04/21/1998 - City Council Special S
AGENDA
SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING
Tuesday
April 21, 1998
5:00 p.m.
Municipal Center Community Room
I. ROLL CALL & AGENDA ADOPTION
II. VISITORS TO BE HEARD
III. HIGHWAY 55 AREA TRANSPORTATION STUDY &
UPDATE
IV. SKYLINE DISPLAYS PARK
V. OTHER BUSINESS
VI. ADJOURNMENT
MEMO
city of eagan
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR& CITY COUNCILMEMBERS
FROM: CITY ADMINISTRATOR HEDGES
DATE: APRIL 17, 1998
SUBJECT: SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING/APRII.21, 1998
A Special City Council meeting was scheduled Tuesday, April 21, 1998 at 5:00 p.m. in the
Community Room at the Eagan Municipal Center building for the purpose of hearing a
presentation on the Highway 55 area transportation study and to review a proposal by
Skyline Displays for a City park. A light lunch will be served.
HIGHWAY 55 AREA TRANSPORTATION STUDY & UPDATE
The area of northeast Eagan bounded by 494 and Trunk Highways 149 and 55 has been the
focus of significant development interest in recent months. Within the area, there are private
development activities, a cooperative study of internal traffic circulation, a joint study with
MnDOT on the consolidation of accesses from Highway 55, acquisitions within the TIF
redevelopment district and general consolidations of ownership to a smaller group of
developers. At the March 17 meeting, the Council received an update concerning TIF
activities. The purpose of this evening's business item is to provide an update on the traffic
studies and environmental reviews associated with the area. Enclosed on pages
through // is a staff memorandum and several exhibits in this regard. The purpose of this
item is to brief the Council on these issues and receive direction and feedback with respect to
them.
ACTION TO BE CONSIDERED: To clarify issues and provide staff feedback with
respect to the transportation and environmental aspects of the Highway 55 area.
SKYLINE DISPLAYS PARK
The Advisory Parks & Recreation Commission has heard a presentation by Skyline Displays
to build a community park in front of their proposed commercial building and adjacent to
Yankee Doodle Road in lieu of a parkland donation. Their proposal has been reviewed by
staff and presented to the Advisory Parks& Recreation Commission.
The Director of Parks & Recreation would like to review the proposal with the City Council
before any further direction is given to Skyline Displays. Enclosed on pages /. through
13 is a memo from the Director of Parks& Recreationn regarding this item.
ACTION TO BE CONSIDERED: To provide direction to the staff and APrC regarding
the proposed Skyline Displays park.
/S/ Thomas L. Hedges
City Administrator
MEMO
TO: MAYOR EGAN AND CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS
THROUGH: TOM HEDGES,CITY ADMINISTRATOR
FROM: TOM COLBERT,DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS
JULIE FARNHAM, PLANNER
DATE: APRIL 16, 1998
RE: CONCEPTS FOR NEW INTERNAL ROADS AND ACCESS
MANAGEMENT IN THE TH 55 "TRIANGLE"AREA
BACKGROUND
Over the past 18 months the City has been approached by several property owners and
developers interested in developing property in the"triangle area"bound by I-494 on the
north, TH 55 on the west, and TH 149 on the east. City staff has met with many of them
individually and has also conducted a series of meetings to address issues related to new
internal roadways and access limitations on TH 55.
Key"Players"
• Phil and Ann Kor(owners of the Airliner and Spruce Motels)—City staff has been
discussing securing and/or removal of the two motels with the owners over the past
two years. An agreement has been reached with the City to use the motels for fire
department training later this Spring. It is also staff's understanding that the Kor's
have entered into a purchase agreement with Wispark for the sale of both the Airliner
and Spruce motel properties. The purchase is contingent upon the City authorizing
the use of the TIF funds to demolish(post-burn)the motels. This request will be
considered by the EDC on April 27 and likely forwarded to the Council for
consideration on May 5.
• Kim Imre and family(owners of TMI Coating and other parcels in the area)—In late
1996 the Imre's approached the City regarding developing property they own in the
Kollofski Addition on the west edge of the detention pond. Staff encouraged them to
prepare a master concept plan to illustrate how their development would fit into
redevelopment of the entire southern portion of the triangle area. To date, they have
not presented any firm plans for new development. They have been involved in the
meetings conducted by the City to discuss internal roadways etc.
