PL 02/12/1992 - 30750��,
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CITY OF FRIDLEY
PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING� FEBRIIARY 12� 1992
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CALL TO ORDER•
Chairperson Betzold called the February 12, 1992, Planning
Commission meeting to order at 7:30 p.m..
ROLL CALL•
Members Present:
Members Absent:
Others Present:
Don Betzoid, Dave Kondrick, Dean Saba,
Diane Savage, Connie Modig, Brad Sielaff
Sue Sherek
Barbara Dacy, Community Development Director
APPROVAL OF JANUARY 22, 1992, PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES•
MOTION by Ms. Modig, seconded by Mr. Saba, to approve the January
22, 1992, Planning Commission minutes as written.
IIPON A DOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON BETZOLD DECLARED THE
MOTION CARRIED IINANIMOIISLY.
1. RECEIVE AND APPROVE THE 1992 COMMUIdITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT
ALLOCATION RECOMMENDATION:
Ms. Dacy stated the typical process for CDBG allocations is that
the request is reviewed by the Human Resources Commission regarding
the Human Service portion, the Planning Commission reviews the
entire allocation, and the City Council takes final action. The
City Council has established a public hearing for February 24,
1992, to consider the City's allocation for 1992 CDBG funds.
Ms . Dacy stated Anoka County has not yet conf irmed the exact dollar
amount for 1992 so for planning purposes, the City is using a
figure of $110,200 (5% less than 1991). Typically, the City has
allocated 30% of the total to the Human Resources Commission to
distribute to human service programs. That amount is $33,060.
Ms. Dacy stated the City of Fridley must reimburse the City of Coon
Rapids $25,000 which the City borrowed in 1991 to use in the
Riverview Heights Park acquisition project.
Ms. Dacy stated this leaves $52,140. Concurrently, ACCAP is
requesting funding from cities in Anoka County to help them
purchase 4-6 two bedroom units for their transitional housing
program. ACCAP has two sites in mind--a 4-plex in Columbia Heights
PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING, FEBROARY 12, 1992 PAGE 2
and a 4-plex in Fridley. ACCAP is requesting $23, 026 from the City
of Fridley.
Ms. Dacy stated that subtracting the $23,026, that leaves the City
with $29,114. Since the outcome of the Maxfield Study, the City
Council and HRA want to have a joint meeting to outline general
goals for the City's housing future over the next 10 years, and
they want staff to come back to them with specific recommendations.
The Planning Commission will be involved in that process. She
stated that since the CDBG funding year does not begin until July
1, 1992, there is time to get the plans together and look at
different funds for housing programs and match the money with the
needs.
Ms. Dacy stated that staff is recommending that the remaining CDBG
funds be allocated to the Riverview Heights Park project. In July
or August when the housing analysis is completed, they can consider
a reallocation of funds. That can be done by having a public
hearing and reallocating those funds to something else.
Ms. Dacy stated the Council did look favorably at the ACCAP
request. They did not believe it is appropriate to take it out of
the Human Service allocation; however, one councilmember is
concerned about the amount of money the Human Service part of the
CDBG program receives.
Ms. Dacy stated staff is recommending the following:
1. The City transfer $25,000 of its 1992 CDBG allocation to
the City of Coon Rapids for repayment of the borrowed
1991 CDBG funds.
2. The City allocate 30% of the total amount available to
Human Services. This amount is expected to be $33,060.
3.
With or without the ACCAP request, the City allocate the
remaining CDBG funds to the Riverview Heights Park
pzoject as an "interim" option. This money can be
reallocated later for housing programs if it is not
required for completion of the Riverview Heights
acquisition.
Mr. Saba stated that if Fridley gives $23,000 to ACCAP as requested
for the transitional housing program, will ACCAP then have enough
funds to acquire property or is this just a small portion of what
they need overall and they will make these same requests on an
annual basis for years to come?
Ms. Dacy stated ACCAP may not get all the amounts requested from
all the cities. It is her understanding that if ACCAP does not get
^ the total amount requested_from CDBG monies, they may pursue other
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PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING. FEBROARY 12, 1992 PAGE 3
grant requests. Fridley is under no obligation to fund ACCAP the
entire amount requested or to fund them at all.
