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City Council Minutes 02-23-1981MINUTES REGULAR MEETING - MONTICELLO CITY COUNCIL February 23, 1981 - 7:30 P.M. Members Present: Arve Grimsmo, Dan Blonigen, Fran Fair, Ken Maus, Philip White. 1. Public Hearing - Consideration of a Variance from Home Occupation Uses Allowed in an R-2 Zone - Kenny Larsen. Mr. Ken Larsen requested a variance from the home occupation uses to open a carpet store at his home located on Lots 6, 7 & 8, Block 32, Lower Monti- cello. The reason for the request was that Mr. Larsen is vacating his present busi- ness location in downtown Monticello, and wishes to run a retail carpet store out of his residence. Mr. Larsen indicated that previously he opera- ted a similar type business out of his home approximately seven years ago, but it was noted that the grandfather clause would not apply in this situation since the business was discontinued for a period of over six months. The following comments were heard by the City Council from area property owners: Kenny Link indicated opposition to the variance and felt that the neighbor- hood should be kept residential. Harold Dahl felt that the proper area for this type of business was down- town and was also opposed to any variances being granted. Mr. Dahl indica- ted that a petition had been presented to the Council with sixteen (16) names of area residents all in opposition to the retail business being established. Also in opposition were Art Dorn and Rick Longley. Mr. Ed Winter, representing Kenny Larsen, indicated that the variance request would only be temporary in nature as Mr. Larsen plans to either build a new establishment or find new rental quarters within approximately six months to one year. Concerns were also expressed by the area residents that parking problems would result because of the increased traffic and as a result, motion was made by Fran Fair, seconded by Phil White and unanimously carried to deny the variance request of Mr. Kenny Larsen to open a carpet business at his home. - 1 - Council Minutes - 2/23/81 2. Consideration of Rezoning Land in Proximity of the Former Dick Brooks Farm Owned by NSP, from R-1 to I-2. Northern States Power Company, the owner of the former Dick Brooks Farm, located to the south of the present Nuclear Power Plant and to the north of Bill Seefeldt's Electro Industries Property, requested that this property be rezoned from R-1 (single family residential) to I-2 (heavy industrial). Mr. Ward King, area Public Relations Director for NSP, indicated the request for rezoning was necessary in order that this site could be used to build a new 22,000 square foot office building and training center complex. As part of this request, a larger area including all that land recently acquired by NSP was considered for rezoning from R-1 to I-2. The rezoning of the entire parcel from River Street to the Westerly edge of the City limits to I-2 would not leave any areas of spot zoning, but would rather leave one large area for the same or similar zoning. The Planning Commission recommended that the entire parcel of land be rezoned from R-1 to I-2, and it was noted that no opposition to the rezoning by abutting property owners was presented. Motion was made by Phil White, seconded by Dan Blonigen and unanimously carried to adopt an Ordinance Amendment rezoning the entire Dick Brooks Farm and other land owned by NSP at the western edge of Monticello from River Street to the Corporate limits from R-1 (single family residential) to I-2 (heavy industrial). (See Zoning Ordinance Amendment 2/23/81 #91). 3. Presentation of Feasibility Report on 1981-1 and 1981-2 Improvement Projects. John Badalich, City Engineer, reviewed with the Council the two feasibility reports prepared for improvements to the Meadows Subdivision Plat and the proposed NSP training facility on West River Street. The 1981-1 Improvement Project, which would serve NSP's training facility, would provide water service to NSP's proposed facility by extending the main under County Road 75 from the location near the Rod & Gun Club easterly along River Street. Mr. Badalich indicated that the sewer main, because of elevation problems, would have to be extended through The Meadows Plat along an easement from either the Edgar Klucas property or part of The Meadows Plat up to River Street and then easterly to NSP's property. The proposed breakdown of estimated assessments for this project would be Mc fnl1r%wQ• NAME Northern States Power Edgar Klucas Bill Seefeldt(Electro Ind.) Alano Society ASSESSABLE FOOTAGE TOTAL PROPOSED ASSESSMENT 1,250' $ 80,000 730' 46,720 333' 21,312 187' 11,968 2,500' $160,000 - 2 - Council Minutes - 2/23/81 Mr. Badalich indicated that the 1981-2 Improvement Project to service the Meadows Subdivision would be assessed 100% against Mel Wolters, the owner, with the exception of $7,300 in oversizing costs for the sewer main which had already been included in the assessment formula for the 1981-1 Improvement Project. As a result, the total cost of the 1981-2 Improvement Project which would be $137,000 would be proposed to be assessed against Mel Wolters. Mr. Ward King, representing Northern States Power Company, indicated that Northern States Power would be in favor of the City providing sewer and water service to their proposed training facility and their preliminary cost estimates indicate that a private sewer and water system may cost as much as the proposed assessments that are estimated. Mr. Albert Meyer, secretary of the Alano Society, indicated that the Alano Society was not in favor of sewer and water assessments against their pro- perty as they would not be able to afford the assessments at this time. Mel Wolters, owner of The Meadows Subdivision, indicated that if the sewer main had