• Wispark Corporation- In late 1997 they purchased about 60 acres that wraps around
the north, west, and east sides of the detention pond. They received approval of a
2
preliminary subdivision on the eastern portion of their property and intend to
construct two office buildings, one will be under construction this year. They also
have executed purchase agreements on the "Pepsi"property located off TH 55 just
north of the Airliner and on the Airliner and Spruce motel properties. If the sales go
through, Wispark will own about 80 acres in the area.
• Spectrum Charlie Henrich/Rick Morphew) - They own 19.5 acres off TH 55 just
north of the"Pepsi"property. They have submitted a request for an interim use
permit to construct and operate an airport park and ride facility (parking ramp) on the
property. The IUP request will be reviewed by the APC on April 28 and potentially
forwarded to the Council for review on May 5. The proposed long-term,permanent
use would be an office/warehouse. They are also pursuing acquisition of properties
on Blue Gentian and recently met with many of the residential property owners in that
regard.
An exhibit is attached that illustrates the property interests of the key players.
Meetings
TIF District-During winter and spring 1997 a few meetings were held with property
owners in the Kollofski Addition to discuss redevelopment issues in the area, particularly
relative to the Airliner and Spruce motels and the TIF. The meetings led to the City's
acquisition of the properties and relocation of the residents. Wispark's request for TIF
assistance for motel demolition is discussed above.
Internal Roads/Access Management� - In an effort to coordinate emerging development
interests City staff conducted four meetings between December 1997 and April 1998 with
area property owners to discuss the need for new internal roadways and access limitations
on TH 55. At the first meeting it was agreed that the City's engineering consultant
should prepare concept plans for new internal roads and access modifications in
conjunction with an area-wide traffic study and environmental review. Subsequent
meetings involved review and comment on the roadway concepts. The property owners
on the south side of TH 55 and the residents on Blue Gentian were also involved in these
meetings.
Resident Survey - At the request of several property owners on Blue Gentian the City
conducted a survey to determine how many owners were interested in selling their
property or at least discussing the possibility with a prospective developer. Of the 15
properties along Blue Gentian, 8 returned the survey. Of those returned, 6 indicated an
interest in selling, 1 did not want to sell, and 1 was undecided. Of the 8 surveys returned,
2 are vacant property. An exhibit is attached illustrating properties that received the
survey, those that returned it, and those willing to sell.
INTERNAL ROADWAY CONCEPTS
In 1985, with the construction of I-494, Blue Gentian Rd. was realigned and upgraded to
City standards from Hwy 149 (Dodd Rd.) easterly to the existing residential gravel road
segment. In 1996, the City approved a mixed office/industrial development (Robins 2nd
Add. — John Allen) along the north side of Blue Gentian Rd. At that time, three options
were considered to handle the increased industrial traffic.
1. Complete the improvement of Blue Gentian Rd to Hwy 55 at Lexington Ave.
through the residential area. (Residents objected to the potential assessments
and the resulting increased traffic)
2. Complete the extension of Blue Gentian Rd. along a new alignment to Hwy
55 through the undeveloped property around the West Side of the pond.
(Without a defined development proposal, any selected alignment may not
provide the best access, and approval from MnDOT for a new public street
connection to Hwy. 55 was uncertain.)
3. Temporarily cul-de-sac Blue Gentian at the easterly end of the paved portion
until future development proposals are available for the land on the south side
of Blue Gentian Rd. (This was ultimately agreed to by the developer and
residents and subsequently approved by the City Council.)
In 1997, City staff was contacted by several parties expressing an interest in developing
portions of the remaining land around the pond south of Blue Gentian Rd. including the
area around Lawrence and Linde Ave. There was a need to coordinate all the
development proposals and the future realigned Blue Gentian Rd. Subsequently, all
interested parties agreed that it would be more efficient to have the City perform a
comprehensive internal traffic study that each proposal could rely on rather than requiring
each individual proposal to perform their own independent study that would be necessary
to properly review each application. This study was initiated as a public improvement
project with all benefiting properties sharing the costs proportionately based on area. The
Council authorized the preparation of a feasibility report for Project 736 on Feb. 3 and a
formal Public Hearing is scheduled for May 5.
