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07/14/1997 - Advisory Parks & Recreation CommissionADVISORY PARKS COMMISSION EAGAN, MINNESOTA MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OF )LILY 14, 1997 The Advisory Parks Commission was called to order at 7:00 p.m. on July 14, 1997 with the following members present: Terry Davis, Jerry Fariee, Barbara Johnson, Guy Kohlnhofer, Lee Markel), Daryle Petersen, John Rudolph and Michael Vincent. Commission Members Mark Filipi, Steven Knutson and George Kubik were not present. Staff present included Ken Vraa, Director of Parks and Recreation; Dorothy Peterson, Superintendent of Recreation; Paui Olson, Parks Superintendent; CJ Lilly, Landscape Architect/Parks Planner; Gregg Hove, Forestry Supervisor; Rich Brasch, Water Resources Coordinator, Julie Fannham, Planner, and Cherry) Mesko, Secretary. Michael Vincent moved, John Rudolph seconded with all members voting in favor to accept the agenda as presented. Michael Vincent moved, ]ohn Rudolph seconded with all members voting in favor to accept the minutes of May 13,1997 and June 16, 1997 as presented. '1f~ITORS `T4 BE HEAD There were no visitors who wished to be heard under this agenda item. 'SIT HIkPI~ ... Director Vraa highlighted several items including NYSCA certification clinics the week of August 11; the first Evening in the Park event that drew 250-300 people; two Eagle Scout projects recently completed at park sites; the beginning of the mapping of ail elements in each park using a GPS recorder; the successful hog roast at Holz Farm on July 6; and the unexpected donation of $3,000 from the Knights of Columbus. Member Markel) asked if staff would provide the Commission with a demonstration of the GPS system being used to map the parks. Markel) also asked where the City of Eagan ranked with other cities relative to its use of low phosphorous fertilizer. Superintendent Olson stated that he does not know if this information has been compiled. Member Farlee opined that the 4~ of July event at Sky Hill Park was very successful and did not feel that the facility was too small. ~G.S>~N7' AGE ; Michael Vincent moved, Barbara ]ohnson seconded with all members voting in favor to make the following recommendations to the City Council: 1. Verdant Hills Estates -Kenneth Green • This development shall be responsible for a cash parks dedication. • This development shall be responsible for a cash trails dedication. • Individual Lot Tree Preservation Plans will be required for Lots 2 through 12 at the time of building permit application. Advisory Parks Commission Minutes of July 14, 1997 Page 2 • Tree Protective measures (i.e. 4 foot polyethylene laminate safety netting) shall be installed at the Drip Line or at the perimeter of the Critical Root Zone, whichever is greater, of significant trees/woodlands to be preserved during both initial site development and individual lot development. • The applicant shall contact the City Forestry Division at least five days prior to the issuance of the grading permit to ensure compliance with the approved Tree Preservation Plan. • This development shall be subject to a cash dedication in lieu of on-site ponding for water quality mitigation. The amount of the cash dedication should be based on the total area and development density of the site, less the area of the existing developed lot (Lot 1). • Filling or draining of the jurisdictional wetland along the southern border of the site is prohibited. DEVELOPMENT P~dPOSA There were no development proposals for the Commission to review. CIP Director Vraa noted that the Advisory Commission has been working on the CIP review since January,1997. The Commission's review has been completed and a workshop scheduled with the City Council for July 29. The specific time has not been determined, Vraa added, but an agenda will be distributed once the details are known. LEXINGTON DIFFLEY ATHLETIC FIELDS -ACCELERATION OF DEVELOPMENT Director Vraa explained that the extensive use at Lexington Diffiey has surpassed the amount of available parking space, creating the need to construct the "fuwre" parking area sooner than expected. The master plan provided for 6 softball fields, 3 full sized soccer fields and one full size overlay soccer field, access road and parking lots. Because of the growth of youth soccer, the need for fields to accommodate youth grades K-4 has increased. Lexington Diffley allowed for 11 fields to be striped to accommodate this age group during the fall of 1996 and the summer of 1997. Because of the expanded use at this site, parking has become an issue when both softball and soccer are occurring. One of the factors in accelerating the construction of parking at this site is that EAA has registered 1600 youth for fall soccer; a significant increase over 1996. It is possible that with late registrations the number could increase to 1860 participants for fall soccer. The site currently accommodates 321 parking spaces. The proposed parking lot will accommodate an additional 126 vehicles. This additional parking lot was originally intended to tie into potential growth of informal gatherings, i.e., company softball games/picnics, etc. Several things have been done to try to mitigate parking problems at this site, however, it has not helped as much as was hoped. Director Vraa concluded that it's time to move ahead with this additional parking and asked the Commission to consider making a recommendation to the City Council. Advisory Parks Commission Minutes of July 14, 1997 Page 3 Member Markell asked if the City could wait until winter to see if a better bid could be obtained. Director Vraa stated that would be a possibility, however the parking would not be available for next summer's programs if that were done. It is hoped that the project can be completed in the fall so it is available for next year's activities at the site. After a brief discussion, Michael Vincent moved, John Rudolph seconded with all members voting in favor to recommend to the City Council that the Department of Parks and Recreation accelerate development of the northwest parking