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02-21-12 Joint Council Planning Comm MinCITY OF SHOREWOOD WORK SESSION OF THE CITY COUNCIL AND PLANNING COMMISSION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2012 MINUTES 1. CONVENE WORK SESSION MEETING 5755 COUNTRY CLUB ROAD COUNCIL CHAMBERS 6:00 PM Acting Mayor Zerby called the meeting to order at 6:04 P.M. A. Roll Call Present: Acting Mayor Zerby; Councihnembers Hotvet and Siakel; Administrator Heck; and Planning Director Nielsen Planning Commission Chair Geng; Planning Commissioners Arnst (arrived at 6:25 P.M.), Charbonnet, Davis, Garelick, Hasek and Hutchins Absent: Mayor Liz6e and Councilmember Woodruff B. Review Agenda Acting Mayor Zerby asked that Item 2.A Shorewood Goals for 2012 / 2013 be added to the agenda. Hasek moved, Davis seconded, approving the agenda as amended. Motion passed 9/0. RESIDENT SURVEY Acting Mayor Zerby welcomed the Planning Commissioners. Ile asked Administrator Heck to provide the Planning Commission a brief summary of the results of the resident survey conducted in 2011. Administrator Heck explained the City Council commissioned a resident survey which was conducted by National Research Center (NRC) in 2011. The meeting packet contains a copy of a summary of survey results pertinent to planning and zoning. Land use planning and zoning was one of three services identified as key drivers of overall quality of services for the City. Each of the key drivers was rated much above the national benchmark. Eighty -five percent thought there was no a problem or a minor problem with code enforcement issues (e.g., run down buildings, weed lots or junk vehicles). Commissioner Hasek asked if the responses about code enforcement issues means there are no issues or does it mean they are being addressed. Administrator Heck stated from his perspective it means problem properties and nuisance issues are not an issue. Administrator Heck reviewed opportunities for improvement related to planning and zoning. They include improving walkability throughout the City, increasing shopping and other types of commerce within the City, increasing the availability of affordable quality housing, and making changes that make the City an affordable and desirable place to retire. CITY OF SHOREWOOD WORK SESSION OF THE CITY COUNCIL AND PLANNING February 21, 2012 Page 2 of 8 Heck noted the Commissioners should have received a copy of the full survey results. And, they had been invited to a meeting the previous week during which a representative from NRC presented the results of the survey to the City Council. Acting Mayor Zerby stated he was pleased with how the survey was conducted and that he thought it was scientifically done. He thought the questions asked did not appear to reflect any bias. He noted he was surprised to find out that street lighting was one of the four lowest rated City services and the rating was much below the national and small city benchmarks. In the past he has heard residents express their preference for limited lighting; they didn't want an overly illuminated environment. He stated that street maintenance /repair (e.g., filling potholes) was another one of the four and that rating was similar to the national benchmark and below the small city benchmark. He found that somewhat interesting. He explained there are some rural type roadways in the City with low or no bituminous edges that breakdown faster. He stated having multiple refuse haulers travel the streets creates additional wear and tear on roadways. Commissioner Hasek asked if a lot of people from the inner city or cities with a lot of street lighting have relocated to the City over the last ten years. If so, they were conditioned to a lot more street lighting and they may find the lighting in the City to be insufficient. The City has a rural style of lighting. He explained the survey results about the aspects of quality of life in the City indicated 29% thought it is an excellent place to retire, 40% a good place to retire and 22% a fair place to retire. That adds up to 91 %. He questioned the comment that people don't consider the City as a desirable place to retire. Administrator Heck explained fair is not considered desirable, and 69% think it is good to excellent. Administrator Heck explained that at the end of the survey respondents were given the opportunity to provide additional comments or suggestions. Some of the respondents took advantage of that opportunity. Comments were made about the poor quality of cable service and speeding in certain parts of the City. The majority were related to the lack of walkability and safety on City streets. Some of it ties to retiring in the City as does the lack of affordable life -cycle housing. There is limited access to starter homes in the City. There is limited opportunity for the elderly to remain in the City when they can no longer remain in their home. Heck noted the survey was a perception