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HomeMy WebLinkAbout20090311 joint mtg for comp planJOINT WORK SESSION OF THE CITY COUNCIL AND THE PLANNING & ZONING COMISSION MARCH 11, 2009 7:00 PM RE: COMPREHENSIVE PLAN UPDATE Present: Gary Peterson, Bruce Nawrocki, Tami Diehm, Bobby Williams, Bruce Kelzenberg, Marlaine Szurek, Donna Schmitt, Dave Thompson, Mike Peterson (P & Z Commission) Walt Fehst, Scott Clark, Jeff Sargent, Shelley Hanson (Staff) Tina Goodroad and Holly Reid from Bonestroo and Cathy Bennett (Bennett Community Consulting) And 9 members of the community were present. Jeff Sargent, City Planner, explained the purpose of the meeting and introduced the City Council, the Planning & Zoning Commission and various staff that were present. He stated staff has been working with Bonestroo in preparing the Comprehensive Plan update, and this meeting was to review the final draft before it is approved for submittal. Tina Goodroad, from Bonestroo, said she would make a brief presentation that would focus on the various components of the Comprehensive Plan update, then hold a question/answer time to address any concerns or to listen to any new ideas that may be incorporated into the plan. She also encouraged those present to complete the questionnaire form and to submit any comments or suggestions they had regarding the updated Plan. Goodroad explained the Comprehensive Plan is required to be updated every ten years, but attempts to plan the city's course for the next 20 years. This enables cities to set their budgets to implement as many of the goals set as possible. The basic goal and vision statement for the Comprehensive Plan is that "The City will support public and private reinvestment opportunities resulting in increased neighborhood and community strength." She explained the goals and implementation strategies suggested within the Comprehensive Plan would help the City achieve this vision. The goals were determined from feedback received from staff and from members in the community. Goodroad said demographics, recent redevelopments, existing land uses, future land uses and the relationships to zoning districts are all taken into consideration when establishing the goals. The land use chapter focuses on trends and challenges of an inner ring suburb. It suggests areas of opportunity for additional high density housing, and mixed use and transit oriented development. The Housing chapter addresses ways to re- invest in our aging housing stock and to re- develop targeted areas of our city with mixed zoning for residential areas. This chapter could be considered an action plan to deal with the numerous foreclosures and potential rental properties the city will have. Code enforcement, licensing and inspections, utilization of financial tools, and programs to help homeowners with renovations are all addressed in this chapter. Page 2 The Economic Development Chapter sets goals to create a district that would provide new jobs to our city and to improve the overall image of the area. This could mean creating a transit - oriented area accessible to residents for shopping and other leisure activities close to home. The Parks and Trails Chapter addressed the community's recreational needs. Included in the plan is to implement a bike /trail loop connecting to other cities and trails, offering community activities that draw people to the parks, and updating facilities in the parks to keep abreast of changing trends and uses. The Transportation chapter addressed frontage roads along the main corridors, safety issues, and accessibility to mass transit. The Surface Water Chapter addresses the continual improvements necessary to deal with drainage and discharge to wetlands and lakes. This part of the plan is done in conjunction with the local water sheds, to ensure all state and local regulations are met. The Sanitary Sewer chapter basically addresses the maintenance of the existing system since there is no need to expand our system. The Water Supply chapter addresses the maintenance of our water supply system, to monitor performance measures for water quality, and to accomplish goals for the water conservation plan. The implementation of these goals is dependent upon our city policies and zoning ordinances being in place to coincide with this Plan. Comments from the City Council/ P & Z Members/Residents: A resident stated he had concerns regarding the north entrance to our city along Central Avenue. He said there is no real identity of our community, especially in the area between 49h and 53`d Avenue. Walt Fehst, City Manager, told him that one project in the works that may help that is the reconstruction of the 49th Avenue pedestrian bridge. Columbia Heights has received a $500,000 grant for Phase 1 of this project. The bridge will be replaced with a more attractive styled one that will be handicap accessible. He also mentioned there is a fundraising effort going on currently to raise money for a statute in front of the new Public Safety Building. These are examples of artwork and design making things more attractive throughout the city. Tami Diehm said there also is a community group seeking a Public Arts Grant to add some art to the High School Gym site. She thinks it is a great idea to add artwork to our new projects that could improve the image of our city by making this artwork an attraction of sorts at various locations throughout Columbia Heights. This same gentleman stated he is also a landlord and has been attending the Landlord meetings to get tips on managing rental property and the importance of doing background checks on tenants. He initiated a discussion regarding problem owners and if there was a way, legally, to