Mr. Saba stated that since the City usually allocates 30% of its
total CDBG allocation to Human Services, maybe this is an
opportunity to accumulate some of this money, other than Human
Services, and use it to purchase blighted homes or property for
some type of housing rehab, or to even tear down blighted buildings
and sell the property. It would be a way of obtaining funds to be
proactive in trying to get rid of some of the blighted homes and
properties they have in the City.
Mr. Sielaff stated it is difficult to make a decision when they do
not know how many other cities are going to contribute to ACCAP.
If Fridley is the only city that funds the program; would ACCAP
still accept the money and apply it to this program? He would feel
better if all the other cities contributed also.
Ms. Dacy stated Blaine has already funded $60,000 and Coon Rapids
has funded $44,000 from last year's allocation for projects
specific in their community. Blaine, Coon Rapids, Fridley, and
Columbia Heights are the largest contributors to this particular
project. Because Columbia Heights already has such an extensive
housing program, they are looking at not funding this particular
program.
Mr. Sielaff stated he could see Mr. Saba's point. Why not do
something for their own city? If they are going to do something
on a county-wide basis, then everyone should contribute to the
project. He believed they have an obligation to look after
themselves and use the money in Fridley.
Mr. Saba stated he did not have strong feelings either way, but it
would be nice if Fridley had some type of program they could put
this money toward. Granted, $23,000 is not a lot of money, but it
could be a start.
Ms. Modig stated she would be more in favor of funding ACCAP's
request and pooling it with funding from other cities than trying
to do it individually.
Mr. Betzold stated that if the homeless problem is anywhere near
what it appears to be, he certainly did not want to turn down
anything, even a pittance, to get this thing going.
MOTION by Mr. Kondrick, seconded by Ms. Savage, to make the
following recommendations to the City Council:
l. The City transfer $25,000 of its 1992 CDBG allocation to
the City of Coon Rapids for repayment of the borrowed
1991 CDBG funds.
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PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING. FEBRUARY 12, 1992 PAGE 4
2. The City allocate 30% of the total amount available to
Human Services. This amount is expected to be $33,060.
3. With or without the ACCAP request, the City allocate the
remaining CDBG funds to the Riverview Heights Park
project as an '�interim" option. This money can be
reallocated later for housing programs if it is not
required for completion of the Riverview Heights
acquisition.
IIPON A VOICE VOTE� ALL VOTING AYE� CHAIRPERSON BETZOLD DECLARED
THE MOTION CARRIED IINANIMOIISLY.
MOTION by Ms. Savage, seconded by Ms. Modig, to recommend that the
City Council allocate $23,026 of the remaining 1992 CDBG funds to
ACCAP to assist in developing transitional housing in Anoka County.
IIPON A VOICE VOTE, SIELAFF VOTING NAY, CHAIRPERSON BETZOLD DECLARED
THE MOTION CARRIED BY A VOTE OF 5-1.
2. RECEIVE JANUARY 6, 1992, PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION
MINUTES•
MOTION by Mr. Kondrick, seconded by Ms. Modig, to receive the
^ January 6, 1992, Parks & Recreation Commission minutes.
IIPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, CIiAIRPER80N BETZOLD DECLARED
THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOIISLY.
3. RECEIVE JANUARY 9, 1992, HOUSING & REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY
MINUTES:
MOTION by Mr. Kondrick, seconded by Ms. Savage, to receive the
January 9, 1992, Housing & Redevelopment Authority minutes.
IIPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON BETZOLD DECLARED
THE MOTION CARRIED IINANIMOIISLY.
4. RECEIVE JANUARY 9, 1992, HUMAN RESOURCES COMMISSION MINUTES•
MOTION by Mr. Saba, seconded by Mr. Kondrick, to receive the
January 9, 1992, Human Resources Commission minutes.
IIPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE� CHAIRPERSON BETZOLD DECLARED
THE MOTION CARRIED LTNANIMOIISLY.
5. RECEIVE JANUARY 16 1992 ENVIRONMENTAL OUALITY & ENERGY
COMMISSION MINUTES:
� MOTION by Mr. Sielaff, seconded by Mr. Saba, to receive the January
16, 1992, Environmental Quality & Energy Commission minutes.
