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HomeMy Public PortalAbout09.19.2023 City Council MinutesMedina City Council Meeting Minutes September 19, 2023 1 MEDINA CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF SEPTEMBER 19, 2023 The City Council of Medina, Minnesota met in regular session on September 19, 2023 at 7:00 p.m. in the City Hall Chambers. Mayor Martin presided. I. ROLL CALL Members present: Albers, Cavanaugh, DesLauriers, Martin, and Reid (arrived 7:03). Members absent: None. 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, and Police Sergeant Kevin Boecker. II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE (7:00 p.m.) III. ADDITIONS TO THE AGENDA (7:01 p.m.) The agenda was approved as presented. IV. APPROVAL OF MINUTES (7:01 p.m.) A. Approval of the September 5, 2023 Work Session City Council Meeting Minutes Moved by Martin, seconded by Albers, to approve the September 5, 2023 work session City Council meeting minutes as presented. Motion passed unanimously. B. Approval of the September 5, 2023 Regular City Council Meeting Minutes Martin noted that prior to the meeting Johnson circulated changes as proposed to be incorporated by herself and Cavanaugh. Moved by Albers, seconded by DesLauriers, to approve the September 5, 2023 regular City Council meeting minutes as amended. Motion passed unanimously. V. CONSENT AGENDA (7:02 p.m.) A. Adopt Resolution 2023-92 Approving the Decertification of Tax Increment Financing District No. 1-9 B. Adopt Ordinance 717 Amending the School Lake Nature Preserve Conservation Design-Planned Unit Development District Pertaining to Lot 2, Block 3 C. Adopt Resolution 2023-93 to Publish Ordinance Amending the School Lake Nature Preserve Conservation Design-Planned Unit Development District by Title and Summary D. Adopt Resolution 2023-94 Granting Preliminary and Final Approval of the School Lake Nature Preserve 3rd Addition Plat Moved by Cavanaugh, seconded by DesLauriers, to approve the consent agenda. Motion passed unanimously. VI. COMMENTS (7:03 p.m.) Medina City Council Meeting Minutes September 19, 2023 2 A. Comments from Citizens on Items not on the Agenda There were none. B. Park Commission Park Commissioner Morrison reported that the Commission did not meet in August but discussed the issue of pickleball at length in July, with consensus to await results of the noise study before making recommendations related to noise mitigation. She commented that the discussions will continue at the Commission meeting the following night. She provided updates on improvements made to Lakeshore Park, Hamel Legion Park, and other parks. DesLauriers noted input that he received from residents related to potential crosswalks and trails and asked the Commission to discuss the requests. C. Planning Commission Finke reported that the Planning Commission met the previous week to consider an ordinance that would prohibit the sale of lower potency hemp derived edibles, noting that the Commission unanimously recommended adoption of the proposed ordinance. He noted that there was some discussion about potentially allowing businesses that hold liquor licenses to sell those products, however this idea did not get included in the Commission’s recommendation. He reported that the Commission also considered the tree preservation ordinance, noting that was the second hearing on the topic and the Commission recommended approval of the ordinance which is on the agenda tonight. DesLauriers commented that he spoke with two members from BAPS who believe they will begin construction in spring of 2024. He asked if 500 Hamel Road would be holding a meeting this week and asked if someone from the City would be attending. Finke replied that he will be attending and anyone else who is interested could also attend, noting that Martin and Commissioner Nielsen had been invited as they had previously attended those meetings. Martin noted that the intent is for the meeting to be a neighborhood meeting and discouraged elected officials against providing input on whether the proposal would meet the City Code requirements. Cavanaugh noted that he would be attending as a resident because he owns a neighboring property. VII. NEW BUSINESS A. Resolution 2023-95 Providing for the Issuance and Sale of General Obligation Improvement Bonds, Series 2023A, in the Proposed Aggregate Principal Amount of $2,215,000 (7:12 p.m.) Johnson commented that it was determined that bonding should be used for certain 2022 and 2023 road projects. Barnhart commented that a memorandum was included in the packet along with the presale information. She stated that the final sale would be presented to the Council in October if this is approved tonight. Medina City Council Meeting Minutes September 19, 2023 3 Martin asked if the sale in its entirety would be anticipated to an institutional investor. Keith Dahl, Ehlers, replied that is correct. He commented that they will do a competitive placement and this resolution would provide staff direction to work with Ehlers. He reviewed the work that Ehlers would do in anticipation of the sale which would occur in October. Moved by DesLauriers, seconded by Reid, to adopt Resolution 2023-95 providing for the issuance and sale of general obligation improvement bonds, Series 2023A, in the proposed aggregate principal amount of $2,215,000. Motion passed unanimously. B. Tree Preservation Ordinance Discussion (7:15 p.m.) Johnson noted that the original ordinance was established in 2006 and per the direction of the Council, staff suggested some revisions that were reviewed and commented on by the Planning Commission. He noted that Martin also suggested some revisions. DesLauriers recused himself from this item. Finke provided background information on the existing tree preservation regulations, noting that it is a bit complicated. He stated that staff reviewed the regulations of other