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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-26-93 • CITY OF LAKEVILLE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES OCTOBER 26, 1993 The meeting was called to order by Chairperson Tushie at 7:00 P.M. in the North Meeting Room at City Hall. Roll call of members was taken. Present: Tushie, Brantly, Emond, Pogatchnik, Krejci, Vogel, Matasosky. Absent: Detjen, J. Erickson. Others present: Allan Brixius, Northwest Associated Consultants; Michael Sobota, Drrector of Community and Economic Development; Carol Graff, Economic Development Specialist; Robert Erickson, City Administrator; David Garland, GSM, Inc. 93.15 Motion was made by Vogel, seconded by Emond, to approve the minutes of the September 28, 1993 EDC meeting. Introduction of Barry Po,gatchnik to the EDC. Sobota introduced Barry Pogatchnik who has become a member of the commission. Pogatchnik's background includes being a resident of Lakeville for the past 14 years. • He also is a member of the Dakota County Planning Commission, an active Chamber member and is with First National Bank, Lakeville. Strategic Planning Process. Vogel began the meeting with an overview of the planning process and reviewed the goals of the meeting. He introduced Michael Sobota who presented an overview to the commission of the resources existing and available in Lakeville. Resources highlighted included: Location in Relation to Metro Area Proposed Road Projects/Improvements Fairfield City-Owned Property Topography, Wetlands and Natural Amenities for Housing Development 2000 Urban Services Area for Commercial & Industrial Development Tax Increment Financing Districts Sobota explained that currently there exists plentiful land that has sewer capacity allocated for commercial and industrial development. There are about 200 acres that will need sewer capacity in specific locations including the C.R. 46 Interchange area and the Fairfield/McStop area. • Following Sobota's presentation, Vogel reviewed specific issues related to Lakeville's resources. Issues, followed by a statement and a ranking of high, medium or low were brought to the floor that included the following: TRANSPORTATION ISSUES STATEMENT RANK I-35 Internal & external access; HIGH Cedar Access to the community, airport, business services, retail; High commuter uses. River Crossings Limits to internal & external access; MEDNM More crossings increase capacity -fewer crossings diminish access. • Light Rail Non-commercial commuting LOW (Public Transit) Railroad Becoming more important; service improving. HIGH Access Airlake Airport Becoming more important to business. MEDNM TO HIGH East-West Corridors Capacity problems may occur; planning issues MEDIUM need to be addressed such as access and axle weight capacity. Metro Airport If the Int'1. Airport moves to the Dakota Co. site, it will become a big issue. LOW r • LABOR FORCE -DEMOGRAPHICS ISSUES STATEMENT RANK Strong Population Growth Drives the expansion of new commercial markets, increases service demands, and increases the labor force. HIGH Type of Median age group of 25-44 with school-age children Population is growing. 2/3 of the population are white-collar Growth workers. Highest income earners live in the northern part of Lakeville. MEDNM Semi-Skilled Labor Force Live primarily to the south of Lakeville. HIGH • Located in the Lakeville is limited to neighborhood retail in the commercial and local service. Not as important to shadow of Mall of Lakeville's economy as industrial projects. HIGH America and Burnsville Ctr. Potential for a "Image" town The possibility of developing "destination" businesses in the downtown business district. HIGH Review of Lakeville's Development Constraints. The commission moved to a presentation of Lakeville's development constraints, by .Allan. Brixius from Northwest Associated Consultants. Brixius began by stating that a plus for Lakeville was its proactive response to development versus being reactive. He went on to state that the community was on top of issues and that these two characteristics complimented each other and provided a positive development atmosphere. Brixius went on to discuss land use considerations which include the following: proper zoning, availability of utilities; enough land for sale, environmentally clean • land, land which did not have wetland or floodplain issues; industrial land isolated from other land uses; transportation systems; commercial visibility and accessibility for customers. Lakeville's land constraints include the following: RTC land tie up; lack of in-place utilities at Fairfield causing a 4-6 month delay in development; rapid residential growth which has impacted Lakeville's landbank (sewer capacity) requiring a set aside for commercial and industrial development by the year 2000. Lastly, environmental constraints include wetland and shoreland conservation. Brixius next stated the state business climate was an issue but that we had no power to change the course at this time. Brixius went