[0:24] well good evening everybody and welcome to the um uh Wednesday April 16 2025 [0:30] meeting of the United City Council It is 7:01 p.m Uh as Director Benerrod [0:35] indicated we've been conducting these meetings in a hybrid fashion people can tune in uh virtually and and participate [0:41] in these meetings We've been doing it since uh the COVID era uh since the pandemic and post pandemic And uh some [0:49] folks are here in person to uh uh share their thoughts with us uh during one of [0:55] two opportunities this evening And one is during community comment where you can speak uh to the council about a [1:01] matter of concern to you that's uh uh not scheduled for a future public hearing or otherwise on the agenda this [1:07] evening Uh and then we've got a couple of public hearing matters as well that people will be able to participate in Um [1:12] having provided that information I'm going to call the meeting to order and ask our clerk Sharon Allison to call the role Council member Agnu here Council [1:20] Member Jackson and Pierce are both absent Council member Risser here Mayor Hufflin here Uh next is the pledge of [1:28] allegiance Pledge to the flag of the United States [1:35] of America for it stands one [1:41] nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all [1:46] Thanks everybody And um we talked about uh the [1:53] meeting agenda briefly Uh I'm going to talk about that a little bit more detail right now We have a form of meeting [2:00] agenda that gets published in advance of these meetings so the public can review it and decide if they want to attend Uh [2:05] and then council members and staff also get that meeting agenda and uh sometimes [2:10] there's modifications of that meeting agenda Is there anyone on the council or uh staff from a staff level that wishes [2:17] to modify the meeting agenda any form or fashion none from staff Okay All right Is there a motion to approve the meeting [2:22] agenda as published so moved Second Got a motion by member Agnu second by member [2:27] Risser to approve the meeting agenda for this evening's meeting as published Any any further conversation any further [2:34] discussion all those in favor of adoption of the motion as stated say I I I Opposed Carried We have a meeting [2:40] agenda That's approved for the meeting this evening Uh we talked a little bit earlier about community comment And um [2:47] it is now time for community comment We're going to get up on uh the screen here is the number that [2:54] folks can call into if they want to call in to express their thoughts to the [2:59] council on their concerns um or anything that's on their mind other than [3:05] something that's on the agenda this evening or scheduled for a future public hearing But first I'm going to turn to the audience at large and see if anyone [3:11] in the audience wishes to address the council on a matter of concern to [3:21] them As folks know and Director Ben has indicated you'll have three minutes You'll get a 30 second uh yellow warning [3:28] light and then you wrap up your comments at the red light and this gentleman that's with us that knows that rule in particular since he serves the city in a [3:35] different capacity That's right Yeah Good evening So good evening everybody Um my name is [3:41] Ryan Day live at 6808 Chapel Lane and uh not here to talk about the Lincoln very [3:47] small area plan yet What I wanted to ask a few questions about was something that was on your work agenda tonight before [3:53] this meeting Um and that being the utility franchise fees I figured it'd be easier to come ask questions directly [3:59] than to sit through that work session for two hours So here I am Um so as I [4:05] read through that packet uh the uh introduction to that uh agenda item [4:11] stated that during the 2025 city council retreat council directed staff to [4:16] evaluate an updated flat fee model and new percent fee uh to generate an [4:22] additional $1 million in revenue to contribute to street reconstruction projects really the you know evaluating [4:28] whether you want to do a new a flat fee or a percentage fee Um um so really [4:34] about that opening statement you know I had a question about the million dollar a dollar amount Um how that number was [4:41] determined um why not more why not less uh and you know who really identified [4:48] that number right so when I think of street reconstruction projects specifically why was that specifically [4:54] called out in the agenda item um is that a funding gap that exists today and was it council or staff that identified that [5:00] gap so just kind of curious about that that piece Um and then a couple questions quick about [5:06] implementation The um as I think about implementation and and that fee I wonder [5:12] if there's a cap on how much those fees um can be raised or increased annually So when I think about like the gas tax [5:19] for example and that how that tracks to inflation or really the construction cost index um I wonder if there's any [5:25] similar model for this this fee or if it can be increased by really any percentage on an annual basis Um and [5:31] then I also wonder if there's somewhere where it's explicitly detailed uh what these funds can or cannot be used for Uh [5:38] it honestly as a resident of Adina becomes a little hard to track all of our different fees park dedication [5:44] utility franchise fees what those can be used for where how much they can be increased by every year etc So if [5:50] there's more information that the city can share about that eager to hear it Um and that's it So thank you Good Thank [5:57] you Yeah we just had a work session on that this evening and we won't we were missing two council members So uh we're [6:04] going to postpone this to a broader discussion on the 6th of May I think it was uh in full council presentation So [6:12] you might want to be able to you be able to set your schedule to be here that might be valuable for you Uh otherwise [6:19] we've got some materials that uh are available online I think that we can [6:24] provide to the to you and members of the planning commission So anyone else in the audience who wishes to address the [6:30] council on a matter of concern to them okay All right Let's turn now to [6:36] the online world and see if we got anybody No Yeah All right Um should you want us to [6:45] wait just a moment to see if anybody decides to call in i think Mr Day spoke for more than a minute so I think you're [6:50] okay to move on All right Very good All right We're going to move on Now our practice is that when we have [6:57] community comment uh such as Mr Day provided tonight uh the city manager [7:02] usually provides a written answer online by the Friday following the Tuesday meeting And then we supplement that [7:09] information that goes online live at the next council meeting So I'm now going to turn my u attention to manager Neil and [7:16] see if there was anything he needed to address from the prior council meeting uh that was raised at that meeting [7:22] Concern There weren't any questions for us to respond to at the last council meeting All right Thank you Um and next [7:31] we've got the consent agenda There are several items on the consent agenda this evening Uh those items on the consent [7:36] agenda to theoretically be handled in a single motion Adopting all those items on the consent agenda in a single motion [7:43] Is there anyone on the council that wishes to remove an item from the consent agenda is there a motion to adopt a consent [7:50] agenda uh in its totality in a single motion so moved Second Member Agnu moves [7:55] Member Risser seconds the adoption of the items on the consent agenda in a single motion [8:00] Um any further discussion all those in favor of adoption of the items on the consent agenda and a single motion say I [8:06] I I Opposed carried Uh those um 16 items on the consent agenda are here with [8:13] adopted and approved Uh and next we are uh quickly [8:18] at uh the special recognitions and presentations portion of the agenda We'd love it when you we've got these teams [8:24] from Edina High School Here uh young men young women in and and this evening we [8:30] get to recognize the United High School boys swimming and diving team We've got uh Coach Johnson with us and I don't do [8:37] we have more coaches with us oh yeah Okay Thank you I'm gonna have you identify yourself in a minute Um why [8:44] don't you all come up uh around the podium there and uh tell us a little bit about the uh uh the the event and uh you [8:53] know you we read in the paper how you won I think I think talent and depth was [8:58] really an important part of it Uh and uh so eager to hear from you coach You want [9:04] to lead it off and and bring up some of the young men with you and we'll identif you'll have you identify yourselves as [9:09] well just for the record So um and then you're all going to be on television so [9:14] families can see you friends can see you as well Uh thanks Mayor Hland Uh first I'll I'll let everybody identify [9:21] themselves and they can uh say what event they want If they want to say they [9:26] if they were a state champion in the event or third place or whatever that's up to them So I'll let everybody go [9:32] through We'll just kind of just go through and kind of make a little circle and then I'll come back here and I can [9:38] That's a good great way to handle it Thanks coach Yeah we got it Oh do it that way Perfect [9:47] Hi I'm Mike Rio and I swim the 100 breast and 50 free at state Hi I'm [9:52] Willie Turk and I swam the 500 and 200 freestyle at state I'm Joe Hamburger I [9:58] swam the 100 fly and two free at state Um I'm Liam McAuliff and I swam the 500 [10:03] freestyle at state I'm George Gabri and I swam the 200 freestyle and the 100 breaststroke at state I'm Logan Bracken [10:10] I swim the 50 freestyle and the 100 freestyle Uh my name is Patrick Abler I won or I I swam the 50 free and 100 free [10:18] state I'm Reed Mallister I swim the 100 fly And I'm Alex Laco and I swam the 200 [10:24] free and the 500 free Good And this is our assistant coach John I'm John Daly [10:31] I'm the diving coach Thank you coach Coach anything you want to add yeah [10:38] let's celebrate these guys First of all we're going to do a photo up here in [10:45] a moment with the council members that are here Uh but let's hear a little bit about the the event and the season Oh [10:51] thanks Well we had a we had a great season Uh we were undefeated in our dual meets and we were late conference [10:59] champions for the first time since 2022 Uh we were section champions and uh we [11:07] were state champions We won the state meet by uh 20 I think it's 26 points And [11:14] I I'm pleased to say that we are the first uh large class boys team uh to to [11:22] have four divers entered in the meet and they all scored Unfortunately none of [11:28] those uh gentlemen are here tonight but that's a uh that's a boys class doubleA [11:33] first So very very pleased It it it put really put an oomph in the diving part [11:38] of swimming and diving this year So we're very pleased about that Go ahead coach No go ahead I was going [11:45] to say I was just thinking about another state championship and uh remember Troy Stein gave me a hat last year that had [11:51] like 200 state championship logo on it and now uh I'm going to have to modify that thing I [11:57] guess Yeah we are magic marker We are 208 208 and and I always like to say [12:03] whenever we come here that we were the first Edina High School athletic program [12:09] to stand in these chambers uh 21 years ago So always kind of consider this to [12:14] be our home and we initiated this back in I think it was April of uh of 2004 So [12:21] it's 21 years ago So and we we like to come back Well congratulations again and I'm going to come down We're all going [12:27] to come down for a photo [12:34] We're so appreciative you took time all of you to help us celebrate and help us [12:41] celebrate you Everybody sort of ang [13:04] Just come over by [13:26] Thank you so much so much [13:43] So these are little carers no matter where you try [14:03] Thanks guys See you Thank you [14:12] Well uh a couple of wonderful parts of the special recognitions and [14:17] presentations portion of the agenda this evening The second part is following that uh that state high school [14:23] championship swimming and diving team We've got two of our very own uh past [14:28] their prime on swimming on the team but uh maybe they did that when they were in younger days Uh we've got United [14:35] Resident Bob Thompson and United resident Jack Warren I had the pleasure of being with them a couple weeks ago [14:41] They made a presentation over at the uh historical society and it was just [14:46] delightful and um I think they've got some they well they have a book they've produced together uh and Bob will talk [14:54] it out first so they can Yeah we can have that in hand for the council members Uh and Bob has just an uncanny [15:03] knowledge of United history coupled with Jack's photography Uh it's just a [15:09] delightful sort of uh experience that I had on that Sunday and I think you'll all enjoy it today And this gives us a [15:15] chance to get it out in front of the citizens of Adina as well and get it recorded So Bob and Jack come on up and [15:21] introduce yourselves Well I'm Jack Weston I'm the photographer and uh see Bob and I got [15:28] together what about four and a half years ago during CO and um basically with the restrictions of CO I you know [15:35] I've lived on the creek with my wife for about 36 years and uh uh at that time [15:42] you know I I just really appreciated being there at the creek and and and taking pictures at the creek and and [15:47] just the wildlife I just got a different perspective of of wildlife at that point and so I started taking a lot of [15:53] pictures I started uh put putting them on Facebook posting them on Facebook and [15:59] a lot of people uh were giving me a lot of likes on it and Bob and I got uh [16:04] introduced to each other when you were trying to get uh what was it the uh the heritage award for Edina I was helping [16:10] out with the uh looking for homes for the Adina Heritage Preservation Award [16:16] and I was heading down North Avenue and I talked to somebody next door to Jack and they said "Well you got to talk to this guy next door He's been taking [16:22] photographs and right we're both we're both history buffs Yeah So that's that was kind of the union So we we started [16:30] uh you know talking about the history of the neighborhood You were you were really into the you know the aspects of [16:36] the historical nature and and you know you talked about it at the uh at the historical society We put on a [16:42] presentation I think it was a couple weeks ago at the historical society and I I don't think we had enough time to even cover everything we really wanted [16:49] to cover Did you bring a few of your slides with you this evening we did not Um we I mean we're limited to 10 minutes [16:57] Yeah we're if we weren't limited to 10 minutes we we we could we could talk for two hours Let me jump in here For those [17:04] of you in the audience Jack and I produced a book about the life on Minihaha Creek Uh history photos it's [17:12] gorgeous Um I wanted to also we didn't do this alone Among the people that [17:18] helped us were a lot of city staff Um Emily Dal Rimprimple planning Uh Jessica [17:24] Wilson we walked the creek with her Um Jennifer Garski helped us get this set [17:30] up Jane Lquist who is or was on the uh preservation commission was also my [17:38] neighborhood mentor She's the one who really got me digging into this stuff and then the staff and the volunteers at [17:44] the historical society And in particular a guy I really learned a lot from was um [17:52] Bob uh Bob Cotin Cotin I always stumble on [17:57] that name Uh he was the Adina Parks director but he has encyclopedic knowledge of uh Adina But for the book [18:06] if you want to just breeze through it a little bit if you go to page 26 or so you're going to see the photos aerial [18:12] photos of this stretch of the creek that we've focused on [18:18] Um as Jack said I was he was documenting wildlife I was looking for historic [18:23] preservation homes uh and we decided we needed to do a book about this very short stretch because we realized we [18:29] needed to focus and I wanted to bring the history and also the natural features in So in a way I I said to Jim [18:36] when I first wrote to him this is kind of a love letter to a dinina It seems a little hokey but it really [18:42] shows the beauty of this place and how much can inspire people to even go out [18:49] and make a book Anyway that's uh we'd like to get your comments thoughts on this I think you should just take that [18:56] book that you've got in your hand Bob and put it on the you know go to the middle podium there and uh open up a few [19:02] Jack for a few key photos there Carrie will show you how to do it right projected somehow Yeah Yeah Just And [19:10] then we just have you hold it open Jack you pick a few photos that you really like to Well show the cover of the book [19:15] first Bob The cover of the book uh is an egret Uh no upside You got it upside [19:21] down No Okay there you go I get it Okay Weird Okay So so I I The other thing I [19:28] want to mention on this book is uh uh all these pictures were taken at my house I did not leave my yard for any of [19:35] these pictures We still we still got about 45 photos in the can Our plan is [19:40] to expand the book We want to get it published We've uh uh we've already contacted the Minnesota Historical [19:47] Society Press So that's kind of where we are Yeah Put it right in the middle there Okay So that was just taken [19:53] directly across uh the creek from my house And that's a red tailed hawk about [19:58] 100 feet up in the tree Red fox across the creek going up a snow covered hill [20:04] This is the one I like Yeah I like that one too Teamwork Yeah that's that's pretty rare to get a northern flicker [20:11] and a piated woodpecker on a tree right next to each other at the same time So I I had literally 10 seconds to take that [20:18] shot A lot of these shots Show Show them the Show them the deer Yeah show them Yeah the deer This uh [20:25] 11point buck shot I took uh last fall and and and I was watching a Vikings [20:30] game and a player got injured So I I stretched for a commercial break and I was looking out the picture window and [20:36] all of a sudden here's this huge buck crossing the creek I have my camera on a [20:41] tripod with a quick release on it So I and a sliding glass door so I went like that I had literally eight seconds to [20:48] take that picture but that's why I have my my camera on the tripod [20:54] And that was shot with a that was shot with a 600 millimeter prime lens So um and Bob if you put that book back down [21:00] there I want to ask you a question So people at home can how do how do people go about ordering this book if they want [21:05] to pick up a copy can can they still get it through the historical society um do we have inventory we haven't set [21:11] anything up at the historical society Um if I could leave my email address and if [21:17] you contact me Okay I don't know how you how you want to do that We can put it online Online Okay The website otherwise [21:24] it's art thompson1123 atgmail.com Um so we as I tell people we didn't get [21:32] in this to sell a book We got in this to sell an idea right was about the beauty [21:38] of the creek and the history and the natural features of [21:44] it So anyway we're not really making a business out of this No we understand [21:49] that a business proposition It was a labor of love It's a labor of love We're both you know it's really hobbies Bob [21:55] likes to write I like to take pictures So it was a good So what we really like too is to [22:02] see how Adina can take this and and just use it as part of telling people about [22:08] this place So I said it's kind of a love letter to Adina and we'd be happy if [22:14] that ever happened I know that's kind of a pitch but you know it's sincere What's that we [22:21] just use this book to show people what this place is like Oh yeah Really oh [22:26] yeah I mean when we show it to people they immediately want to go look and like where is this is this in our city [22:32] or Yes You know there's very few people that know about this book at this point I mean it's just we haven't really spent [22:39] time marketing it We don't have a website We're we're talking to the Minnesota Historical Society we hope [22:44] about whether they want to publish it We'll see So this is in a sense a prototype We put it together to [22:51] demonstrate that visual images have terrific impact I need to point out your [22:57] inner Oh I'm sorry And little and big stories can be told through little stories and that's what we really wanted [23:02] to do And so we're going to find out if somebody wants to publish it We'll see But anyway it's been great Yeah we know [23:10] that publish it was still fun What's that Jim say a lot and we know a lot of these photos were taken outside of [23:16] Jack's uh house Well we won't give them the address We won't give people the address So we got a map with his with [23:22] his house marked on it in the book So so it's pretty it doesn't take a rocket scientist to find my house Okay I'm I'm [23:29] bird watchers bird watchers in your yard here shortly right all right Well thank [23:34] you rompson1123gmail.com Thank you mayor for inviting us We've [23:41] Thank you Thanks for being here again [23:50] All right Um this is a tough act to follow [23:55] Thomas got the state championship team and then two guys that did a book about life along [24:02] the creek from a wildlife standpoint and uh but what you have to talk about is [24:07] very very important in our community and we uh we're pleased to have you here this evening Thomas Brooks is our [24:13] diversity equity and inclusion manager in the city of Edina And uh he's got some good things [24:19] to talk about here uh that we've been working on and um we've also got a proclamation involving something that [24:25] Edina has been involved in for probably close to 20 years now and that is days of remembrance uh with respect to the [24:32] Holocaust So uh Mr Brooks welcome Yeah Mayor Council thank you for having me [24:39] yet again Um I've been looking forward to this update because um this has [24:44] always meant that the project is moving just as planned Um so that's really the takeaway from today's update It's an [24:50] update on our equity strategic action plan and the message to you all is that the project is moving um as planned Um I [24:59] will try to be brief but really wanted to just give you an update on what we've done so far and what's to come [25:07] So as um a reminder this project uh for the equity strategic action plan began [25:13] uh in January of 2025 Um it's an approximate six-month project timeline So we hope to have this [25:20] wrapped up uh early summer of this year Um the outcome is to have two strategic [25:25] priorities for improving the organization um and how we serve the public Um so the [25:32] public was asked to uh one uh participate in a diamond inclusiveness [25:37] assessment So a big survey that went out to all of our staff and then all of community Um that ended February 28th [25:44] and gave us some good insight into what we're doing well in the city and some areas for improvement Um the second [25:52] piece of this project was the equity framework and I'll talk a little bit more about that coming up that's [25:57] currently in development Um and then the big part of this is the equity strategic action plan um in its totality Um and [26:04] that part is coming up soon U so the diamond inclusiveness [26:09] assessment went out to community We uh promoted it to make sure that it was accessible to anyone that wanted to [26:16] participate Um but really um because of the types of questions that were on the [26:21] survey it was really intended for those that have interacted with the city in some capacity So whether that's as a [26:28] staff member um a commission member a vendor um someone that just has a little more insight into what we do every [26:34] single day in city government Um there were 64 questions um across eight [26:39] different dimensions and we got uh 358 survey responses between uh both [26:45] employees and residents Um a majority of that came from employees Um we did [26:50] promote it pretty heavily internally um as they have the most insight into what we do every single day Um and as you can [26:57] see this doesn't add up to a hundred Um so that remaining