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City Council Minutes 10-11-1993MINUTES REGULAR MEETING - MONTICELLO CITY COUNCIL Monday, October 11, 1993 - 7 p.m. Members Present: Ken Maus, Shirley Anderson, Brad Fyle, Clint Herbst, Patty Olsen Members Absent: None 1. Call to order. 2. Consideration of approval of minutes of the special meeting held September 9, 1993, and the regular meeting held September 27, 1993. After discussion, a motion was made by Shirley Anderson and seconded by Clint Herbst to approve the meeting minutes for both meetings as submitted. Motion carried unanimously. 3. Citizens comments/petitions, requests, and complaints. None forthcoming. 4. Consideration of a resolution supporting Monticello Rotary Club efforts to establish social and economic ties to the City of Dungannon, Northern Ireland. Don Smith, representing the Monticello Rotary Club, informed the City Council that a connection between both communities now exists through the Children's Program of Northern Ireland. Under this program, Monticello families have hosted children from Dungannon schools with both Rotary clubs providing financial support. The two Rotary clubs have initiated an establishment of a deeper relationship between communities in areas of arts, culture, education, religion, government, economic development, business, trade, and professional services. He noted that establishment of this relationship could lead to social and economic connections that could improve the quality of life and the standard of living for citizens from both communities. He requested that the City Council consider adopting a resolution that supports the efforts made by both clubs to link the two communities. The resolution will be presented to Dungannon Rotary Club by five Monticello Rotary Club members that will be visiting Dungannon next week. Smith went on to note that there is no request for financial assistance of any kind, only symbolic support for the mission. Perhaps at some point in the future it may make sense for the City to become more involved if opportunities for economic development arise. Page 1 Council Minutes - 10/11/93 After discussion, a motion was made by Shirley Anderson and seconded by Patty Olsen to adopt a resolution supporting Monticello/Dungannon Northern Ireland Rotary Clubs exchange initiative. Motion carried unanimously. SEE RESOLUTION 93-37. 5. Consideration of a variance request to allow a building addition onto a non- conforming structure in a rear yard setback. Applicant, Gene Jestus. Assistant Administrator O'Neill explained that Mr. Jestus requests variances necessary to allow him to construct an addition onto his existing lawful non -conforming garage. His existing garage is a non -conforming structure for two reasons: 1) The building is located 14 ft from the rear lot line. The ordinance requires a 30 -ft setback. 2) The garage door opening on the side yard setback facing Ramsey Street is 4.3 ft from the Ramsey right- of-way. The ordinance requires a 20 -ft setback at this location. Cars parked in front of the garage must park on the city boulevard. Technically, using the boulevard for off-street parking is not permissible. Residential parking should occur primarily on private property. O'Neill noted that under our present ordinance, non -conforming structures such as this one can continue in existence and be maintained over time; however, they are not allowed to be enlarged under our present ordinance. Brad Fyle indicated that Mr. Jestus has sufficient land available to allow proper relocation of his garage. Fyle went on to note that he did not see sufficient grounds for granting a variance, as there is nothing unique about the situation that would prohibit Jestus from moving his garage into the proper location. Motion died for lack of a second. After discussion, a motion was made by Shirley Anderson and seconded by Clint Herbst to table consideration of the variance request and direct City staff to determine how many detached garages there are throughout the city that are non -conforming and assist Council in determining the impact of the precedent that would be set if the variance is granted. Voting in favor: Patty Olsen, Ken Maus, Shirley Anderson, Clint Herbst. Opposed: Brad Fyle. 6. Consideration of preliminary plat of the Monticello Commerce Center 1st Addition. Applicant, Monticello Industrial Park Inc. Assistant Administrator O'Neill explained that Monticello Industrial Park, Inc., requests that City Council grant preliminary and final plat approval of the Monticello Commerce Park 1st Addition, which consists of a single 2 - acre industrial lot located directly north of the Little Mountain Elementary Page 2 Council Minutes - 10/11/93 School site on Fallon Avenue. This parcel