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HomeMy Public PortalAbout10.03.2023 City Council MinutesMedina City Council Meeting Minutes October 3, 2023 1 MEDINA CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF OCTOBER 3, 2023 The City Council of Medina, Minnesota met in regular session on October 3, 2023 at 7:00 p.m. in the City Hall Chambers. Mayor Martin presided. I. ROLL CALL Members present: Albers, DesLauriers, Martin, and Reid. Members absent: Cavanaugh. Also present: City Administrator Scott Johnson, City Clerk Caitlyn Walker, Attorney Dave Anderson, Finance Director Erin Barnhart, City Engineer Jim Stremel, City Planning Director Dusty Finke, Public Works Director Steve Scherer, and Police Sergeant Kevin Boecker. II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE (7:00 p.m.) III. ADDITIONS TO THE AGENDA (7:00 p.m.) The agenda was approved as presented. IV. APPROVAL OF MINUTES (7:00 p.m.) A. Approval of the September 19, 2023 Regular City Council Meeting Minutes Moved by Martin, seconded by Reid, to approve the September 19, 2023 regular City Council meeting minutes as presented. Motion passed unanimously. B. Approval of the September 26, 2023 Special City Council Meeting Minutes Moved by Martin, seconded by Albers, to approve the September 26, 2023 special City Council meeting minutes as presented. Motion passed unanimously. V. CONSENT AGENDA (7:01 p.m.) A. Adopt Resolution 2023-96 Accepting Donations for Medina Celebration Day 2023 B. Adopt Ordinance 718 Prohibiting the Sale of Edible Cannabinoid Products Under Minnesota Statutes, Section 151.72 C. Adopt Resolution 2023-97 to Public Ordinance Prohibiting the Sale of Edible Cannabinoid Products by Title and Summary Martin expressed appreciation for the donations received for Medina Celebration Day. Moved by Albers, seconded by DesLauriers, to approve the consent agenda. Motion passed unanimously. VI. COMMENTS (7:02 p.m.) A. Comments from Citizens on Items not on the Agenda There were none. Medina City Council Meeting Minutes October 3, 2023 2 B. Park Commission Scherer reported that the Park Commission discussed pickleball at its last meeting and recommended that the City Council not remove pickleball from Hunter Lions Park. Additionally, based on the sound study, the Commission determined that sound mitigation is not a feasible solution and recommended that sound mitigation not be pursued at this time. He stated that the Commission recommended that before its next meeting, the Commission should explore ways to work with a committee to find an alternate solution. He confirmed that the kayak racks have been installed along with the seating areas and benches would be installed within the next week at Lakeshore Park. He commented that the grandstand is looking great and highlighted a few remaining items that need to be completed. He noted that will be a great addition to that park. C. Planning Commission Finke reported that the Planning Commission will meet the following week to hold a hearing to consider an amendment to the plat and PUD for the Meander Park and Boardwalk project. He noted that the applicant is looking to purchase additional land to the east to expand the parking and other features along with the addition of solar panels. Martin asked if the interest rate conditions are slowing down development in Medina. Finke suspected that is part of the issue along with a lack of platted lots for development. He noted that there were a fair number of permits issued last month as there were six twinhome units and a larger commercial development. DesLauriers asked for more detail on the solar panel carport concept. Finke replied that there would be pillars that the panels would sit on above the parking area with clearance for vehicles underneath. He was not aware of an example locally but noted that there would be examples in other locations that he could gather. VII. PRESENTATIONS (7:08 p.m.) A. Wayzata Public School Technology Levy Presentation Wayzata School District Superintendent Chase Anderson thanked the City for its partnership over the years noting that he has appreciated the opportunity to meet with staff in the past related to projects and collaboration. He referenced the 80-acre parcel that the School District owns in Medina, noting that the eventual purpose was for an elementary and middle school. He commented that COVID slowed down their growth projections but that is picking back up. He stated that he is present tonight to provide information on the technology levy that is on the November 7th ballot, noting that early voting has begun. He stated that this technology levy would otherwise expire in 2025 and the other technology levy would expire in 2029. He reviewed some of the items provided for under the technology levies. He commented that there are four open seats on the School Board, recognizing the members that have chosen not to run for reelection. He commented that there are six candidates running in this election and more information can be found on the School Board website. He played a short video explaining more about the technology levy request. He commented that they have been fortunate to have supportive communities, noting that typically the technology levies pass with a rate of 80 percent. Medina City Council Meeting Minutes October 3, 2023 3 DesLauriers asked for an update on recruiting teachers and whether there is funding for competitive wages. Anderson replied that hiring can be challenging. He stated that they have been able to draw in good candidates but acknowledged that there are fewer candidates. He believed that they are able to offer competitive pay. DesLauriers asked if enrollment is full or whether students are still being accepted from other cities. Anderson replied that they have been closed to open enrollment for a number of years. He commented that COVID had a negative impact on enrollment, which in turn impacted the financial assistance received from the State. He