percentage is really uh volunteers uh vendors and just others [27:04] that have some sort some sort of a stake in the city Um what came out of that uh which is probably no surprise um our [27:11] biggest strength uh so far is natural environment Um so that really um hit at [27:18] uh environmental sustainability Um so all of the efforts and investments we've made over the years in that area um that [27:24] really came out and both staff and community were pretty unified um with that being a strength Um our biggest [27:32] area of opportunity based on the results so far is our built environment Um so [27:37] that really gets at um really everything that you can see when you go into a city facility So um artwork furnishings that [27:46] sort of thing So um really the the vibe and the feel that um our city facilities [27:52] um give um as it relates to the diversity of this community the history of this community um and uh what [27:59] represents um Adina and its totality Um and then um as a leadership team um a [28:05] third area that we looked at um just based on city priorities um and some of [28:10] the the work that we have been trying to drive on a day-to-day basis um from the survey was human development Um so human [28:18] development is really important Um the more that we can develop our people in the city whether that's staff [28:23] commissioners um you all uh the more developed we are the better that we can serve the [28:31] public Um so these were the eight DIA dimensions Um so there were a number of [28:37] questions I would say generally um around eight for each of these dimensions Um and again uh the three the [28:46] the strength was natural environment The weakness or biggest area of opportunity was built environment Um and then one of [28:53] the additional areas that we're trying to focus on is human [28:58] development Um the second uh big part of this project that I mentioned before is the equity framework Um so when you see [29:05] the final ESAP document um the first section of this is going to be the [29:10] equity framework um it's really the introduction It's what sort of lays the ground for um the the planning work that [29:19] that comes after it Um so a big part of it is our organizational profile So just grounding ourselves in our mission our [29:27] vision um our values here in the city Um so it recaps that um a timeline of [29:32] Adina's journey on human rights and equity Um so Adina um following the civil rights act of 1964 and uh the [29:41] development of the department of human rights here in Minnesota was one of the earliest cities to adopt a human rights [29:46] commission and and start this work Um so we sort of lay out that journey as well [29:51] Um equity commitments and operating principles So we have uh embedded within this document uh which is still in [29:58] development uh close to being finalized um our commitments to equity So essentially um really making sure that [30:04] it's centered um in people um that it's centered in data um that we are um [30:10] engaging the public that we're engaging staff um those are essentially what our commitments and operating principles are [30:16] around Um the um there's a section where we are able to ground ourselves in our [30:22] in demographic data Um so we have been trying to use data more often and so just uh knowing where we're at today in [30:28] terms of employee volunteer and community uh demographic data as part of this and then a glossery of common uh [30:35] terminology So um this a lot of the terminology is um around um diversity [30:41] equity and inclusion um but it's common terminology that we use every single day um in projects that come up um in [30:48] community meetings So this serves as sort of a glossery that um employees um [30:54] or commissioners that anyone can sort of reference um to know what we mean uh [30:59] when we talk about some of these terms Uh so the remaining ASAP timeline [31:06] so uh right now we are simultaneously working on um analyzing the DIA results [31:12] Um so what you saw earlier in terms of strengths weaknesses areas of opportunity that's just an initial analysis Um so we're continuing to dive [31:20] into those results Um and then also working to finalize that equity framework language Um so the ESAP [31:28] priorities will be identified um this month Um and we'll work to develop um a [31:33] project plan associated with each of those priorities Um so this strategic plan is a little different from others [31:39] in that it doesn't just lay out what our priorities are Um there are measurable um timebound goals and milestones [31:46] associated with each of them that sort of lays out step by step what staff need to do in order to reach a desired [31:53] outcome Um another big part of this um over the next few months is really uh focusing on communication as well So we [32:00] wanted this process to be uh fully transparent We wanted it to be open to the public which is why uh we made sure [32:07] that that survey was open to the public and all staff as well Um and so we'll be working on uh releasing and [32:13] communicating the results and the priorities that come out of this Um and as well as making sure that people are [32:19] able to access our progress along the way Um and then the last piece I think [32:26] this is it Um just wanted to make sure that you knew from a community perspective um the human rights and [32:31] engagement task force continues to be involved in this process as well Um this ESAP was actually one of their um sort [32:38] of work plan items or within the scope of uh their charter Um so they um have [32:44] been involved so far in reviewing and commenting on the equity framework Um they were a big part of completing the [32:51] diamond inclusiveness assessment um and will be providing additional context on the results Um so they will actually be [32:58] reviewing both the equity framework and the DIA results at their meeting next Wednesday uh which is [33:05] virtual Um and then um the last piece is they'll review and comment on the project timelines as well for the ESAP [33:12] So providing feedback on like the length of time um it's going to take to reach a desired goal um if the goals hit home um [33:20] to them as community members that sort of thing Uh let me [33:26] see So yeah and then I wanted to just throw in for anyone interested So task force meetings are open to the public Um [33:33] again this ESAT process was a big part of their work this year Um so this month [33:38] they'll be talking about the DIA results and the equity framework Um next month um they'll be actually be talking about [33:45] um a board and commission experience survey that went out Um so they'll be looking at those results and just [33:50] talking about some of the um insights that came out of that survey Um and then in June for anyone interested uh they [33:57] will also be receiving hopefully a final presentation of the equity strategic action plan at that meeting Um and that [34:04] meeting currently is scheduled to be virtual Um all of this information can be found on better together adina Um so [34:10] we try to keep that up to date with uh dates locations times Um and then you can also see meeting summaries on there [34:17] as well Um and that's it All right Let me [34:23] check with my colleagues to see if anybody has any questions about what's taken place so far or what's yet to come [34:29] with respect to the equity strategic action plan Member Risser at some point [34:35] will there be a document where all of us can read comments that were submitted and all of that [34:42] yes So um so far um most of the commenting has really been on um like [34:48] editing the language of really the equity framework document Um there were [34:54] some comments submitted through the demographic questions on the diamond [35:00] inclusiveness assessment Um so the specific comments won't be a part of the final sort of report that comes out of [35:06] that because that's not what the questions were asking Um but we do provide a summary of some of that [35:11] feedback that was received Um just to make sure that community members know that we saw them and heard them um no [35:19] regardless of their responses to uh the survey questions Thank you Other questions for Mr Brooks [35:26] at this point in time All right Yeah I know that we probably all participated in those online [35:33] conversations and that was interesting experience So thanks for the work you're [35:38] doing Thank you Okay All right Uh and then you've got one other matter in in [35:45] front of us this evening that's uh related to something that we've been involved in over the years and that's holocaust related and that's a [35:52] proclamation involving days of remembrance I don't know if you have any comments on that in advance of me reading it or you want me to just go [35:57] forward No Uh I think the biggest comment is just thank you for u recognizing days of remembrance Um this [36:04] is essentially uh a renewed proclamation from uh many years ago Um the city's [36:09] always recognized days of remembrance but uh we thought we'd bring the proclamation back this year uh to council So thank you And and apparently [36:17] there's no event this year Is that correct that's correct Yeah Which is also a we've probably been doing that [36:24] for 15 17 years having a Sunday afternoon event But okay All right I'll [36:30] read the proclamation days of remembrance uh Wednesday April 23rd uh 2025 through Wednesday April 30th 2025 [36:39] Whereas the Holocaust was a state sponsored systematic persecution and annihilation of European Jews Gentile [36:44] Poles Slavs Soviets Romani Roma the physically and mentally disabled LGBTQ [36:50] plus individuals political opponents and religious dissidents of Nazi Germany and its collaborators between 1933 and [36:57] 1945 with 17,000 people losing their lives And whereas the history of the [37:02] Holocaust offers an opportunity to reflect on the moral responsibilities of individuals societies and governments [37:08] And whereas we the people of the city of Vana should always remember the terrible events of the Holocaust and remain vigilant against hatred persecution and [37:15] tyranny And whereas we the people of the city of Vana should actively rededicate ourselves to the principles of [37:21] individual freedom and a just society And whereas the days of remembrance are set aside annually to coincide with the [37:27] national celebration of Yam Hashawa for the people of the city of Vidana to remember the victims of the Holocaust as [37:33] well as to reflect on the need for respect of all peoples And whereas pursuant to an act of Congress the [37:39] United States Holocaust Memorial Council designates annually the days of remembrance of the victims of the [37:44] Holocaust including the days of remembrance known as Yam Hashawa Now therefore be it resolved that the city [37:50] council of the city of Vidan is hereby continue to recognize the days of remembrance and memory of the victims of the Holocaust and in honor of the [37:56] survivors descendants rescuers and liberators It is further proclaimed that we as a community will work to advance [38:02] and protect human rights in Edina Is there a motion to adopt a proclamation as read [38:08] so moved Member moves Um second at 17 million Member RER [38:15] seconds the adoption of the proclamation on days of remembrance Uh any further discussion all those in favor of [38:21] adoption of the proclamation on days of remembrance say I I Opposed Carried The [38:26] days of remembrance proclamation is adopted I'll hand this to you I don't know where you'll want to post it up [38:33] I've signed it So thank you Thank you Thank you [38:48] Um we're going to move on now to the um public hearing portion of the agenda And [38:53] the first matter in front of us this evening uh is potential reasonzoning subdivision [38:59] site plan with variances at 5100 Eden Avenue uh for Opus [39:08] And um we all think I think we all recognize that as near the hilltop It is [39:13] the building on stilts as it's uh commonly referred to And there's a um purchase agreement [39:21] in place I believe to uh have Opus purchase that building and make it their corporate headquarters And there are [39:27] some things that we need to discuss that the planning commission has already discussed and and approved at their [39:32] level Uh but we've got to make these considerations here as well The public hearing will be tonight Uh we'll have a [39:39] staff presentation Addison Lewis our community development coordinator is here to make that presentation And I [39:46] think we've got a team of architects and and representatives of the developer here I'll let you introduce those folks as well And and they may have some uh [39:53] portion of the presentation they want to make also and then we'll take public testimony So Mr Lewis go ahead All right [40:01] Good evening Mayor and Council Um so Opus Development Company has submitted applications for resoning site plan and [40:07] a new plat and variances at uh 5100 Eden Avenue Uh this is a project that came [40:12] before you back in January for sketch plan Uh the site is located in the Grand View District at the northeast corner of [40:19] Arcadia Avenue and Eden Avenue Uh you may recall as well that this site received preliminary PUD approval in [40:26] 2023 for a sevenstory 136 unit apartment building with ground floor commercial Uh that [40:32] project has not moved forward Um so the new proposal is to construct a five-story 112,000 ft office building [40:39] that would potentially include a commercial or retail use on the ground floor Uh Opus has indicated that they [40:46] would relocate their headquarters from Minnetonka to this site and occupy a portion of the office [40:52] building Uh so in order to accommodate this request the following would be required Uh resoning from planned office [40:58] district 1 to planned commercial district 2 subdivision of a new plat to consolidate uh the seven parcels into [41:05] one Uh site plan approval uh variances for building setbacks on all four sides [41:10] of the building Uh a variance to allow floor area ratio at two where one and a half is permitted A variance to allow [41:17] building height at 81 feet where up to 48t is permitted Uh a variance from the requirement that all facads on the first [41:24] vertical 60 ft of building shall use natural materials uh brick or stone facing the public realm And a variance [41:29] from the screening and setback requirements for utility equipment Um so this would involve [41:34] removal of the existing forestry office building that's there um that was constructed in 1968 These are some [41:39] photos of the building that's there today Um so the current zoning on the [41:46] site is planned office district 1 The applicants are requesting a reszoning to plan commercial district 2 Uh which [41:52] would allow for the ground floor retail use Uh that would not be allowed under the existing zoning of planned office [41:57] district You can see that the PCD2 is how a lot of the surrounding property is zoned there Uh and kind of the red [42:03] hatched color there Um the site is guided mixeduse center on the future [42:09] land use map of the comprehensive plan Uh these are mixeduse areas intended to serve more than just the surrounding [42:14] neighborhood Grand View and 50th and France are the only two areas within the city that have this designation Uh and [42:20] they are envisioned for a roughly 50/50 split of residential and commercial [42:27] uses Uh in 2012 the Grand View District Development Framework was completed And [42:32] in terms of land use that plan states that the plan emphasizes a mixeduse sub area between Vernon Eden Highway 100 and [42:40] the rail corridor Uh that's kind of the area in orange there in the middle of the slide Um it says "Arcadia is seen as [42:46] a more residential street with a range of condo apartments and multi-level townhouse types Mixed and office [42:52] buildings are anticipated and may be oriented to Vernon and or south toward Eden and Our Lady of Grace Fields." [42:59] Uh here's just another rendering from that plan kind of showing what's depicted for the site and the greater [43:04] Grand View District In 2016 the city completed the Grand View District Transportation Study [43:11] Uh and that plan envisioned a new frontage road along the east side and along the north of the property there Um [43:16] we kind of talked about this bit at the sketch plan review that that's u probably not likely to happen anytime in [43:22] the near future because it would require a replacement of that Eden Avenue bridge and that's um not planned for anytime [43:27] soon Um so here are some renderings of uh [43:33] what is being proposed and the applicant team has some slightly updated renderings um that they'll show [43:39] you Here just some additional views here Um so here's a look at their site [43:46] plan um showing the first floor uses So that commercial tenant that would possibly be a restaurant would occupy [43:52] this space here at the corner down here on the southwest part [43:57] of the building Um there's an outdoor terrace [44:02] along the west and south side of that space um that would be available for that tenant Uh most of the ground level [44:08] would be devoted to vehicle parking Uh there would also be two levels of below grade parking and two above Uh just as [44:14] there is today there would be um two accesses one off of Eden and one off of Arcadia Um the service vehicles would [44:21] primarily use the Eden access Uh they have a designated space within the garage for loading and and trash pickup [44:27] you see there Um they also have an indoor bike storage area and plan to install new 8ft sidewalks along Arcadia [44:34] and Eden Um they as I mentioned they are requesting setback variances on all four [44:39] sides So um this rendering kind of shows the footprint of their building with the required setback So on the west side um [44:47] along Arcadia that's considered the front of the property A 35 setback foot [44:52] setback is required They're at 21 ft Um along the north a all along all the [44:59] other sides a 25 foot setback was required On the north they're at about 4T On the east 11 ft And on the south [45:06] the closest point is 2 feet here Um it's just this corner of the building [45:13] right there Um but you can see most of the building is set further back Um and just a reminder as well there is about a [45:20] 30 ft of rightway there from the edge of the property line to the [45:26] street Um here are some elevations showing kind of what the building is going to look like Um and again there [45:32] there have been some updates to this since the planning commission I'll let the applicant team talk about that a bit but um the building will be primarily [45:38] glass Um originally they were thinking on the ground level there where you see kind of the brown material there was [45:44] going to be a metal panel that was uh kind of look like wood Um with some [45:49] comments from the planning commission they're now looking at doing a stone material [45:56] there Um here's again just some of those materials that they're proposing Um here's the compliance table [46:02] that's from the staff report So um this shows how the proposed project compares to the existing zoning of planned office [46:09] district 1 the proposed zoning uh standards for plan commercial district 2 [46:14] uh as well as how it compares to the PUD that was previously approved in 2023 Um and the items in bold there are [46:22] all the the items where variances are being requested Um the majority of the staff report is devoted to analyzing [46:28] each indiv individual variance Um and kind of to summarize you know staff generally finds those variances to be [46:34] reasonable Um the requests for things like the setback height floor ratio uh we found those are generally consistent [46:41] with um a lot of recently approved projects within the area including the project that was recently approved for [46:47] this site Um so just as a reminder with these each request we have kind of [46:52] different levels of discretion for each So with the reszoning the city has quite a bit of discretion but when we're looking at the variances we're we have a [46:58] little less discretion we're really looking at do um those requests um meet the statutory criteria Um and then with [47:06] site plan review we're really just looking is is the code being met Um so [47:11] staff is recommending approval of this project Um tonight though we're just uh recommending that you close the public hearing at noon on Sunday April 27th and [47:19] continue action to Tuesday May 6th Uh the planning commission considered this item on March 26 and voted 8 to1 to [47:26] recommend approval of the project with the following conditions Uh one that the applicant reconsider the site plan to [47:32] provide a safer pedestrian and bike access to the east entrance of the building along Eden Avenue Uh continue [47:38] the sidewalk along the commercial space of the building to the east entrance and south to provide a connection to the [47:44] sidewalk on Eden Avenue revised the building materials plan to provide natural-looking building materials on [47:50] the ground level at the garage entrances Um and I think you'll see tonight from their presentation that they um have a [47:56] plan in place to address all three of those conditions The last thing I just wanted to make you aware of tonight um is that [48:03] when Highway 100 was originally built um Mindot condemned the roadways surrounding this property and restricted [48:11] access along the areas shown in red there on the screen Um and after the highway project was completed Mindot [48:17] determined they no longer needed control of those roadways and they transferred those rights back to the city Uh which [48:22] included control of um a a no access easement around this [48:28] property Um obviously the applicant would like that removed City staff does not see any [48:33] reason to keep this and would recommend releasing them of that no access restriction Um our respective attorneys [48:40] are still kind of working on the best way to resolve that but I just want to make you aware that that's something that will likely come before you in the [48:45] future Um so with that I'd be happy to take any questions but um the applicant team is here as well to to give their [48:50] presentation All right Anybody have questions for Mr Lewis yes Member can you go back to the pyramid of discussion [48:59] um one of the things that I've been pushing back against is votes where we as council are being asked to in one [49:06] fell one single vote go all the way across the pyramid [49:12] And I think this is not a PUD This could be separate votes you know so we could [49:21] um use our vote in a way that is logical Um so I just want to get that out there [49:29] certainly and I think um you know staff is recommending approval of all the requests If you know there was a [49:34] particular variance that you weren't comfortable with you could approve the other items pull out that variance and [49:40] and make a separate motion if if you were to you know wanted to deny a specific thing Um but you're right they [49:47] could be separate motions Thank you Questions for Mr Mr Lewis [49:54] thank you Um why is it seven parcels today that's a great question I don't [50:00] know how that came to be I don't know either [50:07] Okay So we just never had gone through this process of combining the lots in [50:12] previous reviews basically So we're just doing a little bit of clean up with that specific line item Correct That [50:17] building's been there since 1968 So yeah they maybe just decided to approve that [50:24] building with it as seven parcels since they were all under common ownership Sometimes some cities will do that but [50:30] yeah it's it's kind of a cleanup item Okay thank you And then if we could go back to the compliance table [50:37] Um yeah this one So what was [50:44] confusing to me and I think maybe this is just my misunderstanding in how I'm [50:49] reading this So on the I'm looking at the second setback So the side street to [50:55] Eden Avenue under the PUD it was 10 ft which is 34T [51:01] [Music] from Oh is that the is the 34T feet from [51:06] curb because I guess where I'm confused then is like where are we losing six feet in the proposed but [51:14] maybe I'm being too nitpicky but I just was not tracing that That's a great question Hang on one sec [51:24] Okay And the reason being I really do like to kind of compare to what had been [51:29] improved what were we comfortable with at one point um and how far off are we [51:34] from