City Council

ANDOVER CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP MEETING – APRIL 25, 2017 MINUTES The Workshop Meeting of the Andover City Council was called to order by Mayor Julie Trude, April 25, 2017, 6:00 p.m., at the Andover City Hall, 1685 Crosstown Boulevard NW, Andover, Minnesota. Councilmembers present: Mike Knight, Sheri Bukkila (arrived at 6:15 p.m.), Valerie Holthus and James Goodrich Councilmember absent: None Also present: City Administrator, Jim Dickinson Community Development Director, Joe Janish Public Works Director/City Engineer, David Berkowitz City Attorney, Scott Baumgartner Others DISCUSS ORDINANCE AMENDMENT TO REGULATE DRUG PARAPHERNALIA City Attorney Baumgartner explained cities are starting to develop ordinances that regulate drug paraphernalia. City Attorney Baumgartner reviewed the staff report with the Council. Mayor Trude thought they should add a paragraph about allowing items that are licensed by the State of Minnesota for medicinal purposes. She thought they should add a section for people who are legally growing, stating “This does not apply if you are licensed by the State of Minnesota to produce…” City Attorney Baumgartner stated this does not have to do with Marijuana, it has to do with paraphernalia. Mayor Trude stated they needed to make sure the City makes an exception for people who are allowed by the State to grow for medicinal purposes. City Attorney Baumgartner noted on page three under C and D, it talks about in violation of MN State Chapter 152, which has the exclusions and talks about pharmaceutical items as well. Councilmember Holthus asked if Forest Lake adopted a similar ordinance because a shop that was there was the same type of shop as the shop in Anoka and it is now closed. City Attorney Baumgartner was not sure if Forest Lake implemented an ordinance but he did know Forest Lake did implement an ordinance of some sort. He chose to go with Morehead’s’ model because it had been tested and more closely resembled the Federal model. Since the Morehead model had already been tested in court along with the Federal model they had precedent had it been challenged, which it was, that they could then fall back on the Federal model. He knew that a lot Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes – April 25, 2017 Page 2 of cities are going in the direction of an ordinance like the one in Anoka. Councilmember Bukkila arrived at 6:15 p.m. City Attorney Baumgartner stated before Anoka adopted this ordinance they reached out to all of the businesses that had items or could potentially have items and gave them a period of time to remove their inventory out before the ordinance went into effect. Mayor Trude stated sometimes gas stations have paraphernalia and wondered if they are aware of any of that going on in Andover. City Attorney Baumgartner stated he is not aware of anything in Andover at this time. The Council was in support of drafting an ordinance and sending it through the Planning and Zoning Commission for Council review and approval. Mayor Trude asked what kind of things were being prosecuted in Andover. Mr. Baumgartner stated they have been prosecuting thefts from Walmart. He reviewed some things happening in the City that he has dealt with. DISCUSS ZONING TEXT AMENDMENTS FOR RURAL RESERVE Mr. Janish explained there has been discussions going on regarding this item. He reviewed the staff report with the Council. Mr. Janish asked the Council if they wanted to keep item 13-1B-3: A4 or remove it. Mayor Trude stated this was crafted so people would not come in and flip the property. She thought that section needed to be adjusted. Mr. Janish stated he could do that. Mr. Janish reviewed the zoning text amendments with the Council. Mr. Janish stated regarding Item K: When applicable, a blanket easement stating that future roads, trails, city utilities, and future park areas may be located in this area on remnant parcel. He stated his concern with this is that this does allow the City, at a later date, to come through and put a road through the parcel and the easement would allow the City to “take the road” and put the road in and the property owner might not be compensated. Councilmember Bukkila stated that is what she is concerned with. Mr. Dickinson stated one of the things he asked is how many other cities are doing blanket type easements and Mr. Janish did not find any. Mayor Trude asked how they guarantee this will not happen. She wondered how they would solve the problem. She stated if this was platted they would be giving up their land for the roads and parks. She stated they would be giving up their land for the road because they need access for their homes. There is a community interest at stake. Mr. Janish stated what other communities are doing is they are placing a deed restriction on the property saying that it can’t be split again until urban services are provided. Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes – April 25, 2017 Page 3 There was discussion between staff and Council regarding possible ways to split 40 acres in order to allow future development. Mayor Trude asked if the easement would be over the top of the properties and not pushed to the edge of the properties. Mr. Janish stated if that is where the road would go. Discussion continued regarding future lot splits within the Rural Reserve. Councilmember Bukkila stated she had a problem with a blanket easement because wouldn’t it go on recorded documents with the land. It is one thing to structure the code to prevent any building in an area before there is a grand plan but to legally encumber the acreage with easements does not seem right. City Attorney Baumgartner stated the reason he has an issue with this is how do they come up with a legal description to record the easement. He stated they