Enclosed are three maps that reflect the potential alignment and phasing of this new
internal roadway ("Blue Water Drive") and potential realignment of Blue Gentian Road
in relation to the residential area and the access consolidation along Hwy 55. Mr. Ferrol
Robinson of the City's consulting Firm of SRF will present and discuss these proposals
and their impacts as well as comments from affected property owners.
HWY 55 ACCESS CONSOLIDATION
Concurrent with the internal traffic study, MnDOT and the City of Eagan are jointly
performing an access management and consolidation study for the Hwy. 55 corridor from
Inver Grove Heights to Blue Gentian Rd. This will help facilitate the review and approval
of future development proposals regarding allowed access onto Hwy 55. This Highway is
classified as a Principle Arterial on the Metropolitan Transportation System and full
access should be limited to %2 mile segments. In order to accommodate the proposed
future internal street ("Blue Water Dr."), MnDOT will require that the current access
points must be reduced along Hwy 55 between Hwy 149 (Dodd Rd.) and Blue Gentian
Rd.
Therefore, the internal traffic study and the location of the new access of "Blue Water
Dr." onto Hwy 55 had to be coordinated with the existing businesses on the south side. A
concept was prepared whereby a new major signalized intersection would be planned at
the current Lawrence Ave location and a frontage road would be provided along the south
side along with retaining a limited number of right-in/right-out limited access points. The
implementation of these improvements and modifications are planned to be implemented
in phases dependent on development scope and timing. The phasing (current, interim &
ultimate) of this concept plan is shown on the attached graphics and will be further
discussed by the consultant along with reactions and comments from the affected parties.
ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES
With approximately 235 acres to be developed in this "triangle area", detailed
environmental studies would inevitably be required. In order to facilitate the necessary
studies for each individual proposal, the potential developers agreed that it would be most
efficient to have the city perform a comprehensive study for the entire area. It has been
determined that full development might trigger an Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS). However, without detailed development proposals available, it has been
determined that an Alternative Urban Areawide Review (AUAR) process would meet the
environmental study requirements and can be prepared quicker and more economically
than a full EIS. Subsequently, the City Council authorized this study along with the
internal traffic study as part of public improvement project 736 which will be discussed at
the scheduled public hearing on May 5.
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_ city of eagan MEMO
TO: TOM HEDGES,CITY ADMINISTRATOR
FROM: KEN VRAA,DIRECTOR OF PARKS AND RECREATION
DATE: APRIL 17, 1998
SUBJECT: "DISCOVERY PARK" -SKYLINE DISPLAYS,INC.
The purpose of this memo is to update you on the status of the proposal the City has received from
Skyline Displays to construct"Discovery Park"on their property located at the northeast corner of
Lexington Avenue and Yankee Doodle Road.
BACKGROUND:
Several months ago I received a call from the owners of Skyline Displays indicating their interest in
constructing a park/playground on their property. The park would be for public use as well as for
employees and their families. You might recall that Skyline initiated a major playground
construction project in Burnsville several years ago that involved their employees in the
construction. They would like to do something similar in Eagan; design a park/play area for younger
children and family members and involve their employees in the construction of it.
After an initial meeting,they hired a designer to develop concept plans. Those concept plans were
presented at the last Advisory Parks Commission meeting. The Commission was excited about the
idea of working with a major contributor on a park that would be an enhancement to the community,
however,they also shared some reservations about the plan itself. The plan was reviewed further at
a sub-committee meeting where a number of concerns and issues were identified. A site visit by the
Commission was set but had to be cancelled because of rain. A visit to the site, with concept plan in
hand, is scheduled for Monday April 20th,
One of the aspects of the proposal is that the park dedication fee for this development would be used
toward construction of the park. Neither a budget nor a time line was developed for the park's
construction, which would likely be spread out over several years. Skyline was also hoping that once
the project was kicked off,that other Eagan corporations would step forward to help finance the
park's development.
CURRENT STATUS:
As mentioned,the Commission will visit the site prior to their regular meeting on Monday, April 20.
They have already developed a preliminary list of issues that need to be addressed, i.e. financing,
maintenance responsibilities, liability etc. That list is likely to grow after the site visit. This item is
not scheduled on the regular Commission meeting for any action, although it's likely to be discussed
as the Commission ponders what the next step is in the process.
As we previously discussed, now that they have submitted a site plan, an informative review by the
City Council would be appropriate before this proposal goes much further.
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