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02/12/1992 PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING AGENDA WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 1992 7:30 P.M. Public Copy Planning Commission City of Fridley AGENDA PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 1992 7: 30 P.M. LOCATION: Fridley Municipal Center, 6431 University Avenue N.E. CALL TO ORDER: ROLL CALL: APPROVE PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES: January 22, 1991 RECEIVE AND APPROVE THE 1992 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT ALLOCATION RECOMMENDATION RECEIVE THE MINUTES OF THE PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MEETING OF JANUARY 6 1992 RECEIVE THE MINUTES OF THE HOUSING AND REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY MEETING OF JANUARY 9 1992 RECEIVE THE MINUTES OF THE HUMAN RESOURCES COMMISSION MEETING OF JANUARY 9 1992 RECEIVE THE MINUTES OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL OUALITY AND ENERGY COMMISSION MEETING OF JANUARY 16, 1992 OTHER BUSINESS: ADJOURN: L CITY OF FRIDLEY PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING, JANUARY 22, 1992 CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Betzold called the January 22, 1992, Planning Commission meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. ROLL CALL: Members Present: Don Betzold, Dean Saba, Diane Savage, Brad Sielaff Members Absent: Dave Kondrick, -Sue Sherek, Connie Modig Others Present: Barbara Dacy, Community Development Director Michele McPherson, Planning Assistant , Scott Davis, Planning Intern Dale Beckman, BRW, Inc. Joseph Maertens, 144 River Edge Way Lee Maxfield, Maxfield Research Group, Inc. Mary Bujold, Maxfield Research Group, Inc. APPROVAL OF JANUARy 8, 1992, PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES: MOTION by Mr. Saba, seconded by Ms. Savage, to approve the January 8, 1992, Planning Commission minutes as written. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON BETZOLD DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 1. PUBLIC HEARING: CONSIDERATION OF A REZONING, ZOA #91-04 , BY BRW, INC. , FOR JOSEPH MAERTENS: To rezone Lot 3, Block 2, Caba Realty First Addition, from M- 2, Heavy Industrial, to C-3, General Shopping Center, and to rezone Lot 2, Block 2, Caba Realty First Addition, from C-2, General Business, to C-3, General Shopping Center, generally located at 83rd and University Avenue N.E. , to allow for consistent zoning for a proposed Wal-Mart shopping center. MOTION by Mr. Sielaff, seconded by Ms. Savage, to waive the reading of the public hearing notice and open the public hearing. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON BETZOLD DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED AND THE PUBLIC HEARING OPEN AT 7:31 P.M. Ms. McPherson stated the property is generally located at 83rd and University Avenue, just south and west of the old Raphael Restaurant, now Moose Lodge No. 38. • PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING, JANUARY 22, 1992 PAGE 2 Ms. McPherson stated the purpose of the rezoning is - to create contiguous zoning with the remainder of the parcels to the south which are already zoned C-3, General Shopping Center district. The two subject parcels are part of the Wal-Mart development. The proposed use for the two subject parcels is for parking and service drive areas for the Wal-Mart development. Ms. McPherson stated rezoning requests are evaluated on three criteria: (1) consistency of the proposed use with the proposed zoning district; (2) compatibility of the use with adjacent uses; and (3) conformance to the district regulations. If these two lots were to be developed separately from the Wal-Mart proposal, they would meet the minimum requirements of the C-3, General Shopping Center District regulations. The proposed use of parking and service drive areas is a consistent accessory use and a permitted accessory use under the C-3 regulations. In addition, the C-3 zoning would be compatible with the existing C-3 zoning to the south and the C-2 zoning of the Moose Lodge No. 38 property. It is also consistent and compatible with the M-2, Heavy Industrial zoning, to the west. The parcels on the west are currently used as office/warehouse/showroom-type buildings. Ms. McPherson stated that as the request meets the three criteria for evaluating rezoning request, staff recommends that the lawit ning ng Commission recommend approval of the rezoning request stipulation: 1. The plat request, P.S. #91-04, by BRW, Inc. , shall be approved. al-Mart. Mr. Dale Beckman, BRW, Inc• , stated hsite plan representing theWPlanning He stated this is basically the same Commission saw at the December meeting with one exception. The site plan now shows conceptually an approximately 30,000 sq. expansion onto Sam's Club. There are some other details that need to be worked out, and they will be back in March or April with that proposal. Mr. Beckman stated that as a result of Wal-Mart making the bold • statement that they want to in Fridley by the expansion of the Sam's Club in addition to the Wal-Mart store, they took another look at the entrances of the Sam's Club in relationship to the Wal- Mart store. What they have done is flipped the building end for end putting the Wal-Mart entrance further to the north which allows them to take advantage of parking on the north end and allows more parking to be set aside for the Sam's Club expansion. Where they had the garden center as an appendage hanging off the north side of the building, they have now incorporated the garden center into the design of thee garden ng. They will still hav the exterior centerthat was presented i treatment forn December. g • PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING, JANUARY 22, 1992 PAGE 3 MOTION by Mr. Sielaff, seconded by Mr. Saba, to close the public hearing. