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03-23-1994 CC MIN - SPECIAL e SPECIAL MEETING OF THE ELK RIVER CITY COUNCIL HELD AT THE ELK RIVER CITY HALL WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23, 1994 Members Present: Mayor Duitsman, Council members Dietz and Holmgren Members Absent: Council member Scheel and Farber Planning Commission Members Present: Chairman Tveite, Commissioners Kuester, Eberley, Tacheny, Minton, Carr, and Kreger Staff Present: Pat Klaers, City Administrator; Steven Ach, City Planner; and Sandy Thackeray, City Clerk 1. Call Meetina To Order Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the joint meeting of the Elk River City Council and Planning Commission was called to order at 6:00 p.m. by Chairman Tveite. e 2. Consider Aaenda The agenda was approved by consensus of the Planning Commission and City Council. 3. Discuss make-uo of steerina committee to assist in uodatina comprehensive plan Commissioner Minton reviewed the proposed make-up of the comp plan steering committee. The following is a list of the proposed groups and number of members that would provide representation: Elk River City Cou;lcil -- One member Planning Commission -- Two members Park and Rec Commission -- One member Economic Development Authority - One member Housing & Redevelopment Authority -- One member Citizen from each ward selected by the City Councilmember -- Four members School district -- One member Chamber of Commerce/Retailer -- One member Chamber of Commerce/Industrial -- One member TOTAL MEMBERS PROPOSED = 73 MEMBERS e Councilmember Holmgren suggested adding a County Board representative to the committee. Special City Council meeting March 23, 1994 Page 2 e Mayor Duitsman stated that he would request all major decisions and changes to be brought to the City Council. Commissioner Tveite indicated that he anticipated all decisions to be brought before the Council along with regular update reports. Commissioner Eberley suggested adding a senior and youth representative to the committee. Discussion was held regarding the size of the committee. It was suggested that a senior could possibly be chosen as a ward representative. The chain of command was discussed. It was the consensus that the Steering Committee would report to the Planning Commission and the Planning Commission would report to the City Council. The City Administrator suggested adding a utility commissioner to the committee. Commissioner Minton suggested meeting with the Utilities Commission on an as- needed basis. Chairman Tveite talked about the possibility of losing continuity of the group if the Mayor is not reelected. He requested the Mayor to continue serving even if he is not reelected to another mayoral term. e Discussion was held regarding the method of appointing the steering committee members. It was the consensus that the respective groups appoint their own representative. Commissioner Kuester talked about choosing a chair for the committee. It was the consensus of the Council and Planning Commission that Commissioner Minton would chair the steering committee. Discussion was held regarding the work load that would be created from the process of updating the comprehensive plan. Mayor Duitsman indicated that money has been budgeted for a planning consultant but that these funds may go toward an intern. April 27, at 7:00 p.m. was set as the first meeting of the Steering Committee. This meeting would be an organizational meeting. Discussion at this meeting will pertain to the following: establishing of goals for the Steering Committee: layout of the process the committee will follow; identification of focus groups. It was the consensus of the Planning Commission and Council that the Steering Committee be comprised of the 13 members as stated in the above list and that County Commissioner Engstrom be added as the fourteenth member. 4. Consider components of comprehensive plan and relative Questions associated with these components e General discussion was held regarding the urban service limits for city sewer and water extensions. The Council reviewed the plans and timetable of extending utilities to the east. Discussion was also held regarding addressing the prevention of leap-frog development in the City through the comprehensive plan update. Special City Council meeting March 23, 1994 Page 3 e Mayor Duitsman suggested controlling the development of metes and bounds properties. It was also suggested that the City research the communities abutting Elk River's borders so as to prevent any land use conflicts while updating the plan. It was suggested that the comprehensive plan address controlling multi-family development in the City. Gravel mining was discussed. It was suggested that an overlay zone of the gravel mining district be considered in order to address what the future use of the property will be after the mining is finished. Also, it was suggested that performance standards (Le. buffer zones) for mining areas be considered to protect the surrounding land uses from the mining activity. Banking of wetlands was discussed. It was the Council consensus that the first priority would be to bank enough wetland for the use of the City, especially for road construction and other public improvement projects. Discussion was held regarding preservation of woodlands. It was the consensus of the Council that preservation of woodlands, open space and natural features is an important issue and should be addressed in the comp plan. Councilmember Dietz indicated that it is important that these areas are identified. He further indicated that it is important that the developers are aware of the city's intention to preserve these areas. e Discussion was held regarding the goals of the downtown area. The Planning Commission members indicated that it could be the intention of the comp plan to preserve the quality and character of the downtown area through zoning efforts and by possibly extending the downtown area. It was the consensus of the Council that the river is under-utilized and that plans for preservation and redevelopment of that area should be included in the comp plan. It was further indicated that this issue could be an "area focus study." Chairman Tveite indicated that it was important to work in conjunction with the park and recreation commission to assure the comprehensive park plan is consistent with the comprehensive plan and future land uses. 5. Other Business There was no other business. 6. Adiournment The meeting was adjourned by consensus at 8:35 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, e Sandra A. Thackeray City Clerk