that and so if we're confident in the you know the 10 feet to the two feet [51:40] that is plenty sufficient for me to just understand that But I I just wanted to make sure there wasn't a discrepancy there Um yeah that's a good question I [51:47] believe you know the setback would have been 10 feet and I think the intent there was that it was 34 feet to you [51:54] know to the curb Um we could go back and verify that and come back at the next [51:59] meeting to maybe try to find out why there's that little discrepancy Okay Um [52:05] so the proposed though we're confident in what's there of the the 21 ft the 2T [52:11] the 4T the 11 ft correct those Y those are the setbacks from the property lines [52:16] okay thank you those were the only like logistic based questions I had for me I think you could just stay right [52:22] on that compliance table because one of the first things I wrote down was and I couldn't remember um before I saw the [52:29] compliance table that seven stories uh that was approved on the prior PUD for an apartment building uh really is a [52:37] foot it was a foot taller that was approved than uh than what we have in front of us now as a possibility at five [52:44] stories and 81 ft So we've got um higher ceilings obviously Yep [52:52] Bigger you know floor plates with um more space floor to floor Exactly Yeah With the with the PUD for the apartment [52:58] building you know they weren't complying with the 20 foot first floor ceiling requirement In this project they are And [53:03] I guess I would assume yeah the other floors have greater ceiling heights as well to get you to about the same height [53:09] as they were at with the seven stories And then the apartment building also involved a floor error ratio of 3.2 as [53:15] opposed to 1.5 And now we're it's being proposed at at two right so the massing [53:20] of this building is quite a bit less Um one thing too um you know you were [53:25] asking about the setback along Eden being two feet compared to what was previously approved with the apartment [53:37] You know this the slide two shows with the apartment that was 10 feet along that whole length of Eden whereas with [53:44] this project but it has that little corner piece that sticks in Otherwise it's 17 feet I think [53:50] Right It's just the corner of that building But yeah most of it is really set back [53:56] And it's 2 ft from the lot line as opposed to do we know how far that is from the street on that corner or the [54:02] curb back of the curb uh well it would be about 32 feet 32 feet I think maybe [54:09] that was in the combined table It was maybe the same question asked differently than what member Agnu asked [54:16] Okay And then you know really where the height of the building is where the five story is is this you know this dash line [54:22] back here So that's further set back [54:30] Okay All right Uh and then would you walk through those uh well I guess a applicant will do it for us but but I [54:36] think it'd be good to have your input too on the three conditions that were imposed by the planning commission As long as you get this site plan up there [54:42] maybe want a different site plan to show us what they were thinking about and uh what you think they've done from an [54:48] applicant standpoint to address those three concerns of the planning commission Yeah So they'll they'll their [54:54] presentation will show it better than kind of the any renderings I have but essentially what they did was the [55:00] planning commission wanted access better better bike and pedestrian access to the site from Eden Um because really your [55:07] kind of only option was to just walk in through the parking area So they've added a sidewalk that comes down here [55:14] And then the other thing was to kind of continue um or I guess provide access to this [55:20] patio from the sidewalk as well So they've got a second walkway that connects to Eden Um and then the other [55:27] was changing out the building materials Um they've made where you kind of see the brown [55:33] this was going to be a wood looking metal panel Um and then here along the entrance to the parking ramp was [55:39] concrete This they're showing now is all like a stone material [55:44] Okay It'll be a wood appearing panel I would think that would be somewhat akin to what we saw in the [55:51] bower Remember that I mean I see it weekly [55:56] So I'm thinking of as a frame of reference Okay That's all that's all the [56:02] questions I have for now Member Agnu has another question for you though If we can go back up to that overlay of the [56:09] setback Um so we have noted I think down in that like lower corner point where [56:15] it's 2 feet is it then similar to 2 feet [56:20] Um kind of just norththeast of that where the [56:26] parking entrance is Um yeah like right thereish Is that also like similar to 2 [56:32] feet um well and that's just the parking area Uh or you know part of part of the [56:38] it's just like a paved area That's not the building Yeah This is the setback to the actual building This is just where [56:44] you're driving into the parking area So like there isn't any building in this kind of triangular piece here Thank you [56:52] If that helps [56:58] Um going to see if I have a rendering that shows that better [57:05] It's like this So like this corner of this building is what's at two feet and then this is all open in here Thank you [57:12] Yeah Okay All right Uh and who do we have with us from the uh Opus Development [57:18] Corporation we have Nick Bernan uh Bob Loken and Matthew Axeman [57:27] Okay Mang good to see you Mr Lo Mr Daxman welcome [57:39] back Good evening Mr Mayor members of council Nice to see you all again Uh my name is Nick Bernan with Opus [57:45] Development I'm joined again by uh Bob Loen and Matt Axeman from ESG Uh thank [57:50] you Addison Appreciate the presentation Uh we'll run through a little more details some updated renderings and then [57:56] we'll focus uh as well on some of the comments that we received from planning commission uh as well as sketch plan [58:02] We've received a lot of really great comments that have enhanced the building quite a bit We're excited to show that tonight Um and then we're here to uh [58:09] answer any questions and have discussion So with that I'll turn it over to Matt Axeman to run through some of those [58:14] changes All right Thanks Mr Man Perfect Thank you All right So we're going to [58:20] quickly run through the couple of meetings we've had um since you first saw this during sketch plan where it was [58:27] um this lovely blue box on the left here So um from sketch plan comments to [58:32] planning commission um a couple of the major ones were shifting um the building and the podium itself further east to [58:38] really increase the setback along Arcadia Um so we've we've go ahead went ahead and pushed the podium portion back [58:45] 17 feet and then additionally the building proper an additional four feet and then we additionally recessed um [58:52] that parking podium uh as noted kind of there on on letter B there Um really what we kind of found in talking to [58:59] folks is that the the the real focus and activity um really wanted to be on [59:04] Arcadia versus what we were previously showing as that pocket park on the corner So we've really started to focus [59:09] the energy and the gravity um of the architectural expression to Arcadia Um [59:14] additionally we added again just to kind of further that Arcadia connection added balconies to that southwest corner of [59:20] the of the building there Um and then obviously um articulated all the facades with the the building material um from [59:28] previous and then uh to compound a little bit on on some of Addison's comments So from planning commission now [59:33] to city council um that upper left image um where we were previously showing a [59:39] portion of the building kind of touching grade with the silver metal panel we've now addressed that material up with [59:45] obviously a more natural um warm material as noted um in the in the [59:50] variance And then obviously hope hoping to kind of bypass that with this this move here So we're showing more of like [59:56] a limestone colored kind of cassota stone material there in a in a more unique pattern Um and then additionally [1:00:02] kind of all the way across this this podium component we've added that material And then on the lower kind of [1:00:09] two images you can see how we've changed the the way that the building is addressed from the east Um if you're [1:00:15] kind of coming across the Eden Bridge there So we've moved the primary entry to that retail component um that [1:00:21] commercial component over to the side so that if you're kind of making your way westbound there's a kind of clear [1:00:26] indication of where to go Um so there's opportunity for additional signage And then obviously the front door there and [1:00:32] the addition of the two sidewalks um just to give a little bit more wayfinding for folks coming from that [1:00:39] direction Um and then again just um the site plan that Addison had had previously pushed or pulled up um noting [1:00:46] specifically uh letters J and letter I there for the additional sidewalks as [1:00:51] egress into the building And then this is just an additional kind of macro um site plan [1:00:58] just in case we want to talk about just proximity to the other kind of urban built environment um as it relates to [1:01:03] the building Um this is an architectural diagram really just to kind of help us [1:01:08] all get on the same sort of vocabulary and lexicon as it relates to the building So there's a couple of of of [1:01:15] nomenclature things that we've been using For instance this this green piece we've really started to kind of coin [1:01:20] this as our dock is you know it's it's a portion of the building that comes out it tucks underneath and really kind of [1:01:26] celebrates the history of of Minnesota And we really like the idea of this being this really natural element So now [1:01:31] clad with a natural warm material and kind of celebrating itself by sticking out into this kind of sea of of [1:01:37] greenery And then additionally uh the building on sticks We're still celebrating that um with our our POT [1:01:44] expression um on the the southeast there [1:01:49] Um we've been working with Damon Farber Landscape Architects and we've we've really started to hone in some of our [1:01:55] planting medium along the um along the Arcadia uh facade there And we're really [1:02:00] just loving the verdant nature of this with with various pollinator mixtures and shrubs and introducing some [1:02:06] additional color into the uh the planting pallet And we still obviously have [1:02:11] maintained this this kind of pocket park um component on the um on the southern [1:02:16] portion of the site We pushed that sidewalk actually out a little bit further So there's a little bit of a crust so you can get to both of the the [1:02:23] uh the crosswalks but it makes it a little bit more safe for pedestrians And then there's a little area kind of tucked into the topography there for [1:02:30] some additional respbit And then here we'll just look through some additional imagery and [1:02:35] renderings again really showcasing the the dock piece as it relates and really juxaposes of the glass building above [1:02:43] it This would be the primary entry off of Arcadia There's a series of cascading [1:02:48] steps with integrated seating You can see there's also opportunity along this wrapping kind of porch component for [1:02:53] additional seating There we go Um this is a just a [1:03:01] a more zoomed in image of the the kind of previous one from the entry condition coming from the Eden [1:03:08] Bridge And then lastly here just a a kind of golden hour kind of showcasing again this this dock element coming out [1:03:14] and greeting the street and then just the kind of plethora of of greenscape that we've we've developed with Damon [1:03:20] Farber um to really capture the the architecture as it meets the [1:03:27] ground That's what we got Yeah Thank you Um questions from council members or [1:03:36] comments at this point in time member RER um thank you for the [1:03:42] presentation and I did listen to the planning commission and um one thing [1:03:48] that I do want to say is I do appreciate how you are sizing this for your needs [1:03:54] and um I think it's important to you know not necessarily [1:04:01] say "Oh you should be going higher You should have more floors You should because you know what you need." Um so I [1:04:08] I wanted to get that out there My one concern is the imperous surfaces and if [1:04:15] there's anything you can do to reduce that and just context u the work session that we had before [1:04:21] you gave your presentation for your previous plan focused on our water [1:04:27] quality and one of the things that we're doing and all of those buildings that um [1:04:33] Mr Lewis showed where we have all these setbacks that we've done Part of the reason we don't have very great water [1:04:40] quality is we keep granting a lot of setbacks We get more impervious surface [1:04:47] And so if there's anything you can do and it it looks like you're you're trying a lot but you're still you know [1:04:54] covering a lot of that space So that's my only concern [1:05:01] Thank you member anything at this point in time [1:05:07] i think my immediate reaction especially when I'm looking at this visual is I'm really excited about the landscaping Um [1:05:14] especially for this corner that feels inviting into the overall site So really [1:05:20] nice work on on at least the visuals related to the landscaping [1:05:25] Um I I will admit I was maybe a little [1:05:31] I'm not I don't know what word When we saw this before I was like it's just a big [1:05:37] box And now it's a big glass box so it's still [1:05:43] kind of box-like Um and I don't know if there's a way to get around that because I know that you need you're trying to [1:05:50] optimize the space Um so I'm just trying to like internally [1:05:55] come to like um being okay with that right because I I guess I don't know what else I would um recommend adding [1:06:04] from like a different layering perspective Um but I I do really appreciate the inclusion of the [1:06:11] transparency and glass and I I do feel like overall this feels like a modern um [1:06:17] kind of addition to the area So um I know that wasn't even really good [1:06:22] feedback but that was just again my initial reaction but love the green space that you're doing I did have one [1:06:28] question and this maybe actually routes over to um director Milner Um but when [1:06:34] we think about that overall connectivity to this area and I appreciated you including that um visual within in this [1:06:40] as well will we probably take this on at a later point but do we think about like where [1:06:47] we might be adding in a crosswalk or enhancing that pedestrian experience [1:06:53] beyond what we already have today i don't know if that's something you can speak to this early in the process [1:06:58] Um well we've done a lot right there at the roundabout There's three crosswalks there I probably wouldn't add anything [1:07:05] towards the bridge because pedestrians have no destinations there And then I [1:07:11] think the one thing we want this project to work with us and Mindot is that hill [1:07:16] uh the Mindot offramp between Hilltop and this project We want to so just off [1:07:21] the screen to the north if you can pull it down a little bit we want to definitely enhance that portion And then [1:07:28] in the future you can see that one crosswalk way on the top by the heart link there I think that one needs to be [1:07:33] enhanced at some point too So um we're always looking for those pieces to make [1:07:38] things better for crossings That's where I was really thinking about it is um [1:07:44] kind of extending the bridge that we have um the pedestrian bridge and how [1:07:51] um if then they route up and then walk down and kind of what that full experience looks like just knowing that [1:07:58] the the main pedestrian entrance is there on Arcadia Just trying to think [1:08:03] through that experience of where are these pedestrians then coming from and how do they navigate to that portion of [1:08:09] the site Um I think there's one more piece is what are we going to do on the other side of the street with our own [1:08:15] property So there's a good opportunity when that one comes that we might have a nice crosswalk right on that north west [1:08:23] corner of this facility with whatever is done on that site and that could be a great time to look at those additional [1:08:28] things Okay So definitely opportunity but we'll kind of wait and see Okay Thank you [1:08:34] Those are the main questions that I had Thanks All right Thank you I'm going to go back to member Russer Um one I do love your design I think it [1:08:42] is very very good and um I I like the transparency I like the dark lines Um I [1:08:48] think it's broken up enough so that there's kind of a pattern and it's not just a you know solid box U I do walk in [1:08:56] this area a lot And um what I've sensed is there tends to be more pedestrian [1:09:02] flow along Eden Avenue And so I think actually the little pocket space that [1:09:08] you are creating I could actually see people using that And my husband and I [1:09:13] were walking along France and there's that little pocket park um north of Restoration Hardware and we were and I'm [1:09:19] like we need to stop and experience this And but I you know I was kind of wondering how many people actually hang [1:09:27] out in the pocket parks that we're creating And I do actually think there could be people here waiting you know to [1:09:33] meet somebody to go up to Hilltop You know I I could see this one actually getting some use So I think that's a [1:09:41] good thing Yeah we were excited to bring the sidewalk away from the roundabout a bit We had heard some comments about you [1:09:47] know just when people are coming into the roundabout they're coming in a little fast So I think by bringing the sidewalk a little bit north and away [1:09:54] from the uh the curb and away from the edge of the roundabout creates a nice little pocket park area that's a little [1:09:59] safer than if you were kind of right up against the edge Yeah that's a very interesting elevation [1:10:05] And I think that southwest elevation to to give you a real sense of how you [1:10:11] connect to what we've done with the roundabout and and the and the crosswalks and uh as you point out Mr [1:10:18] Manan setting the sidewalks potentially further back uh away from traffic to [1:10:23] enhance a sense of pedestrian safety I think really important sort of uh changes that you made from sketch [1:10:31] plan You know I'm going to bring Mr Lewis back up here I forgot to ask him a couple of questions that were um were [1:10:38] fundamental to the to the work that we do and and I'm sure this was done in conjunction with the development team [1:10:43] and the architects One of the one of the things that if we move forward on this we'd have to [1:10:49] approve the reasonzoning to PCD2 and and I guess you know we know [1:10:54] that there's a lot of other properties in that neighborhood that are PCD2 But with respect to this particular piece of [1:11:00] property could you explain why you kind of settled in on the best way to go forward on this would be PCD2 as opposed [1:11:07] to PUB or some other um zoning classification Yeah So PCD2 is [1:11:13] kind of the main commercial district that we've used at um at Grand View primarily and and 50th [1:11:21] in France Um it is kind of a a mixeduse district It allows them to do the uses [1:11:27] they're proposing So office with some kind of possibility for a retail tenant [1:11:32] or um a restaurant in this ground floor level It gives them that flexibility where the current zoning would not have [1:11:38] allowed that Um and as far as whether to do um you know a PCD2 versus a PUD um we [1:11:46] kind of talked about that a little bit at the at the sketch plan We you know asked for feedback from the planning commission and the council and I think [1:11:52] what we heard was that there was a preference to stop using PD so much um and and rely on our conventional [1:11:59] districts with variances Um you know Pud is a good tool It gives a lot of flexibility We have a lot of discretion [1:12:05] with it Um but I think really it's best used for you know really kind of like [1:12:11] unique projects that can't fit within a conventional district Um where you can't [1:12:17] really write a district like things things that are just like really unique Um so this this worked well and um yeah [1:12:25] I think it will work for us Yeah And as a result of settling in on that zoning designation I guess that triggered the [1:12:32] variances So you've got eight variances we that we need to deal with eight variance [1:12:38] requests and and we know that you from a staff standpoint support this and have [1:12:44] done that analysis but I think it would be helpful for uh others to know uh what [1:12:50] the standards are for a variance and why you believe from a staff standpoint and why the planning commission which voted [1:12:56] 8 to1 to recommend approval to the council decided that they would uh be [1:13:01] comfortable with these uh these eight vari [1:13:16] ES All right So as you mentioned we for variances we rely on uh criteria that's [1:13:22] outlined in state statute So that criteria includes um the variance would be in harmony with the general purposes [1:13:27] and intent uh of the ordinance the variance would be consistent with [1:13:33] the comprehensive plan Uh and then three is that there are practical difficulties in complying with the ordinance The term [1:13:39] practical difficulties means the following Uh that the property owner proposes to use the property in a [1:13:44] reasonable manner not permitted by the zoning [1:13:50] ordinance That the plight of the land owner is due to circumstances unique to the property not created by the land [1:13:55] owner and that the variance if granted will not alter the essential character of the locality Um so we we analyzed [1:14:02] each variance against that criteria So it's uh probably 15 pages of the staff [1:14:08] report Um but I think kind of to summarize um you know what they're proposing is really consistent with our [1:14:14] comp plan There's I think as we've kind of talked about there's a little bit of a disconnect between what our zoning ordinance allows and what our um what [1:14:22] our small area plans and what our comp plans Yeah What they what they got right so [1:14:28] um I think and that and that's kind of why we've relied on on PUB quite a bit So um in general you know we find that [1:14:34] this really advances a lot of goals of the comprehensive plan Um you know they've really done a good job to to um [1:14:42] improve kind of the pedestrian environment Um I think injecting you know 300 daytime workers into this area [1:14:47] is really going to do a lot to support those surrounding businesses Um and then also as we kind of noted throughout here [1:14:54] that um it's it's reasonable and that it's really consistent with what was already approved for this site in terms [1:15:00] of the height the setbacks floor ratio as well as other properties in the Grand View District [1:15:07] Thanks for that member One thing I if we could set some kind of policy because [1:15:14] when you look at that chart and you look at the setback variances and you see two feet and you're like um and then you see [1:15:22] the drawing that has the red line around it and you better understand that that two feet is just a couple pinch points [1:15:29] and I really feel like it would help with transparency if when we have the [1:15:35] chart we also have that image below or above the chart So people can look at it [1:15:41] and go you know this isn't a case where the building is going to be you know [1:15:48] twice the legal buildable area or something like that or two feet from the street right ex So I Exactly But I think [1:15:56] and there are so many people who are visual learners and and you really don't when you look at the chart it is [1:16:02] so unhelpful Um Yep Yeah that's understood and and yeah [1:16:09] I maybe could have done a better job of explaining that to in my presentation because that's the kind of context we try to try to give in the presentation [1:16:16] The other thing I would know too in comparison to the last project that was approved you know I think that was [1:16:22] um not only was it a 10 you know 10 ft but it was I believe you know six seven [1:16:28] stories along here whereas this project yes it's it's two feet but it's just [1:16:34] this corner that's two feet and this is only one story the mass of the building is shifted way back from Eden Avenue as [1:16:40] well So that's that's just kind of another piece of the context that I think helps explain that justification [1:16:46] for the two-foot setback variance Thank you Thanks for that I don't have any [1:16:52] further questions at this point in time Uh my colleagues any further questions for [1:16:58] Yes go ahead Member Agnu Thank you so much Um so as we are looking through all [1:17:05] of the variance components the the last one number eight is a variance from the screening and setback requirements for [1:17:14] utility equipment specifically Can you just highlight that for me on this visual yes So there's going to be like a [1:17:22] transformer um located here Um because the utility [1:17:27] equipment is greater than 36 ft it's supposed to meet the building setback Um I believe they're kind of limited by [1:17:34] where Excel wants to place it Um the other thing is that the it's supposed to be screened and the screening is [1:17:39] supposed to be on their property They're going to screen it but some of the screening is going to be located within the rightway but they have kind of cut [1:17:46] out a notch in the building that kind of it's sort of tucked into So that helps screen it kind of from some of the other [1:17:51] sides Plus they're their landscaping plan shows um more vegetation here to [1:17:56] screen it Thank you Yeah thanks for that Good question All right Um gentlemen uh Mr Manan Mr Lo [1:18:05] Mr Axman stand by We're going to open this up for public testimony Mr Lewis thanks for the [1:18:10] presentation and um uh as we indicated when we started this conversation This [1:18:16] is a public hearing matter and people are certainly welcome to testify Uh our practice is that you'll have three [1:18:22] minutes and you'll get a um you know green light You can you can [1:18:28] just start speaking Don't worry about the lighting system but you'll get a yellow light when you got 30 seconds to go And then so to make sure that we [1:18:34] shoot everybody equally from a time standpoint when you hit the when you see the red light come on just try to wrap up your comments so that uh we're giving [1:18:41] everybody equal time So if you're interested in testifying regarding this matter uh of whether the conditional use [1:18:48] or whether the um uh variance requests and the zoning uh change ought to be [1:18:55] made uh on this particular piece of property Uh please feel free to come [1:19:05] forward Not seeing anybody coming forward Not hearing anything Um let's check online to see if you have anybody [1:19:12] that wants to testify regarding this matter Thank you your honor I do not have anyone online at this time but [1:19:17] because there is a short delay in the broadcast I would recommend we wait one minute or so Um giving people that time [1:19:24] to do so My clock shows that it's 7:19 I'll come back to you at 7 8:20 I'm [1:19:30] sorry 8:19 Back to you at 8:20 or when I have a caller whichever is first Okay Uh [1:19:38] while we're waiting for that I just want to indicate to people that uh we've been in the practice of taking public [1:19:43] testimony the night of the public hearing but also leaving it open for further public input uh to to the [1:19:50] following uh Sunday noon And that can be done either verbally by calling city [1:19:55] hall leaving a message or sending something in online Uh and that's what staff is recommending again in this [1:20:02] particular matter And that's what we're going to do I think is that'll be the motion that'll be made would be to close [1:20:07] the public hearing at noon close the close the public input at noon on Sunday April 27th and then continue this for [1:20:14] action by the city council on Tuesday May 6th [1:20:35] It is now 8:20 and I still don't have a caller so I think it's safe for you to move forward with the agenda Good We've [1:20:41] got a recommended motion as I indicated from staff that we close the public input uh in this matter on Sunday at [1:20:49] noon that's April 27th 2025 and continue the action to the Tuesday May 6 2025 [1:20:54] city council meeting Is there a motion to that effect i second Second We got a motion by member Risser second by member [1:21:01] Agnu to adopt the motion as stated Any further discussion all those in favor of adoption of the motion as stated say I I [1:21:08] I Opposed Carried Uh the testimony in this matter will be accepted through [1:21:14] noon on Sunday uh April 27th and we'll continue the action to the city council [1:21:19] meeting on May 6th Thank you Mr Lewis Nicely done And gentlemen as well Thank [1:21:27] you and we'll see uh first first Tuesday in [1:21:35] May The only other public hearing matter we have in front of us this evening involves um something that the city has [1:21:43] been working on with neighborhood and uh businesses residents uh over in the [1:21:48] Lincoln London area We've done a small area plan over there and um Mr Lewis has [1:21:55] this matter as well He's worked hard on this from a staff standpoint We've got some really uh outstanding [1:22:02] uh people on the on the planning commission that have helped guide this work And then we've got an excellent uh [1:22:09] outside consultant uh in Zack Locker and his group Men Collaborative I think that [1:22:14] has done very good work here Um this is going to be the same process I think that the staff's going to recommend on [1:22:20] this particular matter We're going to have a presentation and we're going to open it up for public testimony and then we're going to let public input occur [1:22:27] until April 27th at noon on that Sunday and then continue it to the May 6th city [1:22:33] council meeting So I'm going to turn back now to Mr Lewis uh to uh guide us into this conversation about the um the [1:22:40] small area plan work that was done and the uh proposed course of action next Mr [1:22:45] Lewis thank you Mayor and Council Um so we're here tonight to present to you the Lincoln and London area small area plan [1:22:51] Uh this was a 2024 work plan item for the planning commission Commissioners Day Felt and Miranda were the assigned [1:22:58] leads for this item Uh commissioners day and felt are here this evening with us Um there was um six additional members [1:23:05] that made up the rest of the working group that worked on this project Uh those individuals were Nancy Spanis uh [1:23:11] Steve Brown who I see is here tonight Jagnasha Panda Karen Griffith Jim Dy and Russ Rubin Uh the city hired Men [1:23:18] Collaborative as a consultant to assist with this project Zach Lockroom is the project manager Um and he's here tonight [1:23:23] to present an overview of the plan Um the plan was recommended unanimously by the planning commission on March 12th [1:23:30] The intent is that we would adopt the small area plan as an amendment to the comprehensive plan uh which would then require review by the metropolitan [1:23:36] council So the action requested tonight is a motion to close the public hearing at noon on Sunday April 27th and [1:23:43] continue action to Tuesday May 6th Um one thing I just did want to mention real quick before I hand it over to Zach [1:23:48] Um in the staff report there was a comment from engineering with some some recommended uh language for one of the [1:23:54] recommendations um regarding the trail going over 169 When we come back on the 6 we're just going to revise that [1:24:01] language is to incorporate uh engineering's recommended language but that is a pretty minor change Um but [1:24:07] yeah with that I'm going to hand it over to Zach to run through the plan All right Thanks Mr Loose Oh I'm sorry Yeah we're gonna hand it over to the [1:24:13] commissioners here All right [1:24:20] Commissioner welcome Thank you Both commissioners Yeah I think we're both going to talk a [1:24:27] little bit here And make sure you identify yourself for the record too please My name is Mary [1:24:32] Weatherfeld I live at 4116 Grimes Avenue South Um and before I start I want to [1:24:39] acknowledge all of the work that Lou Miranda has done as the planning commission chair for the Lincoln London [1:24:45] Small Area Plan He worked on this diligently for much of the past year and [1:24:50] only because he's not here tonight am I helping to introduce this um [1:24:56] report So how to plan for our city has always been a topic and some has been a [1:25:01] topic and sometimes intense debate Um what can individuals and businesses do [1:25:06] with their land what are the needs of the community the city the region and the state what are the existing [1:25:12] conditions how is the site currently zoned where do we want it to go if we [1:25:18] want to be responsible to residents who live here businesses that operate here and to the health and well-being of our [1:25:24] children it is important to take the time to take into all the information that goes in to the planning of our [1:25:30] communities We need to identify and understand the place the people views traffic [1:25:38] engineering infrastructure shared amenities land use and land values This [1:25:43] happens through gathering information from our planning staff engineering staff urban planners and by talking to [1:25:49] and listening to each other This is why our city takes the time to do small area [1:25:55] plans It is both for hearing the residents and businesses in communities but is also to allow us um as [1:26:03] individuals to participate in learning about each other our city and how we learn to engage in building our [1:26:09] community I appreciate the city allowing us to learn through this SAP process And I also appreciate men for spending this [1:26:16] past year helping us understand I'd also like to thank man in to in [1:26:21] guiding us in through this plan and creating a document that is both comprehensive and I feel clearly written [1:26:28] Um and I also want to thank the people that joined our group I know um Addison already has but um these people were [1:26:35] homeowners retirees some currently working former commission members new residences lifelong residents current [1:26:42] business owners and former business owners I'd like to thank um Jim Jagnasha Corey Russ Nancy and Steve for taking [1:26:50] the time to participate listen provide feedback and most importantly to share [1:26:55] what they have learned with their neighbors Thank you Thank you Commissioner [1:27:03] Hey welcome again Yeah Hello again Uh Ryan Day 6808 Chapel Lane and a member [1:27:09] of the planning commission and one of the chairs of this small area plan Um so thanks May brother for that introduction [1:27:16] um piece as we segue into what I want to talk about a little bit before we get into the presentation um because it's [1:27:21] extremely important to highlight I think as part of this process is the team engagement with the community and how we [1:27:26] did that Um so you know in order to engage with the community and come up [1:27:31] with this small area plan uh we did a number of things So we had public engagement events at the Caribou Coffee [1:27:37] over there Um the we had a couple events at Walnut Ridge Park I know Mr Mayor you [1:27:43] were there at one of them and we actually went and uh were able to tour one of the small business building small [1:27:48] business building form of public engagement over there at the building That's right That's right We got a personal private tour Um you know we did [1:27:56] during the Walnut Ridge uh park event we did a bike tour and a walking tour So I was able to take part in the bike tour [1:28:01] where we kind of explained to residents you know what the initial thoughts were on things uh what a small area plan is [1:28:08] intended to do what the limitations are right so it's not simply us coming in and developing the area and prescribing [1:28:15] exactly what goes in there but really giving a overall vision and using that to guide us as we go forward Um we did [1:28:22] uh another I guess sorry another public engagement piece that was a crucial part of this was a business survey uh with [1:28:28] the different businesses in the area as you're familiar with there are a few small businesses in the area um because [1:28:34] that is one of the very small uh pieces of the city that's remained P Um so that [1:28:40] business survey I I need to give a lot of credit to Steve Brown who's here um for really leading that Um but we went [1:28:48] through and talked to all the different business owners there and said you know and asked them what were their plans uh [1:28:53] for the future you know what did they want to see what did the area need the most So we took that into consideration [1:28:59] as well with resident feedback So um very important piece Uh once we [1:29:04] collected all the engagement uh or all the feedback uh with the from the public uh we did several draft reviews with [1:29:11] residents and I know the council as well Um we had I think those were very [1:29:16] uh well done you know in terms of how we engage with people Uh we had kind of [1:29:22] really interactive quizzes um which you know I wasn't allowed to take part in because I knew the answers right away Um [1:29:28] but the residents sure seem to like that Um there's a lot of hands-on activities in terms of visioning out the space and [1:29:35] kind of seeing all right if if you were to go down Nine Mile Creek and you were to put you know a mass transit lane here [1:29:42] or if you were to put an extended curb what how would that actually fit in the area and stuff um so I think that really helped people visualize the space Um so [1:29:49] at the end of the day you know we got a lot of different perspectives Um which is a very good thing right we we really [1:29:55] really tried and mend really did a good job of seeking out input and not trying [1:30:01] to direct the conversation Really you know wanting to hear from others rather than prescribe what we wanted to hear [1:30:07] and just waiting for other people to give that back to us Um very very well done and um with that I guess I'll turn [1:30:16] to Zach to give the presentation on on the plan itself All right Thanks Commissioner Mr Locker welcome Well [1:30:22] thank you for having me tonight Um I'm glad to be here uh Mr Mayor and and council members um to talk a little bit [1:30:29] about the small area plan Um as you know we started this project um around a year [1:30:34] ago Um we did this in uh four phases Um the first starting in May and June we [1:30:40] took the time to really work to understand both the community perspective on the site as well as really digging into the data and [1:30:46] analysis that we needed to do in order to help think about what could happen in the future Um second phase we called [1:30:53] envision um happened roughly from July through September and it's where we began to actually present some of the [1:30:59] potential ideas for the area and really begin to dig into those with community members in more depth Um finally in [1:31:06] October and December we brought those more finalized and more vetted ideas back to the community Um worked to [1:31:12] ensure that we were moving towards consensus about um opportunities to move [1:31:17] forward and really thinking about implementation steps as a part of that And now we are here in what we call the [1:31:22] adopt phase Um we'll talk quite a bit in this presentation about the community engagement I want to have you understand [1:31:28] how the plan itself developed out of the process that we had But as um our our [1:31:35] commissioners pointed out we did do pretty extensive engagements Um they included a number of community workshops [1:31:41] Um the business owner survey One thing that I particularly want to point out is [1:31:47] um we tried to evaluate along the way who we were reaching and look at whether [1:31:53] or not there were potential gaps So you see you know on this slide the events that happened in July for example the [1:31:58] popups at the Caribou and the Loaden um apartments That was really a response to seeing at the first community workshop [1:32:05] You know we're not totally sure we're getting the visitor or shopper experience and we're not totally sure we're getting a lot of renter feedback [1:32:10] So wanted to try and go to specific areas where we could make sure that we were adding that feedback into the whole [1:32:16] as we were moving through it Um in our first workshop we really focused on [1:32:22] asking people what they love about this area today and what they felt is miss missing Um we discovered that people [1:32:28] really love the natural environment The trail really was the centerpiece and the heart of the community in a lot of ways [1:32:34] and the creek Um and then we also heard from community members that we wanted to hear more third spaces So the use at [1:32:43] Caribou and some of the other um spaces that actually serve as gathering points um in the neighborhood were very very [1:32:48] important to people and there was a lot of interest in seeing small retail of that type continuing to expand in the [1:32:54] area as well Um there were a number of other um needs and themes that that came [1:33:00] out of it We heard about um wanting to make sure that we're working on not increasing traffic that we are looking [1:33:06] at ways to make the streets safer and more comfortable to cross and to be around Um with regards to housing we [1:33:13] heard kind of a lot of different directions We there was not really a community consensus that immediately [1:33:19] emerged when we talked about housing Um some folks feeling that they really wanted to see a lot more housing in that [1:33:24] area others who felt like other uses were were better in that And so that became an area where we tried to [1:33:29] continue to receive more feedback and work to um clarify some of that Um the [1:33:37] connection to nature uh was more or less unanimous as was um the real desire to [1:33:42] see community and spaces and businesses grow in that area So based on this first [1:33:47] round of feedback we developed a set of community priorities in these six areas and from that also developed a vision [1:33:55] statement along with our working group So in 20 240 the Lincoln Londonair area will be a welcoming gateway to western [1:34:01] Edina There will be shops restaurants homes and jobs all in a natural setting along NM Creek It will be thoughtfully [1:34:07] and sustainably designed blending eco-friendly amenities with natural beauty The area will be easy to get to [1:34:13] and move around in with bike lanes and trails walking paths bus stops and carefully integrated parking The Lincoln [1:34:18] and Londereerry area will be a great place to live work gather fostering community and encouraging people to use [1:34:24] the trails and gathering spaces And then we also wrote priority statements around each of these areas I won't read these [1:34:30] all out loud but these were really the goals that when we started developing recommendations we had to come back to and say are we actually meeting these [1:34:36] priorities in with the recommendations that have been developed now it was about at this time [1:34:42] we and and actually coming into the project we knew that one of the key issues that we were going to face is an issue of sewer capacity And this has [1:34:48] been an issue that had been a topic of conversation in the area for a long time The um key finding here is that the [1:34:55] sewage capacity is nearly fully utilized not just for the Lincoln London area but for all of the area that you see in [1:35:01] orange um in that um western part of Edina So it's a much much larger issue than um just this area Um there are a [1:35:09] number of um options to help deal with the capacity or lack of capacity for new [1:35:14] development in this area There's a potential to shift capacity on its site Um at its most simple that is if you [1:35:20] have a building with six toilets and you take it down you can put six new toilets somewhere else Um at its most basic um [1:35:28] there is an opportunity potentially to connect some of the parcels to the Minnotonka system Um it is unclear [1:35:34] whether that would be a short or long-term solution and again it would only impact the parcels that are north [1:35:39] of um London Derry um within the area or there is the much larger much longer [1:35:46] term potential to actually upgrade Edina system within this whole area So as it relates to this small area [1:35:53] plan that kind of created a large um known unknown for us in trying to think about how we would move forward with a [1:36:00] set of recommendations And so ultimately what we decided to do was sort of bifurcate the plan Um there's a series [1:36:06] of current capability recommendations things that we can do today that would improve the public realm that would [1:36:12] improve the quality of open space uh mobility issues and other things like that as well as some potential minor [1:36:19] changes to land use um and setting up policies that could influence future de development that we can take care of [1:36:26] today And then at a future time once this has been resolved which is most likely something that would happen in [1:36:32] your next comp plan cycle um there are recommendations that would what would we [1:36:37] do if this sewage capacity issue were no longer an issue um those require more [1:36:43] major changes to land use and major changes to circulation within the study area So we took that back to the [1:36:50] community and started to have conversations um about more specifics around some of these potential [1:36:56] recommendations looking at qualities of open space looking at types of housing that people were interested types of [1:37:02] urban design that people were interested in and um really start to dig down a [1:37:07] little bit deeper in terms of what people were looking for in some of these areas when they were looking at some potential recommendations Um so we did [1:37:16] also this was a question that we were getting engagement So we started asking people what neighborhood they lived in as we were doing both online and [1:37:22] in-person engagement and found that mostly folks were coming from the adjacent neighborhoods Breston Park and [1:37:28] Parkwood Nolles Um the community really prioritized green spaces and environmental stewardship um getting [1:37:34] around safely and thinking about the local businesses as kind of key issues within that and they showed a preference [1:37:39] for smaller scale private outdoor spaces for natural gardens and natural building materials when we're talking about what [1:37:45] type of development or open spaces should be in the area So from this we [1:37:51] developed as I said these sort of two different directions in the plan both what we can do today and what we can do [1:37:56] in the future I'm not going to go through every recommendation here I know you've all seen the report but um this is a summary of the short-term [1:38:03] improvements you'll see that there's um quite a few elements that relate to policy um and and updating city policy [1:38:10] There are open space improvements there are water quality improvements there are mobility improvements as a part of this [1:38:18] um component In the longer term um we looked at what [1:38:23] would development redevelopment look like prioritizing the different elements [1:38:29] that the community has put forward for us Um so this um longer term shows some [1:38:34] of that Um we were somewhat agnostic about land uses knowing that the market [1:38:39] is going to change significantly in that amount of time So the way that we've drawn this um there are elements in here [1:38:45] for example putting smaller housing uh town houses specifically closer to the [1:38:50] existing neighborhood larger buildings closer to the highway some of those sorts of things But ultimately a lot of [1:38:57] the buildings especially when we're talking about the things towards the highway those could in the future m it [1:39:02] could remain light industrial they could move towards office or commercial space [1:39:07] they could move towards retail or they could move towards housing really depending on what the market is looking like at those times The overall strategy [1:39:14] though of larger closer to the highway smaller closer to the neighborhood was very important in that We also looked at [1:39:21] ways of incorporating additional green spaces with redevelopment that might happen in these areas and really tried [1:39:27] to think about the ways that we could improve the