communities and provided an overview, noting that the two-tiered approach of Medina is unique. He commented that Medina is on the lower allowance for removal before replacement is required and on the higher end of the replacement ratio. He noted that the intent is for an applicant to develop a layout that would minimize tree removal. He commented that staff suggested some technical changes that would either formalize practices and other things that seemed reasonable through PUD discussions. He noted that those were largely endorsed by the Planning Commission as well. He stated that the topic of land use had more discussion, noting that the Planning Commission felt that Uptown Hamel deserved its own regulations because of the desire for intense commercial/business district development. He stated that the same allowed removal would apply but a different method of replacement would be recommended to preserve tree canopy. He noted some of the other alternative methods that were discussed for Uptown Hamel. Martin asked if the Council had any concerns with the redline technical changes proposed. Cavanaugh referenced the issue of right-of-way and asked for more details. Finke replied that the exemption would apply only in existing rights-of-way, providing the example of a turn lane that is required to support a new development within an existing right-of-way adjacent to the property. Martin asked the Council for input on the concept for Uptown Hamel, noting that she believes it to be a good policy change. The other members of the Council agreed. Albers referenced the planted tree policy and asked if he understood that correctly as in if he had planted trees on his own property, he would receive credit for those trees if he were to have tree removal. He asked if he were to plant trees on his property and sell his property to a developer, would the developer receive the same credit for those planted trees. Medina City Council Meeting Minutes September 19, 2023 4 Finke replied that the credit could apply in a development scenario and provided additional details. Albers recalled a project that was recently considered where planted trees were removed by a developer and asked if the developer received credit in that situation. Finke replied that was Marsh Pointe and explained that through the PUD process the City did approve that those trees were not required to be replaced, which is consistent with this language. He commented that if the trees were not removed, they counted towards the denominator but if they were removed, they were not counted. Albers asked why the City would not want to count those trees and require replacement. Finke replied that the intent would be that you would not want to disincentivize someone from planting trees on their property if the future goal is development. Martin commented that it would also seem to make sense to have an exemption for operations such as a Christmas tree farm or orchard. Albers understood that you would not want to disincentivize a person from planting trees that would later need to be cut down and replaced. He asked how the ordinance would act in a scenario where trees were planted, and a developer then purchases a property and whether the developer would be required to replace those trees. Martin replied that often the applicant is the actual fee owner of the property, not the developer, as the closing typically does not occur until the land use entitlements are in place. Finke commented that if the person sold their home to someone and they chose to develop, the exemption would no longer exist. He stated that if desired, they could use a lower replacement ratio similar to Uptown Hamel, rather than having the exemption. Martin commented that she likes the idea of a one-to-one replacement ratio. Albers agreed. Cavanaugh commented that they want to make a system that encourages people to plant trees and if there are penalties, people would second guess whether it makes sense to plant trees on large tracts of land. Finke commented that this policy does exist and provided additional details on the current policy. Albers commented that Medina was part of the big wood forest and asked if a higher credit should be given for big woods trees. Martin commented that basswood has come up naturally in the environment more recently. Albers commented that perhaps this would fit into the old growth area. Medina City Council Meeting Minutes September 19, 2023 5 Martin confirmed that Albers is asking whether a non-native tree removed would be replaced at a lower rate than a native “big wood” tree. She confirmed that higher value trees should have a higher replacement ratio. Finke confirmed that staff is proposing that change. Cavanaugh commented that he would believe that would discourage people from planting trees and would not want to penalize people for planting trees. Martin clarified that non-native tree removal would not be penalized. Finke commented that the draft does discourage the removal of deciduous hardwood trees and would reduce the replacement rate for other types of trees. He moved to the proposed ratios of replacement for different tree species and reviewed the proposed replacement ratios. Martin commented that she would be fine with the removal of ash and elm. She asked why a diseased tree would be required for replacement, as that should simply be removed. Finke noted that there is a statement that if a forestry specialist makes the determination that the tree is diseased, it could be removed without replacement. Martin commented that she would like to focus on how this applies to development at this time and then go back to discuss how this would apply to private property. She confirmed consensus of the Council with the replacement rate as proposed for the first and second categories. Finke noted that ultimately there would be less replacement required, which could lead to less