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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. 1 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. ;'/ ~',./ '" ,,;; ~,,/, ;', (~.;<: d', // )" . ',> __~." ,(It"' c~:<"'.{-'f..-.r Jef.1 Neill Assistant Administrator , 2 I