Agenda • PLANNING COMMISSION
WORKSHOP AGENDA
Tuesday, November 12, 2002— 6:30 p.m.
Elk River City Hall
1. Presentation by Jay Michels
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S:\PLANNING\Agendas\11-12 WS Agenda.doc
• Elk
1-(11L ._,
Rive?
MEMORANDUM
TO: Mayor and City Council
Planning Commission
Comprehensive Plan Update Task Force
FROM: Rebecca Haug, Environmental Technician
DATE: October 23, 2002
SUBJECT: Nonpoint Education for Municipal Officials (NEMO)
Did you know that land disturbances from construction increases the natural rate of soil erosion
20,000-40,000 times that of undeveloped property? Also,construction site erosion contributes an
estimated 80 million tons of sediment in the U.S.surface waters each year. Over time,this runoff
can damage entire river systems. Sedimentation also destroys fisheries, reduces recreational
opportunities,and creates health risks. Topsoil loss from agricultural areas reduces productivity of
farmland,eventually resulting in increased costs for food and dairy products. Sooner or later,these
• problems will require taxpayers to bear the burden of costs to dredge harbors and navigable river
channels,to clean clogged sewer systems,to repair flood damage,and to increase treatment of water
supplies.
Storm water runoff is generated from all impervious surfaces(built areas).In site design(both new
and redevelopment)there are many opportunities to both reduce the amount of storm water runoff
and improve its aesthetic value.
The Clean Water Act was amended in 1987 to require implementation of a comprehensive national
program for addressing storm water discharges. Phase I of the program required large and medium
size Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems(MS4's)communities serving populations of 100,000
or greater (Minneapolis and St. Paul) to obtain coverage under a National Pollutant Discharge
Elimination System (NPDES) permit and to develop and implement programs and practices to
control impacted storm water runoff. Phase II of this program is expanding by requiring small
(MS4's) to obtain coverage under a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)
permit and to develop and implement programs and practices to control impacted storm water
runoff. Small MS4's are defined as any city that was not a large or medium MS4. This coverage
must be obtained by March 10,2003 and will require all development impacting more than 1
acre to obtain a NPDES permit.
Jay Michels from the Minnesota Erosion Control Association has been invited to give a presentation
informing land use decision makers about the relationships between land use and water resource
protection. The presentation will be held at the Elk River City Hall located at 13065 Orono
• Parkway and is scheduled to start around 6:30 p.m. on November 12, 2002. A brochure has
been attached giving an overview of what Jay will be presenting.
DID Y Q=U It-NOWT - ,
III •
Extending the Time to Act Under the 60-Day Rule
By Karen Cole
y now, nearly all Minnesota cities location of the expanded power line.fi
have had experience with the
The district court accepted that argument
Xcel Energy agreed to the proposals and ruled for the city. The Court of
60 day statute—Minn. Stat. and agreed the statutory period for Appeals, however, reversed and ruled
Sect. 15.99—that sets a time limit review would be extended, as long as that the permit must be issued. The
for certain land-use decisions. the work of the committee was done in Court reached this conclusion even
Under the statute, cities have good faith and within a set time limit. though Xcel Energy waited seven
60 days to make zoning and In the meantime, the consultant was months to insist the permit be issued,
septic system decisions. Cities hired and the committee was created even though the studies funded by Xcel
may extend the 60-day period, but and met. Near the end of the statutory at the city's request were ongoing, and
only if they carefully comply with the period, the City Council determined it even though there had been a spirit of
statute's requirements. needed more time and adopted a reso- cooperation between the city and the
There are two different ways cities _ company. The Court's decision, along
may extend the 60-day period. First, with several others, suggest that Minne-
cities may extend the period on their • "The Court's decision,along with several sota courts will interpret the 60-day
own if they notify the applicant in statute strictly and that cities should be
others,suggest that Minnesota courts
writing within the initial 60-day period. careful in extending the deadline.
