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Council Information Memorandum 06-04-1999
N 3. JUNE 49 1999 1. COUNCIL MEETING SCHEDULE.- NOTE: CHEDULE.NOTE: Ward 1 Councilmember Tim Bildsoe meets with residents and receives their comments in the Administration Library, beginning at 6:00 PM before each Regular Council meeting. TUESDAY, JUNE 8, 5:3 0 PM TUESDAY, JUNE 8, 7.- 00 PM TUESDAY, JUNE 22, 6. 00 PM TUESDAY, JUNE 22, 7. 00 PM MONDAY, JUNE 7, 7. 00 PM WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 7: 00 PM SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING, WARD 3 CANDIDATES INTERVIEW, Public Safety Training Room SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING WITH LOBBYING ORGANIZATIONS & DISCUSS YEAR 2000 CELEBRATION, Public Safety Training Room SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING, TOPIC: HRA MEMBERSHIP COMPOSITION, Medicine Lake Room REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING, Council Chambers YOUTH AD VISOR Y CO UNCIL, Medicine Lake Room. Agenda is attached (M-2) PLANNING COMMISSION, Council Chambers Agenda is attached'(M-3) CITY COUNCIL INFORMATION MEMO JUNE 4, 1999 4. MONDAY, JUNE 14, 7: 30 AM S. MONDAY, JUNE 14, 7. 00 PM 6. MONDAY, JUNE 14, 7: 00 PM Page 2 0 CHARTER COMMISSION, Public Safety Training Room HRA SPEC)AL MEETING TO RECEIVE PUBLIC COMMENT FOR UPDATING HOUSING ELEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE PLAN, Council Chambers YOUTHADVISORY COUNCIL, Medicine Lake Room 7. TUESDAY, JUNE 15—FRIDAY, JUNE 18 LEAGUE OF MINNESOTA CITIES STATE CONFERENCE, Rochester 8. THURSDAY, JUNE 17, 7:00 PM PRAC, Council Chambers 9. THURSDAY, JUNE 17, 7. 00 PM PUBLIC SAFETYAD VISOR Y BOARD, Public Safety Training Room 10. FRIDAY, JUNE 18, 6:00 PM PLYMOUTH YOUTHJAM, Amphitheater Planned events include: food drive, voter registration, MADD Crash Car, & a Battle of the Bands 11. June, July and August calendars are attached. (M-11) 1. NEWSARTICLES, RELEASES, PUBLICATIONS, ETC. a) A series of related articles from the Sunday, May 30 Star Tribune examining issue surrounding suburban sprawl. (I -]q) b) City news release announcing a public comment session on the housing element of the Comprehensive Plan scheduled for Monday, June 14, 7:00 PM, in the council chambers. Also attached is a letter to area developers, builders, apartment owners and human service agencies regarding the June 14 public comment session on the housing element of the Comprehensive Plan update. (I -1b) c) City news release highlighting the results of the 1999 Plymouth Shape Up Challenge. (I -1c) d) Notice from the Sensible Land Use Coalition of an address by Metropolitan Council Chair Ted Mondale, scheduled for Wednesday, June 30, 11:30 AM, at the coalition offices in Excelsior. (I -1d) CITY COUNCIL INFORMATION MEMO Page 3 JUNE 4, 1999 e) June 3 edition of the Community Development newsletter Northwest Notes. (I -le) Washington Spectator newsletter article discussing youth and violence. Submitted by Mayor Tierney as background information related to the community intergenerational conference on violence, youth and the community, Monday, June 14 at the Wayzata High School auditorium. (I -1j) g) Request from the League of Minnesota Cities for possible Board of Directors candidates. (I -1g) h) Notice from the State Pollution Control Agency of closure of a petroleum tank release file concerning At the Lake Apartments, 2500 Nathan Lane. (I -1h) i) Notice of a proposal to change the by—laws of the Shingle Creek Watershed Management Commission, to be considered at the June 10 regular commission meeting. (I -1i) j) Wayzata/Plymouth Area Chemical Health Commission June 11 meeting agenda. (11j) 2. MINUTES a) Environmental Quality Committee March 3 meeting. (I -2a) b) Environmental Quality Committee April 7 meeting. (I -2b) c) Wayzata/Plymouth Area Chemical Health Commission May 7 meeting. (I --2c) 3. CORRESPONDENCE a) Letter to Park Director Eric Blank from Elaine Mead, a member of the Senior Rockers senior chorus, requesting an increase in funding from the City for 2000. (I --3a) b) Internet correspondence between Water Resources Technician Shane Missaghi and Josue Saez regarding City policy on the use of phosphorus—free fertilizer. (I -3b) c) Internet correspondence between Water Resources Technician Shane Missaghi and Diane Lyngdal regarding City policy on the use of phosphorus—free fertilizer. (I -3c) d) Internet correspondence between Water Resources Technician Shane Missaghi and G. C. Fiedler regarding City policy on the use of phosphorus—free fertilizer. (I -3d) e) Internet correspondence between City Engineer Dan Faulkner and Terry Bliss regarding bike paths along County Road 9. (I --3e) CITY COUNCIL INFORMATION MEMO JUNE 4, 1999 Page 4 4. CITIZEN COMMUNICATIONS POLICY—CORRESPONDENCE a) Letter to Melvin Dale explaining the how the drainage system put in place at the rear of his property it works to reduce flooding problems. A copy of Mr. Dale's original correspondence is attached. (1--4a) A status report on the most recent correspondence is attached. (1-4) S. COUNCIL ITEMS a) Draft agenda for the June 22 regular Council meeting. (1--5a) M1- 71/1-- YOUTH ADVISORY COUNCIL JUNE 7,1999; 7:00 P.M. MEDICINE LAKE ROOM, PLYMOUTH CITY HALL AGENDA 1. Approve minutes of May 24, 1999 meeting 2. Update on City Council action on curfew ordinance 3. Youth concert preparations 4. Youth television show 5. Proposed youth health clinic in Wayzata school area 6. Summer meeting dates 7. Agenda for next meeting 8. Adjourn rQ PLANNING COMMISSION AGENDA WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9,1999 WHERE: CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS Plymouth City Center 3400 Plymouth Boulevard Plymouth, MN 55447 CONSENT AGENDA All items listed with an asterisk (*) are considered to be routine by the Planning Commission and will be enacted by one motion. There will be no separate discussion of these items unless a Commissioner, citizen or petitioner so requests, in which event the item will be removed from the consent agenda and considered in normal sequence on the agenda. 1. CALL TO ORDER - 7:00 P.M. 2. PUBLIC FORUM 3. APPROVAL OF AGENDA 4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 5. CONSENT AGENDA 6. PUBLIC HEARINGS A. Moen Leuer Construction Co. 1) a rezoning from FRD (Future Restricted Development) to PUD (Planned Unit Development), 2) a PUD General Plan for four buildings totaling 383,964 square feet, and 3) a preliminary plat to allow the creation of 4 lots located north of Medina Road, south of Highway 55, and west of the existing Plymouth Ponds Development. (98201) (Second Meeting) 7. NEW BUSINESS 8. ADJOURNMENT cn CD z W W u u M LL O CD CA C � V1 a1�^NN1 N t�+f N ypOO�.F—cc NN 3 n N N �A N E.. b�NN G N.!QN OE a LL a� y—OO=Nr of 0 .� .r N F N N N O U >4 -or � m Zi U LnZU E 8, _> Z. 0z, tX52 -L ae NM coE `� $ (L< B Z n L0 o w gOIL W, E U 2(K 0JWIR �U fRlaAm wU O U N Z Z M C c ZV ZZ W V ZZ 'a wE aye v aE 0 0. 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M ■K A � � § ■ _ e q A Take off , . I - With auwtry •idlaos METRO [D IO R Published SaWay, May 30. ,999 At River Pines, the focus is on more space, not sprawl Mike Kaszuba / Star Tribune startrbtsrc.com Metro The Johnsons, the Werbowskis and the Tanksis have arrived, and so have the Wyses and Smiths. Belated items They were the first to build in River Pines, a new Orrin Thompson Homes subdivision p Sprawl resourcesin the city of Ramsey that offers 16 floor plans, a view of the pines and 30 miles of p What is sprawlbreathing room from downtown Minneapolis. There are no bus lines, no park-and-ride lots, no light rail -- and nobody's worrying about sprawl. Even before the first home I F,11 was completed in December, River Pines was an easy sell. Jarry Halt.phot4 "It's kind of the American Dream, really," said Jennifer Verkvilen as she emerged from a model home with her family River Pvtes and a purchase agreement. "If you can afford country, and you can commute, who's to say you shouldn't be able to do it?" While Vice President Al Gore and countless public officials warn about the evils of too much haphazard suburban development, and Gov. Jesse Ventura insists that something needs to be done about traffic, the people who created River Pines -- and the people now moving into it -- are headed in a different direction. The motivations are often as simple as a yearn to get away and spread out. The ideology is as uncomplicated as wanting the freedom to choose without having to feel guilty. ,ferny Holt phRta River Pines is a reminder that the debate over sprawl has many layers, and is more River Pines Is about 30 miles thorny than it is often portrayed. ftom MrMwdis. For every person who sees River Pines as an example of why the need for more roads and sewers never seems to end and why farmland and open space are disappearing, there is another who sees it as a sign of prosperity and a chance to have a big lawn, a back deck and enough room to play ball in the yard. For every person who worries that long commutes cause air pollution and, inevitably, gridlock, there is another who sees a half-hour ride home as a time to unwind that leaves behind the noise, dirt and crime that is the city. Whatever the perspective, River Pines stands as just one of dozens of new housing subdivisions from Hastings to St. Michael that are being carved out yearly in the Twin Cities metro area because of demand. M When all is said and done, River Pines will fan out across a former 60 -acre pig farm Jerry Holt dots with 126 homes on quarter -acre to one -acre lots. The Georgetown, a typical model with 1,280 square feet and an optional third bedroom, comes priced at $102,365, excluding v* the lot. River Pines' first phase, with 32 lots ranging in price from $29,000 to $41,000, sold out in five months. A convenience store has opened just down the road. ' For those needing a push, there are incentives. Those who bought early at River Pines and used Orrin Thompson's mortgage company received appliances -- an electric range, microwave, dishwasher, refrigerator, washer and dryer — free. Also free was a security system and, if a buyer chose, an upgrade from a two -car to a three -car garage. On Krypton Court and Lithium Street, two of the subdivision's first roads, the new arrivals are puzzled — and, at times, frustrated — that anyone could see River Pines as part of a problem. Most of the first half-dozen homeowners said they haven't given much thought to the debate over sprawl. Nothing wrong with it "I probably don't follow it closely enough," said Heidi Johnson, a 24 -year-old teacher who moved to River Pines from Brooklyn Park. She paused, then added that "I don't think there's anything wrong with living where we're living." "It's a very touchy subject," said Morgan Bickel, an Orrin Thompson project manager. Bickel said he would �oe rather discuss River Pines than the sprawl debate. "I think," he said, "it gives you a true feeling of being out of the so-called metro area." I That is the feeling that Orrin Thompson, the second-largest home builder in the Twin Cities area last year, is selling and that Bill and Wanda Tanski are buying. With three grown children, the Tanskis were looking for a one -level townhouse in St. Francis, Woodbury or Rogers when they came upon River Pines. "We really didn't want to go closer to the Cities," said Wanda Tanski, a secretary at Coon Rapids High School, 10 miles away. "I don't like the traffic. I grew up on a farm." The Tanskis, both in their 50s, moved from Coon Rapids, where they had lived for 21 years. Bill Tanski, who works in Fridley as a manager at a uniform -rental company, said he doesn't mind the new, longer commute. "I could drive 40 miles a day," he said. As for sprawl, he said: "I [didn't] know it was considered a problem." Wanda Tanski said she has enjoyed being one of the first to move into River Pines. "It was actually kind of fun to watch everything from scratch," she said. But not everything has been fun to watch. "You couldn't even see through [these] woods a couple of weeks ago," she said disappointedly, nodding to a large wooded area across the street that was recently thinned by work crews. "They've ripped them all out for homes." Though few of those moving in seem to realize it, River Pines' construction follows a protracted debate over its impact. Its approval came only after Ramsey, which has wrestled with the accelerating pace of its urbanization, took a hard look at its future. The city's population —17,372 — has grown by almost half in the 1990s alone. The subdivision is now as far north as a homeowner can build in Ramsey and receive city sewer and water -- most of the city still is served by private septic systems. As recently as 1994, 27% square miles of the city's 30 total square miles did not have city water or sewer. The decision to open Ramsey, northwest of Minneapolis in Anoka County, to more development by extending sewer and water to more areas was made by the Metropolitan Council, the regional planning agency for the seven core counties in the Twin Cities area. For the Met Council, which has the primary governmental responsibility to control sprawl, River Pines represents a compromise. While the subdivision does conform to the agency's designated growth strategy, it does represent one more push outward. "It gets to be a balancing act that government has to do," said Natalie Haas Steffen, a longtime Ramsey resident. She was one of several new appointments Ventura made to the council last month in an effort to give the agency a more sprawl -conscious makeup. River Pines, she said, has to be viewed in a larger context and not