City Council Minutes 05-19-1989
MINUTES
SPECIAL MEETING - MONTICELLO CITY COUNCIL
Friday, May 19, 1989 - 1:00 p.m.
Members Present: Ken Maus, Warren smith, Dan Blonigen, Shirley Anderson
Members Absent: Fran Fair
1. Review purpose of meeting.
Mayor Maus and Assistant Administrator O'Neill reviewed discussion
conducted by Meadow Oak area residents regarding public nuisance related
issues. Council was informed that the residents supported rewriting of
the restrictive covenants and that representatives had been appointed to
work with the City and the developer in establishing new restrictive
covenants.
After discussion, it was the general consensus of Council to participate
in the development of the new restrictive covenants and that the City
should act to facilitate this process. Following are the public nuisance
related issues that Council addressed at the meeting and also provided is
a proposed plan of action designed to address each issue.
2. Review and discuss public nuisance related issues.
It was the general consensus of Council that the City should not act to
establish an ordinance which would severely restrict outside storage of
boats and RV equipment in the front yard of city residential lots. It
was suggested, however, that the City should develop an ordinance which
would limit the parking of recreation vehicles at locations relative to
the curb. It was the view of council that an ordinance should be adopted
which would eliminate the potential of vehicles parking in areas that
would obstruct traffic site lines. It was also suggested that an
ordinance amendment be adopted which would prohibit vehicles from parking
for extended periods of time on the green area between curb line and
private property line.
Council discussed establishing a sodding and seeding requirement for all
new homes constructed in the city of Monticello. After discussion, it
was the consensus of Council to develop an ordinance amendment which
would require that all lawns be sodded and seeded at the time that an
occupancy permit is;issued. It was further suggested that a process be
established which would require that funds be escrowed for the purpose of
lawn installation for" those occasions when, because of weather or season
it is impossible to establish a lawn at time of occupancy. If a
homeowner fails to install a lawn within a reasonable time period, then
the City would act to utilize the escrowed funds to install the lawn for
the property owner. Council discussed the tree and shrub ordinance which
requires that two trees be planted on each property that is barren of
trees. It was the consensus of Council to include tree installation in
the sodding and seeding escrow requirement for those situations that
apply. Furthermore, it was the suggestion of Council that the minimum
tree diameter requirement be reduced from 2 inches to 1-1/2 inches.
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Special Council Minutes - 5/19/89
Council discussed establishing an ordinance amendment that would regulate
design and placement of storage sheds. After discussion, it was the
consensus of Council that storage sheds should meet a minimum standard
and that staff should submit an ordinance amendment which regulates the
type of materials used in storage sheds. The ordinance should also
require painting and staining of storage sheds and also require that
storage sheds be tied down. Finally, it was agreed that this ordinance
should be enforced as problems arise and that a permitting process for
storage sheds should not be enacted.
Council discussed enacting an ordinance amendment that would streamline
the process of cutting weeds and tall grasses on vacant lots. Dan
Blonigen was concerned that in cutting tall weeds, the City might damage
seedlings and be forced to pay damages to property owners that had
seedlings growing amongst tall weeds. Ken Maus suggested that the notice
to residents should include a request that the property owner identify
seedlings on the property prior to City removal of weeds. After
discussion, it was the general consensus of Council to streamline the
weed removal process by requiring a single notification to property
owners per growing season. Under this scenerio, once a property owner
has been notified of violation of the weed ordinance, the City would have
the option to cut the weeds without further notification each time the
weed or grass length exceeds the 6-inch minimum. The cost to conduct the
work would then be billed to the property owner; and if the bill is not
paid, the cost to remove the weeds and tall grasses would be assessed and
paid as taxes.
Council discussed the problems created when excavated material is removed
from one property and piled onto another property. It was the consensus
of Council that this particular problem is a public nuisance related
problem that can be rectified utilizing the existing City ordinances. It
was the consensus that no new ordinance would be created to address this
issue. Assistant Administrator O'Neill noted that he would summarize the
group ideas and work with the City Attorney in drafting the appropriate
ordinance amendments. Mayor Maus requested that City staff share the
results of the special meeting of the City Council with the Meadow Oak
area residents representatives at their meeting next Wednesday.
There being no further discussion, the meeting was adjourned.
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Jef.1 Neill
Assistant Administrator
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