survey; it answers the whats not necessarily the whys. He stated the Planning Commission may want to decide if there are topics in the survey it would like additional information from residents on. The same thing applies to the City Council and the Park Commission. Commissioner Hasek stated he thought it would be better to have a joint meeting of the Council and Commissions to discuss the possibility of conducting smaller, more detailed surveys about specific topics. Couneilmember Siakel stated from her vantage point the results of the survey indicate the City is doing more right than wrong. For the most part, the residents are pleased to live in the City and with the services the City and special districts provide. She commented that there isn't a lot the City can do to improve cable television service (which was rated as the lowest service) other than to encourage the Lake Minnetonka Communications Commission to communicate with Mediacom about issues residents have. She stated the City could seek additional information about street lighting concerns. She commented that if she was asked if there is ample street lighting in the City her first inclination would be to respond no. She stated lack of trails and walkways are an issue. CITY OF SHOREWOOD WORK SESSION OF THE CITY COUNCIL AND PLANNING COMMISSION February 21, 2012 Page 3 of 8 Siakel then stated the highest participation rates for community programs and events were for Music in the Park and Arctic Fever, noting those are two of the more recent events the City has become involved with. She noted that only 30% of the people have used the Southshore Community Center (SCCC) at least once in the last year. She stated that presents an opportunity to increase awareness about it in the community. She then stated the participation rates in recycling for the City's residents are much higher than the national and small city benchmarks, Yet 89% strongly or somewhat agree with increasing recycling options, and 82% want the City to provide organic material collection (both food and yard waste). She noted that 50% strongly or somewhat supported a single trash hauler and the other 50% somewhat or strongly opposed that. She stated a great deal of discussion has to be had about that if it is to be considered. Acting Chair Zerby stated he asked if the information was available on a location basis. He noted the City was developed at different times. 'There is some dichotomy between the east side of the City and the west side. He commented the lighting concern could be in the west part of the City. Administrator Heck explained that for this survey NRC did not do any geographic tracking. The survey was anonymous. He then explained that respondents were fairly representative of age and length of time as a resident. It was fairly well balanced. Commissioner Hasek stated he was surprised to learn that 60% of respondents indicated they had not participated in any community programs or events listed in the survey over the last 12 months. He found that concerning. He then stated lie was pleased to learn that 23% attended a meeting of local elected officials or some other local public meeting. He thought that is a good number. He then stated he thought there are times when a neighborhood needs to weigh in on items for consideration and then there are times, such as the potential redevelopment of the Smithtown Crossing area, when the entire community should get involved. Councilmember Siakel stated based on the survey results two of the more frequently used avenues residents use to get their information about the City are the City's newsletter and website. She then stated they could be used to help get additional information from residents about a few planning and zoning related topics. Commissioner Artist arrived at 6:25 P.M Commissioner Davis stated based on her experience with Arctic Fever every avenue possible has to be used to communicate to residents. Councilmember Siakel asked how the 60% non- participation rate in any community programs or events listed in the survey over the last 12 months compared to the national and small city benchmarks. She stated she doesn't know if 60% is good or bad. Commissioner Hutchins asked how the survey results will be factored into setting priorities for the City, City Council, the two Commissions and staff. He stated the survey didn't gather much information about the importance of things. The survey primarily measured people's exposure and thoughts about current circumstances about things such as services and events. Residents may rate something low yet it is not important to them. For example, the concern about street lighting may not be important even though a number of people rated that service low. CITY OF SHOREWOOD WORK SESSION OF THE CITY COUNCIL AND PLANNING COMMISSION February 21, 2012 Page 4 of 8 1. Shorewood Goals for 2012 / 2013 Acting Mayor Zerby stated last year Council and staff identified strategic