could do an easement over the entire property but at some point they will need to release a portion of that easement over which it will need to be surveyed to get the legal description. Mayor Trude thought they could release the easement at that point because it is a bargaining process. City Attorney Baumgartner stated at some point they are going to have to identify somehow what the legal description for the easement is. If they want to throw an easement over the entire parcel now before it is split they will still need to identify if they want to split the parcel. There will need to be surveying done to vacate that portion of the blanket easement. Mayor Trude asked if they could vacate the easement on the five acre parcels where the homes will go. There was further discussion regarding blanket easements. Mr. Berkowitz explained how developments go about getting plat approval with easements. He stated if the city does not grab the easement then it makes it harder to develop in the future. Mr. Janish stated the original intent of the blanket easement was to try to minimize someone from putting something in the way of future development. Councilmember Bukkila gave an example of issues people might have with using their land with a blanket easement on their land in the Rural Reserve. City Attorney Baumgartner stated the property owner could have an encroachment agreement with the City on the land. Mayor Trude stated if there was not any easement on the property then the City loses their bargaining. They are trying to bargain to protect the master plan and the landowners all bought into that. Mr. Janish stated an encroachment agreement could be done in order to allow buildings on structures with a blanket easement. Further discussion ensued between staff and the Council regarding easements and encroachment agreements. Mr. Jake Packer and Mr. John Packer, 3074 161st Avenue NW, stated they have two forty acre parcels with two buildable lots with two five acre parcels and as far as the easement goes they are not comfortable with that and did not know why they could not leave a chunk of land open. Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes – April 25, 2017 Page 4 City Attorney Baumgartner stated the problem with that is if they wanted to sell off another five acres of the forty acres the City would have no way to say they cannot do that without a blanket easement, the future development may never happen. Mr. Packer stated he understood that but it is tough for them and they felt like their hands are being tied. Mayor Trude stated they are being allowed to build on ten acres of the forty acres available. She thought they needed to have a master plan for the Rural Reserve but they want to allow families to build on part of their land. The Council, staff and the Packers reviewed possibilities that could be done on their property and in the Rural Reserve District including deed restrictions. City Attorney Baumgartner stated he would need to review language regarding deed restrictions and see how that would work. Mayor Trude asked if there was ever discussion regarding removing some land out of the Rural Reserve because of close access to City sewer and water. She wondered if they could apply some kind of process in their code that indicates it no longer makes sense. Mr. Janish stated with Atlas 14 discussion that is where a lot of the discussion is going to be. He stated all of the meetings they have been doing may not even be valid discussions when they start working on the next update because of Atlas 14 and other new rules, the Rural Reserve may not be as developable as they thought in the past. Mayor Trude thought if things were to change they could vacate easements based on new discoveries and circumstances. Mr. Berkowitz agreed. City Attorney Baumgartner stated the City wants to allow residents to do what they want with their property but the City has an obligation to the community to plan for what may happen twenty years down the road and the hard part is trying to predict what is going to happen there because there is nothing there at this time. They want to make sure they do not box in future development in the area which is the tough part. Mr. Packer wondered if the City could add some blanket language and approve items on a case by case situation. City Attorney Baumgartner stated when they put together an ordinance they should apply it universally otherwise you get discriminatory enforcement. They can look at certain things back to back but in the end, it should all come together under that ordinance and has to be applicable. They need to treat people similarly. Mr. Berkowitz thought the best solution would be to have a blanket easement with an encroachment agreement. Mr. Dickinson stated they could look at a floating easement with an encroachment agreement if they want a particular use of the easement area. He stated the easement could move within the property so it is not specified. City Attorney Baumgartner stated they would not need an encroachment agreement unless or until they want to put something on the land that would encroach into the easement. Councilmember Bukkila indicated she was not a fan of this plan. Councilmember Goodrich Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes – April 25, 2017 Page 5 agreed and stated he needed more information and history before making a decision. Mr. Dickinson stated staff will get some examples of deed restrictions and bring that back to the Council for further discussion. Mr. Janish stated they could allow a change to the language in the ordinance, remove the splitting of property additionally each year and place either an easement or some sort of restriction over the remnant parcel so they get a one-time split in the Rural Reserve and then try to sort it out as part of their