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HomeMy WebLinkAbout12.28.06 Work Session Minutes City Council/Castle Rock Workshop Minutes December 28, 2006 Mayor Soderberg called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. Present: Mayor Soderberg, Councilmembers McKnight, Pritzlaff, Wilson Russ Zellmer, Gary Pipho, Mike Rademacher, Arlyn Lamb, Paul Irrthum Also Present: Peter Herlofsky, City Administrator; Cynthia Muller, Executive Assistant MOTION by Pritzlaff, second by Wilson to approve the agenda. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. The purpose ofthe workshop was to discuss the Fountain Valley Comprehensive Plan amendment. City Administrator Herlofsky presented a proposal outlining options that were discussed at a meeting with representatives from both groups a few days earlier. The Orderly Annexation Agreement applies to this development as it is within the orderly annexation area. The conditions discussed were as follows: 1. The medium density residential land use is not constructed within 150 ft of the west property line of Castle Rock residents adjacent to Berring Avenue. 2. The City of Farmington requires a 20 ft. setback for structures from the westerly right-of- way line from Biscayne Avenue. 3. The developer ofthe Fountain Valley property agrees to screen to the best of his ability medium density residential land use from the properties along Berring Avenue through landscaping, berms, and may also provide screening if feasible. 4. The developer of Fountain Valley agrees to provide one row of single story townhouses on the area designated medium density along the future Biscayne Avenue. Russ Zellmer and Gary Pipho attended the previous meeting and both felt this was the best way to handle the situation to get it resolved quickly. Arlyn Lamb noted residents along Berring Avenue are adamantly opposed to any medium density housing along the west side of their property line. He felt this has gone on too long for the developer. There is a compromise with single story townhomes and screening. The Met Council wants higher density housing along arterial roads. The road does not exist now, but it will be coming in with this development. It will not be an arterial road for some time. He saw the City as compromising and agreed to the solution. The remaining town board members felt anything less than single family homes is a bad deal. They were promised there would not be multi-family in the first row. This is not the best that can be done for them. City Administrator Herlofsky noted if the Town Board takes action on their January 9,2007 meeting, it will be placed on the January 16, 2007 Council meeting. Councilmember McKnight supported the solution. Mayor Soderberg stated they are discussing design and plat issues that are beyond the comprehensive plan stage. If the developer agrees to this he would approve it. This is over and above what the Orderly Annexation Agreement calls for. Councilmember Wilson stated Mr. Garvey and Mr. Olson have not had enough input in terms of the land. There is a lot of ambiguous language in the agreement itself and he would not support option number three regarding the screening. He asked if Mr. Garvey brought forward the proposal for option four and asked if a row of single story townhomes will have a financial Council/Castle Rock Workshop Minutes December 28,2006 Page 2 impact to his development. Mr. Garvey stated it has an impact. The project will cost an additional $2.9 million because of delays. He is agreeing to this to get the project done. He agrees with some of the comments to a point. The township had a chance to development this within the township and they did not do it. To say they are concerned with the current residents, he disagrees with that. We need commercial and residential development and it takes too long. Councilmember Wilson stated if Mr. Garvey agrees with the single story townhomes, he would not disagree with that, however the only information he has to work with is the Orderly Annexation Agreement. The agreement does not prohibit a two-story townhome. It gives certain parameters such as a distance of 150 ft., which this complies with. What Mr. Garvey is proposing is not inconsistent with the agreement. Councilmember Pritzlaff stated as far as option number three, the developer agreeded to screening when there were two-story townhomes. If the developer compromises to single story, the language is vague, and by making a change to single story the screening requirement should be removed. As far as number four, he knows what this will do to the developer. If Mr. Garvey and Mr. Olson are in agreement with this, this will be one thing he will vote for that he is not very happy with. The City is tying the developer's hands by telling him what type of homes he has to build. He felt he was being governed by the township. The City would be within their right to allow him to build two-story townhomes. If it was not for the commercial, we would not be discussing this. The agreement states the township has a say for commercial development. This project has been delayed for two years. It will be Mr. Garvey's property and he will have property rights that are limited. Mr. Pipho noted if the proper procedures of the Orderly Annexation Agreement had been followed this discussion would have been held before the plans had gotten this far along. The developer would have had to meet the City's comprehensive plan instead of the City defining a comprehensive plan around the developer's plan. That would not have been an unreasonable approach and it would have been much faster. The developer knew that Castle Rock did not want the property along the edge. He did not present a plan to Castle Rock. Although he is not happy with this solution, it is middle