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02/24/2003 - 00025032MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL OF FEBRUARY 24, 2003 The Regular Meeting of the Fridley City Council was called to order by Mayor Lund at 7:32 p.m. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Mayor Lund led the Council and audience in the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. ROLL CALL: MEMBERS PRESENT: Mayor Lund, Councilmember Barnette, Councilmember Billings, Councilmember Wolfe, and Councilmember Bolkcom. MEMBERS ABSENT: None. OTHERS PRESENT: William W. Burns, City Manager Richard D. Pribyl, Finance Director Scott Hickok, Community Development Director Frederic Knaak, City Attorney APPROVAL OF PROPOSED CONSENT AGENDA: APPROVAL OF MINUTES: City Council Meeting of February 10, 2003. APPROVED. NEW BUSINESS: 1. VARIANCE REQUEST, VAR #03-02, BY SKYWOOD APARTMENTS, REDUCING THE HARD SURFACE AND PARKING SETBACK FROM ANY STREET RIGHT-OF-WAY FROM 20 FEET TO 0 FEET, GENERALLY LOCATED AT 1200 CHERI LANE (WARD 1). Dr. Burns, City Manager, stated the variance allowed existing parking along Cheri Lane to remain. The variance was processed in conjunction with the sale of excess property to the Skywood Apartments by the City. The variance, the land sale, and the elimination of one parking stall that was on City right-of-way are the three interrelated components associated with the correction of parking issues. The Appeals Commission approved the variance at their February 12 meeting. Staff recommended Council's approval. APPROVED VARIANCE REQUEST, VAR #03-02, BY SKYWOOD APARTMENTS. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF FEBRUARY 24, 2003 PAGE 2 2. APPROVE AGREEMENT FOR RESIDENTIAL RECYCLING PROGRAM BETWEEN THE CITY OF FRIDLEY AND THE COUNTY OF ANOKA. Dr. Burns stated the motion authorized an agreement between the City and Anoka County that provided $71,214.40 in 2003 SCORE funding. The money would be used to pay for about 22 percent of the cost of residential recycling. It was an annual motion that established the amount of state aid to be received through the County and established the reporting, record keeping and billing requirements. Staff recommended Council's approval of the agreement. APPROVED. 3. RESOLUTION NO. 13-2003 APPROVING A PARTNERSHIP CONTRACT WITH THE STATE OF MINNESOTA FOR TRANSPORTATION-RELATED SERVICES. Dr. Burns, City Manager, stated this resolution would approve a partnership contract with the Minnesota Department of Transportation. The resolution outlined the terms by which transportation-related technical assistance might be obtained from MnDOT and the costs for the services. Those services included materials testing, pavement striping, and land management. The services were optional, and the resolution did not bind the City into using them. Although Council previously approved the agreement by motion, MnDOT requested a resolution. Staff recommended Council's approval. ADOPTED RESOLUTION NO. 13-2003. 4. RESOLUTION NO. 14-2003 AUTHORIZING CHANGES IN APPROPRI- ATIONS FOR THE GENERAL FUND FOR NOVEMBER THROUGH DECEMBER, 2002. Dr. Burns, City Manager, stated the changes resulted from unforeseen revenues and expenditures and included $85,565 in General Fund adjustments that accrued entirely because of donations and reimbursements. They also included adjustments to the Solid Waste Abatement Fund in the amount of $129,384. They transferred that amount from the Closed Bond Fund to cover additional recycling program costs accrued in 2001, 2002, and anticipated costs for 2003. Dr. Burns said there were also several adjustments to the Streets Capital Improvement Fund. First, there was a revenue adjustment of $234,426. This was a surplus that was left over from the 2001 project and it was being transferred back to the Street Capital Improvement Fund from the Special Project Fund. There was also an expenditure adjustment of $151,847. This was a payout to a special assessment fund created to retire a special assessment bond on a 1992 capital improvements project for the Target Distribution Center. When the Target prepayment came in, it was incorrectly posted as part of the Streets Capital Improvement Fund instead of being posted to the special assessment fund. He said they were not spending the money, just moving it so they FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF FEBRUARY 24, 2003 PAGE 3 could retire the special assessment debt on that project. He said additionally, there was a$60,700 payout from the Streets Capital Improvement Fund to another special assessment fund for retirement of the street reconstruction debt which occurred in 1994. Dr. Burns, said there was also a$27,450 payout from the Streets Capital Improvement Fund for the Hardee's condemnation award. He said the HRA was paying an equal amount. He said they are contesting that award, but the law required that they put up a percentage of the money. Staff recommended Council's approval. ADOPTED RESOLUTION NO. 14-2003. 