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02/25/1988 - City Council Special MINUTES OF A SPECIAL MEETING OF THE EAGAN CITY COUNCIL y, .'...r..la.. February 25, 1988 A special meeting of the Eagan City Council was held on Thursday, February 25, 1988, at 7:00 p.m. in the lunch room of the Municipal Center Building. Present were Mayor Ellison and City Councilmembers Egan, McCrea, Gustafson and Wachter. Also present were Director of Finance VanOverbeke, Chief Building Inspector Reid, Police Administrative Captain Geagan, Director of Public Works Colbert, Administrative Assistant Hohenstein, Fire Chief Southorn, Director of Parks and Recreation Vraa and City Administrator Hedges. The purpose of the meeting was to meet with members of the Advisory Parks and Recreation Commission who were all present with the exception of David Hennes to review the results of a survey conducted by Decision Resources Inc. Also to be discussed are new development standards that will enhance the quality of residential, commercial and industrial neighborhoods that are developed in future years. COMMUNITY CENTER SURVEY/DECISION RESOURCES Dr. William Morris, representing Decision Resources Ltd. presented results of a recent telephone survey of 404 randomly selected residents of the City of Eagan. Dr. Morris stated that the average interview took approximately 23 minutes and that respondents who were interviewed were part of a randomly generated sample of the City. The Director of Parks and Recreation stated that the survey, authorized by the City Council in the fall of 1987, asked in excess of 116 questions that were concentrating mainly on the City's attitude toward a community center in addition to their response about the quality of life in the City of Eagan. He stated that Eagan residents rate the quality of life in their city extremely high. Dr. Morris stated that survey results reported that residents take pride in their neighborhoods and are generally satisfied with the way things are currently going. He also stated that residents place a high value on recreational leisure activities and as it relates to a community center. Dr. Morris stated that there is an excellent likelihood that the voters of Eagan will support the construction and partial operation of a community recreation center. He stated that according to the residents surveyed, the facility proposal should contain the following points: 1. An indoor/outdoor swimming pool 2. Ice skating rink and gymnasium 3. Average property tax increase no greater than $67 4. Additional facilities carefully selected to reflect community preferences and the tax hike ceiling. 5. A large community room clearly publicized as a revenue generator. He further commented that Eagan residents show the highest level of support for a community recreation center that his firm has found in any suburbs. Dr. Morris provided a breakdown of both the questions and responses in detail to the City Council and Parks and Recreation Commission. After additional discussion and questions that were raised by both the Council and Park Commission, Mayor Ellison acknowledged receipt of the survey results and thanked Dr. Morris for the excellent presentation. Parks and Recreation Chairman Dick Carroll asked that the Parks and Recreation Commission reconvene upstairs in the Municipal Center Building to further discuss the following Council Minutes February 25, 1988 rte:, , 4 , steps in continuing their planning process to further work on the community `4 center project. NEW DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS City Administrator Hedges reviewed a recent staff exercise to develop new development procedures and standards to enhance the quality of residential development in the community. He stated that the staff has completed and implemented a new check list that allows all City departments to fully analyze development applications prior to their acceptance and processing by the City. The City Administrator further reported that a meeting was held with a group of builders/developers who construct executive housing to determine how the City of Eagan can improve and develop quality neighborhoods. After a lengthy presentation regarding the overall objective to better define quality indicators or development standards, the Director of Public Works presented a matrix outlining specific standards. The Director of Public Works' quality of standards matrix provided three columns entitled Phases of Growth which consisted of Land Development, Building Permit and Living Standards. He suggested certain standards under each phase of growth by categories which included protect regulate, promote encourage and, finally, cooperate. After reviewing each standard, Director of Public Works Colbert stated that certain standards should be required or regulated while others should be encouraged. Mayor Ellison expressed his appreciation for the staff's work in responding to the Council's direction in formulating new procedure and rules and regulations for the enhancement of quality neighborhoods. City Councilmember Gustafson stated that while quality development standards are important to new neighborhoods, the City should not forget the importance of aesthetics in existing residential neighborhoods. City Councilmember McCrea suggested that the staff add proposed development standards to their review of commercial regulations so there is assurance that a strong aesthetic statement will be made in those developments. She also suggested that small real estate signs be controlled or eliminated from major intersections throughout the community. City Councilmember Egan also expressed his appreciation for the list of proposed quality standards and suggested that the City Council standardize policies for all zoning classifications. City Councilmember Wachter stated that he was in concurrence with the City Council and restated his ongoing concern for the encouragement of trees and strong aesthetic controls in all newly developed neighborhoods. City Administrator Hedges stated that other members of the staff contributed to much of the material that was presented by the Director of Public Works and himself and would not be making formal statements for the sake of repetition. Mayor Ellison suggested that each member of the Council and staff evaluate the matrix that was presented by the Director of Public Works and add any comments or considerations and that a final matrix be prepared at some time in the future for review and discussion by the City Council. ADJOURNMENT There being no additional business, the meeting was adjourned at 10:00 p.m. TLH February 25, 1988 Dated 1 y er