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HomeMy Public PortalAbout05.17.2022 City Council Meeting MinutesMedina City Council Meeting Minutes May 17, 2022 1 MEDINA CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF MAY 17, 2022 The City Council of Medina, Minnesota met in regular session on May 17, 2022 at 7:00 p.m. in the City Hall Chambers. Mayor Martin presided. I. ROLL CALL Members present: Albers, Cavanaugh, DesLauriers, and Martin. Members absent: Cavanaugh and Reid. Also present: City Administrator Scott Johnson, Attorney Dave Anderson, Finance Director Erin Barnhart, City Engineer Jim Stremel, City Planning Director Dusty Finke, Public Works Director Steve Scherer, and Chief of Police Jason Nelson. 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 May 3, 2022 Regular City Council Meeting Minutes Martin noted that prior to the meeting Johnson distributed proposed corrections that she had suggested for incorporation. Moved by Albers, seconded by DesLauriers, to approve the May 3, 2022 regular City Council meeting minutes as amended. Motion passed unanimously. V. CONSENT AGENDA (7:01 p.m.) A. Approve Resolution 2022-36 for Bonner Variance B. Approve Reimbursement Resolution 2022-37 for 2022 Road Projects C. Approve Amendment to the Scherber Purchase Agreement D. Approve Temporary Liquor License to Hamel Lions Moved by DesLauriers, seconded by Albers, 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. B. Park Commission Scherer reported that the Park Commission will meet the following night to hold its annual park tour at 5 p.m. He stated that anyone interested in joining should alert staff. He stated that the Commission will also discuss the Diamond Lake Regional Trail at its meeting later that night. He commented that the parks are being heavily used, which is great to see. Medina City Council Meeting Minutes May 17, 2022 2 C. Planning Commission Planning Commissioner Nielsen reported that the Commission met the previous week to hold a public hearing to consider a Concept Plan review for the Cates property, which was scaled down from the previous concept review. She commented that the Commission was supportive of the change in zoning to support this use and provided input on the concepts preferred by the Commission. She stated that the Commission unanimously agreed that truck traffic should use Willow. She stated that the Commission also held a public hearing to consider an ordinance amendment related to electric vehicle charging. She stated that the Commission does support an incentive- based approach but did not support the tree reduction incentive. She stated that the Commission did recommend approval of the ordinance with the exception of the tree reduction incentive. VII. OLD BUSINESS A. Hamel Townhomes (7:08 p.m.) Johnson stated that this item was reviewed at the May 3rd meeting and requested changes to elevations have been made to the Hamel Road facing units. He stated that because DesLauriers will be recusing himself, that would leave only two members of the Council, therefore input can be provided, and action would be delayed to the next Council meeting. DesLauriers recused himself from this item. Finke stated that the draft resolutions were included in the packet along with updated elevations. He noted that the most significant change was related to the Hamel Road elevation. He highlighted the changes that were made to those elevations. He welcomed any input and noted that the intention would be to provide the same documents at the next meeting. Albers applauded the applicant for listening to the concerns of the Council. He believed that this revised vision better fits into the vision for Uptown Hamel. Martin agreed that the units are much more stylized and individualized. She agreed that this is a vastly improved plan. She stated that upon review of the City Code, more emphasis is placed on the Hamel Road facing units over the other units. She stated that the western elevation is more unique and interesting and has no issues with that. She provided suggestions to the language included in the draft resolutions. DesLauriers rejoined the Council. VIII. NEW BUSINESS A. Cates Industrial Park – Concept Plan Review (7:19 p.m.) Johnson stated that the applicant has withdrawn their original request and has submitted a request for approximately 300,000 square feet of warehouse, light industrial, office use on the southern portion of the property. He stated that three concepts were provided to determine if the Council would support a scaled down use of this nature. Medina City Council Meeting Minutes May 17, 2022 3 Finke stated that a Comprehensive Plan amendment would still be needed to support this use. He stated that the subject site is south of Cates Ranch Drive. He stated that there is discussion within the report about the impression of staff highlighting positives and negatives of each concept, if the broader land use change is supported. He displayed the elevations that were provided along with the three concepts. He noted that staff believes that trunk access to Willow is important regardless of the concept. He stated that a PUD may make sense in order to maximize the setback and greenspace on the