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City Council Minutes 05-12-2008 SpecialSpecial Council Minutes: 5/12/08 MINUTES SPECIAL MEETING - MONTICELLO CITY COUNCIL Monday May 12, 2008 - 5 p.m. Members Present: Clint Herbst, Wayne Mayer, Tom Perrault, Brian Stumpf and Susie Wojchouski Members Absent: None 1. Call to Order. Mayor Herbst called the meeting to order at 5 p.m. 2. Discussion of urouosed amendment regulating Off-Street Parking Requirements. Jeff O'Neill stated the parking of commercial vehicles in residential districts has been a problem for some time. City staff gets numerous complaints from residents about commercial vehicles parking in residential areas. Staff is looking for direction from the Council as to how serious of a problem Council thinks it is and how to best address the problem. The proposed amendment was brought to the Council earlier and at that time the Council directed that the ordinance amendment be discussed in a workshop setting. Brian Stumpf said an ordinance amendment relating to the same issue failed to pass in 2002. It came back to the Council again but the second time it was related to the race cars parked in a residential area. Tom Moores, Street Superintendent felt the concern was more with semi trailers and gravel hauling equipment than other commercial vehicles. Clint Herbst felt providing a definition of semi trailers and gravel hauling equipment in the ordinance would be the simplest way to handle it. Rod Dragsten, Planning Commission Chair stated the Planning Commission felt the vehicle stickers would be simple way to handle the issue. Susie Wojchouski stated that she had look at ordinances from other communities. Most of the communities defined commercial vehicles by tonnage. The Council discussed the use of vehicle weight as the means to determine whether or not the vehicle should be in a residential district. The Council also discussed the time spent in enforcing this issue. Wayne Mayer stated that recreational vehicles weigh as much as a semi trailer does and he felt it would be hard to justify why RV's would not be covered by this amendment. Angela Schumann stated that home occupations are supposed to be transparent to the neighborhood. Wayne Mayer replied that it was a stretch to say a home occupancy has to be transparent to the neighborhood. The Planning Commission felt the recreational vehicles could be considered peripheral to a residential area whereas commercial vehicles could not. Clint Herbst suggested tackling this in smaller bits such as allowing commercial vehicles to park on the driveway and not in the street. All existing ordinance language refers to vehicles exceeding 12,000 pounds and it was felt that vehicle stickers based on the weight of the vehicle would be the easiest way to enforce the ordinance. Special Council Minutes: 5/12/08 Susie Wojchouski noted an incident of an individual parking his commercial vehicle on Elm Street and it created a safety hazard. Even if a commercial vehicle is parked in the driveway it could project into the sidewalk area and interfere with pedestrian traffic. Tom Moores stated that the traffic ordinance states that no vehicle over 9,000 pounds can travel on residential streets unless they are making deliveries. Tom Moores felt that one issue that would have to be addressed is the fact that some of the SUV's and other non-commercial vehicles now exceed 9,000 pounds. Tom Moores questioned whether the City could enforce their traffic ordinance on county roads. Joel Jamnik, legal counsel indicated that the City ordinance is designed for application on city streets. The Council discussed safety issues relating to the presence of commercial vehicles in residential areas. It was felt that it wasn't just the weight of the vehicle but also its use and purpose that need to be considered. Wayne Mayer asked for clarification on Tom Moore's comment about personal vehicles that could have a gross vehicle weight exceeding 12,000 pounds. Tom Moores noted that an individual could license the vehicle for a lower weight than its gross vehicle weight but then they couldn't haul with it. Tom Moores felt enforcing the ordinances on anything with a G sticker or greater would be the most practical. Tom Moores noted that in the commuter parking lot the City allows the trucks to be parked on the north side of the lot but the truck has to be hooked to the trailer. It was noted that parking was limited to a 72 hour time frame. Clint Herbst asked if the City really wants to open this up as the commuter parking lot could become a trailer parking lot. Brian Stumpf talked about a semi trailer located between County Road 75 and the freeway. Staff noted the location of this trailer is not in the city limits. Brian Stumpf asked about the