is being subdivided on conjunction with development of a facility for a company that produces baked pet treats. O'Neill noted that the plat as proposed meets city code with regard to lot dimensions, is served by an existing roadway, and has immediate access to both sewer and water lines. Access to the storm sewer system is provided at Fallon Avenue. The site will be graded to allow drainage to flow to the Fallon Avenue drainage way. It may be necessary to upgrade the drainage system conveying storm water to the large swale west of the site. O'Neill went on to inform the City Council that under our present ordinance, it is not possible to require supplemental screening or landscape plantings in addition to the minimum required along the boundary line between the proposed subdivision and the Little Mountain School. It was the consensus of Council that the existing landscaping ordinance is sufficient to soften the impact of the transition between the school and industrial use and that the pine plantings as required by the conditional use permit issued to the school district is sufficient to create a separation or transition between the industrial and school zones. After discussion, a motion was made by Clint Herbst and seconded by Patty Olsen to approve the preliminary and final plats as submitted. Motion carried unanimously. 7. Consideration of preliminary and final plat approval of Point Minnie. Applicant, Stuart Hoglund. Plat size and location: 3.5 acres consisting of 4 lots, 1 of which includes the site of the Comfort Inn of Monticello. O'Neill informed Council that the request for preliminary and final plat approval of the Point Minnie subdivision is identical to the request made on July 5, 1990. Both the Planning Commission and City Council reviewed and approved the preliminary plat in 1990. Due to the fact that there was a delay that lasted more than one year between the time of preliminary plat approval and request for final plat approval, it is necessary for the Planning Commission and Council to reconsider both preliminary and final plats. O'Neill went on to state that the items identified at the initial preliminary plat approval relating to the grading and drainage plan have been completed; therefore, it is appropriate to consider both preliminary and final plat approval of the Point Minnie subdivision. Council discussed possible design alternatives for improving the intersection of Chelsea and Oakwood Drive. The concept of vacating old Cedar Street and replacing it with a connection to Thomas Park Drive from a roadway extending along the northern boundary of the Point Minnie plat was Page 3 Council Minutes - 10/11/93 discussed. It was the consensus of the group that Cedar Street should remain open for the short-term; however, it could be possible that Cedar Street might need to be closed at some point in the future. In addition, approval of the Point Minnie plat as proposed will not significantly limit flexibility in designing or modify the present roadway system serving the Thomas Park area. After discussion, a motion was made by Shirley Anderson and seconded by Brad Fyle to approve the preliminary and final plat of the Point Minnie subdivision. Motion carried unanimously. 8. Consideration of amendment to Chapter 16 of the Monticello Zoning Ordinance which would permit use of a temporary structure not to exceed 700 sq ft as an accessory use on an interim basis. Applicant, Community United Methodist Church. Assistant Administrator O'Neill stated that, in response to Council direction, City staff and the Planning Commission have prepared a zoning ordinance amendment that would allow temporary structures to be used in an I-2 zone only on an interim basis for up to two years. Another proposed ordinance, it would not be possible to place a structure in any other zoning district. In addition, the ordinance singles out lawful non -conforming uses in the I-2 zone as being eligible to utilize a temporary structure. The provision allowing non -conforming uses in an I-2 zone to use a temporary structure supercedes the general requirements that all non -conforming uses cannot expand. Ken Maus was concerned about the potential of the use of the accessory structure in an industrial zone for storage. He suggested that the ordinance be modified to exclude use of a temporary structure for any purpose other than classroom or office space. Brad Fyle asked if the Pumpkin Patch Preschool has exclusive use of the basement of the Methodist Church building. Bill Caldwell, representing the church, indicated that the Pumpkin Patch Preschool uses the basement during the week, and the church uses the same space for Sunday School classes on Sunday. Brad Fyle was concerned that other churches have bought property