simply criticized in a knee-jerk reaction against development. "I don't necessarily think that that represents sprawl," she said of River Pines. "We are certainly not at the capacity with what the sewer out here will take." But the Met Council's decision regarding Ramsey, a city with just one apartment building and nearly all of its housing in the form of single-family residences, did set off a small firestorm. The city of Champlin, just south of Ramsey, complained that adding hundreds of homes in Ramsey would further clog the Hwy. 169 bridge over the Mississippi River, a major artery leading toward the core of the metro area An analysis by Anoka County warned that another major route into the Twin Cities, Hwy. 10, will only adequately accommodate traffic for another 10 years with the expected growth of the area even though it is now being expanded to six lanes in some places. Too much, too close Those neighbors surrounding River Pines objected, too, but for different reasons. With many of its lots less than an acre, River Pines would mean too many houses too packed together, they said. "We did not move out to the country to have some developer bring in the inner-city small lots to our area," Mrs. James Roney wrote in a letter to the city. Her comments, though echoing the strong feelings many in Ramsey have, are at odds with government officials who maintain that more suburban housing density would help control sprawl. River Pines, said Peggy Purvis, another neighbor, symbolized something more ominous. "Look at what's happened on Hwy. 47 and 116," she said, pointing to a suddenly busy nearby intersection. "We have four gas stations -- oh, three now -- one was forced out of business because of competition. /\ / V3 "We have two banks across the street from each other and two day cares across the street from each other," lie she wrote to city officials. "Who is approving this? Idiots?" Ramsey officials estimate that River Pines will add 1,346 car trips per weekday when completed. Most of those cars would exit onto the increasingly busy two-lane Hwy. 47, a main route between northern Anoka County and the city of Anoka. Estimates from the Met Council, meanwhile, show that a trip from Ramsey to downtown Minneapolis, which in 1990 took 30 to 45 minutes, would take 45 to 60 minutes by 2020. The agency said that a trip from Ramsey to Plymouth, which took 30 to 45 minutes in 1990, would take longer than an hour by 2020. Much of the heat for River Pines fell on John Peterson, a school board member in the Anoka -Hennepin School District whose company, Oakwood Land Development, bought the former farm, obtained the city approvals for a subdivision and then sold the land to Orrin Thompson. Peterson, who said he has developed 500 lots in Ramsey, was criticized by city residents who said he added to the overcrowding problems in the school system with the new subdivision. In the first year after it is fully built, River Pines is expected to add 32 elementary school students, eight middle school students and six high schoolers to the Anoka -Hennepin system. Ramsey Elementary School, the only elementary school in the city, has grown from 729 students in 1995 to 1,261 last October. Beginning in September, most of Ramsey Elementary's kindergartners will be switched to a school in Anoka to create more space. River Pines, meanwhile, is projected to generate 32 preschoolers. 'It's beautiful' "I felt like a criminal," Peterson said of the criticism he received. But now, he said, "I drive through these [new] neighborhoods. I see the children and the grandparents, and the mothers and fathers, and I feel good about it, frankly." Of River Pines, he said, "It's beautiful." ie"Y Holt 0416 non�hy, Joseph and COM Vverbowaki wanted this." 'Maybe I shouldn't' Sitting in his living room on Krypton Court, Gregg Werbowski could not agree more. Werbowski, 41, was looking at a house in St. Francis, in far northern Anoka County, when he came across River Pines on his way back toward the center of the metro area. St. Francis was too far away. But River Pines wasn't. So Werbowski, a postal worker in downtown Minneapolis, left a townhouse in Brooklyn Park and convinced Joseph and Dorothy, his parents, to sell their Maple Grove townhouse and move in with him. "I love it," said Joseph Werbowski, who grew up at 14th and Dupont in north Minneapolis. "It's like the outdoors." On a sunny Sunday afternoon, the Werbowskis sat in their new living room, confident that they had made the right choice. Dorothy Werbowski led the family into the sun room, which looks out across a thick line of pine trees at a Boy Scout summer camp across Hwy. 47. "That's what sold us on the house," she said. "We On Lithium Street, the next street over from Krypton in Ramsey's alphabetical system, Chris and Amy Walls -Manning are equally giddy. This is their first house -- they'd been renting in Anoka — and Chris Walls -Manning began by drawing a circle on a map looking at possible locations. Eden Prairie, Minnetonka and Prior Lake were too expensive, he said. The couple looked at existing homes, too. "They were old. They needed work," he said. They settled on River Pines and the Dartmouth, a two-bedroom with an unfinished wrg melt pt,016 basement and a sale price of $120,645, including the lot. Chris wall"aminp plants shrubs. "I think about it sometimes," he said of the debate over urban sprawl. "Actually, this morning, I was thinking about it on my way to work — that I was part of it.... I think maybe I shouldn't have moved out there. "To me, the little bit of hassle [with traffic] is worth the nice, huge yard and the quiet neighborhood," he said. Logan Howard, an Orrin Thompson sales manager, says River Pines is not a difficult sell. "These are younger a buyers. Most of them are living in the suburbs already," he said. 'v Orrin Thompson has been building in the Twin Cities suburbs for more than 50 years. The strategy, said Howard, has long been perfected: Go "bare bones" on profit to get the first houses built and then gradually J raise the house and lot prices as a subdivision gets popular. By many accounts, River Pines will be a success. The players who wanted River Pines or fought it have moved on. Jake Barthold, who raised pigs on the property, sold the land, and his son moved the operation farther north, to Isanti County. Terry Hendriksen, the neighborhood activist who fought River Pines because its smaller lot sizes contrasted too much with the larger, 2%: -acre home sites nearby, was elected to the City Council. Ryan Schroeder, the city administrator who found himself at the center of the debate, has moved on to a similarjob in Cottage Grove, another growing suburb. Jodi Tollefson's family, who lived next to River Pines and winced at the creeping urbanization, moved north, to East Bethel. "We were really disappointed in Ramsey. The schools were so overcrowded," she said. Her 8elM hm5 commute to her job in Coon Rapids has been lengthened from 13 miles to 20 miles. ( Sprawl resources "We like it up [here]," she said of East Bethel. "It's a development where everybody has 2 acres, minimum. ® What is sprawl? "We realize it's all coming out," she said of the metro area's continued growth. If anything, she said, her startrbm.com husband fears that "we didn't move far enough." Metre O Copyright 1999 Star Tribune. All rights reserved. Takeo# Tak�ebolrf 1 1 awr�ry► Af�l�Nu aarrrf► alNf... tL METRO 16100 Published Sunday, May 30.1999 Im What is sprawl? The debate over how communities grow and develop is more complicated than it's sometimes portrayed. After startrbine can all, one person's "sprawl" is another person's home. Here are some of the arguments. tAe tro Resolved: That sprawl is a natural, even healthy, phenomenon Yes It responds to a deep human wish for space. Those people who could afford it always have bought private space in which to feel at ease, to garden and to play. "British aristocrats have always had their country houses far from London," far from its smell and noise, said sprawl expert John Adams, a University of Minnesota geography professor. Most us don't like being jammed together. A high-density core, Adams says, is an Industrial Age aberration. Sprawl is a sign of prosperity Metropolitan Council Chairman Ted Mondale, a leading sprawl -fighter, acknowledges that one thing you can say for rapid growth is that it's better than decline. Ask people in rural Minnesota whose counties now have half the people they had 15 years ago, and whose movie theaters now have shows only twice a week, about what it's like to experience something very different from "sprawl." The construction and furnishing of all the metro area's new homes creates high -paying jobs, and the retail that follows creates permanent jobs. It can alleviate air pollution ... . by spreading the polluters out over a wider area. The Cato Institute, a think tank based in Washington, D.C., that focuses on limited government, combined figures for human density and federal smog ratings and found that the denser the urban area, the worse the pollution. Tougher emissions requirements have made an immense difference for the better, locally and nationally, in the severity of air pollution, even as sprawl has accelerated. There's plenty of open space Seventy percent of Minnesotans live in urban areas, but only 4.5 percent of this vast state is considered "developed" land, as opposed to cropland and forests. Nationally, the amount of land set aside for rural parks and wildlife areas is greater than, and has been rising as fast as, the urbanized area The Twin Cities metro area is projected to offer 50,000 acres of regional suburban parks and a total of 125,000 acres of recreational open space. Millions more acres of privately owned open space (wetlands, farms and others) are protected from development, said Ame Stefferud, senior parks planner for the Met Council. Sprawl allows ordinary folks to afford land Our geography allows us — unlike folks in cities close to mountains or oceans — to spread out in all directions. That has contributed to the Twin Cities area's having the most -affordable housing of any of the top 26 metro areas. In Portland, Ore., considered a national model in curbing sprawl, only 2 percent of the population can afford lots of 9,000 to 15,000 square feet, which are small by the standards of many Twin Cities suburbs. "Sprawl allows folks with moderate incomes to enjoy the amenities that only the rich could afford 50 or 100 years ago," said Samuel Staley, director of the Urban Futures Program for the Reason Public Policy Institute. "And now we want to take that away from them." True, taxpayers subsidize a lot of it, and Staley agrees that's a vulnerable point for those defending sprawl. But he adds that taxpayers also heavily subsidize many downtown developments and amenities. No Sprawl is ugly -- and that can be bad for your health. Do we really want a landscape of strip malls, big -box retail, huge parking lots and ever -wider highways to be our IegaryY The characteristic landscape of sprawl obliterates any sense of the land it is built upon, has no 17 sense of place and can sap the soul. Visual preference surveys, like those used by Washington County in f developing its comprehensive plan, indicate that people like tree -lined streets with sidewalks, open space that is held in common, and traditional Main Street shopping areas rather than strip malls, parking lou and characterless subdivisions. And health research by Texas A & M University and the University of Delaware indicates that visual clutter may even harm health by increasing stress and raising blood pressure. Choosing sprawl is easy; government helps subsidize it A nice house with lots of land in the far suburbs is affordable because taxpayers subsidize it. Federal policy makes gas cheap so people don't mind driving far into the cities to work. Federal and state tax proceeds pay for the highway Mortgages are deductible, so people don't mind sinking money into a house. In Minnesota, residents of already -developed areas help pay the costs of building more sewers and highways at the edge, according to a 1992 study by Thomas Luce of the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota. Sprawl is costly to the environment. Cars are cleaner than they used to be, but the gains in air quality from those improvements are being lost to the soaring increase in miles driven yearly and the reduced cleanliness of sport -utility vehicles. The average single-family household generates 10 trips a day, whether in the city or the suburbs, according to the Metropolitan Council. But a sprawling pattern of development increases the number of miles driven to get to work, run errands or deliver the kids or the dry cleaning. In the last two decades, the average vehicle trip distance increased from 5.09 miles to 6.55 miles, and that figure doesn't include areas outside the core seven - county metro region. Sprawl also decreases water quality. As the countryside is paved, runoff gets concentrated and takes with it nasty pollutants. The "ecological footprint" — the quantity of resources required to support the essentials of life -- of a suburban household is larger than that of a city household because of the greater consumption of materials and energy for housing and transportation, according to William Rees, co-author with Mathis Wackernagel of the book, "Our Ecological Footprint." Sprawl wastefully consumes land. Between 1982 and 1992, Minnesota lost approximately 240,000 acres of farmland, forest and open space to urban development, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That translates to 74 acres -- almost as much as the Mall of America site -- each day. Sprawling development not only consumes farmland but also fragments open space and wildlife habitat. Wildlife needs contiguous habitat for physical survival. Humans benefit from open space for psychological survival. Sprawl has subtle but profound social costs. Pushing development farther out leaves behind those without choices. The poor and the social problems created by poverty are concentrated in the city while a high percentage of new jobs are growing m the suburbs. {The Metropolitan Council projects that 50 percent of the 285,000 newjobs created between 2000 and 2A20 will be in the developing suburbs) And the sprawling lifestyle, with limited transit, has its own costs because the car is virtually the only way to get around. Those too young or too old to drive can be trapped without transportation. Parents become chauffeur. Time and psychic energy spent commuting saps time and energy for the family. Mere O Copyright IM Sur TfRKM. AN rights rssaysd. '+ 4 l4 4 Total vahlclefnges traveled (per ) 271 Miert — 265 birm Congested roadway miss* 623 566 Fuc co =gptlon W= per year) 1168 maim 1132 inion Carbon morwxMo a deslorrs f m Year) 325DW tons 318A00 tons i Land use in the 48 contiguoidstates (in mipwns of acres) 1945 1992 Urban areas 58A ks .. _._ areas 86.9 of homes soli in an area that would dao . be affordable to a family at the ms's median income level. Sarre: National Association of HomebuMm Take off �Ta"Iboff awrlrp Abllw" t16 0 wt y Alrtin" METRO E6100 Published Sunday, May 30, 1999 Sprawl resources To learn more, pro and con, about sprawl... Useful Web sites: For a guide to Web starfrbine.com information with an anti -sprawl flavor, check out www.plannersweb.com 46 Mefro For a guide to Web resources taking the view that sprawl isn't as bad as the planners say, go to www.reasonmag.com and look for the link marked "Sprawl Brawl." An upcoming conference "Growing Smart in Minnesota" is the title of a conference June 11 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Minneapolis Convention Center. Speakers will discuss the costs of sprawl and efforts around the country to do something about it. The registration fee is $75, including a continental breakfast and lunch. Contact 1000 Friends of Minnesota, a nonprofit group that wants to balance growth with conservation and social equity, at 651-312-1000. Books and videos "Once There Were Greenfields: How Urban Sprawl is Undermining America's Environment, Economy and Social Fabric," by F. Kaid Benfield and others, was published in March ($20) by the New York -based Natural Resources Defense Council, 212-727- 2700. A summary can be found at http://www.nrdc.orA/nrdc/ "The Sprawling of America: In Defense of the Dynamic City," by Samuel Staley, published in January, is an attack on anti -sprawl fever. Read it at the Reason Public Policy Institute's Web site, at sprawl html" TARGET=NEW>http://www.rppi.org/sprawl.htrnl or buy it ($15 plus shipping and handling) by contacting the Los Angeles -based group at 310-391-2245. "Metropolitics" is an anti -sprawl book by state Rep. Myron Orfield, DFL -Minneapolis. It was published in 1997 by the Brookings Institution Press, based in Washington, D.C., and the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, Cambridge, Mass. It lists for $43 but can be bought at a discount from online booksellers. Twin Cities -area builders offer their point of view in a videotape, "The Future is Now: Putting a Stop to the High Cost of Urban Sprawl," which calls attention to ways in which local residents themselves, and city councils, add to sprawl. There's a free 10 -minute version; a 30 -minute version is available for a small fee. The Roseville -based Builders Association of the Twin Cities can be reached at 651-697-1954. "Alternatives to Sprawl" is a summary of a 1995 national conference on sprawl. To order it for $14, and find other material hostile to sprawl, go to http://www.infoseries.com, on the Web site of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, based in Washington, D.C. The trust's main site, http://www.nationaltrust.org, offers speeches, articles and other information. And to get involved yourself... The Metropolitan Council is the seven -county Twin Cities region's planning agency, having the responsibility of overseeing — and trying to limit — the region's growth. The council almost entirely changed membership this year, as Gov. Jesse Ventura cleaned house, seeking to energize it in the struggle against what he calls "dumb growth." New council members plan to hold a series of community meetings. They're also exploring with the nonpartisan Citizens League and others the possibility of a series of community dialogues in a few months using electronic technology, on the theme of "What does'smart growth' look like and how much does it cost?" The council offers several ways to track its activities and get involved in regional decision-making. It has advisory committees on light rail, housing and other issues. There are some openings; check with Julie Opsahl, 651-602-1630, for information. It publishes a newsletter, Council Directions, which can be obtained by writing: Metropolitan Council I a i Mears Park Centre 230 E. 5th St. St. Paul, MN 55101 or by sending an e-mail to: data. centerAametc.state.mn.us or by calling Regional Data Center, 651-602-1140 There's a Metro Information Line (prerecorded information on meetings), 651-602-1888, and a Public Comment Line, 651-602-1500. The council's main number is 651-602-1000 - The council's Web site is www.metrocouncii.org. Among the features of the site is the ability to compare the cost of your drive -alone work commute to the cost of taking the bus or carpooling. It also offers e-mail links to appropriate staff members for questions and answers. 40 startr7rne.tan — David Peterson and Linda Mack O Metro a Copyright 1999 Star Tribune. All d" reserved. CITY OF PLYMOUTFF News Release For Immediate Release Contact: June 3, 1999 Ed Goldsmith, 612-509-5412 Plymouth HRA Seeks Public Input on Housing The Plymouth Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA) invites the public to a meeting on Mon., June 14, 7 p.m., at City Hall, 3400 Plymouth Blvd. HRA commissioners want to hear what citizens think about the state of housing in Plymouth and how the City of Plymouth can best serve residential needs over the next twenty years. Citizen comment from this meeting will help in developing the draft of the housing element of the City of Plymouth's Comprehensive Plan. The City is in the process of updating the Comprehensive Plan. The Comprehensive Plan is a major planning tool that coordinates land use and public facilities. The plan is comprised of several elements, including land use, housing, transportation, parks, open space, trails, surface water, water supply and sanitary sewer. All metro area cities are required to update their plans due to amendments the Minnesota Legislature made to the Metropolitan Land Planning Act in 1996. The Comp Plan was originally adopted in 1973. The last complete update was in 1991. For more information on the June 14 HRA meeting, call Housing Supervisor Ed Goldsmith at 509-5412. -30- PLYMOUTH A Beautifu(Tface To Live 3400 PLYMOUTH BOULEVARD • PLYMOUTH, MINNESOTA 55447-1482 • TELEPHONE (612) 509-5000 )"W—Wp . www.d.plymouth.mn.us June 4, 1999 1 CITY OF PLYMOUTFF The Plymouth Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA) cordially invites you to attend a special meeting to contribute your input to the updating of the Plymouth City Housing Plan on Monday, June 14,1999 at 7. 00 pm at Plymouth City Hall, 3400 Plymouth, Blvd The City of Plymouth is in the process of updating its Comprehensive City Plan that will establish the basis for the City's land use policies through the year 2020. Part of the Comprehensive City Plan is the City's Housing Plan that outlines the City's role in residential development and housing preservation within the City. The Plymouth HRA is inviting you to attend this meeting to hear your thoughts regarding the state of housing in our community and how the City can best serve its residential needs for the next twenty years. The HRA will use the comments received at this meeting to develop its recommendations for the updated draft of the City Housing Plan that is scheduled to be presented to the City Council and Planning Commission in August or September. The final updated Comprehensive Plan, including the Housing Plan, is scheduled to be completed by the end of 1999. This meeting will be your opportunity to provide your input before the Housing Plan is drafted. Issues that we have identified to be included in the Housing Plan and for which we are soliciting public comment at this meeting are: ♦ Housing Affordability ♦ Housing to Support Local Employment ♦ Life -Cycle Housing ♦ Housing Diversity ♦ Housing Density ♦ Housing Preservation and Maintenance We hope to see you at the HRA meeting on June 14''. If you cannot attend the meeting please submit your comments to us in writing before the meeting in order for them to be included in the public record Please direct your comments and any questions to Edward Goldsmith, Plymouth HRA Supervisor at Plymouth City Hall. He can also be contacted at (612) 509-5412 or egoldsmi@ci.plymouth.mn.us. Thank you. Sincerely, H. David Crain, Chair Plymouth Housing and Redevelopment Authority PLYMOUTH A Beautiful Place To Live 3400 PLYMOUTH BOULEVARD - PLYMOUTH, MINNESOTA 55447-1482 • TELEPHONE (612) 509-5000 ®PW•-Mp" www.dplymouth.mn.us News Release For Immediate Release May 29, 1999 f CITY OF PLYMOUTFF Contact: Karol Greupner, 509-5223 Companies Participate in Plymouth Shape Up Challenge Twenty four Plymouth businesses used a City of Plymouth -sponsored program to promote healthy lifestyles among their employees this spring. The businesses participated in the annual six week Plymouth Shape Up Challenge. The Plymouth Shape Up Challenge uses friendly competition among businesses of similar sizes to encourage employees to work physical activity into their lives. Employees earn points for each minute they exercise. All employee points at each company are totaled and compared to other companies in their division on a weekly basis for a six week period. At a May 27 awards ceremony at Plymouth City Hall, Mayor Joy Tierney presented awards to the top companies in each division. Mayor's Traveling Trophies (Based on average points per employee over the six-week Shape Up Challenge) Division Small Business Division Division I Division II Division III Division IV Division V Division Small Business Division Division I Division II Division III Division IV Division V Company Spectrum Manufacturing, Inc. Van Sickle, Allen and Associates Brookdale Plastics Baldor Motors and Drives Twin City Fan and Blower Co. Select Comfort Plaque Awards (Based on averages over six week Shape Up Challenge) Percent Participation Pro Staff Services Van Sickle, Allen & Assoc. Game Financial Baldor Motors and Drives Twin City Fan & Blower Select Comfort Most Points Per Participant Spectrum Manufacturing Maier Marketing Toll Company Zero -Max Forward Technology City of Plymouth To learn how your company can participate in next year's Shape Up Challenge, call Karol Greupner at 612-509-5223. -30- PLYMOUTH A Beautifu(Pface To Live 3400 PLYMOUTH BOULEVARD • PLYMOUTH, MINNESOTA 55447-1482 - TELEPHONE (612) 509-5000 «�. www.ci.plymouth.mn.us EW MEt COUNCIL K ED MONDALE, CHAIR JUN 3 1099 din us as Mr. Mondale addresse's the ab questions, and more, from his perspective s. the new Chair of the Metropolitan Council. Question and answer session will follow. NEWS ? Given the unprecedented appointment of 14 new Council Members—what will this mean for the future of the region? With state support of light rail transit now in place, how will this fit with regional transportation and land use plans? ? What is the future of the Livable Commu- nities Act? Has it fulfilled its promise? ? How will the Council guide growth at the edge of the urbanized area? I This session will be videotaped. L ==MENA mom ADVANCED REGISTRATION RECOMMENDED was Date: - June 30,1999 Register 11:15 a.m. Luncheon & Progrann 11:30 a.m. — 2:00 p.m. Location: See map on reverse side. Cost: $30.00/Members and $40.00/Nonmembers (MEMBERS1 Bring a guest and they pay the member rate.9 . SIGN UP AT MEETING FOR REAL ESTATE, BUILDERS & AICP CONTINUING EDUCATION CREDIT. July 28,1999 New Poiafve, Model* for puburl Pa^UqXa%&M ---------------------------------------- Reservation: "The New Met Council" une 30,1999 Name: Phone: Company/Agency: Register by: 13 Vegetarian meal preferred Phone. (612) 474-3302 Fam (612) 474-3993 E3 Member/$30.00 Mail: Sensible Land Use Coalition PO Box -284, Excelsior, MN 55331-9998 L) Guest/$30.00 Name: ❑ Nonmember/$40.00 Please indicate method of payment: Q Check enclosed, L3 Mailing check, L3 Pay @ door TOTAL ENCLOSED Program seating is limited. Deadline for registration is Friday, June 25 at noon. L MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION 1 Yes, I/We want to join the Sensible Land Use Coalition. Please check the category that applies to you or your firm: ❑ Corporate member ($200) ❑ Architect/Engineer ❑ Economic development ❑ Public sector member ($200) ❑ Attomey/L-egal support ❑ City/county/state agency ❑ Individual member -($75) ❑ Builder/developer/contractor ❑ Public utility ❑ Financial/lenderrnvestor ❑ Realtor/title insurance ❑ Land use consultant/planner. ❑ Property management Other Company/Agency Street address Suife # City/State/Zip Phone - Fax E-mail Individual(s) names** **NOTE: Individual members include one name, public sector and corporate members may list up to five individuals. Please make check payable to the: SENSIBLE LAND USE COALITION - PO Box 284, Excelsior, MN 55331-9998 Questions? Call Pat Arnst; F.xacutive Director, (612) 474-3302 ■■■ PROGRAM POLICIES mom ■ Any employee of a corporate member or public sector member may attend at the member rate. ■ Payment must be received by the start of each program: IN "Pay at the door" reservations made and not honored, will be billed, unless cancellations are received 36 hours in advance. ■ Invoices will include a $5 surcharge. ■ Attendance at a program without a reservation will incur a $5 surcharge. ■ Luncheon will not be served to latecomers once the guest speaker has commenced. ■ Audience participation is an integral part of the SLUC programs. We request that questions be limited to the sub- ject. Self promotional speeches will not be permitted. The Sensible Land Use Coalition is a community of land use planning, development and regulatory professionals from the public and private sectors. Our mission is to promote communication, enhance education and provide information that will encourage -the development of public policy and foster a balanced approach toward issues affecting land use, development and the environment in Minnesota, with special focus on the Twin Cities metro area DmEcnoNs rrx MINNEAPOLIS MARMOT SOVMWEST 5801 OPUS PARKWAY M/NNEToNKA, MN 55343 TEL (612) 935-5500 FAX (612) 935-0753 55 12 WN TOWN St. Louis Park M opkins - N 35W 169 100 94 Oren Rd Exit G2 Edina Richfield 169 494 212 494 Airport Eden Prairie Bloomington Z9K-L"98 NW H1nOVYA1d 0A18 HinOVV Id OOb£ H1nOVYA1d d0 ADO NOSNHOf 1HJIMa Iloll IeP ow Pal j� a u . a. ZwLZ ON 11WH3d NW 'SIdW aivd 3ovlsod s'n I!?!?