- MINUTES - CHASKA CITY COUNCIL September 19, 2016

Transcription

1 - MINUTES - CHASKA CITY COUNCIL 1. Call to Order The meeting was called to order by Mayor Windschitl at 7:00 pm. 2.Pledge of Allegiance 3. Roll Call Roll call was taken. Present: Councilmembers Schulz, Geisler, Rohe, Boe, and Mayor Windschitl. Absent: none Also Present: Nate Kabat, Assistant City Administrator; Luke Melchert, City Attorney; Liz Hanson, City Planner; and Matt Podhradsky, City Administrator. 4. Adopt the Agenda Motion by Councilmember Geisler, second by Councilmember Rohe to adopt the agenda. 5. Visitor No one appeared under Visitor Presentation. 6. Minutes Motion by Councilmember Geisler, second by Councilmember Rohe to approve the minutes of the September 12, 2016 City Council meeting. 7. Consent Agenda Councilmember Boe requested item No. 7(c) be removed from the Consent Agenda for further discussion. He expressed concern in having outside organizations come into the City to take place of Chaska s organizations. Councilmember Rohe commented this has been going on at Cuzzy s for many years and the Chaska Lions has the ability to donate to many different organizations throughout the community. Mayor Windschitl commented he called a Chaska Lions representative and was told the Cuzzy s location does not work for them because it requires them to have a representative on site and they are comfortable with the Carver Lions using that site. City Attorney Melchert stated he is not sure the Council has the ability to approve whether or not the Carver Lions can have pull tabs at Cuzzy s. It may be up to the State and Gambling Board to make that decision. Councilmember Rohe stated there is an agreement with the City of Victoria, where the Chaska Lions has pull tabs, that they invest money back into the community of Victoria. Councilmember Boe commented it would work to have Chaska Lions pull tabs at Cuzzy s if they could have them behind the bar without needing a representative there.

2 PAGE 2 Councilmember Rohe stated Cuzzy s decided their main focus was food and liquor and did not want to manage the pull tabs behind the bar. City Administrator Podhradsky stated this proposed resolution is ongoing and does not end on a specific date. It is up to the facility how they are going to manage the pull tabs. Councilmember Boe requested item No. 7(c) be tabled for further discussion. Councilmember Rohe requested staff to see if there is an agreement that requires the Carver Lions to put a certain percentage of their sales back into the Chaska community. It was also requested of staff to see if there could be term limits with the resolution. Motion by Councilmember Rohe, second by Councilmember Boe to remove and table Consent Agenda item No. 7(c), Adopt Resolution No Approving Premises Permit Application for Carver Lions Club at Cuzzy s Brickhouse, to the City Council meeting on October 3, City Administrator Podhradsky commented licenses in general are ongoing and he asked if the Council would want to renew licenses each year. The Council agreed they do not want to renew licenses annually, but would look at what the State requires. Motion by Councilmember Boe, second by Councilmember Geisler to approve the Consent Agenda Items a through d, as amended: a. Receive the Minutes of the September 14, 2016, Planning Commission Meeting b. Receive the Minutes of the August 8, 2016, Park Board Meeting c. (This item was pulled from consent and tabled to the City Council meeting on October 3, 2016). Adopt Resolution No , Approving Premises Permit Application for Carver Lions Club at Cuzzy s Brickhouse d. Adopt Resolution No , Approving Solicitor Permits for Representatives of Comcast Motion to adopt Resolution No Approving Solicitor Permit No. SOL for Mary Cracraft, and Permit No. SOL for Bronson LeShoure, representing Comcast out of Saint Paul, MN, allowing them to solicit service packages in the residential districts of the City of Chaska, effective September 20, 2016 and ending December 31, Mayor Windschitl advised due to technical difficulties, the public will not be able to see the following presentations on the screen, but the information will be available on the website. 8. Adopt Resolution No , Approving Preliminary Plat and Ordinance No. 924 Approving the Rezoning for Traditions Phase II North Portion City Planner Hanson presented the item to the Council.