goals during a couple of strategic planning sessions. He asked Administrator Heck to provide the Planning Commission with a list of the eight goals this evening. He stated Council and staff discussed and refined the goals earlier this year. He noted the strategic planning process is ever evolving. He asked the Commissioner if they wanted to comment on them while noting he understands it is the first time they have seen them. Commissioner Hutchins asked if the goals were listed in priority order. Administrator Heck stated that is the next step is for Council to complete during a future work session. Key outcomes and objectives also have to be identified. Administrator I -leek stated the maximum number of goals should be 7 — 8. Some goals should be completed in one year and others will take multiple years. He asked the Planning Commissioners to provide him with what they think the priorities should be and he will funnel that information to Council for consideration during its prioritization process. Commissioner Davis stated from her perspective some of the goals dovetail into each other. Acting Mayor Zerby stated he thinks some of the results of the survey add credence to the importance of some of the goals at this time. He then stated his personal goal is to start communicating information about the strategic plan to residents via the City's website soon; hopefully in the next month or two. Councilmember Hotvet stated encouraged the Commissioners to consider survey results when they prioritize the goals. Commissioner Artist stated she thought the goal respond to changing service needs for changing community demographics was good. She then stated many residents' economic status has changed for the worse over the last few years and that should be considered. For example, property values have gone down and people have lost their jobs. She went on to state she strongly believes accessory apartments have to be given strong consideration as an allowable thing in the City. Councilmember Hotvet stated from her vantage point community involvement is a thread through each goal and that could involve volunteer efforts. Transparent decision making is also a common thread. Acting Mayor Zerby asked the Commissioners if they thought the goals were realistic and if Council and staff are heading in the right direction. Commissioner Hasek commented that any movement forward is good and this is forward progress. Commissioner Davis stated she thought the goals were good. Zerby stated the Commissioners could send Administrator Heck their thoughts about priorities if they would like. ft�aW..191`►11049 41411/ 1UIM .Y1610MAY9lNl4a till" M.10V411Fi Director Nielsen stated each year the Planning Commission develops a work program for the year. The meeting packet contains a copy of its proposed 2012 work program. He noted a few tasks are carried over from 2011. He explained the task Zoning Code General Provisions study will go on throughout the year. The life -cycle housing study will also go on throughout a large portion of the year. The tasks include a few items related to the GreenStep Cities Program. CITY OF SHOREWOOD WORK SESSION OF THE CITY COUNCIL AND PLANNING COMMISSION February 21, 2012 Page 5 of 8 Nielsen explained Planning District 6 will be revisited; it is the east end of County Road 19 in the City. District 6 was discussed in length a few years ago. No changes were adopted at that time. Councilmember Siakel asked if the area Nielsen is referring to is where the Garden Patch is located. Nielsen stated it is mostly the commercial area along that corridor including the relatively new office building and the Garden Patch. Acting Mayor Zerby asked if some of that is covered in the County Road 19 Corridor Study. Nielsen stated some of the transportation aspects are such as a sidewalks but not the land use part of it. Nielsen explained the zoning on those properties recognizes existing uses but not how the City would like to see the area redeveloped. He noted the property owners of those commercial properties were not very helpful during public hearing about District 6. The residents in the Timber Lane area didn't want change and the commercial property owners wanted to see a change to higher use. Ultimately, nothing ever happened. He stated this time the residents need to be brought into the process earlier. Acting Mayor Zerby stated this has been talked about for a long time. Nielsen stated that is true but nothing was ever done. Nielsen noted that the C2 zoning in the area was never intended to be long- term. Nielsen stated he thought it prudent to revisit this again and find out what the commercial property owners want and what the residents want. Director Nielsen asked the Councilmembers if there is anything they would like to add to the 2012 work program. He noted some items on the work program were directed by Council. He commented based on the schedule there will be about 3 — 4 items on each