exterior of the site and support truck circulation on the interior. He stated that the staff report does identify changes in property use compared to the acreage previously projected for business. He noted that transportation was thoroughly discussed with the larger project. He stated that even though the impact would be reduced with a smaller scale project, there would be anticipated improvements related to the project. He stated that the applicant has stated that they would be willing to provide the land for a sanitary sewer lift station and noted that staff would look for a lower elevation location to make installation of the lift station earlier. He noted that the Planning Commission discussed modulation of the building and the importance of that, should this move forward. He welcomed input from the Council on the broader land use question as well as on the concepts. DesLauriers asked if the lift station was included in the City’s CIP for 2023. He also asked if the CIP only included the cost for the lift station and not the acquisition of land. Albers stated that he would like to discuss what has changed from the last review other than this being smaller. He believed the direction was very specific related to a change in zoning. DesLauriers stated that they asked the applicant to come back with a version on the southern half, which is what has been done. Martin agreed that the Council invited the applicant to come back and present a request for the southern portion. Anderson agreed that four members of the Council supported the applicant coming back with a reduced scale plan while Albers was opposed. Albers asked what has changed that would change the perspective of the Council. Finke stated that one of the Comprehensive Plan objectives is to provide opportunities for the desired amount of business development. He stated that it could be argued that the smaller scale would better meet the desire of the Council for that type of development. Albers commented that there are certain things the Council is supposed to review when considering a Comprehensive Plan amendment and he did not think the criteria were met. DesLauriers stated that a vote was not taken last time as it was a concept. He read some of the comments and consensus of the Council from the previous minutes which invited the applicant to come back with revised plans. Medina City Council Meeting Minutes May 17, 2022 4 Albers asked if the answers of the Council on the broader land use question have changed. Finke replied that the decision would provide the Council with the highest level of discretion. He stated that the mission, vision, principles, and goals would provide guidance when considering an amendment to the plan. Martin stated that in looking at the vision and goals within the report, she recalled the previous discussion of the Council related to the use. She stated that it is a bit of a stretch. She asked how the Comprehensive Plan goals would be achieved moving forward. She stated that conceptually the Council seemed to buy off on a commercial use but perhaps the size of the project was too severe. She stated that she did recall some support for the use and invitation for the applicant to come back with a reduced scale project. DesLauriers commented that this request meets three of the five requirements for the business district. He stated that when looking at FDA, the key component is that any future development would rely on infrastructure. He noted that the infrastructure is in place to support the development. He stated that Graphic Packaging is located across the street and another business down the road, therefore this property is in a business district and this project would create jobs. Albers stated that the Council was going down the path towards denial and therefore was confused as to what has changed. DesLauriers stated that the size was an important factor as he believes 30 acres fits much better than 70 acres. He stated that this sized development makes sense in this area. He confirmed that his decision is also supported by the fact that the necessary infrastructure is in place or would be added by the developer. Martin recognized that two members of the Council are not present to provide input tonight. She invited the developer to speak. Peter Coyle, spoke representing the applicant, noting that they did attempt to make changes to address the feedback of the Council. He stated that the broad goals they believe their concept would address including job creation opportunity, business creation, quality of life, and protection of natural resources. He commented that infrastructure is important and if there are transportation impacts caused by the project, they would fund those improvements. He noted that the northern parcel would also remain rural, more at the direction of the Council than the applicant. He stated that the designation of FDA is a non-designation and believes that the City should be able to designate actual land uses for properties. He stated that they would like to proceed with a version of this plan. He stated that they have been working with staff for eight to nine months, including completion of the required EAW. He stated that the