Agenda & item 7.2 ITEM #7.2.
CITY OF ELK RIVER
• REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL
AGENDA
Tuesday, February 16, 1999
6 p.m. - Council Chambers
ACTION
ITEM NUMBER TAKEN
1. CALL MEETING TO ORDER AT 6 P.M. 6:05 P.M.
2. CONSIDER COUNCIL AGENDA A 5-0
*3. CONSIDER CONSENT AGENDA
3.1. 2/8/99 Council Minutes A 5-0
3.2. Request by Phoenix Enterprises for Preliminary A 5-0
Plat Approval (Hillside 9th), Public Hearing
Case No. P 98-5 (Postponed to 3/15/99)
3.3. Request by Phoenix Enterprises for Rezoning A 5-0
1111
(Hillside 9th), Public Hearing Case No. ZC 98-7
(Postponed to 3/15/99)
3.4. Request by Phoenix Enterprises for Conditional A 5-0
Use Permit for PUD (Hillside 9th), Public Hearing
Case No. CU 98-21 (Postponed to 3/15/99)
3.5. Request by Oppidan, Inc. for Amendment to PUD A 5-0
Agreement Regarding Signage, Public Hearing
Case No. PA 98-1 (Postponed to 3/15/99)
3.6. Request by Art Peterson for Preliminary Plat A 5-0
Approval (Star Light Estates), Public Hearing
Case No. P 99-3 (Postponed to 3/15/99)
3.7. Request by City of Elk River for Ordinance A 5-0
Amendment Regarding Open Space Subdivision
Regulations, Public Hearing Case No. OA 98-3
(Postponed to 3/15/99)
3.8. Consider Transient Merchant Licenses for CW A 5-0
Marketing
3.9. Request by Associated Developers of the Twin A 5-0
Cities, Inc. for Preliminary Plat (Elk River
Crossing), Public Hearing Case No. P 98-8-
Continued to 3/8/99 City Council Meeting
Ill3.10. Request by Associated Developers of the Twin A 5-0
Cities, Inc. for Conditional Use Permit, Public
Hearing Case No. CU 98-26- Continued to
3/8/99 City Council Meeting
4. ADMINISTRATION/ENGINEERING
4.1. Boys & Girls Club Update Update
4.2. Community Recreation Update Update
4.3. Utilities Commission Update Update
4.4. Northstar Corridor Update Update
4.5. Consider County Request Regarding City Fees for A 5-0
Jail Construction Project
4.6. CBD Visioning Update Update
4.7. Energy City Update - Video Video
4.8. Research Former Township Road Request by Update
Cecilia Scheel
4.9. Consider Resolution Regarding Planned 171st Res. 99-9
Railroad Crossing A 5-0
4.10. Consider School Street Improvements - No Res. 99-10
Parking Resolution A 5-0
4.11. Modifications to Legal Description in Covenant Res. 99-11
on Parkview Addition A 5-0
4.12. Wetland Conservation Act Decision - Tyler Street A 5-0
Extension, Case No. WCA 98-10
4.13. Wetland Conservation Act Decision - Elk River A 5-0
Crossing, Case No. WCA 98-12
4.14. Consider Environmental Assessment Worksheet Res. 99-12
for Elk River Crossing A 5-0
5. OPEN MIKE No one •
6. PLANNING
6.1. Request by Gordon Mire Jr. for Conditional Use Continued
Permit for Parking of Semi Truck, Public Hearing to 2/22 mtg.
Case No. CU 99-1 A 5-0
6.2. Request by Meadowvale LLC for Final Plat Res. 99-13
Approval (Hidden Creek), Case No. P 97-17 A 5-0
6.3. Request by Windsor Developmei t for Final Plat Continued
Approval (Lafayette Woods 3rd Addition), Case No. to 3/15 mtg.
