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2020 11 10CHANHASSEN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING NOVEMBER 10, 2020 Jim Sanford called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. MEMBERS PRESENT: James Ebeling, Jim Sanford, Adam Schafer and Kathleen Donovan. MEMBERS ABSENT: Stephen Stamy STAFF PRESENT: Bob Generous, Senior Planner; and Jake Foster, Assistant City Manager PUBLIC PRESENT: None APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Commissioner Schafer moved, Commissioner Ebeling seconded to approve the summary Minutes of the Economic Development Commission meeting dated October 13, 2020 as presented. All voted in favor and the motion carried unanimously with a vote of 4 to 0. APPROVAL OF AGENDA: Commissioner Schafer suggested adding discussion on the Economic Development Commission’s goals. Commissioner Schafer moved, Commissioner Donovan seconded to approve the agenda as amended. All voted in favor and the motioned carried 4-0. OLD BUSINESS: COMMUNICATION PLATFORM UPDATE Jake Foster provided an update. Website updates were determined to be a higher priority at this time, specifically cleaning up navigation and some old pages and then perform a website refresh targeting March of next year and that the communications email tool has been put on back burner. The communications email tool will be revisited sometime during the second quarter of 2021. Commissioner Sanford asked about the communications committee, who is on it, what they do. Jake stated it was the City’s Communication staff that do our social media, website updates, etc., as well as putting together and disseminating all the communications like some mailers and that sort of thing that come from specific departments. Jake explained that the website was a priority because the City Council wanted to reduce the number of Connections from four to two, combining spring/summer and fall/winter. In order to utilize the Connection space we will be referring people back to our website, which needs to up and ready to go by the time the first Connection goes out next year. Commissioner Sanford asked if any decisions have been made on moving the communications platform forward. Jake said they have been researching getting Economic Development Commission – November 10, 2020 2 quotes for a potential platform like Constant Contact, Mail Chimp, and CivicPlus, which is our website platform that has an email component. After the website update then the decision would be made on which of the platforms make the most sense for the City. The EDC’s needs will be factored into that decision. Commissioner Sanford asked if there was any consideration as to how we obtain business contact information. Jake said they have not gone that far into specifics but the mechanism for promoting this would be through sign up through our website. Commissioner Schafer asked if it was opt-in or opt-out? Jake said they haven’t had formal conversations with real intention behind them. We haven’t had those discussions but it is certainly something that could be discussed. Commissioner Donovan asked if we would be required to have an opt-in version because we can’t just put businesses on our list without permission. Jake said he would have to check with the City Attorney. Commissioner Sanford asked if a lot of it was public information. Jake said pretty much everything the City deals with is public aside from some personnel and personal data and within ongoing litigation. Again, we would need to get an interpretation from our attorneys on what we can and cannot do with that information. Commissioner Sanford asked what was the feeling we got if we did this in coordination with either the Chamber and/or Buy Chanhassen. Jake said both entities said they would not want to give out the contact information for their members but they would be happy to disseminate any information that we give to them. A Commissioner asked if the City was a Chamber member and about access to the business directory on the Chamber’s website. He also asked if the City was a member of Buy Chanhassen. Jake explained that Buy Chanhassen was more limited to the businesses in Chanhassen and a lot of those are Vernelle Clayton’s tenants as well of which she is both property manager and real estate owner. Commissioner Sanford asked if Buy Chanhassen was a non-profit organization but staff was unaware of their status. It was confirmed that they are a non-profit from looking at their website. Commissioner Sanford observed that Buy Chanhassen had a business directory on their website. He asked if the communications team was looking for a citywide communications system and the EDC would just be a small piece. Jake said yes the City was looking into to it as a larger communications mechanism that could be used throughout departments and commissions as well. Commissioner Sanford ask if they should wait for the communications system the City is going to put together or shall we be doing something before then and piggybacking on to this. Commissioner Schafer asked if the City needed any help with the communications platform and if there was anything the Commission could be doing to assist the City? Jake said he wanted to circle back with the communications team and Heather, the Interim City Manager, but from his perspective, he would be open to it. Commissioner Sanford said he was unclear as to what the Commission’s role was in this process. Jake stated clarity would be helpful on both sides and he would find out and get back to the Commission. Commissioner Donovan understood from the previous meeting that this would be investigated to get more clarification on how the Commission engages in this process as they move forward. Her only concern about if they do an opt-out that the businesses are aware of that process. Commissioner Schafer confirmed that most