�J"r "►aN: (US 1HSHd d.Io-puajajq jsuas-MMM- £66£-W "I ZOfi6 w (Z19) 9666-I££SS lK'd01SlaJX3 W X00 Od Highlights • Public meetings set on urban land use plan • Council sets Fembrook Lane EAW in motion • Council accepts draft Vision) Goals % • Call Community Development at 5095450 • Check the City Web Site at www.ci.plymouth.mmus • E -Mail us at AHurlbur"plymouth.mn.us A NewAnerfor Residents and Landowners Northwest Issue 14 June 3, 1999 rlLand use tans for urban area to be ITY discu Public meetings in June and July will gather comments on draft plans PLYMOUTR On May 25, 1999, the Plymouth City Council and Planning Commission met in a work session to review consultant and staff recommendations for updating the City's future land use plan for the existing urban area of the City. They gave the go-ahead for public meetings in June and July to review proposed plan changes with affected property owners and neighbors. At their next joint work session on July 27, the Council and Planning Commission will determine what changes will be incorporated into the draft band Use Element of the Comprehensive Plan. "The public meetings will give residents and land owners a chance for input into the land use plan while we are drafting it, rather than waiting until after the document has already been written and maps have been drawn up," said Community Development Director. Anne Hurlburt. Earlier, the Planning Commission had identified several areas in the City with sites that may be ready for redevelopment sometime in the next 20 years, or where the land use plan should be re-examined in light of change in surrounding uses since the last update of the plan. Each open house will focus on a particular area; however, information on all proposed changes will be available 'at all of the sessions so you may choose to attend the meeting most convenient for you. The schedule for public meetings is as follows: Thursday, June 24, 5..00 p.m. to 730 p.m. (open house) Area discussed will be Highway 55 Fast (areas on both sides of Highway 55 south of Medicine Lake, and on County Road 73 south to Minnetonka.) Monday, June 28, 5:00 p.m. to 730 p.m. (open house) Area discussed will include Bass Lake Road South (area on the south side of Bass Lake Road west of Highway 169) and several other sites throughout the City. Tuesday, June 29, 5:00 p.m. to 730 p.m. (open house) Area to be discussed will be Highway 55 West (largely vacant land on both sides of Highway 55 from Vicksburg Lane west to the Medina border.) Wednesday, July 14, 7:00 p.m. (Planning Commission public hearing, all areas) • Tuesday, July 27, 7:00 p.m. Goint Commission/ Council meeting) All meetings will be in the City Council Chambers at Plymouth City Hall, 3400 Plymouth Blvd. Written comments are also welcome. Maps showing the proposed land use changes will be available at all of the meetings and from the Community Development Department at City Hall, and on the City's web site. All property owners whose property would be directly affected by the proposed changes will receive written notice of the meetings. Any property owner within 750 feet of proposed land use changes will also be notified At their May 18, 1999 meeting, the City Council took several actions to direct further work on the extension of Fernbrook Lane between the C.P. 2 NORTHWEST NOTES JLWE1999 -- —Railroad -tracks and -County goad 47; - After reviewing recommendations from consultants and staff, and the public input received during and after the April 5 public meeting, the Council gave the following directions for the project: • Alignment "A' Quneau Lane alignment) and the southerly portion of alignment 'Y (following the section line) were eliminated from further consideration. The connection to Schmidt Lake Road will be at Cheshire Lane (Alignment "Ej The road will be designed as a parkway to discourage through traffic and promote local access. Staff and consultants were directed to prepare an Environmental Assessment Worksheet ($AW) to document impacts of the proposed roadway and to receive the needed environmental approvals for the project. The environmental review process will begin immediately. When the EAW is complete, sometime this summer, the Planning Commission will -hold a public meeting to gather comments. For more information on Fernbrook Lane call Fred Moore, Director of Public Works, at 5w-5501. At their April 28 and May 4 meetings, respectively, the Planning Commission and City Council accepted draft Vision and Goal Statements for the Comprehensive Plan update. The Goals were based on the core community values identified during the meeting held on March 31 with the Council, Planning Commission and other advisory commission members. The goals are. 1 Maintain a safe and secure community. 2 Protect and enhance the natural environment. 3 Support high quality education. 4 Maintain and enhance housing quality and diversity. Community Development Department 3400 Plymouth Blvd Plymouth, MN 55447 S Protect and enhance -.Convenience.— and mobility. 6 Promote and strengthen economic vitality. 7 Provide high quality Cary services and facilities. 8 Enhance and strengthen the sense of community. The full text of the goals is available from the Community Development Department or on the City's web site. A detailed report on the March 31 meeting is also available. InformationFor More For more information please contact the Community Development Department at 509-5400. Office hours are 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday and Wednesday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Tuesday. You may also send e-mail to ahurlburociplymouth.mn.us. Documents are also available on the City's web site. The current and previous issues of Northwest Notes are there, along with other reports. The web address is: http://www.d.plymouth.tim.us. Northwest Notes✓News on Planning for Northwest Plymouth �® .ArA� Ben A. Franklin, Editor (ISSN: 0887-428x) June 1, 1999 01999 The Public Concern Foundation Inc. Volume 25, No. 11 When Kids Assemble Lethal Arsenals, There Is Crossfire in Congress recent editorial -page cartoon in the Birmingham News showed an infuriated man looking at dead bodies on a television news show and cursing at "those Serbs for brutalizing kids like that." But then, in a second panel, the TV reporter signs off: "Reporting live from Colorado." In another editorial -page cartoon, this one in the New Orleans Times -Picayune, as one mother is shown telling another that "my son just left for Kosovo," the second moth- er responds: "My son's stili in high school" To which the serviceman's mother reaches out, puts comforting hands on the other's shoulders and replies: "Poor dear, you must be worried sick." That's a sentiment that polls show is now widespread, following the student massacre in Littleton, CO, in which two boys mowed down 12 of their classmates and a teacher. But Congress is reacting with a bubble gun. Attorney General Janet Reno said she was "stunned" that the Senate had actually weakened some provisions of existing law. The National Rifle Association (N.R.A.), with its campaign finance and lobby- ing clout, has greatly - influ- enced the Republican majori- ty's legislative strategy. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D- CA) said: "It's like the N.R.A. fives here." And because the N.R.A. has even more leverage in the House,.the chance of anything stronger passing there later is zero. Led by Senator Larry Craig (R -ID), a member of the N.R.A. board, the Senate voted 51 to 47 to reject tightening the rules that control weapon sales at gun shows. But the Senate then looked so N.R.A: complaint that, in chagrin, Republicans next managed the narrow passage—by a vote of 48 to 47—of a tougher -sounding amendment that Sepator Charles Schumer.(D-Ni) nonetheless described as so full of loopholes that it was "like Swiss cheese." At our press time, the Senate shoot-out between its pro-N.R.A. marksmen and its largely Democratic reformists was still at full barrage. Gun shows were the source of all four of the weapons used at Columbine High School in Colorado, but Senator Orrin Hatch (R -UT) called the Democrats' proposal "too costly, too burdensome and too bureaucratic. We all know this a much more complex problem than guns." The complexity he cited was the violence in movies and video games and on television. This is a diversionary focus on the "why?" instead of -the "how?" when it comes to unsafe gun use. But get this: The federal consumer -safety law does cover toy guns in the hands of children. As the late Secretary of State Dean Acheson once said of a different vacuity: "In view of the fact that God limited the intelligence of man, it seems unfair that he did not also limit his stupidity." GUNS AND TOBACCO—Pro-gun groups say tougher gun laws do nothing. John Vellco, a spokesman for Gun Owners of America, said this: "There's a shooting, there's another law. The one thing that doesn't change is that we have shootings. What does change is that we have more laws." But this time so far, he's wrong; no more laws. Others are less passive. Mississippi Attorney General Mike Moore has said that "this The Firearms Industry Has Been Pushing Sales to Teenagers "There's a way to help insure that new faces and pocketbooks will continue to patronize your business: Use the schools. This where most of your potential down -the -line shooters and hunters now are." Advice to gun manufacturers from the National Shooting Sports Foundation, a firearms trade association country better wake up because I don't think this was the last of these terrible things. ... We've got to have zero tol- erance if kids are bringing guns to school. It's happening all over this country." What's qualifies Moore for that newsmaking statement is that he helped lead a cadre of state attorneys general to their massive $206 billion settle- ment of lawsuits against the tobacco industry. Now similar suits are coming against gun manufacturers charging liabil- ity for their lethal products. The anti -tobacco sentiment today shows how public opinion—and public policy—can be changed when the public is aroused. Grassroots gun con- trol movements may be coming. Outside the N.R.A.'s shortened, post -Columbine annual convention in Denver, thousands of newly galvanized `anti -gun protesters sang "We Shall Overcome." Modeled after the successful multibillion -dollar settle- ment of the lawsuits by the states against cigarette manufac- turers, a group of tough -talking personal injury lawyers have filed suits against gun manufacturers in nine cities. They seek potential millions, or billions, of dollars in damages to pay for more police and the medical costs of gun violence. That lit an N.R.A. fuse. The organization began furiously lobbying in state legislatures to block municipal lawsuits. It 2 THE WASHINGTON SPECTATOR , June 1, 1999 has succeeded in 10 states, but in others, suits are pending and more may be on the way. A good wrap-up of the lawsuits and the disputes between the N.R.A. and some more law- abiding gun manufacturers appears in the May 17 New Yorker magazine. A gun -control advocacy group in Washington, the Violence Policy Center (VPC), has just published a study on marketing weapons to kids, under the ironic headline "Start `Em Young," cribbed from an article in Gun World magazine. It shows how the firearms industry has been using ads in magazines to enlist teenagers in the gun culture. It is part of the VPC's Web site, www.vpc.org. Also, Tom Diaz, a former staff member of the House crime subcommittee who is now a VPC researcher, has just written a book called "Making a Killing—The Business of Guns in America," published by The New Press at $25. It describes the $1.4 -billion -a -year firearms industry as designing more -concealable guns and marketing them to women and minorities. ARMED CITIZENS—A group called Gun Owners of America cites a criminologists' report contending that