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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-08-02 WS• • CITY OF LAKEVILLE CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MINUTES April 8, 2002 Present: .Mayor Bob Johnson, Council Members Mulvihill, Luick, Bellows and Rieb; City Administrator Bob Erickson; City Attorney Roger Knutson; City Engineer Keith Nelson; Director of Planning Daryl Morey; Community and Economic Development Director Dave Olson; City Clerk Charlene Friedges; and Deputy Clerk Judi Hawkins. ITEM NO. 1. REVIEW AND DISCUSS CURRENT DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITY/OFFICIAL MAPPING: CSAH 50 I-35 INTERCHANGE. City Administrator Bob Erickson provided an overview of development activities within the CSAH 50 .and I-35W interchange and some development the City is anticipating to be requested by property owners. At this time, a shopping center is being proposed at 176th Street and Junelle Path by United Properties. In addition the owner of the former Tom Thumb property is proposing two businesses with drive-through window service. Staff is concerned about traffic accesses .onto the already overburdened CSAH 50. Dakota County does not have the upgrade of CSAH 50 in their 2002-2006 CIP, nor has any funding been allocated for design. • City Attorney Roger Knutson explained to Council Members the concept of Official Mapping. By following a prescribed process, Official Mapping would allow the City to preserve property to be used for future roadways. The method would begin by adopting an official mapping ordinance, referring the ordinance to the Planning Commission for a recommendation and holding a public hearing at a City Council meeting. Prior to the approval of an Official Mapping ordinance, a moratorium could be established. City Attorney Knutson explained that during the mapping process, property owners can apply for a variance, however the City Council may delay granting a building permit .for six months in order to pursue acquisition of the specific property, if they determine that it is necessary to implement the planned design. Official Mapping does not involve taking. of any .property or establishing easements. The biggest advantage of Official Mapping to the City would be to preserve land prior to its development, keeping acquisition costs to a minimum. City Administrator Erickson feels it would be in the best interest of the. City to be pro-active and prepare a design for the CSAH 50/I-35W intersection and ask the County to include it in their CIP. This process would involve hiring a consulting engineer who would work with the City on fine-tuning the design (E-3) that was recommended three years ago. The Official Mapping process. would minimize financial exposure in the future and maximize the City's acquisition dollars. Staff acknowledges Official Mapping may create some temporary inconveniences to several property owners, but feels the long-term benefits would be worth the effort. • Mr. Erickson stated it is important to implement this process even though funding is not currently available for acquisition or development from the county or state. City Council Work Session Minutes April 8, 2002 Page -2- • Mayor Johnson asked City Attorney Knutson if he could summarize the pros and cons. Mr. Knutson stated that from the City's perspective, there would not have to be any condemnation, there would be a cost savings if property were acquired prior to development and the roadways would be put in their optimum locations, resulting in a better transportation plan. The negative effects would be that some property owners might be disappointed that they are not able to do what they want with their property at this time. Mr. Knutson further clarified that if a property owner would submit an application for a building permit following this process, the City would have six months to buy the property, condemn it, or approve the building permit or a variance. City Engineer Keith Nelson stated that State Aid funds could be used to acquire property if there is aState-approved plan in place. Mr. Knutson stated that the Official Mapping process is commonly and successfully used by cities of all sizes. The initial moratorium can be for no more than one year, however, it can be extended up to an additional 18 months. Council Member Luick asked if there would be any conflict due to the fact that a portion of the area is in a TIF District. Mr. Erickson indicated that TIF is available to fund traffic signals at 176th Street and CSAH 50. It was also suggested that the Official Mapping process might advance this project in the Dakota County CIP. Mayor Johnson asked staff if the Chamber would support this moratorium. Staff • anticipates that, with just a few exceptions, Chamber members should be supportive. There could be criticism from a few, but a perfect design solution that doesn't affect anyone, even if only temporarily, is unrealistic. Council Member Mulvihill stated that there may be some people who are upset initially but most will appreciate that this is a positive approach to solving a long- standing problem. Council Member Rieb expects that people will see that the City is looking for the best possible outcome and long-term solution. Mr. Erickson added that Dakota County is short on funding for the projects it has already programmed in the five-year CIP. He feels that implementing Official Mapping would call attention to the dilemma facing the City of Lakeville and the urgency to acquire property for these improvements. Council Member Bellows stated that he feels the proposal is a win/win situation and would be the best solution for the long term. Council directed the City Attorney to prepare an ordinance which would allow the City to proceed with the process for Official Mapping and include the ordinance on the next regular meeting agenda for City Council consideration. • City Council Work Session Minutes April 8, 2002 Page -3- ITEM NO. 1. REVIEW AND DISCUSS CURRENT DEVELOPMENT PROJECT LIST. Council Members received memos from Director of Planning Daryl Morey and Community & Economic Development Director David Olson that identify the residential, commercial, industrial and institutional projects which are currently being processed by Planning Dept. and Community & Economic Development Dept. staff. Mr. Morey prepared a map to further illustrate the projects listed in his memo and the diverse locations of the developments within the city. Currently there are approximately 1,100 single-family lots in the. pipeline, including sketch plans. This represents about atwo-and-a-half to three-year supply, based on current building permit activity. Most previous townhome plats were approved by PUD. The townhome