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Home My WebLink AboutCouncil Information Memorandum 08-03-2017CITY OF PLYMOUTH COUNCIL INFO MEMO August 3, 2017 EVENTS / MEETINGS Environmental Quality Committee Agenda for August 9th ................................................................ Page 2 Official City Meeting Calendars ......................................................................................................... Page 3 Tentative List of Agenda Items ........................................................................................................... Page 6 CORRESPONDENCE 2017 Cable Capital Grant .................................................................................................................... Page 9 Variance for 9920 South Shore Drive (2017064) ............................................................................. Page 10 REPORTS & OTHER ARTICLES OF INTEREST Tricked-Out Treehouse is the Ultimate Man Cave for Minnesota Magician, Star Tribune .............. Page 11 Minnesota Planners Begin to Envision Driverless Future, Star Tribune .......................................... Page 15 Plymouth Medical Building Fetches Nearly $12 Million in Sale, Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal .......................................................................................... Page 20 ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE AGENDA August 9, 2017 WHERE: MEDICINE LAKE ROOM Plymouth City Hall 3400 Plymouth Boulevard Plymouth, MN 55447 CONSENT AGENDA All items listed on the consent agenda* are considered to be routine by the Environmental Quality Committee and will be enacted by one motion. There will be no separate discussion of these items unless a Committee member, or citizen so requests, in which event the item will be removed from the consent agenda and considered in normal sequence on the agenda. 1.7:00 P.M. CALL TO ORDER 2.7:00 P.M. PUBLIC FORUM – Individuals may address the Committee about any item not contained in the regular agenda. A maximum of 15 minutes is allotted for the Forum. 3.7:20 P.M APPROVAL OF AGENDA - EQC members may add items to the agenda for discussion purposes or staff direction only. The EQC will not normally take official action on items added to the agenda. 4.7:25 P.M. CONSENT AGENDA* A.Approve July 12, 2017 EQC Meeting Minutes (Asche) 5.7:30 P.M. GENERAL BUSINESS A.Organics Recycling – Items included in service & eligible expenses (Asche) 6.REPORTS AND STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS A. 7.FUTURE MEETINGS: September 13, 2017 •Choose Adopt-a-Street Collection Day for October •Organics/Textile Recycling 8.8:00 P.M. ADJOURNMENT Page 2 SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT 1 2:30 PM - 4:30 PM Night to Unite Kickoff Event Plymouth Creek Center 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 6:00 PM SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING Budget and CIP Medicine Lake Room 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 6:00 PM SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING Budget and CIP (if needed) Medicine Lake Room 30 31 August 2017 3400 Plymouth Boulevard Plymouth, MN 55447 OFFICIAL CITY CALENDAR Phone: 763-509-5000 Fax: 763-509-5060 7:00 PM PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING Council Chambers 7:00 PM REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING Council Chambers 7:00 PM ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE (EQC) MEETING Medicine Lake Room 7:00 PM PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING Council Chambers 7:00 PM HOUSING AND REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY (HRA) MEETING Medicine Lake Room SUN TUES MON WED THUR FRI SAT 5:00 PM SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING Budget and CIP/Review Future Trail Projects Medicine Lake Room 7:00 PM REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING Council Chambers CHANGES ARE NOTED IN RED 5:30 PM - 8:30 PM Kids Fest Hilde Performance Center Page 3 SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 September 2017 3400 Plymouth Boulevard Plymouth, MN 55447 OFFICIAL CITY CALENDAR Phone: 763-509-5000 Fax: 763-509-5060 7:00 PM PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING Council Chambers 7:00 PM ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE (EQC) MEETING Medicine Lake Room 7:00 PM PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING Council Chambers SUN TUES MON WED THUR FRI SAT CHANGES ARE MADE IN RED LABOR DAY CITY OFFICES CLOSED 5:30 PM SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING Median/Beautification