HomeMy WebLinkAbout2003-03-20 Council Minutes
CITY OF CORCORAN
SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING
MARCH 20, 2003
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The City Council met in special session on March 20, 2003 at City Hall in
Corcoran, Minnesota. Present were Councilors Bucher, Gageby, Guenthner,
Lymangood and Thomas. Also present were Administrator Vergin, Engineer
Vander Top, Sherri Buss with Bonestroo and Planners Lindahl and Janssen.
Mayor Guenthner called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m., followed by the Pledge
of Allegiance to the flag.
MOTION by Bucher, seconded by Thomas and carried unanimously to approve
the agenda, with the addition of “Assessment of Meeting” prior to adjournment.
Planner Lindahl summarized the intent of the agenda, identifying that the City has
identified the scope of duties to be completed and now the schedule and process
by which to complete those needs to be identified.
With discussion by Council the following was agreed upon:
• Meetings will be held in the civic center in a workshop type setting.
• Three planning commissioners will be designated to participate in the process.
• Public input will be taken after discussion is completed on each main topic on
the special meeting agenda, this will be done at the discretion of the Mayor.
Reviewed the upcoming meeting schedule and the topics that will be on the
agenda for each of those meetings.
Agreed by consensus to change the first open house meeting to May 19th.
Requested that Lindahl provide the Planning and Zoning Discretion Pyramid at
the next meeting.
For future consideration the council may wish to reconsider holding the open
house currently scheduled for September 23 to a Saturday to allow more time for
discussion, as this open house will include the NRI and area plans.
The council informed Planner Lindahl that they want directness and guidance at
meetings, meetings need to be structured. Drafts of materials should be provided
to the council as early as possible to allow ample time for review.
Lindahl provided a draft table of contents of the zoning ordinance as a sample to
show how the completed draft will appear.
Reviewed a table identifying land use, land density and zoning classifications.
This is a sample of what the council will be considering. How many zoning
classifications the council wishes will be entirely up to them. Suggested that a
“holding zone” be considered in some areas, where infrastructure services are
anticipated. This will allow the underlying zone to be retained until those services
become available, then rezoning would occur.
Focus on preserving the rural character, the natural resources and infrastructure.
How will those three impact development? Analyze the architectural design and
standards.
Call to Order
Roll Call
Approval of Agenda
Summation of Intent of Meeting
Zoning and Subdivision
Ordinance Process
CITY OF CORCORAN
SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING
MARCH 20, 2003
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Create the appropriate tools to needed to protect and enhance the natural
resources. Identify the types of parks the city wishes to have. What is the future
for fire protection services in Corcoran. The connecting of trails. The realignment
of streets, enhancing transportation.
Stressed the need to keep the public informed. Meeting agendas will be in the
paper and posted on the web. Any other means of providing material to the public
will be utilized.
Sherri Buss identified the tasks that the Natural Resource Committee will focus
on:
• Wetland and Stream Buffering Ordinance
• Shoreland Ordinance
• Surface Water Management Ordinance
• Tree Preservation Ordinance
Anticipate having 1 to 2 meetings per month, three to four meetings on each topic,
with two topics at each meeting. Examples of each ordinance will be provided to
the group. The first meeting of the NR Committee will be on April 8 at 7:00 p.m.
Engineer Vander Top addressed the infrastructure concept plan schedule. There
are four key elements to this plan: projecting population, sizing of the facilities,
the layout of the facilities, and the inter-connective-ness between the natural
resource and zoning work that will be done. The concept plan will start later in
the process, keying off of the other work being done. Once the concept plan is
completed then the financial process will come into play.
Robin Caufman with the Met Council was present to address the Livable
Communities Act (LCA) and how that impacts Corcoran. As part of the
Comprehensive Plan adoption the City is required to become a member of the
LCA in order to receive services from the MUSA. The goal of the LCA is to
stimulate affordable housing and it does administer three grant programs. There
is a requirement that the City designate funds to ALHOA (Affordable & Life-
Cycle Housing Amount). At the present time there may be some adjustments
made on funding allocations, therefore Ms. Caufman recommended that the City
revisit becoming a member of the LCA in November, as that is the deadline for
participation in 2004, and possibly even delay until November 2004, for
participation in 2005.
Ms. Caufman informed the Council that the Met Council is required through the
Land Planning Act to enforce the statutory requirement that within nine months of
completing the Comprehensive Plan that the City must adopt zoning consistent
with the Comprehensive Plan. She further noted that the Met Council would
rather work with communities, and that a letter from the City to Chair Bell
expressing their desire to extend that deadline would be appropriate.
The Council addressed sending such a letter. The letter should include the
disciplined and aggressive schedule that has been set and that if the Met Council
does have any concerns with the schedule that they should notify Corcoran of
those.
Natural Resource Process
Infrastructure Concept Plan
Met Council –
Livable Communities Act
9 Month Statutory Requirement
CITY OF CORCORAN
SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING
MARCH 20, 2003
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Addressed the Loan application to the Met Council. Directed staff to pr oceed
with the application and present it to the council at the April 10 meeting for final
submittal approval.
Assessment of meeting. There were some concerns that this meeting may not
move the council in the correct direction, but that concern appears t o have been
eased. Want to see each meeting last 2 to 2 ½ hours in length. At each meeting the
scheduled is to be addressed for assurance of staying on track. The professional
consultants need to do their work and provide material to the council and other
participants in a timely manner, so that they can do their homework and come
prepared to the meetings.
MOTION by Thomas, seconded by Bucher and unanimously approved to
adjourn, 8:20 p.m.
_____________________________
Susan Vergin, City Administrator
Letter to Chair Bell –
Request Extension
Met Council Loan Application
Assessment of Meeting
Adjournment