11/24/2003 - 29230CITY OF FRIDLEY
CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
NOVEMBER 24, 2003
The regular meeting of the Fridley City Council was called to order by Mayor Lund at 7:30 p.m.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE:
Mayor Lund led the Council and audience in the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.
ROLL CALL:
MEMBERS PRESENT:
MEMBERS ABSENT:
Mayor Lund, Councilmember Barnette, Councilmember Billings,
Councilmember Wolfe and Councilmember Bolkcom.
None.
APPROVAL OF PROPOSED CONSENT AGENDA:
APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
City Council Meeting of October 27, 2003.
APPROVED.
1. RECEIVE THE MINUTES OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING OF
NOVEMBER 5, 2003.
RECEIVED.
2. RESOLUTION NO. 62-2003 APPROVING A SUBDIVISION, LOT SPLIT, LS
#03-01, TO CREATE TWO BUILDABLE LOTS, GENERALLY LOCATED AT
130 ELY STREET N.E. (WARD 3).
Dr. William Burns, City Manager, said Tom and Dianna Marchiafava owned two non-buildable,
30—foot lots at 130 Ely Street N.E. The City owned a 60-foot buildable lot next to their property.
Their proposal was for them and the City to split the properties into two buildable properties with
frontage on Ashton Avenue. The Planning Commission approved the proposal. Staff
recommended Council's approval, subject to the following stipulations:
1. All necessary permits shall be acquired prior to construction;
2. Grading and drainage plan to be approved by City's engineering staff prior to the
issuance of any building permits, in order to minimize impacts to the surrounding
properties;
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 24, 2003 PAGE 2
3. Property owner of record at time of building permit application to pay required park fees
prior to issuance of building permits;
4. Property owner of record at time of building permit application to pay all water and
sewer connection fees prior to issuance of a building permit.
ADOPTED RESOLUTION NO. 62-2003.
3. RESOLUTION NO. 63-2003 OF THE CITY OF FRIDLEY, MINNESOTA,
APPROVING THE TRANSFER AND EXCHANGE OF CERTAIN PARCELS OF
LAND WITH TOM MARCffiAFAVA AND DIANNA MARCHIAFAVA (WARD
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Dr. William Burns, City Manager, stated this would allow the exchance of the properties
previously mentioned. Staff recommended Council's approval with one stipulation:
1. The Marchiafavas shall pay any costs associated with the preparation of and recording of
any documents necessary to effect the land exchange on behalf of the City.
ADOPTED RESOLUTION NO. 63-2003.
4. SPECIAL USE PERMIT REQUEST, SP #03-18, BY ELECTRIC MOTOR
SUPPLY, TO ALLOW FOR LIMITED OUTDOOR STORAGE, GENERALLY
LOCATED AT 4650 MAIN STREET N.E. (WARD 3).
Dr. William Burns, City Manager, stated Mr. Brad Bullock wished to store electric equipment in
the rear yard of his company's property located at 4650 Main Street N.E. At its meeting on
November 5, 2003, the Planning Commission recommended approval with two stipulations.
Staff recommended Council's approval with two stipulations.
APPROVED SPECIAL USE PERMIT REQUEST, SP #03-18 WITH THE FOLLOWING
STIPULATIONS: 1. THE PETITIONER IS RESPONSIBLE FOR SCREENING THE
LIMITED OUTDOOR STORAGE AREA IN ORDER TO COMPLY WITH CODE
REQUIREMENTS BY JUNE 1, 2004; 2. NO OUTDOOR STORAGE OTHER THAN THE
STORAGE OF ITEMS USED FOR THIS BUSINESS.
5. RESOLUTION NO. 64-2003 APPROVING RECYCLING SERVICE FEES.
Dr. William Burns, City Manager, stated staff recommended that Council raise the City's
recycling fee to accommodate increased costs for its recycling program. The increase would
change the quarterly recycling fee from $5.95 to $6.06. Staff recommended Council's approval.
ADOPTED RESOLUTION NO. 64-2003.
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 24, 2003 PAGE 3
6. RESOLUTION NO. 65-2003 IN SUPPORT OF AN APPLICATION FOR A
MINNESOTA LAWFUL GAMBLING PREMISE PERMIT FOR THE
MINNESOTA SPORTS FEDERATION (MINNESOTA SPORTS CAFE, 7651
HIGHWAY 65 N.E.) (WARD 2).
Dr. William Burns, City Manager, said the renewal was requested by the Minnesota Sports
Federation for a pull-tab operation at the Minnesota Sports Cafe located at 7651 Highway 65.
Staff recommended Council's approval.
ADOPTED RESOLUTION NO. 65-2003.
7. RESOLUTION NO. 66-2003 AUTHORIZING AN INCREASE IN COMPEN-
SATION AND CHANGES IN CERTAIN BENEFITS FOR THE 2004 CALENDAR
YEAR.
Dr. William Burns, City Manager, said staff recommended a 2 percent increase in salaries and
automobile allowances for 2004. The increases will cost the City $152,733 and are consistent
with increases in other cities as well as many private sector increases. Staff recommended
Council's approval.
ADOPTED RESOLUTION NO. 66-2003.
8. FIRST READING OF AN ORDINANCE RECODIFYING THE FRIDLEY CITY
CODE BY AMENDING APPENDIX F TO PROVIDE FOR THE ADJUSTMENT
OF SALARIES FOR THE MAYOR AND COUNCILMEMBERS IN
ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 2.07 OF THE CHARTER OF THE CITY OF
FRIDLEY.
Dr. William Burns, City Manager, said the ordinance would adjust the salaries of the Mayor and
Council for 2004 by 2 percent. Staff recommended Council's approval.
THIS ITEM WAS REMOVED FROM THE CONSENT AGENDA AND PLACED ON
THE REGULAR AGENDA.
9. CLAIMS:
APPROVED CLAIM NOS. 114074 THROUGH 114360.
10. LICENSES:
APPROVED THE LICENSES AS SUBMITTED AND AS ON FILE.
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FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 24, 2003 PAGE 4
11. ESTIMATES:
Park Construction
500 — 73�d Avenue N.E.
Suite 123
Fridley, MN 55432
University Avenue Storm Water Pond Project
Estimate No. 1 $95,168.20
APPROVED.
APPROVAL OF PROPOSED CONSENT AGENDA:
Councilmember Bolkcom asked to remove Item 8 from the consent agenda to the regular agenda.
Mayor Lund asked with respect to Item No. 5 if the 4.4 percent increase on the multi-family rate
was affected by the Charter amendment.
Mr. Scott Hickok, Community Development Director, said it was not. It was not an increase
across the board, but an increase based on service.
No one in the audience spoke regarding the consent agenda items.
MOTION by Councilmember Barnette to adopt the proposed consent agenda with the removal of
Item 8. Seconded by Councilmember Wolfe.
UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
ADOPTION OF AGENDA:
MOTION by Mayor Lund to adopt the agenda with the addition of Item No. 8. Seconded by
Councilmember Wolfe.
UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
OPEN FORUM:
Ms. Colette Hanson, 6281 Fifth Street N.E., said two years ago they worked with the City and
with a plumbing company they recommended to repair their sewer line. The sewer line backed
up and they had to have it repaired.
Mr. Joe Munn from Joe's Sewer and Water located in Brooklyn Park, said he was called out to
6281 Fifth Street N.E., for a sewer problem. In looking at the sewer line, he noticed it was
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FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 24, 2003 PAGE 5
pitched toward the house. He told Ms. Hanson he thought they could fix it. Ms. Hanson felt the
City should be responsible for part of the bill.
Mr. Haukaas, Public Works Director, said he was familiar with what happened at this residence.
The house itself was very near the elevation of the sewer, so there was not a lot of room for
service pitch. There was work done approximately two years ago. At that time, Engineering had
never been contacted as far as verification of elevations. A sewer connection permit was pulled.
He said their involvement was to check the connections. He said they did not get involved with
the sewer service from the street to the house other than making sure they were connected
properly. They have had discussions with Ms. Hanson.
Mayor Lund said there was mention that the City recommended a plumber.
Mr. Haukaas said the City did not make any recommendations on any contractors.
Mayor Lund asked if a permit was pulled and if there was an inspection.
Mr. Haukaas said he would get that information.
Ms. Hanson said when she originally spoke with the City about the problem and they came out
and checked, they said it was backing up due to a dip by the house. She asked if it was a two-
fold problem—the dip by the house and the connection. They told her that it was not. She said it
turned out it was the connection with the City's line. She said they tried to do it right the first
time.
Mayor Lund said they were trying to find out the facts.
Councilmember Bolkcom asked what was checked when a permit was pulled.
Mr. Haukaas said for a sewer service connection, they checked the connection.
Councilmember Bolkcom asked how they checked it.
Mr. Haukaas said visually.
Mayor Lund said there was an improper connection.
Mr. Munn ageed. He said a permit was pulled and it was not the Public Works Department who
inspected it but someone from the Engineering staf£ She looked down the hole and said it was
good. There should have been some type of check to make sure that there was a flow.
Councilmember Bolkcom asked Mr. Haukaas to do a study with other cities on sewer
connections including what was charged and what procedures were followed.
Mayor Lund said they would have staff look into the matter and get back to them.
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 24. 2003 PAGE 6
PUBLIC HEARINGS:
12. CONSIDERATION OF A REZONING REQUEST, ZOA #03-02, BY TOWN
CENTER DEVELOPMENT, LLC, TO REZONE PROPERTY FROM C-1,
LOCAL BUSINESS; C-2, GENERAL BUSINESS; M-1, LIGHT INDUSTRIAL;
AND C-Rl, GENERAL OFFICE, TO S-2, REDEVELOPMENT DISTRICT, TO
ACCOMMODATE REDEVELOPMENT, GENERALLY LOCATED AT 1282
MISSISSIPPI STREET; 6490, 6400, 6352 AND 6300 CENTRAL AVENUE; AND
1271 EAST MOORE LAKE DRIVE (WARD 2).
MOTION by Councilmember Billings to waive the reading of the public hearing notice and open
the public hearing. Seconded by Councilmember Bolkcom.
UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
Mr. Paul Bolin, Planning Coordinator, said he would do one presentation for Items 12 and 13 on
the agenda. The petitioner was Town Center Development, LLC, from Maple Grove. Town
Center Development requested two separate land use actions. The plat was being requested to
create two new parcels from 1282 Mississippi Street, which was Tamarisk Resources, and 6490
Central Avenue, currently Sandee's Restaurant and the vacant lot to the south. The petitioner
also requested a rezoning for the west side of Central Avenue between Mississippi Street and
East Moore Lake Drive. Town Center proposed to construct a four-story, fifty-five unit, senior,
owner-occupied condominium complex south of Sandee's Restaurant. Sandee's Restaurant
would be remodeled. The condominium units all had two bedrooms. Thirty-one units would be
1,138 square feet; eight would be 1,185 square feet; and sixteen would be 1,255 square feet. The
development would include fifty-one underground parking stalls, four garage stalls and seventy
additional surface parking stalls. A storm pond is also located on the south end of the project.
There was a trail system and landscaping surrounding the property.
Mr. Bolin discussed a drawing of the project.
Mr. Bolin said in 1991 Mr. Tom Brickner requested a rezoning of the vacant land south of
Sandee's Restaurant from C-1 and C-2 to R-3 which would allow general multiple family
dwellings. At that time he planned to construct a forty-unit, three-story apartment building. That
request failed because it was deemed to be spot zoning. Petitioner requested a rezoning for the
west side of Central Avenue between Mississippi and East Moore Lake Drive. They sought to
rezone the entire block to S-2, Redevelopment District. He said 1282 Mississippi Street was the
Tamarisk house, 6490 Central was the property currently owned by Sandee's, 6400 Central was
the property owned by Advance Companies, 6352 Central Avenue was owned by the Fridley
Housing and Redevelopment Authority, 1271 East Moore Lake Drive was owned by the City,
and 6300 Central Avenue was owned by Ziebart. The only properties proposed to be
redeveloped were 1282 Mississippi Street and 6490 Central Avenue. The other properties would
remain as-is. The City did have the authority to rezone property from one designated use to
another as long as the zoning was in conformance with the Comprehensive Plan. In order for a
rezoning to be viewed favorably, it must be in line with the City's vision laid out in the
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 24, 2003 PAGE 7
Comprehensive Plan. The proposed senior, owner-occupied, condominum complex and the
rezoning of the property met several of the objectives the residents of Fridley identified in the
visioning sessions for the Comprehensive Plan. The area of Old Central between Mississippi
Street and Rice Creek Road was identified as an area for future redevelopment. The
Comprehensive Plan specifically stated for that portion of Old Central, consideration should be
made to replace the current mix of single family residential and commercial uses with higher
density residential development that, together with the health club, would serve as an attractive
residential location for move-up housing. The Comprehensive Plan also stated that for projects
in these redevelopment areas that required rezoning, the S-2 zoning designation would be the
appropriate zoning district to implement the redevelopment project.
Mr. Bolin said Town Center Development also sought to replat 1282 Mississippi Street and 6490
Central Avenue to create two separate lots to accommodate Sandee's Restaurant and the senior
building. He said the proposed Lot 1 would accommodate Sandee's Restaurant. Restaurants are
typically zoned C-2, General Business. The proposed lot was 24,525 square feet, which
exceeded the 20,000 square foot minimum lot area in a C-2 District. It also met the required
number of parking stalls for a restaurant use of this size. Anoka County stated that a 120-foot,
right-of-way corridor would be required for Central Avenue and Mississippi Street intersections
for future work. The right-of-way dedication needed for this site was 30 feet adjacent to
Mississippi Street and 10 feet adjacent to Central Avenue. Anoka County requested that both of
the right-of-ways be dedicated at this time. After the right-of-way acquisition along both county
roads, Sandee's Restaurant would be less than one foot from the north property line, 3 feet from
the east property line and the parking setback would be 5 feet from the north property line. The
right-of-way dedication would require the petitioner to remove the existing patio area on the
north side of the building. Due to the discretion given to Council in the S-2 Redevelopment
District, the diminished setbacks could be recognized under this rezoning master plan approval.
Mr. Bolin said that Lot 2, the proposed location for the senior building, was slightly under three
acres in size. Because of the underground parking and the high water table in the area, the height
of the building would be 51 feet at the midspan. The parking setback would be 10 feet from the
property line on the east side of the property.
Mr. Bolin said with respect to traffic, staff looked at a number of different sources to try to
determine possible impacts. In addition to discussions with the Anoka County Traffic Engineer,
they looked at the Institute of Traffic Engineer's Trip Generation Report, the transportation
chapter of the Comprehensive Plan, and reviewed a traffic study supplied by the developer's
engineering iirm, Loucks & Associates. The County indicated that they had no plans to do
anything with the intersection. In the Institute of Traffic Engineer's trip generation manual, there
was no category specific to senior residential townhomes. They looked at the numbers for
residential condominiums which were not age-specific. The numbers presented by the manual
should be viewed as a worse case scenario for the number of trips because it included people of
all ages and family sizes. The manual stated that for all residential condominiums, each unit
typically generated 5.85 trips per day. A trip meant any vehicle entering or leaving the complex.
A total of 322 vehicles would enter or leave the complex during the course of the day. When the
data was further analyzed by time, the impacts on surrounding roadways become more
negligible. Based on averages, during the morning rush hour between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m.
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 24. 2003 PAGE 8
there would be 24.5 or 25 vehicle trips. Between the hours of 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m., there
would be about 30 vehicles entering or leaving the site.
Mr. Bolin said in 2001 when the transportation chapter of the City's Comprehensive Plan was
prepared, the portion of Old Central that was adjacent to the proposed senior condominiums
carried 8,000 vehicles per day. At that traffic level, it was only carrying 57 percent of the traffic
for which the roadway was designed. The Comprehensive Plan anticipated Old Central carrying
over 10,000 vehicles per day by the year 2020. The numbers were based on projected population
increases. At 10,000 vehicles per day, Old Central would be carrying approximately 71 percent
of the maximum amount of traffic for which the roadway was designed. The developer's
consultants determined there would be 165 trips per day which was similar to the amount of
traffic generated by a retirement community, which might be too low. The true number of trips
per day likely fell between 165 trips per day generated by the retirement community and 322
trips generated by the typical residential condominium complex.
Mr. Bolin said the Planning Commission held a public hearing on November 5, 2003. They
added a stipulation that required the developer to plant additional large trees along the property
line and that the developer share the new landscape plan with the neighbors. The new
landscaped plan included leaving some existing trees and planting 10 additional evergreen trees,
8 to 12 feet in height. The developer indicated that he had attempted to meet with the adjoining
property owners late last week. Staff recommended approval of the rezoning request with 25
stipulations as follows:
l. Property to be developed in accordance with site plan, sheet C2-1, dated October 29, 2003,
by Loucks McLagan Engineering firm.
2. Petitioner to obtain all necessary permits prior to construction.
3. Petitioner to meet the attached comments from the Fire Marshall.
4. Petitioner to meet all building and ADA requirements.
5. Exterior remodeling plans for Sandee's to be reviewed and approved by City staff piror to
issuance of a building permit.
6. Patio on the north side of Sandee's to be removed prior to issuance of a building permit for
the senior complex.
7. Petitioner to provide clearance letter from the State Historical Preservation Office prior to the
demolition of the Tamarisk building.
8. Existing Sandee's signs in the right-of-way shall be removed prior to issuance of a building
permit.
9. No business signs shall be located within the County right-of-way. Any planting within the
right-of-way to be approved by the County prior to planting.
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 24, 2003 PAGE 9
10. Petitioner to obtain a permit from Anoka County for any work done within the County right-
of-way.
11. Restoration of bike path along Central will be required after completion of senior complex.
12. Petitioner shall identify ponding area and provide easements for stormwater run-off and
management.
13. Storm pond maintenance agreement must be filed prior to issuance of building permits.
14. Petitioner shall obtain any required NPDES permit and provide NURP ponding for entire
site.
15. City Engineering staff to review and approve grading and drainage plan prior to issuance of
building permits.
16. Landscape plan to be reviewed and approved by City staff prior to issuance of building
permit.
17. Petitioner to pay any required Park Dedication Fees.
18. Petitioner to provide City with a copy of the building's association documents prior to
issuance of a building permit.
19. Building to be restricted to seniors and policies to do such shall be outlined in association
documents.
20. Provide proof that any existing wells or individual sewage treatment systems located on the
site are properly capped or removed.
21. Property owner of record at time of building permit application, to pay all water and sewer
connection fees prior to issuance of a building permit.
22. The petitioner to provide a traffic study that is approved by the County prior to issuance of a
building permit.
23. The petitioner shall be responsible for the cost of any traffic improvements necessary to
accommodate the traffic generated by the development including signalization or other
improvements, if determined necessary by Anoka County.
24. A development agreement outlining the developer's obligation to install utilities, etc., will be
prepared by the City and shall be signed by the Petitioner prior to final plat approval.
25. The petitioner shall work with City staff and the neighbors to come up with a screening plan
to provide adequate screening consisting of adult trees and other creative decorative
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 24, 2003 PAGE 10
screening between the proposed development and the neighboring properties prior to the City
Council meeting on November 24, 2003.
