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CC WS 2021 04 26CHANHASSEN CITY COUNCIL WORKSESSION MINUTES APRIL 26, 2021 Mayor Ryan called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. MEMBERS PRESENT: Mayor Ryan, Councilwoman Rehm, Councilman Campion, Councilwoman Schubert, and Councilman McDonald. Councilwoman Rehm joined via Zoom. COUNCIL MEMBERS ABSENT: None. STAFF PRESENT: Laurie Hokkanen, City Manager, Kate Aanenson, Community Development Director, Charlie Howley, Public Works Director/City Engineer, Andrea McDowell-Poehler, City Attorney. PUBLIC PRESENT: None. DISCUSS CHICKEN ORDINANCE Community Development Director Kate Aanenson gave an overview of the resident-requested ordinance amendment. Ordinance 639, allowing chickens on one acre or more, was adopted in 2019. The Ordinance was discussed by the Planning Commission and Council before being passed. Issues raised at those meetings included neighbor complaints, attraction of predators and rodents, potential disease, odor, and noise. Ms. Aanenson stated that there are neighborhoods belonging to a Homeowners Association (HOA) which do not allow chickens. An applicant would have to check with their HOA to determine if chickens were allowed. Ms. Aanenson stated that the standard lot size is 15,000 square feet with some Planned Use Developments (PUDs) averaging 11,000 square feet. Based on the current ordinance, the number of chickens allowed would be one chicken for every 5,500 square feet. Mayor Ryan stated she has received feedback for and against an ordinance change from Chanhassen residents. Councilman McDonald asked about the potential of attracting predators to the neighborhoods. Councilman Campion asked for data on neighboring communities who allow chickens and if they have seen an increase in predatory animals. City Council Work Session Minutes – April 26, 2021 2 Mayor Ryan added that the City of Chaska recently denied allowing chickens on less than one acre. There would have to be consideration for how chickens are housed overnight which would lead to more enforcement and inspection of enclosures and fencing. Councilman McDonald stated that, originally, there were some complaints about the noise chickens make therefore no chickens were allowed. In 2019, the ordinance was modified to allow chickens on property of more than one acre. He wonders if complaints have gone up and where chickens are located. Ms. Aanenson stated the City has not received many complaints. She will prepare a map showing locations of chickens in Chanhassen. Councilwoman Rehm stated that small properties might not meet the setback requirements. Councilwoman Schubert asked if types of chickens could be restricted to certain breeds that are less noisy. She felt it came down to personal responsibility of residents knowing if predators are common in their yard. She wonders how much staff time it would take to research the impact of reducing the property size requirement and whether it fits within the City’s Strategic Plan. Councilman Campion read the following portion of City Code regarding setback requirements. 2) The coop and attached run must be located in the rear yard and must be set back a minimum of 25 feet from all adjacent residences that are not occupied by the applicant, and be set back a minimum of 10 feet from any lot line. a. On corner lots, coops and runs may not be located in any yard with street frontage. b. On double frontage lots, coops and runs may not be located in any required front yard. Councilman Campion added he is leaning toward keeping it at one acre. Alternatively, he feels there should be no limit on the lot size to avoid having disputes over the size of property. He does not want to specify types of chickens so that staff doesn’t need to identify breeds. Mayor Ryan felt the ordinance should be kept at one acre. Residents who did not want chickens would be faced with a potential increase in predators which may risk their pets. She encouraged more outreach to neighboring communities to see the impact of their ordinances. She also asked for visuals to show one acre and smaller lots and how the setbacks would affect chicken coops and runs. Councilwoman Rehm questioned the $25 permit fee and whether it is reasonable or should be increased. City Council Work Session Minutes – April 26, 2021 3 DISCUSS SIGN ORDINANCE UPDATE Ms. Aanenson stated the City has had complaints regarding a sign that was interpreted as political. This brought into question if the City was in compliance with current legal cases regarding signs and freedom of speech. City Attorney Andrea McDowell-Poehler cited court case Reed v. Town of Gilbert and stated the City’s sign ordinance is not currently in compliance. Sign ordinances should avoid any review of the speech that is on the sign. Ms. McDowell-Poehler stated there have been issues with campaign signs. State law allows signs before and after elections. If someone takes campaign information off of a sign it then becomes a political sign which may cause resident complaints. Ms. McDowell-Poehler plans to model the City of Chanhassen’s sign ordinance after the sign ordinance from the City of Hopkins as it has been upheld in court. These changes would also assist in enforcement of the ordinance. Ms. Aanenson stated that, as long as the ordinance was being modified, there are other things that should be changed, such as the number of signs allowed in a yard. The City has allowed some flexibility for COVID-19 related signs for businesses and not enforcing sign restrictions unless it is blocking the right-of-way. There would