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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-23-2018 Council Minutes MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,July 23,2018 7:00 o'clock p.m. ROLL CALL The Orono City Council met on the above-mentioned date with the following members present: Mayor Dennis Walsh,City Council Members Richard Crosby,III,Wendy Dankey,Aaron Printup,and Victoria Seals. Representing Staff were City Administrator Dustin Rief,Finance Director Ron Olson,Community Development Director Jeremy Barnhart,City Planner Melanie Curtis,Public Works Director/City Engineer Adam Edwards,and Recorder Jackie Young. Mayor Walsh called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.,followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. APPROVAL OF AGENDA CONSENT AGENDA 1. CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF JULY 9,2018 2. CLAIMSBILLS 3. RENTAL LICENSE 4. ACCEPT DONATION OF ADVERTISEMENT IN ORONO PARENT DIRECTORY This item was removed from the Consent Agenda. 5. SECOND QUARTER FINANCIAL REPORT 6. 2018 CRACK SEALING 7. 2018 ROAD MAINTENANCE PROJECT—CHANGE ORDER 8. 2018 STORMWATER IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS AWARD 9. 2016 SANITARY SEWER REHABILITATION PROJECT PAY REQUEST NO.4— FINAL 10. PROFESSIONAL SERVICE AGREEMENT: SEPTIC INSPECTION SERVICES 11. REQUEST TO HIRE FULL-TIME OFFICER 12. LA18-000040—95 SMITH AVENUE,MATTHEW AND ANGELA HOPPING, CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT—RESOLUTION NO. Printup moved,Crosby seconded,to approve the Consent Agenda as amended,with Item No.4 being removed from the Consent Agenda. VOTE: Ayes 5,Nays 0. Page 1 of 8 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,July 23,2018 7:00 o'clock p.m. PUBLIC COMMENTS Jane Delaney, 1515 Woodhill Avenue,stated she is here tonight to submit a petition regarding the City's joint application with Verizon to allow cell towers in Orono city parks. Delaney stated she would like to read the letter attached to the petition. "Mayor,City Administrator,Orono City Council,Orono Planning Commission,and Orono Park Commission: We, citizens of Orono, surrounding areas,and parks are requesting that the City's co-application with Verizon for the placement of cell towers at the Orono Public Golf Course and French Creek Preserve and any other location,park or city-owned property be halted until a special meeting can be scheduled for public discussion and city-wide notification. Scheduling a public meeting at the Planning Commission level only notifies residents within 500 feet of the proposed sites. Of the hundreds of residents and park goers we have talked to,none have any idea of the potential co-application. A decision of this magnitude without a city-wide special hearing would forever change our parks for decades to come. All citizens need to hear what the staff and officials' position before the city officially applies for cell towers with Verizon. We request that the City Council at their next council meeting on August 13 discuss as an agenda item the issue of having a city-wide special public hearing." This is submitted by Janey Delaney and Claudia Whitely on behalf of 152 petitioners. Delaney stated they look forward to the Ciry's answer about the next city council meeting. Matt Johnson, 1432 Shoreline Drive,announced he will be running for City Council. Johnson stated he grew up in the area and his youngest daughter graduated from Orono a couple of years ago. Johnson stated up to five years ago he never stepped foot inside the Council's chambers,but with some of the different things going on in the City,he started to get involved. At that time it was a complicated situation with the City Council but over the past couple of years he has noticed a Council that is working in a unified and great direction even though they don't always agree. Johnson stated city elections allow someone like himself to get more involved and that he is interested in being on the Council because the City is moving in a positive direction,the Council is fiscally responsible,and they are addressing the streets. Johnson thanked the City Council for all their hard work. Judy Wood, 1230 Woodhill Avenue, stated she is here tonight to enthusiastically support her neighbors on the cell phone application. 4. ACCEPT DONATION OF ADVERTISEMENT IN ORONO PARENT DIRECTORY Walsh thanked the Orono Foundation for their donation to the Orono parent directory. Walsh noted a picture of the City Council and representatives from the Fire Deparhnent,Police Department,and the Orono Foundation was taken earlier this evening. Printup moved,Dankey seconded,to accept the donation of advertisement in Orono Parent Directory. Vote: Ayes 5,Nays 0. Page 2 of 8 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,July 23,2018 7:00 o'clock p.m. PLANNING REPORT 13. LA18-000055—2709 WALTERS PORT LANE,BILL AND SUE DUNKLEY, SKETCH PLAN Sue and William Dunkley,Applicants,and Paul Vogstrom, Developer,were present. Curtis noted this sketch plan was before the City Council at their June 11 meeting. At that time the Council directed the applicants to make changes based on the recommendations discussed and return for another review. The owners continue to propose platting a new lakeshore lot between their Walters Port home and the Hueler property at 2715 Pence. Because the single property as it exists today results from the recent combination of 2709 Walters Port and 2710 Pence Lane,a subdivision rather than a lot line rearrangement is necessary. The plans show the creation of a new 1-plus acre lot east of the Dunkley home which appears to generally comply