quality of the trails improve mobility and improve circulation [1:39:33] in the area as well So we brought these final recommendations back to the public [1:39:39] and we did an online it was a sort of polling technology that we used to [1:39:44] really ask people um about each of these recommendations Do you feel like it is [1:39:50] matching the community priorities and do you think it should be a priority for implementation and so for us that was [1:39:56] just a test with that group of of community members to really see um are these recommendations have we have we [1:40:03] gotten to a place where we not necessarily everybody agrees 100% with everyone but do we have an overall consensus um and are happy to report [1:40:10] that we were we were largely seeing um and I think entirely seeing that we were [1:40:15] well on the side of of majority support for these recommendations and feeling like we had met the goals of um actually [1:40:23] reflecting the community priorities that had been put forward as well So um with that I will stop and I'd be happy to [1:40:30] take questions Yeah thank you for that Mr Locker Um very very well done and [1:40:36] thank you again for the work of mend with our team absolutely that worked on this small area plan our residents [1:40:43] businesses all the folks that were involved that were that were named but everybody that participated from the [1:40:48] neighborhoods and and the broader community as well it helped you build a pretty good product right here So glad [1:40:55] to hear that and some nice recommendations Uh questions for Mr Lockam or for the planning commissioners [1:41:01] that are present member Thank you Thank you so much for your presentation Um and [1:41:07] I just I do want to start by thanking and celebrating the great work of the planning commission and all of the work [1:41:14] that you did to really integrate um voices across the community And I think [1:41:20] that a lot of that was really evident too in the conversation that happened about this um during the planning [1:41:26] commission meeting And just again want to emphasize like I think from my vantage point it looks like you did an [1:41:32] amazing job of bringing a lot of voices to the table So great work and thank you Um I have one kind of like specific [1:41:39] question just to clarify So when we're looking at kind of the difference between those slides of the [1:41:46] um current capacity recommendations like what I'm thinking of as like being short-term because then on the next [1:41:52] slide you say long-term visioning is the real distinction And the only distinction between these two the [1:41:59] capacity for the most part yes I there were some things that we sort of also pushed into [1:42:05] that that capacity dependent that technically you could do them now but [1:42:11] without having adjacent redevelopment happening the financial burden of doing [1:42:17] it doesn't necessarily make sense So for example some of the circulation things you could technically you could do those [1:42:22] right now but without sort of having that redevelopment happening just fiscally it likely wouldn't make sense [1:42:29] So we we tried to kind of match up the recommendations with how they kind of [1:42:34] fit into the community as a whole um to make sure that there was a funding [1:42:39] strategy for them a implementation strategy for them that really made sense based on what might be happening at at [1:42:47] different time periods Okay And that that really helps And I know that this was also a topic in the the planning um [1:42:54] commission discussion about it but we know that there's capacity constraints [1:43:00] And so I appreciate you kind of delineating of like here's what you can [1:43:05] do now and you should do now or what this could look like in the short term compared to once this big open question is solved [1:43:15] this is what could potentially be unlocked Um and in some ways like I I heard um I think it was Commissioner [1:43:22] Honan I think like some of her like frustrations as well Um and I I don't know how we would have [1:43:29] gotten around that in this part of it So I appreciate and I know that there have been other like area plans that were [1:43:36] like we have water problems How do we navigate this so I appre I appreciate [1:43:42] having those two perspectives of here's the vision that we can unlock [1:43:48] together as a community if and when we prioritize um tour capacity Yeah I Well and I think [1:43:54] you know one of the things that we heard quite a bit you know ju just you know and it's it's not necessarily within my [1:44:01] memory but you know the trail is relatively new there You know for a long time when this was built um 9M Creek was [1:44:08] kind of like that's like our back channel sewage dump you know for these sites It wasn't really seen as that [1:44:14] important the trail has really become the beloved centerpiece of this community And I think that shows that [1:44:21] even without the ability to do major land use things right now there's a lot [1:44:27] that can still be done to improve beautify and improve quality of life in this space And so trying to create a [1:44:34] plan that didn't wasn't reliant on something that we can't control quite [1:44:40] yet and is quite a ways off into the future while still saying this place has a lot of value to the people who are [1:44:45] living there right now and there is a lot of things that we can do to continue that improvement even while we're waiting for those answers I think was [1:44:51] really important to us and important in what we heard from the community as well And just another thing that I really [1:44:58] appreciate with the work that you put into this was concluding this with the I [1:45:04] think what was on oh well I have say page 764 the final workshop outcomes um [1:45:10] so where it's kind of giving that pulse of how well does this fit into what you [1:45:17] are all hoping for um because I I think that the biggest complexity in doing some of [1:45:25] these analyses or these projects is there is no way to meet everyone's needs [1:45:31] Yeah we can't make everyone happy Not every person who is engaged in the process will see the totality of their [1:45:36] desires within the final project And then those are sometimes the people [1:45:42] that you hear from right of uh well this isn't exactly what I wanted and therefore my voice wasn't listened to [1:45:49] And I think that we've often struggled as a council of how do you [1:45:55] still engage people and make people feel heard while also not necessarily being [1:46:02] able to align to everybody's wishes and desires And so being able to take this [1:46:07] and then conclude it with a numerical what's the data behind how does how do [1:46:13] the collective feel I think was a really really nice way of doing this and I hope [1:46:19] it's something that we can take on to future like small area planning projects that we're doing of giving people that [1:46:26] opportunity to collectively reflect on how closely does this match and I would [1:46:32] never expect fives across the board Right Um but I think it also is that [1:46:37] good pulse check of if it's two or three like what did we do wrong or or how are we so far off um so I just I really want [1:46:44] to emphasize I appreciate the the emphasis you all took on on that [1:46:49] community engagement and then making sure that those desires were reflected [1:46:54] in as much of a way as possible Absolutely Yeah I I for what it's worth I really love this tool Um the images [1:47:01] you see the the red number in the dot is the average but the little slope that's [1:47:06] coming is actually the distribution of votes So you know sometimes you get things where there's a whole bunch of people at zero and a whole bunch of [1:47:11] people at five and you're seeing that too And it it really is useful I think for people in the room because it it [1:47:18] does you know you could be sitting in a room and think well everybody totally agrees with me and you know the the [1:47:24] loudest voice kind of gets it This really gives you a very quick visual Oh I can see where the room is at um from a [1:47:32] wide variety of people And so we don't we don't know what the outcomes are going to be I was very happy with the [1:47:37] way that this turned out um in terms of um it you know we we felt that we had done the work that we were going to be [1:47:44] in that air range of consensus Um but um it it is it is a very useful tool and I [1:47:50] honestly I even think in that meeting from the questions that start happened before we started this polling to the [1:47:57] discussion that happened after the polling um some of the tenor in the room changed I think people were pleasantly [1:48:04] surprised or happy with where they saw outcomes go within it So um it's always nice to see [1:48:11] member Rouser thank you for all your work and I echo um [1:48:16] what member Eggnu has just said So um one of the things that I was thinking [1:48:22] about is you're talking about industrial zoned land Um but here in Edina we have [1:48:30] allowed um a business the Drooling Moose to sell product directly to public Yeah [1:48:37] And so I'm wondering maybe this is a question for our attorney but it seems [1:48:43] that with all that industrial land um you know I guess I don't understand how [1:48:52] that is a is aligned with our code or if we could create you know some kind of [1:48:58] industrial zone where you can sell directly to the public But I think that could be a way to move forward It seems [1:49:04] like there's a lot of interest in business I I think that's a a really astute um element I know you guys are [1:49:10] working on doing some updates to your code I there's been a best practice nationally to um move towards what [1:49:16] people are kind of terming maker zones that are something kind of in between that commercial and light industrial as [1:49:22] a use Um it's actually something St Louis Park has done a little bit of as well Um because even on the retail side [1:49:28] you know it's it's been a challenging time for retail Um but one of the ways that that some retail folks and actually [1:49:34] I think soda clothing in St Louis Park is a nice example of this is you have your showroom but you're also selling [1:49:40] online and you're making the thing that you're doing on site and so it really becomes this sort of hybrid So those [1:49:46] types of hybrid zoning opportunities I think as you are revising your code um could be something that fit really [1:49:52] really well um within this sort of area um and even you know pushing that to the [1:49:58] point of um maybe some live workspaces and things like that um could potentially fit There's there's less of [1:50:05] that um there's less barriers to some of that than some of the industrial type uses [1:50:11] that were more toxic that we might have had in the past And this is a little pie in the sky but just I know with the [1:50:18] water this constraint with the sewer and everything but just thinking about what are those businesses where you don't you [1:50:24] know they're not a brewery Uh they're maybe repackaging or they're doing something you know just kind of thinking [1:50:31] along those lines Um selling games or something like that I don't know But I [1:50:37] think a lot of work went into this and a lot of care a lot of concern Um and you [1:50:44] know what is that like a goal without a plan is just a wish And now we have a plan But my concern is that it be [1:50:54] something that doesn't just you know end up being irrelevant with a big [1:51:00] development And um so there's there's that Uh and you [1:51:07] know just trying to figure out how is it that we move from all of this work and I [1:51:13] mean you can't necessarily be in lock step with a comp plan or a small area plan but there needs to be a way so that [1:51:21] it's not just you know poof meaningless Yeah So I guess it's just a frustration I I think [1:51:29] some care was was taken to try even you know with the visuals or some of the other things that have been produced in [1:51:35] this to hopefully be a little bit of a jumping off point in that continued conversation around the capacity issue [1:51:41] as well I mean that that really is the next step and the next round of the comp plan is really the time to address that [1:51:47] as a community and think about not just what it means for this site but hopefully some of some of these visuals are helpful in in facilitating that [1:51:54] conversation about what that looks like as well I really appreciate that And maybe you know coming up with some rules [1:52:01] regarding if there was a small area plan you know there's got to be some constraints on you know what how far the [1:52:09] variances can go or something like that Okay Thank you Yeah [1:52:15] Yeah this is a really interesting conversation this evening and it's we we've thanked you and we've thanked [1:52:21] planning commissioners and people that participated in the planning activity but but when you when you hearken back to [1:52:28] how we started this whole process you have to thank the neighborhood uh and the neighbors who had the [1:52:34] foresight to say "Well wait a minute We had this proposed uh affordable housing apartment project over there and some [1:52:41] people liked it some people didn't like it but we were it was it was never a comfortable sort of part of the journey [1:52:48] Sure And then some of the neighbors suggested uh that we you know we think about a small area plan uh for that [1:52:55] particular neighborhood and that was the genesis of this whole idea And so uh in [1:53:01] the realm of thanking people let's not forget about that fundamental democratic method of [1:53:07] contacting your city council member and saying and the whole council and saying "Hey what about this idea what do you [1:53:14] think about this idea?" And it was it was hardly embraced I think because of the the difficulties we were having uh [1:53:22] in in the assessment of that one particular project So we ended up in a in a very good place and and thank you [1:53:28] again for the the work that you did in helping guide this along Um this is a [1:53:34] public hearing matter I think I don't have any more questions or observations at this point in time Uh but I we've got [1:53:41] some folks in the audience tonight Some of them may be from the neighborhood or just have an interest in opining on on [1:53:46] what's being proposed here and that is uh that it's being requested by staff and I think the the the folks that [1:53:53] worked on the small area plan that the council adopt the plan and and uh uh and then prepared to um uh send it to the [1:54:01] Met Council as part of our our our work on the next round of comprehensive plan [1:54:06] planning that we're doing Uh and so we're going to open it up now for public testimony If there are people here that [1:54:12] want to opine uh and give us their thoughts uh on this project we welcome [1:54:18] your voice and thank you for coming this evening and hope you'll come [1:54:26] forward Okay Uh I don't see anybody coming forward I think that that speaks well [1:54:33] for the work you did Uh people are pretty comfortable with what was what took place Uh so I don't see anybody [1:54:39] coming forward to hear anything uh in terms of who wants to testify uh in chambers this evening But let's go to [1:54:46] the online world and see if we've got anybody My phone lines are also pretty quiet I would recommend we wait that one [1:54:52] minute or so to give people a chance to call in if they'd like My clock shows that it's 8:55 I'll come back to you at [1:54:59] 8:56 or when I have a caller whichever is first Thank you [1:55:05] Again as with the uh prior public hearing matter it's being recommended by staff that we let people continue to [1:55:12] participate in this uh process here through Sunday April 27th by sending uh [1:55:18] written communication to city hall Um guess you could do it the better [1:55:24] better together Do it that way just calling city hall talking to Lynette having her put you into the [1:55:31] appropriate voice box for observation by Mr Lewis and other folks on staff I'd be [1:55:38] glad to have your opinion after the fact if you don't feel comfortable calling in or testifying live [1:55:57] All right I do have someone on the line but um that person is not yet signaling [1:56:02] a desire to speak If you'd like to speak please press star three on your telephone keypad That's the asterisk [1:56:10] symbol and then the number There we go Very exciting moment for me Your line [1:56:15] is now unmuted Caller please go ahead and start by stating your full name and address for the record [1:56:25] at Leman at 5215 It was just a moment There was just a moment of cut out there Would you start [1:56:31] over again please absolutely My name is Brian Athleman at [1:56:37] 5215 Ridge Road Thank you I'm a Parkwood obviously Thank [1:56:43] you Um I'm a Parkwood uh uh resident and have a couple of condos down on Lincoln [1:56:50] Drive Um the the one I I did go to a couple of the the meetings with the [1:56:57] community which happen to be very small and I' I've talked to a number of [1:57:02] neighbors and and and most of the neighbors don't even know [1:57:09] what's going on They think it's all gone away after the um there was the no um reasonzoning [1:57:17] uh signs that were put up during the um when Ken uh or uh Kent [1:57:25] uh had kind of started the the um forum with the neighborhood and I [1:57:30] don't think that the neighbors really know what's going on there and I believe that the [1:57:38] Um you know we can all I'm in business I we all know that we can pick [1:57:45] the the crowd that we want to um get the answers from And I I don't see any [1:57:50] negative comments on this I see all um everybody wants this to go through when [1:57:56] in fact I really don't think they do [1:58:04] All right And I think that we all I think I think I think there needs to be more uh Parkwood Nolles um uh input on [1:58:14] this than just this flying through uh you know with the people that don't [1:58:20] even live in Parkwood And I think the other thing we need to [1:58:25] remember is this has been pushed through by you know this is started by um um in [1:58:33] in the uh from what I'm seeing the the the real [1:58:38] estate building and the far north building there are kind of left alone and we're taking out everything else Um [1:58:45] and I believe that is nobody can answer me at the meetings that this was we were [1:58:51] still going to not have affordable housing and are they saving that for last that's a question for uh the [1:59:00] council Sure Okay Thanks for that one All right [1:59:06] Uh your time is about up Brian and um we'll try to get some of these questions [1:59:11] answered either this evening or um uh when we I think when we take this matter up on uh on May [1:59:19] 6th Thank you for calling in I have no other callers [1:59:26] Okay I think um think about this here Mr Mr Locker [1:59:33] why don't you come back up as I recall from your presentation uh [1:59:41] the people that were participating were from the immediate neighborhood So Brian's concern about more Parkwood [1:59:48] Nolles neighborhood input was necessary Those were the results that we were getting um when we were asking those [1:59:54] questions Um we did do you know lawn signs in and around the park and on the [1:59:59] trail Um we were actually featured in the Parkwood Nolles um neighborhood [2:00:05] magazine which goes to every household um in the neighborhood as well Um so you know we we do believe obviously you know [2:00:11] there's there's always opportunities for for folks to miss what's going on but um [2:00:16] we really do believe that we were hearing a lot of feedback from that community directly and um we were [2:00:24] getting some negative feedback at different times in the process as well um as the process went on I do think [2:00:29] that that largely subsided Um so um yeah I I I believe we did we did a very [2:00:37] respectable job in making sure that we were hearing from those voices and that we were prioritizing those who live [2:00:43] closest to the area as well Thanks for that I think Mr Lewis also wants to add in what the city's efforts were around [2:00:50] the communication Yeah I was just going to add um so we had you know of the non-commissioners that were on the [2:00:55] working group you know we had six I think four of them lived in the neighborhood So they had representation [2:01:00] directly from the neighborhood on the working group Um including uh Corey [2:01:05] Griffith who was the president of the neighborhood association So I mean she had communication channels to people throughout the neighborhood Um I know [2:01:11] all the working group members tried to do a good job of making sure that that their neighbors were informed Uh we worked with our communications [2:01:17] department Um we have you know people can sign up for alerts for their neighborhood We had a an email sign up [2:01:23] on the Better Together page that people could sign up for to get notified So we we tried to do a good job of making sure people in that neighborhood were [2:01:29] informed of it Good Thanks for that Um the recom the recommended motion uh [2:01:36] is that um we close the public hearing on this matter uh at noon on uh Sunday [2:01:42] April 27th 2025 and continue the action to the Tuesday May 6 2025 city council [2:01:48] meeting Is there a motion of that effect moved I second Member Risser moves member uh Egnu seconds the uh adoption [2:01:57] of the motion to close the public hearing in this matter at noon on Sunday April 27th and continue the action to [2:02:02] the Tuesday May 6 2025 city council meeting Any further discussion all those in favor of adoption of the motion was [2:02:08] stated Say I I I Opposed Carried The motion's uh approved Motion carried and [2:02:15] the folks can continue to provide public input until noon on Sunday the 27th of April and we'll take it up again for [2:02:22] action on the 6th of May Thank you for that All right Now we're going to move on to the that completes the public [2:02:28] hearing portion of the agenda We're going to move on to the reports and recommendations portion of the agenda And we've got a few matters there to [2:02:35] discuss And the first matter there is the um uh potential issuance of a [2:02:40] conditional use permit site plan and building height variance for the Southdale Library and Arts Center which [2:02:46] is located at 71 York Avenue South And our community director community [2:02:51] development director Carrie Teague is going to lead this matter And then we've got others available for uh responses as [2:02:58] well in the audience [2:03:04] Thank you mayor members of council Uh you all held a public hearing on April 1st The better together feedback closed [2:03:11] on April 6th There were no uh new comments Um as mentioned this is a site [2:03:18] plan review and a revised conditional use permit for the library and art center There's also a variance for [2:03:24] building height from 40 ft to 59 ft The planning commission uh reviewed this and [2:03:30] their recommendation is for approval The vote was 8 to zero So the action this [2:03:36] evening is for the council to adopt resolution 2025 [2:03:41] uh27 that would grant those approvals Uh we have Liz Verero from Henipin County [2:03:47] with us uh this evening to answer any questions that you may have With that I'll turn it back to the council [2:03:59] All right we'll be um we're just going to pause for a moment here [2:04:07] All right Director Teague has finished his um uh basically his setup on this [2:04:12] matter and uh has indicated the planning commission has approved it 8 to zero recommended that we approve it as well [2:04:18] and that is the adoption of resolution 2025-27 [2:04:23] uh which would be the issuance of a conditional use permit site plan and building height variance for the [2:04:28] Southtale Library and Art Center at 71 York Avenue South Uh Liz Vero is here [2:04:37] uh from the county to uh help answer any questions and are there questions from city council members or is there a [2:04:43] motion to the as requested by director [2:04:49] Teague there motion anybody care to make a motion [2:04:56] so moved Right Second Is there a second we had a motion and a second to approve the resolution [2:05:03] 2025-27 which would approve the issuance of a conditional use permit site plan [2:05:08] and building height variance for 701 York Avenue South which is the Salt South Library and Art [2:05:14] Center Any further discussion great project All right Uh [2:05:21] all those in