allowing and encouraging more citizens to carry concealed sidearms lowers crime rates by scaring off potential attack- ers and "saves society close to $40 billion annually." The study, by a Florida State University professor named Gary Kleck, asserts that citizens use guns in self-defense some 2.4 million times a year, and that guns are 15 times more likely to be used in self-defense than by criminals. Larry Pratt, who runs Gun Owners of America, suggests having_ battalions of assistant principals in high schools armed with guns to challenge student attacks. Apparently he foresees cowboy movie shootouts in classrooms. The N.R.A. claims that "guns are for the law-abiding," and that if "we get tough on criminals, not on our right to own guns, crime will disappear." That statement was to show N.R.A. support for a project by the U.S. Attorney in Richmond, VA, called "Project Exile." What "Project Exile" does to anyone arrested by the Richmond city police for violation of a local or state law involving a firearm is to turn them over to the federal jus- tice system. It's not exactly a "states' rights" idea. Conviction in federal, rather than a state, .court brings an average of nearly five years in federal prisons far, far away. That kind of Second Amendment sophistry denies gov- ernment data showing that most gun deaths in America are caused by accidental shootings or suicides. This data sup- ports the growing realization that firearms fanatics mislead the public when they defend guns as a household—or a high school—safety necessity, much as the tobacco industry mis- led the public about the health hazards of cigarettes. In the gun control fight there is a tendency to blame a number of competing scapegoats. In April, when the Gallup Poll asked its respondents to place the blame for disasters like the lethal shooting in Colorado, 60 percent picked the easy availability of guns, while 51 percent said it was also "parental shortcomings." Some 49 percent blamed violence on TV and in movies, video games and music, but nearly 80 percent said there was something more seriously wrong in the country. A Newsweek poll found that 77 percent of Americans favored the idea of raising the minimum age for owning handguns from 18 to 21, and that 85 percent favor trigger locks on new guns. But there was a disturbing racial quo- tient. While 72 percent of nonwhites said they want tighter gun controls, only 41 percent of whites agreed. A CULTURE SUMMIT—Republican leaders in Congress had already called for a national conference on youth and culture—television, movies, video games, prayer in school and parental involvement—when the President proved that he had the fastest draw; he beat them to it. He convened a White House conference on violent media. Clinton snubbed the N.R.A. by not inviting any of its gunmen, but he didn't beat them at their game. As the closed brainstorming ses- sion ended, the President concluded only that "if no one consumes these products, people will stop producing them." Wayne LaPierre, the N.R.A. executive director, told Newsweek that a "the shameful secret" ignored by the White House and the press, is what he called "the complete col- lapse of enforcement of the existing firearms laws" by the Justice Department. After the attempted assassination of President Reagan in 1981, during which his press secretary, Jim Brady, was shot and left paralyzed, Brady's wife, Sarah, created Handgun Control, Inc. She struggled for seven years to get passage of the so-called Brady Bill, which finally passed in 1993. It required licensed gun dealers to make criminal back- ground checks on prospective buyers and imposed a five- day waiting period on delivery, allowing time for record checking and a few days to cool off anyone with an imme- diate target in mind. The part of the law that required a five- day waiting period expired last December, and the law pro- vided no regulation of gun sales made at gun shows or else- where by unlicensed dealers, a big marketplace. Government reports show that the criminal background checks required by the Brady Bill have stopped about 250,000 gun sales to convicted felons. The "collapse" cited by the N.R.A. is that only a handful of these prospective QCt�� �sl�iiTgfan �p>e�ftt�>a� Editor. Ben A. Franklin Founding Editor: Tristram Coffin (1912 -1997) Editorial Advisors: Phillip Frazer, John Leonard, Kurt Vonnegut Publisher: Phillip Frazer Associate Publisher: Kevin Walter Editorial Staff: Lisa Vandepaer - President, The Public Concern Foundation Inc.: Hamilton Fish Address editorial correspondence to: P.O. Box 90, Garrett Park, MD 20896 Address subscription correspondence to. London Terrace Station, P.O. Box 20065, New York, NY 10011 or telephone (212) 741-2365 E-mail: spectator®newslet eom Internet: httpJ/www.newslet.conk/washingtonspectator Your dues payment to The Public Concern Foundation Inc., is used entirely to forward the task of sha" information and stimulating discussion. Your $15 dues are used for publishing The Washington Spoctator and sponsoring research, symposia and other Foundation activities. The Spectator is available only to members of the Foundation. Internet service provided by MindSpring 1-88&MSPMNG ®'a The Spectator is available on microfilm from University Microfilms International, 300 North Zeeb Road, Arm Arbor, MI 48106. The Washington Spectator (ISSN 0887428)) is published semi-monthly except monthly in August and December by The Public Concern Foundation Inc., 668 Greenwich St., #607, New York NY 10014, for $15 pe year. Copyright ®1999 The Public Concern Foundation Inc. Periodicals Class postoge paid at New York, NY. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Washington Spectator, London Terrace Station, P.O. Box 20065, New York, NY 10011. EXTRA COPIES: 1-10 codes, 70t each;11-20 fes, 55t each; 21-50 copies, 40t each. For larger quantities please write or call our New York office. June 1, 1999 THE WASHINGTON SPECTATOR \ buyers have been prosecuted for the crime of seeking a gun purchase, which is a violation by felons. Congress then passed another bill, which banned 19 spe- cific types of automatic assault weapons. That legislative record was such a double whammy to the NRA that it spent millions of dollars to help defeat a half-dozen House Democrats in the 1994 elections and give Republicans their Gingrichian majority there. THE CALIBER OF STUDENTS—Paranoia is palpable, but it is often overlooked as a factor in all this. As the Hollywood producer Rob Reiner has put it, "the finger doesn't pull the trigger, the brain pulls the trigger." In every highly publicized child killing spree—much less in the under -reported drive-by shootings on urban streets of 40 kids a week, half of them black—there has been some after -the -fact evidence of mental and emotional deteriora- tion among the killers. The recent wave of what scholars have come to call "simultaneous mass murder" by students goes back to 1966, when an ex -Marine, a student at the University of Texas in Austin who had just killed his wife and his mother, locked himself in the 300 -foot -high clock tower on the campus and began rifle fire at passers by below, killing 14 and wound- ing 31 before he was killed by police gunfire. In October 1997, a high school student in Pearl, MS, shot and killed his mother, then went to school and shot nine stu- dents, killing two. Two months later in West Paducah, KY, a student barrage in a school hallway killed three students and wounded five; one of them paralyzed. In March 1998, in Jonesboro, AR, two boys aged 11 and 13, set off school fire alarm and then,.firing from nearby woods, killed a teacher and four girls, and wounded 10 other people as they left the building. A month later, in Edinboro, PA, a high school student shot and killed a science teacher in front of kids at an eighth -grade dance. Three weeks after that, in Fayetteville, TN, an honor -student high school senior shot and killed a classmate in the school parking lot for dating his girlfriend. And only days later, in. Springfield, OR, a 15 -year-old killed his parents at home and then shot and killed two students at school and wounded 20. Only days before the Littleton disaster, a student fired two shotgun blasts in the hallway of the Notus, ID, high school. No one was seriously hurt. It is a baleful copycat trend, not limited to kids. In 1989 an adult man in Stockton, CA, fired on young schoolchild- ren with an automatic weapon, killing five. And, in Canada, a man described as a 25 -year-old "loner," in combat uni- form and armed with an American-made semi-automatic assault rifle, killed 14 young women and wounded 12 at the University of Montreal before killing himself. Then, three years ago in Dunblane, Scotland, an adult gunman shot a teacher and 16 children, aged 5 and 6; on a school playground, after which he shot and killed himself. England now bans all handguns and non -hunting guns of any caliber. They must be licensed and kept at registered. shooting clubs, the only place they can be used. There is a lesson in that. Kids in the United Kingdom and other countries are also exposed to Hollywood movies and gory video games, but: they don't have easy access to guns. They don't shoot each other down. 3 A survey by the U.S. Conference of Mayors found that an estimated 60 percent of American schoolchildren said they know how to get their hands on a family gun, and 35 percent said they could do it in an hour or less. In the most recent compilation by the National Safety Council, 181 children under the age of 15 were killed in accidental shootings in 1998. Incredibly, although trigger locks—with the keys held by adults—would have prevent- ed that, the N.R.A. and other gun-eentrol opponents say trigger locks would slow gun owners' access to their weapons, making them less available against intruders and increasing killings by criminals. THE BODY BAGS—Some 34,000 Americans die every year from gunfire, intended, accidental or self-inflicted, compared with about 40,000 who die in highway accidents. Law enforcement officers killed on duty numbered 61 in 1998, according to an F.B.I. report just released, 40 of them by handguns, 17 by rifles and one by shotgun fire. Too often there has been too much police gunfire—the 41 shots fired by four New York City policemen at an unarmed black man earlier this year, among others. The Constitution speaks of a "well regulated militia." Hah! Those who blame the "culture of violence" for the event in Colorado should ponder an under -reported factor there. As noted in Time magazine, the Columbine massacre occurred "square in the heart of America's evangelical com- munity." The Denver area is the headquarters of James Dobson's right-wing "family values" organization, Focus on the Family, and also of the Promise Keepers. Nonetheless, Littleton's freshman Representative, Tom Tancredo (R -CO), blamed "Satan" for the Columbine killings. But what's at stake is less—much less—than religiosity or the devil of the "culture of violence." It is the culture of firearms. Congress cannot outlaw paranoia, and nothing it can do will guarantee no more Littletons. The Senate could help by tightening gun controls. That it has equivocated so far will be remembered by voters. ---------------------------------------------- SUBSCRIBE ; To receive a full year of The Washington Spectator -22 issues—simply enroll as a member of the Public ; Concern Foundation. ; i ❑ Send me one year of The Washington Spectator. I i enclose payment of $15 for membership in the Public Concern Foundation. (Seniors and students—$12.) ; ❑ Send me two years of The Washington Spectator for ; just $27. (Seniors and students—$22.) O This is a renewal. ; NAME ' ADDRESS ZIP ' i Mail this coupon with your check or money order to: i The Public Concern Foundation Inc. i London Terrace Station i P.O. Box 20065 i New York, NY 10011 L ----------------------------------------------J LMC League o%Minnesota Cities Cities promoting excellence 145 University Avenue West, St. Paul, MN 55103-2044 Phone: (651) 281-1200 - (800) 925-1122 Fax: (651) 281-1299 - TDD (651) 281-1290 Weh Site: www.imnc.org Memorandum June 1, 1999 TO: City Clerks, Administrators and Managers Jz"% �A FROM: James F. Miller '. Executive Director ..r ^ = ti SUBJECT: Board of Directors vacancies —f • We need your immediate help in obtaining candidates for the Board of Directors! At the Annual meeting in Rochester on June 17, 1999, the membership will elect four or possibly five, new Board members. As of last Friday's deadline only five applications had been received. While all are well qualified, President Haag has extended the deadline until 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 10. If you, or someone on your Council, has an interest in serving on the Board, please do so now. Terms are for three years, and service involves attendance at monthly Board meetings and two, two-day, retreats. Most expenses, including mileage, are paid by the League. Application forms are available from Elma Ann Lyon (651-281-1202) or from the LMC Fax Library (651-215-4039). I will be most happy to answer any questions. Thank you for your help in this very important matter. cc: Board of Directors AN EOUAL OPPORTUNITY/AFFIRMATIVE ACTION EMPLOYER L I Ar\ Minnesota Pollution Control Agency v� June 2, 1999 Mr. Robert Melamed Mel -Air Associates 2354 Wayzata Boulevard Long Lake, Minnesota 55356 RE: Petroleum Tank Release Site File Closure Site: At The Lake Apartments, 2500 Nathan Lane. Plymouth Site ID#: LEAK00011953 Dear Mr. Melamed: We are pleased to let you know that the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) Tanks and Emergency Response