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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05.12.14 Council, EDA, Planning Commission Workshop Council/Economic Development Authority/Planning Commission Work Session Minutes May 12,2014 Acting Mayor Bartholomay called the work session to order at 6:30 p.m. Present: City Council—Bartholomay, Bonar, Donnelly EDA—Jolley, Wilson,Zeman Planning Commission—Rotty, Franceschelli, Kuyper,Rich Also Present: David McKnight, City Administrator; Robin Hanson,Finance Director; Kevin Schorzman, City Engineer; Tony Wippler, Planning Manager; Cynthia Muller, Executive Assistant MOTION by Bonar, second by Donnelly to approve the agenda. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. Vermillion River Crossing Vermillion River Crossing(VRC) is located on the corner of highway 50 and Denmark Avenue. It was platted in 2005 and contains seven lots on 30 acres. Four of the six lots are one to two acres in size. The two outlots are outlot A which is 3.11 acres off of Highway 50 and Knutsen Drive and outlot C which is 15 acres in the southwest quadrant of the development. There are three developed parcels, McDonalds, Farmington Family Health Clinic and the CDA's Vermillion Crossings senior housing development. The Spruce Street Master Plan was approved in 2003 by the City Council. The city received $40,000 from the Metropolitan Council to prepare the master plan. The overall plan includes 450 acres of which Vermillion River Crossing is a small portion. The corridor extends from Highway 50 south to 220th Street,then west to where Pilot Knob would extend south. The master plan provides for land use, urban design, guidelines and character elements for the streetscape. The zoning is Spruce Street Commercial (SSC). It was designated for commercial uses. The intent was not to compete with the downtown. It was developed to provide for uses that may be in the downtown,but due to space limitations,needed larger lots. The design standards were approved in 2004 and were meant to provide design elements for buildings in an attempt to emulate the downtown with sidewalks,trails, building facades and materials. The design standards have not been an issue with development. There are both deferred and active assessments. The deferred assessments for the Spruce Street Bridge Project total $1.9 million and are spread over outlots A and C. The active assessments for the Spruce Street Bridge Project total $210,000 and are spread over the McDonald's site, lot 1, block 3;lot 2,block 3; lot 1, block 4. There are also active assessments for development fees and are spread over the same lots and total $8,000. These are expected to be paid off in 2015. 11 Council/EDA./Planning Commission Work Session May 12,2014 Page 2 The interest accumulates for 15 years, and after that it stops accumulating. Deferred assessments can last for 30 years, and then they go away. Staff is working with a developer on a possible hotel on the lot across from Family Health Clinic. A group of seven banks own the parcel. There are just over$50,000 in assessments for this lot and they are an issue. In 2005,bonds were issued for the infrastructure for VRC. Councilmember Bonar asked what is the term of the bonds,what are the costs paid so far, and what are the costs we are currently paying and how many more years without developers paying assessments will we continue to pay that cost? Councilmember Donnelly asked about the mechanism for reducing the assessments. City Administrator McKnight stated if Council says to wipe out the$50,000 in assessments for the hotel, it would be brought to a City Council meeting to make it very clear to the public. Staff would explain the city would pay the assessment. He suggested taking the money from the reserve line item in the general fund or from the EDA fund. We are not wiping out the assessments,but paying them with other city funds. It is an economic development incentive. The amount would come off the bottom line of the road and bridge fund. The road and bridge fund gets rolled into the city's CIP in 2027. Finance Director Hanson stated the bonds were originally issued in 2006 and the original maturity was 2022,but the bonds were refinanced at the end of 2012 and closed in January 2013. They were merged in with another project. The original issue for VRC and the Hill Dee reconstruction was $5.5 million. EDA member Wilson would like Council to let the EDA know what actions they can take to support Council's overall mission. VRC seems to be the hinge for development in the city. It is a matter of making a good choice at the right time. EDA member Zeaman noted the EDA does not have a large budget. He asked what Council is looking for the EDA to do in terms of spending the money. Do we not put any money up for VRC properties and use it somewhere else? What projects should we focus on first in a long term strategic plan? EDA member Wilson stated he was asking to be kept up to date on what Council is doing. Planning Commission Chair Rotty stated he would not lose a good development that might spur other development for$50,000. There is a larger item out there that will have to be addressed. Whether it be through the EDA or other means, we need to get something started. A hotel could do it. Councilmember Bonar noted VRC was to be a commercial