Loading...
08/23/1996 - City Council Public Works Committee AGENDA Public Works Committee Meeting Friday, August 23, 1996 9:00 A.M. Municipal Center I. Call To Order/Adopt Agenda II. Eagandale Corporate Center - Special Assessment Credit III. Adjourn II. EAGANDALE CORPORATE CENTER- SPECIAL ASSESSMENT CREDIT ISSUE Mr. Jack Hoeschler representing Maplewood Acres Incorporated has requested the City of Eagan to credit trunk area assessment obligation for newly created wetlands being constructed as mitigation for filling existing wetlands within the above referenced subdivision. This request was presented to the City Council at their meeting of August 20, 1996 and subsequently forwarded to the Public Works Committee for review and recommendation. BACKGROUND In September of 1995, the City Council approved a preliminary subdivision for the Eagandale Corporate Center consisting of 200 acres located in the northeast corner of Lexington Avenue and Yankee Doodle Road. The petitioner has made an application for final plat approval for the north 120 acres. A portion of this property has previously been assessed for trunk area utilities. The remaining unassessed portion will be collected under the terms and conditions of the Development Contract Agreement. In calculating trunk area obligations on new plats, the City deducts all dedicated public right-of-way and ponding easements. The development proposal plans to fill in some existing wetlands for which he must provide replacement wetlands as mitigation on a 2:1 ratio. Some of the mitigation replacement wetlands will be located within the area, where previous trunk area assessments have been calculated. However, because there was no easement previously dedicated for the proposed relocated mitigation wetlands, trunk area assessments were calculated and levied on what was then the net assessable area. The developer is requesting that the expansion of the easement to incorporate the mitigation wetlands be credited against the new net area calculation for trunk area assessment obligations. This request in essence is requesting a rebate for previously levied trunk area assessments at today's current rate based on newly created wetlands. There has been no precedence in the past for such a credit being provided. Since the development and adoption of the City's Water Quality Management Plan, the vast majority of all new developments are dedicating water quality treatment basins which is identical to the mitigation wetlands being provided. If this request is approved, directions should be given to staff as to whether this should be considered precedence setting and applicable to all future situations. As net assessable areas are reduced, the rate per acre may have to be increased to generate the same amount of funds necessary to accommodate the Comprehensive Storm Water Management and Water Quality Control Plans. DISCUSSION/RECOMMENDATION ' 08/20, 1996 13:54 3379220 JOHN G HOESCHLER PAGE 02 John G. Hoeschler, P.A. ATTORNEY • C 420 Pillsbury Center, 200 South Sixth Street Minneapolis,Minnesota 55402 (-1 612,337,9292 (Fax)612.3:37,9220 August 20, 1996 Tom Egan and City Council Members City of Eagan 3830 Pilot Knob Road Eagan, Minnesota 55122 re: Request for Policy Direction regarding Eagandale Corporate Center Dear Mayor and Council Members: On behalf of Maplewood Acres, Inc., the developer of Eagandale Corporate Center, we request that you instruct city staff to give us full credit for all wetlands we construct or save on our plat in calculating special assessments. While this request seems simple and easy to grant since that is general city policy, we have run onto a situation where your staff is reluctant to apply it because of certain quirks of timing and geography. Specifically, the City intends to assess the easterly forty (40) acres of our Eagandale property for WAC and other assessments. The area directly west of this forty acres has already been assessed for these items. On our forty acres are two wetlands that we are filling and relocating ( at a 2 for 1 ratio)just west of the forty acres. Because the replacement wetlands are Dot in the assessment area, we are not being given credit for the wetlands that are being relocated even though they are being doubled in size. Would you please instruct your staff to give us credit for at least the area of the old ponds if not the doubled area of the new ponds. Thank you for your assistance. Yours very truly 61674 John G. oeschler CVAIMEtpn4mt RSa096-2.cat R=97% 3379220 08-20-96 03: O1PM P002 #22 • -- --T 14 7.70 ; 1S: 199E 12:50 3379220 �;_i HnEECHLEP PAGE 02 • John G. Hoeschler, P.A. Attorney 420 Pillsbury Center. 