with the zoning and subdivision regulations. The applicants propose to meet the"road frontage" connection requirement for Lot 2 with a 20-foot connection to Walters Port Lane. Access will remain over the private Pence Lane driveway for Lot 2. Llyt 1,on which the Dunkleys' home is located,will continue to access via Walters Port as they historically have done. No connection to Pence Lane for Lot 1 is proposed,with the existing connection to be removed. Lot 2 continues to reflect the need for a significant average lakeshore setback variance. The applicant will be requesting approval of an average lakeshore setback variance as part of the forthcoming formal plat application. A newly created lot must demonstrate a conforming building envelope and is illustrated by Staff in Exhibit B. Curtis stated the City Council should provide clear direction to the applicant. As a sketch plan review, any suggestions or directions to the applicant are non-binding. Curtis displayed a sketch depicting the proposed house footprint. Walsh noted the City Council has heard a number of comments regarding this application previously on other occasions. Walsh stated of main importance is that the lot be conforming,which it appears to be according to the proposed sketch plan. Walsh indicated the one item he is unclear about in Staffls report is where it talks about a 20-foot connection to Walters Port Lane,with access remaining over the private Pence Lane driveway. Walsh stated he does not understand where that is. Curtis stated the lot will connect via the yellow corridor illustrated on the overhead. Access to the new lot will not be over Walters Port but will continue to be over the existing driveway that the Huelers use,with an outlot on the north. Walsh noted this is a sketch plan review and not a real public hearing and that the City Council is aware of a lot of the issues given the previous comments. Walsh stated he would like to give each party a few minutes to speak and then have the City Council provide some general guidance to the applicant. Walsh noted any variance requests would go before the Planning Commission where there will be a formal public hearing. Seals asked if the building envelope is the pink area depicted on the map. Page 3 of 8 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,July 23,2018 7:00 dclock p.m. 13. LA18-000055—2709 WALTERS PORT LANE,BILL AND SUE DUNKLEY, SKETCH PLAN—Continued Curtis stated that is what Staff is trying to illustrate by the exhibit and that there is a significant building envelope available to the applicants. Sue Dunkley,Applicant, stated she would like to clarify a couple of points. At the time they proposed the combination of the two lots,they were not told in any way,shape or form that they would lose any kind of grandfathered position of the house by combining the lots. Dunkley stated she specifically called Melanie,who had asked whether they were still planning on another lot,and she was told yes. Melanie Curtis then said they would have to meet the subdivision ordinances. Dunkley stated she then asked what that would mean for them,and Melanie Curtis stated they would need to meet the subdivision ordinances, and if,in the future,you are not under construction and the ordinances change,you will need to meet the new ordinances. Dunkley stated never once did it occur to them that by combining the lots they would lose the position of the house. Dunkley noted the proposed house is out of the 0-75 foot setback and that it will be set back 17 feet further than the old house. Dunkley stated it�ver occurred to her that they would have to work through any issue on this,and that had the City said that when you do this,you are going to have a big fight on your hands,they would not have done it. Dunkley stated there were many opporiunities for that to be said and that the location of the new house was illustrated on all their plans. Dunkley stated they could have been told to simply do a lot line rearrangement and that they did not know it would be that hard to get the new location of the house approved. Dunkley stated they will be asking for a variance to the average lakeshore setback but that they have eliminated all the other variances. Dunkley noted the City Council adopted Resolution No. 6811 that says they are dealing with a peninsula. The language in the resolution states that the configuration of the property and the adjacent properties function like a peninsula. This criteria is met regarding the addition. Dunkley indicated she walked out to the end of their dock and she is not able to see the Hueler's land or dock because the land juts out,which means it is a peninsula. Dunkley stated they are not trying to sneak something past and that they have 4.58 acres and almost 500 feet of lakeshore. It was not their intent to do a subdivision but they only did it because they have owned the property for a really long time and they needed to get going on the project to help pay for the land. Dunkley questioned why the land is not considered a peninsula now when the word peninsula was used five times in the resolution. Dunkley stated the other thing that happened at one of the meetings is that Mayor Walsh stated that the City can give some flexibility on the road but that the lot will need to be a conforming lot. Dunkley stated they are proposing a conforming lot. Mayor Walsh also indicated that the City can give some flexibility on the sightlines but that there should be no other variances. Dunkley stated they worked really hard to make that happen and that all this fighting is delaying construction. The minutes further reflect that Council