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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-09-2010 Council Work Session Minutes Orono City Council Committee of the Whole February 9, 2010,6:30 p.m. Orono City Council Chambers Present: Mayor Jim White, Council Members Cynthia Bremer, Doug Franchot, Lili McMillan and Jim Murphy; Assistant City Administrator for Long-Term Strategy Mike Gaffron, Finance Director Ron Olson, Planning &Zoning Coordinator Melanie Curtis, Planner Evelyn Turner, City Engineer Tom Kellogg and City Clerk Lin Vee 1. Green Development • Julie Westerland, Education and Communications Manager with the MCWD, gave a presentation on "green" and low impact development. Highlights of the presentation include the following: o Information is provided as part a state and national program called NEMO (Nonpoint Education for Municipal Officials), which is an education program for land use decision makers. o Land use, which is decided by the local government, determines water quality. o Natural watersheds begin with the water cycle. When it rains, 40%of water is used by plants and evaporation, 50%of the water soaks in the ground (infiltration), and approximately 10% runs off. o Developing the landscape changes the nature of runoff or stormwater. Stormwater needs treatment, causes erosion and causes flooding. Streams are degraded because stormwater carries contaminants. o Natural shoreline includes plants, birds and dead trees known as large woody debris. One of the most important aspects of the shoreline habitat is large woody debris. o In the 1940's, lakeshore development began with small cabins and much of the shoreline remained intact. o Later development brought the suburban look of manicured grass lawns. Grass is considered a habitat desert for wildlife. Geese are one of the few types of wildlife that thrive in flat, grassy areas because they prefer a direct line of sight to the water. o Phosphorus and sediment are major sources of lake pollution. o Bremer asked about the impact of development within 75' of the lakeshore. Westerland responded that how runoff gets to the lake is more important than how close a home is to the lake. Greater amounts of hardcover are also a concern. o Increase in runoff and pollution load is caused by impervious surfaces—hard surfaces that prevent the percolation of runoff into the ground and send runoff downstream instead (rooftops, rocks, driveways, compacted lawns, etc.) o Policies, including federal, state and local plans and rules regarding stormwater management, need to be considered to make lakeshore lots more natural. o DNR shoreland rules are regulated through local policies, with the local government responsible for variances to the rules. o In 1970, the first set of shoreland regulations was released by the DNR. Over the years, the DNR has reduced the amount of allowed impervious surface coverage. Structural coverage has been reduced from 30% in 1970 to a proposed 15% in 2010. o Orono has asked how much credit could be given for pervious surfaces. The DNR would allow 50% credit in the reduction of pervious surface with an engineer's review, but the local government has the final decision. o Westerland is a fan of pervious surfaces in certain applications to manage stormwater, but they are not necessarily appropriate for shoreline management. Gray is no substitute for green. It is better to promote strategies that include plants. o The Blue Thumb program is a marketing program that works with shoreline organizations. Their tagline is "Planting for Clean Water." The idea is that roots of plants that are not grass are much deeper and do a better job holding the shoreline together and creating a soil structure that allows water to soak into ground. Page 1 of 4 Orono City Council Committee of the Whole February 9, 2010, 6:30 p.m. Orono City Council Chambers o Rain gardens are depressional areas that allow water to soak into the ground. Rain gardens are more appropriate in residential applications than pervious pavement systems in terms of credit for shoreland management and they are easier for property owners to maintain. o The RainXchange system is another way to manage stormwater. Water is directed from a downspout into an underground storage system and then pumped back for use in waterfalls, lawn sprinkling, etc. o Trees are fantastic stormwater management features; protection of existing trees is important. o Minnesota Statute 103F allows the DNR to adopt rules for shoreland management. Standards developed by the DNR need to be adopted at the local level. • Murphy asked how experimentation with chemicals on the lake affects shoreline management. Westerland responded that invasive vegetation is not natural to the lake and the chemicals are supposed to be selective for Eurasion Milfoil. Although the DNR is promoting natural conditions, humans are part of the ecosystem and it would be difficult to get the lake back to a natural condition. • McMillan noted that once a natural area is degraded, it is more difficult to restore a natural environment rather than preserving it. • Bremer commented that the lake