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON BETZOLD DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED AND THE PUBLIC HEARING CLOSED AT 7:40 P.M. MOTION by Mr. Sielaff, seconded by Ms. Savage, to recommend to City Council approval of ZOA #91-04, by BRW, Inc. , for Joseph Maertens, to rezone Lot 3, Block 2, Caba Realty First Addition, from M-2, Heavy Industrial, to C-3, General Shopping Center, and to rezone Lot 2, Block 2, Caba Realty First Addition, from C-2, General Business, to C-3, General Shopping Center, generally located at 83rd and University Avenue N.E. , to allow for consistent zoning for a proposed Wal-Mart shopping center, with the following stipulation: 1. The plat request, P.S. #91-04, by BRW, Inc. , ' shall be approved. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON BETZOLD DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 2. PRESENTATION OF THE HOUSING STUDY BY MAXFIELD RESEARCH GROUP: Ms. Dacy stated about one year ago, the HRA asked staff to begin looking at some of the housing issues affecting Fridley. In January 1991, she and the City Manager interviewed other first-ring suburbs about other programs they offer for their homeowners and what they do about declining multi-family properties. One of those communities was Brooklyn Center. Brooklyn Center had a housing study done by Maxfield Research Group, Inc. , who took a community wide and market approach to the housing issue. Based on that and other factors, the HRA hired Maxfield Research Group, Inc. , to. conduct a housing study for the City of Fridley for a number of reasons: 1. To help the HRA identify areas for successful housing development and redevelopment projects; 2 . The HRA wanted more than just a demographic study; they wanted a neighborhood focus study. 3. In-house and staff in general has been receiving a lot of information about recent Met Council studies and organizations about the changing demographic patterns in this decade, one of which is the decline of the first- time homebuyer age group and what does that mean for first-ring suburbs such as Fridley. 4. The Housing Chapter of the Comprehensive Plan will need to be amended. PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING, JANUARY 22, 1992 1 PAGE 4 5. To help the City initiate its own process where the City adopts its goals and policies in maintaining and improving the housing stock and livability of Fridley. 6. The housing study can be used as a market tool for interested developers or homeowners who want to know more about the status of housing in Fridley. Ms. Dacy stated Lee Maxfield and Mary Bujold are at the meeting to present the major findings of the housing study. Ms. Mary Bujold stated that it is a pleasure to present their findings to the Planning Commission and to thank the City once again for allowing them to conduct this study. She would like to make her presentation in four parts: (1) review the methodology of how they conducted the study; (2) briefly talk about their research findings; (3) review the recommendations in general; (4) open it up for questions. Ms. Bujold stated that when they first began the study, in order to determine a specific work program, they met with Mr. Burns, Ms. Dacy and some other members of the Planning Department to define the work tasks that needed to be involved and to designate specific neighborhood areas for later study. They then began to determine and look at some national demographic trends. Once they determined the national trends, they started to narrow their focus and look at regional trends within the Twin Cities metropolitan area, and, finally, how Fridley fits into that scheme and what Fridley's market position is within the Twin Cities in relation to those demographic changes. Ms. Bujold stated they conducted extensive interviews with a number of people in the community: school administrators, real estate agents and realtors, church pastors and membership directors, rental building owners and managers. They interviewed a number of City officials: Parks and Recreation Department, Assessing Department, Crime Prevention Specialist, Fire Marshall with respect to rental property inspections, Public Works Department, Housing Specialist who administrates the Section 8 Housing Program, and other planning officials. They talked to major employers in the community. Ms. Bujold stated they conducted a visual survey of each of the seven neighborhoods identified in the study to determine each neighborhood's strengths and weaknesses, aiming specifically at land uses and the condition of the housing. They tried to identify suggestions and recommendations for either maintenance of the housing stock or potential areas that needed a