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CCM 10/22/2018 CITY COUNCIL MEETING CITY OF FRIDLEY OCTOBER 22, 2018 ______________________________________________________________________________ The City Council meeting for the City of Fridley was called to order by Mayor Lund at 7:02 p.m. ROLL CALL: MEMBERS PRESENT: Mayor Lund Councilmember Barnette Councilmember Varichak Councilmember Saefke Councilmember Bolkcom OTHERS PRESENT: Wally Wysopal, City Manager Julie Jones, Planning Manager Jay Karlovich, City Attorney Dan Tienter, Finance Director/City Treasurer Enrico Williams, Kaas Wilson Architects APPROVAL OF PROPOSED CONSENT AGENDA: APPROVAL OF MINUTES: 1. City Council Meeting of October 8, 2018 APPROVED. NEW BUSINESS: 2. Resolution Adopting the Assessment for 2018 Utility Lateral Repair Project. ADOPTED RESOLUTION NO. 2018-53. 3. Resolution Designating Time and Number of Council Meetings for 2019. ADOPTED RESOLUTION NO. 2018-54. 4. Approve Proposed 2019 Development Review Schedule for Planning Commission, Appeals Commission, and City Council Action. APPROVED. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF OCTOBER 22, 2018 PAGE 2 5. Approve Encroachment Agreement for 6431 Seventh Street N.E. (Ward 1). Wally Wysopal , City Manager, stated this is an encroachment agreement for a privately-owned and maintained retaining wall to be constructed. APPROVED. 6. Appointments to Commissions. Mr. Wysopal stated they recommend the appointment of Elizabeth Showalter to the HRA with a term expiring on June 9, 2021; and Peter Borman to the Parks and Recreation Commission with a term expiring on April 21, 2021. APPROVED. 7. Claims (ACH PCard 1810; 182642-182784). APPROVED. 8. License. APPROVED. ADOPTION OF PROPOSED CONSENT AGENDA: MOTION by Councilmember Barnette adopting the proposed consent agenda. Seconded by Councilmember Varichak. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. OPEN FORUM, VISITORS: No one in the audience spoke. ADOPTION OF AGENDA: MOTION by Councilmember Bolkcom adopting the agenda. Seconded by Councilmember Saefke. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF OCTOBER 22, 2018 PAGE 3 PUBLIC HEARING/NEW BUSINESS: 9. Public Hearing to Consider the Proposed Assessment for the 2018 Nuisance Abatement; and Resolution Adopting Assessment for the 2018 Nuisance Abatement. MOTION by Councilmember Bolkcom to waive the reading of the public hearing notice and open the public hearing. Seconded by Councilmember Saefke. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY AND THE PUBLIC HEARING WAS OPENED AT 7:04 P.M. Dan Tienter , Finance Director/City Treasurer, stated Minn. Ch. 429 authorizes municipalities to finance certain pubic improvements, including nuisance abatements, through special assessments against the properties that benefit from those improvements. Consistent with this statute, the City of Fridley has also adopted Chapter 128 of the Fridley City Code which also authorizes the City to recoup any costs associated with the abatement of exterior public nuisances. Mr. Tienter stated consistent with that process and those two laws, the City Council adopted the proposed assessment roll at its meeting on September 24. Shortly thereafter, staff mailed all of the statutorily-required proposed assessment notices to the impacted property owners. A public hearing notice was published in the official newspaper on October 5, and this evening we are holding the public hearing. Staff will be recommending Council adopt the proposed final assessment roll. Mr. Tienter stated for 2018, staff is recommending assessments against 26 properties, totaling approximately $19,000. Generally, these assessments are to recoup costs incurred by the City to administer and enforce certain sections of the Code. Similar to last year, special assessments will be applied for one year at an interest rate of 6.5 percent. The amounts of property and the value of the assessments are similar to 2017. Mr. Tienter stated during this public hearing the Council may consider any oral and/or written objections to the special assessments that have been presented in the assessment included in the Council’s packet. It is important to note though that State Statute does require that no appeal can be taken as to the amount of the assessment unless a written objection is signed by the affected property owner filed other than before this hearing or presented to the presiding officer, in this case the Mayor. To date staff, has not received any such correspondence related to these special assessments. Mr. Tienter stated following this hearing, property owners may pay their special assessments interest-free for 30 days from the date of adoption. It is important to note that the Thanksgiving holiday does land on day 3, so the City will be accepting payments through November 26 as FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF OCTOBER 22, 2018 PAGE 4 opposed to November 22. It is also important to note the City has authorized through Chapter 7 that an individual assessment may be paid in part, provided that it is at least half the assessment and it exceeds $100. Any remaining balance with all interest accrued from the date of adoption would then be certified to the County with next year’s property taxes. Mr. Tienter stated staff recommends Council hold a public hearing and consider adoption of the nuisance abatement resolution. Councilmember Bolkcom asked if there were any changes. Mr. Tienter replied, yes. There is one less property. One of the affected property owners paid the assessment in full. MOTION by Councilmember Saefke to close the hearing. Seconded by Councilmember Barnette. Councilmember Bolkcom asked if they needed to check to see if anyone in the audience wanted to speak. Mayor Lund stated he would but he heard Mr. Tienter state that if they did not request it, they cannot speak. Mr. Tienter said they can file their objection to the assessment either before the meeting or during the public hearing itself. If they do file a formal objection, it has to be done in writing. Mayor Lund asked if there was anyone in the audience who wished to address the Council on their assessment. Mayor Lund stated since there was no response, a motion would be in order to close the public hearing. MOTION by Councilmember Saefke to close the hearing. Seconded by Councilmember Barnette. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY AND THE PUBLIC HEARING WAS CLOSED AT 7:09 P.M. MOTION by Councilmember Saefke to adopt Resolution No. 2018-Adopting Resolution No. 2018-55 Adopting Assessment for the 2018 Nuisance Abatement. Seconded by Councilmember Bolkcom. Mayor Lund stated in looking at page 75 it seems there are 26 properties listed and there are 28 PIN numbers on page 76. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF OCTOBER 22, 2018 PAGE 5 Mr. Tienter said the notice was based on the proposed assessment roll. Following that notice one property owner did come in and pay. He said they would check the numbers. Councilmember Bolkcom asked what would happen if there was one on the list and Council adopted the resolution. Mr. Tienter replied they would have to reassess them through the process outlined in State law. They would have to go through the process again. Mr. Tienter said they could continue the public hearing at which time staff could confirm the resolution and then forward it to the Council. Councilmember Bolkcom stated they already closed the public hearing. Mayor Lund asked the City Attorney for his opinion. Jay Karlovich , City Attorney, said he thinks they could make a motion to reconsider the motion to close the public hearing right now. Councilmember Bolkcom asked why they could not reopen it, leave it, and continue it to the next meeting. They have some time to get this in? Otherwise, if they close it and do not open it up, they have to re-publicize it. Mr. Tienter replied, yes, that would be correct although they do typically certify the special assessments to the County by the end of November. If they waited one more month they would be within the 30-day period for the interest free payment. Mayor Lund stated so there would be no problem if they continue it. Mr. Tienter replied, there could be a complicating issue with the County in terms of the deadline they have for submitting the special assessments. Mayor Lund stated that is November and this is only the end of October. Mr. Tienter replied they have 30 days after the resolution is certified by the City Council to pay interest free. Mayor Lund stated Mr. Tienter also felt that the final assessment listed was correct. Mr. Tienter replied, yes. Mayor Lund stated he is comfortable to leave the public hearing closed. Councilmember Bolkcom stated if they adopt the resolution, if there is some discrepancy, they can bring back the other one. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF OCTOBER 22, 2018 PAGE 6 Attorney Karlovich stated if there is one they missed, it will probably get certified payable 2020 instead of 2019 which is not the end of the world. It would still accrue interest from whatever date they levy the assessment if one is missing. It is possible that somebody paid and they had two taxed parcels. Councilmember Bolkcom stated it seems to her they are better off passing the resolution now. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. NEW BUSINESS: 10. First Reading of an Ordinance to Amend the City Code of the City of Fridley, Minnesota, by Making a Change in Zoning Districts (Rezoning Request, ZOA #18-04, by Sherman Associates Development, LLC). Julie Jones, Planning Manager, stated this is their fourth rezoning request of the year. The petitioner is Sherman Associates. The petitioner is requesting having the property at 6050 Main Street which is the east Northstar Train Station, rezoned from “P” Public to S-2 Redevelopment District; and this rezoning would allow the development of the site into the development they are proposing. There are also two other land use applications this petitioner has made, but the City is holding those off until the rezoning is further along in the process so they keep everything on the same timeline track. Ms. Jones stated all of their land use items that are proposed are to allow the construction of a 267-unit mixed income transit-oriented multi-family residential development within three buildings: a 196-unit market rate building, a 100-unit senior market rate building, and a 71-unit affordable multi-family building. Ms. Jones stated at the September 19 Planning Commission, meeting a public hearing was held for this rezoning request. The Planning Commission requested approval of the rezoning, ZOA#18-04, with an additional stipulation regarding fencing along the southern boundary between Parsons Electric and the subject property. That motion was carried unanimously. Ms. Jones stated at the last City Council meeting they held a public hearing for this rezoning request, and the fence stipulation was further discussed. That fence stipulation has been reworded to instead strictly require a privacy fence Staff recommended a combination of fencing and landscaping and reworded Stipulation No. 7. Ms. Jones stated since that last Council meeting the developer and the neighboring business have discussed the fencing options. It is staff understands they are in agreement with what a solution can be and of course staff will be looking at that detail when they review the building permit application. Ms. Jones stated staff recommends concurrence with the Planning Commission on the approval of the proposed project and recommends that the City Council holds its first reading of the FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF OCTOBER 22, 2018 PAGE 7 ordinance tonight. Unless otherwise directed staff will schedule the second reading of the rezoning ordinance for their next City Council meeting which will be on November 13. Councilmember Bolkcom asked because there was a fair amount of discussion about the fencing and the berming, do they have any idea what is happening. Ms. Jones stated per an e-mail that she saw and some updates from Stacy Stromberg today, it is her understanding they are looking at black-coated chain link fence combined with landscaping. She does not have the details yet on landscaping. Both parties seem to be satisfied with that. Enrico Williams , Kaas Wilson Architects, stated they did have some offline conversations with Parsons Electric and, when they say they are in agreement, they are both on the same page. They want to reduce the amount of traffic coming from Parsons Electric crossing over their property and making their way to transit. At the same time, they want to create and provide a safe environment for the residents of the multi-family building. It will be families. There will be a lot of traffic going in and out of Parsons Electric and it just made sense for everybody involved to have some kind of physical barrier that would reduce the amount of cross traffic. The exact details are still being worked out. The black coated chain link fence is one such option. The plan is they can grow some ivy on it to give it a little bit of greenage, a little bit of life; but at the same time they would like to explore other options. These answers will be provided in the drawings they submit for a building permit to be reviewed by City’s zoning and staff. Mayor Lund stated he is happy to hear they are working with Parsons. Mr. Williams stated they would like to do what is best for everybody involved. They want to be good neighbors. Councilmember Barnette asked Mr. Williams if he had any idea when they would start any kind of construction. Mr. Williams replied, they are shooting for a spring start—April, 2019. MOTION by Councilmember Bolkcom to waive the reading of the ordinance and adopt the first reading of the ordinance. Seconded by Councilmember Saefke. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 11. First Reading of an Ordinance Amending Chapter 205 of the Fridley Zoning Code Pertaining to Exterior Storage (Text Amendment Request, TA #18-02, by the City of Fridley). Ms. Jones stated this is a first reading of an ordinance they are proposing relating to the exterior storage language that is in various sections of the Zoning Code, Chapter 205, of City Code. The purpose of this text amendment is to clarify some Code language staff really feels has contradicted itself. They have one paragraph that says the only thing you can store in your side FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF OCTOBER 22, 2018 PAGE 8 or rear yard is neatly-stacked wood and a boat or a trailer or a