be a public hearing with the Planning Commission before returning to the Council. Ms. Aanenson stated that HOAs may have more strict guidance on the number of signs. Councilman McDonald cautioned against enforcing a certain number of campaign signs in a yard. If it looked like the City was targeting a particular political party, there may be a misunderstanding. Councilman McDonald asked how the City handles real estate open house signs, most of which go in the right-of-way. Ms. Aanenson stated real estate signs were addressed in the ordinance. Councilman McDonald also addressed garage sale signs which are located everywhere. How are these improperly placed signs addressed, how is the City Code enforced, and what is the penalty for violating the ordinance. Ms. Aanenson stated that employees pick up signs that are located in the right-of-way if they have been there for a period of time, if complaints are received, or they impede traffic sight lines. City Council Work Session Minutes – April 26, 2021 4 Councilwoman Schubert asked if signs placed in a front facing window inside a house would count as a yard sign. Ms. McDowell-Poehler stated that these signs would be considered yard signs. Ms. Aanenson stated that some home occupations apply for a permit for a sign on their home. Councilwoman Rehm stated that the size of campaign signs should be limited. She is concerned about the aesthetics of Chanhassen, particularly Main Street. She questioned the brightness of signs and whether the ordinance could restrict signs from being on 24/7. Is there a way to measure the brightness of a sign? Ms. Aanenson stated those type of regulations were already in the City Code. When a developer comes in, they have to submit their signage and there is a restriction on how bright it can be. Ms. McDowell-Poehler added that asking signs to be turned off overnight could potentially be added to future developments but it was unlikely current developers would want to turn their lights off overnight. Mayor Ryan added that commercial building signs are part of a developer’s proposal which comes before the Council. At that time, Councilmembers could regulate the size of letters, brightness, or where signs are located. Ms. Aanenson stated she will run these proposed changes past the Buy Chanhassen group. Mayor Ryan added that the Economic Development Commission could review it as well. Ms. Aanenson stated the Planning Commission will review the ordinance and make a recommendation to the Council. DISCUSS SOLID WASTE COLLECTION DISTRICTS Ms. Aanenson reviewed a proposal to reduce the number of haulers in the city from five days per week to three days per week. Senior Planner Bob Generous submitted a proposal to the haulers dividing the city into day- specific collection zones in Chanhassen. Suggestions included dividing Chanhassen in North and South by using Highway 5 as a division, or creating three separate collection zones; one on Tuesday, one on Wednesday, and one on Thursday. Recycling would not change and would remain bi-weekly. Mayor Ryan asked what the next step in the process would be. City Council Work Session Minutes – April 26, 2021 5 Ms. Aanenson stated that there would be a comment period to educate residents and get more feedback but it would not be an ordinance change. Many residents feel strongly about their haulers so the haulers would not be reduced or eliminated. Councilman McDonald pointed out that one hauler seemed to contract with HOAs and only pick up on Fridays. Mayor Ryan stated that the goal was to get away from five haulers driving on streets five days per week. Councilwoman Rehm stated that, with many people shopping online, people had more recycling and increasing the recycling pick up to weekly may be well received. She wishes that the neighborhoods could decide amongst themselves on a single hauler. City Manager Laurie Hokkanen added that, when she worked for the City of Victoria, the city prepared a packet to help people organize their hauler with limited success. Mayor Ryan stated the City is not trying to pick one hauler and eliminate the others. Ms. Hokkanen stated her understanding is that a neighborhood would have a particular day for garbage. On that day you may have three to five garbage trucks but the other four days you would have none. Public Works Director/City Engineer Charlie Howley stated the Public Works department would be in favor of limiting the number of days as it would assist in street sweeping, maintenance, and plowing. Councilman McDonald suggested talking to Waste Management about pick up from townhomes on Fridays. Ms. Aanenson stated staff could do more research on how to reduce the number of days to three and start taking public comment. Councilwoman Schubert asked if this included commercial garbage hauling. Ms. Aanenson stated the proposals are geared toward residential properties. Councilman Campion stated that limiting the days to three may not be as big of a problem as dividing the neighborhoods. Dividing the city may reduce the number of garbage carriers that service Chanhassen. Ms. Aanenson can ask haulers if the proposed changes would impact their business. City Council Work Session Minutes – April 26, 2021 6 Councilwoman Rehm asked that the information be presented to residents so that they are aware the Council has discussed the issues and what the potential difficulties may be. The Council directed staff to move forward on determining if one or two days could be dropped from the hauler schedule. DISCUSS OUTDOOR STORAGE OF BOATS, TRAILERS AND RVS Ms. Aanenson stated that the