vehicle to be redeveloped in the future. Ms. Bujold stated that from the results of their research, they tried to determine who Fridley is. Some of the results they found PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING, JANUARY 22, 1992 PAGE 5 were that Fridley is practically a fully developed suburb. Fridley has little vacant land available for development, and most of the development that will take place in the future will be the result of redevelopment on areas that exist now. The housing stock is primarily older. The majority of the homes were built in the 1950's and 1960's. They did not find any specifically blighted areas; however, they did identify areas where they felt the housing may be starting to deteriorate which should be targeted for programs that would help homeowners and managers of buildings to try to maintain the housing. Ms. Bujold stated they found Fridley, to a large respect, would be dependent upon demographic conditions that will happen, not only in the Twin Cities, but in close proximity to areas surrounding Fridley. Fridley will be competing with other suburbs for residents, and it will be up to Fridley to monitor, what is happening in other areas. There are a large number of areas to the north where there are still large amounts of land available for new• housing, and there are a lot of people who choose to purchase new housing. There are also people who choose to purchase existing housing in areas that are attractive and desirable. Ms. Bujold stated they found Fridley has a very strong employment base, that there are a lot of people who come to Fridley on a daily basis to work, even though they may not live in Fridley. Fridley has a reputation for having a very strong school system. The four school districts located in Fridley all have very good reputations. Ms. Bujold stated Fridley has a very strong Neighborhood Crime Watch Program which attests to the fact that Fridley residents take pride in their community and want to see that the community remains safe and livable. Ms. Bujold stated that in their conversations with people in the community, they found there is a strong community loyalty in Fridley that they have not found in other communities where they have conducted studies. Ms. Bujold stated they did not find any large concentrations of rental housing in Fridley that would create significant problems for Fridley. Ms. Bujold stated they found that Fridley has very good access to freeways and metro highways. The good transportation system makes travel times to and from employment very small. This is one of the reasons why Fridley is a very desirable place to live. They heard often from people they spoke with that transportation issues are very important to residents and that Fridley is perceived to be a very centrally located community. Ms. Bujold identified some of their recommendations, both short and long terms needs: PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING, JANUARY 22, 1992 PAGE 6 1. The need to for Fridley to take a proactive approach to managing its housing issues. 2. The need to promote Fridley as a desirable residential community. 3. The need to emphasize more the advantages of living in Fridley, perhaps through local realtors. 4. The need to realize that Fridley will need to compete with surrounding suburbs for developed and developing housing for future residents. 5. The need to maintain and upgrade the existing housing base and to assist owners, both single family and landlords, to be able to do that. 6. The need to encourage people to buy housing in Fridley. There are many people who rent in Fridley at this time, and they would likely be a very strong potential market to own housing. 7. The need to maintain the existing housing stock. 8. The need to provide housing alternatives for empty nesters and seniors who want to stay in the community; and to free up existing single family homes for younger households. 9. The need to provide housing for the low and moderate income residents, but housing that will more meet their needs, not just through a program of'deferred maintenance where the housing through lack of maintenance becomes lower rents and automatically attracts low income renters. 10. The need to encourage and educate small property owners on how to better screen tenants and better manage buildings. 11. The need to keep City services applicable and to maintain City services. Ms. Bujold stated that in the Executive Summary, there are specific recommendations for each neighborhood and sometimes for parcels in each neighborhood. Ms. Bujold stated she and Mr. Maxfield would be happy to answer any questions the Commission members might have. PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING, JANUARY 22, 1992 PAGE 7 Mr. Saba stated Ms. Bujold said a lot of good things about the community, but nothing was mentioned in the report about the problems that are being experienced in other communities from low income residents. He believed the City has to be very careful how they manage redevelopment of low income housing so it is not congregated all in one area. He did not see a lot of information in the study about that type of housing. Ms. Bujold stated one of the things they wanted to stress in the study was the idea that what is often happening