ground. Councilmember Wilson stated Mr. Pipho is referring to item 8a in the Orderly Annexation Agreement which provides that there be reasonable advance notice for review. Mayor Soderberg noted that is the only thing that was done out of order. It should have gone to the township before the Planning Commission. That is why Council delayed it on the agenda, to give the township time to comment on it and get back on track. City Administrator Herlofsky noted we have reached an agreement so by the end of January this can be set aside. This is the first adventure and hopefully we can benefit from this for future projects. Councilmember Pritzlaff stated the next piece of property that comes in, he hoped he does not hear what he heard at the last Council meeting. Just because it does not go a certain way, it will adversely affect the communication between the City and the township. If that comes up at every piece of property, we will either amend this agreement or get rid of it. Councilmember Wilson asked if we do not take action at the January 2, 2007 Council Meeting we have run out oftime. City Administrator Herlofsky noted on the agenda is an item to extend Council/Castle Rock Workshop Minutes December 28, 2006 Page 3 the 60-day notice. rfthe township agrees on their January 9,2007 meeting, the January 16, 2007 Council Meeting should not be a problem. Councilmember Pritzlaff noted regarding number three there are two Councilmembers that have questioned the screening. He asked if there was a need for screening with single story townhomes. Ifthere is, we need to define "to the best of his ability." Mr. Zellmer and Mr. Pipho would still prefer screening and agreed it needs to be better defined. Mr. Garvey replied he would put in boulevard trees, similar to all projects. This is part of the development standards. He wanted to make it clear this does not mean berming. Mr. Lamb stated at the December 13, 2006 meeting screening was discussed, but there is a shortage of dirt for the development. He can understand if there is no berming. Trees would be acceptable. Staffwill provide the township with a copy of the landscaping standards. Ms. Denise May, Berring Avenue, stated she heard statements about fairness. They have lived there for 20 years. Farmington receives a lot of their support as far as shopping, etc. She does not hear a lot about what is fair for them. Their backyard is the golf course. They are not only losing that, but they will have a road behind them and homes. They will be living there. Their total landscape will be changed. Mr. Garvey understood but this has been planned for decades. That road will come in no matter what. Mr. Dan May, Berring Avenue, stated we have the City and the Town Board and people who have lived there for 20 years. They have been told things over the last two years, just as the City and township has been dealing with the annexation agreement. He had a document that says what they were told. He asked everyone to look at it and tell him if it is the right thing and if it is how they would like to be treated. We live in a low density single-family area. He distributed the Executive Summary of the Orderly Annexation Agreement that was presented to Castle Rock residents. The purpose ofthe summary was to explain what the agreement is about and that it is advisory in nature. The attached maps are dated May 2, 2006. It mentions the people involved from the City include Councilmember McKnight, Todd Larson, and Kevin Carroll. The items most important to the residents is that the discussion group recognized the residents along Berring Avenue may be concerned about new residential development. The City staff and Council consistently strive to minimize adverse impacts to adjoining nearby property owners without regard to whether the properties are in the City or the township. Methods used to minimize impacts include buffering, screening, setback, maximum lot coverage requirements, etc. In addition the City strives to make gradual transitions from existing low density neighborhoods to higher density neighborhoods. For example high density townhome projects would not be placed next to existing low density single-family detached homes. Mr. May asked ifthis is the right thing to do. This is what Farmington told them. He asked what Council would do if this was their property. The City's definition of medium density is 5.5 - 14.0 units per acre. Low-medium density includes duplexes, townhomes and quad homes. Ifwe want townhomes, why go to medium density when they would be available in low-medium density. Mr. May presented a map showing the low-density, the park and Executive Estates which is low density. Their homes are low-density. Why is it so important that the City would overlook the concerns of people with low density in order to slap this medium density next to them when it could go anywhere else in Farmington? Council/Castle Rock Workshop Minutes December 28, 2006 Page 4 Councilmember Pritzlaff noted where it says high density townhomes would typically not be placed next to low density, he would take "typically not be" to mean there is a chance. Weare talking medium density, not high density. Mr. May stated we are talking townhomes. Why would the townhomes not be low-medium density when they are included in the definition? Why medium density when it could be 14 units/acre? Councilmember Wilson stated there were numerous variations of executive summaries and the annexation agreement. He resented any insinuation that the City is trying to stick it to Castle Rock township, or that the City is being the big, bad bully. He was at the meeting and everyone there agreed to the document. No one from the City has forced Castle Rock into this. He respected all the town board members of Castle Rock. They could have