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HomeMy Public PortalAbout01/19/99 CCM15 MEDINA CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF JANUARY 19, 1999 The City Council of Medina, Minnesota met in regular session on January 19, 1999 at 7:30 p.m. in the City Hall Chambers. Mayor John Ferris presided. Members present: Ferris, Zietlow, Hamilton, Johnson, and Smith 8:20 p.m. Members absent: None. Also present: Police Chief Ed Belland, Attorney Ron Batty, Public Works Director Jim Dillman, City Engineer Glenn Cook, Zoning Administrator Loren Kohnen, and City Clerk -Treasurer Paul Robinson. 1. Additions to the Agenda A. Blackfoot Trail lot realignment. Moved by John Hamilton, seconded by Phil Zietlow, to approve the agenda as amended. Motion passed unanimously. 2. Minutes of the January 5, 1999 Regular City Council Meeting Carolyn Smith's name was added as an alternate Lake Minnetonka Cable Commissioner for the 1999 commission. Moved by Phil Zietlow, seconded by Jim Johnson, to approve the minutes of January 5, 1999 as amended. Motion passed unanimously. 3. Consent Agenda A. Approval of Gambling Permit and 3.2 Liquor License for Holy Name Church. B. Resolution 99-04 Approving Preliminary Plat, 3212 Pioneer Trail, George Gubbins. C. Resolution 99-05 Approving a Midwest Golden Gloves Tournament at the Medina Ballroom On April 25th and 26th , 1999 and a Boxing Exhibition on February 16th,1999. D. Resolution 99-06 Approving a Sign Height Variance, 500 State Trunk Highway 55, Medina Entertainment Center. Items B & D were pulled from the consent agenda. Moved by Jim Johnson, seconded by Phil Zietlow, to approve consent agenda items A & C. Motion passed unanimously. 4. Resolution 99-04 Approving Preliminary Plat, 3212 Pioneer Trail, George Gubbins Ron Batty said he wanted to make sure that item number 14 was stated correctly. He said included in the resolution was a condition requiring that the barn to be torn down before the final plat was approved and that the foundation be filled in before a building permit was issued. The council agreed that this was correctly stated. Moved by John Hamilton, seconded by Jim Johnson, to approve Resolution 99-04, approving the preliminary plat as presented for the Gubbins property. Motion passed unanimously. Medina City Council Meeting Minutes January 19, 1999 16 5. Resolution 99-06 Approving a Sign Height Variance, 500 State Trunk Highway 55, Medina Entertainment Center Ron Batty said that he was not certain if the sign will need a variance once the sign ordinance is addressed later on the agenda. It was decided to postpone this item until after the city council discussed the sign ordinance. 6. Presentation by the Long Lake Fire Department Steve Persian introduced himself as the new chief of the Long Lake Fire Department and introduced his fellow firefighters. John Ferris said they appreciated the service from Long Lake. Steve Persian said in March there will be a class on safety issues regarding airbags. He will provide more information to the city council later. 7. Comments from Residents in Attendance on Items not on the Agenda Jim Johnson said that Communities in Collaboration and Interfaith Outreach were having an event on January 23, the same day as the Uptown Hamel Association's skating party. 8. Park Commission Comments There were none. 9. Planning Commission Comments Loren Kohnen said that at the last meeting three items were discussed. The first was a one acre lot split for a business on the property owned by C.C. & M. The next item was a public hearing regarding the adoption of 7080 Standards for Individual Sewage Treatment Systems. That was also approved. The third item was a lengthy discussion regarding the types of soils and the acreages of soils required in the subdivision ordinance. 