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07-28-2003 HR MIN MEETING OF THE ELK RIVER • HOUSING AND REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY HELD AT LIONS PARK CENTER MONDAY,JULY 28, 2003 Members Present: Chair Toth,Commissioners Thompson,Lieser,Motin and Wilson Staff Present: Executive Director Catherine Mehelich,Economic Development Assistant Heidi Hall,City Administrator Pat Klaers,and Director of Planning Michele McPherson 1. Call Meeting To Order Pursuant to due call and notice thereof,the meeting of the Elk River Housing and Redevelopment Authority was called to order at 5:00 p.m.by Chair Toth. 2. Consider July 28,2003 HRA Agenda COMMISSIONER THOMPSON MOVED TO APPROVE THE JULY 28,2003, HRA AGENDA AS PRESENTED. COMMISSIONER WILSON SECONDED THE MOTION. THE MOTION CARRIED 5-0. 3. Consider Consent Agenda COMMISSIONER THOMPSON MOVED TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA AS FOLLOWS: 3.1. JUNE 30,2003 HRA MINUTES 3.2. CHECK REGISTER 3.3. REVENUE/EXPENDITURE SHEET 3.4. BALANCE SHEET COMMISSIONER MOTIN SECONDED THE MOTION. THE MOTION CARRIED 5-0. 4. Open Mike There was no one present for Open Mike. 5. Comprehensive Plan Update Commissioner Lieser stated that the last Comprehensive Plan Update Task Force meeting was an informational meeting regarding the transportation plan and whether it should be part of the Comprehensive Plan or used as a stand-alone plan. Commissioner Lieser stated that she believed that the transportation plan should be a stand-alone document,yet referenced in the Comprehensive Plan. Commissioner Thompson stated that he believed that the transportation plan should be included as part of the Comprehensive Plan. Chair Toth concurred. City Administrator Pat Klaers informed the HRA that each request to modify the Comprehensive Plan would require a public hearing and a four-fifths majority vote,unlike a stand-alone transportation HRA Minutes Page 2 July 28,2003 4111 plan. Chair Toth asked that the HRA maintain its involvement regarding this issue via the Comprehensive Plan Update Task Force. 6. Housing Work Plan Session IV: Central MN Housing Partnership (CMHP),Tri-CAP,and the Sherburne County Chapter of Habitat for Humanity Ms.Hall introduced CMHP Deputy Director Lisa Graphenteen and Executive Director Sheri Harris. Ms. Graphenteen provided an overview of CMHP's housing programs and mentioned the importance of the following issues when developing a housing program: • Technical Assistance • Program Delivery • Housing Planning • Grant Writing/Financial Packaging • Resource Referral/Networking Ms.Hall introduced Tri-CAP Community Development Coordinator Dan Roberts. Mr. Roberts provided an overview of Tri-CAP's housing programs. Ms.Hall introduced Sherburne County Chapter of Habitat for Humanity Board Member Vance Zehringer. Mr.Zehringer provided an overview of the Sherburne County Chapter of Habitat for Humanity and stated that the main challenge faced by Habitat for Humanity is finding free or low cost residential lots. 7. Downtown Revitalization Project Update • Director of Planning Michele Mcpherson asked that members of the public be allowed to provide the HRA with any issues or concerns regarding the Downtown Revitalization Project. 7.1 Presentation of Issues and Concerns by Downtown Owners and Tenants Rob VanValkenburg,Baxter,MN(Cinema Building Co-owner) —Mr.VanValkenburg distributed copies of Kemper Drug Co-owner Wendy Simenson's letter to the HRA and copies of a survey of Cinema building tenants conducted by Mr.VanValkenburg. Mr. VanValkenburg also stated that he would be providing the City Council with a petition of 700 signatures stating disapproval of the Downtown Revitalization Project. Mr. VanValkenburg stated he has three main concerns with the Downtown Revitalization Project,which are: • Loss of parking during construction and permanently • Loss of historic town square • Lack of safety and play area accommodations for children living in the 2-bedroom residential units Mr.VanValkenburg mentioned that he would rather see the open space between the Sunshine Depot and Cinema building be redeveloped rather than Jackson Square. Mr.VanValkenburg concluded his presentation by informing the HRA that he would be asking the City Council to reverse their decision to approve the letter of understanding between the City and MetroPlains for the future sale of the City-owned Jackson Block • Property. HRA Minutes Page 3 July 28,2003 • Lance Lindberg, 1001 School St.NW— Mr.Lindberg stated the total amount of downtown parking stalls