plats currently in the pipeline are subject to the new zoning regulations approved in 2000. There are approximately 2,400 townhome lots in the pipeline. This represents about a six to eight-year supply at the current rate of building permit applications. In addition there is an area north and west of City Hall within the: MUSA that potentially could be platted for up to 1,000 townhome units. City Administrator Bob Erickson stated that he had recently met with two realtors and a national builder and has spoken to administrators from neighboring communities about the supply of lots. In many instances the developers seem to be competing with themselves either within the Lakeville community or with a development in a neighboring community. There is a $10-20,000 higher price point • difference in Lakeville due to land price and higher standards including more usable garage space, storm shelters, etc. Mr. Erickson feels that lowering standards would be a regrettable decision. Mr. Erickson stated that of the 1,100 single-family lots, about half will not be available until next year. There are currently 875 townhouse units in the sketch plan stage. Some of the volume is due to the lifting of the moratorium two years ago, but the extent has been unanticipated. Staff needs time to catch up with what has been submitted so they can do the best possible job of review. Staff feels that with the limited time that is allowed (60-120 days) for residential plat reviews, they are not able to provide adequate attention to commercial/industrial developments. The City Attorney has stated that if phasing is defined, residential developers can be required to develop in phases. In July 2000 the City Council directed staff and the Planning Commission to review the Zoning Ordinance Update in 2002. A pause in accepting any further applications for new plats would give staff and the Planning Commission a chance to conduct a thorough review of the zoning ordinance and make recommendations to the City Council. This would also help to differentiate new plat applications between the old and new zoning ordinance regulations. Mr. Erickson further highlighted the areas where neighborhood meetings will be needed and the staff time that will be involved. • Staff is proposing to establish aone-year moratorium on residential plats. The proposal exempts churches, schools, administrative subdivisions, low and City Council Work Session Minutes April 8, 2002 Page -4- moderate-income rental townhome units and. senior housing. Phasing, utilizing a certain number of lots or a percentage of each plat, was discussed and determined to be inequitable due to the different number of units proposed in residential developments. Council Members also pointed out that in recent surveys, citizens have expressed a desire to control growth in the community. Community and Economic Development Director Dave Olson stated that Lakeville is second to Eagan in the county for commercial/industrial growth. The Crossroads plat at Cedar .and Dodd will be a substantial mixed-use development with more commercial/ manufacturing development to offset residential areas. Mayor Johnson stated that growth and residential platting is spinning out of control and Lakeville needs to preserve the quality that distinguishes it from other communities. Council Member Mulvihill. asked if there would be criticism from developers or property owners if another moratorium were put in effect. Mr. Erickson stated that in good faith it would be best to accept all plans into the system that have been submitted, since developers have invested a lot of time and money in preparing their plans. He further stated that a 12-month moratorium will probably not be adequate and would expect that a longer period of time would be needed. Council Member Luick asked if after two years would there be a better process for • accepting plat applications to avoid the need to once again establish a moratorium. Mr. Erickson stated that the City Attorney has advised there is no way to control growth long term. Mr. Luick asked if a moratorium might cripple commercial growth by giving the impression that there would not be an adequate supply of workers in the community. Council Members concurred that they should proceed with a moratorium immediately. Council directed the City Attorney to prepare an ordinance that would allow the City to place a moratorium on accepting residential plats, with the exceptions as discussed, and to include the ordinance on the next agenda for City Council consideration. ITEM NO. 2. REVIEW PROPOSED REDISTRICTING/PRECINCT MAP. City Clerk Charlene Friedges displayed two scenarios for redrawing City of Lakeville precinct boundary lines. Ms. Friedges explained the criteria that were used and how each delineation would affect certain neighborhoods. With the addition of one precinct, the main factors were current population and proposed growth. The proposal includes three polling place changes and one new polling place. Council directed the City Clerk to prepare a resolution supporting the acceptance of precinct boundaries and polling sites as recommended by . the City Clerk. City Council Work Session Minutes April 8, 2002 Page -5- ITEM NO. 3. REVIEW DARE GRADUATION DATES. City Council members reviewed the scheduled dates for spring DARE graduations and volunteered to be present at the events: • May 7 Cherry View Elementary: Council Member Luick • May 14 JFK Elementary: Council Member Bel%ws • May 16 All Saints Elementary Council Member Rieb • May 21 Crystal Lake Elementary Council Member Mulvihill •3 May 23 Oak Hills E/ementary Council Member Bellows (Mayor duties) and Police Chief Martens • May 29 Lake Marion Elementary Council Member Luick ITEM NO. 4. DISCUSS SETTING DATE FOR WORK SESSION. City Administrator Bob Erickson informed Council Members that representatives of all three school districts within the City's corporate boundaries would be available to present their individual district's Minnesota Youth Survey results at a work session. Mr. Erickson feels that for a variety of reasons this would be a better venue than at a Council meeting. Council Members agreed to be available for a work session on April 29th at 4:30 PM. Mr. Erickson informed the Council that they should be expecting a request from Project Northland for assistance from the community, (e.g., City, businesses, faith community) for funding to address the issues identified in the survey. Council directed staff to include setting a date for a work session on the next meeting agenda for Council consideration. ITEM NO. 5. OTHER BUSINESS. There was no other business. ITEM NO. G. AD]OURN. The meeting adjourned at 8:35 PM. Respectfully submitted, ~~ Judi Hawkins, Deputy Clerk