with the attraction of low income renters is not that the housing has been specifically designated or managed property for low income tenants. What has happened is that because of deteriorating housing, the housing and the rents the owners are able to obtain for those units continue to decline, and the whole thing starts to feed on itself. The rents decline. Because of the increasing costs and expenses, the property owner can no longer afford to cashflow, has trouble meeting expenses and paying bills; and, therefore, property owners sometimes do not screen tenants properly and take any renter they can just to get a monthly rent check. The housing then starts to attract low income renters through a system of deferred maintenance. Ms. Bujold stated what they are trying to advocate or recommend is that if the City decides to develop low income housing that it be done in a fashion where it provides property management and proper screening of tenants, so it is not done haphazardly and not done through a system where the housing stock is not being properly maintained and the property is deteriorating which attracts a lower income tenant. Mr. Saba asked if there are any places where this is being done successfully. Ms. Bujold stated Housing and Redevelopment Authorities in Twin Cities are identifying specific areas or specific units where they place low income tenants. Typically, it is not large areas. It is usually scattered site housing that are managed by the HRA and by the City in an attempt to screen tenants through a specific system where people are placed in the program and then placed in these units. Mr. Betzold stated that assuming the City could come up with some funds or rehab loans that might be given out to property owners as an inducement to refurbish housing, should they concentrate on different areas or should they hone in on one area, or try to get as much money as possible to upgrade an area such as Hyde Park or Riverview Heights? Ms. Bujold stated some of that depends on looking at a specific area and determining the extent of the deterioration. Obviously, if there are a majority of homes that are deteriorating, perhaps PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING, JANUARY 22, 1992 PAGE 8 just upgrading one home is really not going to really raise property values of the other homes in the area, and there will not be a substantial increase in property value. If the City can provide money for an area where a number of the homes are deteriorating, then rehabbing or upgrading as many of those homes as possible would certainly benefit an entire neighborhood. Ms. Betzold asked Ms. Bujold if she perceived the Hyde Park and Riverview Heights neighborhoods as two areas where the City should concentrate some resources and encourage people who live there to get into this kind of program? Ms. Bujold stated there is evidence that there are a number of property owners in Hyde Park who are trying to upgrade their properties right now. The City needs to set some priorities for specific areas they want to redevelop or determine other areas that need to be focused on. She stated that in the study they did identify a couple of areas where it would be in the City's best interest to do that. Mr. Saba asked Ms. Bujold if they saw any relationship between encouraging maintenance of properties and rehab of single family homes, and then the government slapping the homeowners with higher taxes, causing property owners to postpone improvements which, in turn, causes the housing stock to degrade. This is especially true today with fixed incomes and high employment rates. Did the consultant have any solutions for this problem? Mr. Lee Maxfield stated that he really believed this is really a legislature issue. Minneapolis has some of the same problems - people improving and upgrading their homes and then finding taxes doubled in three years. He stated it really goes back to the assessing process itself. He stated they have been working with the state assessors, and they have now come up with an issue statement that if someone is simply replacing a furnace or changing the exterior of the house, that should not and will not increase the value by itself. However, if someone is putting on a major addition, that will increase the value if other homes with similar features are selling for more. Mr. Saba stated it seems to be a major roadblock in terms of improving or maintaining housing stock where that fear of higher house payments and taxes exists, particularly for people on fixed incomes. Mr. Maxfield stated he would not say it is a major roadblock. When a family decides to add onto their house, it is typically because they realize putting on a $20, 000 addition is cheaper than moving to another community and spending $40, 000-50, 000 to get what they want in a different house. So, it becomes an economic issue. • PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING, JANUARY 22, 1992 PAGE 9 Ms. Dacy stated that when Mr. Maxfield and Ms. Bujold made their presentation to the Council on January 1,3, the Mayor raised the same issue that Mr. Saba has raised. The City Assessors are telling them that they will not increase the value of a property if the activity is strictly for repair and maintenance. It is recognized that it might