contribution to the reforestation fund. He noted that this change would also be more in line with other communities. Martin confirmed agreement with everything proposed with the exception that common trees should be labeled pioneering trees. Finke noted that there were a few things noted in the staff report that were discussed with the Planning Commission but not recommended to move forward and provided a brief overview. He stated that they discussed having more explicit language related to the preservation of woodlands but decided that was best located within the PUD ordinance, along with language related to available density bonuses. Martin confirmed that the Council also agrees with those recommendations of the Planning Commission. Finke stated that the Planning Commission recommended approval after discussing the ordinance at two consecutive meetings. He stated that Martin provided suggestions, noting that the majority were related to grammar. Martin provided an overview of her proposed changes. She referenced the issue of diseased trees and asked if that should be defined and whether that should be split out Medina City Council Meeting Minutes September 19, 2023 6 between development and private property. She commented that if a significant tree is a healthy tree, it would seem a diseased tree would not fall into that category. She also noted the inclusion of tree farms or orchards into commercial operations that would be exempt. Albers used the scenario that a diseased tree is identified and removed, noting that there may be other similar species trees on the property and a homeowner may want to proactively remove those trees at the same time. Martin commented that she does not believe that a homeowner would want to pay an arborist to return to the site to continue to identify diseased trees. She stated that once the disease is identified on the property, the property owner should be allowed to remove those trees. Finke commented that Dutch elm is identified elsewhere in the Code and there could actually be a mandate to remove those trees. He stated that perhaps disease susceptible would be an appropriate term. Albers stated that perhaps elms and ash trees are called out differently. Finke confirmed that staff could work on that language to address diseased ash and elm trees on private property. Martin continued to review her grammatic suggestions. Albers commented that he does not believe a developer should get credit for previously planted trees. Finke asked if that would be at full replacement, or something less in order to not be a disincentive to someone planting trees on their property for someone that may want to develop in the future. He confirmed that provision exists in the current Code and provided more specific details, noting that Marsh Pointe was done through a PUD. He provided a more in-depth explanation of how the proposed ordinance language is written. Martin stated that perhaps staff could research a bit more and come back with a few examples and options to be discussed. Johnson noted that staff is not looking for action tonight and staff will come back with the options as discussed. Martin confirmed consensus that there should be an exemption for commercially planted trees, such as a tree farm or orchard. Finke referenced the issue of a developer versus a private property noting that a private property would have a lower threshold of removal because they would not have the allowed removal rate as a development. He commented that the theory is that there would be a hesitation to allow more removal at the time of initial site development on a larger property. He provided details on developments with more streets and utilities versus a large commercial development that would not have that same type of infrastructure. Medina City Council Meeting Minutes September 19, 2023 7 Albers asked if there is follow up to ensure that protected trees survive during construction. Finke commented that if the measures are followed to protect the trees, it would be assumed that tree would survive. He noted that if they violate the protective tree fence, it would then need to be replaced. Martin commented that perhaps there should be more information at a future Council meeting on the percentage mentioned by Finke. DesLauriers rejoined the Council. VIII. CITY ADMINISTRATOR REPORT (8:46 p.m.) Johnson commented that he is attempting to schedule the fall business tour with the AutoMotorPlex and confirmed the date of September 26th. Moved by Martin, seconded by Albers, to set a special meeting for 10 a.m. on September 26, 2023 at the AutoMotorPlex. Motion passed unanimously. Johnson commented that Celebration Day was held the previous Saturday and was a great success, acknowledging the efforts of staff. He stated that a request was received from MnDOT for a grant request for a rapid transit bus study grant on Highway 55. Moved by Martin, seconded by Albers, to issue a draft letter to the United States Transportation Secretary as presented. Motion passed unanimously. IX. MAYOR & CITY COUNCIL REPORTS (8:49 p.m.) Martin asked if the City has looked into availability of grants for municipalities to install solar. She stated that perhaps the City should obtain bids and determine when the equipment would pay for itself. Johnson commented that the City invested in offsite solar a number of years ago and has an agreement in place. X. APPROVAL TO PAY THE BILLS (8:51 p.m.) Moved by Albers, seconded by Martin, to approve the bills, order check numbers 054772-054837 for $1,250, 904.74 EFT 006985E-007002E for $65,260.63, and payroll EFT 0512993-0513207 for $68,579.71. Motion passed unanimously. XI. ADJOURN Moved by DesLauriers, seconded by Reid, to adjourn the meeting at 8:52 p.m. Motion passed unanimously. __________________________________ Kathleen Martin, Mayor Attest: ____________________________________ Caitlyn Walker, City Clerk