Loading...
01/04/2021 CITY COUNCIL MEETING January 04, 2021 7:00 PM Fridley Civic Campus, 7071 University Avenue N.E. MINUTES CALL TO ORDER PRESENT Councilmember Ann Bolkcom Councilmember Stephen Eggert Mayor Scott Lund Councilmember Dave Ostwald Councilmember Tom Tillberry City Manager, Wally Wysopal Community Development Director, Scott Hickok City Clerk, Daniel Tienter PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE OATH OF OFFICE The City Clerk administered the Oath of Office to Scott Lund for the office of Mayor, and David Ostwald for the office of Councilmember-at-Large. The Director of Public Safety administered the Oath of Office to Maddison Zikmund for the position of Deputy Director - Fire Operations. APPROVAL OF PROPOSED CONSENT AGENDA Motion made by Bolkcom. Seconded by Tillberry. Voting Yea: Bolkcom, Eggert, Lund, Ostwald, Tillberry. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1. Approval of Minutes from the City Council Meeting of December 14, 2020. Approved. NEW BUSINESS 2. Resolution No. 2021-01, Confirming City Council Appointments and Designations. Approved. City Council Meeting 1/4/2021 Minutes Page 2 CLAIMS 3. Claims: 191412 - 191490 Approved. OPEN FORUM, VISITORS: Consideration of Items not on Agenda – 15 minutes. No one from the audience spoke. ADOPTION OF REGULAR AGENDA Motion made by Bolkcom. Seconded by Tillberry. Voting Yea: Bolkcom, Eggert, Lund, Ostwald, Tillberry. REGULAR AGENDA ITEMS PUBLIC HEARING(S) 4. Public Hearing and Adoption of Resolution No. 2021-02 Approving a Street Vacation Request, SAV #20-02 by Mark and Shannon Estlund (Ward 2). Motion to open the public hearing made by Eggert. Seconded by Ostwald. Voting Yea: Bolkcom, Eggert, Lund, Ostwald, Tillberry. Public hearing opened at 7:10 p.m. Scott Hickok, Community Development Director, stated the petitioners and property owners of 1631 66 1/2 Avenue are requesting to vacate an unimproved and unused portion of Stinson Boulevard, directly east of their property. This property is a little unique in that half of Stinson Boulevard is in the City of Fridley and Anoka County, and the other half is in the City of New Brighton and Ramsey County. Mr. Hickok said in mid-2020, Mr. Estlund contacted City staff about constructing a garage addition or a detached garage on his property. At that time, staff noticed that the petitioner's driveway was almost entirely within an unused portion of the Stinson Blvd. right-of-way (ROW). In order to have the land area needed to meet setback requirements for this project, the petitioner and staff explored the idea of vacating the 33-foot Stinson Blvd. ROW adjacent to the property. The 33-foot portion of Stinson Blvd. that the petitioner is asking to be vacated is owned by the City. After consulting with City Engineering staff, it was determined that there are not any City utilities within the ROW. It is not expected that this ROW would ever be paved and improved and used by the general public. The City has contacted all private utility companies and none of them have requested an easement, as they do not have any utilities in the existing ROW. Mr. Hickok noted there is an undefined connection to the Rice Creek Regional Trail system that runs through this Stinson Blvd ROW. If the vacation is approved, staff is suggesting that a 12-foot trail easement be dedicated to the City to ensure that there is clear and designated access to the trail system. In its current undefined condition, it is not clear to trail users if they are on private or public property when they reach the southern point of the trail that ends in the Stinson Blvd. ROW. The new driveway will be separated from the trail. The trail edge will be saw cut by the petitioner's driveway contractor. City staff recommends the Council hold a public hearing for SAV #20-02. City staff then City Council Meeting 1/4/2021 Minutes Page 3 recommends approval of Resolution No. 2021-02 to vacate a portion of Stinson Blvd., as legally described in the resolution. Councilmember Eggert agreed that the trail could be move obvious and the driveways more defined on both sides. Mr. Hickok said the strategy that would work best is to make a distinct driveway for the homeowner and a separate trail path. Councilmember Eggert asked if this was part of the County trail system and if they would take over this area. Mr. Hickok replied that the area is owned by the City and maintained by the County. In this segment, this edge is out of Fridley's boundary and the County would maintain the portion that goes out into the roadway. Mayor Lund said he assumed the homeowner would want to put in a new driveway that goes out to the street rather than utilize the portion of the street that is maintained by two cities. The easement goes up deeper into the park so it comes up to the backyard border. The homeowner cannot build on this easement. Mr. Hickok replied the portion that is vacated is the right-of-way that the petitioner will gain, and this is their opportunity to build a garage in that space. Mayor Lund asked if this becomes an addition to their property if any money would be changing hands. Mr. Hickok replied that once the right of way is vacated it goes back to the landowner from where it came. The City received the right of way as a dedication and it will go back to the homeowner. Mr. Estlund, 1631 66 1/2 Avenue, noted that nobody maintains this area right now. He has asked for assistance and they have declined. This area is just gravel and is at the end of the development, making the area look unfinished. This is the only place to put a garage and this will help the City define the area so people can access the trail. Mayor Lund noted that the trail moves to the right into the neighbor’s property line. He asked what would happen if the neighbor wants to expand their home. He asked if the trail should go up into the center of both property lines. Mr. Hickok replied that there are contours and other things to help define where the trail should go. Staff has met with the City of New Brighton and since the neighbor is not interested in making a petition, New Brighton agrees with the proposed layout. The trail would stop at the same point on both properties. Mayor Lund said he thought that an easement would let Fridley have accessibility to the trail, rather than on the homeowner’s property. Mr. Hickok said that it is important to New Brighton and Fridley to protect the trail and maintain and preserve the connections. City Council Meeting 1/4/2021 Minutes Page 4 Mayor Lund said he thought that normally the City wants a 12 foot easement, he thought 6 feet on each side of the trail would be fair. Councilmember Bolkcom said that the issue is this involves more than one county. Mr. Hickok said an easement could be considered, but this is the best option. Councilmember Bolkcom said there is nothing wrong with the way it is today. It is workable and people can enjoy the trail. Councilmember Eggert noted that this is also adding value and redevelopment to this home. Mr. Hickok said we need to look at what the City is gaining. Members of the Development Review Committee have reviewed this, and this is a peculiar exit with a very wide area that appears paved. This is currently hard to define and by making this separation, people will feel like they are on a trail and not in someone's yard. Councilmember Eggert said that this is the first step to getting entitlement to moving forward with the project. The next step is to work on the plans. He asked if the homeowner had the financial means to proceed with the goal. Mr. Estlund replied he has the equity and the means to move forward and will approach it slowly. He said he had originally hoped to break ground in the spring. He said he needs to develop a design and is not sure if this will happen in 2021. Motion to close the public hearing made by Eggert. Seconded by Ostwald. Voting Yea: Bolkcom, Eggert, Lund, Ostwald, Tillberry. Public hearing closed at 7:45 p.m. Motion to approve Resolution No. 2021-02 made by Eggert. Seconded by Ostwald. Voting Yea: Bolkcom, Eggert, Lund, Ostwald, Tillberry. INFORMAL STATUS REPORTS Next Council Meeting January 19, 2021. ADJOURN Motion made by Ostwald, Seconded by Eggert. Voting Yea: Bolkcom, Eggert, Lund, Ostwald, Tillberry and Meeting adjourned at 7:50 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Krista Peterson Scott J. Lund Recording Secretary Mayor