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Home My WebLink AboutCouncil Information Memorandum 08-01-19970 AUGUST 1, 1997 UPCOMING MEETINGS AND EVENTS 1. COUNCIL MEETING SCHEDULE. NOTE: Ward I Councilmember Tim Bildsoe meets with residents and receives their comments in the Administration Library, beginning at 6: 00 p.m. before each Council meeting. AUGUST 6 7:00 P.M. REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING Council Chambers AUGUST 7 7:00 P.M. SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING BUDGET STUDYSESSION Public Safety Training Room AUGUST 20 5:00 P.M. SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING BUDGET STUDY SESSION Public Safety Training Room AUGUST 20 7:00 P.M. REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING Council Chambers AUGUST 27 5:00 P.M. SPEC]AL COUNCIL MEETING (IF NEEDED) BUDGET STUDY SESSION Public Safety Training Room 2. PLANNING COMMISSION STUDY SESSION ON PROPOSED ZONING ORDINANCE AMENDMENTS, MONDAY, AUGUST 4, 7:00 P.M., Medicine Lake Room. Agenda is attached. (M-2) 3. NATIONAL NIGHT OUTACTIVITIES, TUESDAY, AUGUST S. 4. COUNCIL SUBCOMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY, THURSDAY, AUGUST 7, 6:00 P.M., Public Safety Library. 5. COUNCIL SUBCOMMITTEE ON BUSINESS RELATIONS, MONDAY, AUGUST 11, 7:00 P.M. Medicine Lake Room. CITY CO UNCIL INFORMATION MEMO Page 2 August 1, 1997 6. MEETING CALENDARS — August and September meeting calendars are attached. (M-6) 1. NEWS ARTICLES, RELEASES, PUBLICATIONS, ETC. a. City news release soliciting applications for citizens to serve on the Public Safety Subcommittee. (I -1a) b. Announcement/invitation to the CONECT Collaborative "Boat Project" launching event, Tuesday, August 12, 6:30 p.m., at Parkers Lake Pavilion. (I -lb) c. City news release announcing the closure of Vicksburg Lane at the Canadian Railroad crossing to allow replacement of the crossing panel. (I -1c) d. Plymouth Business Update from TwinWest Chamber of Commerce. (I -2d) 2. MINUTES a. CONECT Collaborative July 9, 1997 meeting. (I -2a) b. Council Subcommittee on Public Safety June 25, 1997 meeting. (I -2b) 3. CITIZEN COMMUNICATIONS POLICY- CORRESPONDENCE a. Letters to Ernest and Gerda Erickson from Public Works Director Fred Moore Housing Specialist Milt Dale discussing application for assistance in water damage cleanup of their home. The Erickson's original correspondence is attached. (I -3a) b. Letter to the Plymouth Housing Alliance from Community Development Director Anne Hurlburt regarding a proposed plan for property along County Road 61 just north of Sunset Trail and south of Carlson Parkway. The original correspondence is attached. (I -3b) c. Letter to Pamela Parker from Public Works Director Fred Moore responding to concerns about the Cimarron East development street construction. The original correspondence is attached. (I -3c) d. Letter to Dwight S. Harvey of Laukka Development Company from Public Works Director Fred Moore discussing concerns of homeowners in the Parkers Lake North 3' Addition about street conditions. The original correspondence is attached. (I -3d) e. Letter to John Donovan III from Public Works Director Moore responding to concerns about the wetlands behind the Len Bush Roses property along Medina Road. The original correspondence is attached. (I -3e) A status report on the most recent correspondence is attached. (1-3) AGENDA City Council Subcommittee on Community Po/icing Thursday, August 7, 1997 6:00 p.m. NOTE: Location change - Due to the schedule of the Council Meeting This meeting will now be held in the Library of the Public Safety Building - 2"d floor I. Call to order II. Approval of minutes from June 25, 1997 meeting III. Partnership for Safe Communities Symposium through the Minnesota Community Policing Institute IV. Graffiti Ordinance V. Animal Ordinance issues VI. Citizen representative selection process VII. Set next meeting/meeting schedule l- u 01 M, G y, onN- `�.. T•t•Nn Nr FI neNm y� NTO I �N � I yiN T,DNM o a+uo Z.0 I j ;"�� o ,, a U F"I -nN Ulm ioo oi,aoi 'o in eYd E IoC7Zt o of uvi M, G y, onN- `�.. T•t•Nn Nr FI neNm y� NTO I �N � I yiN T,DNM o Z.0 I a U F"I -nN Ulm ioo oi,aoi E IoC7Zt uvi ' i y� �wOnry- 1 o8c � a IU �i e � 9 o Z.0 a U Ulm ioo oi,aoi E IoC7Zt uvi For Immediate Release Contact: July 28, 1997 Laurie Ahrens, 509-5080 City of Plymouth Seeks Citizens to Serve on Public Safety Subcommittee Plymouth residents who have an interest in public safety issues are encouraged to apply to serve on the Plymouth City Council Subcommittee on Public Safety. The City is seeking one person from each of the four City wards. Applications will be accepted through Fri., Aug. 22. Call 509-5080 to have an application mailed to you. Be sure to leave your name, mailing address and phone number. -30- PLYMOUTH A Beautiful Place?o Live 3400 PLYMOUTH BOULEVARD • PLYMOUTH, MINNESOTA 55447-1482 • TELEPHONE (612) 509-5000 cm "The Boat Project" CONECT Collaborative cordially invites you to participate in the GREAT BOAT LAUNCHING! Where: Parker's Lake Pavilion County Road 6 & Niagra, Plymouth, Minnesota When: Tuesday, August 12,1997 Time: 6:30 Actual launching time depends on many variables. Please come early and join in the fun! R.S.V.P. to Kris Korsmo at CONECT 476-8477 i CITY • PLYMOUTR For Immediate Release July 31, 1997 Contact: Dan Faulkner, 509-5520 Vicksburg Ln. to be closed at Canadian Pacific Railroad crossing Aug. 11 -15 For a few days in August, motorists who routinely cross the Canadian Pacific Railroad crossing at Vicksburg Ln. in Plymouth will have to find a new route. Vicksburg Ln. will be closed at the crossing for approximately three days starting Aug. 11 to allow the Canadian Pacific Railroad Company to install a replacement crossing panel. The railroad crossing is expected to be closed through Fri., Aug. 15. In addition to the railroad company's work, City street crews will also do some minor approach paving. The railroad will post signs at Co. Rd. 47 and Co. Rd. 9 alerting motorists of the upcoming closing. -30- PLYMOUTH A Beau tifulPlace?o Line 3400 PLYMOUTH BOULEVARD • PLYMOUTH, MINNESOTA 55447-1482 • TELEPHONE (612) 509-5000 08/01/97 13:16 To:Mr. Dwight Johnson From:TG CHAMBER CNAMB E R O F COMMERCE 612-540-0237 Page 1/1 L \� Important Plymouth Business Update, PleaseRoute The recently developed TwinWest Chamber of Commerce Plymouth Business Council has determined that improving the communication between the business community and the City of Plymouth is a priority issue. Therefore, TwinWest and City staff have developed the following information sheet to keep YOU up to date on upcoming business issues that could impact you... Development/Construction Updates The City Council unanimously adopted a "bill of rights' for builders and developers. The Plymouth Business Council provided input to the City. => There is a 64 unit proposal in the Parker's Lake area which will be mixed income unit project. Members of the community have voiced pros and cons of this development. Some feel that this mixed use is needed in the City of Plymouth, while others feel that having low income housing may increase crime. Business News • City Budget preparation is underway. TwinWest will monitor the process and keep you informed. Watch for updates with meeting times and dates. • An upcoming "hot" issue is modification to the city's sign ordinance. • In May, Shenandoah Townhomes residents petitioned the City to finance $1.4 million to re -side their units. The townhome association has not collected sufficient funds to pay for this service. A 1996 state law allows the City to do the work, finance it, and then assess the residents over time to recoup the cost. Numerous banks have turned down the association for financing. If the City does not participate the area may become blighted. If the City does participate it could be construed that they are rewarding poor financial planning and setting a precedent. City Council recently requested staff to further develop the option of the City financing the entire amount of the re -siding project. The rationale is the simplicity and the possibility of lower interest rates with City bonding. • The Plymouth Business Council was developed by the TwinWest Chamber to address local public policy issues in the city of Plymouth and enhance the communication between the City and the business community. • City Council is still interested in a referendum for a bond levy for an activity center. A vote is likely for 1998. • If this fax is not directed to the appropriate representative at your office, please inform us! • What is a business concern you have? Let us know and maybe we can be your united voice. _ In the future, please fax this update to Name Business at Phone This information is provided to you as a courtesy of the TwinWest Chamber of Commerce and the City of Plymouth. These updates will continue for a three month period at which time you will receive an evaluation on the value of this business communications tool. We would love to hear your input prior to that, call any of the individuals below with your suggestions and/or feedback. If you have any feedback, questions or would like to get involved with the Business Council, please call Sterling Patterson at TwinWest ph: 540-0234; fx: 540-0237, City Manager, Dwight Johnson, at 509-5051 or Director of Community Development, Anne Hurlburt, at 509-5401, city fax: 509-5060. A CONECT Collaborative " Y Minutes Lakeview Commons ; ,b July 9, 1997 Attendance: Joyce Heyer, LaDonna Hoy, Kristina Korsmo, Carol Vannelli, Nancy Scott, Mary Bisek, Jim Schaffer, Cindy Keefer, Cathy Fischer, Joy Tierney 1. June 4, 1997 Minutes - The minutes were amended to reflect: ECFE's attendance at Regency Pointe has been minimal. Joyce and Kris will be conducting an interest survey at Lakeview Commons. Plymouth Library will have the Readmobile at Lakeview Commons on alternating Thursdays. Carol moved to accept the minutes as amended. Mary seconded. The motion passed unanimously. 