prevent bad owners from purchasing additional properties for use as rental property. He sees this as being a bigger issue since there are several people taking advantage of the large number of foreclosures and seeing it as an opportunity to make some easy money. While the City's cannot prevent people from buying property, H: ICOUNCILUOINT WORK SESSION OF THE CITY COUNCIL3 -2009. doe Page 3 enforcement of our codes and the requirement of inspections in order to obtain a rental license are examples of the pro- active programs already in place to help address this situation. Other programs to improve the housing stock are among the goals identified in the Housing Chapter of the Comprehensive Plan Update. Rich Ronning, a resident, sees a problem with traffic flow on the east side of Central between 50s' and 52 "d Avenues. He sees the problem of access to these properties as being a deterrent to businesses locating there and being successful. Staff explained that the traffic flow in that area was designed by MN Dept of Transportation a couple of years ago to eliminate vehicles crossing the highway in this section. The only way it would possibly be changed is if a developer could prove to MN DOT that it would have a major affect on the development of those sites. Another comment made was the lack of sidewalks throughout our city that will become more of a problem since the future goal is to make things more transit oriented and encourage people to walk to things within the community. Council member Diehm acknowledged this is a problem and the council will need to take a stand on this, especially with areas being re- developed. She stated that in the past when sidewalk projects have been contemplated, residents were resistant because they didn't want to be responsible for maintaining them. However, as trends and needs change within the community, the City will need to accommodate access to sites such as parks and/or businesses in order to make it a more attractive place to live and recreate. Commission member Thompson thought one of the City's main goals should be to help keep current residents in Columbia Heights. Provide programs and services that help them maintain their properties and encourage stability. Long time residents also are more apt to be involved in activities or organizations since they have a sense of ownership or pride in what happens in their community. He went on to say another goal should be to make aesthetical improvements such as burying all utility lines. This should be required as developments occur, and be implemented slowly throughout the entire community. Council member Nawrocki stated he didn't feel Columbia Heights needed to increase housing density or to add any more affordable housing units. He expressed concern over the reference of doing so in the plan. Goodroad explained that the Met Council requires this area be addressed and that they will clarify the language regarding this issue. She stated that it doesn't mean we have to add high density-low income units, it just suggests potential sites where this may occur during the next ten to twenty years if growth continues as projected by the Met Council for inner ring suburbs. The plan has to respond to the Met Council's forecast of potentially adding 1,200 more housing units during this time, as it will distribute future grants to assist development according to criteria listed in the Plan. Goodroad said the plan also recognizes the need for additional medium and high value homes being added to the city's housing stock to maintain a balance. This balance is integral to the City's well being. Nawrocki also agreed more jobs need to be created in this community. He cited the need for a business area such as the old Industrial area that used to provide jobs for residents of the community. Although times and businesses have changed over the years, it is still important for a city to have successful businesses to draw people into the community. H: ICOUNCILUOINT WORK SESSION OF THE CITY COUNCIL3- 2009.doc Page 4 Rich Ronning, a resident, asked where an additional business area could be created. He also asked why the city can't request certain developments. He felt we should be more pro- active in re- development and not just accept the plans and developments that are brought to us. Jeff Sargent noted that several areas of opportunity were included in the Plan that have the potential of being re- developed during the next 10 -20 years. He explained that re- development is market driven. If a developer brings plans to the City, we ensure it meets all the requirements and guidelines established by the City, and if it meets those requirements, we don't have grounds to deny them. Scott Clark, Community Development Director, further explained that we work with developers and encourage general development that we'd like to see, but because we do not provide financial assistance or incentives, it is hard for us to make many demands. As stated previously, developments must meet our Zoning Ordinance, Comprehensive Plan, and Design Guidelines. With the present market conditions, it does limit the City's ability to mandate a certain business locate here. Usually developers have already done market studies and include businesses that think they can be successful here. Ronning then asked about traffic patterns and problems that may occur when the new Sonic Drive -in is opened. Sargent assured him it would be monitored and Border Foods will take whatever steps are necessary to direct traffic, especially for the first month or so after opening. The work session was adjourned at 8:20 pm Respectfully submitted, Shelley Hanson H ICOUNCILUOINT WORK SESSION OF THE CITY COUNCIL3- 2009.doc