favor of adoption of the motion stated say I I I Opposed Carried [2:05:26] Resolution 2025-27 uh is approved The conditional use permit will be issued The site plan and [2:05:33] building height variance are approved for the Southtale Library and Arts Center at 7,000 York 71 York Avenue [2:05:39] South Minnesota Thanks Miss Vero for being here this evening uh and sticking [2:05:45] with us through some of these other conversations that were necessary and preceding you yours but uh it went [2:05:52] smoothly Yeah All right We'll talk to you soon See [2:05:57] you Uh next is uh conversation about [2:06:04] uh resolution 2025-25 and 2025-34 and ordinance [2:06:10] 2024-05 which is a proposed final site plan and site improvement performance agreement for 7200 France Avenue South [2:06:18] Uh we've got an approved project there uh and we've had a revised landscape plan and uh and SEPHA to talk about [2:06:27] there as well for 7250 France Avenue South And director Teague you have this matter too So I'll let you begin the [2:06:33] conversation And then we've got folks from Ryan Investments and um confluence here with respect to the [2:06:40] landsl landscape plan too that we need to we need to visit with them as well Go [2:06:46] ahead director Teague Yes Thank you Mayor members of the council So this is a followup to the March 18th city [2:06:51] council meeting again regarding the development at 7200 and 7250 France uh [2:06:58] PUD16 So there's three action items before the city council The first is [2:07:04] final site plan and a site improvement performance agreement for phase two of this PUD That's the 7200 site That is [2:07:13] resolution 2025-25 With the final uh site plans [2:07:19] there's no changes from preliminary approval All of the landscaping and public improvements were actually to be [2:07:26] installed as part of phase one And so that gets into the second uh request [2:07:34] which is a revised landscape plan and and uh site improvement performance [2:07:39] agreement for phase one Again that's the 7250 site Um again all the public [2:07:46] improvements the sidewalks landscaping is to be done on the 7200 [2:07:52] site as part of that phase one So this is where uh the builder had removed some [2:07:58] of the the trees that were supposed to be um saved on the 7200 site and they [2:08:04] also went on to private property and removed some trees Uh landscape [2:08:09] architect Terry Manaric is here to present those revised plans and show the [2:08:14] renderings that were requested by the city council at the March 18th meeting Um those plans include 20 new trees [2:08:22] planted on the 7200 site to replace those trees that were removed along that [2:08:27] west lot line and in addition um plantings on the private property The [2:08:34] applicant is still working with those land owners to come up with a a final uh [2:08:40] landscape plan The landscaping and planting on private property is really an issue [2:08:47] between uh the property owners and the developers and not part of the landscape [2:08:53] plan that's actually being approved by the city council Uh this evening city forester has reviewed the revised [2:09:00] landscaping didn't have any recommended changes for the 7200 site Uh a letter of [2:09:07] credit would be collected for the landscaping really for again both those [2:09:12] sites It will be in the amount of $750,000 There would be no certificate [2:09:18] of occupancy issued until all the landscaping has been planted And again [2:09:24] we would we would hold that letter of credit for two years after the landscaping uh has been installed We [2:09:31] also have a um other mechanisms to make sure that the landscaping is in place [2:09:36] like the tiff payments So with that I will introduce uh Mr Manarak and he is [2:09:43] going to go through the landscape plan [2:09:54] Great Thank you [2:10:28] Um Terry Manarch Confluence uh 923 1st Avenue sweet 225 Um thank you for having [2:10:35] me here today to go through this again I think the last time we talked um we talked about getting you some [2:10:40] visualizations to help you kind of understand what we're trying to do um there's been some discussions obviously going back and forth with the property [2:10:46] owner um Mr Brown up in this area um to talk about the screening but we also felt that within our property alone um [2:10:53] there's additional screening that we could do to be able to make up for some of the the trees that were removed and [2:10:59] enhance some of those as well So in general this is a kind of an overall site view You can kind of see the [2:11:04] original planting that was done kind of the enhanced planting that we'll be doing There will be additional planting with this that'll happen within this [2:11:12] area outside the property line as well in conversations with the owner But as part of this plan we've kind of enhanced [2:11:17] what we've had in this um uh planting plan before Kind of a best way to show [2:11:22] this is if I could kind of move through the site and made it easy for you to kind of see and understand with the bright red Um but this was the existing [2:11:29] plan that we currently had in our plan Um you can kind of see there's a lot of other green in here that we've added [2:11:35] into it but the original plan included some street planting Um some planting along the prominade that goes behind [2:11:42] both of the developments Um as well as some planting within this wetland area kind of keeping away from that center [2:11:47] wetland area just because that will be primarily wet at certain times and it'll be difficult for us to grow any larger [2:11:53] scale trees within that area that would have stabilized roots So um we're adding in um uh beyond this we are looking at [2:12:01] uh there we go We will be adding in um a series of evergreen trees Um with the [2:12:07] sight lines from these backyards um this being a flatter area it's a lot easier for us to add some height and size of [2:12:14] evergreen trees within here as well as adding some deciduous trees along the slope The reason for that is it's it's [2:12:20] kind of a lower slope line So if we try to plant evergreens and the time they take to grow it would really take a [2:12:26] while for them to get to a height that would cause um uh be able to provide that screening or that impact So we feel [2:12:32] that deciduous trees uh would be the best opportunity for that with the high canopy uh really providing a ton of [2:12:37] screening in the summer There'd be the branching in the winter but um that was kind of the direction we went thinking trying to replace what was their [2:12:43] existing or previous but with a better version of tree and a higher quality tree that was um approached to us by the [2:12:50] city forester as well So you can see some of that extended planting that would help to begin to screen that in and block some of the views There are [2:12:57] also uh an existing canopy that is still there Um there's a large grouping of boxer trees on the corner There's a [2:13:03] series of smaller uh trees along this edge here that also provide some canopy And then this larger mass that was never [2:13:09] part of the removal that is still intact behind this residence here Um the trees that in question were were kind of [2:13:16] located somewhere in this area here So we're trying to provide for that screening as well So that begins to give [2:13:21] you an idea of what the um planting area begins to look like We've also increased all the caliber in sizes of these trees [2:13:27] from what they originally they were kind of in and around that city requirement of 2 and 1/2 to 3 in to 4 in trees We've [2:13:34] upped a lot of those up into 5 in trees some 6-in trees as well And then taller evergreens as well that are part of that [2:13:40] what'll be closer into that 15t range Um as part of the development as well um we [2:13:47] were asked to take a look at the rear yard um views that what that kind of [2:13:52] felt like It didn't really make a lot of sense for us to show you the view from the 7200 7250 because that wasn't really [2:13:57] critical What we wanted to get at here was to show you the view of the residence and Mr Brown allowed us to get into his property here Uh one of the [2:14:04] yards that was most impacted by the trees that were removed Um so what this demonstrates is uh his existing backyard [2:14:10] as exists today There is some evergreen trees some cedar trees planted back here Um some of these larger trees are the [2:14:16] trees that still exist there today Um so they will have a tree canopy that'll fill in this area There's some smaller [2:14:22] trees as well along this side that'll begin to fill that in And this is kind of what it would look like today if we [2:14:27] did our planting that we're proposing our enhanced planting You would get some glimpses through to the building This [2:14:33] would happen um as part of that plan As these trees began to grow up that would begin to you know get more and more [2:14:39] closed in But I tried to show something that was more of an early on phase and not something 10 or 20 years down the [2:14:44] road Um there are some you know barren spots in the canopy too but there's also um other shrub understory here that'll [2:14:52] grow up as well and begin to kind of cover in this lower level as well So um [2:14:57] and then we thought we'd show what that looked like when we did fill in some of those trees potentially in that [2:15:02] negotiation with the land owner uh the idea of putting some faster growing um [2:15:08] higher quality maples in there that could um get to a height that would be suitable to begin to get begin to close [2:15:14] that in And then also we were requested to kind of see what that looks like in the winter which uh which is a little [2:15:20] different right because this is what it kind of looks like today Um you know the trees are very transparent in the winter and and you can see a lot through it But [2:15:26] you can see some of the branching here of some of the maple trees and the other trees that are that would be growing in here But again over time the evergreens [2:15:34] would begin to get some height begin to screen some of the building and provide some of that uh screening potentially um [2:15:40] for what was there But um you know this is very um representative of kind of [2:15:45] what was there before And I think as these trees grow over time they'll kind of get that same kind of representation So So that's kind of where we're at And [2:15:51] I hope that helps If you have any questions I'll be glad to answer them on what we're showing here today [2:16:04] That is helpful Um my understanding was that well the last time you were here we talked about [2:16:10] um maybe I should let my colleagues go first but um this question just came to [2:16:16] mind Maybe you can this might help guide it a little bit Last time you were here we were worried about the slope and the [2:16:23] trees being able to hold on the slope And then my understanding was that since then you've had conversations with Mr [2:16:30] Brown about creating a retaining wall but I didn't hear you say anything about a retaining wall to create a a flatter [2:16:35] planting area between the between the west end of the of the water I'll call [2:16:40] it the the holding pond and and the property line Yeah So I didn't [2:16:46] specifically represent what we're doing with Mr Brown because we're still in discussions with that But the intent here is to not plant within his backyard [2:16:54] We did have some previous ex exhibits that may have been forwarded to you I don't know if they were they were So that kind of showed some of this [2:17:00] evergreen planting in his rear yard and some higher up planting here Um we decided not to do that cuz he wanted to [2:17:06] keep his backyard the way it is So what we're looking at now is to actually plant this is the property line here [2:17:12] this bright red line So on the edge of that property line the intent is to provide a a retaining wall to be able to [2:17:19] give us a flatter area There is a an easement that exists back here and and for some reason within that easement [2:17:25] there is kind of a little bit less slope than there is there So our intent is to put a retaining wall on the edge of the [2:17:30] property line to be able to flatten out that grade for us to be great be able to bring in larger spaded trees that'll be [2:17:37] of the larger caliber size 6 plus in in caliber and you know 20 to 30 ft tall So [2:17:44] those larger trees as a root ball are somewhere around six feet So to give [2:17:49] them a flat area to grow and it would be pretty impossible for us to plant on that slope So yes we will be providing a retaining wall in that situation Is [2:17:56] there an intention to do some planting yet this spring or is it is it after the projects [2:18:05] are are built out that all this takes place i think it's sooner than that but I'll let Ted answer that Yeah So good [2:18:11] evening Council Ted Carlson with Orion Investments Uh we are as Terry mentioned fully engaged with the land owner who's [2:18:18] most impacted by this um to provide a a solution on his property in addition to [2:18:24] the trees we're adding on our property to his satisfaction And I I would suggest that um I thought oh Mr Brown is [2:18:32] here tonight So I I would um thank you uh represent that we will absolutely [2:18:39] make best efforts to ensure that Mr Brown is more than satisfied with the efforts that we put forth to um provide [2:18:46] adequate screening for his property Yeah thanks for that And I just wanted to [2:18:51] also offer this up that manager Neil and I met with Mr Brown this morning and and and I'll ask you to concur with this He [2:18:59] said we we do not have yet have a solution but we're heading in a good direction Is that kind of the way you [2:19:05] think about it too yeah absolutely I mean everyone knows that we you know we made a mistake so we got to own it what do you you know character is a [2:19:10] definition of what you do after mistake and so I think we will absolutely make sure that we do go above and beyond best [2:19:17] efforts to satisfy Mr Brown Well and thanks for that Mr Carlson because uh Mr Brown told us that both you and and your [2:19:24] partner Mr Stafford have been very very responsible here and that you've taken ownership of this issue So [2:19:33] um I'm going to turn to my colleagues here now for some additional questions that they may have because based on the [2:19:40] conversation of Mr Brown and the conversation with you this evening and understand that we're partway there but [2:19:46] we're looking for some approvals In the past I'll ask I'll ask Director Teague this question It seems to me that we've [2:19:53] we've approved landscaping plans in the past where we've conditioned uh final approval of a landscaping plan [2:20:00] uh on its acceptability to the city and in this case also would probably have to be with immediately adjoining neighbors [2:20:07] and property owners which would be Mr Brown and Miss Stonen [2:20:13] you recall that we've done that before that we've given you that latitude as a council to [2:20:18] Yes the council has but that's on the developer's property In this case this is what's [2:20:25] still being negotiated is on private property So that's really between u the [2:20:30] developer and the private property owners but the city is comfortable with [2:20:37] the final landscape plan on the development site But there will be changes on the private property Could we [2:20:46] uh Mr Kendall could we condition our approval of a final landscape plan not only on our satisfaction with the plan [2:20:52] but our understanding there's that there is indeed a plan with the private property owner that's adjacent to the to [2:20:58] this property mayor at this point I don't think so because it doesn't seem like there's a [2:21:04] final agreement between the property owner and and I don't think the city could ask them to wave any rights or [2:21:11] claims they have um if they should choose not to finally reach an agreement [2:21:16] they still have the option to take other action and deal with it on their own So [2:21:22] yeah I may not have articulated what I was thinking about very well but I was thinking that we we condition any [2:21:27] approval that we have upon the developer making an agreement with adjoining property owners [2:21:34] Well I wouldn't recommend that because I don't think the city has control over you know whether they can reach agreement on that The city has site [2:21:42] control over the 7200 and 7250 site based on the applications before the [2:21:47] city to develop those sites uh the city doesn't have any control over the private property So the city [2:21:54] couldn't force the if they didn't want to the city couldn't force the developer to go onto the private property owner's [2:21:59] property and plant trees because the private property would not be permitting that and the city couldn't force them to permit that Let me ask Mr Carlson then [2:22:07] Um are there is there some timing urgency to all this that you're asking [2:22:12] us to do tonight yeah there's certainly timing urgency as it relates to the 7200 approvals Uh as you know we've [2:22:20] represented here we are working on closing on a construction loan in June and starting construction in July And I [2:22:27] think that as we all read and understand what's happening capital markets that further turbulence could be cumbersome [2:22:33] for us I would also represent that as far as it relates to the landscape plan that you know the city has a $750,000 [2:22:41] letter credit and tiff requirements and certificate of occupying requirements [2:22:46] But aside from all those significant what I would call traditional financial or legal hammers uh what we have is a is [2:22:54] a reputational um responsibility Mr Brown's been a member [2:22:59] of this community for longer than I have and I've been here for 25 years and we've known him personally and [2:23:06] professionally for a long time So um you know I think [2:23:12] that I can assure you that we will continue to make robust significant and [2:23:18] severe um attempts to fix this to his satisfaction Period [2:23:27] So understanding that we're working towards a solution and people think we're heading in a good direction we [2:23:33] could do what we've done in the past and that would be to have a conditional sort of approval upon [2:23:39] uh having the the developer submit a landscaping plan that was acceptable to the [2:23:46] city on 7200 and 7250 Is that right [2:23:51] yes we believe they have submitted a landscape plan that's acceptable to the city for their two properties [2:23:59] I I think to further that that we've added in excess of 20 trees We've increased the size and significance of [2:24:06] the trees and there's additional trees to be added for us and Mr Brown to his [2:24:11] satisfaction member [2:24:18] I believe the the primary residence that we're talking about about right now is the one to the north Um I I also believe [2:24:28] that the property to the south was also impacted Um can you provide any [2:24:34] narrative on the progress that you're making in collaboration with that resident as well [2:24:41] um our project manager had reached out to that resident without a further followup and I believe that the impact [2:24:49] was really only to Mr Brown's home in the middle and to the north where the trees were taken I don't believe there [2:24:55] was any trees inly taken for the property of the south or any other property for that matter Yeah Commissioner Agnu the trees that were [2:25:02] removed were right in this area right here along this edge Those were the ones that removed Nothing over here was [2:25:09] marked to be saved or not There wasn't as many trees there and um we're well [2:25:14] within what was in the first plan to be removed Um there is a lot of debris back [2:25:20] here that looks like we may have done something but we think that's a different party and we don't know what [2:25:25] the arrangement between the land owners are with that and why that's like that But there is a lot of debris in this [2:25:31] area as long and then along this side of the property as well that we have no relationship to Okay So you're you're [2:25:39] stating that but we are still planting more trees here that we didn't really have to but we are adding them in just [2:25:44] for additional buffering Okay So the only private and I'm also going to look [2:25:50] to city staff to confirm this The only private properties that were impacted by [2:25:57] additional trees being removed that shouldn't have been is just the the property owned by Mr Steve Brown I [2:26:04] believe that's correct Yes And and technically his neighbor beside that that has a limited view But yeah [2:26:12] thank you Yeah Rer Um I did go out and visit with the [2:26:19] resident to the south and he does really feel like he was impacted And um I think [2:26:25] what we're getting um it's getting confused by the fact [2:26:31] that if we're only counting trees then um your statement holds up [2:26:38] But there was a lot of shrubbery There was a lot of other vegetation Uh and [2:26:44] that had value even though you know as a screen it was very much a natural screen [2:26:51] And so now that natural screen is gone And I would also like to push back um [2:26:56] against the idea that the only view that matters is from the resident's backyard [2:27:02] because as you are approaching this area you know it used to be sort of invisible [2:27:08] all those houses You never really saw them because of all of the um growth that had happened And um now they're [2:27:15] just they're out there Um and I think that's rather unsettling So I do think [2:27:22] that neighbor to the south feels impacted and that something needs to be [2:27:27] done Um the other question but I do have another question and that is with this [2:27:33] retaining wall is this going to be something that is there to hold the the [2:27:39] ground in or is this going to rise up so it'll be a clear barrier [2:27:44] it's it's intended to hold the ground It will be um vertical compared to the slope Okay [2:27:51] But this isn't a place where people go and walk or are intended to hang out Um [2:27:56] this is a wetland area that can fill with water at any time to quite a depth So um and this will be on the edge of [2:28:04] that wetland area So my concern is I have two concerns I want to make sure [2:28:10] that the slope that belongs to the residents you know doesn't end up [2:28:16] eroding and even you know some of that shrubbery was holding the dirt in and [2:28:21] all of that Now that is gone So do we have concerns about erosion especially with that pond coming in so to be clear [2:28:29] there um the shrubbery and everything that was removed was removed from the [2:28:36] 7200 7250 property and that was part of the original approved plan to remove [2:28:41] that What was in question here were the larger trees that were removed that weren't supposed to be that were agreed [2:28:47] upon and that were on the edge of the property line the shrub uh area that was in there That was a heavily um it may [2:28:55] have looked like it was a dense shrubbed area but it was a lot of leaves and debris and old retaining wall and stuff [2:29:03] that had been put there over time that kind of made it feel like it might have been a more you know robust place back [2:29:10] there But whatever was there that was cut down that was of a smaller scale will grow [2:29:17] back in any event along this edge But the intent of the retaining wall is to provide us a flat area to give us the [2:29:23] ability to grow a tree When a box elder grows from a seed it can establish itself on the side of a any kind of [2:29:30] plant can establish itself on a side of a slope over time But when we come in with a larger tree we have to provide it [2:29:36] with a area that can handle the root ball so the root ball is not exposed So that's what the intent of that wall is The wall will help actually stabilize [2:29:43] this slope um and improve the slope And the intent of the wall is to only be by [2:29:49] the properties that were impacted directly by those trees that were removed The property to the south never [2:29:54] had any further tree removal at all on its property To be clear about that any [2:29:59] of the stuff that's back there that's open and exposed now was done by somebody else That wasn't done by us I I [2:30:07] did look through the fence with the gentleman who lives there and he said I [2:30:12] you know I didn't used to be able to see anything now I can actually watch my wife go into lens you know so it was