2. Financial Report - Kris reported that Lutheran Brotherhood has donated money as follows: $400 - for 2 picnics at Lakeview Commons $600 - treats and crafts for Lakeview Commons Clubhouse $400 - for a spa at Vision of Glory for Regency Pointe and Lakeview Commons residents Refreshments for Lakeview Commons will be coded under special events. Joyce moved to accept the financial report. Nancy seconded. The motion passed unanimously. 3. Coordinator's Report - Demographics at Regency Pointe are changing Community Dinners serving 39-60 people Time to begin thinking about 1998 and these dinners. Possibly offer them at other locations. Demographic info from Regency Pointe is needed. Kris will call Laura. LaDonna will call Ed Goldsmith (City of Plymouth) At the August meeting Kris and LaDonna will report on what they find and ideas for transitional plan. CONECT needs a new copy machine. Carol Bergenstahl will call Cargil, Carlson Companies. LaDonna will talk to Norwest Bank. Judy Hoy, family therapist, will do volunteer work for CONECT to help us evaluate and asses our issues with the families we serve. Gerring's have donated a monthly washing of the van (inside & out) Thank You! Cindy Keefer was welcomed as a summer intern at CONECT. She has been a hard worker and greatly appreciated. Thank You!!!! 4. Agency Reports- ECFE surveying Regency Pointe residents with young chiidren to find out their interest and availability to attend Play Time. 5. Library - Readmobile at Lakeview Commons is highly successful. Readmobile staff are very pleased. The library is collecting donations of books to be set up in the Clubhouse for residents to check out. 6. Next Meeting Wednesday, August 6, 1997 Regency Pointe Apartments Overlook Lounge 1:30 p.m. Submitted by Joyce Heyer �^ Z6 Plymouth Subcommittee on Community Policing Minutes of Meeting June 25, 1997 6. 00 p.m. Present at the meeting were Councilmembers Christian Preus, Tim Bildsoe and Saundra Spigner, City Manager Dwight Johnson, Citizen Kim Koehnen, Chief Craig Gerdes, Sgt. Mike Goldstein, and recording secretary, Public Safety Tech Svcs Supervisor Barb Cox. Guests from the Fire Department present were Deputy Fire Chief Dave Burke, Firefighter Gretchen Hurr, and Firefighter Greg Leuer. Chair Christian Preus called the meeting to order at 6:10 p.m. The first item on the agenda was approval of the minutes from the May 21, 1997 meeting: Koehnen moved to approve the minutes; Gerdes seconded the motion. There was no discussion. Spigner abstained, all other members voted in favor, motion passed. The next item on the agenda was the report on staffing issues from the Fire Department. The three members of the Fire Department present were introduced to the subcommittee. Firefighter Hurr gave a brief history of the department's review of staffing issues. For those members not on the subcommittee in 1996, she distributed copies of part 1 of the department's report. She noted at that time they were directed to proceed with research on some of the items discussed. They are back at this meeting to present part 2 of their report and update the subcommittee. Deputy Chief Burke noted that there were five areas to be explored to increase fire response outlined in the part 1 report. Those items are: 1. Technological advancements 2. Use of City workers to increase daytime response 3. Duty crew 4. Increase the number of paid staff 5. Increase the number of volunteer personnel Burke then gave a brief update on the progress with these items. Under #1, technological advancements, this would be the traffic signal preemption system. He stated there are a number of intersections within the City that are equipped with this system. The City has authorized funds and the Public Safety Department is currently in the process of purchasing emitters for the use of both fire and police department personnel. Bildsoe asked what the plans were for getting the signals at all intersections completed. Gerdes noted that the State is currently finishing a project to upgrade all signals on Hwy 55 and they have a policy that all new signals are equipped when installed. He noted the County has a similar policy for new signals and this was done as part of the Co Rd 9 project. He stated he has met with Public Works Director Fred Moore and the City is also committed to including this on all new intersections. He stated for the other existing intersections, the police and fire have made a priority list of intersections that would be the most benefit to us and we hope to begin the transition process of them. Burke noted the #2 item from the list was use of city workers. He stated they have met with the City Attorney and Human Resource Manager on this issue and they are very limited under Federal Labor Laws pertaining to overtime. He stated they have a proposal to allow the two current fire inspectors to respond during the day and they are working with city staff to change our internal policy to allow this. Next is the duty crew option. Burke noted the department developed an internal committee to look at this option and Greg Leuer was present this evening to discuss this issue. He noted Leuer served as chairman of the internal committee. Leuer noted the group had looked at several options and worked with all members of the department to come up with a workable proposal. He stated they are proposing the crew work shifts between 12:00 noon and 6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and man one stations during that time. He stated the benefits would include a decrease in the response time on emergency runs, an increase in public education activities, time availability to work on pre -plans throughout the city, and training time. Burke noted #4 on the list was to increase the number of paid staff members on the department. He stated they currently have one, the Fire Chief. He stated part of their proposal on the duty crew is to add one additional full-time Fire position. He stated the position will have responsibility over managing the duty crew, as well as taking some of the administrative responsibilities of the Deputy Fire Chief and other officers. The last item on the list, #5, is to increase the number of volunteer fire personnel. He this has been a continuing problem for the department as shown by the fact that we currently do not have as many as we are authorized. Burke then asked if anyone had any questions on these items. Johnson asked if we had tapped resources within the city for the daytime response question. For instance, whether we had contacted businesses to see if they would allow their workers to help fight daytime fires within the City. Burke noted this has not been done for some time, but they have had problems with employers not wanting their personnel to leave during the day as that creates other staffing problems for them. 2 r Preus asked if there is any means of encouraging employers within the city to help. The possibility of a tax break or utility break for employers was brought up. Bildsoe noted that we could try to get a bigger pool so that not everyone must respond; for example their employees would only need to respond on Thursdays or only two of their employees would respond at any one time. Gerdes noted that the problem for the employees is that it also impacts on their personal time for training and other duties they must pull and often individuals do not want to commit to this. Hurr noted that the average firefighter's commitment in 1995 was 284 hours. Koehnen stated she would like to have this issue go further and increase the citizen input. She noted she has spoken with a firefighter and has some concerns with the duty crew proposal. She stated she believed we could loose some of our existing volunteers who do not like this proposal. She also stated she understood that if scheduled for specific times in the duty crew the individuals would be on call three times more than currently. Leuer responded that initially they had looked at a 12 hour day for the duty crew to cover, but that was cut back to 6 hours because their computations showed that the 12 hour coverage would result in being on call three times more than now with their current staff and they did not believe this was reasonable. He stated there is credit toward the minimum percentage of calls a firefighter must make which would be a benefit to those involved. He also stated there are some who do not like the proposal, but others who may look more favorably on getting involved if they knew they only needed to do one six -hour shift a week and not be on call all the time. Johnson noted that the entire membership of the department was surveyed on this issue. Koehnen stated there is a trade off, but she believes there is concern over the loss in flexibility. Gerdes asked if there was a requirement to participate in the duty crew. Burke