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06/20/2000 - City Council Special AGENDA SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING City Council Chambers Tuesday June 20, 2000 5:00 P.M. 1. ROLL CALL & AGENDA ADOPTION II. VISITORS TO BE HEARD III. CASCADE BAY POLICIES, i.e. USE OF STROLLERS & TELEPHONES IV. CONSIDER APPOINTMENT OF ZONING ORDINANCE UPDATE COMMITTEE V. DISCUSSION RE: FUTURE STEPS FOR THE CENTRAL PARK AND COMMUNITY CENTER DEVELOPMENT VI. OTHER BUSINESS VII. ADJOURNMENT 1 s~ MEMO city of eagan TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCILMEMBERS FROM: CITY ADMINISTRATOR HEDGES DATE: JUNE 13, 2000 SUBJECT: SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING/JUNE 20, 2000 A Special City Council meeting was scheduled by the City Council for Tuesday, June 20, at 5:00 p.m. The meeting will adjourn at approximately 6:10 p.m. and a light lunch will be served in the employee lunchroom. CASCADE BAY POLICIESIUSE OF STROLLERS AND TELEPHONES At the regular City Council meeting held on Monday, June 5, Mr. Stuart Forseth, 475 West Pilot Knob Road, appeared at the City Council meeting and expressed his opposition to a policy restricting strollers from Cascade Bay. Since Mr. Forseth appeared under Visitors to be Heard and time was limited for any further consideration of this policy matter, the policy restricting strollers from Cascade Bay was deferred to the June 20 Special City Council meeting for further discussion. When Cascade Bay was under construction, research was conducted on policies and procedures at similar facilities. The majority of the water parks' research does not allow strollers due to safety reasons. There have been cases where life guards have had to rescue infants in unattended strollers in the zero depth entry area of facilities. Research has also indicated that even if the infants in strollers did not have to be "rescued", they were most often left unattended while guardians utilized the facility with other children or adults, or the strollers were left empty and unattended. The research also stated that the number of strollers likely to be on site at any one time would make the site and administration unmanageable and, therefore, the policy decision to not allow strollers into Cascade Bay for the safety of all patrons was acknowledged during 1999. During the initial weeks of the 1999 season, there were a number of requests to bring strollers into the site. As the season continued, these requests significantly dropped as guests found other options. Guests are allowed to bring portable car seats inside the facility. Strollers, like bicycles, can be kept outside the gate and locked up. Many guests utilized both of these options. During the 1999 season, 670 infants under the age of 18 months visited the facility. The majority of guests with children in strollers who have visited Cascade Bay are understanding of the reasoning behind this policy. Hastings Family Aquatic Center also does not allow strollers into its facility for safety reasons. Darbie Johnson, Aquatics Director; said they also did research prior to opening in 1999 and developed the "no stroller policy" for the safety of all of their guests. Hastings is also a zero depth entry facility. Staff has again discussed the policy restricting strollers from entry into Cascade Bay and continue to have concerns about the space strollers will occupy within the facility, given the number of potential users. Staff believes that guests are able to enjoy the facility with the current policy and the facility is safer for all of its guests due to the policy. 1 A question has also been raised about the policy regarding use of telephones for "emergency" calling at Cascade Bay. There are pay phones both inside the facility and outside the facility for use by the public. Phones at Cascade Bay are used for emergency purposes only. A question has been raised by a user of the facility to address the policy relative to telephone usage. Residents who have raised questions about the stroller policy and telephone policy will more than likely be at the Special City Council meeting. ACTION TO BE CONSIDERED: To provide staff direction relative to Cascade Bay policies regarding use of strollers and telephones. CONSIDER APPOINTMENT OF ZONING ORDINANCE UPDATE COMMITTEE The Advisory Planning Commission is suggesting that a Zo Ordinance Update Committee be appointed by the City Council. Attached on pages through is a copy of a memo from Senior Planner Ridley providing information about the purpose of the Zoning Ordinance Update Committee and a general timeline for their work. ACTION TO BE CONSIDERED: To provide direction regarding the appointment of a Zoning Ordinance Update Committee as requested by the Advisory Planning Commission. DISCUSSION RE: FUTURE STEPS FOR THE CENTRAL PARK AND COMMUNITY CENTER DEVELOPMENT There are a number of next steps involved in proceeding ahead with the Central Park and Community Center development in light of the bond referendum that was passed on June 6. The following is a brief outline of the next steps that will occur as the community proceeds ahead with this project. RFP Process/Architect and Construction Manager One of the first actions to be considered is authorization to staff to proceed with an RFP process to select both an architect and construction manager. It will be necessary to prepare an RFP, solicit requests for proposals and then the City Council will select both the architect and construction manager following final interviews. Park Planner