In its written notice, the city must give will interpret the 60-day statute strictly Cities should draw several lessons from
reasons for the extension and specify itsthe Xcel Energy case. When extending
• length (no longer than an additional 60 and that cities should be careful the time period by agreement, cities
days). Reasons for the extension should in extending the deadline." should get the applicant's consent to
relate in some way to the specific appli- the extension in writing. Cities should
cation. For example, the reason may be never rely on an informal verbal agree-
the need to complete a certain study lution denying the conditional use permit ment. Consent is sometimes given by
before acting on the application. unless Xcel Energy agreed to additional applicants at public meetings. In that
The deadline may be extended in time. Xcel Energy agreed in writing to case, cities should ensure the meeting
another way: where the applicant and a five-month extension. is recorded so that an accurate, written
the city both agree additional time may The new deadline came and went. record can be made of the agreement.
be taken. This approach does not require In the meantime, the consultant's work Cities should supplement the verbal
that any reason be given for the exten- continued. About seven months after consent with a written document signed
sion. It is sufficient that both parties the new deadline passed, the mayor by the applicant before the time period
agree. told Xcel Energy its proposal would be expires. Although not required, it is a
A recent case decided by the Court on the agenda at the planning commis- good idea to specify the precise date
of Appeals underscores some of the pit- sion's next meeting and suggested that when the extension will lapse. This will
falls cities can encounter when seeking some additional conditions were appro- avoid misunderstandings about the
the agreement of applicants to extend priate. At that point, things came to a deadline later. Lastly, cities should not
the statutory time period. The case of head. Xcel Energy demanded the city be lulled into thinking that a written
Northern States Power Company v. City issue the permit. The company contend- and specific agreement is not necessary
of Mendota Heights, 646 N.W.2d 919 ed it had not agreed to any extension because the applicant and the city are
(Minn. Ct. App. 2002), dealt with an beyond the initial one. Xcel Energy on good terms. More than one city has
application for a conditional use permit contended that its permit application learned that misunderstandings can arise
for the upgrade of a power line. Before was automatically approved under the and relationships can change. The auto-
the first 60-day period expired, the city 60-day law because the city did not live matic approval of an application contrary
realized it needed more time to study within the time limits and brought suit to the city's wishes can be the unfortu-
the application and extended the time to force issuance of the permit. nate result. r
period. After that, the city proposed One of the arguments made by the
that Xcel Energy hire an independent
• consultant and that other cities along city was that Xcel Energy had waived Karen Cole is a shareholder at Kennedy
its right to invoke the 60-day time limit & Graven where she practices in the area
the power line route appoint a com- because it had acquiesced while studies of municipal law and litigation. E-mail:
mittee to evaluate the design and continued after the time limit had passed. kcole@kennedy-graven.com.
OCTOBER 2 0 0 2 MINNESOTA CITIES 1 9
LOCAL NEWS WWW.TWINCITIES.COM ■ ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS
NORTH SUBURBAN / I - "62-"
NEW BRIGHTON
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Plans r o Brighton a� taking rm
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Redevelopment could hinge on tax increment financing -- f:".w. t''",,7'* 1'a,., RAMSEY
I')z. i
BY CYNTHIA BOYD a family restaurant, a 17,000- sew li,J:1Pioneer Press square foot retail center and a PUBLIC HEARING
' -"' NEW'
14,000-square foot medical office y':; z,s,BRIGHTON i,St. Paul
Developer Kraus-Anderson building. What: Expanding New L,,'
wants to tear down existing Increase in the value of the Brighton's Development t' 1: .I ng , !v
buildings at Brighton Village property over time — which District and Brighto4 5n, ,e ;
Shopping Center in New increases property taxes — Village as part of taxE. ',- c
Brighton and construct a $30 could be used to help finance increment financing : ®.M,
million mix of senior housing, the '
g project, explained Dave .o,=;.,
When: 7:30 p.m. Dec. 10 -
offices,hotel and retail space. Black, the city's assistant corn- ,1" ' ,
Only,the developer won't go munity development director. Where: Council Chambers, ;, ,,€
it alone. But first the city has to estab- New Brighton City Hall, Brighton ,• f x. •,;
"It's a private-public collabo- lish that, except for this type of 803 Old Highway 8 N.W. Village . a n .";x
ration for this redevelopment assistance, the development Shopping : ;s,n;
project," said Layne Hendel, would not happen on its own, Phone: (651)638-2100 Center PIONEER PRESS
director of real-estate develop- Black said. "It basically levels
ment at Kraus-Anderson. the playing field (for develop-
The development would ers) between building on a site plans are still changing,he said. channel and filter water off
require the city of New Brighton that's never been developed and Among issues yet to be impervious surfaces and into
to expand its development dis- on an area that has had some resolved are requirements by the ground.
trict and establish the shopping previous developments." the Rice Creek Watershed Dis- Compliance with such a plan
center space at Interstate 694 Yet some residents take trict to handle surface water can be costly, and Hendel said
and Silver Lake Road as a tax exception to using TIF for the runoff from buildings and park- his company had thought its
likiment financing district. project, including Nancy Grant, ing lots on the approximately redevelopment project with
at's a topic for discussion who lives east of Brighton Vil- 10-acre site. green spaces would meet the
at a public hearing at 7:30 p.m. lage on Robin Court. The district is a government watershed district's require-
Dec. 10 at New Brighton City "We're being told we're get- agency organized to help pre- ments.