Mr. Bolin said the proposed rezoning was consistent with the Comprehensive Plan and it
provided additional housing opportunities for Fridley seniors. Staff recommended approval of
the preliminary plat request subject to 25 stipulations.
Councilmember Barnette asked how common it was for a petitioner to make a rezoning request
for more land than what was going to be used.
Mr. Scott Hickok, Community Development Director, said it was not that typical. In this case,
there was a mix of zoning along that segment of Old Central Avenue. They have asked to have
the zoning in that entire segment match the zoning that was designated in the land use plan of the
Comprehensive Plan. As long as they had the concurrence of the adjacent property owners, they
could do that.
Councilmember Barnette asked if they had any indication or request from any other developer on
any other kind of development in this area.
Mr. Hickok said he was not aware of any other development.
Councilmember Wolfe said he had a problem with calling the development a retirement
community. He also had a problem with the traffic issue because people who were 55 still
worked. He asked if the developer met with the residents and wanted to know how the rezoning
worked.
Mr. Hickok the S-2 rezoning was the ultimate discretion because not only were they approving
the site plan which served as the master plan for the north half of the block, but the south half of
the block would remain questionable. It would take a master plan review and approval by
Council to initiate any sort of project there. It matched the goals and redevelopment objectives of
the Comprehensive Plan.
Councilmember Wolfe said they discussed the Comprehensive Plan and the vision that the
neighbors had. He had received many telephone calls from people and it sounded like none of
them were part of the vision. He thought it would have an incredible affect on traffic. He asked
when the traffic studies were done.
Mr. Bolin said the traffic engineer's manual was the fourth edition which was printed in 1987.
They are now in the process of updating the manual.
Councilmember Wolfe said the manual was 16 years old. He thought this project would have a
huge affect on the neighborhood.
Mr. Hickok said they encouraged Council to look at the traffic numbers for the all-age
condominum. It was important to understand that this manual was put together not with a
random sample of a couple different units. That was the best manual available.
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 24, 2003 PAGE 11
Councilmember Wolfe said more people are driving today.
Councilmember Billings asked if the 322 number of vehicles per day was for condominium,
residential, no restriction on age.
Mr. Bolin said correct.
Councilmember Billings asked what it was for a typical single family home.
Mr. Bolin said 11 almost 12 trips.
Councilmember Billings asked why there was such a difference between the two.
Mr. Hickok said the ITE statistics were not speculative or projected. They were based on
statistical data.
Councilmember Billings said so using the 322 figure rather than the 165 was a more generous
amount of traffic. He said the S-2 zoning was a special zoning, so any construction that would
take place on any of the lots would have to go before the City Council. He asked if extensive
remodeling could be done.
Mr. Hickok said any change to the site plan would be part of a master plan amendment that
would need to be reviewed by the City Council.
Councilmember Billings said under the rezoning, the sites would have to go through the same
process that Town Center Development was going through. There would be a greater
opportunity for the neighbors to know what was happening on those sites.
Mr. Hickok said that was correct.
Councilmember Bolkcom said with respect to the traffic study, it did not matter if it was a one or
two bedroom unit.
Mr. Bolin said it was broken down by unit type, such as condominiums versus townhomes.
Councilmember Bolkcom asked what the most recent traffic counts were for Old Central and
Mississippi Street and if they were readily available.
Mr. Jon Haukaas, Public Works Director, said they had them from 2001.
Councilmember Bolkcom said she was mystified that the trafiic engineer manager from Anoka
County said that it was not clear whether or not the development would have a signiiicant impact
on traffic volumes or turning volumes.
Mr. Hickok said it was like a disclaimer. They were doing their best based on the information
they had.
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 24, 2003 PAGE 12
Councilmember Bolkcom said they had the traffice volume numbers for Mississippi and Central,
and they would know how many trips were generated by this type of development.
Mr. Bolin said that he thought the County staff was trying to say that they knew what the traffic
counts were, without a more thorough analysis and more detailed information, they would only
be speculating.
Councilmember Bolkcom said they did want more right-of-way.
Mr. Bolin agreed.
Ms. Tara Schaefer, 6391 Central Avenue N.E., said the project would be across the street from
her home. She worked at night and slept until late morning and this would interrupt her sleep for
two years, at least. She said there was a statistic of 10,000 cars a day on Old Central. She had
two very small children. There were many near accidents on Old Central. She asked what would
happen if there were not enough seniors for the complex. She wanted to know if it would be
opened up to other people.
Mr. Randy Johnson, 6336 Pierce Street N.E., asked if the project was going to be built no matter
what was said. He said he thought they could only fight the height of the buildings.
Mayor Lund said no decision had been made. It was just a public hearing.
Councilmember Barnette said they were there to listen.
Mr. Johnson said he did not want the project. He had two small children and Pierce Street was
like a raceway. He asked how much traffic it would bring to the community.
Councilmember Barnette asked Mr. Johnson if he thought the building on Central Avenue would
affect traffic on Pierce.
Mr. Johnson said he did. He said if the building did not fill up, they would let younger people
move in.
Councilmember Barnette said he asked that question at the.Planning Commission meeting. He
said when they took out the building permit, the building had to be for 55 and older and had to be
owner-occupied.
Mr. Johnson asked about the area south of the project.
Councilmember Barnette said he asked if there were any plans for the area south of the project,
and the answer was no.
Mr. Johnson said it would bring commotion to their area. He said he picked the area because it
was a small community. The only choice was for him and his family to move.
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 24, 2003 PAGE 13
Ms. Teresa Gibson, 1255 — 66th Avenue N.E., said she lived north of the project. She said she
drove up Channel Road and turned left on Mississippi in the morning during rush hour and it was
dicey at best. She said there was an entrance from the project on to Mississippi and she did not
think this would be an improvement to the area. There were some apartments on Channel Road,
and they were a problem. In some of the literature she received, a future proposal for a 100-unit
apartment complex across the street was mentioned.
Mr. Cash Burzynski, 6185 Heather Place, said he was not opposed for rezoning to improve the
tax base. He asked the City to measure the traffic that currently existed on Old Central Avenue.
It was hard to get on to Old Central between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. and between 4:00 p.m. and
5:00 p.m. in the afternoon. There was a lot of traffic from Medtronic. They were told originally
that Highway 65 would be the main highway. Old Central has now become another highway.
Not only passenger cars are using it, but heavy trucks. He said if the property was rezoned, it
would not be long for the people at Ziebart or Advance Carpet to want to change and build
condominiums or apartments.
Councilmember Wolfe said Onan and Murphy were also in the area.
Mr. Jim Rusinak, 6412 Pierce Street N.E., said once a precedent was set it became easier. In the
area he lived in, there was no access to any parks without crossing major roads. He said there
was one issue that had not been addressed and that was visitors. He asked about parking and
whether the roads in the area would become overflow parking. There was a stipulation that the
current owners had to abide by a stipulation that the residents had to be 55 or older. He asked
what would happen if the owners sold to someone else and if they would be required to follow
the same stipulation.
Mr. Hickok said the project was a 55 or older project and would be filed as such.
Mr. Mark Schwartz, 1372 - 64th Avenue N.E., said he had concerns about any development in
that area with respect to drainage. Drainage has been an ongoing problem. When the credit
union was built, the problem got worse. He asked what would happen if Ziebart or Advance
Carpet were rezoned and if someone could buy the property and make a request to build
condominiums.
Attorney Fritz Knaak, City Attorney, said there would be less discretion if it were zoned
something else. Everyone had to be treated the same by the City, but this particular type of
zoning was developed specifically to provide greater discretion by the City in the case of larger
projects.
Mr. Schwartz asked if in his opinion the developer would come back with a lawsuit.
Mr. Knaak said he could not say whether someone would sue. He said for him it was a question
of how defendable the City's position be. It would be far easier to win that kind of lawsuit with a
S-2 type of zoning than it would be with other kinds of zoning.
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FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 24, 2003 PAGE 14
Mr. Schwartz said at the Planning Commission meeting it was stated that a six-story office
building could go there with the current zoning, but logically, it would probably not be built. He
did not like the height of the building. There were no other buildings in that area that were that
height. There were 1 I/z and 2 story buildings and single family homes in that area. He asked if
they were to receive a notice if they were within 350 feet. He did not receive a notice for the
Council meeting and no one else did.
Mr. Hickok said no mailing was made.
Mayor Lund said the mailing would have been before the Planning Commission meeting
pursuant to State law.
Mr. Schwartz said in the future, the distance should be extended to mare than 350 feet.
Mr. Knaak said it was pursuant to State law, but that was a minimum requirement.
Mayor Lund asked if it could be extended.
Mr. Knaak said if they chose to do so in and beyond all the other notices that were provided. He
pointed out that if they failed to do that, it was not a basis for denial and it did not cause the
procedure to fail. It was just additional notice that the statute required.
Councilmember Wolfe said it had been discussed before.
Mr. Schwartz said it seemed like it was being done hush-hush, instead of letting the people who
owned property in the community and lived there know what was going on.
Ms. Joan Olson, 6320 Van Buren Street N.E., said she was not personally affected by the project,
but her son was. She asked how much property had been rezoned to S-2 in the last 3'/z to 4
years.
Mr. Hickok said he would make that information available.
Ms. Olson asked why the map she had received had not been revised since January of 2000. If
the property was zoned to R-3, would it be put on that land.
Mr. Hickok said the project was built to R-3 standards even though they asked for a S-2
rezoning.
Ms. Olson said she was against it and thought it would be detrimental to the neighbors.
Mayor Lund asked if there were updated maps.
Mr. Hickok said they had updated maps.
Mr. Haukaas said they tried to have maps printed out at all times and they had current maps.