and expanded their facilities in a manner consistent with the zoning ordinance. Perhaps the church could buy a nearby residential property to accommodate classroom needs. Gary Anderson mentioned his concern regarding the type of temporary structure used for classroom space. He noted that the structure placed on the site will need to meet all occupancy requirements associated with being used as a classroom. Ken Maus emphasized that the church will need to Page 4 Council Minutes - 10/11/93 work closely with Gary Anderson to determine occupancy requirements associated with using the temporary structure as a classroom. After discussion, a motion was made by Shirley Anderson and seconded by Clint Herbst to adopt the ordinance amendment based on the finding that the amendment is consistent with the geography and character of the I-2 zoning district and is consistent with the comprehensive plan. Land values in the I-2 zoning district will not be impacted by the zoning ordinance amendment. Motion to include a requirement that the proposed ordinance as submitted be modified to limit the use of the temporary structure to classroom and office uses and prohibit storage of materials in the temporary structure. Voting in favor: Ken Maus, Shirley Anderson, Clint Herbst, Patty Olsen. Opposed: Brad Fyle. SEE ORDINANCE AMENDMENT NO. 241. 9. Consideration of a request by abutting property owner to construct a fence around undeveloped West 4th Street. Applicant, Jim Eisele. City Administrator, Rick Wolfsteller, informed Council that Jim Eisele requests that the City Council grant approval to allow Eisele to construct a fence around the perimeter of the portion of 4th Street bordering Eisele's property, which is located at the intersection of Elm and 4th Street. Wolfsteller noted that while he understands Eisele's desire to enclose the area in order to control this area and improve his ability to maintain the property, he questions whether the City should be allowing a property owner abutting an undeveloped street the right to fence in the entire unused right-of-way. Doing so would essentially deny access to the other property owner and other citizens to the public right-of-way. Wolfsteller noted that while the present neighbor may not object to the arrangement, a future property owner could be requesting permission to use half the street for garden or other purpose, or perhaps he may need to use the street to gain access to the rear of his property to remove a tree or in some other way improve his property. In addition, if Mr. Eisele is allowed to fence the entire right-of-way, it appears to the public that Eisele is the owner of the entire piece of property when in fact the right-of-way exists. Wolfsteller also noted that the City Attorney recommends that the City not allow fences or any other private article or structure be placed on a city right-of-way because the City becomes liable for any accidents, injuries, or other problems that could be a result from placement of items on the right- of-way. At the same time, however, this particular right-of-way is undeveloped; therefore, traffic in the area is limited to the intersection of Page 5 Council Minutes - 10/11/93 4th Street and Elm Street and, consequently, there may be relatively little risk associated with allowing the fence to be on the boulevard at this location. Finally, Wolfsteller noted that Eisele's concern about denying access to his property by putting up a fence is justifiable, but it should be located on his property line or at most on the centerline of the undeveloped street right-of- way. This would allow the abutting property owner to the south an equal access to the street. Eisele stated that the adjoining property owner supports the concept of Eisele maintaining the entire right-of-way and is not bothered by the possibility of having the fence extend across the entire street right-of-way. In the event the existing property owner changed his/her mind regarding the fence or in the event a new property owner would buy the property and request use of half the right-of-way for whatever purpose, Eisele would be happy to move the fence. Ken Maus was concerned about the city-wide impact of this decision. John Simola suggested that the decision on this matter should be accompanied by a written policy that could be applied throughout the city. Perhaps the policy could include a provision requiring a lease agreement. The lease would include an insurance provision, time limits, and a provision enabling an adjoining property owner to request removal of the fence if extended beyond the centerline of the adjoining right-of-way. After discussion, a motion was made by Clint Herbst and seconded by Brad Fyle to allow Eisele to construct the fence along the perimeter of the entire 4th Street right-of-way as requested contingent on development of a city- wide policy governing placement of private fencing enclosing undeveloped streets by adjoining property owners and contingent on Eisele entering into an agreement associated with the policy. Motion carried unanimously. 