 City Council Regular Meeting Minutes May 24, 2005 Page 6 1 Mr. Tyson stated they are not withdrawing their petition; they are asking for postponement of the 2 proceeding and a waiver of the 60 -day requirement to allow for reconsideration of the modified 3 text amendment. 4 5 Mr. Gilligan said the Council can table the motion or choose to act on the underlying submission. 6 7 Councilmember Stille suggested it be acted on now. 9 Motion by Councilmember Stille, seconded by Councilmember Gray, to approve Resolution 05- 10 043, re: A Resolution denying a text amendment change to the Ordinance to allow cemeteries 11 and funeral homes in Zoning District R -1 as a conditional use. 12 13 Motion carried unanimously. 14 15 C. Resolution 05 -44: A Conditional Use Permit to allow a restaurant within 250 feet of a 16 residential property for the development located at 2714 Highway 88 17 Mr. Momson noted that Resolution 05 -047 (item F) will be withdrawn. 18 19 Mr. Foster stated the client has agreed to withdraw their request for Resolution 05 -047 to allow a 20 drive -thru. 21 22 Motion by Councilmember Thuesen, seconded by Councilmember Gray, to withdraw Resolution 23 05 -047; re: A Resolution denying a conditional use permit to allow a drive -thru on the 24 development located at 2900 Kenzie Terrace. 25 26 Motion carried unanimously. 27 28 Commissioner Young addressed Resolution 05 -044, which is for the restaurant that has been 29 discussed at this meeting. This building is moved to the end cap from the outlot; the 30 Commission expressed disappointment in the use of the site with the outlot being left vacant. 31 However, they agreed a smaller building may be more suited to the site. The Planning 32 Commission approved this request with conditions as listed in the report. 33 34 Commissioner Young noted a 4,500 square foot building is proposed on the outlot. Originally, 35 two variances were required, as the northeast and northwest corners of the proposed building 36 were in the building setbacks. The Council granted those variances in 2003. Since no 37 construction occurred within the year of their approval, the variances have expired. The 38 applicant is requesting a similar setback variance to the northwest corner. She stated the 39 Commission discussed the landscaping on this corner and overall on the site. They are interested 40 in AMCON and the City working jointly. She reported the Commission accepted this variance 41 accepting landscaping as a condition. 42 43 Commissioner Young explained the parking request is down nine spaces from the original 44 request due to differing types of buildings now being planned for the site. It was approved by 45 the Planning Commission. She said there were nine citizens that spoke out at the Planning 46 Commission meeting citing concerns such as whether there should be a building on the outlot, is City Council Regular Meeting Minutes May 24, 2005 Page 7 1 too much being planned for the site, and should a variety of businesses be sought. She noted 2 there is some concern with the number of coffee shops in town. Mr. Foster noted that James Winkels is present; he is part owner of the project and a Principal in the project as it is today. He introduced Mr. Forsheen, one of the owners of the restaurant. 7 Mr. Foster stated that what is being presented today accomplishes the goals the City set out when 8 this project started. In terms of replacing a blighted corner, this project goes far in making this a 9 gateway to the city. Since the request to put in a drive thru was removed, he said they anticipate 10 there will be the potential for a small patio attached to a small coffee shop and the remainder of 11 the space will be landscape. The removal of the drive thru accomplishes four more parking 12 stalls. He noted that Paul Tucci with Oppidan will coordinate the landscaping between the land 13 owned by the City, and that owned by the developer. The architectural features will be 14 consistent with the existing building. He noted the City was looking to take the old liquor store 15 out and put it in a building. That was accomplished. The City wanted to generate cash to assist 16 in moving the Fire Station, and that was accomplished. The City also wanted to replace the 17 Stonehouse with something that would allow charitable gambling and this is accomplished and 18 incorporated into the plan. This is not a change in the plan the City made. This project is 19 planned to be available in the early fall, and if it were an outlot, it would take longer to build. 20 The parking situation is better in this plan. He noted there is less tax revenue since it is a smaller 21 building. He said the applicant agreed with City Staff that they would match the taxes for a 22 6,000 square foot building, even though the proposed site is 4,500 square feet. They will sign an 23 agreement that will match this forever, including the cost of living. He said they are asking that 24 the Resolutions be adopted and reflect changes such as the liquor store moving to the end cap. 25 26 Mayor Faust stated the Development Agreement notes there is supposed to be a restaurant on 27 that site on or before September 1, 2004. 28 29 Mr. Foster responded the Development Agreement states a restaurant should be there by 30 September 1, 2004, but if not, it gives the developer a chance to secure a lease agreement by 31 September 1, 2005. 32 33 Mayor Faust pointed out the Agreement states a restaurant should be depicted as a separate 34 building. 35 36 Councilmember Thuesen commented that it was implied that there would be a stand -alone 37 restaurant on that pad and now the proposal is for a smaller restaurant and a coffee shop on that 38 pad. He asked what happened from being a stand -alone restaurant to the current proposal. 