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 24, 2003 PAGE 15
Mr. Joe Randall, 1210 Mississippi Street N.E., said he had lived at his address since 1953.
Traffic had grown tremendously. Several requests for zoning had also been turned down along
Mississippi between Old Central and Highway 65. He said he could not get out of his yard
between 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. You could talk about statistics, but when you lived in the area,
you saw things first-hand. He asked where the concern was for the people who lived in the area.
They have maintained their properties, paid their taxes, and raised their kids. The project was for
seniors, but he asked where they would get the money to live there.
Mr. Charlie Kocourek, 6330 Arthur Street N.E., said people have talked about traffic and zoning,
and it was said that the long-range plan was for higher density housing in the area. He said the
question was high density housing, not the zoning.
Ms. Dorothy Pehl, 1260 Mississippi Street N.E. said she did not object to the building. The
traffic would be a problem. One of the things the bothered her was that they said the neighbors
in the area would be contacted, and no one had tried to contact her. She said they also had a
sewer problem that needed to be addressed. They have talked to staff and the problem had been
ignored. She asked what would happen if the new building came in and they had problems.
Councilmember Billings asked Mr. Haukaas to check on the matter.
Mr. Hickok said Mr. and Mrs. Pehl talked with them about one month ago
research and responded two weeks ago. They indicated that they would
meeting to ask Council to revisit the issue.
Councilmember Bolkcom asked what staff's response was.
. Staff did some
be present at the
Mr. Bolin said he spoke to Mr. and Mrs. Pehl after the Planning Commission meeting. He said
they found that nothing had changed since 1992. The pipe was there and the as-built drawings
they had on file showed a 30-foot easement. He said they could not find any more recent records
regarding the easement on the pipes. He told them if he found any additional information, he
would get back to them. He indicated that staff had not found any additional information.
Ms. Pehl said no one had gotten in touch with them. Their initial request was to fill the sewer
with cement and pipe it the way it should have been done. She said they were told they could
not get the permit unless they signed an easement. They had all the records. The value of their
property had dropped because they now had to disclose the information.
Mayor Lund asked staff to come up with a solution and to contact Mr. and Mrs. Pehl.
Mr. Tim Byrne, 6053 Woody Lane N.E., said the area was commercial and industrial. He did
not think any of the people in the area had a say in the Comprehensive Plan because not a single
person had said this was what they wanted. It was improperly zoned. He thought it was
misleading to say that there could be a six-story office building there. There would not be any
six-story office buildings. He asked how they could rewrite the Comprehensive Plan. The
people in the area did not want a high-density housing corridor. Commercial and industrial was
fine. It was his opinion that S-2 was a way of getting around the zoning law. He said nothing
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 24, 2003 PAGE 16
was being redeveloped. With respect to traffic, at certain times of the day, EMTs and fire
personnel could not get through the traffic on Old Central. Someone needed to physically go to
Old Central and look at the traffic.
Ms. C. J. Smith, 6430 Dellwood Drive N.E., said she was worried about left turns. The projected
development had two driveways coming out on to Central Avenue. Anyone who wanted to go
north would have a hard time making a left turn. That was where the increase of traffic on Pierce
Street would come from. People would be turning right and going around the block. She said it
would also affect the people by Moore Lake.
Ms. Susan Hall, 1491 Rice Creek Road N.E., said she was for redevelopment, especially in the
area she lived. She felt uncomfortable with the S-2 zoning district, especially rezoning it beyond
the project area. It did not seem to fit the neighborhood. She asked how the area would look
when it was completed and if there were any design standards for the area or the overall corridor.
She wanted to know what the vision for the area was. If it was going to be high density housing,
it should be rezoned for that.
Mr. Curt Olson, 1385 — 64th Avenue N.E., said a majority of the residents on 64th own one-acre
lots. He was concerned about the lights from the complex shining into his yard. He said he was
in the process of putting a major addition on his house, which he would not have been doing if he
had known what was going to be built. If the project was going to go through, people would like
to see the building shortened to three stories. The developer sent a revised site plan and their
idea of what the Planning Commission called mature trees was apparently 8 to 12 foot pine trees.
There were no four story buildings in the neighborhood and they did not want to see it. It was
detrimental to their neighborhood.
Ms. Rhonda Rusinak, 6412 Pierce Street N.E., said the project would be in her front yard. There
was already high density in the neighborhood. They were concerned about traffic when Moore
Lake Commons was added. They tried to put up a sign to keep traffic out of the neighborhood
which did not work. The neighborhood had absorbed the traffic, but 55 additional homes in this
area would make traffic even worse. She was concerned about the value of her home. She was
very disappointed that this was even thought about.
Ms. Andrea Olson, 1385 — 64th Avenue N.E., said she did not have a problem with the senior
housing portion of the project but asked if it had to be a high-rise building. High-density housing
was definitely an issue. People have spoken about the Comprehensive Plan and the fact that it
appeared that they did not have much input. This was something that needed to be addressed. It
was being used as a guideline and the neighborhood did not vote for it. Traffic was a concern.
Mr. Roy DeMars, 1464 Mississippi Street N.E., said the project would not fit into the
neighborhood. They would be setting a precedent if they approved the project. He said high
density was not right.
Ms. Jean Schwartz, 1372 — 64th Avenue N.E., said she was not opposed to senior housing, but
she believed they would be setting a precedent with a four-story building in this area. She asked
why they needed more high density housing in Fridley when the two-bedroom apartment
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 24, 2003 PAGE 17
vacancy right now ran between 12 and 16 percent. Rezoning to S-2 was a major issue. People
purchased their property knowing what the zoning currently was. It had been said that S-2
zoning would give the City more control. It might give the City planning department and the
City Council more control, but it gave the citizens almost none. They could go to Planning
Commission meetings and City Council meetings, but most of what they said was dismissed. It
took control away and also took the burden of proof off the developers. The Comprehensive
Plan did not match with what the citizens wanted.
Mr. Tom Myhra, 6360 Able Street N.E., co-chair of the Concerned Citizens of Fridley, said
before the Planning Commission meeting he received a call about the development on Old
Central Avenue. He went to the area and talked to some of the residents, and no one had heard a
thing. He spoke with Mr. Hickok and asked why the residents had not been informed. Mr.
Hickok told him it was going out. People should have been informed earlier. Many people have
talked about the Comprehensive Plan and the Concerned Citizens of Fridley was working on
that.
Mr. Virgil Okeson, 1423 — 64t" Avenue N.E., said he agreed with a lot of things that had been
said at the meeting. He did not have anything against senior housing, but he had experienced the
problems his neighborhood had in getting on Old Central in the morning and the latter part of the
day. He was concerned about the additional trafiic. Also, the driveway for the facility would
probably be straight across from 64th Avenue and the height of the building was too high. It did
not fit into the neighborhood.
Mr. Richard Whinnery, Town Center Development, said they were at the meeting to make a
presentation.
Mr. John Klick, Klick Inter Arch Designs, said he was the architect for the project. The
proposed project, 55 senior condominium units, not only contained the condominiums, but each
floor also contained a common area, there were walking paths around the site, and the parking lot
was landscaped. The south part of the site was an open area used for the water retention pond.
There were also water gardens along the area by Old Central. There were over two parking stalls
per unit.
Mr. Klick described the site plan and the proposed drawings for Sandee's Restaurant.
Mr. Klick said that one of the concerns brought up was about parking. The present zoning of
G 1 and G2 allowed for a variety of other uses, some with special use permits. There were some
uses that could go into the site without having to be rezoned or have City approval, such as an
office building. The impact of that type of use would be greater. People were talking about the
traffic in the morning and afternoon. An office building at that location would make the traffic
problem warse.
Mr. Whinnery said when they were originally contacted about doing the development, they did
look the site for many other uses, but they felt it would be better for the community if they kept
Sandee's Restaurant and put a senior complex next to that. If they had put an office building
there, it would not have had to be rezoned. The reason for the S-2 rezoning was that they felt it
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 24, 2003 PAGE 18
would be better for the whole area to have the control. A senior building could go on that site
with the current C-2 zoning. The only thing needed was facilities to do some care work. The
building would not be rental under any circumstances. A study was conducted on the idea of
rental versus owning, and the results showed that there was a very big need in this area for a
senior building. Seniors were great neighbors. With respect to the trafiic count, they were told
by the engineers who did the traffic study, that the traffic count was below 8,000 cars. The study
was conducted in 2001 on Central Avenue N.E. It was somewhere around 7,000/7,500 on
Mississippi. This area was zoned C-1 and C-2 over 20 years. He believed this project would
have the least impact. With respect to the property across Central Avenue, as far as he knew,
there were no permanent plans. With respect to the water situation, he said they went to the
watershed district and got their approval. They put in an extra large pond and rain gardens to
make sure they did not change the flow of water into someone's back yard. The only other thing
they could do was to put in a berm. If they did that, they would lose some trees. He said they
wanted to be a good neighbor. With respect to Tamarisk's building, they planned on moving it,
if it could withstand the move. The building had been moved once before. They called the
historical society and were told that it was not a historical building.
Councilmember Wolfe asked how many underground parking stalls there were.
Mr. Klick said 51.
Councilmember Wolfe asked about outside parking.
Mr. Klick said there were 4 garages and 70 additional surface parking stalls.
Councilmember Wolfe said there would be 15 additional spots. He said there had been other
projects and what had happened was the Planning Commission and Council had said that once it
was there the residents would get used to it. He said that did not happen.
Mr. Whinnery said the national average was one car per unit. He said they found that in a senior
building they do not have the extra cars.
Mr. Klick said there would be very few people in the building who where 55. Most would be 65
to 75 years old.