PLANNING COMMI33ION MEETING, FEBRIIARY 12, 1992 PAGE 5
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IIPON A VOICE VOTE� ALL VOTING AYE� CHAIRPERSON BETZOLD DECLARED
THE MOTION CARRIED ONANIMOII3LY.
ADJOURNMENT•
MOTION by Mr. Sielaff, seconded by Mr. Saba, to adjourn the
meeting. Upon a voice vote, all voting aye, Chairperson Betzold
declared the motion carried and the February 12, 1992, Planning
Commission meeting adjourned at 8:15 p.m.
Re.pectfully ubmitted,
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Lyn e Saba �
Recording Secretary
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CITY OF FRIDLEY
PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING� JANUARY 22, 1992
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CALL TO ORDER•
Chairperson Betzold called the January 22, 1992, Planning
Commission meeting to order at 7:30 p.m.
ROLL CALL•
Members Present: Don Betzold, Dean Saba, Diane Savage,
Brad Sielaff
Members Absent: Dave Kondrick, Sue Sherek, Connie Modig
Others Present: Barbara Dacy, Community Development Director
Michele McPherson, Planning Assistant
Scott Davis, Planning Intern
Dale Beckman, BRW, Inc.
Joseph Maertens, 144 River Edge Way
Lee Maxfield, Maxfield Research Group, Inc.
Mary Bujold, Maxfield Research Group, Inc.
� APPROVAL OF JANUARY 8 1992 PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES:
MOTION by Mr. Saba, seconded by Ms. Savage, to approve the January
8, 1992, Planning Commission minutes as written.
IIPON A VOICE VOTE� ALL VOTING AYE� CHAIRPERSON BETZOLD DECI�ARED
THE MOTION CARRIED IINANIMOII3LY.
1. PUBLIC HEARING: CONSIDERATION OF A REZONING ZOA #91 04 BY
BRW, INC., FOR JOSEPH MAERTENS•
To rezone Lot 3, Block 2, Caba Realty First Addition, from M-
2, Heavy Industrial, to C-3, General Shopping Center, and to
rezone Lot 2, Block 2, Caba Realty First Addition, from C-2,
General Business, to C-3, G�neral Shopping Center, generally
located at 83rd and University Avenue N.E., to allow for
consistent zoning for a proposed Wal-Mart shopping center.
MOTION by Mr. Sielaff, seconded by Ms. Savage, to waive the reading
of the public hearing notice and open the public hearing.
IIPON A VOICE VOTL� ALL VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON BETZOLD DECLARED
THE MOTION CARRIED AND THE PIIBLIC HEARING OPEN AT 7:31 P.M.
Ms. McPherson stated the property is generally located at 83rd and
University Avenue, just south and west of the old Raphael
^ Restaurant, now Moose Lodge No. 38.
. PLANNINa COMMI88ION MEETING JANUARY 22, 1992 PAGE 2
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Ms. McPherson stated the purpose of the rezoning is to create
contiguous zoning with the remainder of the parcels to the south
which are already zoned C-3, General Shopping Center district.
The two subject parcels are part of the Wal-Mart development. The
proposed use for the two subj ect parcels is for parking and service
drive areas for the Wal-Mart development.
Ms. McPherson stated rezoning requests are evaluated on three
criteria: (1) consistency of the proposed use with the proposed
zoning district; (2) compatibility of the use with adjacent uses;
and (3) conformance to the district regulations. If these two lots
were to be developed separately from the Wal-Mart proposal, they
would meet the minimum requirements of the C-3, General Shopping
Center District regulations. The proposed use of parking and
service drive areas is a consistent accessory use and a permitted
accessory use under the C-3 regulations. In addition, the C-3
zoning would be compatible with the existing C-3 zoning to the
south and the C-2 zoning of the Moose Lodge No. 38 property. It
is also consistent and compatible with the M-2, Heavy Industrial
zoning, to the west. The parcels on the west are currently used
as office/warehouse/showroom-type buildings.
Ms. McPherson stated that as the request meets the three criteria
^ for evaluating rezoning request, staff recommends that the Planning
Commission recommend approval of the rezoning request with one
stipulation:
1. The plat request, P.S. #91-04, by BRW, Inc., shall be
approved.
