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MEDINA CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF MARCH 16, 2010
The City Council of Medina, Minnesota met in special concurrent session with the
Medina Planning Commission on March 16, 2010 at 6:00 p.m. in the Medina City Hall.
I. Call to Order
Members present: Weir, Siitari, Smith
Members absent: Johnson, Crosby
Planning Commissioners Present: John Anderson, Beth Nielsen, Victoria Reid,
Kent Williams, Robin Reid (arrived at 5:46 p.m.)
Planning Commissioners Absent: Charles Nolan and Kathleen Martin
Also present: City Administrator Chad M. Adams; City Planner Dusty Finke;
Park Commissioners Ben Benson, Ann Thies and Janet White;
City Conservation Design Consultant Dan Petrik
II. Open Space/Conservation Design Ordinance — Barr Engineering
Note: Barr Engineering's presentation started at S: 36 p.m. These minutes reflect the
meeting material and discussion when a quorum of the Medina City Council was met at
6: 00 p.m. Please review the Planning Commission's March 16, 2010 special meeting
minutes for material discussed prior to 6: 00 p.m.
Dan Petrik, Barr Engineering provided a slide presentation and overview of encouraging
conservation design. He stated in order to be successful, conservation design should not
be more difficult to implement than a base district (including processing, time frame and
cost to developer). He added that project feasibility (meeting the market's attractiveness
gap) and flexibility were important components to encouraging conservation design.
Petrik discussed setting and achieving specific goals that included generalized open space
vs. specific goals as well as incentives, standards and requirements to achieve the goals.
He stated that conservation design ordinances tend to be much more successful if they are
tailored towards specific goals.
Finke stated that the incentives the City could offer to support conservation design are
likely finite, so identifying more specific goals would allows the City to concentrate its
incentives towards situations which best meet the City's objectives.
Petrik provided examples and key variations between three existing conservation design
ordinances in Inver Grove Heights, Lake Elmo and Hanover. There is a good deal of
variation with relation to: the main objectives of each city's open spaces; whether the
conservation design was required by the ordinance or encouraged through incentives;
minimum amount of required open space; and the aggressiveness of incentives offered to
potential developers.
Medina City Council Special Meeting Minutes
March 16, 2010
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Discussion was held on implementing some mandatory regulation to preserve the highest
priority natural resources in the City versus an entirely optional/incentive based approach.
Some members expressed interest in mandatory development standards in areas in the
community where exceptionally high value natural resources were located. Discussion
was held about a public reaction if the City were to map these high value areas.
Petrik stated that the regulations enacted by a city can vary depending on the main
objectives it wishes to achieve. Commissioners and Council members conducted a goal
setting exercise to determine highest and lowest priorities as a guiding tool in drafting an
ordinance. General consensus of the members present included high priority being
placed on protection of sensitive ecological resources, protection of views/vistas from
development (including preservation of rural character) and protection of corridors for
habitat movement. Lowest priority areas included protection of agricultural
practices/economy and transition between urban and rural areas.
Petrik described collaborative processes that other communities are attempting to
implement in order work with developers on conservation design. Discussion was held
on approaches to encourage developers to engage and understand the City's conservation
design ordinance when adopted. General consensus of the members present was to
institute a collaborative planning approach between a developer and the City.
III. Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 6:58 p.m.
Carolyn A. mith, Acting Mayor
Attest:
Chad M. Adams, City Administrator -Clerk
Medina City Council Special Meeting Minutes
March 16, 2010