and mentioned that the zoning code for other multi-family units in the city calls for more stalls than the proposed downtown project includes. Cliff Lundberg,400 Jackson Ave.NW —Mr.Lundberg stated that Jackson Square represents historic Elk River's town square open space and that if buildings were built on the Square,visibility to the river would be lost. Mr.Lundberg also mentioned that customers are not willing to walk 3-4 blocks to their destination and that the learning curve to convince them to do so would take too long. David Raymond, 13686 River View Drive NW(Elk River Arts Alliance) — On behalf of the Arts Alliance,Mr.Raymond stated that the Alliance has not taken a stand on the project but indicated that their main concern is that although the City has plans to replace the"lost" parking,there doesn't seem to be plans to accommodate the parking needs that will increase with the addition of new businesses. The Arts Alliance also feels that downtown should extend to Handke School. On a personal note,Mr.Raymond raised the issues of MnDot's plans for Hwy 10 and the possibility of a parking ramp downtown. Mr.Raymond also mentioned that the MetroPlains proposal is the best he has seen so far. Barb Maricle, 1234-6th St.NW—Ms.Maricle expressed that Jackson Square should remain a town square,that all"old" downtown buildings,including the Municipal Utilities building should be saved. She stated that she does like the Bluff Block plans. John Houlton, 1149 Nile Lane (First National Financial Services) —Mr.Houlton stated that First National Financial Services has not taken a position on the project. Mr.Houlton indicated that First National's preliminary discussions with MetroPlains have been good and that the bank is willing to cooperate with MetroPlains and the City during construction to allow some public parking in the First National lots. Mr.Houlton also stated that the project is the City's best hope of revitalizing downtown and that something needs to be done in order to compete with downtown Otsego and other nearby downtowns. Keith Holme, (Kemper Drug Building Co-owner) —Mr.Holme stated that he is most concerned with parking issues and the disruption construction will cause to his business. Mr.Holme mentioned that building height is another concern due to visibility issues for the Brick Block and is not of historic nature with the rest of downtown. David Raymond, 13686 River View Drive NW (Elk River Arts Alliance) —Mr.Raymond mentioned that the open space between the Sunshine Depot and the Cinema Building is currently used during the bi-annual ArtSoup festival and that the Arts Alliance would like to see that open space remain. Chuck Christian,403 Main St.NW(Cynthia's Stamps&Scrapbooking,St.Maximillian Books,Cinema Building Co-owner, &Century 21 Christian) —Mr.Christian stated that parking is his main issue with the project and that the Cinema building parking is dependant on a partnership with the City. He stated that the City is simply"going too far"to make development happen by giving up parking. • HRA Minutes Page 4 July 28,2003 7.2 Overview of Process,Project,and Next Steps Ms.McPherson provided the HRA with a presentation regarding some of the issues that have been raised by the public,either to members of the HRA,members of the City Council,or members of staff regarding the Downtown Revitalization Project. Such issues include,but are not limited to:parking,housing,financial assistance,and communication. Following Ms.McPherson's presentation,Commissioner Motin asked Vern Hanson of MetroPlains Development to explain why the Brick Block redevelopment concept was no longer an option. Mr.Hanson explained that the relocation of one of the businesses located within the Brick Block would not be financially feasible for the project to occur. Chair Toth asked Mr.Hanson if research was done regarding the inclusion of the business into the Brick Block concept. Mr.Hanson explained that the residential component of the concept,which was crucial for the financial feasibility of the concept,would not fit well with the type of activity that occurs at the business (slaughtering). Commissioner Motin added that the redevelopment of the Brick Block would seem to eliminate more parking spaces than the Jackson Square concept. Mr.Hanson concurred. Commissioner Motion asked if Jackson Ave.could be widened. Ms.McPherson stated that federal regulations prohibit the widening of Jackson but that temporary parking may be allowed. Commissioner Motin asked if permanent diagonal parking was possible for the