Mr. Dale Beckman, BRW, Inc., stated he is representing Wal-Mart.
He stated this is basically the same site plan that the Planning
Commission saw at the December meeting with one exception. The
site plan now shows conceptually an approximately 30,000 sq. ft.
expansion onto Sam's Club. There are some other details that need
to be worked out, and they will be back in March or April with that
proposal.
Mr. Beckman stated that as a result of Wal-Mart making the bold
statement that they want to in Fridl�y by the expansion of the
Sam's Club in addition to the Wal-Mart store, they took another
look at the entrances of the Sam's Club in relationship to the Wal-
Mart store. What they have done is flipped the building end for
end putting the Wal-Mart entrance further to the north which allows
them to take advantage of parking on the north end and allows more
parking to be set aside for the Sam's Club expansion. Where they
had the garden center as an appendage hanging off the north side
of the building, they have now incorporated the garden center into
n the design of the building. They will still have the exterior
treatment for the garden center that was presented in December.
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PLANNING COMMI88ION MEETING, JANUARY 22 1992 PAGE 3
MOTION by Mr. Sielaff, seconded by Mr. Saba, to close the public
hearing.
IIPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON BETZOLD DECLARED
THE MOTION CARRIED AND THE PIIBLIC HEARING CLOSED AT 7:40 P.M.
MOTION by Mr. Sielaff, seconded by Ms. Savage, to recommend to City
Council approval of ZOA #91-04, by BRW, Inc., for Joseph Maertens,
to rezone Lot 3, Block 2, Caba Realty First Addition, from M-2,
Heavy Industrial, to C-3, General Shopping Center, and to rezone
Lot 2, Block 2, Caba Realty First Addition, from C-2, General
Business, to C-3, General Shopping Center, generally located at
83rd and University Avenue N.E. , to allow for consistent zoning for
a proposed Wal-Mart shopping center, with the following
stipulation:
1. The plat request, P.S. #91-04, by BRW, Inc., shall be
approved.
IIPON A VOICE VOTE, .ALL VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON BETZOLD DECLARED
THE MOTION CARRIED IINANIMOIISLY.
2. PRESENTATION OF THE HOUSING STUDY BY MAXFIELD RESEARCH GROUP:
^ Ms. Dacy stated about one year ago, the HRA asked staff to begin
looking at some of the housing issues affecting Fridley. In
January 1991, she and the City Manager interviewed other first-ring
suburbs about other programs they offer for their homeowners and
what they do about declining multi-family properties. One of those
communities was Brooklyn Center. Brooklyn Center had a housing
study done by Maxfield Research Group, Inc., who took a community
wide and market approach to the housing issue. Based on that and
other factors, the HRA hired Maxfield Research Group, Inc., to.
conduct a housing study for the City of Fridley for a number of
reasons:
1. To help the HRA identify areas for successful housing
development and redevelopment projects;
2. The HRA wanted more than just a demographic study; they
wanted a neighborhood focus study.
3. In-house and staff in general has been receiving a lot
of information about recent Met Council studies and
organizations about the changing demographic patterns in
this decade, one of which is the decline of the first-
time homebuyer age group and what does that mean for
first-ring suburbs such as Fridley.
4. The Housing Chapter of the Comprehensive Plan will need
� to be amended.
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PLANNING COMNIIBBION MEETING JANUARY 22, 1992 � PAGE 4
5. To help the City initiate its own process where the City
adopts its goals and policies in maintaining and
improving the housing stock and livability of Fridley.
6. The housing study can be used as a
interested developers or homeowners who
about the status of housing in Fridley.
market tool for
want to know more
Ms. Dacy stated Lee Maxfield and Mary Bujold are at the meeting to
present the major findings of the housing study.
Ms. Mary Bujold stated that it is a pleasure to present their
findings to the Planning Commission and to thank the City once
again for allowing.them to conduct this study. She would like to
make her presentation in four parts: (1) review the methodology
of how they conducted the study; (2) briefly talk about their
research findings; (3) review the recommendations in general; (4)
open it up for questions.
Ms. Bujold stated that when they first began the study, in order
to determine a specific work program, they met with Mr. Burns, Ms.