Councilmember Wolfe asked who approached them for the project.
Mr. Whinnery said the City did not approach them. They found the site and it was for sale and
they approached the owner of the property.
Councilmember Wolfe said that at the Planning Commission meeting, Mr. Whinnery was asked
to hold a meeting with the neighborhood.
Mr. Klick said the meeting was to provide the neighborhood with information with respect to the
different trees on the west side of the property.
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 24, 2003 PAGE 19
Councilmember Wolfe asked if that was done.
Mr. Whinnery said that one of their staff inembers went and knocked on the doors of all the
houses that abutted the west side of the property and gave them a flyer and layout. They did it
last Thursday between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. They also mailed a letter and a copy
of the site plan to 300 residents in the area.
Councilmember Bolkcom asked when that was done.
Mr. Whinnery said Friday morning. They were asked to do this two weeks ago. He told the
Planning Commission that they could not get it all done within a two-week period of time.
Mr. Klick said there was no requirement to send out the 3001etters. The requirement was to talk
to the neighbors to the west.
Mr. Whinnery said that was what they understood but after talking with staff, they got it out to
everyone.
Councilmember Bolkcom asked how many property owners they contacted on the west side of
the property.
Mr. Whinnery said they went to eight properties.
Councilmember Bolkcom asked how many they actually had conversations with.
Mr. Whinnery said about 50 percent. Some did not want to talk with them. They talked about
having a meeting earlier this evening, but they felt they got everything out to everyone.
Councilmember Bolkcom said it was hard when someone came knocking on your door at 8:00 or
9:00 at night to have a conversation. She said the landscaping as they presented it would not be
in the right-of-way.
Mr. Whinnery said some trees would have to be removed depending on what was done on
Mississippi.
Councilmember Bolkcom said there were some questions about the entrances.
Mr. Hickok said initially there were two access points on Mississippi and they recommended that
they go down to one. With respect to Old Central, those were the locations they submitted. No
modifications were made.
Councilmember Bolkcom said there was a lot of talk about traffic volume and the numbers were
from 2001. She asked if they intended to do anything yet this year.
Mr. Whinnery said the clock was ticking on the agreements they had.
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 24, 2003 PAGE 20
Councilmember Bolkcom asked if it would be possible to put out traffic counters.
Mr. Haukaas said it would be difficult this time of year, but it could be done.
Councilmember Bolkcom said she was concerned about the traffic and would like to get some
traffic counts on Old Central and Mississippi and then talk with the County. She thought they
should meet with the residents and discuss the project. She asked about the lights from the
building and how it would affect the neighbors.
Mr. Hickok said they were talking about the lighting in the common area, not necessarily in the
units necessarily.
Councilmember Bolkcom said she was talking about both.
Mr. Hickok outlined what the view would be from a house on Pierce Street and from other areas
near the proj ect.
Councilmember Wolfe asked how many 1 1/2 story houses were behind the project.
Mr. Hickok said going south, it went from 1'/2 stories to split level homes, which were a bit
taller. Going north, there were a couple of ramblers and there was a side-by-side duplex on the
corner.
Councilmember Barnette said the City had three senior buildings. He asked what kind of
occupancy those buildings currently had.
Mr. Klick said those were rentals.
Councilmember Barnette asked what the estimated starting price of a two-bedroom unit was.
Mr. Klick said that two bedroom units would probably start at $165,000 or $169,900 and go over
$200,000.
Councilmember Barnette asked what the average home value was in Fridley.
Mr. Hickok said it was $163,000.
Councilmember Barnette said if an older couple decided to sell their home, they could get into
one of those units.
Councilmember Bolkcom asked if they had any other senior housing developments near a
residential neighborhood.
Mr. Whinnery said they had some in Maple Grove and Plymouth.
Councilmember Bolkcom asked if they were next to residential or single family homes.
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 24, 2003 PAGE 21
Mr. Whinnery said they were. He said he would provide a list.
Mayor Lund asked staff how this would affect the City's tax base. It was his understanding that
it would not increase the levy but would spread the taxes out over more properties.
Mr. Hickok said it would spread out the tax base. It allowed the City to tax more units at a
valuable comparable to the existing neighborhood. It did not increase the levy.
Mr. Burns, City Manager, said when they started talking about taxes, it gave the impression that
this was a project generated by the City. It was not. It was an unsolicited project and one the
City had to deal with legally.
Councilmember Bolkcom said there was concern expressed over whether the project should be
rezoned S-2. She asked for an explanation.
Mr. Hickok said initially the property owner was looking at a senior building that was an assisted
senior building. The City Code allowed that in a commercial district. The developer said they
were not interested in doing the assisted living. They were interested in doing senior
condominiums. They conducted their own studies. Their studies indicated that the market was
ready for senior units and there were no for-sale senior units available in the community. They
looked at it from an R-3 perspective. They could not support spot zoning. It did not match the
Comprehensive Plan. The developer did some more research and reviewed the Comprehensive
Plan. The zoning that matched the area was S-2. They discussed options and it was suggested
that they talk to the property owners who agreed to a S-2 rezoning.
Mr. Klick said they could have done a rental property with some limited service areas for seniors
which was a permitted use under the C-2 zoning.
Mr. Whinnery said they found that by doing it this way, there was more of a personal
involvement by the people who owned the property. Everything seemed to go much smoother
and they made sure everything was taken very good care o£ He said there was a waiting list for
rental properties for seniors.
Mayor Lund asked if the outside parking spaces included the spaces being created for Sandee's
restaurant.
Mr. Whinnery said it did not include the parking for Sandee's. There was an area between the
two lots.
Mayor Lund said there was some talk about berms and they suggested that it would have to be a
large berm.
Mr. Whinnery said they would try to get the biggest trees in. He said if they did the berm, they
would lose any trees that were there.
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 24. 2003 PAGE 22
Mayor Lund asked if there were any advantages for Advance and Ziebart with the rezoning.
Mr. Hickok said there were not.
Mayor Lund asked what the requirements were for lighting in the parking lot.
Mr. Hickok explained what the requirements were.
Mayor Lund asked how blight was determined.
Mr. Hickok said it was a mixture of things. It could be under-utilized property, or properties that
did not meet c,urrent standards in terms of the footprint of the building.
Mayor Lund said he was concerned with the two driveways on Old Central and their proximity
of one of the driveways to the intersection.
Mr. Hickok said staff felt it would be an improvement over what existed currently. The proposal
defined an entrance route. It did separate the uses and was much better defined. He said he
would not recommend getting rid of one of the driveways because there were two uses with
specific interests.
Mayor Lund said he was concerned with how close the entrance was to the intersection.
Mr. Hickok said the County and City staff felt that this was an improvement over what currently
existed.
Mayor Lund said people mentioned the Comprehensive Plan and felt that it was not conducive to
what the community wanted. He asked how people could take part in the Comprehensive Plan.
Mr. Hickok said when they first started working on the Comprehensive Plan, people did not
attend the meetings. They broke the City into different planning sections and had about seven or
eight planning groups. Even though it was approved in March, 2001, it did not mean people
could not look at it and suggest modifications.
Councilmember Bolkcom said when they were warking on the Comprehensive Plan, letters were
sent out. They also talked about the meetings at Council meetings.
MOTION by Councilmember Wolfe to continue the public hearing until December 8, 2003.
Seconded by Councilmember Barnette.
Mr. Hickok said that Stipulation No. 22 did require that a traffic study acceptable to the County
be completed prior to them getting a building permit. He said they were at end of the 60-day
period. He asked Council to consider that and formally let petitioner know.
�
,
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 24, 2003 PAGE 23
UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
13. CONSIDERATION OF A PRELIMINARY PLAT REQUEST, PS #03-08, BY
TOWN CENTER DEVELOPMENT, LLC, TO CREATE TWO SEPARATE LOTS
TO ALLOW FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF A SENIOR HOUSING
DEVELOPMENT, GENERALLY LOCATED AT 1282 MISSISSIPPI STREET
AND 6490 CENTRAL AVENUE N.E. (WARD 2).
MOTION by Councilmember Wolfe to continue the public hearing until December 8, 2003.
Seconded by Councilmember Barnette.
UPON A VOICE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION
CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
14. CONSIDERATION OF A ZONING TEXT AMENDMENT, ZTA #03-01, BY
DAVID BAILLIE, FURNITURE OUTLETS USA, INC., TO ADD LANGUAGE
TO THE CITY CODE WHICH WOULD ALLOW A FURNITURE STORE USE
TO HAVE ONE PARKING STALL FOR EVERY 400 SQUARE FEET OF
SHOWROOM SPACE, GENERALLY LOCATED AT 5353 EAST RIVER ROAD
N.E. (WARD 3).
MOTION by Councilmember Bolkcom to waive the reading of the public hearing notice and
open the public hearing. Seconded by Councilmember Wolfe.
UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
Ms. Stacy Stromberg, Planner, said she would make a presentation on this item and Item No. 17,
Special Use Permit Request, SP #03-19. Petitioner requested a zoning text amendment to add
language to the City Code which would allow a furniture store use to have one parking stall for
every 400 square feet of showroom space. Petitioner was also seeking a special use permit to
increase the lot coverage requirements from 40 percent to 48 percent to expand the existing
building located at 5353 East River Road N.E., so it could be used as additional furniture
warehouse space. Furniture Outlets USA purchased the building at 5353 East River Road N.E.,
formerly the Wickes property. They planned on using the building for an Ashley Furniture Store
and warehouse. The property was zoned M-2, Heavy Industrial, as were all surrounding
properties. The property received access from the East River Road Service Road. The existing
141,986-square foot building was constructed in 1971.