be a hurdle for some, and maybe this issue can be addressed in some fashion. Mr. Saba stated his question is: What is repair and maintenance? Any time you replace cedar shakes with steel siding, that is not repair and maintenance, that is improvement. So, those issues have to be addressed. Ms. Dacy stated that whatever city policy or program they work out, it means incorporating the Assessing Department into the decision- making of those policies or programs. Mr. Maxfield stated that Des Moines, Iowa, through a state statute, has a five year tax abatement program for anyone who adds or improves his/her home. Mr. Betzold stated that Ms. Bujold had stated that the majority of the homes in Fridley were built in the 1950's and 1960's. The standard at that time was a single car garage. Practically all the houses were built right in the middle of the lot with a single car attached garage. Now, the standard is two cars. The single car garage is a detractor and brings down the value of the house, because everyone wants a double car garage. The Code was changed so that a garage can be built closer to the lot line, but even if the money is available, some homeowners will not be able to add on to their garage because of the way the houses were positioned on the lot. Mr. Saba stated the one good thing about that is it keeps some of those houses with single car garages in the medium price range and and affordable price range for some buyers. Mr. Maxfield stated one of the recommendations they have made is that there should be some direction or guidelines on home improvements. Mr. Betzold stated that regarding seniors, they know there are a lot of seniors in Fridley who want to stay in Fridley, but there is a shortage of senior housing. There have been proposals for senior housing, but nothing has happened and it is not going to happen quickly. Is there a way that the City can take existing housing or buildings and try to put some money into those buildings to make housing amenable to seniors? Should the City be looking along those lines? Mr. Maxfield stated the senior they have identified who wants to own his/her own building is one specifically looking for price. PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING, JANUARY 22, 1992 PAGE 10 That is about 1/3-1/2 of the senior market and addresses the lower moderate income senior. The one drawback with older buildings is there is usually a high level of two bedrooms units, - so they either have to start reconfiguring units or the second bedroom is only $30-40 more than the rent for a one bedroom unit. There are also some issues on design. A lot of seniors like certain amenities which are not found in some of the old buildings. So, they end up with a segment that is, yes, driven by price, but a good share of the senior market is looking for something with more features. It is expensive to retrofit an older building. Mr. Saba asked if there is a way to build senior housing that is more attractive to seniors than to young families or single people. It is difficult to build an apartment complex and designate it "seniors only" because of discrimination. Mr. Maxfield stated a building can be designated for seniors only as long as the building has a certain level of services, emergency medical care, programming for seniors, etc. With an older building, they have to basically start all over with different names, management, and amenities. Mr. Betzold asked if it would be better for Fridley to find an area and build new housing or are they better off trying to retrofit old buildings or a combination of both? Mr. Maxfield stated the City would be money ahead with new construction. There are two reasons seniors are staying in their homes in Fridley: (1) There is no senior housing available locally; and (2) the product they are looking for typically does not have the features they are looking for, like washer and dryer, and eating area in the kitchen. Mr. Betzold stated the need for senior housing is almost right now. Ten years from now the seniors who are still in their own homes now are not going to be here anymore. If they build senior housing ten years from now, they will have a whole different generation. It seems like they have a very limited window to work with. Mr. Maxfield stated he believed there was a need for senior housing five years ago. A lot of the seniors that Ms. Bujold heard about are still waiting for a senior project so they can stay in Fridley. Ms. Bujold stated they conducted a demographic analysis, and they identified that there is a substantial senior population now. There is also a substantial older middle age empty nester group that is going to be aging in the next ten years. While there is a substantial older population in Fridley now, there are also a lot of people moving up toward that senior age group who will be starting to think about making choices for alternative housing. PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING, JANUARY 22, 1992 PAGE 11 Mr. Saba stated that the report mentioned Springbrook Apartments in a positive light. However, right now that apartment complex tends to be one of the most problem areas in Fridley in terms of crime and disturbances. That scares him in terms of talking about creating more apartment buildings in Fridley. What