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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006.03.20 EDA MinutesMINUTES FOR THE EDA MEETING OF March 20, 2006 EDA President Fran Miron called the meeting to order at 8:30 am. PRESENT: Jan Arcand, Mike Granger, Fran Miron, Jim Bever, Phil Klein, and Tom Denaway City Administrator Mike Ericson, CD Director Bryan Bear, CD Intern Rachel Simone ABSENT: Nick Skarich APPROVAL OF MINUTES Arcand made motion, Granger seconded, to approve the minutes for the EDA meeting of February 21, 2006 as presented. All aye. Motion Carried. INTRODUCTION OF NEW COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT INTERN RACHEL SIMONE Bryan introduced the new CD Intern Rachel Simone to the EDA commissioners. TERRY AND ANGELA HANCOCK - 5583 147TH STREET N Bryan Bear and Community Development Intern Rachel Simone meet with Terry and Angela Hancock on March 8, 2006, to discuss the city possibly buying their property for the proposed library site for downtown redevelopment. Bryan gave an overview to the EDA of property location and information of proposed library site. Terry Hancock attended the EDA meeting. The owners are ready to sell the property and are in the process of moving to the location were Terry works. They came to the city first to buy the property because they are aware of the redevelopment plans of the city. The house as they say inside is in good shape, and is planned to be inspected, so is it possible that it could be rented out by the city until the proposed plans for the library take shape. City staff asked for recommendation from the EDA about whether the city should buy the property and insight on if staff should look at the whole area as a development opportunity and talk to the other property owners in the area. The EDA discussed the matter and decided to have City Staff evaluate the issue and take it to the next level. There was a motion by Mike Granger, and seconded by Phil Klein to recommend that City Staff evaluate financing, property acquisition priorities, and to contact property owners across from City Hall for about acquisition of their properties. The motion was also to report to the City Council and EDA with findings. All aye. Motion carried. RICK BURR - GUSSET DESIGN INC Rick Burr has sent the City a letter stating that he would like to expand his existing business, Gusset Design Inc. at 15587 Forest Blvd. The property is zoned Commercial but the building use is Industrial. The structure was built before the zoning change to Commercial District so it is allowed to stay. According to the City Municipal Code, it states he is not allowed to expand because the use is nonconforming to the current zoning. Bryan gave an overview of the actions that Rick Burr was requesting and gave some possible solutions to the issue. Rick meet with the EDA to discuss this issue. The property is surrounded by residential zoning and there is a possibility the area could be redeveloped. There are some recommended solutions in the staff report provided. The City Staff would like the EDA review this matter, and provide direction to Mr. Burr. The EDA discussed the possible solutions and decided that they could not do much unless the City Staff talked to the other property owners in the area. There was a motion by Fran Miron, seconded by Jim Bever to make a recommendation to the City Council and Planning Commission to meet with the other adjacent property owners to see how they feel about the zoning changes and their future plans for the area. The meeting would include two EDA members, two Planning Commission members, and two City Council members. All aye. Motion carried. REPORT ON SUBSTANDARD BUILDING INSPECTIONS FOR PROPOSED TIF DISTRICT Bryan gave an update on the TIF District property inspections being done and stated that we are working towards getting all the inspections completed. The City staff has inspected two city owned properties across from City Hall at 14625 & 14687 Forest Blvd. Rachel sent out TIF District building inspection notices on Friday, March 10, 2006 to the property owners. The letter gives a background on what a TIF District is, why we are doing the inspections, and asked for a return card to inspect the property. City staff and Paul Steinman of Springsted, met on March 9, 2006 to discuss the building inspections for the proposed TIF District. The two City owned properties were discussed and guidelines were set on how each house was going to be inspected so we keep the process consistent. The Staff will present on this to the EDA. The EDA was glad to hear that the City Staff was staying on track with this matter. DOWNTOWN EGG LAKE PROJECT Bryan gave an update on the Egg Lake redevelopment project. Barbara Dacy from the Washington County HRA also attended the EDA meeting and gave some insight on how they define senior housing. The Washington County HRA does mostly independent senior housing. The City has now assembled a critical amount of property along Egg Lake. The City has received some plans from developers interested in developing along Egg Lake. The Staff presented several of these plans to the EDA. At the last meeting the EDA discussed whether senior housing should be developed in the area. The staff seeks input on the strategy for the development of the property, for instance, should it be mixed development and how much of housing, retail, senior housing, and park area should the development have and to suggest to the potential developers. The staff also recommends that the EDA discuss a plan for acquisition of the remaining parcels. The EDA reviewed the redevelopment plans from several development companies. They discussed that mixed uses would be the best for the area, but does not know if the senior housing is the best fit, and want to set up a subcommittee meeting to review plans more closely and to see if they want to get more ideas from other developers. There was a motion by Fran Miron, seconded by Mike Granger to recommend to staff to see how the other property owners feel about selling and to set up a subcommittee meeting. All aye. Motion carried. DISCUSSION OF PROPOSED LEGISLATION RELATING TO EMINENT DOMAIN Mike Ericson gave a review of the possible new legislation that could affect the City. There has been recent proposed legislation that will restrict the use of eminent domain by cities. The legislation will ban the use of eminent domain for economic development, and prohibits the use of this tool for redevelopment. The bill does this by making unattainable standards for determining "blighted area" and "environmentally contaminated area" reducing the ability to assemble parcels for redevelopment. The League of MN Cities would like the City to create a resolution on the issue and has sent the City a draft that they would like the City to approve. During the City Council meeting on Monday, March 6, 2006 the Council discussed the proposed legislation relating to eminent domain. The Council in their discussion directed the EDA to provide feedback to the Council about the proposed legislation and the drafted resolution. WASHINGTON COUNTY 2006 CDBG ANNUAL ACTION PLAN Bryan gave an overview on the 2006 Washington County Annual Action Plan. The Washington County Board approved the draft of the 2006 Annual Action Plan for public comment. The public comment period is from February 21, 2006 to April 15, 2006. The Annual Action Plan includes information on Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and Home Investment Partnership (HOME) programs. The plan also describes the resources the county will use and activities to be undertaken in 2006 to address the priority needs for the area. The County has sent the City a draft of the plan for comment. The EDA should review the plan and determine whether the City should send comments on the plan to the County. The EDA provided no comments on the plan. ADJOURNMENT Granger made motion, Denaway seconded, to adjourn at 11:00 am. All aye. Motion Carried.