Dacy and some other members of the Planning Department to define
the work tasks that needed to be involved and to designate specific
neighborhood areas for later study. They then began to determine
and look at some national demographic trends. Once they determined
the national trends, they started to narrow their focus and look
at regional trends within the Twin Cities metropolitan area, and,
finally, how Fridley fits into that scheme and what Fridley's
market position is within the Twin Cities in relation to those
demographic changes.
Ms. Bujold stated they conducted extensive interviews with a number
of people in the community: school administrators, real estate
agents and realtors, church pastors and membership directors,
rental building owners and managers. They interviewed a number of
City officials: Parks and Recreation Department, Assessing
Department, Crime Prevention Specialist, Fire Marshall with respect
to rental property inspections, Public Works Department, Housing
Specialist who administrates the Section 8 Housing Progra�, and
other planning officials. They talked to major employers in the
community.
Ms. Bujold stated they conducted a visual survey of each of the
seven neighborhoods identified in the study to determine each
neighborhood's strengths and weaknesses, aiming specifically at
land uses and the condition of the housing. They tried to identify
suggestions and recommendations for either maintenance of the
housing stock or potential areas that needed a vehicle to be
redeveloped in the future.
Ms. Bujold stated that from the results of their research, they
tried to determine who Fridley is. Some of the results they found
• PLANNING COMMIBSION MEETING� JANUARY 22. 1992 PAGE 5
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were that Fridley is practically a fully developed suburb. Fridley
has little vacant land available for development, and most of the
development that will take place in the future will be the result
of redevelopment on areas that exist now. The housing stock is
primarily older. The majority of the homes were built in the
1950's and 1960's. They did not find any specifically blighted
areas; however, they did identify areas where they felt the housing
may be starting to deteriorate which should be targeted for
programs that would help homeowners and managers of buildings to
try to maintain the housing.
Ms. Bujold stated they found Fridley, to a large respect, would be
dependent upon demographic conditions that will happen, not only
in the Twin Cities, but in close proximity to areas surrounding
Fridley. Fridley will be competing with other suburbs for
residents, and it will be up to Fridley to monitor what is
happening in other areas. There are a large number of areas to the
north where there are still large amounts of land available for new
housing, and there are a lot of people who choose to purchase new
housing. There are also people who choose to purchase existing
housing in areas that are attractive and desirable.
Ms. Bujold stated they found Fridley has a very strong employment
base, that there are a lot of people who come to Fridley on a daily
� basis to work, even though they may not live in Fridley. Fridley
has a reputation for having a very strong school system. The four
school districts located in Fridley all have very good reputations.
Ms. Bujold stated Fridley has a very strong Neighborhood Crime
Watch Program which attests to the fact that Fridley residents take
pride in their community and want to see that the community remains
safe and livable.
Ms. Bujold stated that in their conversations with people in the
community, they found there is a strong community loyalty in
Fridley that they have not found in other communities where they
have conducted studies.
Ms. Bujold stated they did not find any large concentrations of
rental housing in Fridley that would create significant problems
for Fridley.
Ms. Bujold stated they found that Fridley has very good access to
freeways and metro highways. The good transportation system makes
travel times to and from employment very small. This is one of the
reasons why Fridley is a very desirable place to live. They heard
often from people they spoke with that transportation issues are
very important to residents and that Fridley is perceived to be a
very centrally located community.
�` Ms. Bujold identified some of their recommendations, both short and
long terms needs:
•� PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING. JANUARY 22. 1992 PAGE 6
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1. The need to for Fridley to take a proactive approach to
managing its housing issues.
2. The need to promote Fridley as a desirable residential
community.
3. The need to emphasize more the advantages of living in
Fridley, perhaps through local realtors.
4. The need to realize that Fridley will need to compete
with surrounding suburbs for developed and developing
housing for future residents.
5. The need to maintain and upgrade the existing housing
base and to assist owners, both single family and
landlords, to be able to do that.
6. The need to encourage people to buy housing in Fridley.
There are many people who rent in Fridley at this time,
and they would likely be a very strong potential market
to own housing.
7. The need to maintain the existing housing stock.
� 8. The need to provide housing alternatives for empty
nesters and seniors who want to stay in the community;
and to free up existing single family homes for younger
households.