noted that the way the program is developed, all who have selected daytime availability times must participate. He also noted that there is a trade off in scheduling of family events as you are not on call. Hurr stated that many felt this was an advantage that you could schedule your time in two three- hour or one six -hour block and then have more personal flexibility the rest of the week. Leuer also noted that if we are able to increase the number of firefighters on the department with daytime flexibility, that will ease the number of hours required to be committed each week. Koehnen noted that with all she knows currently, if she had to pick today she would go for paying for a full-time department. Preus asked what action we need to take with this report at this time and whether it needs to go to the Council for approval. Johnson noted that option 1, (technological advancements) had already been dealt with by the Council allocating funds and further requests have been included in 1998 budget requests. Option 2, use of city employees is an administrative internal policy we are proceeding with. 3 Option 3, duty crew management could do as no additional funds are required, but he would want City Council support. Option 4, additional full-time staff is a budget issue which has already been submitted for consideration in the 1998 budget request. Option #5, to increase the number of volunteers is a problem as we currently only have about 60 firefighters and are authorized 71. Bildsoe asked what the $26,000 in the traffic signal preemption request authorized in 1997 included. Burke noted that we are currently in the process of purchasing several emitters for both the fire and police departments. Bildsoe asked if we could do all the signals in the City at one time, what that would be the cost. Burke stated he believed it could be two million or more. Gerdes stated he thought it may be in the half million dollar range. Bildsoe asked what the cost is per signal. Gerdes stated that the cost varies depending on the age and configuration of the signal. He stated that is why we are prioritizing the intersections that would be the most benefit. He stated that intersection of Co Rd 9 and Larch is the number one priority as it is a major feeder intersection out of a fire station. Gerdes noted that we are purchasing 20 emitters at $795 each to be split 10 for fire and 10 for police. We have also requested to purchase additional ones in the 1998 budget request. Preus asked if we need to make a recommendation to the Council from this report. Gerdes recommended that the subcommittee accept the report and forward copies to the Council for their review and information. Koehnen stated she would support that recommendation. Bildsoe made a motion to accept the report from fire department staff and direct staff to include cost items in the budget request and forward copies of the report to the City Council. Spigner seconded the motion. Preus asked if there was any further discussion on this item. Goldstein stated he would like to express the importance of the duty crew. He noted other departments have something similar and it is a very valuable program. Bildsoe noted he would also encourage staff to pursue some type of incentive with local business employers to aid daytime response. Preus noted he would like to thank the fire department for a good realistic plan. He stated the Public Safety Department is good at taking economic realities and financial consequences into account when making recommendations on programs. Koehnen asked the fire department to keep this subcommittee updated on further developments. Preus called for a vote on the motion; all voted in favor, motion passed. Gerdes noted that at the last meeting with the Fire Department there was a request made for the training schedule as some members wanted to attend some sessions. A copy of the training schedule was attached to the minutes for review. The subcommittee members thanked the fire department for their presentation and the fire department members left the meeting. 4 The next item on the agenda was the graffiti ordinance. Gerdes noted this item was previously before the subcommittee as the result of an issue with "Can -Do Recycling" which the Council is aware of. He noted at that time the subcommittee was concerned about a possible double victimization of the property owner when they had to pay for the clean-up as well. The issue was referred to the internal police community policing committee for review and recommendations. As the issue is not a significant problem within the city, we had not addressed it again. Goldstein noted that the police community policing committee had put the issue on the back burner. They addressed it when the issue had been brought forward again from Saundra Spigner through the Chief. He noted the committee thought the ordinance was a good idea; but they had three areas of concern. First, if it was commercial property, they thought the property owner should be responsible for the cost of cleanup. Second, if it was private property, the private resources of the owner should be evaluated and City should be able to help with the labor costs at least. Last, if the City was helping with labor, there should be a waiver signed by the property owner and we could have the labor provided by a program such as the PAYS program or the Hennepin County minimum security details if reasonable. Preus asked if we have instances of gang graffiti. Goldstein noted we have had gang -like graffiti but believe it is most likely kids emulating and replicating what they have seen. Gerdes stated we have had an incident of satanic graffiti in a city park and that turned out to be not an organized satanic group, but something they had seen. Spigner stated her concerns were keeping control over the upkeep of the city and nothing to do with bias or gang crime. She stated from her perception she saw a sign saying "I LUV YOU DICK" on Lancaster Apartments for over 3 weeks that it was not dealt with and this is graffiti. Her concerns are that this type of problem is cleaned up quickly and dealt with in a timely fashion. Preus asked what the committee's preference on this issue was. Koehnen asked if the three recommendations from the police committee would be added as she thought they were good. Goldstein added the committee would also like to know who would enforce the ordinance, the police or housing. He noted officers on the committee were not in favor of looking for these problems, but would enforce cleanup compliance. Koehnen stated she really liked the evaluation of financial means component as she has concerns about elderly residents. Johnson asked if coverage would be included in most insurance policies for this type of cleanup. Gerdes noted we could check this out. Koehnen asked Goldstein why the officers were concerned about who would enforce. Goldstein explained they believed the inspection component was more appropriate for housing. Spigner asked if there was anything that would make the officers more comfortable with this. Goldstein stated he did not believe it is a comfort issue, but more an E appropriate issue. Preus noted there is a difference in the nature of enforcement. Goldstein noted the police and housing departments are currently working together to enforce the numbering on houses requirement and a cooperative effort like that would work for this issue also. Bildsoe stated he also has experience on this and the problems are identified by Reserves, patrol officers or inspectors and then letters are sent and this has worked well. He also noted if the graffiti is in a public area the city would take care of it. At this point Kim Koehnen left the meeting. Spigner stated it is her belief that with this kind of law it is more appropriate for the police to enforce rather than tie up attorneys and staff. She stated she believes the public has more respect for officers than housing inspectors. Johnson stated he believed we are getting ahead of ourselves. He stated we need to decide what we should do with the ordinance and staff can work out enforcement details and make a recommendation. Gerdes agreed staff would work out details of enforcement, but asked if we would bring the recommendation back to this group, or send to the Council. Goldstein stated he thought everyone here was in support of the ordinance. Spigner made a motion to have staff add the recommendations from the police committee to the ordinance, work out the details of enforcement and bring it back to the subcommittee. Preus seconded the motion. All in favor, motion passed. The next item on the agenda was the issue of parking on 36" Avenue near Zanzibar. This item was referred to the subcommittee by the Council and involves a request made to the Council in conjunction with a project. The request was to post 36" Avenue from Vicksburg lane to Rockford Road with signs stating "NO PARKING 2 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. Gerdes recommended the subcommittee table this item from consideration at time and wait for the development as this is not an issue at this time and is dependent on the development. There was consensus from the group in discussion this was a good idea. Gerdes moved this issue be tabled until or unless it becomes an issue again with the development. Bildsoe seconded the motion. All in favor, motion passed. The next agenda item was discussion