3 PAGE 3 Councilmember Geisler inquired if staff was comfortable with the setback of the lots near the steep slope. City Planner Hanson responded staff is comfortable with what is being proposed. Mayor Windschitl commented he is surprised to see 160 lots. There will be a lot of traffic going through there and the collector road needs to be put into place soon. City Administrator Podhradsky advised the City is in the process of starting the collector road next summer. It will be built with a transportation fee collected from each parcel. The amount of lots proposed and what is actually immediately developed are two different things. It will be graded all at once, but they are not going to develop 160 lots all at once. Jacob Fick, Club West Partners, commented the entire plat will be graded all at once and this provides a cost savings to them. They have advised existing homeowners there will be some construction traffic in the area until the collector road is built. They are currently working with an area that consists of 38 lots, but the master plan consists of 160 lots. Motion by Councilmember Schulz, second by Councilmember Boe to Adopt Resolution No , approving the Preliminary Plat for Harvest (aka Traditions/Club West) Phase II-North Portion/Tradition Development/P.C. No Motion by Councilmember Rohe, second by Councilmember Geisler to Adopt Ordinance No. 924, amending Ordinance No. 915 (zoning ordinance) by rezoning certain real estate within the City of Chaska. 9. Adopt Resolution No , Approving the Preliminary Plat and Ordinance No. 925 Approving the Rezoning for Red Cedar Creek 3rd City Administrator Podhradsky introduced the item to the Council. City Planner Hanson presented the item to the Council. Mayor Windschitl requested clarification about what should be done with the trees. City Administrator Podhradsky explained there are conditions included that recommend three trees in the cul-de-sac be preserved. City Planner Hanson pointed out the oak tree in the cul-de-sac is 10 feet from the edge of the street and is in the critical root zone that shows it may not live. City Planner Podhradsky pointed out the issue the Planning Commission had with the green line layout was making sure the maple trees could be preserved.

4 PAGE 4 Mayor Windschitl inquired why the Council would approve this if it is uncertain which layout is going to be used. City Administrator Podhradsky responded it helps to show the applicant the Council is supportive of the general plan, but there are a few issues to work out with the tree preservation. If the intent is to preserve as many trees as possible, then the direction would be to come back with the best option that shows this. Councilmember Geisler inquired about the removal of trees on the wooded steep slope. City Administrator Podhradsky stated less significant trees would be removed on the steep slope, which would remove the required steep slope setback and allow the outlot to be buildable. City Administrator Podhradsky stated one part of the site on the wooded steep slope is protected by City ordinance. Another part of the site that is more significant with the oak and maple trees is not protected by City ordinance because it is not part of the wooded steep slope. It might be in the City s best interest to preserve the significant trees even though it is not included in the City ordinance. Councilmember Schulz pointed out it is a trade off because the trees along the ordinance line may not be worth saving, but the trees further in that are not protected may be worth saving. Mayor Windschitl commented if the cul-de-sac is 22 feet wide parking should not be allowed and no parking signage should be displayed. City Administrator Podhradsky pointed out all the conditions need to be met before the applicant comes back for approval on the final plat. Scott Tubman, Lucid Builders, commented they are attracted to the site because of the mature trees and they support saving as many trees as possible. They have contacted their arborist, and she recommends the cul-de-sac edge be 27 feet away from the trunk of the large oak tree. She believes the survivability rate is pretty low on the large oak, but the other two trees could be saved. They are willing to come up with a plan that attempts to save all three trees. The grading plan will be changed in an effort to save the trees further back on the site. Tubman stated the black line plan saves a large sugar maple and that is the plan they are recommending. The green line plan, which saves the oak trees, is not recommended by their arborist. Tubman expressed concern with preservation easements on privately owned lots. They would want the homeowners to be able to mow around them, plant grass around them, and enjoy them as an amenity to the site. In the absence of language that states what the easements may be, they do not want to limit buildability or the ability to sell the lot.