It is also suggested that the City give consideration to a park planner who can review the entire 60 acre site and provide input and direction for use by the architect, construction manager, focus groups, staff and community as the City proceeds ahead with the project. Other Considerations At a future date, it will be necessary to rezone and re-plat the property. There will be engineering studies, coordination of the central parkway, construction that was directed by a petition, a request for feasibility report for Duke Weeks, meetings with adjacent corporations to discuss partnerships and, finally, appointment of focus groups/design teams made up of Eagan residents and technical staff to review both external and internal facets of the Community Center and Central Park elements. Focus Groups/"Design Teams" The Council should consider the establishment of "design teams" to review and refine the architectural program, schematics designs and eventual building/park designs. To that end, staff is suggesting the consideration of establishing three teams; one would be designated as the "park design" team, the second as the "building design" team and a third would review "partnerships and operations". The teams would consist of consultants (architect/park planner/construction manager), project manager, technical staff appropriate to the specific team (engineering, forestry, etc) and perhaps one or two council members as may be appropriate. In addition, the establishment of various "focus groups" would aid the design teams. The focus groups role would be to pay particular attention to the initial program development of a particular area. Staff has identified three focus topics in the area of park design and seven in the building design. Their responsibility would be to provide input to the architect and design team relative to their task area. The third design team would review potential partnerships and operations. A number of possible partnerships were discussed during the early stages of the Community Facilities Task Force study. This team would investigate potential partnerships and operations as the project moved forward through the development process. The City Council will maintain the final authority to approve all the design, programs and operational policies for this project. A diagram is attached on page to help illustrate this model. /s/ Thomas L. Hedges City Administrator 3 rF4i MEMO city of eagan TO: Tom Hedges, City Administrator FROM: Mike Ridley, Senior Planner DATE: May 11, 2000 SUBJECT: Zoning Ordinance Update Introduction As you may recall, the Planning staff has had the Zoning Ordinance Update on our annual Work Program list for several years. Certain sections have been updated over time (new Business Park District, Seasonal and Temporary Outdoor Events, Communication Towers) and several are currently in the process (Definition Section, Accessory Structures, Home Occupation). Unfortunately, ordinance amendments often become `back burner' tasks when done in-house due to continuous competition with deadline items and phone and counter calls. Adopted as a 2000 Goal by the City Council, completion of the Comprehensive Plan Update necessitates updates to the Zoning Ordinance as well. As the tool for implementing the Comprehensive Plan, updating the Zoning Chapter of the City Code was acknowledged as a priority of the City. Last Fall, you and I also discussed postponing any decision on hiring a planner to replace Julie Farnham, which resulted in less Planning staff available but also freeing up funding for an outside firm to take the lead on the overall update of the Zoning Chapter. After you and I discussed, in general terms, the necessary updates last fall, you directed Planning staff to move forward in preparing information regarding the scope of work required to respond to the direction and policies contained within the Draft Comprehensive Plan Update. Additionally, portions the Zoning Ordinance are rather antiquated (circa 1973) and does not respond well to present day. Also, the entire chapter lacks organizational structure and, therefore, is not a `user friendly' resource for the public, development community, or staff. The RFP outlining the necessary updates is attached. Process Staff prepared a Request For Proposal (RFP) February 25, 2000 - RFP mailed to six consulting firms. 4 March 10, 2000 - Staff hosts an Open House for the consulting firms for the purpose of answering questions, providing further information on the Ordinance needs, process and timeline. March 24, 2000 - Proposals due. Five of the six firms submit proposals. April 28, 2000 - Firms interviewed. Interview Team: Carla Heyl, APC Chair, Planner Bob Kirmis, and myself Outcome Although the proposals received ranged in price from $12, 875.00 to $46,900.00, all five firms were interviewed. The Interview Team unanimously selected the Hoisington Koegler Group, Inc. (HKGI) based on their experience, presentation and response to specific process questions. There was also consensus that there would likely be the need to add some additional meetings with the APC and/or City Council to the HKGI work program. HKGI is receptive to adding additional meetings at an agreed upon rate as the need arises throughout the update process. Summary The Zoning chapter update is necessary to implement the policies and guidelines established in the Comprehensive Plan Update. Additionally, the chapter needs updating from both an organizational and content standpoint. 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