5. RESOLUTION NO. 15-2003 AUTHORIZING SIGNING AN EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT BETWEEN CERTAIN EMPLOYEES REPRESENTED BY LOCAL NO. 1986. Dr. Burns, City Manager, stated this resolution authorized an employment agreement for 2003 with Fridley's three union firefighters. It provided for the same cost-of-living adjustment and benefits that were given to non-bargaining unit employees. Staff recommended Council's approval. ADOPTED RESOLUTION NO. 15-2003. 6. APPOINTMENT TO ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY AND ENERGY COMMISSION. Dr. Burns, City Manager, stated this was a motion to appoint Patrick Rowan to the City's Environmental Quality and Energy Commission. Staff recommended Council's approval. APPOINTED PATRICK ROWAN TO THE FRIDLEY ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY AND ENERGY COMMISSION. 7. CLAIMS. AUTHORIZED PAYMENT OF CLAIM NOS. 110055 THROUGH 110234. 8. LICENSES. APPROVED THE LICENSES AS SUBMITTED AND AS ON FILE. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF FEBRUARY 24, 2003 PAGE 4 9. ESTIMATES APPROVED THE FOLLOWING ESTIMATES: Park Construction Company 7900 Beech Street N.E. Fridley, MN 55432 57th Avenue Sanitary Sewer Improvement Project No. 346 FINAL ESTIMATE $5,194.07 No persons in the audience spoke regarding the proposed consent agenda. APPROVAL OF PROPOSED CONSENT AGENDA: MOTION by Councilmember Barnette to approve the proposed consent agenda. Seconded by Councilmember Wolfe. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. ADOPTION OF AGENDA: MOTION by Councilmember Bolkcom to adopt the agenda as submitted. Seconded by Councilmember Billings. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. OPEN FORUM, VISITORS: Mr. John Lloyd, 1515 Mississippi Street, stated he received a citation for a non-hard surfaced driveway. The driveway is ne�t to a dirt alleyway. He said he did not see any reason to put in a hard surface driveway that would be attached to dirt. He wanted to know if the City ever did decide to put an alley in there, what the grade and the elevation would be. He asked where the property line was. He wondered how the City could do this. He thought it was unfair to him as a property owner. Mayor Lund stated that Mr. Lloyd had probably been notified of this ordinance. Mr. Lloyd replied he had and every time he had, he called and said he would not put it in until the City put the alley in. Mayor Lund said that Mr. Lloyd had five years to discuss the matter. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF FEBRUARY 24, 2003 PAGE 5 Mr. Lloyd replied that the City had time also. He said he was told that he needed 100 percent approval for the alley. He said some people in that area do not use or need the alley. He said they told him he had five years. Mayor Lund asked for staff's response. He stated that if it was a through alley, they needed to discuss whether to put an alley in, assess the affected property owners, and then have the City maintain it. Mr. Lloyd stated he was not worried about maintenance. He said he thought the ordinance was adopted to prevent erosion and other problems. He said the City was dictating what to do, but did not have to abide by their rules. He said he thought that was wrong. Mayor Lund stated he did not know where they were with respect to a formal policy on paving alleys, but there was a cost factor, and Mr. Lloyd, as an affected property owner, would most likely bear a portion of the cost. Mr. Lloyd indicated that there was a petition. Eight people did not need it and seven did. He asked how that would pass. He said there had to be some way the City could find the money to put the alley in if they expect him as a homeowner to put in a driveway. Councilmember Wolfe stated that the City told Mr. Lloyd the only way they could put in an alley was if 100 percent of the neighborhood wanted it. If the City ever did put it in, they would assess only the affected properties. Mr. Hickok, Community Development Director, replied that all of the benefiting properties would be assessed whether or not their driveways