200 South Sixth Street Minneapolis. Minnesota 55402 612.337.9292 FAX 612.337.9220 FAX MEMORANDUM MEMO TO: Tom Hedges, Tom Colbert, Mike Ridley FROM: Jack Hoeschler DATE: August 16, 1996 RE: Eagandale Corporate Center Special Assessment. I wish to alert you to an issue involving how WAC and Water Trunk Assessments are levied that, I believe, results in an unintended, unfair situation on the Eagandale plat. If we cannot resolve this at the staff level I would like to raise it to the • Council next Tuesday so that work on the Development Agreement and final plat approval will not be delayed. Jerry Wobschall tells me that WAC and Water Trunk Assessments are not levied against land subject to a drainage or wetland easement (apparently because that land is unbuildable). In the case of the already platted lots in Eagandale Center Industrial Park No. 4, there were two wetlands (originally totaling slightly over one acre) which are being filled and replaced 2:1 . The problem arises because the replacement area is located outside of the area being assessed. As a result, we are losing the credit we should get for such an unbuildable area. I request that you determine that the developer should get credit at 2:1 for all wetlands originating in the assessment area that are mitigated outside the assessment area. If you feel that this is a policy issue more appropriate for the Council to decide, I would like to raise it for their review and decision next Tuesday in the open portion of the agenda. Would you please give me your counsel? cc: Dan Oren • cv014,175N•,,e,aaiwe1 � /OF? x I i I i I JAI ?I I iHI :1'°d I I i'di:ii::ii..iii iila:i:i ' ..•. 'isiab• I Me G " M „c,sLb°S .nr<'innn..., S� • - n..marts•*;,"•••=... a,p 1�.4 •_-——�—^——WAIF •aF• \\. .Lcr11 e s am tau f .* ♦, h•'I" :7-- 4 1,i�.�1. v 6 \\I �0 '. ewp • it b b O I no t Aqitti ii. Q 17- _ _ _ I - - -- — Y a I ..♦. w I -T ' RF Jbb { F♦ - I — — "V.:* ; I - F — ° e I o t•t,. w 1 W iii Y�I �" I I t.: 2,,l I i 1 vb 44 114. n[!8 g I was.• I OA e! :L' I I. I ro rnwwior a anisr°t-.. ••• r J I -/ )ligWOM gl I i„x,T:•T':_:::•�. ...;.;:;:;::.;•:.,::•:....-.-. I.ti 64 'a •.t• •'•••'•.. SC n g• FliC2 v�F :•xx: •:.i .• • • C _r.. Of':�: a: a •< E i••• r W 66, A W .• m W n I I ' / o I E. rr (f) i i I t*, _city of eagan PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES FRIDAY, AUGUST 23, 1996 At 9:40 a.m. on Friday, August 23, the Public Works Committee convened in the office of the Director of Public Works by way of a telephone conference call linking Committee Chair Councilmember Wachter and Councilmember Awada with City Hall. Also present were Public Works Director Tom Colbert; City Administrator, Tom Hedges; and the petitioner Mr. Jack Hoeschler representing Maplewood Acres, Inc. After a brief summation of the issues and the information contained in the Committee packet by Tom Colbert, Mr. Hoeschler provided a further explanation of the request and justification for favorable consideration. Mr. Hoeschler generally emphasized the need for the Committee and Council to consider a general policy statement that would provide more fairness and equity to developers and property owners by providing trunk area assessment credit for newly created wetlands. Committee Chair Wachter than inquired as to what were the total dollars involved in this request. Public Works Director Colbert responded that he did not have the economic impact information available as the Finance Department's consultant who calculates these obligations has been on vacation and there was insufficient time for others to perform that analysis. Committee member Awada then indicated that the land area and economic impact of this specific application is not as important as the concern for creating a precedence and possibly changing the current City policy. Committee Chair Wachter agreed with the concern regarding the precedence issue and changing the City's Comprehensive Assessment Policy. Committee member Awada indicated that this policy question was significant enough that the entire Council should decide it. Committee Chair Wachter agreed but wanted the Public Works Committee to provide a recommendation to the City Council for consideration and further stated that he does not support the request. Mr. Hoeschler then provided additional commentary, explanation, and justification for the various benefits and disadvantages associated with locating and relocating various wetlands within the development proposal. Committee Chair Wachter indicated that the City Council has not deviated from this policy in the past and then recommended that the Committee deny the request. Committee member Awada then agreed with the recommendation. Public Works Director Colbert indicated that this recommendation would be forwarded to the City Council at the September 3 meeting. At that point, the Committee adjourned and the conference call ended at approximately 10:05 a.m. Respectfully submitted,, ' At/ / Director of Public Works TAC/jj