10. Consideration of amendment to Chapter 3-5 [D] 9 (f) of the Monticello Zoning Ordinance which would allow curb cut widths in commercial and industrial districts to exceed widths of 24 ft at the discretion of the City Engineer and Zoning Administrator. According to the City Planner, many other cities have a standard curb cut requirement but allow exceptions to this requirement to be made at the discretion of the City Engineer. O'Neill reported that the proposed zoning ordinance amendment adds a sentence to the existing ordinance which provides the City Engineer and the Zoning Administrator to allow curb cuts in excess of 24 ft. It is the view of the Planning Commission and City staff that the existing ordinance is too restrictive and will continue to result in Page 6 Council Minutes - 10/11/93 variance requests. Allowing wider curb cuts in commercial and industrial zones will enhance usability of commercial and industrial property without sacrificing public safety or usability of the public right-of-way. Therefore, Planning Commission and City staff recommend approval of the ordinance amendment. After discussion, a motion was made by Shirley Anderson and seconded by Brad Fyle to allow curb cut widths in commercial and industrial districts to exceed a width of 24 ft at the discretion of the City Engineer and the Zoning Administrator. Approval of the amendment is based on the finding that the wider curb cuts are necessary to allow adequate access to commercial and industrial sites, and the ordinance amendment will enhance efficiency by reducing variance requests. Motion carried unanimously. SEE ORDINANCE AMENDMENT NO. 242. 11. Consideration of transient merchant ordinance amendment. Rick Wolfsteller reported that the recycling committee requests that the Council consider amending the transient merchant ordinance in a manner that would result in outside recyclers setting up in Monticello to be treated the same way as transient merchants that set up to sell items on a temporary basis. Wolfsteller noted that under our transient merchant ordinance, transient merchants are defined as a person who engages in selling items. It would be easy to modify the ordinance to also include individuals who purchase items such as recyclers that purchase aluminum cans. Wolfsteller went on to note that one of the main concerns of having an ordinance dealing with transient merchants is to ensure that temporary businesses are located in the proper zoning district and are also located in areas that have sufficient parking and meet the zoning requirements. The same provision should also apply to a temporary business that buys items from the public. Furthermore, if it becomes more difficult for an outside recycler to locate temporarily in Monticello, we may see a decrease in the number of incidents where items are removed from curb -side recycling bins for the purpose of selling the items to the recycler. In addition, the more aluminum cans that our recycling firm, D & K, can collect, the better chance we have of keeping our price for collection services at a reasonable level since D & K depends on aluminum as a major portion of their revenue from recycling. After discussion, a motion was made by Shirley Anderson and seconded by Clint Herbst to adopt the ordinance amendment as proposed, which includes an amendment to the definition of transient merchant to include buying or selling merchandise on a temporary basis. The amendment to also include Page 7 Council Minutes - 10/11/93 allowing transient merchants to operate 5 days per month as opposed to the current ordinance which limits operation to 5 days per year. Motion carried unanimously. SEE ORDINANCE AMENDMENT NO. 243. 12. Consideration of approving renewal of joint fire department contracts with Silver Creek Townshp and the City of Otsego. Rick Wolfsteller reported that the Joint Fire Board recently met for the purpose of reviewing the 1994 fire department budget, and recommends at that meeting increasing the contracting fees from the current $25 per parcel to $35 per parcel for both Silver Creek and Otsego. In support of this increase, Wolfsteller noted that the Elk River Fire Department has for a number of years been charging the City of Otsego approximately $35 per parcel, and recently Otsego decided to contract with the City of Albertville for a small triangular portion of Otsego that lies south of I-94. This small triangular parcel containing approximately 39 