primary objective of the meeting tonight was to determine whether this reduced scale project would be supported before moving for formal submissions. Martin asked for input on the three concepts. Albers stated that he prefers option three. Medina City Council Meeting Minutes May 17, 2022 5 Martin stated that she also preferred that concept but could also support option two if there was more modulation. DesLauriers stated that he did not have a strong feeling either way but would lean towards concept two. He stated that he would square up the layout of the building and would have two access drives to Willow, one for vehicles and one for trucks. Martin commented that it would go without saying that a submittal would also need to meet City Code in terms of landscaping and architecture. Coyle commented that these are just concepts as they would still need to get a tenant and would not be building something without the input of the ultimate user. Martin recognized that if there were two users, perhaps the two-building concept would be the better fit in that scenario. She stated that she would be flexible between options two and three, depending on what was most beneficial to the user. DesLauriers asked staff if there was a preference for one of these plans in terms of the lift station. Finke stated that the discussion has not yet been had with the applicant. He noted that the projected location was actually on the northern parcel but recognized that may no longer be on the table. He noted that the concepts show the lift station on the corner of the site, which is high in elevation, but believed there were opportunities in lower elevations for that lift station. DesLauriers asked if there is any concern with the future DLRT through this area. Finke noted that layout is more to the west. He stated that there were comments related to pedestrian connectivity included in the review. Martin noted that she agrees with much of the analysis within the staff report. She confirmed the consensus of the Council that any future plans would need to address the analysis and comments within the staff report. B. 2022 Road Project Feasibility Reports (8:01 p.m.) Johnson stated that in the CIP for 2022 there are three different overlay projects that would follow the residential street assessment policy. Scherer stated that these are three simple overlay projects which are very similar in nature. He provided details on the estimated project costs, noting 50 percent assessment. He stated that all of the projects would have an assessment of about $2,500 to $2,600. He stated that Iroquois Drive has two lots that do not have access, therefore staff is proposing half of an assessment for those properties as there could be a potential for access in the future. He noted that he would be meeting with individual property owners to discuss the project. Johnson clarified that this is not the public hearing but the action before the Council would call for a public hearing at the June 21, 2022, City Council Meeting. Medina City Council Meeting Minutes May 17, 2022 6 1. Iroquois Drive Moved by DesLauriers, seconded by Albers, to adopt Resolution 2022-38 Receiving Feasibility Report and Calling for Public Hearings on Iroquois Drive Street Improvement Project and Levying Special Assessments for Same. Motion passed unanimously. 2. Oakview Road Moved by DesLauriers, seconded by Albers, to adopt Resolution 2022-39 Receiving Feasibility Report and Calling for Public Hearings on Oakview Road Street Improvement Project and Levying Special Assessments for Same. Motion passed unanimously. 3. Tower Drive West Moved by DesLauriers, seconded by Albers, to adopt Resolution 2022-40 Receiving Feasibility Report and Calling for Public Hearings on Tower Drive West Street Improvement Project and Levying Special Assessments for Same. Motion passed unanimously. Martin commented that the Council does read these reports and appreciates the numbers and photos. She thanked Scherer for the money he continues to save the City over the years. IX. CITY ADMINISTRATOR REPORT (8:09 p.m.) Johnson had nothing further to report. X. MAYOR & CITY COUNCIL REPORTS (8:09 p.m.) Martin highlighted upcoming events including Spring into Hamel, Bike Safety Rodeo, and Memorial Day at German Liberal Cemetery at 11:40 a.m. DesLauriers asked when the next fire district meeting will be held. Martin noted the first Wednesday in June. She stated that she attended the west metro mayors group meeting where there was a presentation from Hennepin County Public Works that reviewed the projects slated for 2022 and five-year CIP. XI. APPROVAL TO PAY THE BILLS (8:14 p.m.) Moved by DesLauriers, seconded by Martin, to approve the bills, EFT 006368E- 006380E for $54,084.31, order check numbers 052908-052976 for $303,046.84, and payroll EFT 0511846-0511882 for $62,596.66. Motion passed unanimously. XII. ADJOURN Albers recognized the information from Nelson on the West Metro Drug Task Force and its recent actions. Moved by Albers, seconded by DesLauriers, to adjourn the meeting at 8:16 p.m. Motion passed unanimously. __________________________________ Kathy Martin, Mayor Attest: ____________________________________ Caitlyn Walker, City Clerk