9. The need to provide housing for the low and moderate
income residents, but housing that will more meet their
needs, not just through a program of deferred maintenance
where the.housing through lack of maintenance becomes
lower rents and automatically attracts low income
renters.
10. The need to encourage and educate small property owners
on how to better screen tenants and better manage
buildings.
11. The need to keep City services applicable and to maintain
City services.
Ms. Bujold stated that in the Executive Summary, there are specific
recommendations for each neighborhood and sometimes for parcels in
each neighborhood.
Ms. Bujold stated she and Mr. Maxfield would be happy to answer
� any questions the Commission members might have.
�� PLANNI_N(3 COMMISSION MEETING� JANUARY 22, 1992 PAGE 7
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Mr. Saba stated Ms. Bujold said a lot of good things about the
community, but nothing was mentioned in the report about the
problems that are being experienced in other communities from low
income residents. He believed the City has to be very careful how
they manage redevelopment of low income housing so it is not
congregated all in one area. He did not see a lot of information
in the study about that type of housing.
Ms. Bujold stated one of the things they wanted to stress in the
study was the idea that what is often happening with the attraction
of low income renters is not that the housing has been specifically
designated or managed property for low income tenants. What has
happened is that because of deteriorating housing, the housing and
the rents the owners are able to obtain for those units continue
to decline, and the whole thing starts to feed on itself. The
rents decline. Because of the increasing costs and expenses, the
property owner can no longer afford to cashflow, has trouble
meeting expenses and paying bills; and, therefore, property owners
sometimes do not screen tenants properly and take any renter they
can just to get a monthly rent check. The housing then starts to
attract low income renters through a system of deferred
maintenance.
Ms. Bujold stated what they are trying to advocate or recommend is
� that if the City decides to develop low income housing that it be
done in a fashion where it provides property management and proper
screening of tenants, so it is not done haphazardly and not done
through a system where the housing stock is not being properly
maintained and the property is deteriorating which attracts a lower
income tenant.
Mr. Saba asked if there are any places where this is being done
successfully.
Ms. Bujold stated Housing and Redevelopment Authorities in.Twin
Cities are identifying specific areas or specific units where they
place low income tenants. Typically, it is not large areas. It
is usually scattered site housing that are managed by the HRA and
by the City in an attempt to screen tenants through a specific
system where people are placed in the program and then placed in
these units.
Mr. Betzold stated that assuming the City could come up with some
funds or rehab loans that might be given out to property owners as
an inducement to refurbish housing, should they concentrate on
different areas or should they hone in on one area, or try to get
as much money as possible to upgrade an area such as Hyde Park or
Riverview Heights?
Ms. Bujold stated some of that depends on looking at a specific
�` area and determining the extent of the deterioration. Obviously,
if there are a majority of homes that are deteriorating, perhaps
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PLANNINa CONIl�ISSION MEETING. JANUARY 22, 1992 PAGE 8
just upgrading one home is really not going to really raise
property values of the other homes in the area, and there will not
be a substantial increase in property value. If the City can
provide money for an area where a number of the homes are
deteriorating, then rehabbing or upgrading as many of those homes
as possible would certainly benefit an entire neighborhood.
Ms. Betzold asked Ms. Bujold if she perceived the Hyde Park and
Riverview Heights neighborhoods as two areas where the City should
concentrate some resources and encourage people who live there to
get into this kind of program?
Ms. Bujold stated there is evidence that there are a number of
property owners in Hyde Park who are trying to upgrade their
properties right now. The City needs to set some priorities for
specific areas they want to redevelop or determine other areas that
need to be focused on. She stated that in the study they did
identify a couple of areas where it would be in the City's best
interest to do that.
Mr. Saba asked Ms. Bujold if they saw any relationship between
encouraging maintenance of properties and rehab of single family
homes, and then the government slapping the homeowners with higher
taxes, causing property owners to postpone improvements which, in
turn, causes the housing stock to degrade. This is especially true
today with fixed incomes and high employment rates. Did the
consultant have any solutions for this problem?
