07-25 Work Session CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
Richfield, Minnesota
Special City Council Work Session
Urban Uowtown
July 25, 2017
CALL TO ORDER
•
The work session was called to order by Mayor Elliott at 5:30 p.m. in the Municipal Center.
Council Members Pat Elliott, Mayor; Edwina Garcia; Michael Howard; Maria Regan Gonzalez;
Present: and Simon Trautmann
Staff Present: Steven L. Devich, City Manager; Mary Tietjen, City Attorney; Kristen Asher,
Public Works Director; Jeff Pearson, City Engineer; Jack Broz, Transportation
Engineer; and, Jared Voto, Executive Aide/Analyst.
Item #1 UPDATE ON SMALL CELL ANTENNA LEGISLATION
Bob Vose of Kennedy and Graven spoke regarding the recently passed legislation related to
small cell antenna. He discussed the work of the League of Minnesota Cities in negotiating the final
legislation with the wireless carriers and legislators, and some of the changes in this legislation as
opposed to the current model right-of-way (ROW) ordinance the League provides. He spoke that the
City must amend their current ROW ordinance to include wireless companies and new provisions of
state law.
Council Members discussed and asked questions on the new legislation and its
implementation, as it impacts Richfield.
Item #2 METRO TRANSIT- D-LINE DISCUSSION
Scott Janowiak, Planner, of Metro Transit's BRT/Small Starts Project Office provided an
overview of the D Line project, on Portland Avenue, including the scope, schedule, planning process,
and locations for D Line bus stops in Richfield. Currently it is proposed to have a stop at 66th Street
and 76th Street, and looking at a station at either 70th or 73rd Street. He stated they are gathering
feedback and doing public outreach on the potential locations, and asked Council if they had
suggestions on places to go for feedback.
Council Members gave suggestions on Metro Transit's outreach efforts.
Item #3 69TH STREET PILOT PROJECT
Jack Broz, Transportation Engineer, presented an overview of the 69th Street Pedestrian Pilot
Project. He discussed that 69th Street is a collector street and is without a sidewalk, which is not
consistent with City policies. He explained the before conditions on 69th Street, the pilot project, the
Special Council Work Session Minutes -2- July 25,2017
public outreach process before and after the project to gather feedback, and the conditions after the
pilot project. He also discussed the results of the pilot project and the Transportation Commission's
recommendation to develop a permanent solution for 69th Street, and interim solution to modify the
vehicle lane widths to better accommodate adjacent neighbors and eastbound bicyclists.
Council Member Howard spoke in favor of the Transportation Commission's recommendation
based on the data presented from the study.
Mayor Elliot spoke again the recommendation based on narrowing the driving lanes to 10 feet
and spoke about the difficulty driving eastbound when a bicycle is in the lane. He did not voice a
solution at this time, but would discuss the issue further with staff.
ADJOURNMENT
The work session was adjourned by unanimous consent at 6:55 p.m.
Date Approved: August 8, 2017
'�Ella, Pt
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J ed Vo e en L. Devich
Executive Aide/Analyst City Manager