to be extended along Marvin Elwood Road to serve the Northern States Power property, he would like to also see the watermain extended along the entire length of this road along with all storm sewer improvements within the Meadows Plat. Mr. Wolters explained that if the entier storm sewer improvements for The Meadows Subdivision could be installed at the present time, then the entire cost of the storm sewer could be spread over all of the lots in his subdivision rather than just a few as proposed now. Mr. Wolters noted that he did not originally petition for the extension of the sewer along the entire length of Marvin Elwood Road and if both the sewer and water would be installed, he requested that the Council consider deferring any assessments on the unpetitioned for improve- ments for one year, as he did not plan to develop these lots for at least a year. Mr. Wolters also questionned why the watermain to serve the NSP property was proposed to be extended from the Rod & Gun Club area, when the water could be extended from Marvin Elwood Road to serve NSP's property. John Badalich, City Engineer, explained that the reason for extending both water services along Marvin Elwood Road and from River Street would be to provide a looping of the watermain to avoid any deadend lines which result in stagnant water. It was also noted that a letter had been received from property owner Edgar Klucas indicating that he would be opposed to any assessments against his property because of the improvements to serve Northern States Power Company. John Badalich, City Engineer, indicated that the feasibility reports for both improvement projects could be updated to include the extension of watermain and storm sewer improvements along the entire length of Marvin Elwood Road within the Meadows Subdivision with a more detailed breakdown of the cost for the next public hearing. Motion was made by Fran Fair, seconded by Ken Maus and unanimously carried to adopt a resolution ordering a public hearing on the feasibility reports for the 1981-1 and 1981-2 Improvement Projects with the 1981-1 feasibility report to include revisions that would extend watermain along the entire length of Marvin Elwood Road to connect with the watermain proposed under - 3 - Council Minutes - 2/23/81 the 1981-2 Improvement Project, and also to extend street, curb and gutter and storm sewer facilities within The Meadows Subdivision plat along Marvin Elwood Road. Public Hearing was scheduled to be held at the March 23, 1981 Council Meeting at which time a public hearing will be held on the 1981 Cedar Street Storm Sewer improvement project. (See Resolution 1981 #10). 4. Consideration of a Simple Subdivision Request - Roy Carlson. Mr. & Mrs. Roy Carlson, owners of Lots 2, 3 & 4, Block 46, Townsite of Monticello, requested to subdivide their parcel into two separate buildable lots. Currently, Mr. & Mrs. Carlson have their residence on Lots 3 & 4, which are each 33' x 165', and Lot 2 is vacant and is 66' x 165' also. Planning Commission recommended unanimously to approve this simple subdivi- sion request, contingent upon a certificate of survey being provided showing that the present structure on Lots 3 & 4 meets current zoning ordinances in that it is located at least 10' or more away from the property line. Motion was made by Phil White, seconded by Ken Maus and unanimously carried to approve the simple subdivision of Lots 2, 3 & 4, Block 46 into two equal sized lots contingent upon a Certificate of Survey being provided and contingent upon the existing house being located at least ten feet (10') away from the easterly property line. 5. Consideration of a Conditional Use Permit for Land Reclamation - Milton Olson. Mr. Milton Olson had requested a conditional use permit to place land fill on the property he owns in the southwest corner of Oakwood Drive and Marvin Road, just northwest of the Monticello Ford site. Initially, Mr. Olson indicated a receptiveness to taking some of the debris and rubble from the Oakwood School site to fill in part of his property, but it now appears that his property is not suitable for the Oakwood School debris, and therefore, he has indicated that he is no longer in need of a conditional use permit for his property being used as a land fill. Mr. Olson indicated that some clean fill may be put in his property but would not amount to more than 400 yards at any one time, and therefore a conditional use permit request was not necessary. 6. Consideration of Allocation of Funds Towards Monticello Chamber of Commerce Business & Industrial Development Committee. In 1980, the City of Monticello approved an allocation of $5,000 towards the Chamber of Commerce's Business & Industrial Development Committee's plan to promote the City of Monticello and its business growth. In 1980 the funding from the City was used primarily for advertising purposes, and the Committee requested that the City Council consider allocating an additional $4,000 in funding for 1981. - 4 - Council Minutes - 2/23/81 Mr. Bud Schrupp, representing the Business & Industrial Development Commit- tee, explained the importance of having an active committee promote the City of Monticello to seek new businesses and asked that the City consider appropriating $4,000 towards this cause for 1981. The proposed 1981 budget for the Committee amounts to approximately $15,000 with the balance of the funds being used coming from the Chamber of Commerce and any unused money not spent in previous years. Motion was made by Phil White, seconded by Fran Fair and unanimously carried to approve the allocation of $4,000 to the Chamber of Commerce committee on business and industrial development for the purpose of promoting and advertising the City of Monticello. 