Mr. Lee Maxfield stated that he really believed this is really a
legislature issue. Minneapolis has some of the same problems -
people improving and upgrading their homes and then finding taxes
doubled in three years. He stated it really goes back to the
assessing process itself. He stated they have been working with
the state assessors, and they have now come up with an�issue
statement that if someone is simply replacing a furnace or changing
the exterior of the house, that should not and will not increase
the value by itself . However, if someone is putting on a maj or
addition, that will increase the value if other homes with similar
features are selling for more.
Mr. Saba stated it seems to be
improving or maintaining housing
house payments and taxes exists,
incomes.
a major roadblock in terms of
stock where that fear of higher
particularly for people on fixed
Mr. Maxfield stated he would not say it is a maj or roadblock. When
a family decides to add onto their house, it is typically because
they realize putting on a$20,000 addition is cheaper than moving
to another community and spending $40,000-50,000 to get what they
want in a different house. So, it becomes an economic issue.
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� PLANNIN(� COMMI88ION MEETING� JANIIARY 22, 1992 PAGE 9
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Ms. Dacy stated that when Mr. Maxfield and Ms. Bujold made their
presentation to the Council on January 1,3, the Mayor raised the
same issue that Mr. Saba has raised. The City Assessors are
telling them that they will not increase the value of a property
if the activity is strictly for repair and maintenance. It is
recognized that it might be a hurdle for some, and maybe this issue
can be addressed in some fashion.
Mr. Saba stated his question is: What is repair and maintenance?
Any time you replace cedar shakes with steel siding, that is not
repair and maintenance, that is improvement. So, those issues have
to be addressed.
Ms. Dacy stated that whatever city policy or program they work out,
it means incorporating the Assessing Department into the decision-
making of those policies or programs.
Mr. Maxfield stated that Des Moines, Iowa, through a state statute,
has a five year tax abatement program for anyone who adds or
improves his/her home.
Mr. Betzold stated that Ms. Bujold had stated that the majority of
the homes in Fridley were built in the 1950's and 1960's. The
standard at that time was a single car garage. Practically all the
� houses were built right in the middle of the lot with a single car
attached garage. Now, the standard is two cars. The single car
garage is a detractor and brings down the value of the house,
because everyone wants a double car garage. The Code was changed
so that a garage can be built closer to the lot line, but even if
the money is available, some homeowners will not be able to add on
to their garage because of the way the houses were positioned on
the lot.
Mr. Saba stated the one good thing about that is it keeps some of
those houses with single car garages in the medium price range and
and affordable price range for some buyers.
Mr. Maxfield stated one of the recommendations they have made is
that there should be some direction or guidelines on home
improvements.
Mr. Betzold stated that regarding seniors, they know there are a
lot of seniors in Fridley who want to stay in Fridl'ey, but there
is a shortage of senior housing. There have been proposals for
senior housing, but nothing has happened and it is not going to
happen quickly. Is there a way that the City can take existing
housing or buildings and try to put some money into those buildings
to make housing amenable to seniors? Should the City be looking
along those lines?
� Mr. Maxfield stated the senior they have identified who wants to
own his/her own building is one specifically looking for price.
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PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING JANIIARY 22, 1992 PAGE 10
That is about 1/3-1/2 of the senior market and addresses the lower
moderate income senior. The one drawback with older buildings is
there is usually a high level of two bedrooms units,-so they either
have to start reconfiguring units or the second bedroom is only
$30-40 more than the rent for a one bedroom unit. There are also
some issues on design. A lot of seniors like certain amenities
which are not found in some of the old buildings. So, they end up
with a segment that is, yes, driven by price, but a good share of
the senior market is looking for something with more features. It
is expensive to retrofit an older building.
Mr. Saba asked if there is a way to build senior housing that is
more_ attractive to seniors than to young families or single people.
It is difficult to build an apartment complex and designate it
"seniors only" because of discrimination.
Mr. Maxfield stated a building can be designated for seniors only
as long as the building has a certain level of services, emergency
medical care, programming for seniors, etc. With an older
building, they have to basically start all over with different
names, management, and amenities.
Mr. Betzold asked if it would be better for Fridley to find an area
and build new housing or are they better off trying to retrofit old
� buildings or a combination of both?
