Loading...
06-13-2022 City Council Regular Meeting MinutesCHANHASSEN CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MINUTES JUNE 13, 2022 Mayor Ryan called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. The meeting was opened with the Pledge of Allegiance. COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: Mayor Ryan, Councilman Campion, Councilwoman Schubert, Councilman McDonald. COUNCIL MEMBERS ABSENT: Councilwoman Rehm. STAFF PRESENT: Laurie Hokkanen, City Manager; Matt Unmacht, Assistant City Manager; Kate Aanenson, Community Development Director; Charlie Howley, City Engineer/Public Works Director; Don Johnson, Fire Chief; Jerry Ruegemer, Park & Recreation Director; Ari Lyksett, Communications Manager; Andrea McDowell Poehler, City Attorney; and Kim Meuwissen, City Clerk. PUBLIC PRESENT: Jeff Breeggemann and Bill Kallberg CenterPoint Energy Pamela McGrann 6540 Fox Path Ann Miller 6561 Fox Path Tara Clark 6401 Fox Path PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS: 1. Announce New City of Chanhassen Website Communications Manager Ari Lyksett gave a presentation on the City’s new website, noting there is now a pop-up section to sign up for e-newsletters. The goal of the website update is to be an efficient communicative tool for everyone and it is a mobile-friendly site with adjustable screen resolution and fits smartphones, tablets, laptops, and other devices. The City is also able to track data and analytics through Google Analytics to allow for more educated decisions before putting things on the web. Ms. Lyksett shared about the new search-centric model noting the top six pages are easy buttons, there is an “in the spotlight” section, and the new quick looks feature. There is also a voting section to make it easy for residents to find the precinct map and any election and voting info all on one page. She noted the new website is a new, improved hub of information for many people and she is excited to keep this “living document” alive. CONSENT AGENDA: Councilman McDonald moved, Councilwoman Schubert seconded that the City Council approve the following consent agenda items pursuant to the City Manager’s recommendations: City Council Minutes – June 13, 2022 2 1. Approve City Council Minutes dated May 23, 2022 2. Receive Park & Recreation Commission Minutes dated April 26, 2022 3. Receive Senior Commission minutes dated April 15, 2022 4. Approve Claims Paid dated June 13, 2022 5. Approve Fireworks Permit for the Lake Minnewashta Homeowners Association Event Scheduled for July 3, 2022 6. Approve Final Plat, Development Contract and Plans and Specifications for Erhart Farm and Resolution 2022-53: Remove Property from the Rural Service District 7. Resolution 2022-54: Approve 2022 Skid Steer Replacement Purchases 8. Resolution 2022-55: Approve Settlement Agreement for Parcels 1 and 24 as part of CSAH 101 Improvement Project 9. Resolution 2022-56: Accept Donation from CenterPoint Energy for the Purchase of Replacement Ice Rescue Equipment 10. Ordinance 692: Adopt Amendments to City Code Chapter 13, Nuisances, and Chapter 20, Zoning All voted in favor and the motion carried unanimously with a vote of 4 to 0. VISITOR PRESENTATIONS. 1. CenterPoint Energy Community Safety Grant Presentation Fire Chief Johnson noted on the Consent Agenda the City Council approved a donation from CenterPoint Energy called the Community Safety Grant, which is an annual grant process and has helped the City purchase gas monitoring equipment and thermal imaging cameras. It is a 50% matching grant and this year the City was awarded a $1,500 grant to replace specialized ice rescue equipment. Jeff Breeggemann and Bill Kallberg of CenterPoint Energy gave a presentation, noting they have given about 1,288 grants throughout the U.S. for a little over $2,500,000. They presented Chief Johnson with a check for $1,500 for ice commander suits for water and ice rescue. PUBLIC HEARING: 1. Resolution 2022-57: Adopt Resolution Vacating a Portion of Public Drainage & Utility Easements within the Pat Cunningham Plat; Final Plat Approval, Development Contract Approval, and Approval of the Plans and Specifications City Engineer Howley gave a presentation on the item. He noted this is a routine approval of a final plat subdivision and the public hearing is for the request to vacate an existing drainage and utility easement. The location is at 855 Pleasant View Road and is a subdivision creating two single-family lots, the preliminary plat was approved at the Planning Commission on April 19 and was brought to the City Council on May 9 for preliminary plat approval. Since that time there have been some minor changes to the plans and plat and a number of conditions still apply City Council Minutes – June 13, 2022 3 which is not out of the ordinary. The new plat and public hearing needs to vacate those easements to align with the new lots, and there are no utilities within the easement so it is just a matter of process. Staff has not received any public comments regarding the vacation of the utility easement. Mayor Ryan noted the location of the driveway sits hidden near a curve and asked if they can put hidden driveway signs for safety. Mr. Howley replied an engineering review is done on the road looking at sightlines, distances, rate of speed, and is calculated by a formula. If a driveway is located that does not meet that requirement, then the City would use a strategy such as a hidden driveway sign. Mayor Ryan opened the public hearing. Pamela McGrann does not have any opposition to the development, but when it was proposed she came to the City to speak with the water engineer about the water issues they have in Fox Chase. She shared a presentation on why it is very important for the developer to deal with storm water on the site. When Fox Chase was developed, the engineers calculated storm water based on 1980 standards for 100-year rains and did not take into account that subsequently Vineland Addition was developed at the same time and all of the storm water was attached to the drainage for Fox Path which was not engineered to handle the additional 14.5 acres. When the City redid the streets for Fox Chase, Ms. McGrann spoke with the engineers to try to deal with the storm water issues. She noted during big rain storms they were experiencing little fountains coming up out of the storm water drainage. When she saw another development, though relatively small, was going to happen uphill to the area she became concerned. Ms. McGrann noted she has spent approximately $100,000 redoing and creating additional drainage systems and