meeting agenda. Acting Mayor Zerby asked Director Nielsen if the goals tie into the work program. Nielsen responded he thought they did. Director Nielsen stated it is difficult to get the community involved unless something could have a definite impact on them. Acting Mayor Zerby asked if the goal provide safe and diverse transportation options to meet the needs of residents is included in the work program. Commissioner Artist asked what that means. Zerby responded things such as trails and sidewalks and traffic controls could be part of that goal. Commissioner Hasek stated the work program task to amend the Transportation Plan regarding Minnesota State Aid (MSA) routes could be expanded to discuss other issues. Arnst stated she thinks about things such as bus lines as part of transportation, noting the City has no control over that. Artist suggested calling it trails and sidewalks if that is what the goal means. Councilmember Hotvet stated it is her recollection that part of the discussion was about how to get elderly residents who would like to go to the Southshore Community Center there. Hotvet then stated trails is part of this goal. Councilmember Siakel stated there was also some discussion about light rail. Director Nielsen noted the MSA routes task is a housekeeping item. The MSA map has been adjusted and all that needs to happen is hold a public hearing. Administrator Heck explained the Minnesota Department of Transportation Commissioner of Transportation has already approved the designation of two roadways as MSA routes. Zerby stated the sustainability related tasks in the work program tie to the goal address water quality and other natural resource challenges. Director Nielsen stated he is considering adding a task to review rules and regulations about impervious surface in particular permeable pavers. He explained the City encourages people to use permeable pavers but it doesn't give credit for using them. He stated he thought there needs to be an incentive for using CITY OF SHOREWOOD WORK SESSION OF THE CITY COUNCIL AND PLANNING COMMISSION February 21, 2012 Page 6 of 8 them if the City wants to encourage people to use them. That will be discussed as part of the General Provisions discussion. Councilmember Siakel explained in 2011 the Ad Hoc Trail Committee (the Committee) prioritized a lot of trail work that had been done and it developed a Trail Plan Implementation Report (the Trail Plan). Staff took the plan and estimated what it would cost to implement the Trail Plan. The costs were never presented to the Committee. The residents have clearly expressed a desire to make the City more walkable. She asked the Planning Commission what it thinks its role is regarding trails. Does it want to be involved with specifies such as the type of surfaces and what each trail will look like? She stated she would like there to be more detail in the Trail Plan. Commissioner Hasek expressed his agreement. He stated he was part of the Committee and the Committee made a decision not to get into the details about what the trails would look like. It did not think it was appropriate at that time. He then stated the costs for various types of surface differ greatly. Director Nielsen explained that responsibility for carrying through with the Trail Plan has been assigned to the Park Commission. When it looks at each individual segment it will talk about surface type. He then explained the City may not be able to make all the decisions. For example, if the proposed trail along County 19 were to be constructed in the Comity right of way (ROW) and it has to be at least 10 feet wide. Commissioner Hasek recommended the Planning Commission participate in discussions about or take over carrying through with the Trail Plan. The Planning Commission is responsible for setting transportation directions in the Comprehensive Plan which includes motorized vehicles, biking and walking. He clarified he thought the Planning Commission is potentially better suited for the task, noting he means no disrespect to the Park Commission. Ile stated in some communities transportation includes parks and trails. Acting Mayor Zerby stated he envisions the Park Commission weighing in on the need for trails and the Planning Commission discussing the details of the trails. He then stated he has suggested people (representatives from Council and the two Commissions) walk the potential areas for trail expansion this spring to get a view of what the areas look like and what the potential issues are. Commissioner Davis stated residents with neighborhood problems quite frequently bring their concerns to the Planning Commission. She suggested starting on trails in areas where people want to walk to places but it is too dangerous to do so because of traffic. People will quickly find out what kind of support the City will get about from residents who come to complain. Councilmember Hotvet agreed with Davis' suggestion. Commissioner