Mr. Maxfield stated the City would be money ahead with new
construction. There are two reasons seniors are staying in their
homes in Fridley: (1) There is no senior housing available
locally; and (2) the product they are looking for typically does
not have the features they are looking fo�, like washer and dryer,
and eating area in the kitchen.
Mr. Betzold stated the need for senior housing is almost right now.
Ten years from now the seniors who are still in their own homes now
are not going to be here anymore. If they build senior housing ten
years from now, they will have a whole different generation. It
seems like they have a very limited window to work with.
Mr. Maxfield stated he believed there was a need for senior housing
five years ago. A lot of the seniors that Ms. Bujold heard about
are still waiting for a senior project so they can stay in Fridley.
Ms. Bujold stated they conducted a demographic analysis, and they
identified that there is a substantial senior population now.
There is also a substantial older middle age empty nester group
that is going to be aging in the next ten years. While there is
a substantial older population in Fridley now, there are also a
lot of people moving up toward that senior age group who will be
starting to think about making choices for alternative housing.
� -
, PLANNING COMMI88ION MEETING. JANIIARY 22, 1992 PAGE 11
�,
Mr. Saba stated that the report mentioned Springbrook Apartments
in a positive light. However, right now that apartment complex
tends to be one of the most problem areas in Fridley in terms of
crime and disturbances. That scares him in terms of talking about
creating more apartment buildings in Fridley. What can the City
or an apartment building owner do to avoid these types of
situations?
Mr. Maxfield stated if there are already tenant problems in a
building, quite often a Park Board, Police Department, and other
city agencies may not know exactly what is going on. So part of
the solution is simply training and educating the people in the
community on how to deal with some of the issues. Maybe the Police
Department needs to assign an officer to patrol the hallways of
buildings. This has been done in Brooklyn Center in cooperation
with the property owner.
Mr. Maxfield stated that if there is no problem but they can see
foresee a problem coming, it is more dealing with the landlord,
particularly the smaller building owners, and training them how to
maintain their building, to take advantage of services that are
available to screen tenants, how to avoid problems, and other
issues, such as creating a small landlord association in Fridley.
A lot of small property owners do not have the time or have not
� taken the time to learn how to be a landlord.
Mr. Saba stated he really liked the recommendation that the City
work with real estate offices within Fridley to make up a brochure
highlighting the school systems, parks, community safety, and the
variability in the housing stock.
Ms. Savage stated that one of the things she dislikes is University
Avenue which has a lot of used car lots and commercial which is
typical of many suburbs. However, she hoped that the City can do
something to improve the look of University Avenue and some of the
shopping areas along it.
Ms. Dacy stated the City Council and HRA hope to have a joint
meeting on February 13, 1992. One of the items on that agenda is
to identify a planning process to establish goals, identify some
of the limitations with some of the funding programs from outside
sources and to evaluate some of the thing done now in-house, and
to look at a broad range of initial issues from code enforcement
to new construction. Staff is in the process of developing a
strategic planning process authorized by the City Council and HRA.
Mr. Betzold asked staff to send notices of this meeting to the
Planning Commission members as he would like to attend. If the
HRA and Council are going to be identifying issues, it would be
helpful for the Planning Commission to be kept informed.
,''�
Ms. Dacy stated she will be happy to do so.
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'�° PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING� JANUARY 22, 1992 PAGE 12
/�
Mr. Maxfield stated that if the Planning Commission members have
any further comments or questions, they should feel free to contact
them through Ms. Dacy.
Mr. Betzold thanked Mr. Maxfield and Ms. Bujold for their
presentation.
3. RECEIVE NOVEMBER 4. 1991 PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION
MINLITES •
MOTION by Mr. Sielaff, seconded by Ms. Savage, to receive the
November 4, 1991, Parks & Recreation Commission minutes.
IIPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON BETZOLD DECLARED
THE MOTION CARRIED IINANIMOIIBLY.
ADJOURNMENT:
MOTION by Mr. Saba, seconded by Mr. Sielaff, to adjourn the
meeting. Upon a voice vote, all voting aye, Chairperson Betzold
declared the motion carried and the January 22, 1992, Planning
Commission meeting adjourned at 9:00 p.m.
� � Res ectfully s mitted,
Ly e Saba
Recording Secretary
��