Section (TERS) staff has determined that your investigation and/or cleanup has adequately addressed the petroleum tank release at the site listed above. Based on the information provided, the TERS staff has closed the release site file. Closure of the file means that the TERS staff does not require any additional investigation and/or cleanup work at this time or in the foreseeable future. Please be aware that file closure does not necessarily mean that all petroleum contamination has been removed from this site. However, the TERS staff has concluded that any remaining contamination, if present, does not appear to pose a threat to public health or the environment. The MPCA reserves the right to reopen this file and to require additional investigation and/or cleanup work if new information or changing regulatory requirements make additional work necessary. If you or other parties discover additional contamination (either petroleum or nonpetroleum) that was not previously reported to the MPCA, Minnesota law requires that the MPCA be immediately notified. You should understand that this letter does not release any party from liability for the petroleum contamination under Minn. Stat. ch. 115C (1996) or any other applicable state or federal law. In addition, this letter does not release any party from liability for nonpetroleum contamination, if present, under Minn. Stat. ch. 115B (1994), the Minnesota Superfund Law. Because you performed the requested work, the state may reimburse you for a major portion of your costs. The Petroleum Tank Release Cleanup Act establishes a fund which may provide partial reimbursement for petroleum tank release cleanup costs. This fund is administered by the Department of Commerce Petro Board. Specific eligibility rules are available from the Petro Board at 612/297-1119 or 612/297-4203. If future development of this property or the surrounding area is planned, it should be assumed that petroleum contamination may still be present. If petroleum contamination is encountered during future development work, the MPCA staff should be notified immediately. 520 Lafayette Rd. N.; St. Paul, MN 55155-4194; (651) 296-6300 (Voice); (651) 282-5332 (TTY) Regional Offices: Duluth - Brainerd - Detroit Lakes - Marshall - Rochester Equal Opportunity Employer • Printed on recycled pape, =ntaining at least 20% fibers from paper recycled by consumers. t- �h Mr. Robert Melamed Page 2 June 2, 1999 For specific information regarding petroleum contamination that may remain at this leak site, please call the TERS File Request Program at 612/297-8499. The MPCA fact sheet #3.35 Leak/Spill and Underground Storage Tank File Request Form (April 1996) must be completed prior to arranging a time for file review. Thank you for your response to this petroleum tank release and for your cooperation" with the MPCA to protect public health and the environment. If you have any questions regarding this letter, please call me at 651/297-8580. Sincerely. ' Chris McLain Project Manager Site Remediation Metro District CLM:tf cc: —eaurie Ahrens, City Clerk, Plymouth Richard Kline, Fire Chief, Plymouth Greg Lie, Hennepin County Solid: Waste Officer Robert Anderson, Northern_ Environmental, New Brighton Minnesota Department of Commerce Petrofund Staff C H A R T E R E D 470 Pillsbury Center 200 South Sixth Street Minneapolis MN 55402 (612) 337-9300 telephone i (612) 337-9310 fax http://wwwkcnnedy-gravcn.com t•:,;. MEMORANDUM r� ' azil CHARLES L. LEFEVERE Attorney at Law Direct Dial (612) 337-9215 email: clefevere@kennedy-graven.com TO: City Clerks of All Cities Which Are Members of Shingle Creek Watershed Management Commission FROM: Charlie LeFevere 0* DATE: May 28, 1999 RE: Proposed Bylaws Amendment The Shingle Creek Watershed Management Commission will be considering changes to its bylaws at the next meeting of the Commissioners on Thursday, June 10, 1999 at 12:00 noon. The amendment of bylaws of the Commission requires ten days prior notice to the member cities. The purpose of this letter is to give your City such notice. Attached to this memorandum is a proposed resolution amending the bylaws. The current bylaws provide that meetings of the Commission are to be held at T. Wright's at 11:30 a.m. The time and place of the meetings has, in fact, changed over the years. The Commissioners have determined that it would be more convenient if the bylaws provided that the time and place of regular meetings would be set by resolution of the Commission with notice of such resolution being given to all member cities. This would allow changes to the meeting schedule by resolution without going through a formal bylaw amendment process. The amendment also provides that the bulletin board at Brooklyn Center City Hall is to be the official bulletin board of the Commission for purposes of giving notice of special meetings as required by the Minnesota Open Meeting Law. Finally, the Commissioners propose the amendment of the bylaws to provide that the fiscal year, which is currently from February 1 to February 1, would be changed to correspond to the calendar year so as to coincide with the general finances of the member cities. If you have any questions, please feel free to give me a call. cc: Ms. Judie Anderson CLL163764 SH220-1 SHINGLE CREEK WATERSHED MANAGEMENT COMMISSION RESOLUTION NO. RESOLUTION AMENDING ARTICLE V, SECTIONS 1 AND 2 OF THE BYLAWS OF THE COMMISSION RELATING TO THE PLACE AND TIME OF REGULAR MEETINGS AND AMENDING ARTICLE VII, SECTION 2 OF THE BYLAWS OF THE COMMISSION ESTABLISHING THE FISCAL YEAR OF THE COMMISSION WHEREAS, Article V, Section 1 of the Bylaws of the Commission provides that regular meetings of the Commission shall be held at T. Wright's, 5800 Shingle Creek Parkway, Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, and WHEREAS, the meeting location has changed over the years but the Bylaws have not been amended to reflect the changes, and the Commissioners desire to amend the Bylaws to provide that the time and place of the regular meetings of the Commission shall be as specified from time to time by resolution of the Commission, and WHEREAS, Article V, Section 2 of the Bylaws of the Commission provides that regular meetings shall commence at 11:30 am. and the time of the commencement of the meetings has been changed over the years but the Bylaws have not been amended to reflect the changes, and the Commissioners desire to amend the Bylaws to provide that the time of the meetings shall be as specified from time to time by resolution of the Commission, and WHEREAS, Article VII, Section 2 of the Bylaws of the Commission provides that the fiscal year of the Commission shall be February 1 to February 1, and the Commissioners desire to amend the Bylaws to provide that the fiscal year shall be the calendar year, NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of Commissioners of the Shingle Creek Watershed Management Commission that the Bylaws of the Commission be amended as follows: 1. Article V, Section 1 is amended to read as follows: "Regular monthly meetings of the Commission shall be held at such locations and at such times as are specified from time to time by resolution of the Board. The Secretary shall cause copies of all such resolutions to be provided promptly to each of the Members and filed in the primary offices of the Commission at Brooklyn Center City Hall. In the event the Commission determines to hold a regular meeting at a location or time other than specified in such resolution, such meeting shall be deemed a special meeting for purposes of giving notice; and notice of such meeting shall be given to all members in accordance CUA60628 SH220-1 with Article V, Subd. 7 of the Agreement, to all Commissioners and Alternate Commissioners in accordance with this Article, and to the public in accordance with Minnesota Statutes, section 471.705, as amended." 2. Article V, Section 2 is amended to read as follows: "For purposes of posting notice of meetings as required by Minnesota Statutes, section 471.705, the community bulletin board at Brooklyn Center City Hall shall be deemed the principal bulletin board of the Commission." 3. Article VII, Section 2 is amended to read as follows: "The fiscal year of the Commission shall be the calendar year." Chairman Attest: Secretary Adopted . 1999. CLIA 60628 sx220-1 `J WPAC14C WAYZATA/PLYMOUTH AREA CHEMICAL HEALTH COMMISSION 600 RICE STREET • WAYZATA. MINNESOTA 55391 • 612/A73-0231 Meeting Notice Friday, June 11, 1999 , 7:00 A.M. C� Wayzata School Administration Bldg. Conference Room 210 County Road 101 North Plymouth, MN A. Introductions B. Review and accept/amend minutes C. Treasurer's Report D. Public Safety Update E. College Update F. Election of Co -Chair for 99-00 G. Other H. Adjournment NEXT MEETING - September 10, 1999 7.00 a.m. at Wayzata School Administration Building Wayzata — Plymouth Area Chemical Health Commission Mission PROMOTE COMMUNITY EFFORTS THAT PREVENT CHEMICAL ABUSE R '- 4 PLEASE DON'T DO NOTHING ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE MINUTES — MEETING No. 82 - I2 J J' Tuesday, March 3,1999,7:00 p.m. approved Members Present: David Shea, Kathy Marshall, Warren Tuel, Karen Haht, Charles Woodruff, Connie Fortin, Terri Goodfellow-Heyer*(Ms. Goodfellow -Heyer joined the meeting, in progress, as Chair.) Members Absent: None Others/Staff Shane Missaghi, Staff Present: Sandra M. Walline, Volunteer Secretary Guests: None Call to Order: The meeting was called to order by Ms. Marshall at 7:00 pm. Approval of It was moved by Mr. Shea, seconded by Ms. Haht and Minutes: unanimously agreed that the minutes be approved as distributed. Erosion Control: Mr. Missaghi distributed a summary of this thirty -three-page report detailing erosion control and penalty procedures as prepared by Darrel Johnson Sr. Eng. Tech. Members, complimented the report and the erosion control program. Plymouth continues to be a model for erosion control programs. Next year's report should also include a year to year comparison of violations and a list of names with multiple violations. Fertilizer Ban: It was pointed out by Mr. Missaghi that the review of this issue would be completed next week. The Committee discussed at length that "time is of the essence" concerning this matter. It was moved by Mr. Tuel, seconded by Ms. Marshall, and unanimously agreed to write a memo to city staff and the City Attorney to express the committee's concerns on this issue. Mr. Shea volunteered to write the memo. Calendar: Mr. Missaghi directed the Committee to a planning calendar that would be used at all future meetings. The events requiring calendar scheduling were discussed and placed on the calendar. One specific item mentioned was the May 22nd City Wide Volunteer Planting Program. Mr. Missaghi indicated that attempts were underway to include the Aqua Scape planting in this event. Further, Mr. Missaghi stated that we had been awarded the DOT grant and that he is currently completing an application for a DNR grant. Ms. Goodfellow -Heyer stated that she could provide a resource for grant writing purposes. Neighborhood Mr. Shea stated as part of this discussion that it would be Watershed desirable to have staff members make a presentation on these A I TEMPWo82approwd doc Initiatives: matters for Committee edification. Ms. Goodfellow -Heyer indicated that she would have information to share with the Committee at the April meeting as well. Business Mr. Missaghi indicated that this group is slow to expanding Environmental in purpose and size. It was decided that Mr. Missaghi will Partnership continue to work with this group and report on progress at the April meeting. Environmental Ms. Marshall gave the Committee an update on the plans Fair: for the fair explaining that progress is good and the participation level is very high. It was set forth that the Committee would benefit from a presentation by the Hennepin Conservation District, a fair participant. Website: The pros and cons, as well as the extent of diversity for the City of Plymouth website was discussed at some length. It was the consensus of the Committee that this could be an invaluable tool for reaching the community. Surface Water Management Plan: Mr. Missaghi will continue to give the Committee monthly updates on progress with the plan. Staff has already met with the Basset Creek watershed and is in process of responding to other watersheds' comments. Lake Associations: Schmidt Lake Association has expressed interest in meeting with the EQC. The members welcomed the opportunity and requested that the meeting be limited to 15 minutes and any relevant materials be provided prior to the meeting. Moony Lake Association's request letter for funding was reviewed. The EQC members agreed that water quality testing can be very useful in monitoring the lake, and this task will be done on the city wide bases as outlined in the city's water plan. There is no funding for specific water quality projects. However, Ms. Terri Goodfellow -Heyer suggested to provide the group assistance to source various grant funds. Missaghi will inform the association and make necessary arrangements. It was moved by Ms. Haht, seconded by Mr. Woodruff and unanimously agreed that Missaghi respond and inform Moony Lake Association Adjournment: It was moved by Ms. Fortin, seconded by Ms. Marshall and unanimously agreed that the meeting adjourn at 9:09 pm. The next meeting will be held April 7, 1999. Respectfully submitted, Sandra M. Walline D: I TEMP I No82approwd &c approved ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE MINUTES — MEETING No. 83 Tuesday, April 7,1999,7:00 p.m. ' Members Present: Kathy