Projects Medicine Lake Room 7:00 PM REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING Council Chambers 5:30 PM SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING Consider minimum age to purchase tobacco Medicine Lake Room 7:00 PM REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING Council Chambers 10:30 AM - 3:00 PM Plymouth on Parade Celebration City Center Area 7:00 PM HOUSING AND REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY (HRA) MEETING Medicine Lake Room 7:00 PM PARK & REC ADVI- SORY COMMISSION (PRAC) MEETING Park Maintenance 4:00 PM – 8:00 PM Best of the West Local Business Sampler Hilde Performance Center Page 4 SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 26 27 28 29 October 2017 3400 Plymouth Boulevard Plymouth, MN 55447 OFFICIAL CITY CALENDAR Phone: 763-509-5000 Fax: 763-509-5060 7:00 PM PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING Council Chambers 5:30 PM SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING Small Cell Wireless Ordinance Medicine Lake Room 7:00 PM REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING Council Chambers 7:00 PM PARK & REC ADVISORY COMMISSION (PRAC) MEETING Plymouth Ice Center 7:00 PM HOUSING AND REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY (HRA) MEETING Medicine Lake Room SUN TUES MON WED THUR FRI SAT 7:00 PM REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING Council Chambers CHANGES ARE NOTED IN RED 7:00 PM PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING Council Chambers CHA 6:00 PM - 8:30 PM Halloween at the Creek Plymouth Creek Center 7:00 PM ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE (EQC) MEETING Medicine Lake Room 6:30 PM Volunteer Recognition Event Plymouth Creek Center Page 5 Note: Special Meeting topics have been set by Council; all other topics are tentative. EDA refers to the Economic Development Authority Tentative Schedule for City Council Agenda Items August 15, Special, 6:00 p.m. Medicine Lake Room •Budget and CIP August 22, Special, 5:00 p.m. Medicine Lake Room •Budget and CIP •Review future trail projects August 22, Regular, 7:00 p.m. Council Chambers •Recognize Senator Paul Anderson on receiving Legislator of Distinction by the League of Minnesota Cities •Public hearing on denial of Massage Therapy Certificate for Fengfang Tan at Lotus Therapeutic Spa, 3161 Fernbrook Lane North •Authorize Joint Powers Agreement with the City of Minneapolis regarding public safety support related to the 2018 Super Bowl August 29, Special, 6:00 p.m. Medicine Lake Room (if needed) •Budget and CIP September 12, Special, 5:30 p.m. Medicine Lake Room •Median/beautification projects September 12, Regular, 7:00 p.m. Council Chambers •Announce Plymouth on Parade on September 23 •Approve 2018 proposed budget, preliminary general property tax levy, HRA levy and budget hearing date •Consider Sexual Predator Ordinance September 26, Special, 5:30 p.m. Medicine Lake Room •Consider minimum age to purchase tobacco September 26, Regular, 7:00 p.m. Council Chambers October 10, Special, 5:30 p.m. Medicine Lake Room •Small Cell Wireless Ordinance October 10, Regular, 7:00 p.m. Council Chambers October 24, Regular, 7:00 p.m. Council Chambers November 14, Special, 5:30 p.m. Medicine Lake Room •Budget November 14, Regular, 7:00 p.m. Council Chambers Page 6 November 28, Regular, 7:00 p.m. Council Chambers December 12, Regular, 7:00 p.m. Council Chambers •Public hearing on 2018 budget, general property tax levy, HRA levy, and 2018-2022 Capital Improvement Program •Approve 2018 Target and Trap Shooting License renewal •Approve 2018 Amusement License renewals •Approve 2018 Tobacco License renewals Page 7 Budget Calendar 2018-2019 Biennial Budget Preparation & 5-yr Capital Improvement Plan Date Category Description April 17, 2017 Budget Departments receive budget instruction May 23 at 5:30 p.m. Budget Council Study Session – Financial Plan & Budget Goals April – June 2017 Budget Departments prepare budgets June 2, 2017 Budget Personnel changes submitted to HR June 12, 2017 Budget Budgets submitted to Finance June 26 – July 14, 2017 Budget Department meetings August 4 Budget Council receives budget materials for upcoming meeting August 15 at 6 p.m. Budget & CIP Council study session (Budget & CIP meeting #1) August 22 at 5:30 p.m. Budget & CIP Council Study Session (Budget & CIP meeting #2) Council Regular Session (Financial Overview & Audit Presentation) August 29 at 6 p.m. Budget & CIP Council Study Session (Budget meeting #3) (if needed) September 12, 2017 Budget Council adopts preliminary levies & budget (Budget meeting #4) October 4, 2017 CIP Planning