retention walls to deal with the water coming out of the side of the hill on her property. She noticed the plans included two storm water retention ponds and she wants to make the case and plead with the developer that they use the best data they have for current 100-year rains to make sure the storm water ponds are deep enough and robust enough not to pose any threat to the homes nearby, many of which have 12-15 foot retaining walls holding the properties up below where the ponds will be. Ann Miller has lived on Fox Path for 30 years and shared the ground water comes within six inches of the surface at any time of the year in the whole area, even in winter. She, too, has had to spend thousands of dollars remedying water situations and many others in the neighborhood have also had problems. She spoke about a fire hydrant and stated she believes Pleasant View is a connector street; she noted the street must be widened and they need to have a path, as every single access point from the park all the way to Powers Boulevard is a blind driveway. She asked which side the path would be on and thinks it needs to be strongly considered. Tara Clark stated as they have watched the development go in, one thing of concern is the water. She lives at the house with the 15-foot retaining walls and the development butts right up against City Council Minutes – June 13, 2022 4 the back of her property. She shared they have struggled with retaining walls, water running all winter, and ensuring the drainage is well taken care of is important to her. Mayor Ryan closed the public hearing. Mr. Howley shared Pleasant View Road is identified as a collector street, a Municipal State Aid (MSA) route, and is in need of reconstruction. It is now just entering the City’s five-year plan. He noted they will build the road to standards as much as they can and if there is limited right-of- way they need willing property owners to widen the road. They have not identified how wide the road will be or what side of the street the future trail is. However they do know a trail is guided to be put along Pleasant View Road as it is needed. Mr. Howley noted they will do their best when the hydrant is installed that it will reasonably not be impacted by future trail or road widening. Mayor Ryan shared at the last City Council meeting they asked extensive questions about the drainage as they are all familiar with Pleasant View and the steep grade and impact to Fox Chase with drainage, runoff, construction, and impact to the houses below because the Council shares that concern. She knows there have been issues on the road and the sewer not being able to keep up with the runoff. She asked Mr. Howley to speak about the appropriate sizing for water retention pond for runoff. Mr. Howley replied it has been about 10 years since new rainfall standards have been released. Subdivisions previous to that went on old rainfall data for many years. He can say with 100% certainty that the developer’s engineer is using the latest data. City Staff checks for that, the Watershed District Staff checks for that, and with 100% certainty they are using today’s standards. The City’s goal is to mitigate offsite drainage impacts and as stated there are some open conditions that need to be solved to make sure Staff is comfortable with the design. Designs limit the amount of water runoff that is leaving the site as a pre-condition. It needs to be sized big enough to account for the additional water generated due to pavements and rooftops which is why they put in a pond to slow the water down and release it slower. He noted shallow groundwater is all over Chanhassen and the improvements being made are filtration basins due to the clay which means it is collected, treated, and released at the surface. Mr. Howley noted the surface water discharge point and how it gets from the BMP down the hill that Staff is immensely concerned about and the focus of the review has also been focused on that. He shared the City and the Watershed District have had a pretty tough review and he feels confident they are doing an appropriate storm water design. Mayor Ryan asked how the drainage affects the retaining wall strength and integrity of the wall. Mr. Howley noted water and retaining walls do not mix well. Retaining walls are typically constructed with swales on top to divert the water around, they put drainage aggregate behind the wall with drain tile at the bottom so water can filter in and get around the wall. Staff does not know that the actual construction of said retaining wall was done correctly, but they assume it was. As for the location of the water coming out of the BMP and where that is compared to the City Council Minutes – June 13, 2022 5 where the retaining walls are, he does not have a map so he cannot comment. He shared they would not purposely put water into a wall as that is not good design practice. Councilman McDonald moved, Councilman Campion seconded that the Chanhassen City Council adopt a resolution approving the vacation of a portion of public drainage and utility easements within the Pat Cunningham plat, as shown on the attached Exhibit A; Approve the final plat for Cunningham Second Addition creating two single-family lots subject to the conditions of approval; Approve the Development Contract for Cunningham Second Addition; and Approve the plans and specifications for Cunningham Second Addition. All voted in favor and the motion carried unanimously with a vote of 4 to 0. COUNCIL PRESENTATIONS. None. ADMINISTRATIVE PRESENTATIONS. None. CORRESPONDENCE DISCUSSION. 1. Maple Leaf Award for Dr. Dennis Peterson, Superintendent, Minnetonka Public Schools 2. 2022 Building Permit Activity - May Year-to-Date 3. Letter from Mediacom 4. Letter from the Metropolitan Council Councilman McDonald noted there have been past issues with Met Council estimates and asked where they stand with this particular estimate and whether the City will challenge it. Ms. Hokkanen replied overall they do have concerns that the household number is smaller than the City believes it is. The Community Development Staff is currently looking into this and considering whether it is worth an appeal. Mayor Ryan noted the Councilmembers will return to the Fountain Conference Room to continue discussions from the Work Session. Councilman McDonald moved, Councilwoman Schubert seconded to adjourn the meeting. All voted in favor and the motion carried unanimously with a vote of 4 to 0. The City Council meeting was adjourned at 7:44 p.m. Submitted by Laurie Hokkanen City Manager Prepared by Kim Meuwissen City Clerk