on to state that Lakeville's tax rate is the most favorable of the cities located in Dakota County. Tax increment financing legislation has changed in recent years to effect local government aid. He noted Lakeville has some older tax increment districts which have not expired. Lastly, Brixius discussed the image of Lakeville in the development community. City staff has prepared itself well with information on land availability, development process streamlining, and the existence of several commissions to help assist development in the community. However, there still is a need for active contact with the development community. At this point, Vogel reviewed issues related to Lakeville constraints. PHYSICAL CONSIDERATIONS • ISSUES STATEMENT RANK Environmental Wetlands, site cleanup, shoreland HIGH restrictions for restrictions and ponding considerations. commercial. I-35 and existence of wetlands. Inventory of B-4 land Different for commercial vs. industrial. along I-35. Land Availability - Airlake Legal availability. HIGH MUSA Availability for commercial/industrial HIGH must be reserved (C.R. 46 and Fairfield.) Storm Ponding Potential problems in Airlake. HIGH • • FISCAL & ECONOMIC CONSTRAINTS ISS E STATEMENT RANK Change in T.LF. legislation. Limitations on new districts. MEDIUM Financial/Loan availability. Very difficult market currently. HIGH Incentives Creative approaches that are competitive HIGH outside of using T.I.F. Development Fees Perceived competitiveness of city costs. HIGH Fee Structures • Tax Climate MN and local is high relative to MEDNM other states. to HIGH User Fees Residential growth management is LOW to important. MEDNM Existing T.LF. Funds Must be prioritized and utilized MEDIUM effectively for the most benefit. to HIGH • Dave Garland, Vice President of GSM, Inc., a development and real estate investment company, discussed his views on what makes a successful development project and what issues come into play when a developer looks for a site. He stated that the following factors must be present for a development project to take place: o Tenant demand o Streamlined development process -approval process o Critical mass of businesses in the industrial area - locating by existing businesses cultivates a mushrooming and spinoff effect o Supportive City staff - customer service focus from start of project - to end of project o Workforce availability o Transportation o Aggressive economic development staff - court developers, both small and large - hold special events and invite developers o Closeness to business owner's residence o Focusing on heavy manufacturing using low skill workers. . After Mr. Garland's presentation, Vogel presented the following topic to be addressed in the strategic planning process. DEVELOPMENT ISSUES STATEMENT RANK Availability of tenants Critical in order to build. HIGH City approval process Makes location decision easier. HIGH Type of business & identity of the market Need to go after the right business HIGH and know the area to draw business from. Executive Housing Critical to selection of business HIGH • location. • Mazketing to develop Necessary to attract new brokers. MEDIUM commercial growth. to HIGH Location south of the river Heauy industrial more likely to be tenants. HIGH Cater to executive Physical layout of building, i.e., MEDIUM desires creating a view. Image-recognition Need to be recognized as part of the metro region. HIGH Advertising Need inventory of buildings and sites in order to sell. LOW to MEDIUM Spec Buildings Must be pre-leased before construction. HIGH • Mr. Garland stated that for his company to invest in a project in Lakeville, a long term lease with acredit-worthy tenant would be required. Discussion ensued regarding the creation of a mazket for high-income housing. Some existing housing in the next 6 months will meet executive housing standards. Matasosky stressed that resources exist for small to medium-size business who eventually grow into larger businesses. Brantly suggested that another developer make a presentation to the commission. Discussion and consensus was reached that Mr. Garland presented an accurate picture of the needs of a private developer. Allan Brixius suggested to focus on businesses that have 100 or less employees. Sobota asked if a spec building would be appropriate. Matasosky replied that spec buildings are not looked upon favorably by financial institutions. Tushie added that working within the window of opportunity for many businesses was crucial. The window of opportunity being in some cases, only 6 to 8 weeks for the development process from start to finish. The meeting ended with Sobota suggesting that staff capsulize information brought forward this evening and that the commission begin the next meeting on November 16 with discussions on Lakeville's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats regarding economic growth. • . The meeting adjourned at 10:10 P.M. Respectfully submitted: Attested to: ' S' Carol Graff, Recordi Secretary Robert Brantly, Secretary •