02/09/1988 - City Council Special (2) • MINUTES OF A SPECIAL MEETING OF THE EAGAN CITY COUNCIL
EAGAN, MINNESOTA
FEBRUARY 9, 1988
A special meeting of the Eagan City Council was held on Tuesday,
February 9, 1988 at 6: 30 p.m. at the Eagan Municipal Center .
Present were Mayor Vic Ellison and Councilmembers Wachter , Egan ,
Gustafson and McCrea. Also present were City Administrator Tom
Hedges , Public Works Director Tom Colbert , City Planner Dale Runkle ,
City Clerk/Finance Director E. J. VanOverbeke, Chief Building
Inspector Doug Reid , Fire Chief Ken Southorn, Parks Director Ken
Vraa, Police Chief Jay Berthe , and City Attorney Paul Hauge .
Mayor Ellison convened the meeting at 6 : 30 p.m. pursuant to
notice that had been distributed to the City Council members during
the prior week and also posted on the City Hall bulletin board .
BIETER COMPANY - APPLICATION
City Administrator Tom Hedges explained that at a special
Executive Session of the City Council held on February 2, 1988 ,
there had been discussion concerning the Bieter vs. City of Eagan
. lawsuit . He indicated that he had been contacted by representatives
of the Bieter Company on February 4, 1988 and asked that a meeting
be scheduled with staff and Bieter representatives on February 5,
1988 to discuss a revised plan for development of the Bieter
property at I-35E and Diffley Road . He placed the discussion of the
proposed revisions on the agenda for the special meeting of February
9, 1988 ,.. including the possibility of an executive session to
discuss the proposed settlement of the lawsuit.
Mayor Ellison explained that it was his view that the City
Council had directed staff to review the proposed revisions and to
make comments as the first step in the potential settlement of the
action. Councilman Egan, however , indicated that he understood the
consensus of the Council was that the applicant reapply for zoning .
He argued that there had been no notice to the public and no advance
notice of the item on the agenda.
Mr . Hedges noted the agenda had been sent out on Friday,
February 5, 1988 and posted , although the issue had not been
formally scheduled for discussion at the time of the City Council
meeting on February 2, 1988.
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February 9, 1988
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• There was discussion concerning the criticism of the City
Council at its December 30, 1987 meeting regarding Cliff Lake .
According to Mr . Egan , the criticism was based upon the action that
was taken and that the item was considered because it was not
noticed for consideration. Councilman Gustafson mentioned that
there were two differences between the current meeting regarding the
Bieter discussion and the December 30, 1987 meeting :
1 . There were many other parties present at the February 9,
meeting , and that was not true at the December 30 meeting .
2. There would be no motions adopted concerning the Bieter
project at the February 9 meeting .
Attorney Jerry Brill appeared on behalf of the Bieter Company
developers and read his letter dated February 9, 1988. In the
letter he proposed a two phased development requesting the Council
decide at an executive session on February 9 to approve a settlement
based upon the staging of the development , and that the public would
be heard at an open meeting and a formal vote taken for settlement.
Mr . Brill introduced Peter Jarvis of BRW who briefly described
the two phases , and noted that 50% to 55% of the parcel would be in
phase one which would include a major department store , major grocer
and other minor miscellaneous commercial uses. The technical
details , according to Mr . Jarvis , remain the same as the original
application, with phase one including 39.8 acres , including 340,000
. square feet of commercial use , and 9 acres , including 32 , 000 square
feet of commercial uses. The outlots in phase two would consist of
36 acres .
He noted that there are 770 , 000 square feet of space in the
original application, that there are fewer ponds , but they are
larger and the retention needs would be about the same, depending on
the amount of residential uses. The proposal would include the
installation of all the roads at the time of the initial
development.
Dennis Klohs of the Bieter Company was also present and noted
that the 9 acres would include some of the traditional commercial
uses , including sit-down restaurants.
Mayor Ellison asked whether the applicant had users at the
present time? Mr . Klohs answered that "until the concrete sets up
on a project, we don' t know who it is going to be ." He noted that
the developer had received a letter from K-Mart that this is the
best site , as had Target also indicated it was the best site .
Target as well as Cub , indicated that the site was best for their
purposes. He further noted that he expects there will be two new
large grocery stores in the City, and potentially Builders Square
Ill would be installed in the second phase . A racquetball club would
also be a part of the second phase .
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Mayor Ellison then asked if Target and Cub go elsewhere , would
there be users? Mr . Klohs answered yes .
A question was raised whether the plan would meet the City
requirements and Mr . Jarvis answered that the City' s standards will
be met or exceeded by the plan .
Councilmember McCrea noted that it is important that a
restaurant be in an appropriate district and that the designations
for uses be very specific so that other commercial uses could not be
allowed .
Councilman Egan asked whether there were any changes in density
and it was understood that the current plan is less dense than the
original plan . The current project would also encompass 40 acres in
Phase B rather than 27 acres on the west. There would be 470,000
square feet in the original plan , 340, 000 square in the current plan
with comparable acreage according to Mr . Klohs .
Mr . Gustafson asked about the status of the park land
dedication. Mr. Jarvis suggested it be dealt with at the time of
the final plat approval .