environment is complicated by water quality that varies on different bays. McMillan added that some bays were former sewage treatment areas with phosphorus impacts. Gaffron noted that most of the lower quality bays are on the upper lake and are the first bays to receive loading from creeks. • McMillan asked if the MCWD has been seeing any problems with maintenance on pervious pavers. Westerland responded that they need to be designed, installed and maintained correctly or they will not work. Maintenance includes regular vacuuming and may be different for different applications; i.e. no salt would need to be used on a city parking lot as snow melts through the pavers. • Tom Kellogg commented that Bonestroo has some experience working with pervious pavers and worked with Sartell on a project. He agreed with Westerland's comments that shoreline areas aren't necessarily appropriate areas for installation of pervious pavers. It's important to encourage the use of pervious pavers, but no credit should be allowed. Maintenance can be a major issue. • Bremer suggested that a position statement and literature be developed to share with developers who propose to use pervious pavers. • Kellogg added that there are other methods to control runoff. Medina has recently added a requirement to provide volume control, which means the first%" of rainfall is contained on site. 2. Comp Plan Update • Gaffron and Grittman have been preparing maps and discussing areas that could be guided for higher density that will satisfy Met Council requirements. After Council has reviewed the information at the next work session, another meeting will be scheduled with Met Council staff to confirm that Orono is moving in the right direction. 3. Common Bond Follow-up • Common Bond has provided a project proforma and schedule, which is driven by funding sources. They have requested that the city provide a letter of intent regarding zoning and utilities. • McMillan expressed concern with the compact schedule and obligations of the city in the next few months, including completion of the Comp Plan and working with the new City Administrator. She commented that the city needs to determine what it wants and not be driven by Common Bond's proposal, nor be rushed into a decision, and the public should be given opportunities for input. While CommonBond has proposed a good potential development, there may be other options for the site. Orono has been cautious in development which has served the city well. • Franchot agreed that more study could be done, but took the opposite view stating that at some point the collective wisdom of the group recognizes a good project. This proposal provides the city with a number of benefits and it may be a disservice to the citizens if the city continues "kicking the can" down the road. Page 2 of 4 Orono City Council Committee of the Whole February 9,2010, 630 p.m. Orono City Council Chambers • White commented that these types of applications and projects can take years to complete. Affordable or workforce housing is one of the few types of housing that are currently under construction and this is a greatidea. • McMillan stated she does not object to the project but is concerned with the timing, noting that the timeline indicates a purchase agreement would be brought before the Council on March 9. • White stated that CommonBond could move forward with some of the funding applications that the city can support but not all of them because of application deadlines. • Per Gaffron, the Comp Plan process will most likely reguide this property from 2-3 units per acre for single family to 10-15 units per acre for multi-family. Rezoning would follow within 6 months of approval to match the Comp Plan. Council will need to determine if they want to sell or donate the property. Staff has not attempted to define if the Fire Department needs more land, but the Fire Chief has indicated the Fire Department could benefit from more firefighters in the neighborhood. If any of their funding sources aren't approved, the project could fall apart. CommonBond wants to acquire enough land to develop 10- 12 units per acre. • Planning Commissioner Berg commented that CommonBond is requesting a letter of intent so they can proceed with funding applications. tt comes down to whether the council wants to provide affordable housing or not. In her opinion, CommonBond is probably one of the better developers. If the city keeps putting off this type of development, it will never provide affordable housing. • McMillan reiterated that the city has been cautious with development and shouldn't rush through this proposal. It might be better to wait another year before looking at this type of project. The city is in the process of completing the Comp Plan update and determining how this property should be guided. She is in favor of higher density for this property, but wants to be sure the citizens know about the project and that Met Council issues have been addressed. Council and staff have limited time in the next six months and she is concerned that the time and attention needed for this project may not be available. • Franchot