Comprehensive Plan update because they may come back and change the entire area again once they find out how Atlas 14 will affect this area. He noted he would work with the City Attorney on language. Councilmember Holthus asked if this would allow the Packer family to build. Mr. Janish stated it should. It would restrict the remnant piece unless the entire parcel is sold and they want to plan a development. Mayor Trude, Councilmembers Holthus and Knight were in favor of moving this forward. Mr. Packer thought they may be willing to allow the easement but he wondered what they are giving up to do that. Mr. Baumgartner stated they are allowing the City the opportunity to place the road and easement in there at some point when the entire property becomes developable. Mayor Trude stated she would like to see three goals: 1. Allow the Packers to build, 2. Continue on the path they started with the Met Council approvals that are permitted and 3. Make sure there is room for things to happen in the future that are not going to be impeded by today’s actions. Mr. Janish stated as a part of the Comprehensive Plan update, it is going to determine what is going to happen in this area. Mr. Berkowitz noted after the update with Atlas 14 staff may even come back to the Council looking for a vacation of the easement they put on the property. Councilmember Bukkila indicated she wanted more information before making a final decision. Councilmember Goodrich agreed. Councilmember Bukkila stated even if Mr. Packer is willing to agree to this easement she acknowledges there are other property owners who have interest as well and she is trying to protect them as well. Mayor Trude stated the entire Rural Reserve is restricted at this point. Councilmember Bukkila noted the property owners can still use the land. Mayor Trude stated if they move towards the plan that was started two months ago the property owners will have more rights than they do now. Councilmember Bukkila stated right now the property owners can build an accessory building on their property but if there were an easement placed on the property then according to the code they could not build at all on the easement. She stated she would prefer a method that would not include encroachment so that a property owner could have full use of their land. She would like staff to look to see if there are alternative options. Mr. Dickinson stated they will look for the deed restriction component. He noted an easement is Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes – April 25, 2017 Page 6 a form of a deed restriction. City Attorney Baumgartner stated an easement is an interest in property, a deed restriction is only as good as whoever holds that deed, that is the problem he has with it. Mr. Dickinson stated they need to look at what the County recorder will accept. For the most part Counties will not record those things unless it is signed off by the municipalities and that is really where the City wants to get to. City Attorney Baumgartner stated that is what he wants to see. Mayor Trude asked when the City went to the Met Council and asked to move down this path, what was on their list that the City had to do. Mr. Janish stated it is a deed restriction of some manner to prevent the density and preserve that future development possibility. Mr. Packer stated they do not necessarily want the easement, if there is another way to do it that would be the way they would want to go but if it ends up that it is the only way to get it done then they may need to go along with it. He asked for a status update on the Comprehensive Plan amendment. Mr. Janish stated he has not heard from the Met Council yet. He reviewed the process with Mr. Packer and the Council. Mr. Packer stated they are looking to move forward with building as soon as possible. Staff reviewed a possible timeline of actions that need to occur before building can happen. Mr. Dickinson stated they need to figure out Item K in the staff report that talks about blanket easements on the property. Councilmember Goodrich stated he did not want to hold the Packers back from building if the only issue is Item K. Mr. Dickinson stated he would talk to the Packers and help them to work out a timeframe to build. DISCUSS STORAGE UNITS (PODS) IN CITY PARKS & RESIDENTIAL DISTRICTS Mr. Berkowitz explained the City Council is requested to discuss portable storage containers, often referred to as PODS, in City parks and residential districts. Mr. Berkowitz reviewed the staff report. Mr. Berkowitz asked if the Council supported permanent PODS in the City. Council consensus was not to allow them. Mr. Berkowitz asked if the City Council supported a timeframe for the athletic associations to get rid of their current PODS. Councilmember Holthus understood why they need them. Mr. Berkowitz stated staff discussed giving them three to five years to get rid of the PODS. Mayor Trude disagreed and stated five years was a long time for them to find alternative storage. She thought a shed looked better than PODS. Mr. Berkowitz stated it is up to the Council to decide what a reasonable timeframe is for the associations to raise funds to build a structure for storage. Councilmember Bukkila stated her issue is the burden on one association for multiple structures. Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes – April 25, 2017 Page 7 If it was only one park and one organization she would agree to three years but if one organization had something in two or more parks then she would be more sympathetic to a longer timeframe to plan out multiple structures. Mr. Berkowitz reviewed where the PODS are located at. He noted the Andover Baseball Association wants to move a POD from the high school to Sunshine Park and thought the City Council would not be in favor of that. The Council agreed. Mr. Berkowitz stated the Andover Football Association has one at Prairie Knoll Park during the season. He stated they could have multiple associations put their resources together and build one structure at the parks. Councilmember Holthus thought the associations need to clean out the buildings and see what their needs are. Mr. Berkowitz stated they would need to have a structure at each park to house the equipment needed for that park so he thought the Council should give them enough time to figure out what their full needs are and how they can do it efficiently so they can raise money, design and build a structure so it works for them for a long time. Councilmember Bukkila thought the associations should be given twelve months to make a plan and tell the Council what they would like to see before a decision is made by the Council. She stated she wanted the associations to react and not put it off. Councilmember Knight asked if some of the items being stored at the parks was City owned. Mr. Berkowitz stated the associations are now buying their own equipment to use at the parks so the City does not have any equipment that is stored. Mayor Trude stated that takes a big load off of the City, she wondered if there was a way to find a way to build some little sheds with money from their reserves to store equipment so the parks look better. Mr. Berkowitz stated he would need to go to the Park and Recreation Commission to see how they would weigh in on a recommendation for that. Councilmember Goodrich asked if they could screen the PODS with some sort of nice fencing so they cannot be seen. Mayor Trude stated she liked that idea. Councilmember Bukkila stated she is not ready to put a drop-dead date on this, she would like to get some feedback from the associations on what they propose. Councilmember Holthus suggested staff go look at the buildings and see what the associations have in them to see how space can be better utilized. Mr. Berkowitz asked if there was support for the associations to come back after twelve months with a storage plan. Council agreed. Mayor Trude suggested staff work with the associations on getting a plan together. Mr. Berkowitz asked if the Council was in favor of using park dedication money to fund the storage. Mayor Trude stated she is in favor of doing this. The rest of the Council is against. Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes – April 25, 2017 Page 8 The Council is not in favor of permanent PODS in residential use. The Council is in favor of temporary PODS in residential use. Councilmember Bukkila stated she would be in favor of temporary storage if there is an open construction permit. Mr. Dickinson noted construction permits could be open for years. Councilmember Goodrich asked what other cities do. Mr. Dickinson stated most do not allow them at all or for only ninety days. Mayor Trude thought they should start with ninety days. Mr. Berkowitz stated if allowed there would need to be an ordinance change because they currently do not allow anything like that in the City. He stated staff will work on language change and bring it back for Council review. Councilmember Bukkila stated there needed to be some language stipulating ninety days in total so it does not disappear for one day and then come back again for another ninety days. Mr. Berkowitz noted there are not any restrictions on five acres or more. The majority of the Council did not have an issue with that. Mayor Trude is not sure if she wanted that because then the property owner can have as many of them as they want and then it starts to look bad. Mr. Janish thought there needed to be some type of screening on those sites. Mayor Trude stated she did not support allowing them on five acres or more. CLOCKTOWER COMMONS AMENDMENT Mr. Janish stated this is in regard to the Clocktower Commons PUD amendment. He passed out a building design and stated the new building they are proposing is mostly rock face block and he is requesting the Council review the building façade and indicate any changes that should be made to the building. Mr. Dickinson stated according to the PUD all the buildings need to look alike in appearance. The City Council thought the new building façade looked better than some of the existing buildings. They thought maybe there could be the same style of roofing or closer looking brick to the color in the design of the existing buildings. 2018 BUDGET DEVELOPMENT DISCUSSION Mr. Dickinson reviewed the staff report. 2017 BUDGET PROGRESS REPORTS Mr. Dickinson reviewed the staff report. 2017 CITY INVESTMENTS REVIEW Mr. Dickinson reviewed the staff report. Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes – April 25, 2017 Page 9 OTHER TOPICS: TRAFFIC REDIRECTION FROM BUNKER LAKE BOULEVARD Mayor Trude stated she has had voicemails and emails regarding Bunker Lake Boulevard. A resident is even wondered if they could close down Butternut Street during the construction because of excessive traffic going into residential areas. Councilmember Bukkila stated the same thing happened with the Hanson Boulevard construction and they have to just put up with it. Mayor Trude told the resident to contact the County and see what they could do about it. Mr. Dickinson stated what staff has done is talk to the contractor, showed them the routes and told them they cannot take their trucks through the residential area. The Council indicated they would not consider closing Butternut Street. Mr. Dickinson stated the road needs to remain open for emergency services. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Bukkila, Seconded by Knight, to adjourn. Motion carried unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 8:45 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Sue Osbeck, Recording Secretary TimeSaver Off Site Secretarial, Inc.