of the City's animal ordinance and issues surrounding its revision. Spigner noted that this is an important item to her and she has some issues. Gerdes noted this will be a controversial issue no matter what is done. We are looking for direction from the subcommittee on how to proceed, for example with public meetings. Spigner stated she believes it is good to discuss the issues at this level. She stated one of her concerns is the fact that we limit residents to two dogs, but they can T have as many cats as they like and the cats can do whatever. She stated she would like to see something done with the ordinance and believes it is time to put the issues on the table. Bildsoe asked if there is really any problem with cats within the city. Goldstein and Cox both related that we do have many cat complaints on a regular basis. Gerdes stated we need at least a direction from the subcommittee on how to proceed. Johnson noted first we need to decide if we want to move forward. Gerdes agreed the first question is if and then how. He noted one of the ways to proceed is to divide into separate issues. Johnson stated the key questions the subcommittee needs to decide are if, what, and how. Spigner noted she is concerned and would like to see us deal with the number of dogs issue right away, then deal with cats. Gerdes noted that historically the Council has taken a strong stand on the limit of two dogs. We could then leave the basic ordinance at two and allow a permit for three or more. Spigner noted she has a problem with this and believes the minimum allowed without a permit should be three. Gerdes noted we currently have several locations where families have more than two dogs and we have notified them with agreement from the City Attorney, that we will not be enforcing the number at this time as it is under review. He noted that it is important to move this issue forward to deal with these situations. Bildsoe asked if these cases are ones where the multiple dogs are creating a nuisance that we need to deal with right away. Gerdes explained that as we have looked at these situations, we found this is usually not the case. In most of the cases there is some other concern the neighbors are feuding over and they have turned in the neighbor with more than two dogs as part of the feud. In one of the cases, the issue is one of where one neighbor is parking a vehicle and has escalated. We are working with these neighbors currently and attempting to get them into mediation. Spigner stated this is an issue for her as she does not want anyone telling her she cannot have three dogs. Bildsoe stated he is in favor of a permit for three. Johnson stated from the discussion it appears the majority believe we should consider some changes to the ordinance. The big question is how; sequentially or all at once. He stated he favors the sequential option. Spigner stated the direction she would like to see is the ordinance divided up fair and equally across the board for both cats and dogs. Bildsoe he has one of each and there is a huge difference as far as care and feeding between cats and dogs. Spigner stated she believes this is a individual basis as some people cannot take care of one pet of any kind. 7 7- Z6 r Preus asked the group what is the recommendation of where we go from here. Do we consider the question of dogs first? Bildsoe asked if we could get a list of the options. Spigner agreed this is step one in the process of the entire ordinance. Preus noted for practical reasons we may want to separate the issues, but philosophically it would be easier to handle all at once. He agreed as previously stated that it is not necessarily the number of dogs that is the problem, it is the owner. Gerdes noted that is the point of the permit as we would have a chance to review the care of the animals. Spigner agreed with the concept of the permit, but again stated she believes it should be three dogs without a permit. Preus stated it appears we all agree there should be a permit process, but need to determine at what number. Johnson noted it will be hard to go backward. Goldstein noted we have an individual who is extremely ill and has the dogs for comfort. If we allowed them to have more dogs, it would be hard to later tell them they had to get rid of one. Spigner stated if we go ahead and go for a permit after two dogs, it should automatically include cats and deal with the number issue on both right away. Johnson clarified whether Spigner was saying she would like to be two dogs and two cats and more of either would require a permit, then we go on to other regulations. Spigner answered that was what she stated. Further she stated she thought the last thing we need to address is licensing of cats. She stated she believes this is important as we have more leverage with the license on the record. Johnson noted that Gerdes had said something about technological advancements to aid in licensing and identifying cats if they could not wear a collar. Gerdes stated there have been advancements in the "chip" which is implanted in the animal and identifies the owner and this is what he was referring to. He further stated we have more background information regarding animals and could provide a lot more background to members before that meeting. He stated that then he would suggest we really get out the information to the public for input and come back to the committee one more time. Spigner noted that she would like to see the public meetings be by Ward as the demographics for each Ward are different. Johnson suggested we could include this topic in the regular Ward meetings which are scheduled for this fall. There was discussion whether that would be timely enough to deal with the issue. Gerdes noted that we would be discussing the issue one more time at the next subcommittee meeting which would be August and we had a proposed timeline to have the ordinance to Council in October. He stated the regular Ward meetings would fall in with this schedule. The next item on the agenda was the Mission Statement. Gerdes gave the background that the draft was made in March and then the subcommittee members met with representatives of both the police and fire departments. We were then to P come back and review the document one last time before making our recommendations to the Council. Preus asked if any changes were made to the document from the discussions with the police and fire department groups. Gerdes replied there were none and from discussions there was general acceptance from the groups. All were in favor of changing the name to the Subcommittee on Public Safety and adding a fire representative to the group. Preus stated he agreed with the Chief's comments and stated further we need more citizen representation on the subcommittee. He noted Kim Koehnen has been gracious to continue to assist us while serving on the Planning Commission, but he thought we need more citizen involvement. Bildsoe noted as stated earlier, all the Wards of the City are different and he would like to see one representative from each Ward. Gerdes stated this would be a balanced make-up of four citizens, four staff members and then the City Council representatives. Johnson stated it does not matter to him whether he is a voting member or not. Preus stated he thought all members should be voting members. Goldstein asked when we would bring the new members on. Preus answered that as soon as the recommendation is approved by Council we would begin the process. Goldstein noted we would need to schedule a special meeting to get them up to speed. Gerdes stated we now have the structure of the subcommittee set up, so that will help, but agreed we will need to educate the new members. Preus agreed we have the structure in place and subcommittee working well and he believes future meetings will be similar to today's meeting. Johnson stated he would like to see the citizens added sooner rather than later. He added he would suggest perhaps two citizen representatives rather than four, simply because he is concerned the group may get too large. Preus states'he shares the concern about the group getting too large, but believed four with one from each Ward is the right number. He then asked how the rest of the group felt about who should vote. Spigner stated she agreed all members should vote, as did Bildsoe. Bildsoe stated he thought more citizens are a benefit as they have no preconceived notions so you get pure opinions on issues. Goldstein asked if we have a current list of people to consider. Spigner stated yes, that when the Council did the process in December for people interested in committees and commissions, they asked all -if they would be interested in this subcommittee. They do have a list of those who said they were. Spigner stated these individuals should be considered and at least interviewed for the openings. Bildsoe stated we should also put it out to solicit more names. Spigner asked if we decided to select them by Ward. Goldstein stated that sounds like a good idea, but would the committee be too big. He stated he didn't think so. 0 Preus agreed that it is a good idea to have one from each Ward and the size is manageable. Bildsoe agreed and stated he would like to have four. He then asked what staff needs to be directed to put out the information to solicit interested citizens. Preus stated we first need to make our recommendation to the Council and have it approved. In that we will recommend staff be directed to advertise for one representative from each Ward. It was the consensus of the subcommittee to put the recommendations on the upcoming Council meeting consent agenda and that the subcommittee members will conduct interviews, make selections, and recommendations to the Council who then appoints. The next meeting of the subcommittee was set for Thursday, August 71h at 6:00 p.m. The group also stated they need to get a regular meeting date for each month set to be easier on the citizens. Gerdes made a motion to adjourn, Spigner seconded the motion. All in favor, motion passed. 