non-motorized camper. Then they have another paragraph following that saying, well, you can store things as long as it is screened from public view. Staff felt it was the City Council’s intent that the things listed in the first paragraph were the only things Council wanted to see stored in a yard. Ms. Jones stated the intent of this code really cannot be fully met with the phrase that is currently in the City Code that says, within view of the public right-of-way. That is the portion staff set out to remove. Complainants and staff and City Council have been frustrated with this limitation over the years. Ms. Jones stated they have tweaked this language over time. Ms. Jones stated there was a public hearing before the Planning Commission on August 15. That public hearing was continued, and the Planning Commission continued their discussion at their September 17 meeting where they proposed some revised language based on the input they had been given. A public hearing was held by Council on August 8. Ms. Jones stated staff has not made any changes in the text before them tonight, but they do have something they want to clarify. If they look at page 82 of their packet, the language that is underlined and proposed, Items 1(a), (b), and (c), there was some discussion at the last meeting and they were not quite sure what direction the Council wanted to go. Ms. Jones stated she wants to propose some language tonight on Item (b). Councilmember Bolkcom had recommended she thought it would be clearer if Item (b) would be divided into two paragraphs and two sentences. As she understands it, the suggestion was to instead state that private, outdoor recreational equipment currently being used or intended for use would be Item (b) and that they would have a new Item (c) that would be the second part of that sentence saying, “landscaping materials and machinery currently being used or intended for use on a current project within the premises.” These now she should explain are items that are not prohibited in the Code. Item (c) listed there would become Item (d), the one about boats. Ms. Jones stated she wanted to check tonight to see if that was correct, because they wanted to make sure it was included in the second reading. There was another item they need to change based on what is before them tonight. That is in Section 4 related to R-4 zoning which is manufactured homes. Staff accidentally kept Item No. 3 crossed out to be removed from the Code, but they actually need that section referring to special use permits for outdoor storage to remain because Fridley Terrace manufactured home park is one park that does have a special use permit for its exterior storage or outside storage area where they allow everyone in the facility to store boats, campers, etc. in a designated area within the park. They are going to remove that crossed out language for the second reading. Councilmember Bolkcom stated actually that what the minutes reflect, she said it should be separated; but it has to be changed in every section here is what Ms. Jones is proposing and those changes would be made for the second reading. Ms. Jones replied, yes. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF OCTOBER 22, 2018 PAGE 9 Councilmember Bolkcom stated it just clarifies it because otherwise it is just a run-on sentence. Ms. Jones stated she thinks staff was just a little concerned about making the change because the language proposed here will be merged word for word into the City’s code enforcement letters which they try to keep as brief and concise as possible. Councilmember Bolkcom asked Ms. Jones if she would go over the other proposed change. Ms. Jones stated on page 84 of their packet, a little bit below the middle of the page, subparagraph C(3), it is crossed out, “The City shall require a Special Use Permit for any exterior storage of materials.” That needs to remain in the R-4 section of the Code. MOTION by Councilmember Bolkcom waive the reading of the ordinance and adopt the ordinance on first reading with the recommended changes presented by Ms. Jones. Seconded by Councilmember Saefke. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 12. Informal Status Reports Mayor Lund asked Mr. Tienter if he had an answer to his question about the final assessment roll for the nuisance abatement. Mr. Tienter , replied he did have an opportunity to review the information and 26 is accurate. There was a second payment that was made so the 28 that is on the public hearing notice was accurate, two payments were made in the interim, and then the 26 were presented to the Council this evening. ADJOURN: MOTION by Councilmember Barnette, seconded by Councilmember Varichak, to adjourn. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY AND THE MEETING ADJOURNED AT 7:38 P.M. Respectfully submitted by, Denise M. Johnson Scott J. Lund Recording Secretary Mayor