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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2003-08-28 Council Minutes - Part 2 CITY OF CORCORAN REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING AUGUST 28, 2003 1 The Corcoran City Council met in regular session on August 28, 2003 at City Hall in Corcoran, Minnesota. Present were Councilors Bucher, Gageby, Guenthner, Lymangood, and Thomas. Also present were Administrator Vergin, Clerk/Treasurer Tillmann, Attorney Carson, Planner Lindahl, and Engineer Vander Top. 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 following addition: • Information for Zoning workshops under Council Reports Open Forum There were two requests from the public to speak during open forum. Sulaine Pederson and David McStott, Sewer Services to Appaloosa Woods Council heard from two property owners, Sulaine Pederson, 19233 – 81st Place North, Corcoran, and David McStott, 11375 – 70th Place North, Maple Grove who expressed concern regarding sewer needs in their area, the Petersen’s Oak Hill and Appaloosa Woods subdivisions along the Maple Grove/Corcoran boundary. Mr. and Mrs. Pederson purchased their home in April 2000, and were aware at that time of the possibility that they may need to install a new mound system. They are concerned that there is not enough room on their property to install a mound system due to the proximity of the wetlands that occupy a large portion of their property. They would like to connect to city sewer and water services due to the condition of their existing system, and are interested in the possibility of being annexed into Maple Grove to connect to their services. Mr. McStott has not built his home yet in the Peterson’s Oak Hill Addition. They are wondering what their options are for sewer services to this area and if the City has a policy in place to pursue this. Mayor Guenthner advised that properties in this area have been individually annexed to Maple Grove over a period of years. Sewer and water services to this area will likely come from Maple Grove. Corcoran needs to determine how to contract with Maple Grove to service that area. The current Corcoran City Council does not favor annexation of properties to Maple Grove. The Council has discussed a contractual or Joint Powers Agreement between the Cities for services without annexation, but no resolution has been achieved. The City is currently in the process of negotiating with Maple Grove for services in other areas. Engineer Vander Top advised that representatives of the City met with the neighborhood in 1998. At that time, they reviewed costs and feasibility reports, and the remainder of residents that had not been annexed did not want to annex to Maple Grove at that time. He suggested that the residents in the two neighborhoods explore the possibility of a petition to re-affirm their interest in exploring a Joint Powers Agreement with Maple Grove for services to this area. Mayor Guenthner will address this at an upcoming meeting with Maple Grove. Call to Order Roll Call Pledge of Allegiance Agenda Approval with Additions Open Forum Sulaine Pederson and David McStott – Sewer Services to Appaloosa Woods CITY OF CORCORAN REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING AUGUST 28, 2003 2 Mr. McStott questioned if a consensus of the residents was required in order to proceed, and was advised that there is not City policy regarding this issue. Mayor Guenthner will provide a report of his meeting at the September 11 City Council meeting. Councilor Lymangood suggested that residents review council minutes from earlier in 2003 and the past 8 – 10 years when this issue was addressed, and also review a copy of the Olde Sturbridge neighborhood petition for accelerated services to that area. There is not currently a written policy pertaining to sewer services in the City, but the policy should be completed by early 2004. In the past, properties were annexed in order to receive services, however, a more common approach is a joint powers agreement. St. Thomas Church and Mama G’s currently have services from Maple Grove. John Beddore and Carol LaBerge, Rush Creek Drainage John Beddore, 9836 Rush Creek Boulevard – Mr. Beddore is a neighbor to Charles and Carole LaBerge. He is frustrated with lack of progress being made on their drainage problem. A meeting was held last week with representatives from Hennepin County and Engineer Vander Top. What can be done in the short term to solve the problem, and what is the long-term plan for all of Rush Creek? He is concerned that the culverts on Creekview and Sundance seem to cause the biggest backlog of water. Photos were taken of the area in spring of 2003. They were flooded five times in 2002. Hoppe residence is about 5 years old. Before that resident was built, water went into the swamp and had no outlet. Now it drains out in two places. More water seems to be coming off of the field than through Rush Creek. He doesn’t understand why things have changed. They are having difficulty getting people to listen to their problems and concerns. How do they accommodate changes so that it won’t affect people downstream? Very few people have come out to ask residents what their concerns are or what they think can be done to resolve. Wonders what the city plans for Rush Creek Boulevard and Sundance? His driveway has been washing out recently and feels that road grading by Public Works has had an affect on where the water flows. It used to wash out before his driveway, now it washes out beyond his driveway, which affects the LaBerge property. Engineer Vander Top reported that the focus of the report prepared by Itasca Engineering was primarily for the area of County Road 30 with recommendations for Rush Creek Boulevard. The report does not authorize the work. Additional engineering and modeling would be required before the work could be done. Floodplain management is a citywide issue and we should be developing a citywide