5 PAGE 5 City Administrator Podhradsky commented there are some neighborhoods that have tree preservation easements and they have worked well. In the final planning process, the conditions state what is trying to be accomplished and they will see if the black line plan matches up with them. Mayor Windschitl stated they are not prepared to provide language around the easements. Councilmember Geisler commented there was also some late information from another arborist that could change which plan the staff would recommend.. City Administrator Podhradsky stated the conditions show which direction to go and the Council should not eliminate conditions. Councilmember Schulz stated this is an approval of a generalized plan with conditions that help arrive at a goal. City Administrator Podhradsky advised not taking action sets the applicant back. Councilmember Schulz asked about the easements on trees in other neighborhoods. City Administrator Podhradsky stated it depends on the development and what is trying to be accomplished. There are individual groupings of trees that have easements on them. Councilmember Rohe stated these easements can impact people s property value and private property rights are important. Mayor Windschitl stated part of the uniqueness is having a home built in the trees and homeowners would not want to remove them. Councilmember Schulz commented he could support this application with the conditions, but also with the understanding that staff will be reasonable in discussions surrounding tree preservation easements. He sees value in preserving trees as much as possible. Councilmember Rohe asked how this discussion surrounding tree preservation compares to other cities and if they are difficult to do business with. Tubman stated their discussion is not unique, but their concern is with the unknown. They feel their buyers value the trees. They are trying to create a balance between preserving trees and also recognizing property rights. He did receive language regarding the steep slope and it states they do have to get City approval to prune trees or do any type of change to the trees. The City has been very thorough and fair, but he has not seen easements on individual trees in other cities; only on groups of trees. In their arborist s opinion, it is critical to stay as far away from the root zones of the maple trees, and that is what the black line plan does. Councilmember Rohe inquired what the City s negative are with the black line plan.

6 PAGE 6 City Administrator Podhradsky stated he does not know if there are negatives with the black line plan. Each plan has a negative impact on some group of trees and there needs to be a discussion on what is the better trade off. There is no way that all the trees can be saved. Alex Young, 915 Cascade Drive, neighboring property owner, commented he supports this project. Motion by Councilmember Rohe, second by Councilmember Schulz to Adopt Resolution No , approving the Preliminary Plat for Red Cedar Creek 3 rd /Red Cedar Creek, LLC/P.C. No /15-06/14-03/ Councilmember Boe commented it is important to protect trees. Motion by Councilmember Boe, second by Councilmember Schulz to Adopt Ordinance No. 229 (zoning ordinance) by rezoning certain real estate within the City of Chaska. 10. Adopt Resolution No , Approving the Concept Plan for Chaska Energy Park City Administrator Podhradsky introduced the item to the Council. City Planner Liz Hanson presented the item to the Council. City Administrator Podhradsky pointed out the Minnesota Municipal Power Agency (MMPA) built their first power station in Chaska and it is impressive. Councilmember Schulz inquired how MMPA chose this site. Councilmember Rohe commented the building looks nice, but it is close to a residential area. There are no employees at the site, so it does not bring jobs to Chaska. Councilmember Geisler commented it may not be the appropriate place, considering we did not approve the location across the street for a dog park partly due to noise being a concern in that area. City Administrator Podhradsky explained the purpose of a concept plan. The Council can include conditions that make it clear what its concerns are. Councilmember Rohe inquired what happens if the Council does not think it is an appropriate site for the building. City Administrator Podhradsky commented it meets the requirements because it is an industrial site, which is also shown in the comprehensive plan. They can choose to not approve a concept plan, but someone in the future will be allowed to build on the industrial

