City Council

ANDOVER CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP MEETING FEBRUARY 22, 2022 MINUTES The Workshop Meeting of the Andover City Council was called to order by Mayor Sheri Bukkila, February 22, 2022 at 6:00 p.m., at the Andover City Hall, 1685 Crosstown Boulevard NW, Andover, Minnesota. Councilmembers present: Valerie Holthus, Jamie Barthel, Ted Butler, and Randy Nelson Councilmembers absent: None Also present: City Administrator, Jim Dickinson City Engineer/Public Works Director, David Berkowitz Community Development Director, Joe Janish Associate Planner, Jake Griffiths Others DISCUSS CITY CODE UPDATES TO TITLE 12: ZONING REGULATIONS The City Council is requested to discuss updates to City Code Title 12: Zoning Regulations to correct discrepancies between City Code and the Comprehensive Plan. New Zoning Districts and Minimum District Requirements Mr. Griffiths explained new zoning districts are needed to correspond to the new land use districts created in the Comprehensive Plan. He stated staff are proposing modifying R-5, M-1, and M-2 zoning districts and creating an M-3 district. He proposed eliminating LB-Limited Business, and GR-General Recreation districts. Mr. Griffiths stated the Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval of these changes. Councilmember Barthel asked if changing the zoning district for the property on Crosstown Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes – February 22, 2022 Page 2 Boulevard and Bunker Lake Boulevard would change anything for the property owner. Mr. Griffiths stated the rezoning of the property would be less restrictive than it is currently. Councilmember Butler asked what zoning district Sunshine Park would be. Mr. Griffiths stated it would be rezoned to residential, similar to the City Hall Complex, which is zoned R-4. Mayor Bukkila asked why the minimum lot width is 52 feet in R-5. Mr. Griffiths stated staff looked at the PUDs that the City has approved and the average lot width for detached townhomes is around 52 feet. Mayor Bukkila wanted to ensure that the PUD process would still be followed and not bypassed because the City has a new standard. Councilmember Holthus stated she is happy to eliminate the LB zoning district for the property at Bunker Lake Boulevard and Crosstown Boulevard. Landscaping of Nonresidential Properties Mr. Griffiths proposed reducing the minimum landscaping standards for commercial/industrial properties due to plant overcrowding and the need to remove landscaping after a few years. He stated the Planning and Zoning Commission supported this change. Councilmember Butler asked what other cities had for landscaping requirements. Mr. Janish stated Blaine and Coon Rapids requirements are around what staff is proposing. Councilmember Butler stated he would like to require more landscaping than Coon Rapids. Mr. Janish stated under the current code, half of the material generally had to be removed due to overgrowth. Councilmember Butler asked if it was poor landscaping plans that are leading to the overcrowding. Mayor Bukkila stated she would like to allow flexibility. Mayor Bukkila suggests language to deviate from the current Code. Mr. Janish stated Code calls out the minimum requirement only. Councilmember Butler stated he is concerned the proposal is too sparse. He doesn’t support changing the number of shrubs planted, but supports the reduction in the number of trees. Mr. Berkowitz stated the issue arises when there are only two sides of a property that can be landscaped, and the plants/trees are crammed too close on the remaining locations. Mayor Bukkila suggested placing language about landscaping “not being in public view”. Mr. Griffiths stated many developers are placing landscaping where it isn’t seen by the public in order to fulfill the requirements. Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes – February 22, 2022 Page 3 Councilmember Holthus stated landscaping provides an aesthetic that is pleasing. She would hate to have concrete parking lots without landscaping. Mr. Janish suggested reducing the tree requirement to 1 for every 75 feet. Mr. Dickinson suggested adding language that allowances are provided for non-viewable areas. Councilmember Butler stated the purpose is to create an aesthetic when the buildings go in. Mr. Dickinson suggested language to unviewable areas and sensitive to buffering neighboring properties. Staff will redraft language and bring it to Council for further review. Parking Stall Standards Mr. Griffiths stated staff get the most comments from developers for the size of the City’s parking stalls. He noted that most cities have 9 feet width as the standard width. The Planning and Zoning Commission supported this change to 9 feet from the current 10 feet width. Mayor Bukkila stated she receives positive comments about the wider parking stalls. Councilmember Barthel stated he is against changing the width of the stalls because it makes Andover unique and allows for bigger vehicles. Councilmember Holthus asked what happens to a business that has 9-foot parking stalls when Code requires 10 feet. Mr. Griffiths stated he is not aware of any businesses with 9-foot stalls. Mr. Berkowitz stated some have been grandfathered in and were approved at 9 feet years ago. The Council reached consensus to keep the parking stall width at 10 feet. DISCUSS VACATIONS OF RIGHTS-OF-WAY/ROAD EASEMENTS The City Council is requested to discuss two requests for vacation of right-of-way. Mr. Janish identified the location of the first property, 4519 175th Avenue. The resident wants to add on to the garage and would encroach the City’s right-of-way (ROW). If the City were to vacate the right-of-way, the ROW would be split