plan. Directed Engineer Vander Top to provide a list of actions required by the City to resolve the Rush Creek issue, including coordination with City Public Works. In parallel, the City should work on a global floodplain management plan. This information will be shared with County Commissioner Penny Steele, along with a timeline, once reviewed by the City. John Beddore and Carole LaBerge – Rush Creek Drainage CITY OF CORCORAN REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING AUGUST 28, 2003 3 Councilor Lymangood questioned if Mr. Beddore had been given a copy of the report. He had received a copy. Councilor Lymangood further stated that this threat to property is significant and the City needs a prioritized approach to address drainage issues throughout the City and how we are spending our time and financial resources. Consent Agenda MOTION by Lymangood, seconded by Thomas, and carried unanimously to approve the consent agenda, with the exception of 5.d. as follows: 5.a. Approve the Regular Council meeting minutes of August 14, 2003, as presented. 5.b. Approve the City Council Budget Workshop minutes of August 14, 2003, as presented. 5.c. Accept the Budget Analysis for the month ending July 31, 2003, as presented. 5.e. Approve the payment of claims #1685 - 1723, in the amount of $77,989.68, as presented. Discussion was held regarding consent agenda item 5.d. Planning Commission Alternate Appointment. Councilor Lymangood questioned how many residents had submitted applications for consideration. Administrator Vergin advised that there were two applications submitted and those were given to both the Council and the Planning Commission for review. The Planning Commission felt that due to Mr. Stieg’s involvement in community activities and experience with planning issues, he would be the best fit for the Planning Commission. MOTION by Lymangood, seconded by Thomas, and carried unanimously to approve consent agenda item 5.d. as follows: 5.d. Adopt Resolution #2003 – 49, appointing Dennis Stieg as an alternate to the Planning Commission for the term ending December 31, 2003. Presentation Shawn Irwin, Anderson Agency, presented an overview of the City’s insurance coverages through the League of Minnesota Cities Insurance Trust (LMCIT) for the period of August 2003 through August 2004. This year, increases in the premium for property insurance is due to an increase through the LMCIT and Worker’s compensation, which the city will most likely experience next year as well. However, worker’s compensation claims have been relatively small due to the efforts of Public Works and Police Department employees. Councilor Gageby questioned if it would be more practical to increase the City’s deductible in an attempt to reduce the premium amount. Mr. Irwin advised that the premiums are already relatively low since the City averages about four claims per year. The League of Minnesota Cities sets liability limits. Consent Agenda Approval Consent Agenda Item 5.d. Planning Commission Appointment Approve Consent Agenda Item 5.d. Presentation – City Insurance Coverage CITY OF CORCORAN REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING AUGUST 28, 2003 4 MOTION by Bucher, seconded by Thomas, and carried unanimously to accept the insurance policy renewal through Anderson Agency for the period of August 2003 – 2004, as presented. Planning Commission Business Grove Nursery Application/Development Agreement Discussion was held regarding the site plan application and conditional use permit request for Grove Nursery Center, to be located on 23.43 acres at the southeast corner of County Road 30 and Trail Haven Road. Planner Lindahl advised that Grove Nursery Center, Inc. is requesting approval of a site plan for a wholesale nursery and a conditional use permit to construct a building with more than 20 percent steel curtain wall. . At the August 14, 2003 City Council meeting, the City Council directed staff to prepare a development agreement for approval at the August 28 meeting. After much discussion, Council had indicated that they would support the request if the applicant complied with all of the conditions in the preliminary agreement prepared by staff and upgraded the building materials to reflect a more residential character. In particular, the Council indicated that a shingled roof should be provided and the amount of metal should be reduced. Since the August 14 meeting, the applicant has revised their plans to address the Council’s concerns as follows: 1. Changed the roof material from metal to asphalt shingle 2. Increased the wainscoting from 3 feet to 4 feet high 3. Upgraded the quality and design of both the main doors and overhead doors to residential style doors 4. Added decorative hardi-board materials in the roof peak on the north and south elevations 5. Added a decorative window element in the roof peak area on the north and south elevations 6. Added decorative shutters to the windows Attorney Carson has prepared a Development Agreement. Grove Nursery has reviewed the agreement and agrees with the conditions presented. The monetary amount for the letter of credit has not yet been determined. The applicant is present with material samples for the building. Council discussed various minor modifications to the development agreement, which staff will incorporate into the final agreement, including a reference to Exhibit B, clarification on how far south on Trail Haven will be paved, staking and fencing of the septic area, and Council’s reasoning for gravel parking area. MOTION by Gageby, seconded by Lymangood, and carried unanimously to adopt Resolution #2003 – 50, approving a site plan and conditional use permit for Grove Nursery Center, Inc., for property located at the southeast corner of County Road 30 and Trail Haven Road, with conditions, based on the findings on file in the City Clerk’s Office, accepting the Developer’s Agreement as modified, authorizing the Mayor and City