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PC-04-05-11 CITY OF SHOREWOOD COUNCIL CHAMBERS PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING 5755 COUNTRY CLUB ROAD TUESDAY, 5 APRIL 2011 7:00 P.M. MINUTES CALL TO ORDER Chair Geng called the meeting to order at 7:00 P.M. ROLL CALL Present: Chair Geng; Commissioners Garelick, Davis, Hasek, and Hutchins; Planning Director Nielsen. Absent: Commissioners Arnst and Charbonnet; Council Liaison Siakel APPROVAL OF AGENDA Hutchins moved, Hasek seconded, Approving the Planning Commission Agenda of April 5, 2011 as presented. Motion passed 5/0. APPROVAL OF MINUTES  March 1, 2011 Hasek moved, Davis seconded, Approving the Planning Commission Meeting Minutes of March 1, 2011 as presented. Motion passed 5/0. 1. DISCUSS DEER FEEDING Director Nielsen provided a draft ordinance to the Commission for review. He stated that during his background research he checked with a lot of other cities, even beyond Minnesota and found that there are not many cities with deer feeding bans in place. The draft ordinance is modeled after the City of Burnsville’s code which they have had since 2001. The proposed regulations include restriction from placing edible material on or within five feet of the ground, including bird food, unless the area is screened or protected. Nielsen said that is ineffective from his observations. He said bird feeders, even at a height of six feet can be accessible by deer, so this item needs to be discussed. Nielsen stated that Subd. 2. Exceptions, are a common part of most ordinances. And the third section, Subd. 3. provides for the penalty of a Class A offense which carries a fine of $100. Enforcement would be complaint-driven except for the very obvious violators (e.g.. feeding that can be seen by aerial photos). Commissioner Garelick asked if the City gets complaints about the mere presence of deer. Nielsen said most people want the hunters to come to their property. Only one caller expressed concern about removal of deer. The deer removal program is planned to be expanded this year with more locations and possibly adding another weekend. The sites will be evaluated earlier as well. Usually that happens in August, but it is planned for May. Nielsen said he is still struggling with how to do the community survey. He said the best method is probably using the utility billing mailing, assuming they are sent in envelopes, rather than a postcard, where a questionnaire can be added to the envelope. In response to Commissioner Davis, Nielsen said the survey would be done prior to adopting an ordinance. Chair Geng said publishing the draft ordinance in the local PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES 5 April 2011 Page 2 of 4 paper could be considered. Nielsen said that could be done, or maybe an article, but cautioned that the City is seeking responses mainly from Shorewood residents. Director Nielsen said there has been some concern about too much regulation, especially since the City just recently enacted requirements about trash enclosures. Commissioner Davis suggested that the bird feeder restrictions be left out of the ordinance because that is asking too much from the residents, and it could draw negative reaction to the entire ordinance. Commissioner Hasek said he thought that advertising the proposed ban in the newspaper would distribute it to a wider audience than necessary and that will bring more negative responses than usual. He would rather see a true balance reflecting only Shorewood’s resident feedback. Nielsen suggested the front page of the City Newsletter as an alternative and the Commission concurred with that idea. Commissioner Hasek asked if there is anything that would prevent someone from filling a large “bird feeder” with corn, discreetly feeding the deer. Nielsen said there will always be prople who will find a way around the rules. Hasek said, from that standpoint, he doesn’t have a problem leaving the mention of including feed for birds as a restricted material. Nielsen said a lot of people like to feed birds and thought that Commissioner Davis’ point about a negative reaction has merit. Commissioner Hutchins suggested an option may be to add the word “seeds” and omit “including feed for birds”. He said the next phrase “reasonably be expected to intentionally result” is important. Intentionally (feed the deer) is not what bird feeders are trying to do and this way the bird feeders are covered. The Commission agreed with this revision. Director Nielsen said the next steps are to place an article in the newsletter and work out the survey questions for the utility bill mailing. Chair Geng suggested also putting the article and draft ordinance on the website with the message to watch for the survey and a notice that there will be a public meeting on the topic. 