went into it. Councilmember Wolfe stated that everyone would have to agree with it. Mr. Hickok replied, yes. Dr. Burns, City Manager, said he thought the policy on assessments was if the majority of the property owners agreed to the assessment, that was something the City could go ahead and do. He said he did not think assessments required unanimous approval. Councilmember Barnette stated he drove around the City and saw the alley Mr. Lloyd was talking about. He has looked at other alleys, paved and unpaved. He said he understood what Mr. Lloyd was talking about. Mr. Lloyd replied that he had been summoned to Court and if he did not go, there would be a warrant issued for his arrest Councilmember Bolkcom said the City needed to correct what was wrong, but it would take a while to do that. Mr. Lloyd, however, could still pave his driveway. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF FEBRUARY 24, 2003 PAGE 6 Mr. Lloyd replied that he did not think it was possible. His house was the last house on the alley. There was only so much grade change that could be done. He would like the City to establish the grade. He said he would put the driveway in, but wanted the City to sign an affidavit which would state that if there were any change in grade that affected his property, the City, at their expense, would tear the driveway out and replace it to his satisfaction. Councilmember Bolkcom suggested that someone from the Public Works Department work with Mr. Lloyd. Mr. Lloyd replied that he was a contractor and would put the driveway in. Dr. Burns stated they would be happy to take a look at Mr. Lloyd's driveway and try and solve the engineering problem with him. Mr. Lloyd stated he thought they should wait until spring to do it. He said he thought it was wrong for the City not to have to pave the alley. Councilmember Wolfe replied that they all agreed that driveways should be hard surfaced. They did not think about alleys. He said Mr. Lloyd's area is very unique. Because of where Mr. Lloyd's garage was, there was going to have to be some serious work done so that he did not flood out every spring. Councilmember Billings cautioned Mr. Lloyd that he still had to appear in Court, and he needed to address this with either Mr. Hickok or the City Attorney or appear in court on the appropriate date. The conversations held at this meeting did not relieve him of any obligation to be in Court. Mr. Lloyd stated he would attend the hearing. Mayor Lund stated they would try and work with him and thanked him for attending the meeting. PUBLIC HEARING: 10. CONSIDERATION OF AN ORDINANCE UNDER SECTION 12.06 OF THE CITY CHARTER DECLARING CERTAIN REAL ESTATE TO BE SURPLUS AND AUTHORIZING THE SALE THEREOF (GENERALLY LOCATED IN THE RIGHT-OF-WAY SOUTH OF 5541 FIFTH STREET N.E.) (WARD 1) MOTION by Councilmember Billings to open the public hearing. Seconded by Councilmember Bolkcom. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE PUBLIC HEARING OPENED AT 8:05 P.M. Mr. Hickok, Community Development Director, stated this was a public hearing to declare property located at 5541 Fifth Street N.E. excess. Tim Sylvester Builders was the owner of the FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF FEBRUARY 24, 2003 PAGE 7 property and was seeking to obtain an unused portion of the City right-of-way located immediately south of this property. The 3,385 square foot parcel was originally taken by the State as right-of-way for I-694 but was turned back to the City in 1979. He said the City retained the 10-foot boulevard between the edge of the property and the existing bituminous roadway which was consistent with the properties on the west. The parcel in question was not buildable as a stand-alone parcel, and the City had no plans for future use of the property. Tim Sylvester Builders agreed to the conditions the City placed on the sale of the property. Mr. Hickok said staff recommended approval of the request with the following conditions: 1. Purchaser cover all filing fees associated with transaction; 2. Purchaser provide a guarantee of clean title; 3. Parcel be combined with purchaser's existing property; 4. Purchaser prepare a quit claim deed; 5. Purchaser provide the new legal description of the property to the City; 6. City must approve architectural elevations of any buildings to be constructed on the combination of lots prior to issuance of any building permits; and 7. The sale shall be effective as of July 1, 2003. Also included with this recommendation was a sale price of $1 per square foot which was their standard on similar situations. He said staff would prepare an ordinance declaring this property excess for first reading at the March 3, 2003, Council meeting. If approved, the second reading of the ordinance would be scheduled for the March 24 meeting. Ms. Sue Larson of Tim Sylvester Builders said they were willing to abide by all of the recommendations. MOTION by Councilmember Billings to close the public hearing. Seconded by Councilmember Barnette. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE PUBLIC HEARING CLOSED AT 8:08 P.M. OLD BUSINESS: 11. ORDINANCE NO. 1171 AMENDING CHAPTER 214 OF THE FRIDLEY CITY CODE PERTAINING TO AUTOMATIC CHANGEABLE SIGNS. Mr. Hickok, Community Development Director, stated this was the second reading of an ordinance to bring the City's sign code into compliance with the Constitution. The proposed amendment removed all content-based regulation, removed time exemption for time, temperature, and date, and required that all messages not change more than once every 45 seconds. Signs permitted with the special use permit included automatic changeable signs. He said they were permitted in all districts except residential, and they had to conform with the requirements for signs. Staff recommended Council's approval of the ordinance. Councilmember Wolfe asked if the City would notify companies about the changes. He asked if the rules for moving signs were still in effect. Mr. Hickok replied, yes. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF FEBRUARY 24, 2003 PAGE 8 MOTION by Councilmember Bolkcom to waive the reading and approve Ordinance No. 1171 on second reading. Seconded by Councilmember Wolfe UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTIONS CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. NEW BUSINESS 12. FIRST READING OF AN ORDINANCE AMENDING FRIDLEY CITY CODE CHAPTER 603, INTOXICATING LIQUOR, DEFINING BOWLING CENTERS. Mr. Pribyl, Finance Director, stated this change added a definition of "bowling centers" to Chapter 603. The draft language was intended to be a starting point, and Council may have additional changes they feel appropriate. They faxed a copy of the proposed ordinance to AlVg' last week. Mayor Lund asked for a clarification with respect to the changes under "Restaurant." The last sentence in that section said a license year was a minimum of 40% of the total gross sales of the business. Mr. Pribyl said that to be a restaurant, they must do at least 40 percent of their total gross sales of the business in food and liquor. Councilmember Billings stated that under the definition of "bowling center" it was specified that a minimum of 60 percent of the gross sales for the business for the year had to be from items associated with the sport of bowling, such as the lanes, shoe rental, ball sales, etc. In order to be defined as a restaurant, 40 percent of the business had to be from the sale of food and liquor. MOTION by Councilmember Wolfe to waive the reading and approve the ordinance on first reading. Seconded by Councilmember Bolkcom. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTIONS CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 13. VARIANCE REQUEST, VAR #03-04, BY TIMOTHY MILLER, TO REDUCE THE FRONT YARD SETBACK, GENERALLY LOCATED AT 591 DOVER STREET N.E. (WARD 3) Mr. Hickok, Community Development Director, stated this request involved two variances for the property located at 591 Dover Street. The first variance was to reduce the front yard setback from 29 feet to 18.2 feet to recognize an existing non-conformity. The second variance was to reduce the front yard setback from 29 feet to 10 feet to construct an open covered porch on the west side of the home. He said the property was zoned R-1, Single-Family Residential, as were the surrounding properties. The property was off Dover Street, but received access from Broad Avenue. The original home was constructed prior to 1949. When it was constructed, it was built facing Dover Street and met all the setback requirements. He believed that it was anticipated FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF FEBRUARY 24, 2003 PAGE 9 that Dover Street would be connected and, therefore, that would be the front of the house. When Dover Street was vacated in 1991, Broad Avenue became the code-required front yard because the properties on the street frontage faced Broad. When Broad became a front yard, it left a non- conforming front yard setback of 18.2 feet. The petitioner is seeking a variance to recognize this non-conforming