Administrator to enter into the agreement with Grove Nursery, with understanding that if the agreement is not approved by both the city and the applicant, further action will be required by the Council regarding the application. Accept Insurance Policy Renewal Grove Nursery Planning Application and Development Agreement Adopt Resolution #2003 – 50, Grove Nursery Application CITY OF CORCORAN REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING AUGUST 28, 2003 5 Comments were heard from George Ritten, Grove Nursery, who presented samples of the architectural shingles, hardi-board siding and concrete lap siding that will be used on the building to make it appear more residential in nature. Ordinance No. 187 – Standards for Greenhouses and Nurseries Discussion was held regarding the draft ordi nance pertaining to standards for greenhouses and nurseries in the A-1 and R-1 districts. The City Council reviewed the draft ordinance at the August 14, 2003 Council meeting and requested additional revisions to the ordinance language regarding amount of product grown on site. The Council packet included comments from two local greenhouses, Broman’s Greenhouse and Chastek Greenhouses, Inc. The staff report focuses on three areas, one of which being items grown on site. Staff did not include regulatory items in definitions of terms i.e. how much is grown on site. Those were put in the section pertaining to conditional use permit standards. Also, parking/loading areas are excluded from the site coverage limitation due to the potential for access aisles to be located between crops. Area business owners expressed concerns regarding the limits on hours of operations, lighting, and having all materials grown on site. These types of businesses would become legal non-conforming businesses under this ordinance, which would affect their ability to expand or rebuild in the future. Council questioned if a legal non-conforming business under the ordinance could apply for and operate under the ordinance with Conditional Use Permit. There was a concern that a CUP wouldn’t allow sufficient flexibility. Council also questioned if the hours of operation outlined in the ordinance pertained to hours of retail sales or operation, because sometimes the business needs to operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, during harvest time, for example. Attorney Carson advised that a CUP would vary depending on the nature of the operation. There are some operations in Corcoran that are exclusively wholesale. There are several that also have a retail operation. Questioned if retail should be permitted. Requested revision to items 2.i and 8.i to state that hours for sale of product to customers may be established through a Conditional Use Permit. Discussion was held regarding item 8.j. Lighting, and how to effectively address lighting if it is needed for growth. Comments were heard from Stan Chastek, Chastek Greenhouses, Inc., who suggested that lighting be allowed as a percentage of the range, meaning a certain percentage of total square footage of operation or greenhouse area could be lit at any one time, because it would be hard to be specific with the lighting due to variations of crops. Public comment Ordinance No. 187 – Standards for Greenhouses and Nurseries Public comment CITY OF CORCORAN REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING AUGUST 28, 2003 6 Council agreed by consensus that the percent limit for what is grown on site should reflect the limit set by the Department of Agriculture, which is 50%. Mayor Guenthner suggested that the ordinance be revised based on the comments received and then have a meeting with affected business owners to address further. Councilor Lymangood advised that he feels this ordinance seems to be overly restrictive. Feels that Council is struggling with minute details and trying to solve problems that we don’t have. Councilor Gageby suggested that the City is not trying to solve an existing problem, but prepare for the future, to give more consistency and control. Mayor Guenthner questioned how this ordinance would limit how Mr. Chastek is doing business. Chastek responded that his children own the business now and they may need to expand in the future in order to stay competitive. Hours of operation could limit their operation. This is their livelihood and they work hard to get a nice crop. Not allowing operation on Sunday would take away a lot of business, as many other vendors require inventory over the weekend. Allowing lighting only during the day would also limit their business, however most of their business is seasonal. Council agreed to distribute copies of draft ordinance with a cover letter to all business licensed through the State Department of Agriculture and set a meeting to discuss the draft ordinance, accepting input from those licensees, addressing broader discretion relating to customer visits (2i and 8i), lighting (2j and 8j) and amount grown on site (2m and 8m). Also suggested discussion point include retail vs. wholesale operations Ordinance No. 189 – Sign Ordinance Discussion was held regarding the draft sign ordinance presented for consideration. The Planning Commission has reviewed the draft ordinance and is recommending approval by the Council at this time. Staff will prepare a sign permit fee schedule for approval at a future meeting. The fees will take into consideration the administration and enforcement of the ordinance. Attorney Carson had met and discussed the proposed ordinance with the Sign Committee and has made several revisions since the Council last reviewed the ordinance. Council requested a clarification to Subdivision 4, Item 6 to read as follows: “All residential or commercial United States Flags are exempt.” MOTION by Gageby, seconded by Bucher, and carried unanimously to adopt Ordinance No. 189 – Sign Ordinance, as amended. Unfinished Business Open House Newsletter Discussion was held regarding the public newsletter