10 July 25, 1997 CITY OF PLYPIOUTR Ernest and Gerda Erickson 2520 West Medicine Lake Drive Plymouth, MN 55441 Dear Mr. and Mrs. Erickson: This letter is to confirm that you have made application for the City of Plymouth's Housing Rehabilitation Loan program. It appears from the information you have provided that you will be eligible for assistance under that program. I will schedule Glenn McL.earen of the City's Building Inspection Department to provide a Scope of Improvements outlining the work to be done. In the meantime, please secure at least two written work proposals from contractors stating the cost and work to rebuild your north foundation wall and to make any other structural repairs necessary. Assistant City Building Official Don Munson and I inspected the damage to your house on Thursday, July 24'b, and were greatly impressed with your pioneer spirit and determination to stay in your home. You both are to be commended for your marvelous attitude and hospitality even in the farce of such trying chzumstances. During the weeks of July 281b through August 8`h, I will be on vacation. While I am away you may contact either Ed Goldsmith, HRA Supervisor, at 509-5412 or Barb Peterson at 509-5411 regarding any specific questions you may have on this matter. At any other time, you may call me at 509-5413. Sincerely, Milt Dale Housing Specialist cc Mayor Joy Tierney" HRA Supervisor Ed Goldsmith Assistant Building Official Don Munson bra\comes\5056\erkkson PLYMOUTH A Beau 4u1!P&ce To Live 3400 PLYMOUTH BOULEVARD - PLYMOUTH, MINNESOTA 55447-1482 • TELEPHONE (612) 509-5000 August 1, 1997 CITY C F qb PUMOUTR Ernest and Gerda Erickson 2520 West Medicine Lake Drive Plymouth, MN 55441 Dear Mr. and Mrs. Erickson: I am responding to your July 23 letter to Mayor Tierney on the wall collapse of your home. It was very unfortunate that this took place, but it is very fortunate that no one was injured. It appears that you have taken the appropriate temporary measures until a decision can be made on the permanent repairs. Councilmember Saundra Spigner and I met with Ernest on July 31, to review your concern. There is a drainage problem between you and your neighbor to the north which must be corrected as part of any reconstruction of the basement wall. The City has constructed a curb along West Medicine Lake Drive in order that water from the street does not flow into your properties. The drainage problem, which was likely the cause of the wall collapse, is from the channeling of water between yours and the neighbor's property immediately along your foundation wall. The professional advice that you get on reconstructing the wall should address how to correct the drainage. You are also working with Milt Dale, in the City Housing Department, on any possible funding programs for the repair of the basement wall. You should continue to work with Milt Dale and the City Housing Department on this issue. Sincerely, Fred G. Moore, P.E. Director of Public Works enclosur cc: vathy Lueckert, Assistant City Manager (C/R 97-57) Anne Hurlbert, Director of Community Development \\Ply nt\ntdiskl\PW\En`ineeritt=\GENERAL\LTMFRED\Erickm.dw PLYMOUTH ;I Beuutiful�Pluce l'o Live 3400 PLYMOUTH BOULEVARD - PLYMOUTH, MINNESOTA 55447-1482 - TELEPHONE (612) 509-5000 �A) CGLIettS "� lar , FiQlA ni 23, lgg7 CITY OF PLYMOUTR July 29, 1997 Jay P. Nelson Plymouth Housing Alliance P.O. Box 41-202 Plymouth, MN 55441 Dear Jay: We have looked into the history of the property along County Road 61 that you are asking the City to consider donating to the Plymouth Housing Alliance. The first step in determining whether such a donation might be possible would be to place your request on a City Council agenda. Staff would present all the relevant background in a report to the Council as part of their consideration. Given current projects underway, I would estimate that the earliest we could schedule this matter for Council consideration would be September 17, 1997. Planning Supervisor Barbara Senness will be preparing the information for the City Council. You may contact her at 509-5452. If you have any further questions about this matter, please contact me at 509-5401. Sincerely, Anne W. Hurlburt, AICP Community Development Director cc: Kathy Lueckert, Assistant City Manager PLYMOUTH A BeautifulPface To Live 3400 PLYMOUTH BOULEVARD • PLYMOUTH, MINNESOTA 55447-1482 • TELEPHONE (612) 509-5000 July 17, 1997 Plymouth City Council Plymouth City Hall 3400 Plymouth Boulevard Plymouth, MN. 55447 Dear City Council Member; I am enclosing a proposed plan for a piece of property along County Road 61 just north of Sunset Trail and south of Carlson Parkway. The Plymouth Housing Alliance and The Carlson Companies are working together to develop affordable housing on this site. The Carlson Companies expressed a willingness to donate the south end of this land to the PHA. The City of Plymouth owns the south most triangle of the site. If Plymouth could donate this unused and otherwise unusable piece of land, we could inventory two more sites for affordable• housing. We have met with Ann Hurlbert, John Rask, and the city engineering department. The property is only accessible from County Road 61. We can bring utilities to the south end of the site from Sunset. A narrow strip of land is available for this purpose. That strip is along the east side of County Road 61. If the City of Plymouth can donate this land, the PHA can provide affordable housing for two more families in need. Please feel free to contact me at 373-4628 w or 478-2325 h. Sincerely; J y N lson, President of the Plymouth Housing Alliance 1 /pha.7 P.O. BOX 41-202, PLYMOUTH, MN. 55441 -J— I — F— J-�- - - - — 36 August 1, 1997 Ms. Pamela Parker 1870 Juneau Lane North Plymouth, MN 55447 CITY)F PUNOUTR SUBJECT: CIMARRON EAST STREET RECONSTRUCTION CITY PROJECT NO. 7002 Dear Ms. Parker: As you are aware, the City Council has approved the acceptance of the private streets in the Cimarron East development and construction has begun on the project. After a public hearing on July 9, 1997, the City Council adopted the assessment for this project. You had submitted a letter dated May 20, 1997, which was made a part of the hearing when the City Council considered this matter. Of the 184 property owners in this addition, yours was the only objection that the City Council received. The City Council does appreciate and consider all input from citizens on a project. You had two questions in your letter. A response to those questions is as follows: 1. How did the City arrive at the 70%/30% cost sharing? The reconstruction of private streets is financed through both property taxes and direct special assessments to the benefited properties. The general concept of the program is that 70 percent of the cost to reconstruct the private streets is financed through special assessments and 30 percent through property taxes. A committee of the City Council was established in 1995 to consider whether the City should accept private streets into the City's public street system. When some developments were approved by the City, they used private streets to receive advantages regarding right-of-way width, setback of buildings, and construction standards. If there had been public streets when the development was approved, there would have been different standards which would have been met. The 7050 percent cost sharing established as part of accepting private streets took into consideration original standards of development and that the properties with private streets would have been paying into the street reconstruction fund N:\PVAEngineerin`%PROJECPS\7002\LEMPS\Parker.doc PLYMOUTH :1 Beau tijuCPlace'h Live 3400 PLYNIOUTH BOULEVARD • PLYMOUTH, MINNESOTA 55447-1482 • TELEPHONE (612) 509-5000 Ms. Pamela Parker Page 2 since it was established in 1988. A major consideration was that the streets should be brought to a public street standard by the current owners before the City accepted them and assumed the maintenance responsibility. 