north side of Main St. Ms.McPherson stated that staff would need to further research the 4110 issue. Cliff Lundberg,400 Jackson Ave.NW—Mr.Lundberg asked if the underground parking will be public or private. Mr.Hanson stated that the underground parking would accommodate commercial and residential tenants of the new building only due to security issues. He stated that on-street parking should cater to customers. Rob VanValkenburg,Baxter,MN(Cinema Building Co-owner) —Mr.VanValkenburg stated that the City's plans to replace the development's "lost" parking by replacing the Municipal Utilities building with a parking lot two blocks away is irrelevant to the project. Mr.VanValkenburg stated that the"lost"parking must be replaced in the exact same area in which it was "lost". Jeff Ackerman, 19081 Evans Circle (Avalon Contemporary Salon) —Mr.Ackerman asked Vern Hanson of MetroPlains why the housing proposed in the Jackson Square development cannot be "for sale" units. Mr.Hanson explained that the downtown housing market will need to be developed first by rental units in order to create the"for sale"market. Commissioner Lieser asked if more parking would be available if all the units were 1- bedroom. Mr.Hanson mentioned that conceivably more parking would be available. • Commissioner Motion asked Mr.Hanson to reply to Mr.VanValkenburg's concern for a lack of safety and play area accommodations for children living in the 2-bedroom residential HRA Minutes Page 5 July 28,2003 units. Mr.Hanson stated that the profile of a downtown resident is persons 25-35 year in age,senior citizens,typically childless or single. He stated that typically only one out of ten units may have a child under the age of three years. Chair Toth asked Ms.McPherson to address Mr.Lindberg's concern over downtown parking code requirements. Ms.McPherson stated that downtown currently has no code restrictions and that downtown accommodates two-thirds of what would be typically be required for private parking in other areas of the City. She stated that as a whole,the public and private areas result in a surplus of parking and that most existing businesses do not meet the code provisions. Cliff Lundberg,400 Jackson Ave.NW—Mr.Lundberg stated that the downtown businesses were assessed for the Kemper parking lot. Commissioner Lieser asked Ms.McPherson if research has been done to profile the typical age of customers who shop downtown. Ms.McPherson stated that this type of research would need to be a cooperative effort between the business owners and city staff. Director of Economic Development Catherine Mehelich stated that the Maxfield Research April 2001 analysis of downtown Elk River might reference this sort of information. Chair Toth asked the HRA to provide staff with items that need to be researched in order to respond to or report the status of their research regarding the questions and concerns raised by the HRA and members of the public. Staff compiled the following list of items: • Status of deed restriction on Jackson Square • • Impact of MnDot proposed Hwy 10 plan and if MnDot has an updated timeline for the project • Resident profile for the proposed apartments (re: concern for kids) • Widening of Jackson Ave for diagonal parking,check with MnDot if temporary or permanent parking can be allowed. • Study of what age group uses downtown • Parking ramp option for the rear of the Brick Block,cost/design,etc. • Additional parking option with school district • Research current time limit and enforcement of parking times downtown • Consider a plan for permit parking on King Ave and/or 3-hour time limit • Explore temporary parking on city green space; improvements needed/# spots gained • Explore safer pedestrian crossing points for Hwy 10 to downtown Marcy VanValkenburg,Elk River Travel— Ms.VanValkenburg mentioned that it is too dangerous for employees to park across Hwy 10. Vance Zehringer, 18920 Concord St.NW—Mr.Zehringer asked if staff or the HRA had researched the construction of underground pedestrian tunnels for Hwy 10. David Raymond, 13686 River View Drive NW (Elk River Arts Alliance) —Mr.Raymond asked if any research has been completed regarding the construction of a downtown parking ramp. • 8. Adjournment HRA Minutes Page 6 July 28,2003 There being no other business,COMMISSIONER WILSON MOVED TO ADJOURN g J THE MEETING. COMMISSIONER THOMPSON SECONDED THE MOTION. THE MOTION CARRIED 5-0. The meeting of the Elk River Housing and Redevelopment Authority adjourned at 7:28 p.m. Heidi Hall Economic Development Assistant S S