for the September Open House. To send the newsletter in color, including postage would cost approximately $2000, and black and white, including postage would cost approximately $1000. Council agreed by unanimous consensus to send the color version of the newsletter. Ordinance No. 189 – Sign Ordinance Adopt Ordinance No. 189 Open House Newsletter CITY OF CORCORAN REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING AUGUST 28, 2003 7 Comprehensive Parks and Trails Plan – Consultant Services Discussion was held regarding consultant services to complete a comprehensive parks and trails plan. The City has received a proposal from Bonestroo, Rosene and Anderlik Engineering Services for consideration. As directed, Administrator Vergin contacted several area professionals to validate the proposal. Comments received indicated that the proposal was fair and economical for what we want to have done. The Parks and Trails Commission also met on August 25, 2003 and reviewed the proposal. They are comfortable with Sherri’s qualifications and the proposal submitted, and are recommending that Council accept the proposal as presented. MOTION by Lymangood, seconded by Thomas, and carried unanimously to accept the proposal for the preparation of a Comprehensive Park Plan submitted by Sherri Buss, Bonestroo, Rosene and Anderlik, as presented. Parks and Trails Commission Appointments Applications for Parks and Trails Commission appointments are being accepted until September 4, 2003 and will be considered by the Council on September 11. Vacancies are advertised in the Crow River News and on the City’s website. Several applications have already been received. It was suggested that Councilors Gageby and Lymangood both continue to serve as liaisons on the Commission for the time being. Mama G’s/City of Maple Grove Engineer Vander Top advised that he has been working with Jerry Butcher, City of Maple Grove, to identify costs associated with providing infrastructure services to the Mama G’s area. Mayor Guenthner and Engineer Vander Top will be meeting with the City of Maple Grove Mayor and City Engineer on September 4. Engineer Vander Top has received a letter from the City of Maple Grove outlining estimated costs of area charges associated with the three development scenarios. Costs estimates are based on discussion at the joint meeting and the request of both councils to explore the three associated costs. Costs need to be discuss with the property owners that comprise the 40 acres. Engineer Vander Top has reviewed the numbers and feels that changes need to be made and the Cities need to reach an agreement regarding the size of the service area. Maple Grove only wants to service the Mama G’s site. Comments were heard from the following: Mike Leuer and Scott Dalke, Moen Leuer Construction -- Own 64 acres of property adjacent to Mama G’s. They are interested in building two or three different types of residential units on the property. They have been in contact with Engineer Vander Top regarding the process with the City of Maple Grove. Ken Streeter, Streeter Development – Feels comfortable with the City’s review of the area charges. They are prepared to participate on an equitable basis. Monies should be spent on the improvements to that corner. Four acres doesn’t work for Mama G’s and only focusing on four acres is not good planning. They will wait for service to the 12 acres if necessary. Transportation is a bigger issue than capacity. Comprehensive Parks Plan – Consultant Services Acceptance of Proposal Parks and Trails Commission Appointments Mama G’s/City of Maple Grove Public Comments CITY OF CORCORAN REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING AUGUST 28, 2003 8 Councilor Lymangood suggested the City request information regarding any traffic studies that had been completed for the intersection of County Roads 30 and 101. He questioned what is the current grade at the intersection and what will it become with temporary signals? Does not feel that capacity issues have been adequately addressed. Engineer Vander Top advised that of the three options, Maple Grove’s council is favoring service only to the four acres currently utilized by Mama G’s. Corcoran and Mama G’s feel that 4 acres is not viable. The following discussion ensued. Adding a temporary signal on a two-lane road with out turn lanes does not do any good and will have minimal effect on traffic in the area. Corcoran is not interested in only having service to four acres and not interested in a temporary signal at the intersection. The sewer phasing plan identified 40 acres around Mama G’s with a commercial use, of which 28 acres is developable. The City does not want carrying costs pushing the land use plan. Staff will follow up on the proposed traffic signal. Corcoran’s ability to address transportation issues is related to acreage, and restricting to four acres is not a viable option. Mayor Guenthner and Engineer Vander Top will meet with Mike Leuer prior to the September 4 meeting with Maple Grove. New Business Litigation Update Attorney Carson provided a written update on pending litigation, which Council members should review. Any questions should be directed to Administrator Vergin or Attorney Carson. Council Reports Zoning and Land Use Seminar Discussion was held regarding Planning Commission and Council attendance at upcoming zoning and land use seminars. Council agreed by unanimous consensus to do a similar workshop in-house utilizing existing staff to prepare for future projects. Meadow Lane Status Council was advised that the current lawsuit between property owners has been continued until October. Therefore, the City will pursue coordination of a mediation session with the involved parties. MOTION by Bucher, seconded by Thomas, and carried unanimously to adjourn the meeting at 9:55 p.m. _____________________________ Kary Tillmann, City Clerk/Treasurer Zoning and Land Use Seminars Meadow Lane Drainage Adjournment