10. Sign Ordinance Ron Batty said what started as a cleanup and removal of some inconsistencies in the ordinance has become a complete revision of the sign ordinance. He said the planning commission and council has covered a lot of this ordinance already. He said there was one significant policy issue that had not been resolved that was not addressed in his memo. He said in the May 9 discussion the city council did not decide whether to include signs that were on the inside of windows facing out as a part of the total square footage allowed for signs. He said that changes made from the last draft are still included in regards to window signs. Ron Batty said this ordinance has become particularly important since there have been several issues regarding signs in the last few months. One was a Schubert billboard sign, the other was the sign and lighting at the Holiday Station, and the third was a variance request from Medina Entertainment Center, all of which have created additional changes to the ordinance. Ron Batty reviewed his memo of January 14. He said the first issue was the definition of a sign. He said he modified this definition to be more comprehensive. He said the second issue was the height of a sign. He modified the definition of a pylon sign and from where the height of the sign was measured. He said it would be measured from the average grade of the frontage. There was some discussion about this. Loren Kohnen said he thought it would be better to have the sign be 20 feet above the point at which the sign was placed versus using the average height of the frontage. Medina City Council Meeting Minutes January 19, 1999 17 Jim Johnson said so far they have had only one variance request on this issue and he did not believe that it was a problem. He said he would leave the ordinance as it was and approve variances as needed. There was some additional discussion about the height. The consensus was that it be 20 feet above the road right of way at the point where the sign was located. Ron Batty said the third issue will also be dealt with in the glare ordinance. This was the issue of illumination. Ron Batty said he included the requirement for diffused and downcast lighting in the sign ordinance. In addition, he referenced a draft revision of the glare ordinance, 821.11. Batty said this is where the requirement for 1.0 candlepower at the property line or 0.4 candlepower on an adjoining a residential use was located. He said the glare ordinance was included as an informational item, it still needs to go to the planning commission for a public hearing and discussion. Ron Batty said he changed the glare ordinance so that all properties will be held to the same requirement. Batty said this draft was his best read on where the city council has been heading with this ordinance. There was some discussion about the glare ordinance and the candle power requirements. 1.2 candlepower at the property line is what the city council had been suggesting to this point. Ron Batty said that the fourth issue in his memo dealt with business signs. He said this was modified to allow a 200 square foot free standing sign on properties of five acres or greater that have 500 feet of frontage or more. Loren Kohnen said that would be okay since the Medina Entertainment Center would exceed these amounts. Phil Zietlow asked what happened if the property is subdivided ten years from now. Ron Batty said then it would be a nonconforming sign. Jim Johnson said he was not sure if he would be in favor of allowing properties with five acres and 500 feet of frontage to create larger signs. He said he did not think the ordinance needed to be modified in order to suit one unique situation. Loren Kohnen said that a 200 square foot sign is not a very large sign on a property of that size. John Ferris asked if this would be allowed in both the industrial and commercial districts. Ron Batty said that the ordinance does not set a standard for each zoning district. He said this would be allowed in any of the zoning districts. Jim Johnson said that when you drive through Plymouth the signs do not seem to be intrusive. They are simple. He asked Ron if anybody had looked at the Plymouth sign ordinance. Ron Batty said they reviewed a number of ordinances. Medina City Council Meeting Minutes January 19, 1999 18 He said that the next issue raised in his memo was the issue of nonconforming signs. This was included in order to fix some of the language problems that became evident during the Schubert billboard issue. He said he included the rule that at least 50% of the sign needed to be damaged before removal of a sign would be required. Batty said he also included a provision that made billboards a principal use of a property. There was some discussion about whether or not this would conflict with land being farmed. Ron