a [2:30:20] very different view that he is experiencing from his backyard so I want to get that out there [2:30:27] um the other concern I have is is there going to be a clear demarcation of the [2:30:32] property line when the project is done so that we don't have people going up [2:30:39] onto land that belongs to the residents Yeah I think that could be established [2:30:44] pretty easily Yeah for sure Okay [2:30:50] So when you So the was there a conversation about the debris and stuff that was back there when you did talk to [2:30:56] that property owner there was a conversation about the plants the foliage that was no longer there Okay [2:31:02] But not this the stored stuff and the rocks and the stuff that was there I was just wondering if that was a concern [2:31:09] that that resident might have had since we haven't had an opportunity to talk to him No it was you know seeing how his [2:31:15] view was no longer um protected by vegetation Okay So wouldn't that always [2:31:23] be true in the winter time if it was all deciduous material i mean wouldn't that have been his would always been his [2:31:28] winter view um I don't think so I think there was more when you stand and you [2:31:34] look um from 70 or from h what is it the street there and Bristol Court yeah Well [2:31:42] no when you're looking at from 72nd um there is still a lot of there's areas [2:31:49] where you have a lot of growth that is still there So there there is some thickness to it And so uh all all I know [2:31:57] is that he is experiencing his view very differently now So um it would be good to touch base [2:32:05] with him So let me make sure I understand where we are here properly and I know [2:32:12] everybody's trying to work towards a common goal here What I what I think I heard you say [2:32:18] Director Teague and Mr Kendall is that Mr Mr Teague you're you are satisfied [2:32:23] with the landscaping plan that Mr Manaric has put together for the conference has put [2:32:30] together for uh the developer And have you had interaction with Mr Brown on [2:32:37] that uh not not directly because you were only concerned about 7200 7250 where we [2:32:43] had control That's correct Okay [2:32:49] Um All right And so what I think Mr Kendall was saying was that uh if we [2:32:56] agreed to move forward tonight and approve this at the next phase so they [2:33:01] can get going and get working Um Mr Brown still has his legal rights based [2:33:08] on what what he what what occurred on his property that shouldn't have occurred on his property [2:33:15] Mayor that's my opinion I'm I'm not giving Mr Brown legalizer I'm not aware that he's waved any rights [2:33:22] So unless he has then he should have all available rights He can negotiate a deal with Mr Carlson or he could sue Mr [2:33:28] Carlson whatever he wants to do But he's not waved any rights And we're not asking him to Okay We're just trying to [2:33:35] make sure that we get things properly screened and it's going to have the supplemental benefit of benefiting his [2:33:42] property and the property next to him from Miss Thon Correct I think part of staff's [2:33:48] requirements and recommendations on this updated landscaping plan were to create additional screening on the 7200 site [2:33:56] which the city has control over to mitigate some of the issues that you know are occurring on the adjacent sites [2:34:03] And if I remember properly when you were in here last time the landscaping plan is really part of the financing on 7250 [2:34:10] Yes sir And so that that mean and that's that's been approved You're moving forward on 7250 So remind us again then [2:34:18] when you think some of this landscaping work would be done uh on 7200 It's well [2:34:24] I would I think it's two phases I think our intent would be to complete the landscaping with Mr Brown as soon as [2:34:29] humanly possible I think the remaining of the landscaping on 7200 needs to take [2:34:35] time as it's related to the relocation of the cell tower the excavation of the basin and a bunch of other things But I [2:34:41] think we've got the opportunity to fix the immediate term on Mr Brown's property for sure this summer Okay All [2:34:48] right Good That's helpful Thank you for that [2:34:56] Um Okay Other questions from council members so Mr Teague walk us back [2:35:01] through where we are here What what do we what what you're asking us to do and can it be done in a single motion [2:35:08] you could do them in a single motion or you could uh break them up into as many [2:35:13] as three The first would be the final site plan and site improvement performance agreement for phase two [2:35:20] That's the 7200 site That's resolution [2:35:25] 2025-25 The second piece is that revised landscape plan and and basically an [2:35:31] addendum to the SIPA 47250 That is resolution [2:35:38] 25-34 And the third item is and I didn't mention this before but it's second reading of the ordinance [2:35:45] that incorporates the new site plan for 7250 into the ordinance and also reduces [2:35:52] that first floor uh height from 16 to 14 ft So second reading of that ordinance [2:35:57] amendment Okay Mr Kendall do you have any preference from a legal standpoint as to how we address this [2:36:04] well mayor mayor I I guess if there would be any potential for disagreement [2:36:10] or no votes then you could address them separately so anybody who disagrees with the issue could voice their objections [2:36:17] If you feel like there's agreement on all of them that's the direction I'm heading was to do it separately I think [2:36:23] that's fine Yeah And and so as to 2025-25 [2:36:29] uh there's no changes to the site plan from what was previously approved Is that correct Director T that's correct [2:36:38] Okay And then we've got that site improvement performance agreement for 7200 France Avenue as part of that [2:36:45] proposed resolution 2025-25 So all right Let me see if there [2:36:50] is a council member who wishes to uh move the adoption of resolution number [2:36:56] 2025-25 which would address the issue of the approval of the final site plan and [2:37:03] the site improvement uh performance agreement for 7200 France Avenue So moved There a [2:37:10] second I'll second Got a motion and a second on [2:37:15] 2025-25 relating to final approval of the or approval of the final site plan and the [2:37:22] um site improvement performance agreement that staff has put together for 7200 France Avenue with the [2:37:27] developer Any further conversation on that one all right All those in favor of adoption resolution number 2025-25 is [2:37:34] described say I I I Opposed Nay Carried Resolution [2:37:40] 2025-25 is approved It's approved [2:37:46] Okay And then we're going to go to 2025-34 which is the proposed site [2:37:52] improvement performance agreement for and revised landscaping plan for 7250 [2:37:58] France Avenue South Correct All right Is there a motion on that matter so moved [2:38:04] Is there a second i'll second Um any further discussion on [2:38:11] 2025-34 all right All those in favor of adoption of resolution 2025-34 which would approve the revised [2:38:18] landscaping plan and site improvement performance agreement amended site improvement performance agreement for 7250 France Avenue Say I I I opposed [2:38:27] Name Motion carries Uh that resolution is approved Uh and then finally um the [2:38:35] um resolution uh let's see what we got here 20250 which would uh [2:38:43] what was that waving second reading it's second reading of the order It's it's the second reading Yes Approve the [2:38:49] second reading All right 2025 resolution 20250 approves the final site plan and [2:38:55] second reading on um actually just the second reading on uh the ordinance [2:39:00] involved Ordinance number 2025-05 is what we're approving Uh is there a [2:39:05] motion to that effect approval of that uh second reading of that ordinance So moved Second here from the chair from [2:39:13] the mayor Uh we got a motion in a second Any further discussion [2:39:19] Go ahead Member Um when I think of our process this is really frustrating [2:39:25] because um we set up these PUDs and then [2:39:30] we define them with a specific proprietary plan And so there's only one [2:39:37] developer who can really benefit from the zoning the actual zoning And then we [2:39:44] add TIFF financing on top of that So there's only one way that public financing is going [2:39:52] to flow and then we've added spark on top of the tiff and so there's a lot of [2:39:59] public money that ends up going to just one little area and um then you know you [2:40:06] try to figure out what exactly the zone is and you try to look and see what PUD16 is and we're not simply we're [2:40:16] formally amending this EUD essentially and so it just I [2:40:23] feel very uncomfortable with the process that we have and I just wanted to articulate that Thank you Yeah thanks [2:40:29] member RER Um any further discussion all those in favor of approving the second [2:40:35] reading of ordinance number 2025-05 say I I opposed Nay [2:40:43] Uh the motion is approved Ordinance uh the second reading of ordinance number 202505 is [2:40:50] approved All right I think that in that concludes all of our work on this matter Okay And then um to make [2:41:00] Yeah Come on up Mr Brown Thank you [2:41:09] Steve Brown uh resident or owner of 7205 I I I just want to make this comment [2:41:16] I've been involved in this city for a long time and I've been very cooperative in [2:41:22] this process as have the developers I'm very disappointed in this legal position about the fact that we [2:41:28] can't figure out a way to document something in a three-party agreement because now what you've kind of forced [2:41:34] me to do is say well am I going to get an attorney am I going to go threaten to sue or try to have some kind of an [2:41:41] injunction as opposed to coming to a common solution that is not the way to solve [2:41:46] this kind of stuff All that does is create strife These guys have been great to have interaction with We had a [2:41:52] conversation this morning and if there had been a legal issue you should have [2:41:58] said in advance that that should be something that could be addressed This puts me in a horrible [2:42:04] position because and I'm trying to be cooperative and you're now forcing me to go to a situation and say "Okay well I'm [2:42:11] going to go out and get my saber and now I have to fight ugly because I've lost any kind of ability to collaborate using [2:42:18] the city's uh position with the developer I have confidence that we'll come to a solution but there's a way [2:42:26] there has to be a way to come up with an agreement that would work in a three-party situation." We talked about [2:42:31] it this morning and our mayor is a lawyer Yeah I [2:42:37] thought we had it figured out Yeah So here I come up I wasn't going to come [2:42:43] tonight and I was like "Okay well we got this figured out." And now we got Well no we really can't do that agreement [2:42:48] Sorry Adios That's not right And as someone that's given as [2:42:54] much as I've given to this community it really pisses me off Pardon my French So [2:43:01] I have confidence in working with these guys Very disappointed in that response Just going to say it Thank you Mr Brown [2:43:12] All right gentlemen Thank you for coming in this evening [2:43:23] All right we're going to bring Mr Milner up here now We've got to talk about the uh project that's uh imminent [2:43:32] starting to do things on this project I think the end of April and that is um uh he is now looking for a request [2:43:40] for purchase for the Vernon Avenue Highway 100 interchange project [2:43:46] Thank you Mayor Director Milner exactly I'll be seeking that this evening and just want to give an update to the council and anybody watching online Uh [2:43:54] the project goals we've talked about these many times so I'll I won't read through them all They're also posted on [2:43:59] our Better Together Edina website um with the project links and I'll give you [2:44:04] that here in a little bit Uh this is the project It it goes from Interlockan Boulevard on the west over to Graange [2:44:10] Road on the east Two new bridges one over Vernon Avenue or one over the CPKC rail line on Vernon Avenue and then the [2:44:17] Highway 100 bridge over Highway 100 Uh this is called a tight diamond interchange the interchange uh for the [2:44:24] ramps on and off the Highway 100 with the bridge big wide sidewalks new turn lanes in both directions to improve [2:44:30] traffic operations Um so it's a bike pad safety improvement and traffic operations improvement [2:44:36] project Project timeline Uh we had a lot some delays working with the rail but we [2:44:41] are now right at construction So tomorrow we are hosting a pre-construction meeting with a much [2:44:47] more detailed schedule They want to start some work the 21st Uh the 23rd is [2:44:52] April 23rd next Wednesday one week from today They want to close the roads and start work uh on that corridor The [2:44:59] project was bid with a completion date of November 15th 2025 to reopen those roads And that's what we're focusing on [2:45:06] right now Just a little bit on the detours This is stage one that'll start next Wednesday So stage one is April [2:45:14] 23rd till late summerish and stage two which I'll show But this just shows that those on andoff ramps and the interlock [2:45:20] and Vernon Avenue intersection will stay open for a majority of the project Uh of course things could change We might see [2:45:27] benefits to tweaking this but this is what we're starting with our traffic operations next Wednesday [2:45:33] Could we uh talk about that a little bit uh you know I'm thinking to about last summer when we did the work out in front [2:45:39] of city hall here and um we got signage up and and the first few days everything [2:45:45] was just a mess and it did affect down at 50th in France I think uh us doing [2:45:50] our work up here that met council doing the eline work down on France Avenue It [2:45:56] just seems to me like those first few days are critical that you don't just have signage up that maybe we got people [2:46:01] out there too directing traffic or helping people navigate this because this is going to be really [2:46:08] uh kind of challenging Exactly We are ordering extra signs just to say Grand [2:46:13] View District businesses and 50th and France district how to get around in this I'll show you an example map We're [2:46:19] going to have maps We had 9,000 postcards go out to people last week Uh we got a business specific landing page [2:46:26] to sign up for email updates Lots of lots of stuff I've had already one of those weekly meetings I [2:46:32] got another one tomorrow at 11 for people But we're really trying to make sure that doesn't happen again with some [2:46:37] of that confusion that happened when we closed those roads last year Okay Yeah thanks for that Stage two real similar [2:46:44] just that we're working on interlocking and Vernon intersection during that work This would be again sometime during the summer to early fall And then the last [2:46:52] stages 3A and 3B are when it's going to be the most impact impactful to the traveling public is when those ramps get [2:46:59] closed and they have to either head down to Highway 62 or the Benton Avenue access for local access in this stage or [2:47:07] when they have to go up to Interlockan Boulevard or not Interlockan Excelsier Boulevard in St Louis Park to do this [2:47:14] movement because that offramp will be closed at this time So we'll again publish much information every time [2:47:20] there's a change in the traffic control on this project So if Oh here this might the next one might be helpful Um let's [2:47:28] say somebody's coming up interlocking to the and they're by the holiday station store there and uh they're heading for [2:47:34] 50th in France Uh how do they get there i mean just walk it walk us through that would you please uh the start of the [2:47:41] project you could take Gus Young to Arcadia down to the roundabout We're going to sign it as use Vernon Avenue to [2:47:47] Eden Eden's going to be your primary east west connection Go by the go straight south past the liquor store [2:47:54] Turn right the left on Gus Young Lane and you can do that and then turn right on uh Arcadia Yep That's one option I [2:48:01] would suggest using Vernon Avenue down to the Speedway gas station and making a left on Eden Eden Avenue has got [2:48:06] capacity I would use that facility for any east west connections between West Edina and 50th and France district [2:48:14] Okay But there will be a couple other options if you know some of the local streets Yeah that's a good route too Go [2:48:19] um Yep Go Vernon to Eden and then go Yep That I think is a better capacity Pass [2:48:25] city hall through the roundabout Exactly Member [2:48:31] Thank you Mayor I know we don't probably know the timing of this but you maybe [2:48:36] looking at um Director Teague if the Opus project is moving [2:48:42] forward what would be the potential timing of that the start of that construction and could this be completed [2:48:48] prior to that uh I met with their construction staff Uh they want to start ASAP So they're going to overlap if they [2:48:55] meet the schedule that they discussed with me a couple weeks ago Okay We told them they cannot impact Arcadia Avenue [2:49:03] Okay They cannot impact the offramp street closures as a part of their only two is they got to make a water and a [2:49:09] sewer connection and I already said that I would approve a night work so we don't impact all the other stuff going on here [2:49:15] for that one night and those connections We said you can't close the off-ramp and you can't close Arcadia The timing just [2:49:22] stinks for them but it's our project and we got to make sure the public can get around So great question So just want to [2:49:29] make people aware of where the construction areas are where you're going to see equipment and materials All [2:49:34] the stars on this are spots where you're going to see equipment materials spread out We're allowing them to rent a half [2:49:40] the old public work site And then the the X marks or the do not enters They [2:49:45] cannot use Devanni's parking lot They can not use the Starbucks parking lot They cannot use Washurn McGravy or [2:49:52] Hilltop or any of those They can't use City Hall So we have someone out there that's going to be out there every day [2:49:57] representing the city kicking people off of any parking lots if they are related to this construction project We have [2:50:03] signs going around Devonis No construction parking no traffic no materials none of that So we're working [2:50:09] diligently to make sure those business o are open for business and their lots are not being taken by construction Now [2:50:16] where you going to have them parked down at the old public works site Yep Or on the Vernon Avenue themselves The big [2:50:23] work is building bridges So they're going to have that those middle stars are going to just be available for materials equipment parking all that Um [2:50:31] their plan they want to remove the Vernon Avenue bridge over the rail first so they can haul that material to the east side of the highway where they can [2:50:37] stockpile it and reuse it recycle it reuse it then take down the Highway 100 bridge which has to happen over night [2:50:43] nights and weekends Mindot won't let that work happen uh during normal business days because of the traffic [2:50:49] volumes and we'll communicate all those changes of traffic when it happens within all the channels So what are [2:50:55] those channels again better together website Here is the address Um Richard's [2:51:00] got a question for you Sorry Do we need a no parking at um Frank Tupa Park for [2:51:06] the um historic buildings i know it's a small little parking lot but is that [2:51:12] something that I think that's too far away for this project but we'll monitor that too Just like we did when the [2:51:17] development was happening across the street we kicked contractors out there out of that parking lot all the time [2:51:22] Okay We have been in touch with uh the operations of that facility They know this project's coming Very good So thank [2:51:29] you So what are we doing we're communicating and a whole variety of things We've been [2:51:34] doing that already It's continuing to go out but here's the better together website Uh I have a meeting tomorrow at [2:51:40] 11 11:00 a.m This is a bi-weekly meeting for anybody residents businesses people [2:51:45] concerned want to learn more Uh there's the the website backhighway 100 talks [2:51:52] And then there's some specific business outreach Again there's another website for specific The postcards that went out [2:51:57] have all this information whether you're a resident or a business And the map down here is one of those maps that [2:52:02] we're using to communicate to the public how they can get around So you can see the green arrows green dash those are [2:52:08] all open open streets and the red is closed So if you get off southbound 100 [2:52:14] you can use the ramp Basically you talked about that on that earlier project Uh then decide which way you [2:52:19] want to go on Arcadia Avenue and the ramps near city hall will stay open so you can get on and off the highway there [2:52:24] for stage one of the work And then as those stages change we'll communicate those changes out to the [2:52:31] public But I'm really here tonight is ask you to award a contract And I'll just review the cost and the funding one [2:52:36] more time Um the total project is 28.2 million That's split between our [2:52:42] partners Henipin County City of Vina and Mindot Uh we have 11.2 million of federal funding that's been allocated [2:52:48] and as soon as we start construction we'll start requesting that money So that's under contract under agreements [2:52:53] We're very confident in that funding City's on the hook after we take away the 4.2 of our federal funding 11.2 [2:53:00] million uh for the project Again that's really close to our June estimate And [2:53:06] here's the recommended funding that we shared with you at a work session two weeks ago and again this evening Um [2:53:12] we're showing about a $5 million municipal state aid three million of debt and then the million dollars of our [2:53:18] utility funds the water storm sewer and sanitary 200,000 with packs electrical [2:53:24] budget for lighting Centennial Lakes TIFF There's an INC kind Mindot is providing construction services testing [2:53:31] surveying inspection They're going to have five guys out there doing all the work We're going to have a a [2:53:37] representative out there also So they're doing more inind services than cash for this project We also were successful in [2:53:43] a million-doll grant last fall an additional one We still have a bonding request you heard that at the work [2:53:49] session earlier this evening for 5.3 million So I put arrows on those four uh [2:53:55] funding sources state aid the debt service Centennial Lakes TIFF because that was a question from member Risser [2:54:00] last time and the state bonding We can adjust this funding table through the [2:54:07] whole summer through the fall It doesn't matter So our recommendation is we wait to see how the request goes at the state [2:54:13] We can have the discussion on the tiff stuff with the broader entire picture of the budget that you guys are having Um [2:54:20] there is a cash balance in there of 1.5 million That was one of your requests member Russer to understand that amount [2:54:25] and we have that discussion on that So if we get bonding money we could have lower the debt service or state aid and [2:54:32] just have that discussion with a bigger broader I don't need all these today I need you to award a contract and to know [2:54:37] that we do have a way to fund this So I'm recommending that you award the contract tonight Contracting 25-5 to [2:54:46] Ames Construction for [2:54:52] 22,62,441.3 Happy to stand for any questions Thank you Director Milner That was quite [2:54:57] a presentation You kind of exhausted me I went a little quick with this I mean [2:55:03] just uh the scope of the project and worrying about people getting around town and uh doing something is very [2:55:09] necessary um for our community and and for the region Um and and taking advantage of [2:55:16] the fact that the countyy's taken down that bridge over the railroad tracks Anyway you know I think it was good [2:55:22] thinking on your part early on and if we were going to do something this was an opportune time to do it So and then and [2:55:29] then clean up our little mini