Marshall, Waren Tuel, Karen Haht, Charles Woodruff, Connie Fortin, (Terri Goodfellow -Heyer joined the meeting in progress) Members Absent: David Shea Others/Staff Shane Missaghi, Staff Present: Sandra M. Walline, Volunteer Secretary Ginney Black, City Council Liaison John D. Barten, Hennepin regional Parks Guests: None Call to Order: The meeting was called to order by Ms. Marshall at 7:00 pm. Approval of It was moved by Ms. Haht, seconded by Ms. Fortin and unanimously agreed by the Minutes: Committee that minutes for Meeting No. 82 be approved as distributed. Fertilizer Ban: The draft ordinance on Phosphate Containing Fertilizer Ban, as prepared by the City Attorney, was distributed to the Committee by Mr. Missaghi and discussed at great length. Ms. Black stated that this matter was on the agenda for the April 20th City Council meeting and that the ordinance would become effective immediately, if passed. Mr. Barten suggested that, if passed, the steps taken by the Committee and the City Council regarding the ban of phosphates in fertilizer would be heralded as a model for others to follow. He further indicated that, in its written form, it should be made available as a tool to access on the City of Plymouth web page. Ms. Black agreed to see that, if the ordinance is passed, it would be publicized in local media. Mr. Missaghi pointed out that Mr. Shea had been working with Home Depot in an effort to promote the phosphate ban. Through his efforts, Home Depot has agreed to provide special signage promoting phosphate free fertilizer. It was generally agreed that efforts to communicate with the community through the City Council and area vendors would realize greater results than previous phosphate free fertilizer sales. Calendar Review: The following dates were identified: May 15 Clean Up Plymouth May 17 Environmental Fair May 21 Beautify Plymouth Sixty Wayzata biology students have been recruited to help with planting by Mr. Missaghi. May 22 Beautify Plymouth Ms. Marshall, Ms. Haht, and Ms. Black agreed to meet at City Hall from 9-12 to help with planting of the aquascape project. June 5 Minnehaha Creek Water Festival at Minnetonka Boulevard and Highway 61 Ms. Fortin stated that 80 Maple Grove students have volunteered to help with projects in the City of Plymouth. Mr. Missaghi shared with the Committee that a resident who has been studying and experimenting with natural plant species in the Plymouth area, is willing to work with the City on a partnering basis to share the on-going efforts and results of her work. r 2 Through discussion it was determined that it would be beneficial to have a program established through which the Committee and the City could partner with individuals to benefit from their knowledge while they benefit from City support. Mr. Missaghi will research this matter and make a report at the May meeting. Ms. Fortin discussed the availability of her book and agreed to make a presentation on impervious surfaces to the City Council as a means of carrying information to the Council. She also talked about the last joint meeting of the City Council and the Planning Commission, in which she participated, emphasizing the importance of protecting natural resources in the City. PBEP: Mr. Missaghi was enthusiastic in his discussion of this group's last meeting. Two focus groups discussed the ramifications of the commercial processing of water and irrigation. The next meeting will focus on Design for Environment. The Committee agreed that Ms. Marji Vigoren should be recognized for her recruiting and informational decimation efforts with the resulting increased participation in this group. Mr. Missaghi indicated that there would be a joint meeting of the Plymouth Chamber of Business and BPEP from which both groups would benefit. Environmental Ms. Marshall indicated that correspondence has been directed to line up speakers, Fair: booth participants, etc. with very positive expectations. It was pointed out by Mr. Missaghi that a Watershed Model with a Wetland Component had been purchased and would be on display at the Fair. For education purposes, this invaluable tool will be made available to groups interested in learning more about water and watersheds and how they function. Watershed: Ms. Goodfellow -Heyer distributed materials on various community ecological projects for review by the Committee. It was agreed by Ms. Goodfellow -Heyer that this information would be copied for further distribution. It was pointed out by Ms. Black that this would be the type of information to be shared through the use of funds budgeted for education. Ms. Fortin stated that she would be attending the Shingle Creek Watershed meeting. She will report back to the Committee on their activities. Mr. Missaghi stated that local schools were involved in watershed projects. It was the general consensus of the Committee that Wayzata and Armstrong schools be asked to provide information on their project focus and goals. Ms. Fortin agreed to work with Mr. Missaghi in setting the agenda and timing for these presentations. Ms. Black announced that she would be attending a seminar, Keeping Nature in Your Community, and would report back to the Committee on this seminar at the May meeting. Adjournment: It was moved by Mr. Woodruff second by Ms. Goodfellow -Heyer and unanimously agreed to by the Committee that the meeting adjourn at 9:07 pm. Respectfully submitted, Sandra M. Walline I' / XP2, Plymouth Area -e-am. aalth Commissio6 J:. ! 4 1999 Minutes May 7. 1999 Members present: Barb Hickok, Pat Boris, Martha Anderson, Kevin Ringhofer, Judy Hanson, Bill Nelson, Tim McCarthy, Mandy Little, Craig Gerdes, Lydia Kihm, Carolyn Cade. Amend/Approve Minutes: Clarification that the check for Bill for $50.00 was for advertising. Minutes accepted as amended. Treasurers Report: Balance of $2200.94 before scholarships. Police Report: New investigator working on tobacco compliance in Wayzata. Plymouth tobacco violation hearings. Fines set as follows: 5 days / $500 for 1st time violations. 8 cases mandated to go to council because 2"d violation. 5 of 7 have accepted the 1st time violation. Council has changed alcohol compliance matrix. They have raised the level of penalty — differentiated licenses. Greater penalty to shut down liquor store than restaurant. Tobacco — changing maximum fine to 60 days/$2000. 1st violation is 5 days/$500. Middle school DARE needs to be looked at. Minneapolis Schools — orientation on restorative justice. Five Wayzata staff will be going to listen to model. Proposes of the model is to bring all players that have a stake in the issue together and to show how that action has impacted them. Also to restore the balances between all parties involved. Requires the person that committed the crime to admit. Both parties need to come together. The person who committed the crime needs to hear from everyone how the act affected the people involved. Good empathy is what is trying to be taught. The kids need to know the impact and depth of their actions. s-� How has Wayzata handled the Littleton incident? Things are coming out of left field. They are being dealt with like everyone else in the country. There have been no direct threats. Armstrong had an early dismiss. Police have had a number of incidents. There is now a Td liasion in the Wayzata Schools. Day after the incident in Littleton time was spent in classes discussing the incident in Littleton. There is a response system in each school for crisis situations— there are agencies in the community that we can go to if we need extra need. Crisis teams are in place. College Update: Spoke to Junior High School on binge drinking. The students didn't say much. St. Thomas — questions on dorm application. One question asks what kind of roommate you wanted, someone who uses alcohol: none, use 1-2 times a week, etc. Barb will check on that. Star Tribune article will begin on Sunday and run through Tuesday. It will be aired on Channel 2 on Wednesday. Phone in on Wednesday. They want feedback etc. The Cancun article — the photographer said it was the worst assignment that he had since the Persian Gulf. Parents need to hear this stuff from someone outside of the schools. Mock Crash: Mock Crash — Tuesday at 1:00. Wayzata, Plymouth, Medina Police, Minnesota State Patrol, North Memorial, are a few resources involved. 2 staff have roles — one will die— one student will be airlifted out and die later. They are not going to fix things in the end. The plan is to process things in the classrooms the next morning. Kids will be given more information starting today — extra effort to be sensitive. They know it will be emotionally charged and they will be impacted. Pre and Post survey of students will be conducted. Questions such as are you changing your attitudes and behaviors will be asked. These surveys will continue through the year. Drug alcohol levels will be discussed. One crash car will be on site for the week with a memorial. Pat Boris Study: Parent stress along the lines of their kids use of alcohol. Abstracts and result section of study done with 65 parents. 32 of non users kids. Measures the stress in those parents. Study indicates that there is a significant burden of stress on parents of substance abuse adolescents. There needs to be means out there for parents to use. The report was discussed — graphs identified by Pat. The Study found that parents with substance abuse kids don't know where to turn — they are concerned. Even when child is in treatment they don't know how to get help for themselves. The goal after treatment is to keep the kid straight. Results will be shared with the treatment center. Working on a workbook for parents to take with them to treatment — walks through stresses, diary, list of resources available to them. It is important to connect with parents — support groups are invaluable. There is a stigma attached with being a parent of a substance abuse child. Long lasting stress that is bound to affect family relationships in a negative way for a very long time. Being a parent of a substance abuse child has the same burden as a terminal illness or a disability. Other: Please think about if you want to be co-chair with Jeyn next year. It will be determined at the next meeting. Judy is stepping down because she has done it for the past 2 years. Next Meeting will be June 11, 1999 Elaine R. Mead 205 Barry Ave. So. RN Wayzata. MN 55391-1637 Z 3a June 1, 1999 Mr. Eric Blank Director of Parks & Recreation City of Plymouth 3400 Plymouth Blvd. Plymouth, MN 55447 Dear Eric: I am a member of the governing body of the PLYMOUTH ROCKERS Senior Chorus and in that capacity have the responsibility of assuring annual funding for the salaries of our director and accompanist. We appreciate the financial support given by the City of Plymouth for those salaries. Unfortunately, an MRAC grant is not forthcoming this year and we'll be scrambling to find other funds for the next two years. Is there any possibility, in view of our status as "Plymouth Ambassadors," that the financial support from the City of Plymouth • be increased to $5,050 in 2000 and $5,050 in 2001? The salary of our director is well below the salaries paid to other senior chorus directors. For example, in Richfield the Senior Chorus Director receives $5800.00 per year, plus a 314 mileage allowance. In Bloomington the Director receives $4800.00, plus a 32.5G mileage allowance. In Minnetonka the salary is considerably higher. Phyllis Hoiseth and Martha Wilson are extremely talented and they work 38 to 43 weeks per year. We certainly want to retain their valuable services. Would you please give .serious consideration to budgeting $5,050 in 2000.and the same in 2001.for Phyllis and Martha. Thank you. Sincerely yours, Elaine Mead opies to: Mayor Joy Tierney Members of Plymouth City Council Internet Contact From: Shane Missaghi Sent: Wednesday, June 02, 1999 2:07 PM To: 'Josue N. Saez' Cc: Internet Contact Subject: Condition of Pond Dear Josue: My name is Shane Missaghi with the Engineering Department of the City of Plymouth (509-5527). Your e-mail of May 31, 1999, regarding the condition of your neighborhood pond (Fig. one) was forwarded to me. According to our inventory this pond is a 0.4 acre Type 3, Medium Quality, excavated wetland basin, with areas of open water. In a quick review of the 1994 and 1997 aerial photos it seems that there was a greater area of open water in 1997 than in 1994, which indicates an increase in open water area and not a loss. I am not sure how the water level was artificially kept higher than normal. However, as you had mentioned, the pond was inspected by city staff last week, and its current normal water level does correspond with its intended outlet elevation I understand your concern of dimensioning open water and increase of vegetation. There are different things that can be done to minimize or slow down this process. Perhaps the most effective measure would be to minimize phosphorous run off from the pond. Some of the things that you can do to minimize the run off phosphorous is, to: • insure that you and your neighbors are all using phosphorous free fertilizers. • removing the grass clipping from street and preventing them to get into our storm sewer system and ultimately into the pond • Keep the driveway and streets that drain into the pond clean from debris and dirt • You may also choose to have the pond chemically treated to eliminate and prevent plant growth. If you are interested in chemical treatment of the pond, please let me know and I will be happy to provide you with a list of names of approved contractors. Anyhow, I hope I have answered some of your