Batty said he would look into this issue. OLD BUSINESS 11. Holiday Station Lighting (NOTE: A portion of this discussion was excerpted from the discussion on the sign ordinance.) Phil Zietlow asked Ron Batty if lights on signs would be required to be shielded such as the Holiday sign where the entire building is backlit. Jim Johnson said that the whole fagade is backlit and is highly unsuitable for the area. John Hamilton asked if it would be acceptable if the sign was better diffused or if the bulbs were facing down. Loren Kohnen said probably not. Jim Johnson said the Holiday Station was very white and very bright. He said there was also some discussion about the fagade lighting being considered a part of the entire sign. He said if that is the case then the sign is too large. Jim Johnson said that overall there was just too much light. John Ferris said that the major issue now is the backlit fagade which is very bright and not in keeping with the area. He asked the city council if they were ready to take a harder position on this issue. Phil Zietlow said that he did not believe the city wanted lit up facades. Ron Batty said that parts of this discussion relate to the sign ordinance and another part relates to the glare ordinance. He is not quite sure if the city council has dealt with clarification of this issue. John Ferris updated the city council on the testing conducted on Monday night at the Holiday Station. He said between reducing the number o flights under the canopy from 42 to 25 and painting of the inside of the light fixtures black the candlepower under the canopy was significantly reduced. He said the candlepower on the property line is between 1.1 and 1.2 candlepower and 0.5 on Julius Dorweiler front property line. However, the property is still very bright because of the fagade lighting. Medina City Council Meeting Minutes January 19, 1999 19 Phil Zietlow said that, to this point, Holiday has moved in the right direction. They have reduced the number of lights in the canopy. They have come a long way in making the light on the property line come into the 1.1 and 1.2. However, there is still a lot of wattage per pump under the canopy and the fapade lighting is still a problem. Jim Johnson said that they just do not have the right type of lighting. John Ferris said that they would need to come up with a way to resolve that. Phil Zietlow said it was a violation of their CUP. He was not sure why they were not in attendance. Jim Johnson said no matter what they say they are out of compliance. There was some additional discussion about the lighting. John Ferris said that he would meet with the zoning administrator and the city attorney to discuss the city's options for proceeding with this issue. Jim Johnson said that there are some other issues with the outside speaker and outside storage that also need to be addressed. 12. False Alarm Ordinance Ed Belland said the changes talked about at the previous meeting were included in the current draft. He said the ordinance was included for approval as well as a resolution allowing publication by title and summary and a resolution approving the fee schedule. Moved by Jim Johnson, seconded by John Hamilton, to approve Ordinance 307. Motion passed unanimously. Moved by Phil Zietlow, seconded by John Hamilton, to approve the Resolution 99-07 allowing publication by title and summary. Motion passed unanimously. Moved by John Hami/ton, seconded by Carolyn Smith, to approve the fee schedule, Resolution 99-08. Motion passed unanimously. 13. Medina Entertainment Sign — Height Variance Loren Kohnen said a sign height of 20 feet at the right of way is what would be allowed if the current draft of the sign ordinance was approved. He said the Medina Entertainment Center sign may need a variance even with this ordinance change. He recommended that the city council grant the height variance as presented. There was some discussion about whether or not to grant the variance now or to wait until the sign ordinance was completed. It was decided to move ahead. Moved by Jim Johnson, seconded Phil Zietlow, to approve Resolution 99-06 granting a height variance for the Medina Entertainment Center sign. Motion passed unanimously. 