can the City or an apartment building owner do to avoid these types of situations? Mr. Maxfield stated if there are already tenant problems in a building, quite often a Park Board, Police Department, and other city agencies may not know exactly what is going on. So part of the solution is simply training and educating the people in the community on how to deal with some of the issues. Maybe the Police Department needs to assign an officer to patrol the hallways of buildings. This has been done in Brooklyn Center in cooperation with the property owner. Mr. Maxfield stated that if there is no problem but they can see foresee a problem coming, it is more dealing with the landlord, particularly the smaller building owners, and training them how to maintain their building, to take advantage of services that are available to screen tenants, how to avoid problems, and other issues, such as creating a small landlord association in Fridley. A lot of small property owners do not have the time or have not taken the time to learn how to be a landlord. Mr. Saba stated he really liked the recommendation that the City work with real estate offices within Fridley to make up a brochure highlighting the school systems, parks, community safety, and the variability in the housing stock. • Ms. Savage stated that one of the things she dislikes is University Avenue which has a lot of used car lots and commercial which is typical of many suburbs. However, she hoped that the City can do something to improve the look of University Avenue and some of the shopping areas along it. Ms. Dacy stated the City Council and HRA hope to have a joint meeting on February 13, 1992. One of the items on that agenda is to identify a planning process to establish goals, identify some of the limitations with some of the funding programs from outside sources and to evaluate some of the thing done now in-house, and to look at a broad range of initial issues from code enforcement to new construction. Staff is in the process of developing a strategic planning process authorized by the City Council and HRA. Mr. Betzold asked staff to send notices of this meeting to the Planning Commission members as he would like to attend. If the HRA and Council are going to be identifying issues, it would be helpful for the Planning Commission to be kept informed. Ms. Dacy stated she will be happy to do so. PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING, JANUARY 22, 1992 PAGE 12 Mr. Maxfield stated that if the Planning Commission members have any further comments or questions, they should feel free to contact them through Ms. Dacy. Mr. Betzold thanked Mr. Maxfield and Ms. Bujold for their presentation. 3. RECEIVE NOVEMBER 4, 1991, PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES: MOTION by Mr. Sielaff, seconded by Ms. Savage, to receive the November 4, 1991, Parks & Recreation Commission minutes. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON BETZOLD DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. ADJOURNMENT: MOTION by Mr. Saba, seconded by Mr. Sielaff, to adjourn the meeting. Upon a voice vote, all voting aye, Chairperson Betzold declared the motion carried and the January 22, 1992, Planning Commission meeting adjourned at 9: 00 p.m. Res ectfully s mitted, 4d64-4--} Ly a Saba Recording Secretary 7 / Community Development Department PLANNING DIVISION City of Fridley DATE: February 7, 1992 TO: William Burns, City Manager Planning Commission Members FROM: Barbara Dacy, Community Development Director Steven Barg, Planning Assistant SUBJECT: 1992 Community Development Block Grant Funds Introduction The City Council has established a public hearing for February 24, 1992 to consider the City's application for 1992 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding. While Anoka County has not yet determined the City of Fridley's exact allocation, staff has assumed that the City will receive $110,200.00, which represents a 5% reduction from 1991 funding levels. Allocation Considerations There are a number of issues which must be considered in determining the funding allocations for the 1992 CDBG application. These are as follows: 1. Transfer to Coon Rapids. The City of Fridley borrowed $25,000 from the City of Coon Rapids' 1991 CDBG allocation, for use in the Riverview Heights Park acquisition project. The City of Fridley needs to repay the City of Coon Rapids with its 1992 CDBG funds. 2. Human Services. In past years, the City of Fridley has dedicated 30% of its CDBG allocation for Human Service funding. Based on this year's projected allocation, that would amount to $33 , 060 being assigned for this purpose. Anoka County is permitted to use 15% of its CDBG money for Human Service funding. The City of Fridley has been allowed to utilize a greater percentage of its allocation because other cities in Anoka County have used less than 15% of their CDBG funds for human service purposes. 1992 Community Development Block Grant Funds February 7, 1992 Page 2 Attached is a chart showing the amounts that neighboring communities contribute to Human Service funding out of their CDBG allocations. 