Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023 04.24 CCM WORK SESSION4/24/23 -1- MINUTES OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE CITY COUNCIL/ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF BROOKLYN CENTER IN THE COUNTY OF HENNEPIN AND THE STATE OF MINNESOTA WORK SESSION APRIL 24, 2023 CITY HALL – COUNCIL CHAMBERS CALL TO ORDER The Brooklyn Center City Council/Economic Development Authority (EDA) met in Work Session called to order by Mayor/President April Graves at 8:09 p.m. ROLL CALL Mayor/President April Graves and Councilmembers/Commissioners Marquita Butler, Kris Lawrence-Anderson, Dan Jerzak, and Teneshia Kragness. Also present were City Manager Reggie Edwards, Interim Community Development Director Jesse Anderson, Public Works Director Elizabeth Heyman, and Assistant City Manager/City Clerk Barb Suciu. SHINGLE CREEK CROSSINGS UPDATE This item was addressed during the Study Session. ESTABLISHING A NEW FEE FOR COMMERCIAL VACANT BUILDINGS City Manager Reggie Edwards introduced the item and invited Interim Community Development Director Jesse Anderson to continue the Staff presentation. Interim Community Development Director Jesse Anderson explained the City has a vacant building program for residential and commercial properties. Properties that have been identified by City Staff as vacant for 30 days or more are required to be registered. Staff will post the property as a vacant building and send a compliance notice to the owner of the record to register. Mr. Anderson stated the current fee is $400 for the registration and $195 for the inspection. Both fees are paid together at the time of registration. When a property registers as a vacant building, code enforcement inspectors will complete a drive-by of the property periodically to ensure that the property is maintained and secured. Mr. Anderson pointed out commercial properties are subject to the same requirements; however, commercial properties often require additional staff time in monitoring the properties and coordinating maintenance with property management companies. Further, due to the time it takes to re-occupy or redevelop commercial properties, they are also vacant for longer periods than residential properties. 4/24/23 -2- Mr. Anderson noted, similar to residential vacant properties, regular inspections are conducted, but for commercial properties, staff completes daily inspections. As part of the inspection staff walks the property and checks on doors to ensure the property is still secured. When issues arise, staff will document and send a compliance notice to the owner of the record and notify the property management company. If the property is unsecured, staff will coordinate an inspection with BC Police and/or BC Fire to ensure that no one is occupying the building and the property is not damaged. As a precaution and depending on the nature of the issue, staff may do a second round later in the day to ensure that the building Mr. Anderson explained, due to the increased Staff time in monitoring commercial vacant properties, Staff would like the City Council/EDA to consider adopting a separate commercial vacant building fee. The initial registration is $400 with a $1,000 yearly renewal fee that goes up to $3,000 after three years. An alternative would be $2,000 for the initial fee and $5,000 for the renewal fee. Also, the initial fee could be more moderate at $1,000 with a $2,000 renewal fee. Doing some quick calculations, $5,000 annually would not cover the Staff costs for the required regular inspections. Councilmember/Commissioner Kragness asked if the fee increase would increase the monitoring. Mr. Anderson stated Staff is already providing the service, but they are looking to recoup the costs. Councilmember/Commissioner Kragness asked if the City is currently at a loss due to the current fee structure. Mr. Anderson confirmed the City is losing money for monitoring vacant commercial properties at a $3,000 fee. Councilmember/Commissioner Jerzak noted he helped to write the code item, so he cares deeply about it. He pointed out the building would have to be completely vacant to qualify for the fee payment. If the business owners are already losing money while trying to fill the space, it often turns to rent instead of sales, which can be prohibitive to BIPOC business owners and other small business owners. Councilmember/Commissioner Jerzak added the City gets a hefty fee when the business owner does any buildouts. In short, the City Council/EDA has to consider the cost of doing business. The City Council/EDA has to consider if the fees would be passed along to a new business owner. If there is an issue of resources, then Staff could ask City Council/EDA to address personnel and staffing. Councilmember/Commissioner Lawrence-Anderson asked if Brooklyn Center has a commercial fee structure. Mr. Anderson stated there is a general fee structure, but it does not differentiate between commercial and residential properties. He reiterated the fee structure. Councilmember/Commissioner Kragness stated it would be helpful to know what the current costs are so the City Council/EDA can understand the discrepancy. Mr. Anderson stated he could complete a more official calculation and present it to the City Council/EDA. If a Staff person were to conduct two 30-minute visits each week, it would cost the City about $5,000. 