Hasek stated from his perspective there needs to be a walkable link between the intersection of County Road 19 and Smithtown Road and CUB Foods. He then stated although lie would be willing to give the City an easement to build a trail he is very concerned about what it would cost to do so. Acting Mayor Zerby stated people need to find creative solutions. CITY OF SHOREWOOD WORK SESSION OF THE CITY COUNCIL AND PLANNING COMMISSION February 21, 2012 Page 7 of 8 Commissioner Arnst stated the City went through similar discussions about 12 years ago. She then stated from her perspective it will take political courage and money. She stated she agrees trails are not just about the residents who live in a particular area. 4. SMITHTOWN CROSSING Director Nielsen stated he hoped that this task would have been done by now. He explained that in October 2011 the Planning Commission had an open house to give residents an opportunity to comment on the Smithtown Crossing Study Report (the Study) and it later held a public hearing on the Study. At the end of the hearing the Commission decided it should take the time to discuss the comments made by residents about the Study. The Commission does want to solicit feedback from residents outside of the neighborhood near the Study area. The Commission had met with commercial property owners, then it met with a panel of developers, and finally it had the open house. Concern has been expressed about some elements of the plan. A Commission study session has been scheduled to specifically discuss them and how to address them. He noted it is important to get this Study right. Councilmember Siakel asked the Commission what type of support it wants from Council on this. Director Nielsen explained that the American Legion has put its vacant piece of property up for sale; one of three parcels it owns in the Study area. If the Legion is successful in selling that one property there will be another property owner in the mix of people involved. He then explained he has had conversations with a party interested in acquiring and redeveloping the gas station property located in the southeast quadrant of that intersection. There is a senior housing developer who has been talking about assembling some parcels on the northwest quadrant. Another developer is discussion the possibility of senior housing in some of area of the City. Commissioner Arnst asked Director Nielsen if senior housing would be the exclusive use for the northwest quadrant or are the developers considering mixed use. Nielsen stated the party he has been talking with is senior housing only. He commented there does seem to be a market for senior housing. He also commented that any redevelopment of the northwest quadrant would likely be done in phases. Councilmember Siakel stated there is a mixed -use development that includes some senior housing that is going to be done in the City of Wayzata. She asked if that along with senior housing in other communities around the Lake might satisfy the need for senior housing in the Lake community. Acting Mayor Zerby stated he would prefer to use the word affordable housing, noting seniors need affordable housing. He then stated because he lives close to the Study area his biggest concern is the transition from mixed -use or commercial to residential. He noted his neighbors have indicated they are not opposed to affordable housing as part of the redevelopment, but they do not want massive structures close to the residential area. Commissioner Davis stated some of the Commissioners think that any housing should also allow for housing for residents who can contribute to the area; residents of all ages. Commissioner Hasek stated from his perspective a living community includes everyone; from the very young to the very old. The very old residents are the ones that need assisted living. He noted that the monthly costs for assisted living outside of the community for an elderly couple he knows are extremely high. The costs are not affordable. CITY OF SHOREWOOD WORK SESSION OF THE CITY COUNCIL AND PLANNING COMMISSION February 21, 2012 Page 8 of 8 Acting Mayor Zerby thanked the Planning Commissioners for coming. Chair Geng noted that this is Commissioner Artist's last meeting as a Planning Commissioner. On behalf of the Planning Commission he thanked her for all of her hard work and her contributions. He stated she will be missed. Director Nielsen stated he is trying to schedule a GTS training session for either March or April. As part of that the Planning Commission has talked about a segment of that being about senior housing. If Council would attend that segment it would be helpful. He noted that segment will be video recorded. 5. ADJOURN Arnst moved, Iiasek seconded, Adjourning the Work Session of the City Council and Planning Commission of February 21, 2012, at 7:05 P.M. Motion passed 10 /0. RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED Christine Freeman, Recorder