Member Dankey said it is not practical to move the house back given the curve,and that she is not sure why this is taking all this time. Dunkley stated she hopes the City Council will consider those things and that they are not asking for anything crazy and are,in fact, 17 feet further back. Dunkley noted the Huelers did not know the house would be moved or torn down when they purchased the property and that they originally did not have a Page 4 of 8 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,July 23,2018 7:00 o'clock p.m. 13. LA18-000055—2709 WALTERS PORT LANE,BILL AND SUE DUNKLEY, SKETCH PLAN—ConNnued view of the lake in that direction. Dunkley stated she also read a1185 pages of the subdivision regulations and did not see anywhere in there where they would lose the position of the house if they tore it down. Kelly Hueler,2715 Pence Lane, stated they have also read all the documents. Hueler pointed out on the overhead the"peninsula"and the piece of land that everyone is talking about that curves. Hueler stated the City has already given three variances and not one. Curtis noted those were for the addition onto the Dunkleys' house and not for this lot. Hueler stated the variances were for structure,hardcover,and average lakeshore setback. As part of that application,the Dunkleys claimed all of the land,including this lot,which was part of the reason why the Dunkleys were provided variances. The rest of the shoreline does not equate to a peninsula and the City Council would benefit from having an independent surveyor provide some clarity on the issue. Greg Hueler stated there are three or four places the Dunkleys can put a lot,so that is not an issue,and as long as the Dunkleys follow the rules and regulations,they are not opposed to that. Hueler stated they are not trying to stop them from subdividing but that they need to follow the code,and if you take out an existing home and remove it,they cannot later claim that it is there. Kelly Hueler stated the Dunkleys should follow the City Code and the City Council should apply the City Code equally to all residents. Hueler noted the Dunkleys have been provided some fairly significant variances for their new addition and they did not complain or object to that. In this case the Dunkleys have created their own practical difficulty,and that it is not just the Huelers saying that but it is all the other people who live on the lake. Greg Hueler stated claiming an ignorance of the rules does not make it Sue Dunkley stated 126 neighbors received an e-mail regarding their project and that she lives close to five neighbors and that she does not know the other people. Walsh stated most of the he said/she said comments are irrelevant to what the City Council needs to discuss tonight. Walsh noted all variance requests have to go through a public hearing,which will happen in this case. Walsh commented there are two sides to the argument,and what you have is the Dunkleys own a piece of ground that goes to the right gently but it does go to the right. On the other side of the argument for why the Dunkleys should not be granted a variance is that they created the practical difficulty. Walsh stated the City has an average lakeshore setback to prevent houses from being built in front of other homes along the lake,and that if all they saw was a straight line going across the land,the house could be moved a whole bunch forward. Walsh stated in his view the possibility exists for flexibility but that it will exist at the Planning Commission level when they review the preliminary plat and the variance request. Walsh stated the application has to go through that process. Walsh stated in his view the ground does go around to the right,which creates a practical difficulty,but it could also be said that some of the practical difficulty was created by the applicants. The Dunkleys have Page 5 of 8 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,July 23,2018 7:00 o'clock p.m. 13. LA18-000055—2709 WALTERS PORT LANE,BILL AND SUE DUNKLEY, SKETCH PLAN—Continued a building envelope that they are allowed and they will have to live with it. Walsh noted the City Council has managed the rules a little better than in the past in order to give more flexibility,but the question is how far past that is someone allowed to go. The City Council has had discussions in the past about what view someone is entitled to and whether a side view should count. Walsh noted if he looks out his side window,he will be looking into the side window of the house next door to him and that all kinds of things need to be taken into consideration when making a decision. Seals stated the illustration by Staff was very helpful in depicting the building area. Seals indicated she has spoken with some of the Planning Commissioners to get their thoughts on some things and that it might be helpful as well to have the City Attorney provide a written definition of a practical difficulty. The other helpful piece of information would be to know where the previous lot line prior to the lots being combined. Seals commented the challenge is once you get rid of the house,it changes things,and that in her view the City Council should not open that can of worms because then it becomes a question of how far back in time do you go. Printup asked if the three variances were granted before the new lot was carved out. Curtis indicated the new lot was not officially created at that point. The Dunkleys purchased 2710 Pence and then presented different plans and variance requests for each individual lot. Those applications were presented all together at a Planning Commission