Commission public hearing November 14 at 5:30 p.m. Budget Council Study Session (Budget meeting #5) (If needed) December 12, 2017 Budget & CIP Budget Public Hearing, CIP, Budget & Levy Adoption December 26, 2017 Budget Levy is certified with Hennepin County Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 HOME & GARDEN Tricked-out treehouse is the ultimate man cave for Minnesota magician July 29, 2017 - 5:25 PM Just beyond the front gates of Matt Dunn’s Plymouth estate, parked on an expansive stretch of lawn, is a hearse. That’s your first clue that this is no ordinary home. But visitors are still surprised by the many marvels hidden on Dunn’s 3.6 acres. There’s a full-size chessboard made of grass and stone, an aviary for parakeets, Christmas elf houses, a stunning magic arts collection — and an antique coffin in the garage. Page 11 Beyond all of that, in a wooded patch behind his already ample 6,500-square-foot house, is Dunn’s crowning achievement to personalized living. It’s a two-story treehouse he built himself, and it’s the ultimate man cave. Dunn, a professional magician, is 35. Along with his youthful looks, he has managed to retain the spirit of a child, someone who sees a wooded lot as a blank canvas for the dreams of his childhood. He bought the estate three years ago, and when he saw the backyard, he thought, “OK, this is the perfect location for a treehouse,” then added, “because you’re talking to an adult child.” He started googling treehouses and got sucked into a digital vortex of increasingly elaborate backyard abodes. “By the third page, there was a treehouse with a pool,” he said. That, however, was too much even for Dunn. Instead, he sketched up a tasteful playpen in the sky, complete with a sleeping loft and a Juliet balcony. He started building it last summer, and finished his masterpiece this spring. Since then, he has been spending a few nights a week in the deluxe, 480-square-foot treehouse. Other than plumbing, it has everything a magician needs: a stuffed zebra head, a grandfather clock from old Dayton’s Christmas Nutcracker displays, a marble-topped bar, and a deck for watching horror movies that he projects onto a screen he mounted in the woods. Dunn and his father built a treehouse when he was a child. It was nothing more than a platform with a couple of walls. But a treehouse on this grand scale was a first for the city of Plymouth. “Sometimes you get requests, and you just shake your head,” said Steve Juetten, director of community development for the city. “I have never seen anything like this.” Dunn had to get a variance to allow electricity in the structure, and was required to add railings and fencing to keep it safe for visitors. He risked his own safety to make the treehouse look exactly how he envisioned — by standing on a ledge and tossing moss up to the roof. Dunn’s attention to detail comes from his fascination with the immersive amusement parks he visited in his youth. “Disney World damaged me heavily,” he joked. He loved the animatronic-populated rides like Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion, and wondered, “How could I make something like this?” Page 12 He didn’t hesitate to start trying. He began collecting Halloween decorations at age 10, making extravagant displays on the front lawn of his family’s Plymouth home. “You never know with Matthew,” said his mother, Sue Dunn. “He’s been full of creativity and enthusiasm all along.” Halloween windfall Dunn now makes more than half his income in one month each year as the owner of Scream Town, considered one of the country’s best Halloween attractions, on 30 acres near Chaska. The rest of the year, he earns his living performing sleight-of-hand tricks — sawing people in half and the like — as a magician at parties and corporate events. He’s performed for everyone from the Minnesota Vikings to Gov. Mark Dayton. “My big thing is entertainment,” Dunn said. “I like to see people having a good time.” The treehouse is his love for his profession made manifest. Covered in dark green wood siding, with antlers mounted above the front door, the exterior has a Minnesota cabin aesthetic. But inside, Dunn decorated it to evoke Hollywood’s Magic Castle, a famed clubhouse for magicians that’s outfitted sumptuously with leather chairs and secret doors. ‘Addams Family’ aesthetic “I always liked that ‘Addams Family’ look,” he said. Dunn created his own personal magic castle with red leather sofas, boxes of cigars and lots of taxidermy that he found on Craigslist — including that shocking zebra head. It’s at once classy and a little eerie. As far as treehouses go, Dunn’s has more of a high-end