Hall Council Chambers. ting development that will vent water pollution, among After discussions with the
Tax increment financing, or improve the (city's) tax base, other goals. city and a representative from
TIF, is a sometimes controver- but new taxes won't go to gener- Steve Hobbs, the watershed the watershed district Wednes-
sial tool that cities use to help al revenue city funds for 25 district administrator, said the day, Hendel said Kraus-Ander-
finance real-estate development years," Grant said. She also developer needs to work out son is considering the possibili-
projects.In a TIF district,part of questions whether the commer- ways to handle water flow along ty of applying to the watershed
a project's property taxes can be cial real estate will appreciate with the assorted materials that district for a variance as well as
used to subsidize a developer. or depreciate over the years. fall on parking lots and move other options.
That's what Kraus-Anderson Black said the city has yet to along with the water. One
has in mind in planning the work out an agreement with method is rain gardens, which Cynthia Boyd covers northern
makeover, which includes a 78- Kraus-Anderson or nail down are low islands of vegetation Ramsey County cities. She can
unit senior housing cooperative, the cost of development or the around a parking lot. The"gar- be reached at cboyd@pioneer
an 84-unit,medium-priced hotel, length of any TIF aid. Project dens" are designed to drain, press.com or(651)228-2116.
NORTH SUBURBAN BRIEFING
RO S E V I L L E Christmas decoratingideas. In days of the events. the be
y gaming of a new develop-
addition,an arts and crafts bou- All proceeds go toward ment in Little Canada
Fund-raiser planned tique and bake sale will occur at Roseville parks. Work will begin on a new
for city parks the John Rose Minnesota Oval. —Marisa Agha development,the Lodge at Little
Festivities are from 10 a.m.to Canada,at the southeast corner
8 p.m. Nov. 15 and 10 a.m. to 2 of Little Canada Road and Rice
Friends of Roseville Parks p.m.Nov 16. LITTLE CANADA Street, the longtime site of the
will hold its annual "Holiday Tickets are$10 and are avail- Venetian Inn.
e" fund-raiser Nov 15 and able at the Roseville parks andlit
Event celebrates The new mixed used devel
recreation department at the opment will include 79 senior
e "Christmas Idea House" Fairview Community Center, new development rental apartments, 51 for-sale
features a Lake Owasso home 1910 W. County Road B.Tickets town homes and some retail
with nine rooms filled with also are available by calling Bar- City and county officials will shops. Demolition of the Venet-
bara Lawry at (651) 490-0589. be on hand at 3 p.m. today to ian will not occur Friday, but
You can also buy tickets at the remember the landmark Venet- will begin soon.
home, 639 Heinel Drive, on the ian Inn restaurant and celebrate —Marisa Agha
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SHOREVIEW
Hodgson
.....
.. ..,
... ,- Road
__ expansion
off for now
City will listen to issues,
try to coordinate a plan
,,,r.,,,Av.,�-,,,;gr.:CYNTHIA BOYD
:•.',••:,-•-•:.,,,:.. Pioneer Press
Virginia Ward has lived on
Hodgson Road for 48 years, ever
since she and her husband, Ken- ..
neth, bought five acres P f land FROM PAGE 1B ;t Z
there so he could have a lace to eZ-
keepahorse. H1 dt1 i Rd
The horse,Diablo,is long since 1 j s' n0� officialssaid. So does land
scarcity.
gone,as is most of the Ward land, s,: .41,_.,. .: Policy development area
• Though•the area is zoned
sold piecemeal to other immigrants (continued) " 3.; began with a recent neighbor- as single-family residents ^g' ,
from city life in what has become . : „.,;;: •; . t :*,,;, hood meeting.Another public officials said they have no re- 3
P RAMSEY CO >M
suburban Shoreview •-�; ,,a,:' meeting will be set for Janu- conceived notion of the best ran fe3voo �,
It's the possibility of such piece- Potential development"'there, city,
Schwerin said. -.,.;-r:z�:; , kind of,development
en velopment and redevelop- Ninety-five for the =
tY percent•devel area, :;1.,•„:,„-,'-. St.Paul M r'
m at concerns the city now- "We want O have ;a aped, "Shoreview has become "�
thoughtful ,-:Other zoning categories
Tha why the Shoreview City 'process, to"shave: prime,” Shoreview City Plan- such;as Commercial, �” � ` ' a :,,,, -.,:ti ;
smgh- o
Council last week put the brakes on some dialog- with neighbors Her Kathleen Nordine said. scale office development,hi ��'"
and all;particiHardly p t high- o: _ j,,.
development for a 22-acre area run- patina Landow t a week goes by, Nor- density or- medium-density, =cif .: .