Ms. Stromberg said petitioner requested a zoning text amendment to add language to the parking
section of the City Code. It would allow a furniture store use to have one parking stall for every
400 square feet of showroom space. The zoning text amendment was requested because of the
low parking demands of furniture stores. The City Code required that all retail uses needed 1
parking stall for every 150 square feet of retail space. The proposed showroom, including the
clearance area was 47,200 square feet. Current code requirements would require the petitioner to
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 24, 2003 PAGE 24
have 315 parking stalls. Petitioner asked to use a 1 to 400 square foot ratio for a furniture store
only which would require 118 parking stalls. This would reduce the number of parking stalls
needed by 197.
Ms. Stromberg said that Ashley Furniture and Furniture Outlets completed an internal parking
study of their fourteen Midwest stores. Their research found that hourly parking counts ranged
from 0 cars to a maximum of 76 cars. Overall, their research showed that a ratio of 1 parking
stall for every 400 square feet of furniture retail space would be more than adequate to
accommodate customer and employee parking. The petitioner also hired a RLK Kuusisto, Ltd., a
private engineering and planning firm, to do a parking analysis. Their analysis focused on the
total parking demand for the store and was estimated based on data contained in the Institute of
Transportation Engineers' (ITE) parking generation table and on the information provided by
Furniture Outlets' fourteen stores. Their study indicated that in the PM peak hour, the site was
only estimated to generate approximately 20 trips or 10 cars. The ITE recommended that
furniture stores provid '/2 parking spaces per 1,000 square feet of gross floor area, which would
require that this building have 57 parking stalls. The petitioner also surveyed a number of
communities in the metropolitan area to determine parking requirements. City staff also
surveyed cities in the metropolitan area as well as cities around the United States. Of the 22
cities surveyed by petitioner and City staff, 16 had specific parking requirements that required 1
parking stall for every 400 square feet or more of furniture retail space. Some of the neighboring
communities that fell into that category are Blaine, Coon Rapids, Maple Grove, Osseo,
Plymouth, Robbinsdale, Roseville, and New Brighton.
Ms. Stromberg said if the zoning text amendment was granted, the property would be in
compliance with all zoning code requirements. There was 47,200 square feet of showroom
space, which would require 118 parking stalls at 1 stall for every 400 square feet. There was
94,786 square feet of existing warehouse space and petitioner proposed to add an additional
46,336 square feet which would require 71 parking stalls. Total parking required on the site
would be 189 stalls. The petitioner showed 192 stalls on their site plan.
Ms. Stromberg said with respect to the special use permit analysis, petitioner requested a special
use permit to increase the lot coverage requirement from 40 percent to 48 percent, to expand the
existing building to be used as additional furniture warehouse space. The existing property was
391,468 square feet and the existing building was 141,986, which met the allowable 40 percent
lot coverage requirement. The petitioner planned to construct an additiona146,336 square feet of
warehouse space which would increase the lot coverage to 48 percent. The City Code required
that a special use permit may be granted as long as the property met all other code requirements.
The only requirement that was not met was the parking requirment, but granting the zoning text
amendment would bring the property into compliance.
Ms. Stromberg said the Planning Commission recommended approval of the zoning text
amendment and the special use permit request at their November 12, 2003, meeting. The
Planning Commission required that petitioner contact staff to insure that the site plan met the
required parking stall width and that they submit a new site plan prior to the City Council
meeting. As of Friday, November 21, City staff was prepared to recommend tabling this item
because petitioner's architect had failed to submit an accurately drawn site plan within a timely
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 24, 2003 PAGE 25
manner. Since then, the architect had submitted a plan and staff had a chance to review it. The
new plan did meet the parking stall width requirements.
Ms. Stromberg outlined the new site plan. She showed the areas where the 10-foot wide parking
stalls would be located for the retail space. She mentioned the curbing line along the southeast
side of the property and said it currently extended over the property line. She said the petitioner
could consider getting a variance to reduce the property line to 0 feet, receive some kind of
easement from neighboring property owners to allow the curb to extend over the property line,
buy additional property, or possibly clip the edge of the building in order to meet the parking
requirements. The fire marshal did require a 20-foot driveout to be able to get fire trucks
through.
Ms. Stromberg said that staff recommended approval of the zoning text amendment and the
special use permit request with six stipulations.
Mayor Lund asked what they were going to do about the curbing problem.
Mr. David Baillie, Furniture Outlets USA, Inc., said they had spoken with Mr. Rudy Boschwitz
of Home Valu and they had an agreement with them. Mr. Boschwitz also sent a letter that said
he would sign what was needed.
Mayor Lund stated the letter said they were happy to have Furniture Outlets as a neighbor.
Mr. Wendell Smith, consultant for Furniture Outlets USA, said he met with Gerry and Rudy
Boschwitz. Mr. Rudy Boschwitz said he would do anything he could to make sure the project
went through.
MOTION by Councilmember Ann Bolkcom to receive the letter dated November 6, 2003, from
Mr. Rudy Boschwitz. Seconded by Councilmember Billings.
UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
MOTION by Councilmember Ann Bolkcom to receive a cover letter and proposed Firelane
Easement Agreement from Vance R. C. Goldammer of Murphy, Goldammer & Prendergast,
LLP. Seconded by Councilmember Billings.
UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
MOTION by Councilmember Ann Bolkcom to receive a three-page ordinance amending Chapter
205 of the Fridley City Code. Seconded by Councilmember Billings.
UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 24, 2003 PAGE 26
Councilmember Bolkcom asked how many nine foot and ten foot parking stalls there were.
Mr. Smith said there were 18 ten foot and 71 nine foot.
Councilmember Barnette asked if about 55 employees would be there at any one time.
Mr. Smith agreed.
Councilmember Barnette said they would use the nine-foot stalls.
Mr. Smith agreed.
Councilmember Billings said if they received an easement from Mr. Boschwitz would they still
need a zero lot line variance.
Mr. Hickok, Community Development Director, said that would be one option.
Councilmember Billings said even with the easement they would not be set back the required
length.
Mr. Smith said in the agreement with Home Value, there was also a no-build zone for that
corner.
Mr. Hickok outlined the no-build zone. He said there needed to be 60 feet of open space for
building code purposes around the building. In addition, there was the actual 20 feet to
maneuver the fire vehicle around the building and 5 feet of green space that was necessary
between the curb and the property line.
Mr. Smith said they wanted to move forward with the project.
Mayor Lund said the public hearing was for the reduction in parking stalls and the special use
permit. They would need to prepare an application for a variance.
Mr. Michael Diem, the architect for the project, said the fire lane was added as a result of a
comment that was made by a Planning Commission member. He said they decided to pursue a
shared emergency fire access agreement with Home Valu. He did not see it as a variance.
Mr. Hickok said the City would require a variance. He said the Building Official was concerned
about the lack of interest about this particular point. Staff had expressed concern about this issue
on numerous occasions. He said if they wanted to break ground, their best option would be to
clip the corner of the building off.
Councilmember Billings said the corner of the building was the existing building that was there.
Mr. Hickok agreed.
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 24, 2003 PAGE 27
Councilmember Billings said any expansion they planned on doing they could do with or without
this particular variance. They just needed to identify that they would do one or the other prior to
the issuance of the building permit for the other side.
Mr. Hickok said they could not issue permits. There were a lot of building code and fire code
issues relative to distance from property lines and the ability to access the building from certain
directions. This was not a minor issue.
Councilmember Billings asked if that could be a condition of the building permit and that a
certificate of occupancy would not be issued for the addition until such time as they get it
resolved.
Mr. Smith said when they went through the Planning Commission, it was subject to fire and
building codes. He said they had been working with the Building Official.
Mr. Hickok said the issue had not been resolved and he thought it needed to be discussed with
the Fire Marshal.
Councilmember Billings said there was a stipulation. He said it was possible that a building
permit could be issued contingent upon the options on the corner being resolved and that no
certificate of occupancy would be issued for the new space until such time as it was resolved.
Mayor Lund said it would not be resolved unless they applied for the variance.
Mr. Smith said they would be willing to work with the Fire Marshal. He said they were about 6
inches shy of making it work per code. It measured 19 feet 6 inches. The fire lane required 20
feet.
Mr. Hickok said it was a 5 feet 6 inches. There was a 5-foot setback required between the curb
and the property line.
Mr. Lee Coppy, the project engineer, apologized that this issue was not addressed. Given the
fact that there are different options, he thought they could cut off a piece of the corner of the
building to make it work.
Attorney Fritz Knaak, City Attorney, said the issues was whether the code was being complied
with. If you are at the point where a building permit was issued and it all boiled down to
whether a certificate of occupancy was going to be issued, if the City said the issue was not
resolved, the petitioner could say well we have gone this far. They could go to Court to compel
the City to issue an occupancy permit. The City's position would be far less stronger than it was
at this point. The bottom line was whether there was going to be compliance. He was
suggesting that the further down the line they went towards the certificate of occupancy, the
weaker they would be making the position of the City.
Councilmember Bolkcom asked him what he suggested.
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 24, 2003 PAGE 28
Mr. Knaak agreed with staf£ Petitioner needed some kind of variance or some other method to
resolve the issue. He said there was apparent non-compliance with the City Code and he
questioned whether the City could legally issue a building permit. He did not think the City
could issue a building permit under those circumstances until they were resolved.
Councilmember Billings asked if the issued could be resolved by signing an agreement between
the petitioner and the City.
Attorney Knaak said it could.
Councilmember Billings asked if that would weaken the City's position or hold the City at status
quo.
Attorney Knaak said it would hold the City at status quo.
Councilmember Billings said they could have a development agreement that said they agreed
that they would get the issue resolved.
Mayor Lund said he was concerned that the issue had not been dealt with.