3. Anoka County Community Action Program (ACCAP) Request. The City of Fridley has received a request from ACCAP for funding to assist in developing transitional housing in Anoka County. ACCAP proposes to use 1992 CDBG funds to purchase a multi-family property of 4-6 two bedroom units, and to contract with the housing service provider. It is unknown at this time where these units will be located. (Please refer to the attached letter for more information on ACCAP's request. ) ACCAP has sent out letters to all cities in Anoka County requesting that these communities contribute a fair share of their 1992 CDBG funds for this project. The amounts requested from the communities were determined based on the total amount of funding needed after other revenue sources were subtracted from the project's estimated cost, and it was determined by the same percentages that general CDBG funding allocations are provided to Anoka County communities. I have attached a chart showing the requested funding levels for cities in Anoka County, and also indicating the amounts requested of our neighboring communities, along with their proposed funding levels. The City of Fridley has been requested to commit $23, 026 for this purpose. 4. Riverview Heights Park Acquisition. The City of Fridley is in the process of completing the final acquisition for the Riverview Heights Park project. Staff hopes that the last parcel can be acquired without using 1992 funds; however, it is possible that the cost of this final acquisition may slightly exceed the amount currently available from 1990 and 1991 CDBG funds. 5. Housing Programs. The City has recently received the report from the Maxfield Research Group study indicating housing needs for the community. The City Council and the HRA will be holding a joint meeting on March 12, 1992 to review this report and determine housing goals for the City. Based on the goals identified, a plan will be developed to implement a program designed to address the City' s housing needs. Staff anticipates that this process will be completed by July 1, 1992 . 1992 Community Development Block Grant Funds February 7, 1992 Page 3 Human Resources Commission Review At its February 6, 1992 meeting, the Human Resources Commission (HRC) reviewed the ACCAP request and the 1992 CDBG allocation process in general. After discussion on these issues, the Commission made several recommendations concerning the City's allocation of this year's funds. These are as follows: 1. The HRC recommends that the City Council fund Human Services at 30% of the total allocation, as has been done in past years. In making this recommendation, the HRC wishes to note two important items which lead to this recommendation. A. It would be detrimental to the residents of the City of Fridley to cut the funding to Human Service organizations which has been provided in past years. B. Strenuous efforts have been made by staff and the HRC to foster and encourage new programs and different uses for CDBG money during the past several years. In addition, the HRC carefully reviews each application for Human Service funding using certain established criteria, including determination that all other possible funding sources have been sought and that funding would not simply be a source of operating revenue. 2 . The HRC discussed the ACCAP request at great length, but did not make a recommendation as to whether or not the request should be granted; however, the Commission did want the City Council to consider in its decision whether or not ACCAP has demonstrated sufficiently that it will not return in future years for additional funding. Staff contacted ACCAP to discuss this issue and was informed that there will be no future requests of cities to contribute CDBG funds to support ongoing maintenance or building management for these. units. The HRC chairperson, Susan Sherek, will be in attendance at the February 24, 1992 City Council meeting to represent the Commission, should there be any questions concerning their recommendations. Recommendations We would like to discuss the ACCAP request with the City Council on Monday night. At minimum, however, staff recommends that the 1992 CDBG funds be allocated in the following manner: 1992 Community Development Block Grant Funds February 7, 1992 Page 4 1. The City transfer $25, 000 of its 1992 CDBG allocation to the City of Coon Rapids for repayment of the 1991 CDBG funds borrowed. 2. The City allocate 30% of the total amount available to Human Services. This amount is expected to be $33, 060. 3. With or without the ACCAP request, the City allocate the remaining CDBG funds to the Riverview Heights Park project as an "interim" option. This money can be reallocated later for housing programs, if it is not required for completion of the Riverview Heights acquisition. SB/dn M-92-82 CDBG INFORMATION/HUMAN SERVICE FUNDING CITY HUMAN SERVICE FUNDING Blaine 20-30% (Depends upon the quantity and quality of each year's requests) Columbia Heights 15% of total allocation Coon Rapids 15% of total allocation Spring Lake Park 100% of total allocation in past years (Total CDBG funding is approximately $29,000) Subject to the possibility of funding the ACCAP request in 1992 ACCAP'S REQUEST/OTHER CITIES City Amount Requested Outcome (if known) Andover $ 7,750 Anoka 28, 347 Blaine 60, 000(a) $100, 000(b) Burns Township 2,862 Centerville 843 Circle Pines 0(a) Columbia Heights 29,380 Funding unlikely (c) Columbus Township 