Planning Commission held a public hearing on this item. There is currently no limitation on the storage of boats, trailers, or RVs on a property. The proposed ordinance would attempt to allow trailers in the front yard as long as they are not in the right-of- way. Councilwoman Schubert asked if there are current limitations on vehicles in a driveway. Ms. Aanenson stated there were no limitations as long as the vehicle was licensed and operable. Councilwoman Rehm felt there was a size difference between RVs, boats, and trailers. Ms. Aanenson stated the Council could impose a trailer length restriction. The Planning Commission contemplated adding seasonal date restrictions. Ms. Aanenson stated restrictions can be onerous to enforce. Councilman Campion asked what about the distance of a typical setback. Residents may have an easier time understanding distance from a curb or street. Ms. Aanenson stated a setback is variable but around 20-30 feet from an easement. Councilwoman Rehm suggested allowing parking in driveways if the resident received permission from the City. Ms. Aanenson stated that would result in many calls for staff to handle. Councilman Campion stated that people are parking in the driveways currently. It’s going to happen whether it’s allowed or not allowed so the City needs to decide what to do about it. Councilman McDonald suggested restricting parking to within the setback. Councilman Campion added that the City could limit the item parked in the driveway to either a boat, trailer, or RV, one of the three. City Council Work Session Minutes – April 26, 2021 7 Councilwoman Schubert stated that the City has many HOAs that do not allow boats, trailers, or RVs to be parked in the driveway. People who buy outside of an HOA expect to have more liberty with their property. Mayor Ryan is not in favor of allowing boats, trailers, or RVs in the driveway. She mentioned that some VRBOs bring in people who park their boats on the streets. Some boats are maintained but others are not, sometimes there are tarps covering items stored within a boat or trailer. The size of boats, trailers, and RVs are a concern for smaller neighborhoods. Ms. Aanenson stated that currently boats, trailers, and RVs are allowed in a side yard or back yard. Ms. Hokkanen polled the Council on their support of one or two vehicles parked in the driveway. Councilman McDonald felt there should be no limit to the number of vehicles as long as they could fit within the property. Councilman Campion was in favor of one seasonally appropriate vehicle allowed in the driveway. Mayor Ryan was not in favor of any vehicles on the lot. Councilwoman Schubert felt there needed to be a limit. One trailer, boat, or RV could be seasonally parked on the driveway with another vehicle allowed somewhere on the lot. Councilwoman Rehm felt there should be seasonal limits but she does not want to put too many restrictions. She felt one boat, trailer, or RV seemed reasonable. Ms. Aanenson asked if Council wanted to restrict the size of an RV. Councilman Campion stated there should be a limit on the distance from the curb. Ms. Aanenson asked if boats, trailers, and RVs should be allowed to be parked on the side yard or back yard. Councilman McDonald stated that, in order to get an RV into a backyard, a driveway would have to be built. If owners can’t meet property side yard setbacks the vehicle would have to be put in a storage lot. Councilwoman Schubert felt an exception should be made for residents who have five to ten acres. She noted that the side yard extends to the property line. Ms. Aanenson stated she could prepare visuals to see what works and what doesn’t work. City Council Work Session Minutes – April 26, 2021 8 Ms. Hokkanen stated that, if side yard setbacks would change, those who have side yard parking may need to be grandfathered in. Mayor Ryan asked if other communities have any restrictions or limitations on boats, trailers, or RVs based on the size of their yard. Mayor Ryan stated that there were many people who felt they didn’t have enough time to comment on the issue when it was before the Planning Commission. Ms. Aanenson agreed that the City could find ways to receive more input from residents. Ms. Hokkanen felt the issue had two parts. First, the question of how many boats, trailers, and RVs should be allowed in a driveway and if there should be seasonal restrictions. The second question involved changing the number of boats, trailers, and RVs allowed on a property and if a side yard or backyard could be used to store these vehicles. She asked the Council if they wanted to address both of these issues or just one of the issues to see what kind of feedback is received. Mayor Ryan felt the original issue was allowing boats, trailers, and RVs to park in a driveway. Council agreed they would like additional public comment on the issue. Submitted public comments could be read aloud at the Council meeting. Ms. Hokkanen explained that this was an ordinance amendment, therefore, the earliest Council meeting it could come to would be the May 24, 2021 meeting. FUTURE WORK SESSION SCHEDULE Ms. Hokkanen explained that the future work session schedule would start appearing on all work session agendas. This document is a tentative outline of what is coming up so that residents could monitor when an issue may be discussed. The document will also help the Council with Strategic Plan priorities and action plans so that Council and staff are on the same page. The meeting adjourned at 6:57 p.m. Submitted by Laurie Hokkanen City Manager Prepared by Kim Meuwissen