home sites was previously serviced by Monticello and Otsego will now be paying $72 per parcel to the Albertville Fire Department. After reviewing the City's fire department cost, Monticello Township representatives felt the charge imposed on contracting communities should be increased to $35 per parcel to better reflect the actual cost of providing protection. Wolfsteller went on to report that the fire board recommended a 3 -year contract extension at $35 per parcel for both contracts. While the fire board is not opposed to 1 -year contracts, it felt that a 3 -year contract may be more acceptable to the townships affected. After discussion, a motion was made by Shirley Anderson and seconded by Clint Herbst to approve the renewing of fire protection agreements with the City of Otsego and Silver Creek Township for a 3 -year term at the rate of $35 per fire parcel. Under this alternative, Silver Creek Township will pay $16,900 and the City of Otsego $8,150 in 1994. Motion carried unanimously. 13. Consideration of adoption of Central Minnesota Initiative Fund Sponsoring Unit of Government Resolution on behalf of The H -Window Company. 011ie Koropchak requested that the City Council consider adoption of a sponsoring unit of government resolution on behalf of the H -Window Company. Consideration of the resolution is requested in conjunction with the final application process for Central Minnesota Initiative Funds. The Central Minnesota Initiative Fund is a private non-profit rural development corporation committed to providing financial assistance to development projects and programs that promote and strengthen Central Minnesota. Council Minutes - 10/11/93 The fund is supported by the McKnight Foundation and Farmers Home Administration and provides financial assistance to counties in Central Minnesota. The requested CMIF dollar amount for H -Window is $100,000. The City of Monticello is not liable for paying back these funds. After discussion, a motion was made by Shirley Anderson and seconded by Clint Herbst to adopt the sponsoring unit of government resolution. Motion carried unanimously. SEE RESOLUTION 93-38. 14. Consideration to adopt a Central Minnesota Initiative Fund Sponsoring Unit of Government Resolution on behalf of Standard Iron and Wire Works. As with the previous agenda item, the City Council is asked to consider adoption of a sponsoring unit of government resolution on behalf of Standard Iron and Wire Works, Inc. The requested CMIF dollar amount for Standard Iron is $100,000. After discussion, a motion was made by Shirley Anderson and seconded by Patty Olsen to approve the sponsoring unit of government resolution adopted in conjunction with application for funds on behalf of Standard Iron to the Central Minnesota Initiative Fund. Motion carried unanimously. SEE RESOLUTION 93-39. 15. Other items. A. Rick Wolfsteller reviewed the status of the Gille property cleanup project. It was the consensus of Council that ownership of the property should remain with the City and/or County until the site is cleaned up. B. Clint Herbst expressed his concern that City staff has not provided a report on the current City policy on accumulation and use of comp time as requested by Council. After discussion, a motion was made by Clint Herbst to direct the City Administrator to deny any employee's request for use of comp time until such time that the City Council has been provided a report on the policy governing use of comp time. Motion died for lack of a second. Page 9 Council Minutes - 10/11/93 After discussion, a motion was made by Shirley Anderson and seconded by Patty Olsen to direct City staff to provide a report on the comp time policy to be provided at the next meeting of the City Council. Voting in favor: Shirley Anderson, Patty Olsen, Ken Maus, Clint Herbst. Abstaining: Brad Fyle. C. Ken Maus noted that vandalism has occurred at the City and Riverside Cemeteries. Maus suggested that an ordinance be adopted which provides the police with the authority to order people in the cemetery areas to leave the premises after a certain hour. It was the consensus of Council to direct staff to prepare an ordinance amendment accordingly. D. Representative Mark Olson was in attendance. Olson mentioned that he would like the opportunity to review legislative initiatives or other state policies or programs affecting the City of Monticello at an upcoming meeting of the City Council. Council expressed appreciation for his attendance at the meeting, and it was the consensus of Council to inventory state-wide issues that affect the City and be prepared to discuss such items with Olson at an upcoming Council meeting. There being no further discussion, the meeting was adjourned. J ff fteill Assistant Administrator Page 10