setback. Mr. Hickok said staff had not been able to identify any hardship as defined by law for the variance request for the construction of an open deck or covered porch on the west side of the petitioner's home. He said the law defined undue hardship as: The property cannot be put to reasonable use if used under the requirements of the Code. Staff's research recognized that an alternative existed. The property could still be used as a single-family home and there were already two decks connected to the home. 2. The nature of the variance is due to unique property conditions. The property had a unique condition; however, that condition did not affect the petitioner's ability to have two decks on the north and south sides of his home. The variance will not alter the character of the neighborhood. The Code required the front yard to provide yard space to be used as green areas. The front yard setback was also required for aesthetic consideration to reduce the building line of sight encroachment into the neighbor's front yard. There are no other homes on the block that come this close to encroaching this far into the front yard setback. Mr. Hickok said staff recommended approval of the front yard setback variance recognizing the existing non-conformity. The variance simply recognized a pre-existing condition. Approving this variance should not set a precedent for undeveloped lots in the future. He said the Appeals Commission recommended denial of the request to reduce the front yard setback from 29 feet to 10 feet to construct an open, covered porch on the west side of the house. No similar variances were granted in the past, an alternative does exist, and there was really no undue hardship in this case to support such approval. Staff recommended concurrence with the Appeals Commission. Councilmember Bolkcom stated that Mr. and Mrs. Miller were not present at the meeting. Mr. Hickok replied that staff had spoken with Mr. and Mrs. Miller and they were aware of tonight's meeting. Councilmember Bolkcom said that if there was a porch with or without a cover or a deck, it would not matter because it would not conform to the City's ordinance. Mr. Hickok agreed. He said it was still a structure. Councilmember Bolkcom said there had not been any similar variances like this in the past. She indicated that her concern was that the Millers were not present at the meeting even though they were informed of the date. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF FEBRUARY 24, 2003 PAGE 10 Councilmember Billings asked if the front yard faced Broad Street. Mr. Hickok said it did. Councilmember Billings asked if Dover Street was vacated in its entirety. Mr. Hickok said it was. MOTION by Councilmember Bolkcom to table Variance Request, VAR #03-04, until March 3, 2003. Seconded by Councilmember Wolfe. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTIONS CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 14. INFORMAL STATUS REPORTS. Councilmember Bolkcom wished Councilmember Billings a happy birthday. Mayor Lund stated the second annual Southern Anoka Community Assistance spaghetti dinner would be held at Murzyn Hall in Columbia Heights on Wednesday, February 26, 2003, at 5:30 p.m. Mr. Hickok, Community Development Director, stated he would like to invite everyone to attend the Home and Garden Fair on Saturday, March 1, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Dr. Burns, City Manager, asked Council to meet with him after the meeting to discuss their response to the Governor's proposed LGA cuts. Councilmember Bolkcom asked if they could talk about the request regarding Xcel Energy. Dr. Burns stated they received a request from Mayor Rybak for support of a project by Xcel Energy to convert three of their plants from coal to gas. Councilmember Bolkcom asked if they could discuss the letter they received from the Andover City Council about the Anoka County Community Development organization. Dr. Burns stated he was not prepared to talk about that matter. Councilmember Billings stated that legislation had been introduced to the State Legislature on this matter. Mayor Lund said he thought they needed to discuss the matter. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF FEBRUARY 24, 2003 PAGE 11 MOTION by Councilmember Barnette to adjourn the meeting. Seconded by Councilmember Wolfe. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE FEBRUARY 24, 2003, CITY COUNCIL MEETING ADJOURNED AT 8:47 P.M. Respectfully submitted, Denise M. Letendre Scott Lund Recording Secretary Mayor