meeting. Based on the feedback and the timing of the applications,the applicants withdrew the other two applications and went forward just with the application on their home. The City Council saw that application in November and the variances were granted based on the site being one lot. Walsh asked if it would have changed the variances at all on the Dunkley's addition. Curtis stated the average lakeshore setback is currently based on the location of the Hueler home and the Keegan's home on the north side. The average setback next to a vacant lot is a straight line measurement from the neighbor's home to the lake. Walsh asked if the Dunkleys would have needed the average lakeshore setback variance either way. Curtis stated for the Dunkley's addition,the Keegan setback would have determined their setback if the new lot was vacant. Curtis stated she does not know what the Keegan setback is. Crosby stated to his belief it is 75 feet. Printup stated when this was discussed last November,the Council was looking at this huge property and felt there could be some flexibility. Then all of a sudden the lot line changes and a house is being proposed,which changes everything. The City Council is now focusing on the vacant lot with the average lakeshore setback. Printup stated he is not in favor of going ahead of the average lakeshore setback and that the City's code does not support it. Printup stated changing around the lot lines created that difficulty and that he personally has said no to other similar requests. Page 6 of 8 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,July 23,2018 7:00 o'clock p.m. 13. LA18-000055—2709 WALTERS PORT LANE,BILL AND SUE DUNKLEY, SKETCH PLAN—Continued Walsh stated the Planning Commission can get all this feedback and vet the application since these are questions that have not really been looked at. Printup stated there is ample land for a house to be built and that there is not a practical difficulty. Dankey indicated she is torn on this one because people have to be really careful about removing a house since the chances to build in the same spot are forfeited. Dankey indicated she would like to see a house that is not as wide and that they have to work with the lot they have and then design a house that fits on the lot. Seals commented it is not the City Council's job to design the house and that there is a building envelope that they can work with. Seals stated the applicants can bring their application to the Planning Commission to get their feedback on it. The City Council took no formal action on this item. MAYOR/COUNCIL REPORT Crosby reported as part of the Carman Bay LID,they finally got their channel treated two weeks ago. Cannan's Bay was treated in May. Crosby stated in his view the coves need to be treated at the same time as the bays and that he will be keeping an eye on the situation. Crosby stated he has noticed that without the harvesting the bay is so much cleaner. Seals stated her husband is now a volunteer fireman. Seals reported the Laker-Pioneer newspaper had a very cool article with pictures on Big Island and the improvements made there. Seals noted the lead person from Home Depot on this project is Abbie Birkhart,who is an Orono resident. Printup noted the City Council had some folks talking about cell phone towers being located in parks earlier this evening and that he can remember 20 to 25 years ago some people walking around in his neighborhood with a petition opposing cell phone towers. Printup noted currently the City does not have any applications for cell phone towers and that he does have some concerns with putting the towers in city parks. Printup commented he has heard more about milfoil harvesting and the harvester in the last week and that the City's representative to the LMCD will need to be aware of that. Printup noted the original harvesters were donated and that the program started out as a great thing because no one knew what milfoil was or how to deal with it. Printup noted the City Council had a discussion at the work session about the house fire last week and fire hydrants. Printup stated there probably needs to be an education component perhaps in the next newsletter,noting that with city water comes city sewer and then the Metropolitan Council,which is something people need to be cognizant of. Page 7 of 8 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,July 23,2018 7:00 o'clock p.m. MAYOR/COUNCIL REPORT—Continued Printup reported the State of Minnesota and the correctional officer community is dealing with the loss of a correctional officer who was murdered. Printup encouraged everyone to keep the officer's family in their prayers. Printup stated he also intends to file for re-election. Mayor Walsh stated their thoughts and prayers go out to the Evenson family on the loss of their house. Walsh commented the Orono community has a number of great fire departments in the area and that the City Council had a great discussion at their work session about how the fire departments work together and respond generally to fire calls. Walsh stated he will be filing to continue on as mayor. CITY ADMINISTRATOR'S REPORT Rief reported he has been working a lot with the Long Lake Fire Department to get a better understanding of their processes and that he is also in the process of ineeting with Wayzata and Spring Park in coordinating some utility work. Staff has also been working on the 2019 budget. CITY ATTORNEY REPORT None ADJOURNMENT Crosby moved,Printup seconded,to adjourn the Orono City Council meeting at 7:51 p.m. VOTE: Ayes,Nays 0. ATTEST: . Anna Carlson,City Clerk Dennis Walsh,Mayor Page 8 of 8