Legislative and Ordinance Committee

CITY OF MARSHALL LEGISLATIVE AND ORDINANCE COMMITTEE MINUTES Tuesday, April 04, 2023 MEMBERS PRESENT: See Moua-Leske (via zoom), James Lozinski, and Steve Meister (via zoom) MEMBERS ABSENT: None STAFF PRESENT: Sharon Hanson, City Administrator; Jason Anderson, Director of Public Works/ City Engineer; Ilya Gutman, Plans Examiner; Amanda Beckler, Community Education Coordinator; and Steven Anderson, City Clerk. At 12:47 PM Pro-tem Chair Lozinski called the meeting to order. Moua-Leske nominated Lozinski to be chair for the Legislative and Ordinance Committee. Motion made by Moua-Leske Seconded by Lozinski to appoint Lozinski as chair. All voted in favor. Approval of Agenda City Clerk Anderson requested that an additional item for the Adult Community Center be added to the agenda. Consider Approval of the Minutes There were no changes to the minutes from November 22, 2022. Motion made by Moua-Leske Seconded by Lozinski to approve the minutes. All voted in favor. Consider Amendment to Sec. 74-122 Regarding Snow Emergency Declaration Staff recommended the emergency declaration take effect at midnight, the day it is announced instead of noon during the following day. Current ordinance language doesn’t coincide with the timeframe when plows need to go out in the morning. Moua-Leske questioned how the process would work with the police department for towing when a snow emergency is declared. Jason explained the process of how Public Works and the Police Department work together to ensure enough notice is given in a reasonable amount of time and staffing needed to work through the snow emergency. Motion made by Moua-Leske Seconded by Meister to recommend the amendment be brough to city council. All voted in favor. 86-230 Required Number of Spaces A request was made to Public Works that significantly exceeded current parking requirements. After analyzing the request staff recommended to remove the limit to the maximum number of spaces to let businesses be more in control of their parking by removing the last sentence in Section 86-230 “The number of provided parking spaces shall not exceed the minimum number by more than ten percent.” Moua-Leske asked how the change would affect apartment complexes that already have a set number of parking spaces. Jason explained the change recommendation was for future construction and to work in conjunction with the rental ordinance. The change would not be applicable to single- family homes as it is currently written. A question was brought up about vehicles being parked in yards. Gutman said that it was already prohibited in ordinance. Motion made by Moua-Leske Seconded by Meister to recommend the amendments be brought to city council. All voted in favor. 86-247 Landscaping Ilya explained the change was being made to go hand in hand with the pollinator ordinance that was approved January 2023. Lozinski asked if “Pollinator Garden” was defined within the ordinance. Ilya provided a copy Attorney Whitmore drafted to define pollinator garden that has not been implemented yet. Discussion amongst members ensued regarding setback distances and public right of way for a pollinator garden. Meister brought up the idea of a pollinator permit that  Legislative and Ordinance Committee April 04, 2023 Minutes Page 2 of 2 was sanctioned by the city to show a particular lawn is exempted from mowing. Moua-Leske inquired about allergies and stings from near-by properties. Motion made by Meister Seconded by Moua-Leske to have staff further review the landscaping ordinance and bring the changes back to the Legislative & Ordinance Committee. All voted in favor. 86-248 Outside Storage This section was amended several years ago to allow a single shipping container in a general business district as an interim use permit. This change was a result of a specific request, since prior to that shipping containers were not permitted in business districts. However, after some conversations – internal and external – staff concluded that a limitation of just one shipping container may be relaxed because the ordinance requires a fencing around to mask them from public right of way anyway also allows open storage behind fences. The proposed change will limit the total area of containers rather than the number of them, with suggested number being an equivalent of three 40’ x 8’ containers; a limitation of the area as a percentage of the building area on site will allow avoiding multiple containers placed next to smaller buildings, which would look disproportionate. This will also encourage owners to build an addition if a larger storage area is desired. Additionally, the change will allow storage units other than standard shipping containers, again, due to the reason they will be fenced off anyway and will not be visible. Ilya clarified that storage containers are still prohibited in residential areas. Motion made by Moua-Leske Seconded by Meister to recommend amendments be brought to city council. All voted in favor. Adult Community Center Commission Amendments Clerk Anderson introduced amendments that clarified and added language that falls in line with how the adult community center currently functions. The main change involves the appointment process with the commission. Currently the Marshall Area Senior Citizens (MASC) has two board members that apply to the commission each year with a three year term. However, each year the board members may change, and two new members need to apply to the commission and go through the appointment process. The changes will help streamline the process for the commission and MASC while keeping 4 positions at-large and unchanged. Motion made by Meister Seconded by Moua-Leske to recommend amendments be brought to city council. All voted in favor. At 1:41 PM Motion by Mesiter Seconded Moua-Leske to adjourn the meeting. All voted in favor. Respectfully Submitted, Steven Anderson City Clerk