2. Will homeowner's property taxes go up after the road reconstruction? The amount of the special assessments will be included as part of your property taxes along with the interest, and will be paid over a five year period. You do have the option of paying the amount of assessment to the City at this time, and not accruing any interest. You previously received a letter outlining your options on paying the special assessment. As a result of the street reconstruction projects, the City will not re -value your property which determines the amount of property taxes you pay. The City Assessor is required to consider values of all properties within the City on an annual basis. In townhome areas such as yours where there are a large number of similar type units, one of the main factors in determining the fair market value of the properties is the actual selling price of units throughout the year. This is a major factor which the City Assessor uses in determining the market value of the properties. If, as a result of street reconstruction or other improvements by your association, the market value of the properties increase as demonstrated by actual sales, this will be reflected by the City Assessor. The overwhelming majority in your area submitted petitions favoring the reconstruction of the streets and existing private streets becoming public streets as part of the city's street system. This is the first development in the city for where this option has been chosen by the property owners. As the streets are reconstructed, if you have any concern, please do not hesitate to contact the City Engineering Department. You are receiving news letter updates from both the City and your property association. Sincerely, Fred G. Moore, P.E. Director of Public Works cc: Kathy Lueckert, Assistant City Manager (C/R 97-48) G:\PW\Engincering\PROJtM\7002\LMERS\Parker.doc May 20, 1997 Mayor Joy Tierney City of Plymouth 3400 Plymouth Blvd. Plymouth, MN 55447 3 4 �- S �At of 6 RE: Cimarron East Townhome Development Takeover of Private Streets Dear Mayor Tierney, I was not able to attend the hearing meeting which was held on May 7, 1997 for the proposed takeover of Cimarron East's private streets by the city of Plymouth. Therefore, I would like to take a few lines to express my concerns with regard to I'lis project. Neither during the 1996 or 1997 Annual Homeowners meeting or during the informational meeting held on April 21, 1997 by the City of Plymouth were my questions answered. The reply I received was I do not know. How did the city officials arrive at the final formula for the private street owners paying 70% and the city paying 30% for the cost of first time partial reconstruction and mill/overlay projects? Will homeowners property taxes go up after the road reconstruction project is completed? I am not talking about the 5 or 7 year assessment for the cost of the ^/ork. "°y point of view is as follows: If property taxes will not be impacted, why would homeowners who's homes are on private streets be expected to pay for 70% of L! e initial cost of repairs. This would mean homeowners on private streets have been paying taxes at the same rate as any other Plymouth resident who happens to live on a public street, but not having been receiving any benefit for road repair and snow removal unlike the other residents. Therefore the city should be paying '.he higher percentage and not the homeowner who happens to live on a private street. If City Council's concern was and is that every private street in Plymouth would want to become public and the city may have not been kept up with the costs. Than why was a road condition rating system not put into place which would reflect the amount of work required to bring streets up to city code vs. the actual cost. I.E. Complete reconstruction Partial reconstruction Mill/overlay Private Party Pays Ci Pays 70% 30% 50% 50% 30% 70% T 6� Either of the above plans seem fair and more reasonable than a cut and dry 70/30 split to no explanation for the arrangement. From my point of view, the only re•-ason the City would have adopted a 70130% initial rating system was that you Gid not think any association would be stupid enough to accept the offer and pay the outrageous price. The fact of the matter is that many associations will probably agree to pay the outrageous price, but only because the city is a large volume buyer of road repair services and can still get a lower price and faster service. Unfortunately, what it shows me is once again the indifference all forms of government seem have to with regard to the cost of life for the common working individual, let alone the r,;any seniors on fixed incomes and pines collar works earning a lower wage, but still trying to own a modest -home. You should all me ashamed of yourself. I did riot want `^Wu or other Council members to believe everyone agrees with the concept of Cimarron's private street becoming public at such an unreasonable cost. I believe Plymouth City Council Members all know you are taking advantage of the situation that many townhome developments have been put into by land developers. The Plymouth Council members and the Cimarron Board members were both looking for an easy out or to save face at the expense of homeowners put into a bad situation. If this weren't so new laws governing the way townhome associates are developed, would not have been enacted. I have said my peace. Thank you for taking the time to read and listen to a fellow Plymouth resident, taxpayer and active voter. Respectfully, pa4lx A pajal Pamela Parker 1870 Juneau Lane North Plymouth, MN 55447 473-3986 CC. Cimarron East Board August 1, 1997 Mr. Dwight S. Harvey General Manager LAUKKA DEVELOPMENT COMPANY 3300 Edinborough way #201 Edina, MN 55435 SUBJECT: PARKERS LAKE NORTH 3RD ADDITION Dear Mr. Harvey: I am responding to your letter of June 13, 1997, and the statement in that letter from you that four homeowners in the Sun Court (Parkers Lake North 3`d Addition) recently called City offices to complain about the condition of the streets in their part of town. You got the understanding from these four homeowners that City employees blame the condition of the streets on Laukka Development. I have inquired of all employees within Engineering and the Public Works Maintenance Departments of the City on any questions or comments they received on the streets in this area. No one can recall receiving any inquiries or making comments. There is no correspondence from any citizens. Of course, a comment could have been made directly by a maintenance worker to a property owner at the site of which we would have no knowledge. If this did occur and there was any misunderstanding, please accept my apology. I am aware of only two maintenance problems within this area. They are, placement of snow from private properties in the street right-of-way, and some slight curb settlements as a result of the sewer and water services installed to the properties. As you are aware, this development was a new and innovative type proposed by Laukka and Associates to the City. As part of the City approval, there was a concern because of our long winter conditions on adequate space for snow removal from the private driveways and the public streets. For this reason, a condition was entered into between the City and Laukka Development. This condition stated that no snow from the private driveways was to be placed on the public street right-of-way or cul-de-sac islands. Because of the large amount of snow that the City received last snow season, this was a problem throughout the year. Both the City, in removing snow from the public streets, and the contractor working for the homeowner's association on private driveways had difficulty in finding a place to store the snow. Toward the end of the year, a great deal of snow had to be stored in the cul-de-sac islands and actually into the street within this N:%P W%Engineerin`%GENERAL%LTRS%FREDUm vey.doe PLYMOUTH A Beautifu(Place'To Live 3400 PLYMOUTH BOULEVARD • PLYMOUTH, MINNESOTA 55447-1482 • TELEPHONE (612) 509-5000 Mr. Dwight S. Harvey Page 2 area. If you are not directly familiar with this requirement, I am attaching a copy of a page from the development contract between the City and Laukka Development. This item is numbered 14.6. The only other issue that we are aware of is some minor curb settlements within the area. These curb settlements are where the sanitary sewer and water services were installed by the contractor from the public sewer and water in the center of the street into each lot. The City does require the contractor to provide a maintenance bond and make any corrections within two years of the construction of the utilities. These curb settlements did not appear until the third year after construction. Through the City's street maintenance program, a curb settlement which is posing a hazard will be corrected. The City does not have the funding to address curb settlements which only are objectionable from an aesthetic point of view. If you have any other questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me. Sincerely, Fred G. Moore, P.E. Director of Public Works enclosu cc: athy Lueckert, Assistant City Manager (C/R 97-49) Bambi Anderson, President Parkers Lake Homeowner's Association 3300 Edinborough Way #202 Edina, MN 55435 G:\PW%Enginar ing\GENERAULTRS%FREDUwwy.doc 14. Other Requirements (continued) 14.4 Compliance with Policy Resolution No. 79-80 regarding minimum floor elevations for new structures in subdivisions adjacent to, or containing any open storm water drainage facility. 14.5 Yard setbacks shall be per approved final plans. 14.6 Appropriate legal documents regarding Homeowner Association documents, covenants and restrictions as approved by the City Attorney, shall be filed with the subsequent Final Plats. They shall include the prohibition from placing snow from private driveways onto -all public street right-of-way and cul-de-sac islands; and the responsibility to maintain the landscaping in the City right-of-way. 14.7 The Developer will provide copies of the approved overall PUD Plan and its conditions as an addendum to their purchase agreements. 