7 PAGE 7 site. If the Council is not comfortable with it being an industrial site, then that will need to be addressed. Councilmember Rohe stated he has concerns with the noise relative to the residential area. City Administrator Podhradsky suggested they hear from the applicant and if Council is not comfortable with it, the application should be tabled and discussed at a future work session. Sam Meersman, representative for Minnesota Municipal Power Agency (MMPA), highlighted this plan will increase reliability for the Chaska community and allow portions of Chaska to be powered if there is an outage. The connections are made underground at distribution voltage. It will improve the cost of the power that is supplied to the City. The building will be aesthetically pleasing and it is important from a visual standpoint that it fits into the community. They have an energy education program that allows students to learn about electricity and how it is created. There is a heat recovery system that allows the storage of hot water in a tank that could potentially be a source of hot water for a customer nearby. Councilmember Schulz stated visually the building looks great, but there are other industrial areas where this building would fit better. There will be issues with the height and screening of the building. Meersman clarified there are residential areas near the Shakopee facility. In reference to the proposed Chaska site, there is quite a bit of foliage between the residential area and the facility for screening purposes. The only thing they cannot screen is the stacks that go up 75 feet, but they plan to put an attractive louver system around it. Councilmember Rohe commented he does not know enough to move forward on this application. City Administrator Podhradsky suggested the application be tabled and discussed at a work session. Mayor Windschitl requested a brief report on the noise associated with the facility. Meersman reported there are no odors associated with the facility. The main noise comes from the engines and generators that are housed in the engine hall that is built as a concrete box. They will comply with State noise requirements and they meet the 50 decibel requirement for night time residential. Fred Richter, consultant to MMPA, commented they picked this site because it is strategically located to interconnect them into the substations. It is one-quarter mile from the closest residential and this site worked best with the residential dimensions. This facility is very simple looking and 50 decibels is below the noise of an air conditioning unit. It does have one vertical element that goes up 70 feet and the rest of the power yard will be screened. It is a big investment, it looks new, and it gives the City a catalyst for future development.

8 PAGE 8 Mayor Windschitl commented he looked up 50 decibels and found it is listed as a conversation at home, a quiet suburb, large electrical transformers at 100 feet, and is one-fourth as loud as 70 decibels. Motion by Councilmember Schulz, second by Councilmember Rohe to indefinitely table Resolution No , approving the Concept Plan for Chaska Energy Park/Minnesota Municipal Power Agency (MMPA)/P.C. No Richter commented they were hoping to begin construction in the Spring. City Administrator stated they will get it set up in a work session as soon as possible. Mayor Windschitl commented he lives very close to the Chaska River station and he does not hear anything from that facility. 11. Bills Motion was made by Councilmember Rohe, second by Councilmember Boe to approve bills as presented. Roll call was taken. Voting aye: Councilmembers Boe, Schulz, Geisler, Rohe, and Mayor Windschitl. Voting nay: None 12. Other Business Councilmember Geisler: Commented she hopes people take advantage of events in Fireman s Park and City Square Park in relation to the 19 th Hole event and the Ryder Cup. There is shuttle service and every night something different planned. Councilmember Rohe Requested the area around the board walk be cleaned up and the City Administrator advised there will be crews taking care of the area. Councilmember Boe: Commented Angelfest is taking place at Guardian Angels on Saturday, September 24 beginning at 11:00 am and will end with fireworks at 9:30 pm. Assistant City Administrator Kabat Announced they are in need of Republican election judges and information can be found on the City s website. City Administrator Podhradsky: Announced there will be a unique matchup between the U. S. and Norwegian Olympic teams at the Curling Center. There will be a band, picnic dinner, and bleachers to accommodate spectators. Commented school goes through Friday, then final transit connections will be made. Chaska residents can shop in the PGA merchandise tent this weekend. It is a good

9 PAGE 9 opportunity to see the village and all the preparations that have been done in preparation for the Ryder Cup. The Council and City staff will be managing the Welcome Station all week and encouraged Chaska residents to stop by. City Attorney Melchert Commented there are still banners available for $300. Contact him at if you would like to purchase one. Mayor Windschitl: Commented the 19 th Hole is a community event, there is a need for volunteers, and information can be found at the19thholechaska.com. There is bussing provided from all areas. Announced the 18-hole event with the businesses, the many events happening in City Square throughout the week, and fireworks on three nights. Encouraged people to get out and enjoy the Ryder Cup and all the events associated with it as it is a once in a life time opportunity. 13. Adjourn Motion by Councilmember Schulz, second by Councilmember Geisler to adjourn the meeting at 9:29 pm.