14. Blackfoot Trail Loren Kohnen said that Sheldon Coplin wanted to sell his property and subdivide it into three lots with access on Blackfoot Trail. Medina City Council Meeting Minutes January 19, 1999 20 Jim Dillman pointed out that there was a 22-year-old agreement with the property owners on Blackfoot Trail that stipulated that the road would be required to be paved once more than seven properties accessed the road. He said that if Mr. Coplin were to then subdivide his property that would require all of the other residents to pay for 100% of the cost of the upgrading and paving Blackfoot Trail. Jim Dillman said it would cost around $160,000 to improve the road. This would amount to assessments of around $20,000 a piece. He wanted to know whether or not the city should try to follow through on this agreement or assess this project as they have on other roads in the city, where the city builds the road, pays for the base and 25% of the blacktop and assesses the remainder of the blacktop cost. Ron Batty said that he would like to look at that agreement and see if it is enforceable before the city council makes a decision on this project. The city council directed the city attorney to work with the public works director on the agreement for the paving Blackfoot trail. Mayor John Ferris left the council chambers at 9:04 p.m. Acting Mayor Phil Zietlow presided over the remainder of the meeting. 15. Approval of the Resolution Authorizing the Police Chief to Sign Grant Agreement for Defibrillator Moved by John Hamilton, seconded by Carolyn Smith, to approve Resolution 99-09 authorizing execution of sub -grant agreement. Motion passed unanimously. 16. Pav the Bills Moved by Jim Johnson, seconded by John Hamilton to approve the bills, order check numbers 19251-19297 for $22, 588.70. and payroll check numbers 15952-15967 for $14, 005.67. Motion passed unanimously. 17. Adjournment Moved by Jim Johnson, seconded by John Hamilton, to adjourn the meeting at 9:06 p.m. Motion passed unanimously. n B. Ferris, Mayor Paul Robinson, City Clerk -Treasurer Medina City Council Meeting Minutes January 19, 1999 21 ORDER CHECKS - JANUARY 19, 1999 19251 Air Touch Cellular 147.58 19252 American Express 633.09 19253 American Linen Supply 46.66 19254 Barco Municipal Products 112.75 19255 Casara Computer Systems 700.00 19256 Case Credit Corp. 139.72 19257 Corner House 760.00 19258 CSC Credit Services 15.00 19259 Cy's Uniforms 7.95 19260 Department of Public Safety 270.00 19261 Fortin Hardware 181.54 19262 Genuine Parts 157.79 19263 Glenwood Inglewood 63.75 19264 Gopher State One Call 127.75 19265 Grainger 165.74 19266 Great West Life Assurance 882.00 19267 H & L Mesabi 303.53 19268 Hamel Building Center 285.58 19269 Hawkins Water Treatment 50.00 19270 Hennepin County Sheriff 118.29 19271 Lake Business Supply 277.88 19272 Lakeshore Weekly News 536.00 19273 Law Enforcement Labor Services 165.00 19274 League of Minnesota Cities 50.00 19275 Long Lake Glass 556.53 19276 Mayer Distributing 2,540.86 19277 Mayer Mobil 10.00 19278 Midwest Automotive 321.98 19279 Minn Commm 30.69 19280 Minnesota Child Supp. Pyt. Center 595.00 19281 Minnesota Mutual 275.00 19282 Minnesota State Retirement System 155.00 19283 Lyle Nagell 1,500.00 19284 North American Foods 93.19 19285 P.E.R.A. 3,070.23 19286 Pommer Co. 39.44 19287 Schoell & Madson 407.88 19288 Senior Community Services 1,854.00 Medina City Council Meeting Minutes January 19, 1999 22 ORDER CHECKS — JANUARY 19, 1999 (CONT'D) 19289 Suburban Propane 49.72 19290 Tallen & Baertschi 2,410.87 19291 Total Office Products 100.00 19292 Tri State Pump __gi±9-7- V01,0 19293 Twin City Water Clinic 20.00 19294 U.S. Filter/Waterpro 168.27 19295 U.S. West Communications 34.60 19296 Visible Computer Supply 24.13 19297 Wright -Hennepin Electric 1.321.74 $22,588.70 ► PAYROLL CHECKS — JANUARY 19, 1999 15952 Paul A. Robinson 955.39 15953 Steven T. Scherer 1,113.92 15954 Christopher R. McGill 915.00 15955 Michael J. Rouillard 655.72 15956 Scott W. Kroeger 1,089.98 15957 James D. Dillman 1,278.47 15958 Robert P. Dressel 1,034.71 15959 Edgar J. Belland 1,680.26 15960 Cecilia M. Vieau 847.39 15961 Ivan Dingmann 138.55 15962 Laura L. Sulander 981.66 15963 Sandra L. Larson 787.71 15964 Jon D. Priem 1,192.38 15965 Judd J. Harper 259.40 15966 Jeremy L. Christenson 841.13 15967 Martha C. Lundell 234.00 $14,005.67 Medina City Council Meeting Minutes January 19, 1999