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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Minutes 02-14-1994 SpecialMINUTES CITY COUNCIL MEETING WITH AREA LEGISLATORS FEBRUARY 14, 1994 Present: Mayor Tierney, Councilmembers Anderson, Edson, Granath, Lymangood, Morrison Absent: Councilmember Carole Helliwell Legislators Present: Senator Gen Olson, Senator Martha Robertson, Senator Pat McGowan, Representative Warrem Limmer, Representative Todd Van Dellen, Representative Peggy Leppik Staff Present: City Manager Johnson, Assistant Manager Lueckert, Community Development Director Hurlburt, Finance Director Hahn, Park and Recreation Director Blank, Public Safety Director Gerdes, Public Works Director Moore Mayor Tierney convened the dinner meeting at 6:10 PM. She explained that the purpose of the meeting was to discuss upcoming legislative issues which impact Plymouth, and to highlight other issues of interest to the City. Manager Johnson explained the issues outlined in a discussion paper (attached). The Senators and Representatives presented their viewpoints and ideas, and there was general discussion among councilmembers and legislators about the 1994 Legislative session. The meeting adjourned at 8 PM. Katherine M. Lueckert Assistant City Manager Discussion Topics for Meeting with Legislators I. Major Issues A. OrCeld Proposals --Representative Myron Orfield has proposed legislation which would have a significant impact on the types of housing that Plymouth and other western suburbs could offer. Mr. Orfield contends that the suburbs do nothing to encourage housing for low and moderate income families, and he seeks to enact measures which would compel the provision of low and moderate income housing opportunities. Mr. Orfield assumes that Plymouth and other suburbs currently have no programs in place to serve these families, and that appropriate housing simply is not available. Funding for highways and infrastructure could be affected, as well as any requests to expand the MUSA line. The experience in Plymouth tends to show otherwise. Recently approved is a 203 unit apartment complex which will offer low and moderate income housing. The Plymouth Senior Housing project, currently under construction and using local funding exclusively, will provide 99 subsidized apartments for Plymouth's senior citizens. Another recently approved project, to be built by Rottlund Homes, will provide 144 townhouses for sale for under $100,000. The Plymouth Housing Alliance seeks ways to provide homes to low and moderate income families. Plymouth's Housing and Redevelopment Authority aggressively pursues housing programs for low and moderate income families, including Section 8 rent certificates and assistance for first time home buyers. We would be interested in hearing about any IR and Met Council counterproposals. B. Neary-Kelly Proposals --Representatives Neary and Kelly have proposed legislation which would significantly change the property tax system, impacting cities and potentially benefiting school districts. Similar reforms occurred several years ago, and the schools absorbed all of the "freed up" funding and then some. Any new reforms must have safeguards in place so that past fiscal history is not repeated. C. HACA Changes --Past legislation has been passed which would add programs to the Local Government Trust Fund, In 1994, this may affect the amount of HACA Plymouth receives. Proposals are being made to restore some funding the the Local Government Trust Fund to offset the new programs added. Since state aid comprises around 14% of Plymouth's budget, any changes in the funding formula and distribution factors are of significant concern to the City. D. Charter Issues --the City recently was confronted with an issue on which the City's Charter was silent. This raised a question of when a city's charter is silent on a particular subject, do state statutes apply and become operative? In the particular case at hand, the Attorney General ruled that they do not, even though our Charter was written with this assumption. Legislation clarifying this issue may be needed and would have an impact on all charter cities. E. Projected Funding for Highway 169 Improvements --Highway 169, which runs along Plymouth's eastern border, is extremely congested and during rush hour is sometimes at a standstill. The spillover from Highway 169 impacts Plymouth arterials, such as Zachary Lane, and significantly impacts traffic on that road. The City wants to call attention to the need for improvements to Highway 169 to alleviate the traffic congestion on adjacent city streets. F. Railroad Crossings --For months the City has been working with CP Rail ( formerly the Soo Line) to construct crossing controls at a track crossing along a busy street, Pineview Lane. The bureaucracy which controls crossings for the railroad truly is daunting. Legislation which would give cities some modicum of control to require railroad crossing safety controls within city limits is indicated by Plymouth's experience. G. Environmental Assessment Worksheets --The implementation of the 1991 Wetlands Act governs the preparation of Environmental Assessment Worksheets (EAW) on proposed developments. Cities have a limited time period to approve or deny development applications. The Wetlands Act is not clear as to whether or not all activity on a proposed development must cease ("stopping the clock") while the EAW is prepared and analyzed. State legislation clarifying this issue for the City may be necessary. Il. Other Issues A. Unfunded Mandates --the federal and state governments continually mandate the provision of programs and services by cities but do not provide funding for these programs. Inevitably meeting these mandates impacts taxpayers. B. Crime Prevention --legislation on preventing and mitigating crime is important. C. Election Laws --the City is interested in any legislation proposed involving elections, such as absentee voting without qualification, school districts sharing in the cost of elections conducted by cities, term limits, and whether or not state campaign laws will apply to local elections. D. Other Property Tax Law Changes --the City is interested in monitoring any potential changes to the truth in taxation statements and to the "This Old House" bill, which our City Assessor finds very difficult to administer. E. Transit --the 1992 bond authorization language restricts the use of regional bond funds by Opt -Out transit systems. Since the Plymouth Metrolink is an opt -out system, the City is interested in any changes which would expand the usage of these funds. The possibilities of transit hubs and a regional organization for transit activities also are of interest to the City. F. Urban Forest --the City would be interested in hearing about potential legislation involving tree preservation ordinances and the Minnesota ReLeaf program.