platforms clearly define the option to unsubscribe. Commissioner Donovan wanted to make sure they were taking care of the business owners and advocating for them properly. Economic Development Commission – November 10, 2020 3 NEW BUSINESS: COMMISSION GOALS Commissioner Sanford said the Commission should consider how the Commission’s goals should be approached given the communications they have with the City Council. When the Commission presented their goals they were met with some hesitation with regard to when any sort of a levy could be put in place. That was the major feedback the Commission received. There was support for some sort of a program like this but the question was when and would there be any sort of financing that would come along with it. The positive feedback received was about the lodging tax and there was some interest in having the EDC pick that up and monitor the status of it. That might be an opportunity for the Commission to talk about where that money should go. The EDC should check to see what other cities have done with their lodging tax and see how effective it has been. Communication was also discussed and those were the two goals that were set for 2020 and the others were more for next year, except the feedback survey. One of my questions about when we look at the communication platform and the business subsidy or grant program – what do we so with that? Commissioner Schafer said he didn’t think the Council was clear on what they wanted the EDC to do as far as setting it up. Commissioner Sanford asked how that would be done. Would it be with City staff or legal? How do we get something like this launched and moving? Bob Generous stated that as an advisory body to the City Council they could propose things to them as part of their goals and projects and establish the parameters to promote any of these programs. Commissioner Ebeling stated he thought they needed more clarity if it was something they were supposed to do or the City or someone in legal and what our role in that would be. Commissioner Donovan suggested they could put the parameters together and present them to the City Council to get their input, which would help verify the process for everybody. She stated that the Commission should take the in initiative to start the process and then ask the City Council for a response to it. Commissioner Ebeling asked if we had a template or framework to start to work off of. Bob stated there was a subsidy program in place right now. Commissioner Sanford stated that Finance Director Greg Sticha gave them a couple of different examples, one from Jordan and one from Chaska. Commissioner Schafer stated he didn’t think the City wanted to relinquish any authority when it comes to subsidy programs so putting a lot of work into it presenting what the Commission has come up doesn’t make a lot of sense from what he’s seen and what the Commission has been through. He thought more clarification and what the Commissioner’s boundaries are makes sense so that the Commission is working on things that meet what the City Council think they should be working on. Commission Ebeling liked Jim’s idea of the funding strategy if feedback on the lodging tax was received. Commissioner Sanford asked if in the last meeting Buy Chanhassen talked about their intent on how the lodging tax would be used. Jake stated that when Buy Chanhassen came to the City Council they were talking about using it to bolster marketing efforts and attract people from a visitor standpoint. Jake confirmed that the City Council was the taxing authority. Jake said it was Buy Chanhassen and Meet Minneapolis trying to encourage the City Council to create a lodging tax and then use it as they directed. Commissioner Sanford asked if they could find out how much money a lodging tax would raise. Jake said Vernelle Clayton and Meet Minneapolis had done that research and that they should be able to provide that information when they meet with the EDC in December. Economic Development Commission – November 10, 2020 4 NEW BUSINESS: LAND INVENTORY Bob Generous stated land inventory ties into the communication between the City and the businesses and in this specific instance, developers. Available land inventory data is available on the City’s website (www.ci.chanhassen.mn.us/landinventory), which consists of properties that are undeveloped or underdeveloped, so that someone that is looking to develop in the community knows where to go. The website provides information such as the contact information, property identification number, what the property is currently zoned, what it is guided, and if there are any approvals in place. The majority of the properties are for commercial or industrial development and there are some multi-family properties. The biggest development is Site 20, the Avienda development. It has preliminary approval for a lifestyle center and approximately 700 dwelling units can go in there. They also have commercial and office opportunities. The City has received a lot of positive response to the website. Bob gave a demonstration on how the website works. Commissioner Schafer asked Bob if the City has seen a pickup in industrial and distribution. Bob said the City has been contacted but no one has applied for development but they continually have these discussions with developers. Since there are a lot of vacant commercial buildings the City doesn’t really see an interest in new retail/commercial development. Commissioner Schafer stated the EDC needs to think of ways to provide incentives because costs to develop and build is much more than it used to be because the land is more expensive and so is the labor, along with material cost increases. Bob clarified that the land inventory includes vacant properties that are privately owned. Commissioner Sanford asked if the City had any information