P99-4 A5-0
6.4. Request by Tony Emmerich for Preliminary and Res. 99-14
Final Plat Approval (Country Crossing Business A 5-0
Center 3rd), Public Hearing Case No. P 99-2
6.5. Request by LeFebvre Companies, Inc. for Ord. 99-8
Rezoning, Public Hearing Case No. ZC 98-12 A 5-0
6.6. Request by LeFebvre Companies, Inc. for A 5-0
Preliminary Plat (Leon LeFebvre Second
Addition), Public Hearing Case No. P 98-9
6.7. Request by LeFebvre Companies, Inc. for A 5-0
Easement Vacation, Public Hearing Case
No. EV 98-8 •
6.8. Request by LeFebvre Companies, Inc. for A 5-0
Amendment to PUD Conditional Use Permit,
Public Hearing Case No. CU 98-29
7. OTHER BUSINESS
7.1. Director of Planning and Assistant Director of Update
Economic Development Employment Search
• Updates
7.2. Discuss County Board Joint Meeting (2/23/99) Discussion
Agenda
8. STAFF UPDATES None
9. ADJOURNMENT 9:25 P.M.
**CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS are considered to be routine and noncontroversial by the Council and will be
approved by one motion. There will be no separate discussion of these items unless a Councilmember,staff
member,or citizen so requests,in which case the item will be removed from the consent agenda and considered in
its normal sequence on the agenda.
"This agenda is available in alternate formats upon a 72 hour advanced notice. "Auxiliary aids and
services are also available upon a 72 hour advanced notice. Please contact the City Clerk at 441-7420
(TDD 441-7420)to make a request. Examples of alternate formats may include:large print,Braille,
audio tape,etc." Examples of auxiliary aids may include a sign language interpreter,assistive
listening device,etc."
•
•
:►.;_. to meet the willing to be
st century. ing so — they
Boy.. se's two higher edu- the increases th. INFORMATION
Northfield
•
What kind of town does it want to be:
Only a few communities in Minne-
sota have managed to retain their If Target succeeds, it's likely
small-town charm:Lanesboro,Stillwa-
ter and Red Wing come to mind. And that Hwy. 3 will quickly
Northfield. The town's historic Divi- become a prosperous strip
sion Street is one of Minnesota's great of big retail
est treasures. boxes,
•
That's why it's so disturbing that, supermarkets, lumberyards
for the second time in a dozen years, and fast-food restaurants.
-.. preservationists are having to rally •
v� against a plan to bring big-box retail- The town's focus will shift
ing to Northfield's outskirts. In 1988 southward. The old
the town's voters turned away Wal- downtown will languish.
- Mart,which has gained a dubious rep-
utation nationwide for turning main Sadly, a special town will
streets into ghost towns while trans- become more like every
J forming the surrounding countryside else.
into strips of drive-by clutter. place
'? But now comes a more attractive
suitor,one that's tougher to turn away. For Target, Northfield poses a lu-
shopping
Target wants to build a g
shopping center on a 30-acre site crative opportunity.It's a picturesque,
along Hwy. 3 south of town. Problem high-income college town that will grow
is, Northfield's comprehensive plan larger than its current 16,000 residents,
III 1 designates historic Division Street as especially if the proposed Minneapolis-
its retail core and forbids big box re Burnsville-Northfield commuter rail
tailing anywhere else. Building-a Tar- line is built.Town boosters want the tax
get, with its vast parking lot and strip revenues that Target and other subur-
of attendant businesses,would require ban-style retailers will bring. They ask
a zoning change. why Northfield residents should have to
Last week, a sympathetic town drive 20 minutes to the Target in Apple
.> council authorized a vote that could Valley or to the Burnsville Mall.
\j\ do just that. On March 2, Northfield's But the American landscape is clut-
voters will decide whether to change tered with towns that have lost their
the zoning to allow Target to build. souls in the search for cheaper toilet
Not since the days of the Vietnam War paper — and now very much regret
has this two-college town been so hot the Faustian bargains they struck.The
ly divided. The stakes go way beyond value of a special place like Northfield
Target to the fundamental question: can't be measured only in retail sales
What kind of town does Northfield and property tax revenues. This is a
want to be? If Target succeeds, it's hard concept for those who cannot
likely that Hwy. 3 will quickly become imagine progress without suburban-
a prosperous strip of big retail boxes, style growth. They haven't visited San
Luis Obispo, Calif., or Burlington, Vt.,
supermarkets, lumberyards and fast
food restaurants.The town's focus will cities that have deterred drive-by clut
shift southward. The old downtown ter and preserved charming, walkable
will languish.Sadly,a special town will downtowns that are genuine gathering
become more like every place else. places that strengthen rather than
It's curious that so many people fragment the community.
• who live in attractive, historic towns It's unfortunate that Target and oth-
don't fully appreciate what they al- er big-box retailers aren't trying harder
• ready have, and are so willing to risk
losing it. It's odd that they long to to design prototypes that fit into tradi-
tional downtowns. Until they do, spe-
cial places like Northfield have little
become ordinary.
choice but to resist. l