39 40 Jim Winkels, AMCON, answered that they were in discussions with another restaurant/bar in the 41 beginning for that site. He said they did propose that a 6,000 square foot restaurant would come 42 on the site. It was a disappointment to his group when that did not work. Since then, he said 43 they are trying to live up to their plan. There were numerous discussions with the City Manager 44 and he noted they have not given up nor tried to hide anything. He said they have identified a 45 good potential tenant on the site. It is the same type of use as originally planned, but a little 46 smaller. They chose to move to the end cap because they believe it fits better there. The 47 difference is only 1,500 square feet. He said if the Council prefers the restaurant be put on the 2 3 4 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 City Council Regular Meeting Minutes May 24, 2005 Page 8 corner, they would comply, but they still think it should be scaled back to 4,500 because it makes more sense. Councilmember Thuesen said his belief is that the beginning expectations were set quite high. Councilmember Stille asked if this is putting the cart before the horse in regard to approving variances. He questioned if it would make sense to have the contract negotiated first. Mayor Faust agreed. He noted that if the Council approved a restaurant based on the Development Agreement, we may be weakening our position or even nullifying it to a certain extent. He added that approving an intoxicating liquor license would be premature. Councilmember Gray agreed. Councilmember Thuesen said more due diligence should be done so that when a decision is made, all the details are done. Motion by Councilmember Thuesen, seconded by Councilmember Gray, to table Items V. (Reports from Commission) C (Resolution 05 -44), D (Resolution 05 -45), E (Resolution 05 -46) and G (Resolution 05 -48)., and to submit plans to Council by June 14 after a report is given regarding Item VI.A. Consideration of amendment to development agreement between the City of St. Anthony and Amcon. Motion carried unanimously. D. Resolution 05 -45; A variance for building setback for the development located at 2900 Kenzie Terrace. Acted on under Item C. E. Resolution 05 -46; A variance for parking for the development located at 2900 Kenzie Terrace. Acted on under Item C. F. Resolution 05 -47; A Conditional Use Permit to allow a drive -thru on the development located at 2900 Kenzie Terrace. Withdrawn under item C. G. Resolution 05 -48; Approving intoxicating liquor license for St. Anthony Restaurant Group, dba Huskies Restaurant and Bar. Acted on under Item C. 42 VI. GENERAL POLICY BUSINESS OF THE COUNCIL. 43 A. Consideration of Amendment to Development Agreement between the City of St 44 Anthony and Amcon. 45 Mayor Faust noted this was acted on under Item C. He directed Staff and Legal to work on a 46 development agreement with AMCON,. and have this item on the Agenda for the June 14, 2005 47 meeting. City Council Regular Meeting Minutes May 24, 2005 Page 9 2 B. Consider Ordinance 05 -006, re: Amendment to Dog Ordinance 3 Mr. Morrison reviewed the resolution with the Council and indicated that this is the first reading 4 of this ordinance. This will make it easier to enforce for the Police Department. He read the 5 language of the new Ordinance, including "any animal noise, which, occurs repeatedly over at 6 least a five (5) minute period of time with a one (1) minutes or less lapse of time between each 7 animal noise during the five (5) minute period will be considered a nuisance." He noted St. Paul 8 had adopted this standard. The City Attorney and the Prosecuting Attorney are looking at the 9 verbiage. 10 11 Councilmember Thuesen asked if there is any Ordinance Staff has looked at that distinguishes 12 between daytime or nighttime barking. 13 14 Mr. Mornson replied that almost all have kept it consistent, and added that police visits would be 15 based on complaints. 16 17 Motion by Councilmember Stille, seconded by Councilmember Thuesen, to approve Ordinance 18 05 -006, re: An Ordinance to amend the section 1210 Subdivision 1; Certain animals declared 19 nuisances. 20 21 Motion carried unanimously. 22 23 VII. REPORTS FROM CITY MANAGER AND COUNCILMEMBERS. 24 City Manager Morrison reported the following: 25 • The Liquor Operation Staff won the award for 2005 Facility of the Year. He 26 congratulated the Council for their decisions and complimented the full time staff of the 27 City for their great job. The City will receive $1,000 from the NMBA. He noted there 28 are 225 cities in Minnesota that have municipal liquor stores, and are part of the NMBA, 29 and St. Anthony is the facility of the year. 30 • A weakness in the Solicitors Ordinance was found, and suggested changes will be 31 brought to the next Council meeting. 32 • The next Council meeting is June 14 and there is a full agenda. 33 34 Councilmember Stille reported he drove down Golden Valley road. It is an example of 35 landscaping and sidewalks and how the power lines are buried. He commented he had lunch at 36 the Anoka Jackson Street Bar and Grill and said it is worth going to the facility. 37 38 Councilmember Thuesen had no report. 39 40 Councilmember Gray noted that over $32,000 was raised at the Leadership Luncheon for 41 Northwest Youth and Family Services. 42 43 Mayor Faust indicated that he attended an open house for Verizon Wireless last week in Silver 44 Lake Village. 45 46 VIII. COMMUNITY FORUM. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 City Council Regular Meeting Minutes May 24, 2005 Page 10 Mayor Faust invited residents to come forward at this time and address the Council on items that are not on the regular agenda. Hearing none, Mayor Faust moved forward with the agenda. IX. INFORMATION AND ANNOUNCEMENTS. Mayor Faust indicated he received a letter from Senator Chaudary thanking the Council and City for their efforts in supporting the K -12 public education special funding. John Marty was given a letter of recognition from the Mayor of the League of Minnesota Cities for his safe friendly legislation in our legislative efforts. He thanked Commissioner Young for the Planning Commission's work. X. MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATIONAL DOCUMENTS. None. XI. ADJOURNMENT. Mayor Faust adjourned the meeting at 8:39 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Chris Moksnes Timesaver Off Site Secretarial, Inc. ATTEST: City Clerk Motion carried unanimously.