Councilmember McCrea asked what process the developers intend to
• follow. Mr . Hedges noted that a public hearing before the Advisory
Planning Commission and City Council are appropriate and Mr . Klohs
indicated that there would be a public hearing requested for the
preliminary plat , EAW process , etc .
It was noted that the commercial needs study has not been
ordered , according to Mr . Runkle. A question was asked from the
audience whether a public hearing would be required on the project.
City Attorney Paul Hauge recommended the applicant follow the
procedures as closely as possible and that there be certain hearings
required for approval of the project.
There were a number of interested persons in the audience and
they generally asked that public comment be provided. Councilman
Egan favored public comment and Member McCrea indicated she had no
objection to hearing public comment, but that it not deal with the
site plan .
Councilman Wachter also mentioned that the decision would be
very important and it does not appear appropriate to make a decision
tonight without public comment. Councilman Gustafson suggested that
the issue should be discussed in executive session but that the
Council had decided to hold an open session to review the site. plan .
He was not opposed to public input if questions were limited .
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At 7 : 15 p .m. the Mayor opened the floor to public comment to be
• limited to 5 minutes each , and that an attempt be made to complete
the comments within one hour . Mr . Brill suggested that there be a
public hearing and that a decision not be made at an executive
session .
Dave Perrier of 1951 Timberwolf Trail appeared and asked what
the status of the lawsuit was , he asked what the commitment to the
Cliff Lake Galleria project was , and what does the Council expect to
accomplish during the current meeting .
Paul Hauge answered that the lawsuit is pending , that there are
certain aspects of the Cliff Lake project that are approved , and
other aspects that require further application and review, and that
he stated he was uncertain what the action of the Council would be
concerning the Bieter project during the current meeting .
Arlene Krecklau was present and stated she found out about the
meeting during the afternoon of February 9, and objected to
discussion without more public notice. She recommended more public
input , she understood the land was zoned Agricultural with R-4 Comp
Guide Use. She asked that the executive meetings be discontinued
and stated she will monitor all of the meetings in the future .
Ms. Olson of 1813 Bearpath Trail appeared and asked if the City
• Council is legally bound to allow the development if the rezoning
takes place?
!II Martin Colon , on behalf of Federal Land Company, appeared and
asked why the City was in such a hurry to settle the lawsuit. He
suggested that the City has a strong position and that the
absorption rate for commercial uses is about 30 acres per year
within Eagan . He recommended the study should be completed and
public concerns should be addressed .
Joe Harrison appeared and indicated he was a former Advisory
Planning Commission member , that there were violations of public
trust , without allowing the public input regarding the proposal .
Scott Olson of 1880 Bear Path Trail was present and stated the
traffic would affect him, that there was no need for an additional
commercial center and he objected to the lack of notice to the
public .
Peter Beck, attorney for the Larkin , Hoffman firm on behalf of
the Cliff Lake owners and developers , stated he found out about the
meeting at 4: 00 p.m. on February 9, 1988 . He recommended the
procedure not be to agree to rezone in principle, and then come back
with a hearing at a later date . He recommended that the Council
require a new application because the proposal differs from the
application. Many issues come out in the application process and
the staff hasn' t even reviewed the new proposal .
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Mr . Hedges noted that the Council has conducted executive
sessions regarding the Bieter lawsuit. The purpose of the workshop
session was only to acquire additional data .
Mr . Colon noted that the Advisory Planning Commission has not
reviewed the current proposal . Mr . Brill stated that he disagreed
that the City Council could not settle a lawsuit. Mr . Brill argued
that the City Council should consider settling the lawsuit at the
executive session on February 9, and it would be irresponsible for
the Council not to do so .
At 7 : 45 p .m. there were no further comments from any person
present and no formal action was taken.
DEPARTMENTAL PRESENTATIONS
1 . The City Administrator indicated that the department heads
had not had an opportunity to provide a summary of departmental
operations for several years and therefore the Council set up a
workshop session to act as a refresher for certain of the City
Council members and in-service training for Councilmembers Gustafson
and McCrea. Presentations were made by the following persons :
Finance Director/City Clerk - Gene VanOverbeke ;
Community Development Planning - Dale Runkle ;
• Corrective Inspections - Doug Reid;
Police Department - Chief Jay Berthe;
Fire Department - Chief Ken Southorn;
Park Department - Ken Vraa;
Public Works Department - Tom Colbert.
Councilmembers had questions about the various presentations and
visual aids were used by the department heads to portray to the
Councilmembers the functions and the operations of each of the
departments .
SCHOOL DISTRICT #196 - EAGAN. HIGH SCHOOL/DAKOTA MIDDLE SCHOOL
Tom Hedges indicated that District #196 representatives had
submitted an application for foundation permit approval for the
Eagan High School and the Middle School . He noted that the
foundation permit had not been acquired earlier and there were no
objections. Chief Building Inspector Doug Reid was present and
answered questions from City Council members. Egan moved , Wachter
seconded the motion to approve the application subject to compliance
with City Ordinance requirements. All members voted in favor .
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• ADJOURNMENT
411 The special workshop meeting adjourned at 10 : 40 p.m.
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