2. DISCUSS SUSTAINABILITY Director Nielsen said tonight’s meeting was originally to have been the date of the joint meeting with the City Council and Park Commission to discuss the topic of sustainability. He said that meeting is rescheduled to rd May 3, and in preparation for that meeting he presented a resolution for the Planning Commission’s review. The resolution supports the City’s participation in the GreenSteps Program with the goal of being recognized as a GreenStep City. The program has 28 best practices, which are efforts to reduce energy use and greenhouse gases. The sustainable development best practices fall into five categories: 1) Buildings and Lighting; 2) Transportation; 3) Land Use; 4) Environmental Management; and 5) Economic and Community Development. Nielsen said some of the practices have already been accomplished and the City can take credit for that. The program requires a coordinator, and Commissioner Davis asked who that will be. Director Nielsen said he considered volunteering himself, but decided to leave it open for now. He said it can be a particular person or a group of people, such as the Planning Commission, and this will need to be determined and could be discussed at the joint meeting. Commissioner Hutchins asked if there is a job description for the role of coordinator. Nielsen said he needs to look into that, but speculated that the coordinator organizes meetings, contacts people, researches and distributes information, etc. Commissioner Davis asked what other cities are involved in the program. Chair Geng read the list of cities which include Black Duck, Breezy Point, Maplewood, Eagan, Elk River, Falcon Heights, Hoffman, Hopkins, Laverne, Mahtomedi, Mankato, Pine River, Rochester, St. Anthony, St. Cloud, Royalton, La Prairie, Northfield, and Milan. Nielsen commented that the Mayor of Pine River was at a conference he attended on this subject, and said that city is really into the program and are already seeing some cost savings. PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES 5 April 2011 Page 3 of 4 Director Nielsen asked what the Commission thought about the proposed resolution. Commissioner Davis said she thought it needs a little more work and should be discussed at the joint meeting. She suggested that the description of the coordinator be determined. Commissioner Hasek commented that the description could be included in the resolution. Davis agreed with that. She said she would like to examine the material more closely now that it’s been discussed, and then review the resolution again. Nielsen said the resolution will go to the City Council after the Planning Commission has made any revisions, and he will have the list of best practices available as well. He stated that the organizers of the program do not expect cities to necessarily complete all of the 28 best practices, it’s kind of pick and choose. He said some of them are easier to accomplish than others. For example, the City could have an energy audit done, and then promote the same idea to the public. Commissioner Hutchins said it makes sense to focus resources on a few areas where there can be some early successes and that will hopefully build momentum and broaden the program. 3. MATTERS FROM THE FLOOR None. 4. OLD BUSINESS None. 5. NEW BUSINESS None. 6. DRAFT NEXT MEETING AGENDA rd The next meeting will be the joint meeting of May 3, beginning at 6:00 P.M. with the Planning and Park Commissions and City Council to discuss sustainability. At approximately 7:00 P.M. the Planning Commission and City Council will discuss Smithtown Crossing. Finally, there will be a regular Planning Commission meeting at 8:00 P.M. to include a public hearing for a C.U.P. amendment regarding lowering the age restriction in Shorewood Pond from 62 to 55 years, discuss the revised GreenStep resolution, and discuss the definition of a deck versus a dock due to a zoning violation matter. 7. REPORTS • Liaison to Council Commissioner Garelick reported on items considered and actions taken at the City Council meeting of March 28, 2011. • SLUC None. • Other Commissioner Hutchins suggested that another item be added to the Agenda under Reports for the Trail Committee. Commissioner Hasek is the Chair for the Committee and reported that at the last meeting a number of tasks were assigned for staff to perform, and when those tasks are completed the Committee will PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES 5 April 2011 Page 4 of 4 meet again. The next meeting is scheduled for May 2, 2011. Also of note is that the City Council passed a resolution in support of the concept of a trail on County Road 19. 8. ADJOURNMENT Hutchins moved, Garelick seconded, Adjourning the Planning Commission Meeting of April 5, 2011 at 7:55 P.M. Motion passed 5/0. RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED, Patti Helgesen, Recorder