Hing along both east and west sides ers,"Slioreview,101ayor Sandy ; dine said,that she doesn'tget residential will be considered, -' • o= ° .
of the road,also called Highway 49. i Martin said' •1'liat " rA'" e ' '
gh Y prdeess,-. at least one from a devel- Nordine said. Planner s•will l'•;...,- ,''' ��'
Houses and people and cars In oper or an. individual looking consider density 'nand traffic
have multiplied along the road - :v` i for open land. •- •
through the years, prompting the I The suburban ci sn-
concerns as well as factors'*1,iz!" ,,A e$ •••,
current road-widening and trail prox- such as the North Oaks coin- -.1'''' -'"64
g maty to Minneapolis and St mercial development nearby er`` y . ,•
•
ett
project and enticing hungry devel- Paul, •as well as its reputation Rick Tillman,who lives-on - " •° 4'I'EW
opers to look at undeveloped land for being a good place to live Highway 49 in a four-bedroom a •:
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ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS
NEWS
22, , LOCAL
SECTION
` NORTH SUBURBAN EDITION ■ WWW.TWINCITIES.COM
MINNEAPOLIS
:•tl
Overcrowding a concern; council to vote on zoning changes today ON PAGE 6B
� data • eseFve B of •
BY JUDITH YATES BORGER wealthier areas untouched. plans this winter, said Larry Soderholm, t;,Q ,g , 1 _ . ank ..
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Pioneer Press Called a density bonus," the plan planning administrator for the city. Z;,: vlinnetlP0!1.;41)*Ft:sygg s that tt1a;
would allow developers of housing that "Because our plans aren't citywide,we k`u`a"ffQrdable=housing'problem i#not
Minneapolis is thinking about letting consists of five or more units to expand don't hear complaints as much," Soder '"4-:'00104 a;hou$ing'problem;bi t en ':- -
developers build more homes on city lots the number by 20 percent if a fifth of the holm said. %rt90? `.P!91m�,,' ,x s f3, -
as a way to increase the affordable-hous- original units are affordable.The proposal According to Soderholm, Minneapolis
.t ing stock without spending public money. would apply anywhere in the city housing is slightly denser than St, Paul's, t ;zaa ,>- ' •u a t
Although proponents of the idea pre- St. Paul's planning commission also is and neither is particularly dense when
dict the change in the Minneapolis zoning looking at zoning changes, but the compared with cities such as San Francis- "It's not density I'm opposed to," Lilli-
laws will pass when the City Council votes approach is different from Minneapolis'. co or Boston. gren said."It's where and how we place it,
on it today, some residents oppose' it The St.Paul plan would create higher den- In Minneapolis, the proposed zoning and that we do it in a way that involves the
becausethink it will lead to more sity in three specific districts where indus- hanges passed in committee 4-1, with community''
overcrow� in ,low income,, already trial use is shrinking. St. Paul Mayo ouncil Member Robert Lilligren dissent :'
, AFFORDAit E-1-1'OUSIN AN,6B
crar►4ped neighborhoods while leaving Randy Kelly is expected to look at those g. ,
6B 2 FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2002 LOCAL NEWS
FROM PAGE 1B
&ffordable housing crisis called an income problem
Analyst:Vouchers should close income,rent gap "Public housing is less Renters paying too
expensive, and it works well much for housing
BY MARA H.GOTTFRIED pits vouchers vs. subsidized when it's in the community,"
Pioneer Press rental housing, is a debate Gutzmann said. "Vouchers can In 2000, 36 percent of renters in
that's been around for a long be a good thing too,but I think the 13-county metro area paid
It's not the housing market, time,said Kit Hadley,Minneso- it's wrong to say vouchers are 30 percent of their income or
stupid. to Housing Finance Agency the only solution." more for housing,which is
It's the economy. commissioner. "Given the data we have,it's considered unaffordable.