feel than, say, “a Dennis the Menace type thing,” said Larry Kahlow, owner of the Eagle Magic and Joke Store in Burnsville and a mentor to Dunn. “You can pull out a cigar and sit there and watch Houdini escape from a trunk,” said Kahlow, who has been a regular guest at the treehouse, coming over to watch movies on the projector. Dunn, who is single, likes the term “man cave” for what he’s built. Not that he needs one. The sprawling main house is filled with more magic memorabilia and half-finished examples of his newest hobby, sculpting busts from clay. Page 13 He rents out rooms of what he calls his “Magician’s Estate” on Airbnb. Guests often jump at the lifelike mannequin seated at the piano. It’s all part of Dunn’s obsessively detailed, whimsical world-making. “I love to see childhood dreams come true,” he said. Sharyn Jackson 612-673-4853 @SharynJackson Page 14 LOCAL 437404083 Minnesota planners begin to envision driverless future Minnesota is starting to confront what promises to be the biggest shift in urban living since cars arrived a century ago. By Eric Roper Star Tribune JULY 31, 2017 — 5:24AM The creators of “Olli,” an autonomous bus, have submitted a bid to the Minnesota Department of Transportation to test it in Minnesota. Local Motors, the company behind the vehicle, is based in Arizona. Minnesota is beginning to confront what promises to be the biggest shift in urban living since cars arrived in cities a century ago: The moment drivers let go of the wheel for good. Self-driving cars are leaving the realm of science fiction and creeping into discussions about the future of transportation in the Twin Cities. Researchers say the technology could be required in new cars by 2030, leaving its mark on everything from parking ramps and road design to exurban sprawl and mobility for people with disabilities. Page 15 “We know it’s coming and it’s coming at a pretty rapid pace,” said Jay Hietpas, state traffic engineer at the Minnesota Department of Transportation. “And we just want to make sure that we’re ready.” The state will step into the spotlight later this year when MnDOT tests a self-driving bus on snowy Minnesota roads — possibly even during Super Bowl festivities in February. MnDOT formed a group Page 16 earlier this year to examine state laws about driverless vehicles. And planners are already speculating how cities will be reshaped when the technology arrives in earnest. Many people may choose to abandon car ownership for robust sharing services, summoning driverless vehicles at a moment’s notice. Cars could travel closer together with less risk of accidents, boosting the capacity of highways. Commuters napping on their trip to the office may live farther away from work. “Cities are just starting to figure out that they need to pay attention to this,” said Frank Douma, director of the State and Local Policy Program at the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs. U researchers say fully autonomous vehicles that can operate without driver interaction may hit the market by 2025. But cars with self-driving features are already on Minnesota roads, such as Teslas equipped with autopilot systems that steer, brake and accelerate in freeway traffic. The transition may be rocky. Autopilot was blamed in a central Minnesota crash earlier this month that left a Tesla upside-down in a marsh, but it turned out the driver had disengaged the system by hitting the gas. Once automation is fully implemented, however, U researchers believe it could dramatically reduce car- related deaths. ‘Have to start thinking’ The technology behind driverless cars is still evolving, but the latest vehicles navigate using 3-D maps to pinpoint their location within centimeters. Sensors look out for pedestrians and other vehicles, allowing the car to react in real time. Driverless cars were being tested in nine U.S. cities last year, according to a report from consultant Accenture. But city planners and engineers here are starting to take notice and consider changes. If people choose to forgo car ownership, there could be less demand for parking in urban areas since the driverless cars would spend more time in use and park closer together in faraway spaces, according to a U report prepared for MnDOT. In Bloomington, Port Authority Administrator Schane Rudlang said city staff are mulling a recommendation that future parking garages built with city funds be designed for reuse later, perhaps as an apartment or office building, with flat floors and greater load capacities. Planners in Minneapolis and Hopkins said they are also weighing the technology’s effects. Page 17 “I think it’s important