14.8 Development shall comply with the approved Environmental Impact Statement and related permits. 14.9 No Building Permits shall be issued until a contract has been awarded for sewer and water and the MPCA Permit issued. 14.10 A development identification sign shall be placed on the property at the main entrance showing the approved PUD Plan and Staging prior to issuance of Building Permits. 14.11 Driveway access shall be limited to internal public roads and restricted from Vicksburg Lane, County Road 6 and 18th Avenue North. 14.12 Final Plat Mylars shall refer to MPUD No. 83-1. 14.13 Rezoning shall be finalized with filing of the Final Plat. 14.14 No Building Permits shall be issued until the Final Plat is filed and recorded with Hennepin County. No Building Permit shall be issued for the lots adjoining or abutting the trails or emergency road until the trails and emergency road are surfaced. 14.15 No future yard setback variances are granted or implied. 14.16 The Homeowner's Association shall be responsible for the maintenance and restoration, as needed, of the landscaping in the median divider/ islands, and in the boulevard and/or easement areas adjacent to the streets this accounts in part for the reduced yard setback dimensions due to the street width and- desired arrangements. 14.17 An emergency vehicle access with appropriate surface approved by the City Engineer shall be provided as an easement, to be duly dedicated, from the Southeast corner to County Road 6. 14.18 Landscape islands in cul-de-sacs shall be approved for Phase I only and approval of landscape islands for Phase II cul-de-sacs shall be withheld until it is determined that they are acceptable and appropriate, per experience with Phase I. -13- LAUKKA DEVELOPMENT COMPANY 3300 EDINBOROUGH WAY, #201 EDINA, MINNESOTA 55435 612 896-1971 FAX 896-1192 June 13, 1997 Mr. Fred Moore, Director of Public Works CITY OF PLYMOUTH 3400 Plymouth Boulevard Plymouth MN 55447-1482 Dear Mr. Moore: Four homeowners in the Suncourt at Parkers Lake (Parkers Lake North 3`d Addition) detached home neighborhood we developed in Plymouth have recently called the City offices to complain about the condition of the streets in their part of town. We understand from these homeowners that City employees have blamed the condition of these streets on L.A. Laukka Development. The homeowners have subsequently complained to the management company for the homeowners' association which has reported these comments to us.. I would like to remind you and your fellow City employees that all streets in the 3`d Addition of Parkers Lake were designed to the City's engineering standards under terms of specific Developer Agreements. The engineering firm involved was BRW, Inc., a firm thought to be weli respected in the industry, who provided on site inspections on the installation of all streets in the neighborhood. City employees also periodically made inspections throughout the process. Without digging back through the records, it is my recollection that the City accepted the contractors maintenance bond and assumed responsibility for on-going maintenance of those streets back in 1990 or 1991 after a final inspection by City employees. For a City employee to blame the problem on the developer some 8 or 7 years after the City accepted responsibility for these streets is a "cheap -shot" and not appreciated. We expect you to remind your employees that these streets belong to the City of Plymouth and that repairs, if any, are to be made by the City using tax collections paid by these homeowners. Lets stop shifting the "blame." Thank you for hearing me out. Sincerely, Dwight S. Harvey, General Manager Cc: LAL , Parkers Lake Homeowners Association, Mayor Tierney Mr. John J. Donovan III 18720 - 39`h Avenue North Plymouth, MN 55446 Dear Mr. Donovan: I am responding to, your letter and petition to the City dated June 25, 1997, concerning the wetlands in the Len Busch property along Medina Road. Shane Missaghi, City Water Resources Engineer, a representative of the Hennepin Conservation District, you and two other property owners, and I met at the site on June 30 to discuss the wetland issues in your letter. At the conclusion of that meeting, we stated that the City would do a thorough research of the wetlands in the Len Busch property. The research has taken longer than expected, but we wanted to do a thorough examination. Attached is a report from Shane Missaghi, Water Resources Engineer, on the wetlands which you stated in your letter had been filled. As stated in the memorandum from Mr. Missaghi, maps from over the past 25 years were used to conduct this research. For these wetlands, the State of Minnesota only adopted wetland protection in 1991. Any activities before 1991, were not regulated by the State of Minnesota or the City of Plymouth. After a thorough examination, we have determined that there have been no wetland filling violations since 1991. Any impacts prior to this date are exempt under the State Wetland Laws. During our previous meeting, we did clarify several points or statements in your letter. They were as follows: 1. Wetlands were partially filled in last year and a citation was issued to Len Busch, but no action has been taken to restore the lost wetlands. When a complaint was made about two years ago that Mr. Busch was filling the wetland, the City did a thorough examination at that time. No wetland filling was taking place and there was no citation issued to Mr. Busch. Any citations for wetland violations are not issued by the City of Plymouth, but are issued by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. 2. A new culvert has drained the level in the wetlands. For over ten years, a culvert has existed under an access driveway in the property. This culvert was extended a few years ago to widen the driving surface of this driveway. The elevation of the culvert was not changed from G:\PW \Enginaring\GENERAL\LTRS\FRED\Donovan.doc PLYMOUTH :1 Beautitirll'late lk? Live 3400 PLYMOUTH BOULEVARD • PLYMOUTH, MINNESOTA 55447-1482 • TELEPHONE (612) 509-5000 Mr. John J. Donovan III Page 2 that which has existed; and therefore, the culvert extension had no impact on the water level within the wetlands. 3. Sloppy operations, leaving trucks parked outside, and empty pallets in clear view of the subdivision behind the greenhouse. Joe Ryan, Building Official, was also in attendance at our meeting along with Pat, a representative from Len Busch. They will address the operation of the greenhouse facility and the regulations of the City of Plymouth. As defined by State law, this operation is classified as an agriculture use and therefore by State law they are exempt from many other urban regulations that can be established by the City. A few months ago, as part of a land division process, the large wetland in the northerly portion of the Busch property was delineated and markers set along its boundaries. This was not required of the wetland, which you are addressing along Medina Road, since it had no impact from the building of the single family home. To clarify future issues of whether there are any wetland impacts or filling, I am requesting Len Busch to delineate the wetland along Medina Road. There is no legal obligation for the property owner to do this, but if completed, there could be a clear understanding of the wetland boundaries. If you or other residents in the Bridlewood/Saddlewood Development along Medina Road have other concerns or comments, please do not hesitate to contact me. Sincerely, Fred G. Moore, P.E. Director of Public Works enclosur cc:',Kathy Lueckert, Assistant City Manager (C/R 97-50) Lisa and Rick Halverson 18710 - 39' Avenue North Plymouth, MN 55446 Gail and Roger Gangste 18600 - 39 h Avenue North Plymouth, MN 55446 Len Busch 4045 Highway 101 Plymouth, MN 55446 G:\PW \Engineering\GENERAL\LTRS\FRED\Donovan.doc DATE: July 23, 1997 TO: Fred Moore, Director of Public Works FROM: Shane Missag i, ater esources Engineer SUBJECT: WETLAND HISTORY AND ACTIVITY LEN BUSH PROPERTY Background: Wetland history - Len Bush property is located on Medina Road in southwest, northwest Section 18 . (Fig. 1 & 2). Reviewing the available aerial photography and the property tax records, the property seems to have been primarily used for farming. Various resources were used to establish an approximate area of the possible jurisdictional wetland areas on this property. These resources included: Department of Natural Resources Map of Protected Waters; U.S. Fish and Wildlife National Wetland Inventory; Hennepin County Soil Survey; Area Topographic maps; Plymouth 1994 Wetland Inventory; and Aerial photography of the past 25 years were reviewed It appears that up to 1979 and early 1980's the western half of the property was plowed and farmed with few structures and livestock/pasture covering the rest of the property. A narrow water drainage also traveled through the middle of the property, from west to east. This drainage area can also be seen on the 1964 contour map (Figure 8) which also corresponds well with the 1971 aerial photo (Fig. 3). No wetland basins appear to have been on the property, prior to the 1970's. In the later years, the extent of the on-site wetland basins was limited to the narrow water drainage, with two small basins appearing along the new fence line in the 1979 and '84 aerial photos (Fig. 3, 4, & 5). By 1985 (Fig. 6), these small wetland basins were connected