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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-23-19 MINUTES ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY Regular Meeting May 23, 2019 1. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Chair Simmons at 6:30 p.m. Members Present: Simmons, Bernhjelm, Butterfield, Craig, Jolley, Wilson Members Absent: Cordes Also Present: Adam Kienberger, Community Development Director; Tony Wippler, Planning Manager; Dirk Rotty, Planning Commission; Eric Maass, WSB; Kristen Moen, WSB; Kara Hildreth, Farmington Independent 2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 3. ROLL CALL 4. APPROVE AGENDA MOTION by Jolley, second by Bernhj elm to approve the Agenda. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 5. CITIZEN COMMENTS/PRESENTATIONS 6. CONSENT AGENDA MOTION by Jolley, second by Wilson to approve the Consent Agenda as follows: a) Approved Meeting Minutes April 25, 2019, Regular Meeting) b) Received Monthly Financial Statements APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 7. PUBLIC HEARINGS 8. DISCUSSION ITEMS a) Highway 3 Corridor Draft Plan Review Ms. Kristen Moen presented the draft TH3 Corridor Plan. There were hundreds of comments on line as well as interviews with business owners about the current conditions. Issues raised include the large amount of individual access points and the fact there are multiple municipalities that can complicate the process. Other issues brought up were transportation and safety, lane reduction at Main Street and no intersection control at CR66 and the number of uncontrolled intersections. Mr. Eric Maass stated there are three areas at 209th Street, Larch Street and Farmington Center. These are opportunities to put our best foot forward in terms of future redevelopment. At 209th Street, commercial office space would be anticipated. It would require two property owners being annexed into the city. Regarding the residential property at 209th and TH3,the property owner is in EDA Minutes(Regular) May 23,2019 Page 2 favor of annexation. Accesses would be pulled off of TH3 and rerouted to 209th Street in line with Tamarack Center. At Larch Street, a one-story building is shown facing TH3. It would require removal of the car wash station and the used car facility. Farmington Center is two parcels,just under five acres. Residential properties north of Farmington Center would be rezoned to high density residential with the hope of redevelopment of a high density apartment unit. All redevelopment on TH3 would be voluntary on the part of the owners. Mr. Maass noted the building is along TH3 and the parking is in the back. Members preferred parking in the front. Mr. Maass reviewed the strategies under goal 1: Improve the attractiveness and visual cohesiveness of the corridor. 1. Develop design standards for the TH3 corridor that guide future redevelopment 2. To engage with property owners to clean up nuisance properties through proactive code enforcement 3. Consider development of an incentive program for TH3 properties similar to the downtown façade improvement program Member Butterfield asked about budgeting for the incentive program. Staff stated if it is a strong priority of the city council, it can be a directive from them and worked into the annual budgeting process. We also have to keep in mind the EDA does maintain their own fund balance so it can be programmed internally. Member Simmons asked if there is proactive partnership with Empire Township for those nuisance properties that don't fall under the city. Staff stated not at this point. Regular meetings are held with Empire and that can be addressed. We wanted to get this document established first and then work with them. Strategies under goal 2: Facilitate redevelopment and support a vibrant corridor 1. Review existing land use designations and update them to reflect a corridor that emphasizes a mix of uses. Strategies under goal 3: Implement signage and wayfinding along the corridor that drives visitors to downtown Farmington A big goal of this plan was to not compete with downtown, but rather to compliment downtown. 1. Design and build gateway/corridor monuments,public art or wayfinding that encourage visitors to explore downtown Farmington. Strategies for goal 4: Evaluate opportunities for better functionality and safety for vehicle traffic and continue to plan for accessible, continuous, and separated bikeways and sidewalks. 1. Implement the city's bikes and sidewalks citywide master plan in the Highway 3 corridor 2. Identify areas where city sidewalks and trails require upgrading or resurfacing EDA Minutes(Regular) May 23,2019 Page 3 3. Support and actively participate in future MnDOT and Dakota County efforts regarding technical analysis of the corridor Member Simmons asked if there is a role we can play in actively advocating continually and not wait for them to reach out to us. Staff stated a lot of that occurs at the staff level such as with the bike/ped plan. Some preliminary recommendations will come out of that. Part of what is driving this is the turn lane to be installed next year at 209th Street. Member Butterfield asked what projects would be done each year and what is the timeline? Mr. Maass stated this has to get on MnDOT's CIP and that is based on what dollars they get from the state government and that is based on priorities. Staff noted TH3 is not a large priority for them. Mr. Maass noted there is a mill and overlay planned for 2027 at the very south end of TH3, not in this project area. They will be made aware of it and as development occurs they will want to know the number of trips generated and that may increase their metrics. Member Simmons asked if we should contact Representative Garofalo and Senator Little about the situation. Staff stated it is never a bad idea to communicate with your elected officials. Mr. Maass reviewed land use. The residential property at the corner of 209th Street and TH3 is recommended to be guided from low density residential to commercial to facilitate future redevelopment of that corner. Behind the Dairy Queen there are three residential homes and the recommendation would be to guide that from low density