lot and the informal ball field at Lexington Diffley Athletic Fields consistent with the Master Plan for the park. SETBACK REQUIREMENTS FOR PARK BOUNDARIES Planner Farnham explained that the City Council had directed planning staff to begin reviewing portions of the Zoning Code and make suggestions on potential revisions. One of the issues that has surfaced relates to a provision requiring increased setbacks (currently 100 feet; proposed to be 50 feet) to buffer residential and public (including parks) property from adjacent industrial zoned property. Because the additional setbacks are imposed on the industrial properties, this requirement may pose severe property development limitations. Farnham continued that if North Park becomes a park it will be rezoned from Limited Industrial to Parks which will trigger the requirement for additional setbacks on the surrounding industrial property, many of which are older, smaller and irregularly shaped. Many will become "existing, non-conforming" properties, which means that existing structures are permitted to remain, but new strucwres, including building additions, would need to meet the additional setback requirements. Two options have been identified for addressing this issue. One involves listing "public athletic complexes" as a permitted use in the I districts and the other would be to establish exception provisions in the zoning code specifically related to North Park (i.e. have the additional setback requirements internalized within the park). The first option would eliminate the need to rezone North Park to "P" and the additional setbacks would not apply. The disadvantage of this option is that athletic complexes would be the onty park type not consistently zoned Park, which might create some confusion. It is likely that North Park will be the only athletic complex in the City surrounded by industrially zoned property. The main advantage to the second option is that by creating special provisions to deal with this unique situation, the application of the provisions is site specific and not citywide. This would guard against any unforeseen situation where it may not be appropriate to allow an athletic complex on industrial zoned property. This would allow North Park to be zoned "P" which would be consistent with the zoning of other parks throughout the City. The disadvantage of this "overlay zoning" is that application is more complicated primarily because the provisions are extraordinary and therefore not readily apparent by simpty looking in the zoning ordinance. Planner Farnham concluded that the Advisory Planning Commission has reviewed this issue and prefers including the athletic site within industrial zoning. Member Markell asked why the setback would be moved from 100' to 50'. Planner Farnham explained that this would generally be a hardship situation. The APC felt that if a street were involved then the setback would be 50'. Members Vincent expressed his preference for maintaining the 100' setback stating that developers can always ask for a variance. Member Johnson asked if the 50' setback could be internalized. Member Kubik expressed concern for the impact to existing properties for re-development should the setback be changed. Planner Farnham commented that even with a 50' setback it may be difficult for some existing property owners to re-develop their property. Advisory Parks Commission Minutes of )uly 14, 1997 Page 4 Member Vincent suggested internalizing the 100' setback on the west side of the North Park property only but leaving the rest as it is currently. Member Davis suggested that the internalization of setbacks should be done on the east side as well as the west side. Member Markel) asked what the down side would be if the property was not zoned as Public (park). Farnham responded that it wouldn't be shown as green on the map like other park properties. Farnham reiterated that the APC prefers listing "public athletic complexes" as a permitted use in the I districts to deal with this issue since the provisions would be site specific and not citywide. Since this is an older part of the City, the APC felt that by making this a permitted use in another district it would be easier to manage. Planner Farnham explained that the APC anticipated a public hearing at their regular meeting on ]uly 22 regarding this issue. Commission Members were invited to attend the meeting or to provide feedback in writing. PARKS t11L~iP~1IENT UPS` , Items highlighted by Parks Planner Lilly included landscaping around the entry sign at Lexington Park, completion of the Trapp Farm Park entrance sign and the modifications that will need to be made to make the sign at Thomas Lake Park more readable. TAR ,------ ..,, ~ `.. There were no items presented under this agenda item for the Commission. ~TH~ >E~l1SINES~ Aim R a SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS Since no subcommittee meetings had been held, there were no reports presented. ~~T~, .. Member Rudolph commented on the positive response by the community for events and activities at Hoiz Farm. He specifically thanked the Knights of Columbus for their generous contributions to the Friends of the Farm. Rudolph also commented on the positive learning experience in working on the CIP. He found that the Commission learned a great deal about the overall park system through this process. Director Vraa noted the letter in the packet regarding the needed growth for the travel baseball program. Their concern is for additional baseball fields to accommodate the growth. Vraa also noted that a letter had been sent to residents around Captain Dodd Park regarding the release of lead into a portion of the park. The letter invited concerned residents to a meeting at the park where questions could be answered. One resident attended that meeting. Staff has met with MPCA and will begin remedial action at the park through the VIC program. ©JEI~~NMENT With no further business to conduct, Michael Vincent moved, Terry Davis seconded with all members voting in favor to adjourn the meeting. The meeting was adjourned at 8:01 p.m. Secr Date