3,994 Coon Rapids 60, 000(a) $44, 000 (b) East Bethel 7,820 Fridley 23, 026 Ham Lake 0(a) Hilltop 1, 667 Lexington 0(a) Lino Lakes 5,769 Linwood Township 3, 638 Ramsey 5,450 St. Francis 2,229 Spring Lake Park 5,225 (a) These cities contributed earlier to phase I of ACCAP's project (b) Includes funds not used from 1991 CDBG allocation (c) Columbia Heights already has an active housing program and appears unlikely to contribute ACCAP ANOKA COUNTY COMMUNITY ACTION PROGRAM, INC. 1201 89th AVENUE NE • SUITE 345 • BLAINE,MN 55434 • PHONE 783-4747 • FAX 783-4700 0 • AUn.kdWy AyeooCY December 12, 1991 Ms. Barbara Dacy Planning Coordinator City of Fridley 6431 University Avenue N.E. Fridley, Minnesota 55432 Dear Ms. Dacy:. Anoka County, like the rest of the U.S. has been experiencing an increase in homelessness. Anoka County and nonprofit emergency service providers have been addressing the need primarily through temporary motel and shelter placements, at times outside Anoka County. However, as the numbers increase and other counties use up their resources that might otherwise be available to homeless persons in Anoka County, we are concerned about what will happen to people with a housing crisis. After considerable discussion, we.:have identified a means:..to insure availability of-well managed, decent and cost effective temporary housing. ACCAP proposes to use Fy 1992 CDBG funds to purchase a multi-family-property of 4-6 two. (-2) bedroom units and to contract with a housing service provider. This .facility. is planned to be in a neighboring community and will serve needs county-wide. The service agency will provide one or more live-in managers and housing support services. The current issue is funding for the project. ACCAP is requesting that each community that is receiving 1992 CDBG funds contribute a fair share of that resource to this project, recognizing that this service will benefit all - of the communities. We see this as a relatively painless way to support housing for the very needy in our community. We are asking that the City of Fridley contribute a minimum of $23,026 to this worthwhile project. This is an eligible use of CDBG funds and will not affect the percentage available to support public service activities. Because we would purchase a building, the activity for HUD's records is acquisition, not public services. Thank you for your consideration of this request. ACCAP has been privileged to enjoy a fine cooperative relationship with governmental units in Anoka County to provide necessary services to persons in need. We believe this is an excellent opportunity to continue that tradition. I or a member of ACCAP's staff will be happy to answer any questions you may have. If this is acceptable AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER to you, please contact JoAnn Wright at 421-4760, ext. 1178. Please feel free to call me at 783-4728. Sincerely, Patrick McFarland Executive Director PM/co • • • ANOKA COUNTY COMMUNITY ACTION PROGRAM, INC. VA et Enpineerinq N Sewer IstA QT.Y WatCr tL Q O r St O 3 Streee ts irk U V Maintenance f3J..1Cr CO . 0 IV MEMORANDUM �1 ' TO: William W. Burns, City Managerik PW92-034 {� 6.0:413) . FROM: John G. Flora Public Works Director DATE: February 3, 1992. SUBJECT: LRT Meeting On Monday, February 3, 1992, at Spring Lake Park City Hall a joint meeting of the Inter- governmental Advisory Committee and.the Technical Review Committee associated with • the Northeast LRT Corridor, met. Representatives from BRW, the consultant for the Anoka County Regional Railroad Authority, presented an overview of the preliminary design review. All of the cities, with the exception of Minneapolis and Blaine, approved the preliminary.design plan with_stipulations.- Minneapolis and Blaine disapproved the plan with certain comments. It is the.committees position that all the issues are to be addressed as the preliminary design progresses. We were then given an overview of the EIS. It is proposed that the final EIS will be out in March and it was suggested that the municipalities have 30_ days for comment. This was approved. The final comments are to be provided by sometime in April. The Metropolitan Council representative then provided an overview of their Regional Transit Facilities Plan. It appears that the chair of the Intergovernmental Advisory Committee does not have too much interest or faith in the Met Council's plan. While the Council's plan identified a number of corridors for buses, HOV (high occupancy vehicle) and LRT corridors, there were no statements in the plan which provided for connecting east, west systems or terminals. • The next discussion centered on the Metropolitan Council's LRT Joint Powers Board. The major question there was what was the need for the Metropolitan Council's study. .It appears that the various organizations involved with transportation are all fighting for terrain and posturing for position. The joint committees suggested that a letter be provided responding to the various cities concerns in the preliminary design and the EIS, indicating what issues are satisfied, which issues still remain to be identified and any comments regarding them. This item will be - discussed at our next meeting to be called at the discretion of the chair. cc: Barb Dacy CHYoF FRIDLEY