residential to commercial to facilitate redevelopment of that corner. South of that, there is a recommendation from low density residential to commercial. Just off TH3 at Maple, guide those four low density residential homes to high density residential, which would be the same land use designation as the current apartment complex. On the west side of TH3,just north of K&K Auto Ranch, guide those residential properties for commercial. Letters were sent specifically to each of the properties proposed for land use rezoning and had meetings with many of them. A big question was taxes. The tax role is based on classification which is based on the actual use, regardless of what the property is zoned for. If there is a residential home on the property, your classification is residential. Your value is based on its highest and best use. As long as the home and the lot valuation has a higher valuation than that same lot being commercial,the valuation remains with its highest and best use which is residential. There would be no change in taxable value or in the tax statement. The assessor was sent each of the property ID's and he said based on the recommendations, he did not foresee any of the properties having a change in their tax statements if this were to go through as presented. Member Bernhj elm asked if this is currently in the 2040 comp plan or does it have to be adopted in order for it to get changed in the comp plan. Staff stated it will almost be done at the same time. This is coming out of the April 8, 2019, work session. The intent depending on comments tonight, is this moves to the June 3, 2019, City Council meeting. Ideally this gets adopted by the City Council EDA Minutes(Regular) May 23,2019 Page 4 and we are able to roll these recommendations into our draft,to be submitted, 2040 comp plan. The comp plan approval was extended to the end of June. Mr. Maass stated with each of these properties, if they were to be rezoned, they can continue to be used as residential properties for as long as those property owners choose to do so. They would become lawful, non-conforming uses. If they want to expand their footprint,they would need a variance from the Planning Commission. They can also sell it to another person as a residential use. Mr. Maass reviewed the zoning recommendations which fall in line with the land use recommendations going from residential to high density. Staff explained this is part of the comp plan process. We have nine months after the City Council adopts the comp plan for the zoning code to be in compliance with the comp plan. Member Butterfield asked if the designation to high density residential was due to the lack of high density residential or aesthetics. Mr. Maass stated the reason was to assist in supporting future redevelopment of Farmington Center. Next Mr. Maass reviewed proposed ordinance revisions. For the proposed B-1 highway district, currently the ordinance requires a maximum 25% lot coverage, we are recommending that be up to 40%to promote larger footprints, reduce outdoor storage and be competitive with other communities. The removal of the auto repair/minor sales is an allowed use in the B-1 highway district with the intent to reduce the amount of outdoor storage and increase overall visual aesthetics. The EDA was in support of this recommendation. Mr. Maass stated we should retain a high density residential zoning district with a density minimum of at least 12 units/acre to support future commercial growth. Regardless of the base zoning, an overlay district is a tool to require additional performance standards regardless of actual zoning district or use. We are proposing an overlay district for TH3 to help unify the district with future redevelopment. Mr. Maass reviewed the allowed exterior materials for new commercial and multifamily residential use. Materials would be similar to the downtown. There are also commercial signage standards along with lighting requiring all fixtures be downcast. Mr. Maass reviewed the market study which includes drive times,trade area and market review. Next, Mr. Maass talked about implementation of this plan. The TH3 incentive program is the one we have the most availability to and can enact right away without the need for new redevelopment into the corridor. It can be a grant, a loan or a forgivable loan. Tax increment financing or tax abatement is also an option. Staff stated within the past three years we created and updated our tax incentive policies based on our business subsidy policy. Grant funding can also EDA Minutes(Regular) May 23,2019 Page 5 come through DEED, MN Job Investment Fund, MN Job Creation Fund, etc. There are also CDBG funds from the CDA. Part of the implementation plan is transportation. The plan includes 0 to 5 year projects, 0 to 10 year projects, and ongoing projects. Member Simmons was very pleased with this plan stating it went above and beyond. Member Wilson asked about communication between staff and the county in terms of establishing the dialogue, who leads that from the city. Is it driven by staff,the EDA or the City Council? Staff stated part of staffs role is to maintain a relationship with the other jurisdictions mainly through engineering and public works. Member Bernhjelm stated the City Council has had MnDOT in meetings with Empire for other projects and it is a continuation of inviting them to the table. MOTION by Wilson, second by Butterfield to forward the plan to the City Council June 3, 2019, meeting to recommend adoption. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. Member Bernhjelm suggested when it is presented to City Council one of the notes that should be included is where does it live once it has been adopted and the next steps. Providing some details in a public meeting would be helpful. 9. DIRECTOR'S REPORT a) May Director's Report A ribbon cutting was held for Spruce Valley Payroll, Wild Fig Marketing and SOL-IS Technology Solutions. Revisions to the website will be reviewed at the June meeting. 10. ADJOURN MOTION by Bernhjelm, second by Wilson to adjourn at 7:52 p.m. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. Respectfully submitted, c wthi44 Mu Ler Cynthia Muller Administrative Assistant