questions, please call me at 509-5527 if you have any other questions. Shane Missaghi - -G ap Internet Contact From:. nain saez [saez22@abby.skypoint.net] Sent: Monday, May 31, 1999 10:08 PM To: contact@ ci.plymouth.mn.us Subject: Condition of Pond Please pass this message on to whoever deals with maintaining the conditions of the city ponds within Plymouth. My name is Josue N. Saez I live at 6055 Kirkwood lane north in Plymouth 55442. The reason for this message is that the pond that is located behind my house appears to be loosing its level despite all of the heavy rains we have had in the recent past. In the past, the pond has been home to many ducks and geese and to the enjoyment of the neighborhood. There appear to be fewer of these this year. If the pond continues to loose its level, it will become a mud -hole and could become a bigger breeder for mosquitoes and cause a drop in our property values. Other neighbors have brought up to the city the condition of the pond and the answer that has come back from the city engineering department is that there's no problem. This is not true as anyone who looks at the pond can see. Please provide me and our neighbors with good communication and an acceptable solution to this problem. Awaiting your responce, J.N. Saez 1�- 3QLI Internet Contact From: Shane Missaghi Sent: Wednesday, June 02, 1999 3:03 PM To: 'Diane Lyngdal' Cc: Internet Contact Subject: RE: water quality Dear Ms. Lyngdal: My name is Shane Missaghi, with the Engineering Department here at the City of Plymouth. I am writing this memo in respond to your e-mail of may 27, 1999, regarding the water quality of your back yard pond. You had asked what measures you can take to minimize or slow down the drying up of your pond. As you had mentioned, the drying up of the pond is in parts the result of proliferation of vegetation within the pond. In most cases the excessive plant growth is a direct respond to the amount of phosphorous runoff a pond receives. Other factors such as our mild winter and our early spring can also encourage plant growth as well. it is nice to hear that you and your neighbors are already using phosphorous free fertilizers. this will have a great impact. You are also harvesting some of the plants which will remove additional phosphorous from the system. Additionally, you can also help by: • removing the grass clipping from street and preventing them to get into our storm sewer system and ultimately into the pond • Keeping the driveway and streets that drain into the pond clean from debris and dirt • or you and your neighbors may also choose to have the pond chemically treated to eliminate and prevent plant growth. If you are interested in chemical treatment of the pond, please let me know and I will be happy to provide you with a list of names of approved contractors. Please fell free to contact me at 509-5527, if you have any questions or if you would like additional information. Shane Missaghi From: TML4TML@aol.com [mailto:TML4TML@aol.com] Sent: Thursday, May 27, 1999 6:37 PM To: contact@ ci.plymouth.mn.us Subject: water quality Dear City: Our home backs up to a pond. We have adopted the guidelines the city has outlined for fertilizer use. The pond behind our home is already drying up due to the plant growth. I rake out weeds from our shoreline and have started plantings to create a create a larger buffer between our property and the shoreline. What else can be done to reverse the cycle. We are just one of 7 families with property adjacent to the pond. Thanks for your response. Diane Lyngdal Internet Contact From: Shane Missaghi Sent: Wednesday, June 02, 1999 2:40 PM To: 'GCFiedler@aol.com' Cc: Internet Contact Subject: Ph -free fertilizer Dear Friends: Thank you so much for informing us of the Metropolitan Council Environmental Services Phosphorous runoff ad on the Cub Foods grocery bags. You are correct, the Met. Council does promote the use of fertilizer with phosphorous of 3 % or less for the metro area. This is a regional initiative which also includes Plymouth. However, here in Plymouth we do require zero percent phosphorous. Nonetheless, it is nice to see that Met Council and Cub Food are working hard to increase the awareness on phosphorous runoff pollution. Thanks again for your memo, please give me a call at 509-5527, if any questions. Shane Missaghi -----Original Message ----- From: Internet Contact Sent: Tuesday, June 01, 1999 8:13 AM To: Shane Missaghi Subject: FW: (no subject) Shane - This arrived via our Web site. Again, please copy me on your response. Thanks, and have a good day. Jean -----Original Message ---- From: [mailto:GCFiedlerOaoi.com] Sent: Monday, May 31, 1999 9:07 PM To: contact@ ci.plymouth.mn.us Subject: (no subject) The city of plymouth has baned phosphorus fertilizers but the back of thegrocery bagsof the Cub Food store in plymouth is saying use 3 or lower in phosphorus. Internet Contact From: Dan Faulkner Sent: Thursday, June 03,1999 12:05 PM To: Internet Contact Cc: 'tbliss@farmershome.com' Subject: RE: Bike paths Your message was forwarded to me for a response to you. We will check into your concern with the "bump" in the trail south of Co Rd 9 and see if there's anything our contractor can do to make it better. Your second question about a trail connection is a little more difficult to respond to at this time but we will check into the location. I think you are referring to Revere Ln. We need to determine if the existing dirt path is crossing private property or perhaps County right-of-way in which case the City would need to obtain County approval to pave a trail. Also, there may be some safety concerns with the connection near the intersection of Co Rd 9 and Nathan/Lancaster that would need to be checked out. Please let me know if you have any further questions. -----Original Message ----- From: Internet Contact Sent: Thursday, June 03, 1999 8:51 AM To: Dan Faulkner Subject: FW: Bike paths Dan - This e-mail arrived via our Web site. Please copy me on your response. Thanks. Jean ---Original Message ----- From: Bliss, Terry [mailto:tbliss0farmershome.com] Sent: Tuesday, June 01, 199912:43 PM To: 'contact@ ci.plymouth.mn.us' Subject: Bike paths The work in progress on Zachary is great. However, big bump going from street to bikepath south of County Road 9 as a result of last year's curbing and paving project. Can this be fixed? Also, any plans to connect the street between Lost Lake and County Road 9 (can't remember the street name) with Nathan Lane by the stoplight? There is a rutted dirt path for a couple hundred feet, been there for years. Would be much safer to put in a short path. TB ary of - PLYMOUTFF June 3, 1999 Melvin E. Dale 12830 - 28`h Avenue North Plymouth, MN 55441 SUBJECT: DRAINAGE CONTROL STRUCTURE Dear Mr. Dale: I am responding to your letter to Mayor Joy Tierney concerning the drainage structure at the rear of your property. As stated in your letter, other City employees and I have had many conversations through the years on this structure. You have also discussed it with Dwight Johnson, City Manager. The purpose of the structure is to release the water at a controlled rate in order to prevent downstream flooding. There are many such control structures in the Plymouth drainage system to reduce the flows in the main stream channels to the rate which existed prior to urban development. The structure functions for its intended purpose. Because of its design it does require maintenance to prevent either floating debris or work by beavers from plugging the structure. Through the years we have taken steps to install a grate on the upstream end which is removable to make this maintenance easier.. With the approximate four inches of rain over a several day period, about two weeks ago, we did experience high water in the ponding area. The high water experienced at this location was not different than the high water at many of the other ponding areas throughout the City. With the forecasted rains we had checked the drainage structure and removed the grates on a Friday to ensure that we could convey the maximum flow. When the structure was again checked on Monday or Tuesday we discovered that someone had replaced the grates and we did have some partial plugging. This then required a backhoe to remove the grates, since they were below water level, in order that the culverts could carry the maximum flow. Throughout this rainy period the maintenance personnel checked the structure along with many other areas in the City on a daily basis and performed any necessary maintenance. PLYMOUTH A Beautiful Pface To Live 3400 PLYMOUTH BOULEVARD • PLYMOUTH, MINNESOTA 55447-1482 • TELEPHONE (612) 509-5000 » �• www.d.plymouth.mn.us Melvin E. Dale Page 2 In the future we will be doing work to provide a more solid surface on the dike, which serves as access to the structure from the trail, to ensure that we will have access for any equipment necessary to perform maintenance on the structure. Although this structure requires maintenance, any type of structure constructed would also require maintenance. In your letter you mentioned that a portion of your yard was flooded. Before the construction of the control structure a portion of your yard was subject to flooding. I would estimate it would cost thirty to forty thousand dollars to construct a different type of structure which would require lesser maintenance, but would not reduce all of the necessary maintenance. Because of the cost to replace the structure simply for maintenance, I cannot recommend this be undertaken. We will continue to do the necessary maintenance on the structure to ensure that it does perform as designed. As I previously stated, we will be improving our access. We will also be modifying the grate structure to provide easier maintenance. If you would like to discuss this in more detail, please do not hesitate to contact me. Sincerely, /s/ Fred G. Moore, P.E. Director of Public Works cc: Mayor and City Council (C/R 99-31) 0 ooo o 'vo " oy Ao oo'd ° o N>' .N .a� O 0N�.y,p� O p �, N S ° U 7EL U� a a S 2 ou Cl. 2. a 3 o 04 Q, 4.. 0 as 0% all ON ON d O .-+ M M t O v1 Cl v1 O �A O A O �O O � T C ON T T C� 0000 1-4 --4.--� O N 00 00 N t O A O V7 O til O AN O O �� ON ONT as O O O O A 0 o 0 0 k 0 0 0 ON ON 0 0 0 0 ,n 0 to 0 n 0 �A 0 �A 0 tA 0 s � 4r 00 00 r. 0 "C i U u be OO O N N N N M M v N au a oc a� o � a b � x i nn �' o • a� .rA ON ON ON N N N N �n O 'n O to Cl Wn O O� O� ON O� T O, �•�+ N N O N O l- N O O O O T l� .--� ON - --I'-. ON 0 0 0 0 o°. O rn 9N 4 .-4 00 --4 00 1- 0 N ,A O tA O A O A O o ° Boz °w 4-4 ° o N to O U v�A x o W bati R rA a� UGcoiU 5 H U 0 u x L1 w a1 C7 fel M M M M V7 M a 2 7a DRAFT OB/04/99 1:07 PM CITY OF PLYMOUTH AGENDA REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING JUNE 22,1999,7:00 PM 1. CALL TO ORDER PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE ROLL CALL 2. APPOINT WARD 3 COUNCILMEMBER OATH OF OFFICE -- WARD 3 COUNCILMEMBER 3. PLYMOUTH FORUM Individuals may address the Council about any item not contained on the regular agenda. A maximum of 15 minutes is allotted for the Forum. If the full 15 minutes are not needed for the Forum, the City Council will continue with the agenda. The City Council will take no official action on items discussed at the Forum, with the exception of referral to staff or Commission for future report. 4. PRESENTATIONS AND PUBLIC INFORMATION ANNOUNCEMENTS 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 5. APPROVE AGENDA--Councilmembers may add items to the agenda including items contained in the Council Information Memorandum for discussion purposes or staff direction only. The Council will not normally take official action on items added to the agenda * Items require 5 affirmative votes of the City Council for approval REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING _ lj June 22, 1999 Page 2 6. CONSENT AGENDA—These items are considered to be routine and will be enacted by one motion. There will be no separate discussion of these items unless a Councilmember or citizen so requests, in which event the item will be removed from the Consent Agenda and placed elsewhere,on the agenda. 6.01 Approve proposed City Council Minutes 6.02 Approve Disbursements 6.03 Approve Renewal of On -Sale and Off -Sale 3.2 Malt Liquor Licenses 6.04 Consider whether to Levy a Local Transit Tax for 2000 6.05 Adopt Resolution requesting Extension of Comprehensive Plan Deadline 6.06 6.07 6.08 6.09 6.10 6.11 7. PUBLIC HEARINGS 7.1 Public Hearing on Proposed Ordinance for "No Wake" on Medicine Lake during High Water 7.2 7.3 8. GENERAL BUSINESS * Items require 5 affirmative votes of the City Council for approvab REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING June 22, 1999 I Page 3 *8.1 Comprehensive Plan Amendment to add a Streetscape Element to the City Center portion of the Plymouth Comprehensive Plan. City of Plymouth. (98061) 8.2 Consider City Policy on the Installation of Street Humps 8.3 , Consider Request for Rezoning from FRD (Future Restricted Development) to PUD (Planned Unit Development), a PUD General Plan for four buildings totaling 383,964 square feet, and a Preliminary Plat to allow the creation of four lots located north of Medina Road, south of Highway 55, and west of the existing Plymouth Ponds Development. Moen Leuer (98201) 8.4 Mertens - Variance 9. REPORTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 9.1 Receive 1998 Financial Report and Audit 9.2 Appoint Individual to fill a Vacancy on the Housing and Redevelopment Authority resulting from the Resignation of Brian Helmken f [I16W411 11611) I'mu i * Items require 5 affirmative votes of the City Council for approval