12-13-16 Special and CC-PC Worksession CITY COUNCIL MINUTES
s / Richfield, Minnesota
1,,0,1,:,„11„„,,,to”„ Special City Council Worksession and
Special Concurrent City Council and
Planning Commission Worksession
December 13, 2016
CALL TO ORDER
The worksession was called to order by Mayor Goettel at 5:45 p.m. in the Bartholomew
Room.
Council Members Debbie Goettel, Mayor; Michael Howard (arrived 6:00pm); Edwina
Present: Garcia; Tom Fitzhenry; and Pat Elliott
Planning Commission Sean Hayford Oleary; Erin Vrieze Daniels, Chair; Rick Jabs; Daniel
Members Present: Kitzberger; and Susan Rosenberg
Planning Commission Gordon Vizecky; and Charles Standfuss
Members Absent:
Staff Present: Steven L. Devich, City Manager; John Stark, Community Development
Director; Jack Broz, Transportation Engineer; Kristin Asher, Public
Works Director; Kari Sinning, Deputy City Clerk.
Mayor Goettel asked that agenda items be moved in order to accommodate Council
Member Howard.
ITEM #1 DISCUSSION REGARDING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF INTERNATIONAL
BOULEVARD (COUNCIL MEMO NO. 81)
Community Development Director, John Stark gave a brief overview of Council Memo
No. 81 stating the residents that would be affected by the name change.
City Manager, Steve Devich, shared information about the implementation of the
renaming of 76th/77th Street to International Boulevard. There is a time constraint with the Audi
Dealership that is being built along the road and we need to get the City of Edina involved. The
financial funding is underway and the Cities would have to pay for their own signage;
approximately $80,000 for the City of Edina and $51,000 for the City of Richfield.
Mayor Goettel questioned the timing for the next budget session. City Manager Devich
stated that there would be plenty of time to implement.
City Manager Devich also stated that the signage can coincide with the underpass and
the federal funding from the Met Council in January 2017; however, the construction may not
start until Early 2018.
The consensus was favorable and the City Council urges the City to take the lead on
implementing the plan.
ITEM #2 DISCUSSION AND PRESENTATION REGARDING 6529 PENN AVENUE (DUNKIN
DONUTS)
Community Development Director, John Stark, stated that he was approached by the
owners of 6529 Penn Avenue to develop a Dunkin Donuts on the location. The Penn Avenue
Overlay Design Guidelines which are very descriptive pose a complication to the project and
City Staff wanted to get the opinion of the City Council for this proposed reconstruction.
Rick Houser, owner of the 6529 Penn Avenue, introduced the site plan; however, the
site plans do not meet all of the guidelines. Mayor Goettel posed questions regarding parking
and access ways and the Staff Concern. Community Development Director, John Stark, stated
the issues with the proposed plan; the high volume of traffic in the drive-thru and the fagade
should face the street instead of the in the parking lot. Staff believes that the guidelines could be
followed more closely if the Flowerama were to be demolished; however, the owners do not
believe that would be financially feasible.
Council Member Fitzhenry also commented on the traffic that would be caused by the
vehicles waiting at the drive-thru.
Council Member Elliott recognizes City Staff concerns for the guidelines and approves of
the concept, but worries about the guidelines and urges the owners to work more to find a
workable design. Council Member Elliott also posed a question regarding the possible tenant in
the old Flowerama building. The owner, Rick Houser, stated that they have gotten numerous
tenants approach them; however, have not made any decisions. Mr. Houser also stated that
they have created multiple designs to try and meet the guidelines of the Penn Avenue Design,
but with their shallow lot, they do not believe it would be financially feasible to have the perfect
design.
Planning Commissioners, Erin Vrieze Daniels, Chair, and Sean Hayford Oleary,
established concerns about the noise level of the vehicles at the drive thru as well as the vehicle
exhaust affecting the apartment building behind the proposed site. A representative from
Dunkin' Donuts stated that there is a case study done for a drive thru speaker technology in a
suburb of Chicago that shows promising results for noise cancellation in the drive thru and that
a drive thru is required for this location.
Council Member Howard would like to see if there are some compromises could be
made to move forward and making progress on Penn Avenue.
Planning Commissioner, Susan Rosenberg, would really like to see the project happen
but the layout presented is not beneficial to the residents.
The general consensus from the Planning Commission and the City Council was for the
site plan to be redrawn with street presence and noise/exhaust as the major concerns.
ITEM #3 UPDATE ON THE ORANGE LINE BUS RAPID TRANSIT (COUNCIL MEMO NO. 85)
Mayor Goettel introduced Kristin Asher, Public Works Director, who announced Rebecca
Fabumi and Christina Morrison, Representatives from Metro Transit that provided a
presentation regarding the Orange Line Bus Rapid Transit.
The representatives reiterated the fact that safety is a very important issue that they will
be taking steps to ensure the safety of the riders and drivers alike.
Mayor Goettel raised a question regarding riders parking in the neighborhoods and
walking to the bus stops. Mrs. Morrison stated that they will urge residents to use the park and
rides at Southdale Center and Best Buy Corporate as well as to use multimodal transportation.
The City Council is excited for the project and is hopeful for the end result.
ADJOURNMENT
The worksessions were adjourned by unanimous consent at 6:55 p.m.
Date Approved: January 10, 2017
:ward
Major oro Temp
Kari S' g .ice -ven L. Devic `a
Deputy City Clerk City Manager