area. We have 13 acres left in the industrial park. He sees our industrial park as more of a commerce park. He asked if there is a re-visioning of VRC that would include things other than commercial. Our seven year permit average for commercial is two per year since 2007 and for industrial it is zero. Planning Commission Chair Rotty felt as long as we have the assessment issue, it does not matter what we call it. There are other areas along that corridor that could be looked at. He would go further to the west, but is the city ready for that? 12 Council/EDA/Planning Commission Work Session May 12,2014 Page 3 Planning Commission Chair Rotty noted we are also getting low on residential lots. Planning Manager Wippler noted in September 2015,the Met Council will issue system statements for all communities in the metro. These list all the components to update the comprehensive plan to be in compliance with Met Council requirements. This starts the ten-year cycle for the Comprehensive Plan update. The statements deal with parks, densities,population and land use. Councilmember Donnelly asked if the Vermillion River has been factored into the VRC Master Plan. Staff stated that is dealt with through ordinances and development review. All ordinances are in place to deal with development along the Vermillion River. Planning Commission member Franceschelli stated we want to marry VRC to the downtown,but we do not have a way to funnel pedestrian traffic to it,we do not have transportation to compliment it,we have a downtown area described as incubator businesses to let them grow into this area. He does not see how we are doing this other than the funding. It seems we are backwards. He felt we should be using a portion of VRC to incubate new businesses to expand industrial and commercial. We still do not have a way to get people who want to take advantage of those services to get there. If we are going to compliment the downtown going through the Vermillion area, which is going to be a greenway, how do we move people? How do we handle traffic? He did not see anything in the master plan to support that. Apple Valley and Lakeville are expanding their transportation hubs. Farmington isn't. We do not have a bus line,we do not have rail, we do not have adequate parking,we do not have adequate walkways for pedestrians. Staff noted we are not part of the transit taxing district. Unless there is a desire from the community to be part of that, we will not see those facilities here. Planning Commission member Franceschelli stated the perception is we are a bedroom community and go elsewhere for shopping. We want to reverse that. VRC may be the vehicle we need to manipulate to do that. City Administrator McKnight stated Farmington is not a member of the transit taxing district and even if we were that does not mean we would get service here. City Engineer Schorzman stated a sidewalk along the north side of Spruce Street could be incorporated into the Spruce Street reconstruction project to tie the downtown into VRC. A pedestrian connection to the downtown will be much easier to accomplish than public transportation. Seed Property This is located northwest of the Highway 3 roundabout and consists of 950 acres. The Seed family has been talking to local builders and national companies. Infrastructure should occur later this year and possibly structures in late 2014 or early 2015. There is no financial obligation by the city for this development. There are no jurisdiction issues with Empire Township. Councilmember Bonar summarized the discussion. VRC has been around for nine years and is at its mid-life. There is the potential for two properties to develop this year. We will be challenged to find a way to sort through assessments that are on public parcels. In the future, there is the potential for a 2,000 home 20-year housing development on the Seed property with a 25-acre commercial parcel. That leaves us with needing to discuss industrial development. 13 Council/EDA/Planning Commission Work Session May 12,2014 Page 4 EDA member Zeaman stated the southern property has rail on one side and Highway 3 on the other;two great ways to do industrial business. There could be a railroad spur for freight and a highway for transportation. He asked if that area could be developed as industrial. Staff felt the property owners would not sell. Councilmember Bonar asked for thoughts on industrial parcels and MUSA efforts for industrial. Planning Manager Wippler stated industrial zoning was established on 300 acres on the northwest corner of Pilot Knob Road and highway 50. One issue is there are five or six property owners having a stake in that area and some are still using it for fanning. Planning Commission Chair Rotty stated the comprehensive plan shows the border along the road to be more commercial than industrial. Councilmember Bonar asked when we last spoke with the owners. Staff recalled it was in 2009 or 2010. EDA member Wilson stated the marketing consultant commented that we should determine what the land owners want and their legacy. They may want their land to look a certain way and the city would be right to honor that. MOTION by Donnelly, second by Bonar to adjourn at 7:40 p.m. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. Respectfully submitted, Cynthia Muller Executive Assistant 14