4/24/23 -3- Councilmember/Commissioner Kragness asked why Staff hasn’t brought the concern to City Council/EDA earlier. Mr. Anderson stated there aren’t always a lot of commercial properties to monitor, but there is a new commercial property becoming vacant. Councilmember/Commissioner Jerzak asked if the costs have been absorbed by code enforcement Staff. Mr. Anderson stated the budget covers the required Staff time. It is an opportunity to review the cost of the service. Councilmember/Commissioner Jerzak noted the fee must be very clear about when or if a fee could be refunded if rented shortly after the fees are paid. Mayor/President Graves pointed out a sliding scale fee could be considered, along with the type of building. For example, a library could use a smaller fee. Councilmember/Commissioner Kragness stated the size of the vacant space could be used to calculate the fee. Councilmember/Commissioner Jerzak added Brooklyn Center owns Target, and they may incur fees themselves. The ordinance needs a lot of clarity to be enforceable. It was the consensus of the City Council/EDA to instruct Staff to provide more information to the City Council/EDA regarding establishing a new fee for vacant commercial buildings such as proposed language and more official calculations. BROOKLYN CENTER CITY COUNCIL COMMENTS ON HWY 252/94 DRAFT SCOPING DECISION DOCUMENT Dr. Edwards introduced the item and invited Director of Public Works Elizabeth Heyman to continue the Staff presentation. Ms. Heyman explained the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT), along with local and federal project partners, are currently studying proposals to improve safety, address reliability, and reduce congestion on Hwy 252 between Hwy 610 in Brooklyn Park and I-694 in Brooklyn Center, and on I-94 from I-694 in Brooklyn Center to downtown Minneapolis. Ms. Heyman noted, based on the comments and discussion City Council/EDA had with MnDOT staff at the City Council meeting on April 20, 2023, Staff has drafted a letter that will serve as the Council/EDA's public comment on the draft Scoping Decision Document. Staff are seeking feedback on the draft letter. Ms. Heyman added MnDOT is currently in an open comment period for the project. If the City Council/EDA wants to submit public comments as a body, it must be adopted at the May 8, 2023, City Council meeting. Ms. Heyman stated MnDOT presented to the City Council/EDA recently and has recommended further study in the Environmental Impact Study on three freeway options and all interchange options. 4/24/23 -4- Ms. Heyman summarized the main themes from the City Council/EDA after the MnDOT presentation that the demonstrated 252 safety issues must be addressed while protecting and enhancing Brooklyn Center, MnDOT must take the health impacts of increased traffic and traffic noise into account when evaluating the safety, the tax base implications must be considered when evaluating alternatives, and the health, community livability, and equity through the scoping process must be evaluated. Ms. Heyman pointed out alternatives to the freeway including a six-lane expressway, a four-lane low-speed arterial, a six-lane low-speed arterial, and a local collector road with a transitway. Potential benefits of the alternatives include fewer or no property impacts and less or similar traffic levels. She noted everything in the PowerPoint is MnDOT data. Ms. Heyman added some tradeoffs for the aforementioned alternatives including vehicle safety, transit advantages, local network traffic impacts, and vehicle mobility and reliability. There are also some downsides to the proposed freeway options. Ms. Heyman showed a slide with images of the six-lane expressway and the six-lane low-speed arterial roadway. The six-lane expressway has six lanes, signals, at-grade intersections, a bus shoulder, and a speed limit of 55 miles per hour. The six-lane low-speed arterial roadway removes the bus shoulder and has a lower speed limit of 35-34 miles per hour. Ms. Heyman showed a slide with an image of a local collector road with a transitway. It would be a very big change to disconnect 252 from 610. There would be a dedicated transitway, which allows for a large transit advantage. Ms. Heyman showed a table regarding vehicle safety, based on MnDOT’s definition, for a six-lane expressway, a four-lane low-speed arterial, a six-lane low-speed arterial, and a local collector road with a transitway. She noted the coloring is done by MnDOT. The local collector road with a transitway