regarding commercial property vacancies in Chanhassen. Bob replied not specifically. The City doesn’t license businesses so we are unable to provide that information, but only has anecdotal information from when building permits are applied for. Commissioner Sanford asked as long is a property is zoned right, a developer can come in and do what they please. Bob said yes as long as the zoning permits it. They are required to go through a development review process. There are checklists available on our website so developers know what they have to submit and the process involved. The incentive the City provides is reducing the time it takes to locate available properties. Commissioner Sanford asked if there was any steering that the City does to get the kind of project that makes the most sense for the city and its overall development. Bob said that they try to direct developers to what the residents are telling the City, i.e. additional restaurant uses. Staff also works with business promotion groups in the community. Commissioner Sanford wanted to know if other communities do business licensing. Bob stated Minneapolis and Bloomington do and that a lot of other communities do; however, it creates another level of bureaucracy, which City Council does not want to do. You either pay for it through levies or pay for it through the fee process. The City used to have licensing requirements for rental housing and the City Council was getting kickback that the rental places did not want to pay their fees to get the license and have the inspection done every two or three years. The City repealed that ordinance. Commissioner Sanford asked if the City collected any lodging tax for Vacation Rental By Owners (VRBO). Bob explained that there is no lodging tax in this community and that is what the City is talking about implementing, which could include vacation rentals. Economic Development Commission – November 10, 2020 5 Bob Generous explained that the development process is tied into the land inventory. When developers apply for development they can review development checklists to find out what the application process requires, what their submittal requirements are and information to submittal deadlines and public hearing dates. Bob shared the site plan review checklist. This can help the developer because it reduces the time it takes to get the information they need without checking with the City. There are many checklists available: site plans, rezonings, subdivisions, etc. The City has received compliments on the information we have available and how easy it is to find on our website once they know it is there. Staff provides potential developers with links to the website to assist them. Commissioner Schafer commented that if we had a list of developers that information would be perfect to send in an E-blast, i.e. how to do business with Chanhassen versus other communities because we have a lot of this information available and ready to go. Bob stated it was one of the elements that make Chanhassen an attractive for businesses and development to come to. Because of our success, other planning professionals started to include this information on our website. Commissioner Ebeling commented on the Downtown Vision Plan asking if there are certain businesses that would make more sense for the City to have in our community to meet that plan and identify our target audience. Commissioner Schaefer asked who are target audience would be. Commissioner Ebeling suggested getting an update from Community Development Director Kate Aanenson to see who she has been talking to, what they are looking for and what they are interested in, etc. Commissioner Schafer asked what drives a developer’s decision to come to Chanhassen versus neighboring communities. Commissioner Sanford asked about the next EDC meeting when Buy Chanhassen will be in attendance and if they would be talking about the lodging tax. Bob confirmed that they would be talking about the lodging tax and the program that they had. Commissioner Sanford asked if they could bring up the communication aspect and see if they could get some brainstorming around that as well. Commissioner Ebeling asked if anything was happening with the Perkins’ property and Bob reported that the Chanhassen Brewing Company was going in the building. Commissioner Sanford asked if there was anyone other than Buy Chanhassen that the EDC could get in touch with regarding the lodging tax. Bob stated additional research would have to be done. Jake suggested looking to other cities to see what they have done as far as implementing a lodging tax. ADMINISTRATIVE PRESENTATIONS: DEVELOPMENT REPORT PROCESS AND BUILDING PERMIT DATA Bob Generous discussed the attached building permit activity and number of available lots documents. Commissioner Sanford asked about the commercial permits if they were remodels or for new building. Bob responded that they were primarily remodels and new commercial buildings were completed last year but there hasn’t been a lot of new development this year. Economic Development Commission – November 10, 2020 6 CORRESPONDENCE DISCUSSION Bob stated that Interim City Manager Heather Johnston has requested all Commissions to come up with characteristics that they would like to see in commission members for upcoming commission interviews with the City Council. Also, she would like a commission member to participate in the interview process. Commissioner Donovan brought up the fact that the EDC didn’t have any commission openings until 2022. Commissioner Sanford requested staff confirm. Commissioner Schafer moved, Commissioner seconded to adjourn the meeting. All voted in favor and the motion carried unanimously with a vote of 4 to 0. The Economic Development Commission was adjourned at 8:15 p.m. Submitted by Bob Generous Senior Planner Prepared by Kim Meuwissen