that local governments start having that conversation,” said Jason Lindahl, Hopkins city planner. “Because as a planner we’re hearing more and more about them.” University of Minnesota Design Center Director Tom Fisher has been prodding mayors and city officials to plan ahead. They could one day reclaim roadway for sidewalks and green space, for example, since self- driving cars need less room to maneuver. The last thing cities should do is add lanes to existing roads, he said. “We’re putting in roads right now that are going to last 50 years,” Fisher said. “So everything we’re doing right now is going to go through this transition.” Advocates for people with disabilities are also tracking the technology, hoping it can reduce mobility barriers for people unable to drive. Minnesota nonprofit Mobility 4 All was founded for that purpose, and has been pressing its case with manufacturers. “This technology could be transformative for people with disabilities,” said John Doan, the organization’s founder. “We want to make sure that developers design the physical as well as the software of the vehicles so that it is universally accessible.” More cars, longer trips Self-driving cars could also influence development patterns around the metro area, changing demands on freeways and transit. Urban areas might grow more dense if parking needs drop, but the U report said autonomous vehicles could also encourage commutes to far-flung locales because people could do other things en route. In turn, governments might have to turn to pricing policies — replacing a gas tax with a per-mile tax, for example — to rein in sprawl, according to an analysis released by the University of California, Davis. The technology has also prompted debate over spending money on expensive transit, like the Southwest light rail line. “We’re sitting here fighting about a train — a billion-dollar train that it tells you when you have to be there and where to go,” said state Rep. Pat Garofalo, R-Farmington, who owns a Tesla. “Pretty soon here you’re going to have cars that can just pick you up wherever you are and take you to wherever you want to be.” Page 18 But others like David Levinson, the lead author of the U report, said large cities will still need high- capacity transit to serve busy urban areas. “Cars, even driverless cars, can’t move as many people per hour past a point as trains can,” Levinson said. The impact on freeway congestion is another unknown. MnDOT has been considering the technology as it plans for a future reconstruction of Interstate 94 between Minneapolis and St. Paul. Even if self-driving cars can travel closer together, there could be more of them, including empty vehicles making deliveries or picking up passengers. What about winter? Then there’s Minnesota winter. What will happen with self-driving cars when it snows? Most driverless vehicle testing has been in warm climates like California, but Google, Ford and GM began snow testing over the last year and a half. University of Michigan Associate Professor Edwin Olson, who worked on the Ford team, said the cars performed reasonably well in a test environment, but recreating snowy driving behavior poses challenges — like trailing other cars in a snowstorm. “What you would be likely to see in that snowy scenario is an autonomous car stubbornly driving where the lane actually is underneath the snow,” Olson said. “But it could be profoundly stupid. It could be that’s where the snowplow just put a deeper pile of snow.” Douma, of the Humphrey School, said MnDOT’s upcoming testing is an opportunity to show they work in winter. “This would be the chance to show that Minnesota is in the game,” Douma said. Twitter: @StribRoper eric.roper@startribune.com 612-673-1732 StribRoper Page 19 Plymouth medical building fetches nearly $12 million in sale Aug 1, 2017, 7:01am CDT Mark Reilly, Managing Editor for Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal USAA Real Estate Co. of San Antonio has acquired a Plymouth clinic building in a deal worth $11.9 million. Finance & Commerce reports on the sale of Plymouth City Center Medical Building, at 15655 37th Ave. N., from BTO Development Corp. The building was developed by BTO and North Memorial Health Care in 2013. The office fully leased with tenants including a North Memorial clinic and physician groups. USAA doesn't have a big Twin Cities portfolio, but an affiliate was a player in the $10 million land deal behind Amazon's Shakopee distribution space. BTO, meanwhile, was acquired by Frauenshuh Commercial Real Estate last month. Mark Reilly manages daily and weekly coverage at the Business Journal newsroom. Page 20