has the best numbers in comparison to the no-build option. Ms. Heyman showed a table regarding transit impacts for the six-lane expressway, a four-lane low- speed arterial, a six-lane low-speed arterial, and a local collector road with a transitway. The six- lane expressway includes bus-only shoulders, and the local collector road with a transitway has a high level of transit advantage. Ms. Heyman explained there are several traffic impacts. Reducing the capacity of Hwy 252 will increase traffic on local roadways and vice versa. The local collector road with a transitway and four-lane low-speed arterial roadway reduces Hwy 252 capacity. The six-lane expressway and the six-lane low-speed arterial roadway maintain the traffic levels, and the freeway options decrease traffic on local roadways. Ms. Heyman showed a map depicting the traffic impacts for a local collector road with a transitway. Noble Parkway in Brooklyn Park would have a 50 percent increase in traffic, which is the largest impact on local roads. She then showed a slide with a table depicting the changes in daily traffic values. The local collector road with a transitway would increase local traffic by up 4/24/23 -5- to 50 percent on various roads. The four-lane low-speed arterial roadway would have one large local traffic impact, which would be a 31 percent increase on Dupont Avenue North with about 900 more vehicles throughout the entire day. Ms. Heyman showed a table depicting vehicle mobility. By reducing Hwy 252 capacity, there would be more congestion at intersections; this applies to the local collector road with transitway and the four-lane low-speed arterial roadway. Maintaining the Hwy 252 capacity would result in similar levels of congestion at intersections, which applies to the six-lane expressway and the six- lane low-speed arterial roadway. Ms. Heyman showed a table summarizing the impacts on local traffic, transit advantage, and vehicle safety for the four proposed alternatives. She offered to answer any questions. Mayor/President Graves noted pedestrian safety components are not talked about. Ms. Heyman stated there is a research section on pedestrian safety. There are also intersection crash costs. She explained MnDOT ruled out some non-freeway options based on risky at-grade crossing preference to an overpass. However, Ms. Heyman believes the overpass would be a good offering. Ms. Heyman added impact on local roadways was increased with non-freeway passes, so MnDOT anticipated an increase in pedestrian safety concerns locally. Ms. Heyman stated she would like to see more detailed information on that idea and for solutions to be considered for pedestrian safety rather than ruling out non-freeway options. Councilmember/Commissioner Kragness asked for Staff to provide copies of the PowerPoint to be given to City Council/EDA before the meeting. Mayor/President Graves stated Staff doesn’t necessarily have the presentation prepared on time for the PowerPoints to be printed. Councilmember/Commissioner Kragness added they have yet to receive table 7.3, but it is regularly referenced in the presentations regarding Hwy 252. She asked what the current speed limit is on Hwy 252, but she would guess it is between 50 and 55. Councilmember/Commissioner Lawrence-Anderson pointed out she attended the recent open house and spoke with representatives of the consultant team. Many residents expressed interest in a lower-speed option for Hwy 252. A longer work session to discuss official comments would be helpful. Councilmember/Commissioner Jerzak stated the loss of revenue to the City is a major concern. MnDOT also keeps referencing a safety concern he doesn’t see. Overall, there doesn’t seem to be a compromise that addresses the issues raised by constituents. He added a constituent asked him what would happen if Brooklyn Center said “no” to MnDOT. Ms. Heyman pointed out that Table 7.3 is available online. As for Councilmember/Commissioner Jerzak’s questions, she noted it is a difficult project. She noted the draft letter included comments asking to add evaluation metrics regarding the concerns of constituents. 4/24/23 -6- Mayor/President Graves stated she would like to see the comments in the draft letter provided to MnDOT, and it is likely a consensus of the Council/EDA to do so. She noted she is leaning towards the six-lane low-speed arterial. Mayor/President Graves asked what the difference is between the six-lane low-speed arterial and the six-lane expressway. Ms. Heyman stated the six-lane expressway has the transit advantage of accessing a special bus lane. Mayor/President Graves added the local collector road with a transitway would have a negative impact on local traffic and local businesses, so she is not interested in that option. Councilmember/Commissioner Lawrence-Anderson asked if the six-lane options would automatically mean more property acquisitions. Ms. Heyman stated that is not necessarily true because some would