stated that they considered reopening open enrollment for grades nine and ten. Martin thanked Anderson and his staff for the work they do to enrich the lives of the children in the community. VIII. OLD BUSINESS A. Tree Preservation Ordinance Discussion (7:24 p.m.) Johnson noted that the Council reviewed the proposed changes to the ordinance at its last meeting and provided additional direction to staff. He noted that staff has gathered the additional information. DesLauriers recused himself from the discussion. Finke stated that he will be updating the ordinance with “pioneer trees”. He stated that staff also researched the use of bare root trees and discovered that it could be beneficial to allow them as it would provide for a more diverse tree species population. He noted that perhaps two-inch credit is allowed for 1.5-inch trees in order to encourage a more diverse tree population as not all species come in two-inch sizes. Reid agreed as she preferred to have a more diverse tree community. Albers agreed that diversity is good. He noted that sometimes trees are overplanted and when a disease comes through that then has a larger impact. He asked what species of trees would fall under that category. Finke provided some examples that would fall under the two-inch category and additional examples that would fall into the lower size category. Scherer commented that when he purchases trees in the spring there is a huge list of bare root trees. He noted that smaller trees also tend to grow faster. He agreed that this change would be helpful to promote diversity. Albers commented that if bare root were allowed, he would not want to go smaller than a one-inch size. He stated that if that were done, perhaps the maintenance period is changed from two to three years. Medina City Council Meeting Minutes October 3, 2023 4 Martin stated that perhaps the maintenance period is changed to three years for all trees in order to avoid a situation where different trees have different guarantee periods. The Council agreed. Finke commented that he can look into that and provide feedback. He stated that perhaps the change to three years is made for bare root stock. Scherer commented that he would be interested in feedback from WSB as there is a gap between two and three years where many balled and burlap trees are lost. Finke stated that staff was able to create a spreadsheet, as they have discussed, in order to provide the three examples requested by the Council and reviewed that information. He reviewed how the tree inventory was broken down into different categories. He then reviewed what would need to be replaced on an inch per inch basis, on tree per tree for disease susceptible, and reducing the pioneer trees to half an inch per inch replacement. He then reviewed the number of inches/trees that would be required to be replanted on this size parcel and related payment to the forestry fund. He stated that historically the requirement for replanting has exceeded what could feasibly be planted on a site and therefore the result of the changes to the ordinance would be related to the payment into the forestry fund. Albers noted the substantial difference between columns F and H on those payments. Finke stated that comes down to the value that is placed on different tree species. Martin commented that the chart was very helpful. She commented that a tree is a tree and reviewed the benefits that trees provide, regardless of species, and concluded, therefore, that there should be little difference in the valuation because of the environmental benefit provided by trees. Albers agreed that a tree is a tree and different trees have different purposes. He noted that even a boxelder has a purpose. Finke commented that if a tree is a tree, the inch per inch standard would come into discussion as a tree will eventually grow and therefore a large tree could be replaced with one tree. Martin commented that when she looked at the table, she was more inclined to only reduce replacement for trees that would die anyways, such as elm and ash. Reid noted that elms will always be vulnerable therefore those should be looked at differently and commented that ash could also factor into that. She stated that diversity would be important as there will always be something that comes along. She agreed that those trees could be valued lower. Martin commented that in terms of species of tree, the only differentiation would be for insect disease prone trees. She asked if certain species of trees, because of their ability to grow so fast, not be replaced at the same inch per inch basis. Albers agreed, noting that he would tend to limit that to the few fast-growing species of trees. Medina City Council Meeting Minutes October 3, 2023 5 Martin agreed noting that would be the pioneering tree category. She asked if there is a maximum size that would apply to that lesser replacement calculation for pioneer trees. Albers suggested that be allowed up to a certain size, suggesting 36 inches as the differential. Finke provided additional factors that a developer may consider when laying out a potential development. He noted if boxelders have a lesser replacement rate, a developer may choose to remove those trees and preserve higher value trees. He stated that perhaps he consults with WSB to determine if there is a tipping point on pioneer trees where they will not have much longer of a lifespan and perhaps the differential is placed at that point. Martin confirmed that there is a consensus to place a cap on the inch per inch replacement for pioneer trees. She asked if there should be an incentive/penalty related to old growth hardwood trees. Finke stated that the two ways to do that would be to have a more complicated chart that allows a lower removal allowance for deciduous hardwood trees or to do so through the replacement requirement which would be done by having a lower replacement for other lesser desired trees or higher replacement for deciduous