So argues a Federal Reserve "What his premise can't not even close,"countered Feld- 50%
Bank of Minneapolis analyst explain is why rental housing man, who cited statistics from
who suggests that the afford- production dropped off by two- the U.S. General Accounting 46
able housing problem is not thirds in the metro area in the Office. Total per-unit costs for 42
really a housing problem, but 1990s(compared with the 1970s housing production programs 38
rather an income problem. and 1980s) during a time when are 32 to 59 percent more than a
In turn, the solution isn't we had increasing vouchers," housing vouchers in the first 34
producing more subsidized Hadley said. "You can't use a year and 12 to 27 percent more 1990 1993 1998 2000
housing or reducing local gov- voucher on housing that does- over 30 years,he said.
ernment regulation.It's making n't exist." Feldman also gave a clearer Source:Census and American EHR PRESS
upthe gapbetween people's Vouchers also are ultimate- Survey PIONEER PRESS
p p picture Thursday of who is liv-
incomes and the cost of rent ly more expensive than produc- ing in rental housing that is
through government vouchers, ing subsidized housing, said unaffordable: In the 13-county
said Ron Feldman,an assistant Jon Gutzmann, St. Paul Public metropolitan area, 36 percent FY
vice president at the bank, on Housing Agency executive of renters were paying too
Thursday during a media brief- director. much for housing in 2000. To read a summary of the
ing. On average,Gutzmann said, People living below the policy paper,visit
"Generally speaking, gov- renters in the housing voucher poverty line make up the www.mpls.frb.org/pubs/reg
ernment policies that we have program the agency adminis- majority of people living in ion/02-09/feldman.cfm.
0 • response to low income ters can afford$300 a month for unaffordable rental housing,
volve giving people income," rent — housing is deemed Feldman found. In 1998 in the
Øldman said. "If people need affordable if a household metro area,about 65 percent of
food,we give them food stamps. spends no more than 30 per- renters in unaffordable rental It would cost about$370 mil-
We don't look to the food mar- cent of its gross income on it.If housing were below the pover- lion in the metro area to pro-
ket and say we've got a food cri- a two-bedroom apartment ty line. The poverty line for a vide a voucher for every house-
sis. ... But in the housing rents for $950, the voucher family of four in 1998 was about hold paying more than 30
debate, the issue has been would have to cover $650 a $17,000. percent of its income on rental
largely focused on the housing month. Feldman said the federal housing, using 1998 statistics,
market." But in the city's public hous- government could beef up the Feldman said.
Yet many in the affordable ing program, average costs are existing rental voucher pro-
housing realm find some fault $600 a month, which drops the gram— commonly called Sec- Mara H. Gottfried can be
with Feldman's policy paper. cost that the government subsi- tion 8—by shifting funds from reached at mgottfried@pioneer
The primary issue, which dizes to$300,Gutzmann said. subsidized housing production. press.com or(651)228-5262.
Affordable-housingof owners who earn less than particularly downtown, Schiff
plan half of the region's median said.
income. The housing must "The people who are
remain affordable for 15 years. opposed to this have specific,
(continued) ers are likely to build are in the Council Member Gary complicated issues in their
core "low-income neighbor- Schiff,one of the authors of the neighborhoods," Schiff said.
One of Lilligren's con- hoods,where people don't corn- proposed change, calls it "a "But this is not about them.
stituents, Al Kelly, co-founder plain." powerful new tool to put afford- Nobody is going to build multi-
of the Heritage Neighborhood "People who live in Ken- able housing in neighborhoods family housing in Jordan. The
Home Owners Association in wood or near Lake Calhoun that have no affordable hous- market isn't there."
south-central Minneapolis, is have flexibility in their lives to ing,without spending a dime of The planned zoning
deeply concerned with the pro- go to meetings to complain," public money." changes have the support of
posed change. Kelly said. Schiff argues that the the Minneapolis Consortium of
"I don't see any accommoda- Anne McCandless,who lives change will put affordable Community Developers, an
1110 n for the problems that come in the Jordan neighborhood housing in areas such as 50th association of nonprofit
Ilkth increased density, such as just north of downtown, also is Street and Xerxes Avenue builders,according to executive
graffiti,litter,crime,"Kelly said. concerned about the plan. South near the Edina border, director Jim Roth, executive
"For most people in the core "Density is the history of the along the Hiawatha Avenue director.
neighborhoods, their home is city," she said. "They were corridor where light rail will
their biggest investment and called tenements and ghettos." run, or downtown. The plan Judith Yates Borger,who covers
often their retirement." Housing is considered could mean that a developer Minneapolis,can be reached at
Furthermore, he said, the affordable if it costs no more could mix affordable housing jborger@pioneerpress.com or
majority of lots where develop- than 30 percent of the income with luxury condominiums, (612)338-8198.
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