said this is not the right time. He has to refer to the Orderly Annexation Agreement that was worked out after numerous meetings by people on both sides. Mr. May stated the map with the Orderly Annexation Agreement dated September 13, 2006, does not show zoning on the Olson property of 157.6 acres. Nothing was agreed to be put into that area. The whole idea and what is specified in the Executive Summary says it is not appropriate. The township would not stick townhomes next to the City's low density. Councilmember Wilson noted the City cannot provide a designation to any property that is not in the City. Mr. Pipho agreed and they asked for certain verbage in the annexation agreement stating that was the reason it was not included. He understood the discussions leading up to the Executive Summary were pre-cursors to the discussions they would have prior to the creation of a comprehensive plan. It is the City's duty to define what the comprehensive plan should be and then a developer should fit the comprehensive plan. Mayor Soderberg stated it comes as a recommendation from the Planning department to the Planning Commission and then the Council. Things were done out of order and that is why we delayed this one month; to get things back on track. Mr. Pipho stated this should not be a three-party agreement. It should be an agreement between the township and the City and then the developer meets the City's plan. The township's request is to not put townhomes on the border. The City still has the right to do that. He feels the City has abdicated their ability to create a comprehensive plan to the developers. That sets a bad precedent. The comprehensive plan should have been in place first. Councilmember Wilson stated the agreement says with regard to any medium and high density residential and commercial use constructed within 150 ft., the Planning Commission or Council shall not adopt an initial comprehensive plan designation located within the annexation area without the consent of the Town Board. The City is being more gracious than the document specifies. Mr. Pipho noted that 150 ft. is an easement. There is no development within 150 ft. The township had requested a 350 ft. agreement where there would not be anything higher than single family homes. Councilmember McKnight noted there were 14-15 drafts of the agreement. Mayor Soderberg noted we have a draft which seems to be a solution. If it is not a solution, say so now. Mr. Gary Johnson, Berring Avenue, noted the statement about Castle Rock having an opportunity to do something and we failed to act on it; he was at the meetings and the developer brought the exact plan that did not meet with comments he wanted to hear. We were supposed to meet the next month, and he did not come back. The plan accepted by the Planning Commission is almost identical to the plan he brought to Castle Rock a long time ago. He asked if the City is planning future development or the developer. Council/Castle Rock Workshop Minutes December 28, 2006 Page 5 Ms. Terri Pierson, 225th Street, stated her concern is the ambiguity ofthis whole thing. The climate in many of the town meetings was very intimidating. Her $300,000 - $400,000 house is all she has and they are concerned about slums. Turnover is incredibly high. Mr. Garvey stated he asked the town board if the annexation could be moved up and they asked ifhe was interested in developing. He told them they have to re-zone the property first. The township does not require screening, follow regulations, etc. It was not fair to Mr. Olson when Canton Court was put in. Castle Rock did that. How do you think that affected the value of his property? The proposal is in hand, let's move on. Mr. Zellmer stated he is not overlooking the residents' concerns. We have beaten the same thing over and over. We had a reasonable solution when we met previously. The alternative is not good for either side. Ifit goes to court, it will cost everyone money. rfit comes out in the City's interest, we would have nothing to say. Now we at least have some options. The City is following the letter ofthe agreement. He supported the solution. Mr. Lamb agreed with Mr. Zellmer. We have held Mr. Garvey up for a long time. He would like to see more being done as far as the township residents. The City's interpretation of the Annexation Agreement is that they are going farther than what the agreement calls for. He can support this. There are very few people on either side that are happy. No one is getting the better end of the deal. Mr. May stated everyone agrees this is a too bad deal. Next time we will do it differently, the verbage is not right, etc. For the people whose homes will be affected, is this the right thing to do? Would you do this if you lived there? Councilmember Pritzlaff stated everyone agrees there is language that needs to be cleaned up in the Orderly Annexation Agreement. Mr. Zellmer suggested if the Council and Town Board have issues they would like to see addressed, they should turn them in to City Administrator Herlofsky or himself. Councilmember McKnight noted the agreement allows for this. Mr. Bryce Olson noted the Orderly Annexation Agreement says prior discussions have no bearing on the agreement. All this is, is discussion. rfthe agreement was made poorly between both parties, they are stuck with this agreement. He heard one person say they are not interested in any townhomes. So will the town board turn it down? Last time there was a meeting, things changed the next day. How long will this go on? Mayor Soderberg stated the Town Board meets on January 9,2007. MOTION by McKnight, second by Pritzlaffto adjourn at 7:06 p.m. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. Respectfully submitted, /; ~?r /"Y7~ c.......l~~~ ~a Muller Executive Assistant