be within the current right of way. The interchanges are where the largest property impacts occur. Councilmember/Commissioner Lawrence-Anderson stated it would be helpful to see more data about the loss of homes and businesses in Brooklyn Center for each of the options. Ms. Heyman stated 7-69 and 7-70 show the impacts on the Brooklyn Center property tax base. As MnDOT got into more detailed design, there would be more specific and likely less property impact, but the current designs have a general wide line. Ms. Heyman agreed she would like to see more specifics from MnDOT on the property impacts. She pointed out that the interchanges could also be positive for local businesses. Mayor/President Graves asked which option is Ms. Heyman’s favorite option. Ms. Heyman stated it is a difficult consideration. She noted her agreement with Mayor/President Graves’ comments on the local collector road with the transitway. Keeping in mind the climate crisis, it is hard to recommend an option that doesn’t have a transit advantage. There are also considerations about what Brooklyn Park would agree to. With all that in mind, she would choose between the six-lane expressway and the four-lane low-speed arterial to offer a range of alternatives. Ultimately, Brooklyn Center is asking MnDOT to further consider alternatives to a freeway. Mayor/President Graves asked why Ms. Heyman preferred the four-lane low-speed arterial to the six-lane low-speed arterial. Ms. Heyman stated the six-lane low-speed arterial is not a different enough change from the current conditions. Also, the four-lane low-speed arterial has better vehicle safety impacts than the six-lane low-speed arterial. Ms. Heyman stated the largest leverage point the Council/EDA would have with MnDOT is at the end of the process when MnDOT has one final option to present to the Council/EDA. However, they don’t want to wait until that point in the process and rather provide input at this phase to find a benefit for Brooklyn Center. Councilmember/Commissioner Jerzak noted the six-lane option would be at capacity in a few years anyways. It makes him nervous that so many of the options may harm the community. Mayor/President Graves stated she believes they should provide input to MnDOT regarding which 4/24/23 -7- alternatives they should consider. Ms. Heyman stated the freeway options are what will reach capacity in a few years. They don’t have a date set for the proposed alternatives being discussed by the Council/EDA. Mayor/President Graves stated she would like to suggest MnDOT add the six-lane expressway and the four-lane low-speed arterial roadway to their research and for the other comments in the draft letter to be communicated to MnDOT as well. Councilmember/Commissioner Lawrence-Anderson stated she would like to dive deeper into the materials and further discuss the options before providing an official opinion. Councilmember/Commissioner Jerzak asked what the recommendations were from the Hwy 252 Task Force. Ms. Heyman stated their ask was for MnDOT to consider the four-lane low-speed freeway, but that was not at the top of her list of recommendations. The Task Force was also interested in the six-lane expressway. The Hwy 252 Task Force did a great job doing research, but it is impossible to find the best option that addresses all of the concerns. Councilmember/Commissioner Jerzak stated he is not ready to go on the record with his recommendation, but he would like a clear recommendation from the Task Force of what MnDOT should study. Councilmember/Commissioner Kragness agreed with Councilmember/Commissioner Jerzak. They should honor the work done by the Hwy 252 Task Force and rely on their expertise. She would also like more information on Ms. Heyman on her differing opinions from the Task Force. Councilmember/Commissioner Butler stated it will take some time to grasp all of the components to consider. She asked for such complex items to be earlier on the agenda. Councilmember/Commissioner Lawrence-Anderson stated she would like MnDOT to be available to answer more questions from the Council and for specific recommendations from the Task Force. UPCOMING ITEMS • Grant Discussion-referred to Financial Commission possible May 22 • Special Assessment Policy/Franchise Fees (referred to Financial Commission) • Emerald Ash Borer Policy Review-referred to Park & Rec Commission November • Memorial Policy-referred to Park & Rec Commission May 22 • Establishing a Beautification and Public Art Commission-May 8 • Liquor Store 2 - • Organizational Chart-Budget work sessions • Rental License Review (referred to Housing Commission) • Tenant Protection Data presentation-May • THC Moratorium-June 12 • Food Truck Ordinance / License 4/24/23 -8- ADJOURNMENT Councilmember/Commissioner Jerzak moved and Councilmember/Commissioner Kragness seconded the adjournment of the City Council/Economic Development Authority Work Session at 9:27 p.m. Motion passed unanimously.