spaghetti junction Yep And create some potential [2:55:35] space for expanding the civic campus I think is another uh uh great uh kind of [2:55:41] undisussed part of this conversation So uh questions for director Miller member [2:55:48] Um not a question but a request because I think there may be a lot of people out [2:55:54] there who are thinking why is the city paying for the bridge over the highway [2:55:59] and if you could just affirm that that is the world in which we live Yep It was [2:56:06] our project we added on like the mayor said the county was going to do go back to the graphic the project overall So [2:56:13] the counties started with the Vernon Avenue bridge over the rail needed to be replaced that was a infrastructure [2:56:19] replacement needed to be It was a structural integrity thing Their project went right up to the high 100 bridge Um [2:56:25] so if they spend federal dollars we couldn't do any improvements like the mayor mentioned So we solicited went through the Met Council solicitation and [2:56:31] got 4.2 million The original plan was to reuse the highway bridge We could not get buyin from Mandat or the county to [2:56:37] reuse that bridge for a diverging diamond interchange which is a unique you go on the wrong side of the road and [2:56:43] then go back So it's a unique facility just in general but to really plop it in here uh would have been really unique So [2:56:50] then we decided that the best case here was to remove the bridge and put a new bridge up And that's where we're working [2:56:55] with our partners right now Thank you [2:57:00] All right Uh we'll take we'll all take a deep collective breath here and uh I'll entertain a motion to approve the [2:57:07] request from staff from our director of engineering uh to authorize the purchase [2:57:12] for uh ENG25-5 which is the Vernon Avenue and Highway 100 interchange project uh [2:57:18] awarding the bid to Ames Construction in the amount of 22,62,441 [2:57:25] So moved Second Got a motion by member Agnu second by member Risser to approve [2:57:31] the motion as stated and authorize the award issuance to Ames Construction for [2:57:39] 22,6262,000 22,62,441 [2:57:44] uh for the Highway 100 interchange project Any further conversation on the issue any further discussion okay All [2:57:51] those in favor of adoption of the motion as stated say I I I Opposed carried [2:57:56] Motion's approved Thank you Appreciate it Yeah you're welcome Uh next we've [2:58:02] member Agnes has been working on this diligently this inhumanely bred animals ordinance uh involving the sale of [2:58:09] inhumanely bred animals and we've talked about refining it and I think it's in a [2:58:15] position where uh member Agnu is comfortable with how it how it's worded how it's crafted And [2:58:22] so member Agno I'm going to turn now to you for introduction on the topic Yes thank you so much Um I I feel like I've [2:58:29] now introduced this many a time Um but appreciate everyone's patience as we've [2:58:34] gone through some iterations and as we've gotten some feedback from council as well as from members of the community [2:58:40] Um so this really really started from um a local resident reaching out and and [2:58:47] wanting to make sure that we were able to do what we could um to prevent the [2:58:53] sale of inhumanely bred animals And so the discussions that we've had including [2:58:59] conversations um with the Humane Society and kind of people collectively legal um [2:59:06] what we have in front of us tonight is I think a really good draft that aligns [2:59:11] with um kind of the the input and the advice that we've gotten and as well as the conversations that we've had as a [2:59:17] council So with that I will hand it back to you mayor and All right Yes Would you [2:59:23] care to move the matter i would or does anybody have any questions for member [2:59:30] member anything okay Um so we've got a motion to adopt [2:59:35] um uh ordinance number 202501 which would amend chapter 8 concerning the [2:59:41] sale of inhumanely bred animals U any we got a motion by member Agnu Is there a [2:59:47] second to that motion second All right Member Risser seconds the motion to adopt that ordinance amending chapter 8 [2:59:55] concerning the sale of inhumanely bred animals Any further discussion all those [3:00:00] in favor of approving ordinance number 2025-01 amending chapter 8 concerning the sale of inhumanely bred animals and [3:00:07] grant second reading That included that in your motion I think Yes Uh all all of [3:00:13] those in favor say I I I opposed carried the uh ordinance approval is complete [3:00:20] and approved and the second reading grant uh is granted waiver of second reading Uh okay we got that matter [3:00:28] covered and now we are down to I think the last action item of the evening and [3:00:33] we are probably getting our city clerk pretty excited here because we're way ahead of her schedule And um the last [3:00:40] matter in front of us from an action standpoint tonight is uh going to be introduced by manager Neil And this is [3:00:49] uh the potential direction to the city manager to prepare an agreement with Henipin County I'll say again to [3:00:56] potentially transfer assessing services from the city to Henipin County with the agreement being subject to council [3:01:03] review and approval is the way I read the the motion So and we'll talk about that My observations on this Okay Go [3:01:09] ahead manager Neil Thank you your honor Members of council the action that we are asking uh for from the council [3:01:15] tonight is to direct uh city manager to meet with county uh county administrator [3:01:20] or or our respective uh design to discuss the um possibility of [3:01:26] transferring or assessing services from uh from the city to the county Uh we've [3:01:32] had a previous conversation about this on March 15th at our retreat again uh at [3:01:38] our April 1st work session and then tonight is the proposed action If the council uh approves this proposed uh [3:01:45] motion this evening that will uh direct me to get in contact with my colleague [3:01:51] uh Mr Puff uh and and again our associates who will work together uh to [3:01:56] put together the final agreement uh that will make that transfer um operational [3:02:02] Uh we have talked with our our legal adviser Mr Mr Kendall Uh he and his firm [3:02:08] have worked on a couple other agreements in Henipin County like this and and [3:02:13] would be able to assist us uh with making this happen as well Uh I think [3:02:18] it's important for us to say it's important for me to say to you that we are we are not thinking about propos [3:02:24] we're not proposing this action uh because our folks aren't performing The folks that do this work for us uh are [3:02:31] high performers They're good at what they do Uh this happens to be a a [3:02:36] a division of work that could be done um cooperatively with Henipin County and it [3:02:42] does have the potential to save the city uh significant dollars in terms of of [3:02:48] being able to reduce our levy um in our general fund levy in particular in in [3:02:53] the coming years as soon as next year and then in uh and then in the future So [3:02:58] that's the the rationale for this uh for this request Uh the county uh told us [3:03:04] that uh their their deadline to hear from city governments was May 1st That [3:03:09] allows them to take into consideration to receive these proposals of who's interested in in following this u this [3:03:17] process Uh Maple Grove the Maple Grove City Council has already taken an action and so Maple Grove will be uh [3:03:24] approaching the county or working with the county on on a similar kind of move We're asking you to make a similar kind [3:03:30] of action tonight I'm happy to answer any questions [3:03:35] Member Risser Um this is just clarifying information [3:03:41] Um one concern I've heard is that this doesn't necessarily mean a lower cost in [3:03:51] terms of the whole assessment process And it just comes down to how the [3:03:57] payment is being made And so my question to you is can you find out or get some [3:04:04] information on what the you know potential efficiencies might be and if [3:04:10] indeed there would be a total cost reduction So rem Okay great Yes Um and [3:04:15] that would end up being part of the part of the agreement that I referenced earlier Okay And the other thing and I'm learning all these acronyms which I [3:04:22] didn't used to know but the SLA the service level agreement I know that is [3:04:27] really important to member Pierce he's not here And so I really do want to [3:04:33] underscore that that needs to be a part of it right um those are my two big [3:04:40] concerns I will say I had uh I did have an exchange with Council Member Pierce [3:04:45] about the service level agreement Uh it's the service level agreement discussion does happen in the next phase [3:04:53] of of this discussion Uh it happens in the next phase because that's when the county knows how many cities they are [3:05:00] are looking at accepting through this process Whether it's two or whether it's eight uh makes a big difference to how [3:05:08] they uh respond to the service level agreement discussion [3:05:14] All right Good Uh member thank you Um so I'm asking I'm going to ask a [3:05:21] couple questions and hoping you can fill in some of the blanks in my mind right now Um so what I understand is the [3:05:29] transition could potentially start in 2026 and there would be [3:05:34] a approximately $500,000 reduction in the general fund [3:05:42] which would translate to a impact on the [3:05:48] percentage that we're increasing or a levy Right That's right And so if [3:05:53] we did nothing we would be on trend right for that 17% which I know is off [3:05:59] the table I know we won't actually get there but help explain how does the 500,000 [3:06:07] reduction correlate to a 17% Does it decrease it by a half a percentage are we then at [3:06:15] 16.5 does it decrease it by more kind of put it in those terms because we've always been talking about the percentage [3:06:22] increase Um and I I'm just wanting to make sure that we're talking about it in similar terms now that we have the [3:06:28] actual dollar value Right So the uh members of council council member Agnu [3:06:34] the uh the savings would occur when we don't spend as much money on assessing [3:06:41] services as we used to right so in in year one there's there's some uh there [3:06:48] we've made an estimate that about how much we or save or and the opposite of that is how much we'll spend and that [3:06:55] could be different depending on when the transition actually occurs But we we say [3:07:02] we reduce our general fund levy by an amount equal to the amount we don't spend if we if we eventually don't spend [3:07:08] it Right we have to make that decision later on this year when we approve our budget But that $500,000 number is about [3:07:16] uh a 1% increase in our levy So it's approximately So if we don't spend that [3:07:23] $500,000 here it's it results in a 1% decrease in our levy When we are uh [3:07:29] we're in this budget process right now the early stages and we're looking for lots of different opportunities for us [3:07:35] to save 500,000 here and 500,000 there because in the end that will make that [3:07:41] will be that will result in a decrease in in the proposed levy for 2026 Thank [3:07:48] you and thanks for bringing it in back into terms that I know that we've been discussing it in Um and just to clarify [3:07:54] you are asking us to make a decision tonight Correct I'm asking you to uh [3:07:59] make a decision tonight a preliminary decision tonight for us to engage in additional conversation with Henipin [3:08:06] County that we believe will result in an agreement that we'll bring back to you on June 2nd that that we'll you'll be [3:08:13] able to approve Um it'll be an agreement similar to what other cities have uh [3:08:18] struck with the county over the years Uh most recently Henip uh excuse me Plymouth very similar to we would like [3:08:25] to get the Plymouth agreement to to the extent not just the the the service levels that go with that but also the [3:08:31] the cost too Thank you So that was kind of vague which I [3:08:38] understand kind of where we're in the process So there's two options right tonight [3:08:44] we approve or we don't approve Mhm Um if we say to move forward and tell the [3:08:51] county we want to move forward and then you come back in June um are we like at [3:08:57] what point are we locking ourselves in or what are the options after tonight if we do say progress with coming up with [3:09:04] an agreement what are options then in June i would say you don't lock yourself in [3:09:10] until the agreement the written formal agreement is approved by the county and by the city [3:09:17] Okay Um there are people who are [3:09:22] employed by the city that are doing this function today Yes And so can you also [3:09:28] speak to me about um what a decision tonight means in terms of those [3:09:35] employees to the city so there are seven full-time employees that work in our assessing division that are directly [3:09:41] impacted by this decision Um we have been talking with them to let them know [3:09:46] how this process has been moving forward Uh we would continue to update them about how this process is moving forward [3:09:53] uh we would have some we probably have some additional discussions with with our HR and and our admin teams to figure [3:10:00] out how do we uh how do we actually put this forward if we if if we do uh if you [3:10:06] take the action tonight and if the count if the uh county approves that similar kind of action ultimately with the [3:10:12] agreement on on June 2nd So there's there's going to be some transition um [3:10:18] issues that we have to work out with that staff right and one of those is uh the county has uh has offered to give [3:10:26] preference to uh folks that work for our assessing division to work in their assessing department if if they so [3:10:33] choose That's one possible option for them Okay Thank you [3:10:42] What I think about this process is to me it's akin to uh buying and selling a [3:10:47] piece of property or buying and selling a business So you first you have a letter of intent that's non-binding and we've kind of got that [3:10:56] with that conversation with the county The next phase then would be to say okay [3:11:01] we've thought about this and now we're going to put an agreement together and we're going to look at the terms and [3:11:07] conditions of the potential agreement and we're going to decide whether we want to enter into an agreement with you or not That to me is the phase we're at [3:11:14] right now is that we say "Okay uh we're comfortable enough to go beyond the [3:11:19] non-binding letter of intent and say put an agreement together We'll take a look at the terms and conditions of it and [3:11:25] see if we buy into it or not and we want to make a deal." But I really appreciate your concern about employees you know [3:11:32] because we know that as we think about our budget and how to manage you know [3:11:38] the the the tax burden uh in this town that we all kind of own together Uh these are [3:11:45] things that we have to unfortunately think about And um to the uh other point [3:11:51] that you were making I thought which was another good one is I think our our assessing division budget for 2025 is [3:11:58] about 1.4 4 million And and so it might be that we end up spending half and we [3:12:04] don't know yet about timing things but we're going to save some money in 2026 if we decide we're going to do this And [3:12:11] then beyond that we're going to spend money with the county but that cost is going to get spread across the whole [3:12:16] county and not just on the taxpayers That's right So that that spread over a of a estimated market value of 225 [3:12:25] 250 billion I think Yeah Yeah instead of 18 billion or whatever we [3:12:31] have So uh to me it's worth going to the next step to see if there are terms and [3:12:37] conditions in a potential agreement that are would cause us to say "Okay we're we're good to go or we're not good to [3:12:44] go." So it's like step two in the process I think that's a good analogy Yeah [3:12:50] Uh so I would say that the motion should be uh to direct the city manager prepare [3:12:55] an agreement with Henipin County to potentially transfer assessing services from the city to Henipin County [3:13:02] conditioned upon council review and approval [3:13:08] Approve of viewer edits I think they're very good We have a mover [3:13:15] Which one i move we um Okay approve with the edits you just gave Yes Stop The [3:13:22] motion is stated Okay We got a second And if I could just add a little bit um [3:13:29] I'm glad that we'll be able to continue to think about this decision and get more information because I think [3:13:35] specifically the SLAs's the experience side of this that we're thinking about [3:13:41] for our residents is incredibly important to me And I I know that that was really what I I heard when we were [3:13:48] having the discussion with the assessing department here Um what I continue to go [3:13:54] back to is we're potentially talking about a 1 to [3:14:00] 2% com like component of the levy right which impacts everyone [3:14:08] And when I was having some conversations with people in the community like it is a smaller subset I don't know the exact [3:14:15] numbers Maybe that's something that we could come back with as well but how many people are interacting with the [3:14:21] assessing department and needing to resolve things I'm really looking at what's the overall impact to the [3:14:27] entirety of the community And so that's where I am I'm supportive of continuing [3:14:33] to move forward but I really want to understand um the service level impact and how [3:14:39] we can boil it down to the cost of that right i think that's what it comes down [3:14:45] to So I I am definitely hoping to hear from more people in the community as well about this in particular Um but [3:14:53] we'll support it tonight [3:14:59] Okay good Thanks for those supplemental comments Any anything else member Russer uh no Okay Uh we've got a a motion and a [3:15:07] second to uh direct the city manager to prepare an agreement with Henipin County to potentially transfer assessing [3:15:14] services from the city to Henipin County subject to the uh subject to council review and approval of such an agreement [3:15:22] Uh any further conversation any further discussion those in favor of adoption of the motion as stated say I I I Opposed [3:15:29] carried The motion's approved All right Uh I'm just just going to jump [3:15:36] by commission correspondence I don't think we've had anything come in supplementally that we need to be mindful of Uh you would have told us [3:15:44] clerk Ellison if you were something we needed to be mindful of And then manager's comments [3:15:51] Uh I don't have any comments uh your honor beyond the two items that I included in the packet tonight One was [3:15:58] some background on the city's participation in the ICWC uh program Uh and the other was uh a [3:16:06] response to I think some questions that uh council member Risser asked about the [3:16:11] spark program and where the money came from and where it might go and what options uh might be available to the [3:16:17] city if if the projects that we pledge that money to don't actually come to [3:16:22] fruition And that's all I've got Okay Uh member Eggno anything for the good of [3:16:29] the order not tonight Thank you Okay Thanks member Russer [3:16:36] Yeah And this is um inspired by what happened tonight and with Mr Brown and I [3:16:43] am concerned about our residents who live next to [3:16:49] commercial zones and I this is not the first time a project has come in and I [3:16:55] one of my friends moved from Edina and she was living next to commercial land [3:17:02] in Edina her easement that allowed her to access her garage was completely um [3:17:09] cut off from her for almost a year And that meant and in the city there was [3:17:15] nothing She she couldn't get help She tried and um when she came to city hall [3:17:23] I think she may have ended up talking to somebody who was not familiar with the project But um after I met her and we [3:17:29] went back and we reviewed um the meetings that covered the plan for the [3:17:35] daycare next to where she where her house was It was very clear that the planning commissioners were concerned [3:17:42] about her easement um and her keeping access Uh it was clear that the city [3:17:47] council brought it up but nothing was done to protect her and um she couldn't [3:17:54] I mean she would have had to hire an attorney and I I really feel for her I [3:18:00] feel for Mr Brown I feel for uh the resident who is south of Mr Brown's [3:18:07] property And I don't know what the answer is but we need to figure out a [3:18:14] way And part of you know part of what we just talked about with assessment and [3:18:20] you know how we heard about a resident coming in and needing help and the resident got help Um we need to figure [3:18:27] out a way so that we can help residents who end up you know in situations that [3:18:34] they shouldn't be in you know because they're not being treated fairly And you know how how are we going to be able to [3:18:42] address that I think is a huge question And I get that you know it's a legal [3:18:47] matter between the resident and the builder but I also get that um you know [3:18:53] this this happens and it seems like we should be prepared so that you know [3:18:59] maybe we can connect a resident with a firm that does proono or at least have [3:19:06] some information about legal resources legal aid Uh but it it feels like we we [3:19:13] need to do something Thank you Thank you Um couple of things I think uh [3:19:21] all these years I've been on the city council I don't know if we've ever operated with three people before It was [3:19:26] quite a novel experience but it was it was a good one Yeah Thank you both my colleagues for uh helping me get through [3:19:33] the evening here uh with a lot of uh heavy agenda items important agenda [3:19:39] items to deal with Our our colleagues you know uh people have full-time jobs that sometimes take them out of town [3:19:45] like member Pierce and uh that was the reason he was gone And for our colleague Carolyn Jackson um I think her mother [3:19:53] passed away about a month ago and uh now her dad's passed away down in De Moines and so that's where she is and she [3:20:00] indicated that it was okay for us to reference at this meeting the reason why she wasn't able to attend this evening [3:20:07] and that uh she's down there taking care of some estate matters with her with her dad who um couldn't live without her mom [3:20:15] So um I think we'll probably have a full slate on the 6th of May of council [3:20:22] members hopefully Yeah Uh knock on the thin piece of wood [3:20:29] here Um and I thank everybody that came tonight The it's great to celebrate the [3:20:35] teams in Edina uh that win these state championships So the swimmers and divers it was fun to have them here and then uh [3:20:43] Bob Thompson and and Jack as well uh with their new book and manager Neil I [3:20:48] don't know if you have a copy of this I got a signed copy Oh you got a signed copy because I've got one at home and I [3:20:54] don't do you have some Jennifer for uh our missing council members And do you [3:21:00] do you need one or should there be one at city hall because I've got We've got a couple actually Do we [3:21:09] yeah Well maybe I'll I can find somebody else to give it to You know there's an adina give and go event coming up at the [3:21:15] end of the month Maybe I can stick this in the silent auction and they can raise a little money with that Uh that's all I [3:21:22] had Um we had a long tab meeting today and uh more always something coming up [3:21:28] to deal on deal with for the city And uh Chad we wish you the best and uh I'm [3:21:35] sure we're going to get calls So uh please market and have people [3:21:42] available to help those first few days especially you know I got caught in that mess on 94 going between Minneapolis and [3:21:49] St Paul one of the first few days That was just unbelievable how bad that was Um and it continues to be bad So people [3:21:56] need to find alternative routes All right that's it Is there a motion to adjurnn so moved Second Member moves we [3:22:04] adjourn And member Risser endorses that idea I do as well Uh any further discussion all those in favor of [3:22:10] adjournment say I I I Opposed Uh we stand adjourned Motion carried