with the adjacent wetland on the northeast corner of the property. The new basin also extends westerly surrounding the dwelling on the property. These additional wetland areas could have been created because of the new fence line, lack of livestock, and not being farmed. `dPly nt\ntdiskl\P%V\Engineering\WETLANDS.ME.70S'bushyropdoc SUBJECT: WETLAND HISTORY AND ACTIVITY LEN BUSH PROPERTY Page 2 The 1989 aerial photo (Fig. 7), shows the wetland area reduced by additional farming, grading, and removal of some of the buildings. By now, the basin begins to take the shape of its present area. The 1994 aerial photo (Fig. 2) depicts approximately the same area of wetland -with some additional wetland areas on the east side due to less farming and plowing. DNR Protected Water: No DNR protected waters or wetlands are identified on this site. National Wetland Inventory: The Federal NWI maps a small basin on the south border of the property east of the buildings as a seasonally flooded basin (PEMC) (Fig. 9). Plymouth 1994 Wetland Inventory: A large medium quality wetland is identified the City inventory (Fig. 9). The boundaries of the medium quality wetland basin identified in the inventory corresponds with that of the 1994 and 1989 aerial photos. Conclusion: After reviewing the past aerial photos (1971-1994) and the history, it appears that all or some of the current wetland basins are the results of: • enlargement of the original waterway • installation of fences in the early 1980's • change of farming practices. Minnesota Wetland Conservation Act (WCA): We were informed on June 17, 1997 and again on June 25, 1997 of possible WCA violations on the site. The alleged violations were referring to the street sweepings that the City was placing on the property. After site investigation, it was found that all street sweepings were placed outside the wetland boundaries and that no wetland violations were made. Some wetland areas were observed to have been previously filled or graded. However, considering the history of these wetlands, these impacts are considered exempt under exemptions for incidental wetlands or wetland de minimis. Please let me know if you have any questions. Enc. Figures 1-9 t�Ply nt%ntdiskl\PW\Engineering%WETLANOS\MEti10S%bushnmp.doc >i� ��. 4 /�,•�� `� ✓-iM4r'IM+aA'Pww'c• w rre►Ri�' a _ .i { '•.`�,"" a r. �,*,,;,; tt,,,. � . f � '� � _j , �� : �' � '�� [� tii e} � , y �+• � .� �„r �!:�.t:'� .� f` L.t\,�tt�'�t ,a ! /> .,'� �y sX`.-` { i?.pz •�� `[ � °%�,•' - t� � +f. ..�.. � ' { _ q°' .-\�ci'� r .r oaf �v •'ry4 .-.. 7• �J`��•... ,r �'gi r r * (n�' �:• gig{ ..,�' r r .i• .�yF •.t ,'.� riy.l. P' �r�i J> Yt � f � r l '"r y +xa }�.. `'h``.' PR- ♦'�.:.� a f. 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N This represents a corrolation of information and data from city, county, state and other sources that has W E "been field verified. Information should be field venfied and compared wth original source documents. S 0.1 0 0.1 Niles Wetland Classification 0 E H 0 L 0 M S U 06/27 '97 07:13 11):3M TAX 220-6E-02 FAX:612-736-7366 PAGE 2 John A Donovan /11 18720 30 Aveerve North Plymouth, Minnesota 35446 Mayor Joy Tierney City of Plymouth 3400 Plymouth Boulevard Plymouth, Minnesota 55447 Shane Missaghi City of Plymouth 3400 Plymouth Boulevard Plymoutli, Minnesota 55447 June 25, 1997 Dear Mayor and Mr. Missaghi: Please find enclosed a Petition concerning tho wetlands along Medina Road next to the Bridlewood subdivision. The Petition is signed by the residents who live near Medina Road and can see the wetlands area and the Lon Bush greenhouse operations. Note that signatures for the entire subdivision were not solicited but can be readily attainod if it is necessary to facilitate the process. The Petition represents our concern about the filling and draining of the statutorily protected wetlands next to our subdivision and, in addition, the unnecessarily sloppy operations of the Len Bush greenhouse operations. As tho Petition states, the wetlands were partially filled in last year and a citation was issued to Lon Bush but no actions have been taken to restore the lost wetlnnds as required by Minnesota Law and. we beliovo, the new Plymouth wetland protection law. In addition, a new culvert has drained the level of water in the wetlands. Finally, the Petition addressed the sloppy operations of leaving trucks parked outside, stacking mulch, and leaving empty pallets in clear view of the subdivision and not behind the greenhouses. All of the above mobilized the residents of Bridlewood to file this Petition. Remarkably, before the Petition was circulated for signature, Len Bush had the city street department dump roughly 20 dump truck loads of sand into the wetlands. This was caught on video tape by a rosident who also called the city's environmental group. This group stopped the dumping and had the sand removed from the wetlands. It now sits on the edge, eroding back into the wetlands. Having the city fill in the wetlands in light of the prior citation of one year earlier is probative of a complctc disregard of state law and city ordinances. The concern stated in the Petition about the possibility of future wetland violations turned out to be true. 06/27 '97 07:13 ID:3M TAX 220-6E-02 FAX:612-736-7366 PAGE 3 Accordingly, the Petition requests the following: • Wetlands restoration as required by Minnesota law and city ordinances; • Clear demarcation of the wetlands edges as it existod at the time the laws were enacted; • A binding contract that trucks not in use will not be parked in view of the subdivision; • A binding contract that pallets, unused sholving, piles of brush and other debris will not be stored in view of tho subdivision; • Any dirt resulting from wetlands restoration and the sand from the city will be used to begin an earthen hill between the greenhouses and the subdivision; • Trees will be planted botween the greenhouses and the subdivision on the south side of the wetlands where an earthen hill is not possible. Please contact the first three signatories of the Petition concerning any input and/or representation of the subdivision concerning the above objectives. It should be noted the residents are very concerned about this issue in light of the recent debacle of dumping and the apparent desire of Len Bush hoses to fill in the wetlands. Kindest Regards, John J. Donovan 111 06/27 '97 07:13 ID:3M TAX 220-6E-02 FAX:612-736-7366 PAGE PETITIONBYBRIDLEWOOD/SADDLEWDO RESIDENT'S CONCERNING LEN BUSH QPERA TIO1V Jane 23,1997 Persons signing this complaint assert the following: 1. We are concerned that the statutorily protected wetlands just on the north side of Medina road and across from Bridiewood/Saddlebrook have been compromised. This area was partially filled in on the west side on the north side along the access road during the construction of the greenhouses in the summer of 1996. The city issued a citation to Len Bush during construction but no actions have been taken to restore the lost wetlands. 2. It appears that culvert placed under the access road reduced the level of water in the wetlands. This drainage has reduced the amount and quality of vegetation, including the presence of cattails. We believe this is a violation of Minnesota law. In addition, this may compromise drainage capacity of rain water flows from Bridlewood through the wetlands and on to Elm Creek. ' 3. In light of the recent past, we are concerned about the possibility of future wetland violations of either further filling or draining. To determine what wetlands restoration is required by Minnesota law and protect against future violations, we hereby request a copy of city maps that show the site of the wetlands as it existed from some time ago and currently. 4. We did not have a reasonable chance to understand the nature of these greenhouse operations because the public meeting was held well after 11:00 PM at night. We presumed that, worst case, the operations would mirror existing operations. The new greenhouse operations do not mirror existing operations. • Trucks are accessing the greenhouses throughout the day and night, including semi - trucks with full size trailers and three yard front loaders past midnight. • Trucks not in use are parked outside 24 hours s day, creating an eyesore. This is inconsistent with representations of Len Bush representatives that parking would not occur with sight of the subdivision. • pallets, unused shelving, piles of brush and other debris is stored in clear view of the subdivision creating an additional eyesore. • No earthen hill exist between the greenhouses and the subdivision. • No trees have been planted between the greenhouses and the subdivision. We hope this petition will make the city and Len Bush aware of our concerns so that both Len Bush and the residents of Bridlewood can happily co -exist without unnecessarily compromising the ability of Len Bush to operate greenhouses (on rurally, not commercially, zoned property), Plymouth taxpayers to live in the Bridlewood subdivision without unnecessary visual or noise pollution, and, most importantly, ensure the protection of wetland and wildlife resources. 06.27 '07 07:14 ID:3VI TAX 220-6E-02 FAX:612-736-7366 PAGE THE FIRST THREE PEOPLE CAN BE CONTACTED BY THE CITY CONCERNING RESOLUTION THIS PETITIQN NAME STREET ADDRESS PHONE 6aI7 -0 114"' pit �, L1 -ate F7 g Q �J;r. 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