City Council Workshop

10801 Town Square Dr. City of Blaine Blaine MN 55449 Anoka County, Minnesota Minutes - Final City Council Workshop *While this is a public meeting where interested persons are welcome to attend, it is a work session for Council and staff to discuss issues before them. It is not for the purpose of receiving public input. Thursday, May 1, 2014 6:30 PM Cloverleaf Farm Room A Meeting Number 14-24 NOTICE OF WORKSHOP MEETING 1 Call to Order The meeting was called to order by Mayor Ryan at 6:30 p.m. 2 Roll Call Quorum Present. ALSO PRESENT: Clark Arneson, City Manager, Patrick Sweeney, City Attorney; Bryan Schafer, Planning and Community Development Director; Bob Therres, Public Services Manager; Joe Huss, Finance Director; Chris Olson, Police Chief/Safety Services Manager; Roark Haver, Communications Technician; Al Thorp, Senior Engineering Technician; Jane Cross, City Clerk; and Recording Secretary Linda Dahlquist. Present: 6 - Mayor Ryan, Councilmember Hovland, Councilmember Clark, Councilmember Bourke, Councilmember Kolb, and Councilmember Herbst Absent: 1 - Councilmember Swanson 3 New Business City of Blaine Page 1 City Council Workshop Minutes - Final May 1, 2014 3-1 14-1603 EMBERWOOD APARTMENTS PROPOSAL Sponsors: Schafer Attachments: Emberwood Apts - Map Emberwood Apartment Proposal.pdf Planning and Community Development Director Schafer stated the City received an application from Kason, Inc. for a 141-unit apartment development at the northwest corner of 125th and Highway 65. He stated the 141 units would be built as three smaller buildings over a multi-year timeframe. He stated the use requires a comprehensive plan amendment and a rezoning for a portion of the site before a CUP under DF zoning is considered. He noted that staff has raised questions about the project and suggested the applicant withdraw their application to redesign the project to meet the City’s expectations for the DF zoning and the site. Edward Kaeding, Kason, Inc., stated that he has built a similar development in Forest Lake. He gave an overview of the finishes used in North Bay Luxury Townhomes and compared them to the Mill Pond II Apartments. He noted the units will have two bathrooms, open kitchen concept with living room, internet, security, 1.2 parking stalls per unit, business center and community room. He stated the development will have a playground and park. He commented that the former proposed development’s plat had six buildings with 166 units and that his proposed project is three buildings with 141 units. He stated the buildings will have 100 feet of green space as a buffer from the homes behind the development. Councilmember Clark asked about rent rates. Edward Kaeding replied he looks at the market rate in Blaine and thinks the rate would be between $1,100-$1,400 with a target of $1,200-1,300. Councilmember Clark asked for the square footage comparison from the new development by Foley. Planning and Community Development Director Schafer replied the footage is the same. Councilmember Bourke asked about the amount of parking. Edward Kaeding replied each unit will have 1.2 underground parking stalls and outside parking one stall per unit plus guest parking. Councilmember Kolb stated the corner will not withstand that many vehicles from the new development. She also noted that the current residents will not like having the building tower over their homes. Mayor Ryan stated that road has a blind corner and it is especially bad on the north end. City of Blaine Page 2 City Council Workshop Minutes - Final May 1, 2014 Councilmember Kolb stated the former proposed Granite Gardens was not built because the Council did not approve the proposed design. She commented that back road is not safe. Mayor Ryan commented the road needs work and the church owns the property that would be needed to make the road safer. Mayor Ryan asked if the north building would be built first. Edward Kaeding replied yes and then the other buildings would be built in the following years. Councilmember Bourke asked if there will be enough parking. Planning and Community Development Director Schafer replied parking is not an issue. Councilmember Clark clarified that the parking is adequate. He stated that the underground parking will be an additional fee and ask if there will be enough surface parking. Edward Kaeding replied only one car per unit is allowed to park outside. Planning and Community Development Director Schafer stated the rent should include the underground parking; otherwise if the underground parking is not utilized by each unit, the surface parking may run out. City Manager Arneson commented the other project that was approved by Council last week: a two bedroom is $1,493 with 1,100 square feet, a one bedroom is $1,150, and a three bedroom is $1,707 with 1,383 square feet. Michael Kaeding stated the road could handle the capacity. Councilmember Kolb replied the road’s capacity is different in the turns. Councilmember Clark asked about density for townhomes. Planning and Community Development Director Schafer replied the density is greater for townhomes. Councilmember Bourke asked about zoning. Planning and Community Development Director Schafer replied it is guided as high density because of a previous project. Councilmember Bourke asked how the parking is regulated. Michael Kaeding stated residents will receive parking tags. He stated the development will have plenty of guest parking. Councilmember Hovland asked about the construction phases. Edward Kaeding replied one building would be built per year. Mayor Ryan asked about the exterior architecture. Schafer replied the materials and design would meet the City’s standards. He noted that the City of Blaine Page 3 City Council Workshop Minutes - Final May 1, 2014 interior finishes need to be upgraded. He commented rents were lower when first discussed. Schafer stated staff has suggested two buildings instead of three. He commented the major concern is the quality of the project. Councilmember Hovland asked where the City stands with affordable housing. Planning and Community Development Director Schafer replied the percentage has not changed and remains low. Councilmember Clark asked when the zoning was established. Planning and Community Development Director Schafer replied a project was proposed in 2003 where the land use and zoning was changed. Councilmember Clark commented the City needs to do something with the road design. Mayor Ryan asked if Emberwood could build two buildings instead of three. Edward Kaeding replied he is open to looking at building two buildings instead of three. Councilmember Kolb asked if the City can buy some easement and improve the road. City Manager Arneson replied the road needs to be flattened and the land clipped. Councilmember Bourke asked about leaving the commercial area as is. Planning and Community Development Director Schafer replied the development would lose 20-25 units. Councilmember Bourke asked about water runoff. Planning and Community Development Director Schafer replied the Water Shed has reviewed the plan and the plan is acceptable. Mayor Ryan stated the road has to be fixed and it is the City’s responsibility. He commented that the residents will not like the building being built in phases. He stated this development would be a good use for the land. Planning and Community Development Director Schafer stated the road alignment and the two 90 degree turns are issues. Planning and Community Development Director Schafer summarized that there is an issue with the commercial area, the developer to build two buildings instead of three, and the City to redesign the road. Councilmember Clark stated he does not want a five-year build out. City of Blaine Page 4 City Council Workshop Minutes - Final May 1, 2014 Other Business Council discussion on the Highway 65 improvement is projected out to 25 years for Blaine. ADJOURN The Workshop adjourned at 7:30 p.m. City of Blaine Page 5