7. Consideration of a Conditional Use Permit Request - Monticello Public Library. The proposed location for the new Monticello Public Library, located in Block 17, east of the present Oakwood School site, is currently zoned R-2 and a conditional use permit is necessary for the library to be built. A public hearing was held by the Planning Commission with no opposition and it was recommended by the Planning Commission that the conditional use permit be granted. Motion was made by Ken Maus, seconded by Fran Fair and unanimously carried to approve a conditional use permit request for the Monticello Public Library to be built on parts of Lots 1 & 2, Lots 9 & 10 of Block 17, Town - site of Monticello. 8. Consideration of Proposed Amendment to the City of Monticello's Park Dedica- tion Ordinance Requirement. Currently, the Park Dediciation for the City of Monticello requires all developers requesting platting contribute 100 of the final plat gross area to be dedicated to the public for their use as either parks, playgrounds, public open space or park and trail systems, or to contribute an equivalent amount in cash. In the past, the City of Monticello has determined that the cash equivalent would be equal to 100 of the assessor's fair market value of the property. The assessor's fair market value of the property is determined to be as of January 2nd in the preceeding year, and this market determination is very low historically. As a result of the utilization of the assessor's fair market value, the developer is usually better off contributing cash as opposed to actual land. Additionally, when land has been offered by the developers, in many cases the proposed land consists of unbuildable areas because of high -line wires or because the property is lowland and is used for ponding areas. As a result, the Planning Commission reviewed this ordinance requirement and recommended that the park dedication ordinance requirement be amended, as follows: 5 - Council Minutes - 2/23/81 A. All developers requesting platting or replatting of land continue to contribute 100 of the final plat gross area in either land or cash or any combination thereof, but recommended that the ordinance be changed in that the City could specify a specific area in case of land contribution. B. In order to determine the park dedication requirement, an appraisal of the market value of the subdivision shall be provided by the developer. This appraisal shall include the appraisal of the entire subdivision based on the market value of the land as though it were already platted. C. The City Council may accept the appraised value as obtained by the developer or it may get a second opinion by getting another appraisal with all costs for appraisals being borne by the developer. D. Park dedication credit would not be granted for wetland or ponding areas necessary for drainage -of that particular subdivision. The primary changes in the park dedication requirement would be in that the City would have a choice of accepting either land or cash, and if land was proposed, the exact location of the land. In addition, the primary change would be in determining the market value of the land. The assessor's market value, as used in the past, has normally been considerably lower than what the true market value of the property would be. The Council discussed what affects this would have on certain developments, as if a developer proposed cash with the new market value, the cash contribu- tion could be as much as six times higher than under the previous method. As a result, it was the consensus of the Council to table any action on this ordinance amendment until the next meeting for further study. 9. Consideration of Approvinq Building Code Ordinance Update_ and Amendment. Loren Klein, Building Official for the City of Monticello, indicated that the State of Minnesota has amended the State Building Code in 1980. Mr. Klein noted that the City of Monticello is currently operating under the State Building Code, which is now three years old, and recommended that the Council officially adopt the 1980 State of Minnesota Building Code to replace the 1977 Building Code. It was also recommended that the other codes pertaining to the Housing Code, Abatement Code, etc. be also updated to coincide with the latest official state codes. It was noted that since the City of Monticello has previously adopted the state building code, the City must abide by any new regulations in the updated Building Code, and that formal adoption is a formality. Motion was made by Fran Fair, seconded. by Ken Maus to approve the newly updated Minnesota State Building Code and other changes throughout Chapter 4 of the City's Building Code Section. (See Ordinance Amendment 2/23/81 #92). Voting in Favor: Arve Grimsmo, Fran Fair, Ken Maus, Phil White. Abstaining: Dan Blonigen. Council Minutes - 2/23/81 10. Approval of Bills and Minutes. Motion was made by Phil White, seconded by Dan Blonigen and unanimously carried to approve the bills for the month of February as presented, and the minutes of the Regular Meeting held February 9, 1981 as presented. (See exhibit 2/23/81 #1). 11. Discussion on Former Monticello Ford Building. On a recommendation by City Attorney, Gary Pringle, motion was made by Dan Blonigen, seconded by Ken Maus and unanimously carried to approve authorizing the City Attorney to bring suit against Mr. Larry Flake in District Court in regards to the Monticello Ford Building as a public nuisance. 12. Council Meeting Date Change. It was the consensus of the City Council to change the regular scheduled Council Meeting from April 27th to Tuesday, April 28th, due to a conflict with the Business & Industrial Development Committee's fund raiser proposed for April 27th. Meeting adjourned. Rick Wolfste er, Administrative Assistant RW/ns - 7 -