hardwood trees. He explained how the waiver exists in policy today and was unsure if there would be a way to build in discretion to provide flexibility for preserving to be what the City determines to be higher value wooded areas. He confirmed that has been done through a PUD and agreed that is a good tool because other flexibility can be provided for other standards. He noted that a developer may not be incentivized to use the PUD path because it puts everything at the discretion of the City. Martin noted that if boxelders do not require the same level of replacement and hardwoods require two for one replacement, that could provide the desired result. Finke noted that the question would then be how far Medina wants to go compared to other communities. He noted that there are some cities that define a heritage tree over a certain size and require a different replacement rate for that. Albers confirmed that would also meet his objective. Finke commented that he has a concern with noting a size of tree, as that would not protect a stand of trees that would have trees of different sizes. Albers noted that the forest inventory has identified the high-quality remnants of the big woods in the area. Finke commented that in a single development site there would not be that distinction from a natural resources standpoint. Albers noted that natural resources inventory overlay could be compared to the development site. Medina City Council Meeting Minutes October 3, 2023 6 Finke commented that from a natural resources inventory standpoint, the broader tool is to look at the inventory and guide those areas appropriately, as once you are on an individual parcel for development that opportunity is sometimes missed. He stated that there are also questions of equity for a person that owns a parcel with a stand of trees that is available for development. He explained that the larger tool would be zoning. Albers asked if there is regulation in Medina related to logging. Finke replied that the City would regulate that removal, not exempt it, unless it was planned for that purpose. Albers recognized the intent of a Christmas tree farm. He asked how a parcel would fall that is 40 acres in size and trees are removed to open up portions of the parcel. Finke replied that there would be a lower removal allowance than a typical development because of the roads and utilities involved for a development. He explained how tree removal on private properties is documented and tracked. He commented that it seems there is interest in using the removal percentage rather than just the replacement ratios for hardwoods, although he was unsure quite how to develop that method. He noted that there is a baseline recognition that there will be a certain level of trees needed for removal in order to support development and then additional guidelines should be in place to incentive/disincentive the trees they place lower or higher value on. Martin commented that she does appreciate the efforts of staff as this is something they have wanted to dive into for some time, and the lack of development has allowed this more thorough review and discussion. Finke referenced the topic of planted trees, noting that the current ordinance does provide some account for trees that were planted by the property owner. He explained how the process has worked to provide credit for planted trees through a waiver or PUD, noting that the City has not actually ever followed the current process outlined in the ordinance. He then provided an example of how the current ordinance language would apply. Albers stated that perhaps if the goal is to preserve trees, they should focus on the percentage allowed for removal. Martin asked Finke for input on planted trees. Finke stated that one option would be to have no provision for planted trees. Albers asked for a tree worksheet from another past development for comparison purposes. Finke stated that he probably could do that, recognizing that would provide more data points but also wanted them to focus on things that could help them move ahead. He stated that other development was not a PUD and the credit was provided under the waiver portion of the Code. Martin commented that she believes it would be appropriate to give some credit for planted trees. Medina City Council Meeting Minutes October 3, 2023 7 Albers agreed. Finke stated that perhaps rather than giving credit at two inches, credit is given to the size of the planted tree. Martin stated that perhaps the credit is for planted hardwoods and perhaps conifers as well. She stated that if ash or elm was planted, she would not want to give credit for those. She stated that she is not interested in giving credit for the actual size and would want to stay with the two inch. Finke stated that the language as written accomplishes that goal. Martin noted that the definition of native tree should be moved to the definition section. She also thought it would make sense to include the three most prominent invasive species within the ordinance under the exemptions. She provided additional language suggestions to be added. She commented that in the next report she would like to see the redline of the current ordinance, and a second redline that would show the changes resulting from this discussion. DesLauriers rejoined the Council. IX. CITY ADMINISTRATOR REPORT (8:41 p.m.) Johnson had nothing further to report. X. MAYOR & CITY COUNCIL REPORTS (8:41 p.m.) No comments. XI. APPROVAL TO PAY THE BILLS (8:41 p.m.) Moved by DesLauriers, seconded by Martin, to approve the bills, order check numbers 054838-054888 for $324,423.27, EFT 007003E-007018E for $71,825.49, and payroll EFT 0513028-05132057 for $65,983.17. Motion passed unanimously. XII. ADJOURN Moved by Albers, seconded by DesLauriers, to adjourn the meeting at 8:42 p.m. Motion passed unanimously. __________________________________ Kathleen Martin, Mayor Attest: ____________________________________ Caitlyn Walker, City Clerk