Mr. Hickok said it had been a concern since the beginning of the project.
Councilmember Bolkcom said she was concerned because the information they had said there
was no survey and a survey was received this afternoon. She said now they hear that there are
issues and there had been for some time.
Mr. Hickok said staff explained to the developer that there were building code issues. If they had
received a plan earlier, they could have voiced their concern and put it in their staff report.
Council would have had the information. He wanted to put staff's concerns on record so that it
would help get a project they could work with.
Councilmember Barnette said he received a telephone call from Mr. Smith who called regarding
the parking issue. He said he did not know anything about the other issue.
Mr. Smith said when the request was approved at the Planning Commission meeting, the
contingency was that they meeting building and fire codes. They were working with the building
official and working on fire access issues.
Councilmember Billings asked if it was similar to the Northco project.
Mr. Hickok said it was. He said there was a difference of opinion on what was really needed.
Stipulation No. 6 was something they thought they could work. He said they needed to make it
clear that they did not want to debate the matter. The building was not up to code. They needed
to trust the Building Official's decision over what was being said on the design issue by the
architect.
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FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 24, 2003 PAGE 29
Dr. William Burns, City Manager, asked what changes they would make in the way of additional
stipulations in this matter. He asked if the City needed to insist on a variance.
Mr. Hickok said he would recommend that before the second reading of the ordinance on the text
amendment, the building code issues be worked out satisfactorily.
Councilmember Billings asked how that impacted petitioner's ability to start digging.
Mr. Hickok said typically they did not like to issue a footing only permit. They need to
understand that it was at their risk.
Mr. Smith said the Building Official would not issue a footing and foundation permit without a
mutually agreed upon code review.
Mr. Coppy asked if they would meet the requirements for a variance.
Councilmember Bolkcom said it would not be before Council until January.
Mr. Coppy asked if that corner of the building was the only building issue they were talking
about.
Mr. Hickok said he did not want to answer building code questions at this meeting. He said it
was a big issue that impacted other issues within the complex.
Mr. Coppy said if the building could be opened if left it exactly as it was.
Mr. Hickok said they were changing the use and modifying the building.
Mr. Baillie said they were not changing the use.
Mr. Coppy asked if this could be approved on the conditions that they met the Fire Marshal's
requirements and the requirements of the building code.
Mr. Knaak said there was one solution. They could chop a corner off the building. If they would
like to subsequently come to Council with a modification and a proposal for a variance
amendment that would allow them to complete the corner, that would be something Council
could consider.
Mr. Smith said there was one other option. He asked if it would be possible to have a cross-
access easement.
Mr. Knaak said the issue was a zoning issue and had to do with property lot lines. Cross-
easements did not qualify. If they purchased some of the Boschwitz property, that would solve
the problem. It could be a complicated issue because it would need to be replatted. He said the
simplest solution would be to chop a corner off the building.
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 24, 2003 PAGE 30
Councilmember Billings said if they came in with that proposal and subsequently it was
determined that there was another alternative, they could then put in the paperwork for the other
alternative and amend their plan.
Attorney Knaak said the further away from approval you got, the more difficult it became to
defend the City's position.
Dr. Burns asked the City Attorney if he had a problem with passing the special use permit
request at this meeting with the understanding that Stipulation No. 6 needed to be complied with.
Attorney Knaak said he did not as long as it was clearly understood. Petitioner needed to
understand that the City Council understood what was going on.
Dr. Burns said if Council passed this, it was incumbent upon the Petitioner to work with the
Building Official and Fire Marshal to get the building and fire code issues resolved. If they did
not have a building permit or get the issues resolved before the second reading, Council had
every right to deny the request.
Attorney Knaak agreed.
Mr. Smith asked what second reading meant.
Councilmember Billings stated that for an ordinance to become a final ordinance, there was a
first and second reading held at different meetings. The second reading would apply to the
zoning text amendment. After the second reading, it would need to be published. The parking
amendment would not take affect until sixty days after the date of publication.
Mr. Smith said they only had one issue. In order to get a permit, they needed to get the other
issue cleared up. The only issue they really had was satisfying the fire access issue.
MOTION by Councilmember Bolkcom to close the public hearing. Seconded by
Councilmember Barnette.
UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
15. CONSIDERATION OF AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 205 OF THE
FRIDLEY CITY CODE PERTAINING TO S-3, ONAWAY DISTRICT,
SCREENING OF SOLID WASTE.
MOTION by Councilmember Bolkcom to waive the reading of the public hearing notice and
open the public hearing. Seconded by Councilmember Barnette.
UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 24, 2003 PAGE 31
Mr. Scott Hickok, Community Development Director, said this was for an ordinance screening
solid waste. It was a housekeeping issue that cleaned up dumpster enclosures. It was an
ordinance amendment to Chapter 205 of the City Code. The change in the code would not
require screening of solid waste containers located within the alleyway in the Onaway District.
During systematic code enforcement inspections in commercial and industrial districts, City staff
concluded that industries in the Onaway District had unique hardships in screening solid waste
containers. The hardships included not enough space to accommodate an enclosure, overhead
wires, and utility box placement on the exterior of buildings. In December, 2002, City staff held
an open house for Onaway District business owners to discuss various concern regarding the
City Code. Staff and business owners collaborated to find a way that would provide relief to
business owners from solid waste requirements. Current language stated that solid waste
containers were not to be visible from the public right-of-way. Property owners in the Onaway
District did not have space to accommodate the enclosures and/or had extenuating circumstances
that prohibited an enclosure on the property. The proposed changes would allow Onaway
District industries that did not have site conditions to accommodate site enclosures to be in
compliance with the Fridley City Code. Staff recommended approval of the proposed ordinance
amendment.
Mayor Lund asked how the item was advertised.
Mr. Hickok said because the matter was a follow-up and because it had city-wide implications, it
was published in the newspaper. No individual notices were sent.
Mr. Richard Harris, 6200 Riverview Terrace N.E., said he was a business owner in the Onaway
District and in some of the abutting M-2 districts. He said he had lived in Fridley for over 50
years. He indicated that the notice in the paper was exceptionally small and hard to read. He
received a letter from the Planning staff. He was able to speak to Mr. Hickok once about his
situation and followed it with a letter. He came to City Hall and tried to speak with Mr. Hickok
but he was unavailable. He spoke with Mr. Burns and asked him to give the letter to Mr. Hickok
and told Mr. Burns that if there were any problems they could call him. He never received a
telephone call.
Councilmember Bolkcom asked Mr. Harris what he was referring to.
Mr. Harris said he would read the letter.
Mayor Lund said it was a different issue. Mr. Harris received a code compliance letter from City
staff. He said he spent some time with Mr. Harris and spoke with staff. It was his understanding
that everyone was in agreement. He said he told Mr. Harris to write a letter asking for an
extension of time and that staff was willing to give him additional time. He asked Mr. Harris to
make an appointment rather than just showing up at City Hall. Mr. Harris agreed to send a letter
and agreed to comply with the code. If he needed more time, all he had to do was contact the
code compliance officer.
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FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 24, 2003 PAGE 32
MOTION by Councilmember Billings to continue the public hearing until the second meeting in
January, 2004, to let the people in the Onaway District know about the ordinance change.
Seconded by Councilmember Bolkcom.
UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE
MOTION UNANIMOUSLY.
NEW BUSINESS:
16. FIRST READING OF AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 205 OF THE
FRIDLEY CITY CODE PERTAINING TO S-3, ONAWAY DISTRICT,
SCREENING OF SOLID WASTE.
MOTION by Councilmember Bolkcom to table the first reading of an ordinance amending
Chapter 205 of the Fridley City Code pertaining to S-3, Onaway District, screening of solid
waste. Seconded by Councilmember Billings.
UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
17. SPECIAL USE PERMIT REQUEST, SP #03-19, BY DAVID BAILLIE,
FURNITURE OUTLETS USA, INC., TO INCREASE THE LOT COVERAGE
REQUIREMENT FROM 40 PERCENT TO 48 PERCENT, GENERALLY
LOCATED AT 5353 EAST RIVER ROAD N.E. (WARD 3).
MOTION by Councilmember Bolkcom to approve Special Use Permit Request, SP #03-19.
Seconded by Councilmember Billings.
Councilmember Bolkcom asked if the City Attorney was comfortable with the six stipulations on
this item.
Attorney Fritz Knaak, said based on the public hearing, he was.
MOTION by Councilmember Bolkcom to amend the previous motion and approve Special Use
Permit Request, SP #03-19 with the following six stipulations:
1. The petitioner shall obtain any required permit prior to the start of construction.
2. Final landscape plan showing size of planting shall be submitted and approved by City staff
prior to issuance of a building permit.
3. The parking lot shall be restored to Code requirements for paving, curbing and painting after
the addition is completed.
4. No outdoor storage of equipment or materails is permitted.
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF NOVEMBER
5. Screening of rooftop mechanical equipment shall be required.
6. Petitioner to comply with all building, zoning and fire code requirements.
Seconded by Councilmember Billings.
2003 PAGE 33
UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
17B. FIRST READING OF AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 205,
SECTIONS 205.13, 205.14, 205.15, 205.17, 205.18, 205.19, 205.20 RELATED TO
PARKING FOR A FURNITURE STORE USE IN THE COMMERCIAL AND
INDUSTRIAL DISTRICTS.
MOTION by Councilmember Bolkcom to waive the reading and approve the ordinance on first
reading. Seconded by Councilmember Bob Barnette.
UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
18. AMENDMENT TO THE SIGN PLAN FOR MOORE LAKE COMMONS WEST
GENERALLY LOCATED AT 1001 EAST MOORE LAKE DRIVE (WARD 2).
