City Council

ANDOVER CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP MEETING – NOVEMBER 19 , 2019 MINUTES The Workshop Meeting of the Andover City Council was called to order by Mayor Julie Trude, November 19, 2019 8:00 p.m., at the Andover City Hall, 1685 Crosstown Boulevard NW, Andover, Minnesota. Councilmembers present: Sheri Bukkila, Mike Knight, and Valerie Holthus Councilmember absent: Jamie Barthel Also present: City Administrator, Jim Dickinson Community Development Director, Joe Janish Others 2040 COMPREHENSIVE PLAN UPDATE DISCUSSION (Continued from November 12, 2019) Mr. Janish gave background information regarding the Comprehensive Plan submitted to the Met Council. The Met Council requires 3 units per acre for land within the MUSA line and the past few workshops have been focused on zoning land at various densities to reach the Met Council requirements. Mr. Janish stated the consensus the Council reached at the November 12th Workshop exceeded the 3 units per acre requirement. Mr. Janish explained that Council can adjust the densities to get closer to 3 units per acre rather than exceeding it. Mr. Janish explained that any area zoned 8 units per acre or higher is deemed to be affordable housing, however, does not have to be built as affordable housing. Mr. Janish reviewed the categories for Council discussion: Designations Min. Units Max. Units Urban Res. Low (URL, R4) 2.2 4 Urban Res. Medium Low (URML, Ml) 4 8 Urban Res. Medium (URM, M2) 8 12 Urban Res. High Low (URHL, H1) 12 20 Urban Res. High (URH, H2) 20 25 Councilmember Bukkila stated she would like to reevaluate the Crosstown and Bunker Lake Boulevard area. Councilmember Bukkila stated she would like to see the entire area (11.5 acres) be URM, M2 at 8-12 units per acre. Councilmember Holthus discussed zoning the entire 11.5 acres as URHL at 12-20 units per acre. Mayor Trude concurred. Councilmember Bukkila stated she preferred to not build an apartment building unless the City had to. Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes – November 19, 2019 Page 2 Councilmember Holthus inquired about the property at Round Lake Boulevard and asked if the zoning of the area made sense. Mayor Trude asked if the entire area could go URML (4-8 units per acre). Mr. Dickinson stated it currently met the criteria for affordable housing and if Council dropped it below 8 units per acre, it would not qualify as part of the affordable housing computation. Mr. Janish reviewed the adjusted density number as a result of the two changes which resulted in Council being very close to the Met Council requirements. Councilmember Bukkila stated the 11.5 acres at Crosstown Boulevard is designated at too high of a density and would result in an apartment building size which she is not in favor of. Mayor Trude stated the City can bring it to URHL. Councilmember Holthus asked if it were zoned at URM (8-12 units per acre), would the City have anyone interested in developing it. Mr. Dickinson stated eventually the City would find an interested developer. Mr. Dickinson stated a zoning of URM (8-12 units per acre) could result in four-plex structures being built which currently are very valuable. Councilmember Holthus asked if zoning it URM would still qualify as affordable. Mr. Janish responded yes. Mayor Trude discussed the desire of the EDA in getting rid of the older, less desirable apartment buildings in Andover and replacing with something new. Councilmember Bukkila stated there is concern from residents about a large apartment building. Mayor Trude stated it was the size of the building that concerned residents. Mayor Trude explained Grey Oaks had residents renting in that area because there weren’t any other options. She stated at that time, the City expressed a desire for a nice market rate apartment building for residents in transition. Mr. Dickinson explained a developer who may want to build higher density housing than what the area is zoned for, could apply for a Comprehensive Plan Amendment and go through a public notification process with their proposal. Councilmember Holthus stated nothing would happen on the Crosstown Boulevard property until the owners wanted to sell and the City could see no change in that area for a very long time. Councilmember Bukkila expressed concern that if the City makes the property attractive to a large apartment builder, the City will get offers. Mayor Trude noted Andover will not allow large apartment complexes to come in at 50 units per acre. Mayor Trude stated a 70-unit building is a three-story complex like Arbor Oaks. Mr. Janish reviewed the discussion with Council and stated the changes he had in his notes including 11.5 acres at Crosstown and Bunker area at 12-20 units per acre. Councilmember Bukkila asked if the 6.5 acres located on Crosstown and Bunker could be zoned at URM instead of URHL. Mr. Janish reviewed the numbers and stated that change would bring Andover short of the Met Council limit. Adjustments to other areas were made to change the 6.5 acres to URM. Mayor Trude asked if the sliding hill next to the ballparks could be zoned URM. Mr. Dickinson stated it was possible and development would be many years in the future. Council gave verbal approval to staff to move forward with further work on the Comprehensive Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes – November 19, 2019 Page 3 Plan based on direction given regarding the density ranges and location changes reached at this meeting. Councilmember Bukkila disagreed with the majority of the Council. 2019 BUDGET PROGRESS REPORTS Mr. Dickinson presented the 2019 Budget Progress Report stating the City is on target to meet 2019 budget expectations. Mr. Dickinson stated revenue projections are over budget around 3% due to the increase number of building permits. Mr. Dickinson pointed out snow and ice removal will more than likely be over budget, however, will be offset by other areas of the street budget being under budget. Mr. Dickinson reported it is likely the City will not need to use any reserve dollars in 2019 for snow and ice removal. 2019 CITY INVESTMENTS REVIEW Mr. Dickinson reviewed the investments report, explaining the Public Works and Community Center improvements. Mr. Dickinson stated the City has a small amount invested in more than ten years because the return on longer term investments is not much different than short term investments. OTHER BUSINESS Mr. Janish presented photos of developments that represented densities to give Council and the public a visual of what certain densities would look like. Staff has submitted some of these photos to the Met Council. Mr. Janish stated there are homeowners who would like to install solar panels on their property. He explained the City’s ordinance that limits ground installed solar panels to 400 square and only allowed in R-1 districts. The installation corporation would like the City to amend the code to allow for more square footage of solar panels. Mr. Dickinson stated the square footage needs to be increased to make it viable for a homeowners and installation companies. Councilmember Bukkila stated she is open to looking at a proposal from staff to amend the code. Mayor Trude stated the ordinance is strict and at the time it was adopted, there wasn’t a large demand for solar panels. She stated she is open to reviewing the ordinance as well with a focus on aesthetics, screening and glare. Staff will bring forward options for an ordinance update. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Bukkila, Seconded by Holthus, to adjourn. Motion carried unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 8:55 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Shari Kunza, Recording Secretary