trailers on the Ruff property. There was an extension given to allow them on the site and he asked when that extension was to expire. Staff informed him it was a one year extension and should be up in June or July. Tom Perrault said he had concerns with semi trailers parked in the street but if it was parked in the driveway or on their property it was not as much of an issue. Tom Moores stated the boulevard area extends quite a way up the driveway and there is an ordinance restricting activities in the boulevard area. Clint Herbst stated the City expects the resident to maintain the property up to the curb so the property owner should have the right to use that property. The Council agreed that nothing should be obstructing the sidewalk or interfering with pedestrian traffic. Wayne Mayer said if the ordinance amendment is passed somebody is going to ask for a variance. Staff would generally have a permit process which would require that somebody follow up. Clint Herbst felt this was a case where there would be no variances allowed. SUSIE WOJCHOUSKI MOVED TO REVAMP THE CITY ORDINANCE RESTRICTING EXTERIOR STORAGE AND OFF-STREET PARKING FOR COMMERCIAL VEHICLES INCREASING THE GROSS VEHICLE WEIGHT TO NOT TO EXCEED 12,000 POUNDS, AND TO INCLUDE PROVISION #8 WHICH INVOLVES RESTRICTING VEHICLES WITH A DECAL OF G OR BETTER IN RESIDENTIAL AREAS WITH THE EXCEPTION OF EMERGENCY VEHICLES. CLINT HERBST SECONDED THE MOTION. Clint Herbst said he agreed with the motion but felt it should be applied to semis as that is where the concern is coming from. Tom Moores asked if emergency vehicles were defined 2 Special Council Minutes: 5/12/08 noting the state has a definition of emergency vehicles. Steve Grittman said the ordinance amendment did not use the state's definition of emergency vehicles. Wayne Mayer said he is not ready to move forward with this amendment. He wants to have someone explain why this amendment is needed right now. Susie Wojchouski replied that the City needs to protect peoples' property values and address safety issues such as sight distance and backing hazards due to large vehicles parked in the streets. Wayne Mayer responded that Susie Wojchouski's comments would apply to RV's as well. Tom Moores stated that since the traffic ordinance only allows trucks making a delivery to exceed 9,000 pounds the recreational vehicles could not be driven to the home. Tom Moores stated that not all of the deputies are knowledgeable on the sticker system and vehicle weights which makes enforcement by the Sheriff s Department more difficult. Steve Grittman stated the reason many communities restrict commercial vehicles in residential areas is to protect the residential character of the neighborhood. The question discussed is "What is residential character?" Wayne Mayer questioned if there is already provisions in the ordinance that restricts commercial vehicles why is another provision being added. Clint Herbst noted that he was not the one who brought this item back before the Council. Because of the volume of complaints, staff brought the item back for Council consideration. Wayne Mayer said he would like to see how many complaints staff is talking about. Are the different complaints about the same vehicle or are there a number of different vehicle locations. Tom Moores stated that once the semi trailer is on private property his department doesn't deal with it. He can only enforce the traffic ordinance when the vehicle is on the road. Wayne Mayer said he would like to see how many complaints there are and have them located on a city map. He could not vote for this amendment without that information. UPON VOTE BEING TAKEN WAYNE MAYER, TOM PERRAULT AND BRIAN STUMPF VOTED IN OPPOSITION. Wayne Mayer emphasized that he wanted to see the complaints staff was referencing. Tom Perrault felt if the vehicle could be parked on their property without blocking the sidewalk or being too close to the curb, he does not oppose it but he does oppose commercial vehicles parked on residential streets. Brian Stumpf was in agreement with the reasons given by both Wayne Mayer and Tom Perrault. Brian Stumpf questioned with the provisions contained in the traffic ordinance why was any other ordinance amendment needed. Clint Herbst said they need an ordinance that is easily enforced. Tom Moores indicated that the City's boulevard ordinance does not allow parking in the boulevard. Brian Stumpf indicated that parking in the boulevard was addressed by Council in 2006 (Ord. Amd. #449). The City needs to make sure there is no conflict between the city codes and the zoning ordinance 3. Adiourn. SUSIE WOJCHOUSKI MOVED TO ADJOURN AT 6:05 P.M. TOM PERRAULT SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 1 J a~.T~ `~J~-c~s~~~-- Recording Secretary 3