Mr. Scott Hickok, Community Development Director, stated that George Applebaum was the
owner of the Moore Lake Commons West shopping center. He requested an amendment for the
existing comprehensive sign plan to install a sign that was not in character with the rest of the
building tenants. Chapter 214.14 of the City Code required all shopping centers with two or
more tenants to have a sign plan. The current tenant hoped to sublease the location for three
months. The primary lease was with Pawn America. The general specifications for the sign were
prescribed by the complex owner. The sign plan was most recently modified in 1995. The
current approved multi-tenant sign plan allowed for the following: "Temporary signs shall be
limited to the use of banners or pennants and holiday signs in the tenants' interior window area
for a use not more than 60 days within one calendar year and they should not exceed 15 percent
of the window area or 25 square feet, whichever is greater." Three months was beyond what was
allowed by the temporary sign regulations in the City Code. The owner of the complex did not
want to devote all temporary sign allowances for this purpose. The complex was entitled to 4
temporary signs annually for a permit not to exceed 14 days each. Allowing a temparary sign
under the premise that the business itself was temporary would be breaking new ground.
Amending the sign plan would open the door to this type of use in the complex and would defeat
the purpose of having the requirement for a uniform sign plan. Staff recommended denial of this
comprehensive sign plan amendment based on its inconsistency with the intent of the uniform
sign appearance of the ordinance, the contradiction with the temparary sign code language, and
the owner's desire not to use all temporary sign code opportunities on this one use. If Council
chose to allow a temporary sign, staff recommended Council direct staff to modify the City Code
to make this type of temporary sign universally accepted. If Council chose to amend a piece of
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 24, 2003 PAGE 34
the existing approved sign plan, they might wish to extend the temporary window sign language
to 90 days rather than 60 days.
Mr. Steve Vacka, 777 Excelsior Boulevard, said he was the outreach services director for Life
Time Transition. He said they were able to sublease the rental space at a discounted rate on a
temporary basis from Pawn America. He said they ran a thrift store and the money generated
provided services to men and women recovering from drug and alcohol use. A sign developer
and installer who was going to provide some of the service as a donation to the organization. He
showed two pictures of signs. The first sign the company would donate did not conform to code.
It would be gage aluminum with vinyl lettering. The second sign was a dimensional look which
would conducive to the other signs. The pricing that he gave did not include illumination. The
illumination, which was consistent with the other stores, would be expensive. He said they could
get a call at any time from Pawn America stating the store had been subleased and they needed
vacate in thirty days. He said they would be there temporarily. He asked Council to permit them
to put up a temporary sign. If they were there beyond that time, they would be more than willing
to provide the proper sign and conform to City requirements.
Mayor Lund asked how long they could put a sign in the window if Mr. Applebaum removed the
restriction he had.
Mr. Hickok said as long as it was only 15 percent of the window, they could use window signage
on a regular and ongoing basis.
Mr. Vacka said after speaking with Mr. Applebaum, he thought Mr. Applebaum felt comfortable
allowing Life Time Transition to do what they proposed.
Mayor Lund asked if they had moved from another location.
Mr. Vacka said the organization started the idea last spring when they collected items from
garage sales. It had been a dream of the directors to open a thrift store and they looked at
properties.
Mayor Lund said the sign could possibly be used again.
Councilmember Wolfe said he would not have a problem allowing a ninety-day sign.
Councilmember Bolkcom asked if a temporary indoor sign was an option.
Mr. Vacka said the problem with a window was that the sign would not be seen.
Councilmember Billings asked what the temporary sign would look like.
Mr. Vacka said it would be one-dimensional, finished aluminum with vinyl red lettering.
Councilmember Billings said it was an aluminum banner. He asked if they wanted it for a period
of ninety days and after that if the sign would meet the sign plan.
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 24, 2003 PAGE 35
Mr. Hickok said the sign plan required individually lit and installed letters. It could not be on a
raceway.
Councilmember Billings said even if a motion was made for the temporary sign for a specific
period, the three-dimensional sign would not comply because the letters would have to be
individually illuminated and not on a raceway.
Mr. Vacka said they would like to comply. They were just trying to find the easiest way to
remove the sign.
Dr. Burns, City Manager, Burns asked if they could put up letters that matched the
comprehensive sign code requirements, without illumination, on a temporary basis.
Mr. Vacka said that would cost around $900.
Attorney Fritz Knaak, City Attorney, said if they were going to do this, they had to make sure the
circumstances were peculiar enough so that someone else did not come and say they had to do it
for them. This business was a non-profit, charitable organization, so he thought they had enough
basis to provide a distinction.
Councilmember Billings asked if they would be amending the sign plan for the center or
approving a variance to the sign plan.
Councilmember Bolkcom said Mr. Applebaum was not at the meeting, but they did have a letter
from him. She said his letter asked Council to circumvent the sign criteria. It did not say
anything about changing the sign criteria for the complex.
Attorney Knaak said they would be waiving the requirements of the ordinance.
Councilmember Bolkcom said it was possible to get a temporary sign for 90 days.
Councilmember Billings said they could get a temporary sign for 14 days, and the center was
allowed to have four of them in one year's time. In his letter, Mr. Applebaum said he would not
have a problem modifying his sign criteria for this specific tenant only.
Councilmember Wolfe said even though they would be setting a precedent, they should do it
cautiously.
Councilmember Billings asked the City Attorney if they could make a motion to amend the
ordinance for the sign criteria for this specific tenant to allow for a temporary sign for 90 days.
Attorney Knaak said they could. There was enough in the record.
MOTION by Councilmember Billings to receive the letter from Mr. George Applebaum from
Hexad Management Company, dated November 14, 2003. Seconded by Councilmember Wolfe.
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 24, 2003 PAGE 36
UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
Councilmember Wolfe asked if they were going to include a size limit.
Mr. Vacka said Mr. Applebaum told him how big the letters could be.
MOTION by Councilmember Wolfe to modify the sign criteria for the Moore Lake Commons
West shopping center to allow for the installation of a non-conforming sign which would be
specific to Life Time Transition, Inc., for a period not to exceed ninety (90) days. Seconded by
Councilmember Bolkcom.
Mayor Lund asked what the existing height requirement was for the signage.
Mr. Hickok said 30 inches was the maximum.
Mr. Vacka asked when the 90 days started.
Councilmember Billings said once the sign was installed.
UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
19. REZONING REQUEST, ZOA #03-02, BY TOWN CENTER DEVELOPMENT,
LLC, TO REZONE PROPERTY FROM C-1, LOCAL BUSINESS; C-2,
GENERAL BUSINESS; M-1, LIGHT INDUSTRIAL; AND C-Rl, GENERAL
OFFICE TO S-2, REDEVELOPMENT DISTRICT TO ACCOMMODATE
REDEVELOPMENT, GENERALLY LOCATED AT 1282 MISSISSIPPI STREET;
6490, 6400, 6352 AND 6300 CENTRAL AVENUE; AND 1271 EAST MOORE
LAKE DRIVE (WARD 2).
and
PRELIMINARY PLAT REQUEST, PS #03-08, BY TOWN CENTER
DEVELOPMENT, LLC, TO CREATE TWO SEPARATE LOTS TO ALLOW
FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF A SENIOR HOUSING DEVELOPMENT,
GENERALLY LOCATED AT 1282 MISSISSIPPI STREET AND 6490 CENTRAL
AVENUE (WARD 2).
MOTION by Councilmember Wolfe to table consideration of Rezoning Request, ZOA #03-02
and Preliminary Plat Request, PS #03-08, by Town Center Development, LLC, in order to
ascertain the necessary information to fully examine and study the request and to extend the
review period for City Council action an additional 60 days, and to notify the petitioner in
writing of the 60-day extension as soon as possible. Seconded by Mayor Lund.
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 24, 2003 PAGE 37
UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
8. FIRST READING OF AN ORDINANCE RECODIFYING THE FRIDLEY CITY
CODE BY AMENDING APPENDIX F TO PROVIDE FOR THE ADJUSTMENT
OF SALARIES FOR THE MAYOR AND COUNCILMEMBERS IN
ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 2.07 OF THE CHARTER OF THE CITY OF
FRIDY.EY.
MOTION by Councilmember Bolkcom to deny the first reading of the ordinance. Seconded by
Councilmember Barnette.
Councilmember Billings asked if a motion was needed to set the salaries for the following year.
Attorney Fritz Knaak, City Attorney, said if the ordinance was not passed, the previous
ordinance would stay in place.
Councilmember Billings asked if it would be meeting the requirements of the City Charter. He
said a motion to substitute the 2003 rate into the ordinance would suffice.
MOTION by Councilmember Billings to substitute the 2003 salary rates into the ordinance.
Seconded by Councilmember Bolkcom.
Mr. Richard Harris, 6200 Riverview Terrace N.E., said it was his understanding that they were
not going to accept an increase for the following year.
Councilmember Billings said that was the motion.
UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
20. INFORMAL STATUS REPORTS.
Mr. Scott Hickok, Community Development Director, said earlier in the meeting Mr. Harris
commented about coming to City Hall and not getting service. He said that although the
meetings with Mr. Harris have been unannounced, he had not turned Mr. Harris away except for
today. He said he was in a meeting at 3:00 p.m. When he was told Mr. Harris would like to see
him, he responded that he was not a�ailable but would be glad to meet with him tomorrow at any
time he chose.
ADJOURNMENT:
MOTION by Councilmember Barnette to adjourn the City Council meeting. Seconded by
Councilmember Wolfe.
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 24, 2003 PAGE 38
UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY AND THE MEETING WAS ADJOURNED.
Resp tfully submitted,
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oberta S. C ns —�
Secretary
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Scott J. L nd
Mayor