in half and allocated to the neighboring properties. Mr. Janish stated the splitting of the ROW creates an issue where the driveway of the south lot is on the property of the north lot. He suggested having an access agreement to allow the driveway to Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes – February 22, 2022 Page 4 remain. Mr. Berkowitz stated the cost of surveying and legal documents is on the property owner. The Council reached consensus to proceed with the vacation of ROW, but that there needs to be mutual agreement of the two properties impacted. Mr. Janish identified the location of the second property at 28 173rd Lane. He stated the City has a 33-foot road easement which was intended for the extension of University Avenue, which no longer is in the plan. The landowner, Mr. Johnson, approached two other properties to see if they were interested in vacation of their easements and one was in favor, the other was not. Mr. Janish stated vacating the easement may be premature since they do not know the future development of the area. Mayor Bukkila stated this has the potential to cause harm to a property owner and she is not willing to do it. Councilmember Barthel stated if all three parties were interested and paid for it, he would support it. He said all three are not interested, so he does not support it. Mr. Berkowitz stated keeping the easement will allow for future development with the City of Ham Lake. The Council reached consensus to keep the 33-foot easement. DISCUSS PRESERVE/OPEN SPASCE/PARKS USE AND MAINTENANCE The City Council is requested to discuss the use and maintenance of preserve properties and passive park properties. Mr. Berkowitz reviewed the City’s maintenance of the preserves and passive parks. Councilmember Holthus requested the east boundary of Dahlske Woodlands be better delineated by signage. She requested a sign pointing to the entrance of Dahlske Woodlands. Councilmember Holthus stated the split rail fence is broken at Martins Meadows. Councilmember Butler requested to change the name of the Open Space Commission to the Nature Preserve Commission. The Council reached consensus to change the name. Councilmember Butler requested the passive parks be shifted from the Park and Recreation Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes – February 22, 2022 Page 5 Commission to the Nature Preserve Commission. Mayor Bukkila suggested the Nature Preserve Commission review the passive parks and see if they have an interest in getting involved. Mr. Berkowitz suggested approaching the Park and Recreation Commission and asking if they would like to get the Nature Preserve Commission involved in evaluating the natural amenities of the passive parks. Mayor Bukkila recommended staff approach the Nature Preserve Commission first to see if there is interest and then take the request to the Park and Recreation Commission, the Council agreed. UPDATE ON RED OAKS NEIGHBORHOOD PRIVATE WELL INVESTIGATION/21-49 The City Council is requested to receive an update on the status of the feasibility report for water main improvements southwest of the WDE Landfill. Mr. Berkowitz explained the MPCA has identified a mitigation area and staff would like the area to be larger. The MPCA is only required to address households that are at 75% or greater of health-based guidance. He asked Council for their comments on expanding the mitigation area. Mr. Dickinson stated the MPCA has expanded their testing area. Mr. Dickinson stated the Governor has $12 million in his infrastructure proposal for this project and the MPCA is proposing half of that cost at this point. The City Council recommended that staff advocate strongly to expand the mitigation area. DISCUSS EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT TRAINING AND OUTLOOK Mr. Dickinson provided an update on emergency management training. He stated staff are attending training and the Council will be trained on March 22, 2022 at 6:00 p.m. at Fire Station 1. Mayor Bukkila suggested adding risk assessment on City facilities through the Department of Homeland Security. She stated their services are free and the results can be brought to Council to set priorities. PRE-AUDIT DECMBER 2021/JANUARY 2022 COMMUNITY CENTER UPDATE Mr. Dickinson presented the Andover Community Center update as written in the staff report. PRE-AUDIT DECEMBER 2021 GENERAL FUND BUDGET PROGRESS REPORT Andover City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes – February 22, 2022 Page 6 Mr. Dickinson presented the December 2021 General Fund budget as written in the staff report. He stated there will be an opportunity to transfer some funds during the 2023 budget process. JANUARY 2022 GENERAL FUND BUDGET PROGRESS REPORT Mr. Dickinson presented the January 2022 General Fund budget as written in the staff report. He stated the budget is on track as expected. OTHER ITEMS Redistricting and Polling Locations Mr. Dickinson displayed a map showing the new boundaries of Andover’s legislative districts and the current precincts. He stated Precincts 1 and 6 will have two ballots no matter what due to St. Francis School District boundary. He reviewed the proposed new precinct boundaries and adjusted populations. Mr. Dickinson stated the Council will need to approve the new precincts and send them to the County. The Council reached consensus to proceed with the precincts as proposed by staff. Mr. Dickinson stated formal approval will take place at the March 1st Council meeting. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Barthel, Seconded by Nelson, to adjourn the meeting at 8:13 p.m. Motion carried unanimously. Respectfully submitted, Shari Kunza, Recording Secretary TimeSaver Off Site Secretarial, Inc.