stated that it doesn't seem like the city is rushing through this proposal and should continue to move forward. • Murphy commented that the city has never gone out and been a leader, but has always reacted to proposals from developers which has served the city well. The senior housing project was proposed by Dunbar, the city didn't seek them out. If the city changes its reactive nature, there are other properties in the city that that also need to be considered. This particular project came to the city through Interfaith Outreach. When the city purchased this property, it was discussed that this would be a good place for some type of higher density housing. This would be a great opportunity to show citizens that the city is interested in finding workforce housing. The Millers also deserve to know the city's intent. While the timetable is aggressive, the city could chose to do some parts and not others, and the city should pursue this opportunity. • Bremer agreed with McMillan regarding timelines and stated that in reality CommonBond won't be able to hold to their timeline. She recommended the proposal should be sent to the Planning Commission to proceed through the normal process. The letter of intent should include information indicating the property is in the process of being reguided as part of the Comp Plan update and the city anticipates that this property will fit the proposed density. • Bremer stated that a majority of the council is in favor of this type of project but should be realistic with CommonBond about the timeline and status of Comp Plan update. • McMillan commented that she would not want CommonBond to move forward with grant applications without having the Comp Plan density established. Council discussed the possibility that the property could be reguided for even higher density than CommonBond's proposal. • Gaffron noted the timeline includes February application deadlines, which are annual funding programs. Council should be aware that for some of the CommonBond grant processes,there may be a need for HRA action. Page 3 of 4 Orono City Council Committee of the Whole February 9, 2010, 630 p.m. Orono City Council Chambers • Gaffron reviewed the Miller questions and will redraft a letter of intent based on Council responses including: - The city is working on the overall financial commitment. - Zoning may allow up to 15 units per acre. - An appraisal has not been completed but will be done at some point in the future. - All time constraints are associated with the CommonBond schedule. 4. Watershed District Rules • Gaffron recently met with a group of Lake Minnetonka city administrators to discuss the proposed changes to MCWD Rules D & F. The group discussed a method to find common ground and combine efforts to bring common issues to the Watershed District. There was additional discussion about hiring an engineer to be shared by the group, but the consensus was that all of the issues are not the same for individual cities and a shared engineer would not be beneficial. 5. Police Service Contract • Police Chief Correy Farniok participated in discussion of items related to police matters via phone conference. • The city received a letter from Long Lake regarding the police service contract that outlined their objections. • Olson contacted Attorney Schieffer but hasn't received a response regarding language related to automatic renewal of the contract and budget package. • Council directed staff to draft a response letter to Long Lake that outlines Orono's position to be reviewed by our special counsel. 6. Police Mediation • Per Olson, a police officer union contract meeting is scheduled for Thursday, February 11. • Council discussed options and recommendations for contract negotiations. 7. Big Island Park Rules • Farniok confirmed that a CSO has not been planned for Big Island Park for 2010. • Recent vandalism at the park resulted in picnic tables pulled onto the lake and damage to the pavilion. • McMillan stated that the Big Island Committee has discussed a permitting process for use of the park. However, if a permit is issued, the permit holder will expect some level of service and she is not in favor of issuing permits. Other Council Members agreed. • Gaffron stated the Orono Schools have submitted an application for the Big Island Institute that will be brought to the Big Island Committee meeting on Friday for discussion. • Murphy indicated the Minnehaha will be making a port-of-call application. • Gaffron stated that if the city is considering no permits for park use, there would need to be changes in the draft rules that will be brought to Council for final approval. • Murphy noted the Police Department has commented that if there is no permit, there are no rules to enforce. • Gaffron indicated that park signage lists rules that could be enforced. The signs could include the city's website address for reference to a full list of rules. Staff noted it is difficult to follow-up on permits that are issued or respond to requests that are received a day or two before the event is scheduled. 8. Comments Regarding Information Updates • None Page 4 of 4