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ORD 2021-04 No Action Taken 2021.02.08 Page 2 of 4 Attorney Kendall joined the meeting via video conference at 7:03 PM. 4. Planning: 4.1 City Code Amendment Regarding Off-Street Parking for Residential Users: A. Presentation by City Planner Licht. Planner Licht noted the City Council held a public hearing in October to assess unpaid code enforcement fees. A resident that had been cited for parking of semi-trucks/trailers upon their single family residential lot spoke and requested the City should allow truck drivers to park their vehicles on their properties. The City Council stayed the assessment of the citations and directed that the Planning Commission review the issue and provide their recommendations. The Planning Commission held a public hearing on January 4, 2021 to consider allowing semi- tractor/trailer parking on certain residential lots. The property owner involved in the October unpaid assessment hearing attended to provide reasons as to why he needed to park a semi-tractor/trailer upon his property. He provided specifications and operational details of the vehicle. The Planning Commission viewed photos of the property and considered other non-conforming issues such, as the driveway being gravel and the width. Upon closing the public hearing the commission directed staff to provide additional information to be presented for further discussion at the next meeting. The Zoning Ordinance was adopted in 1991 following the incorporation of the City to include regulations limiting off-street parking on residential lots to vehicles with gross vehicle weight of 12,000 pounds or less. In February of 2019 the ordinance was amended to allow parking of licensed and operable passenger automobiles, vans, and trucks rated as Class 3 (14,000 pounds gross vehicle weight) or smaller. Due to a number of code enforcement issues involving trade vans and/or pickup trucks with dual-rear axles and gross vehicle weights greater than 14,00 pounds, the Zoning Ordinance was amended again in October of 2019 to allow for parking of one Class 5 vehicle (two axles, four tires per axle) up to 19,500 pounds gross vehicle weight. Allowance of these vehicles required they be parked upon a paved surface and setback from property lines the same as the principal buildings on the lot. Farm equipment and trucks (including semi-tractor/trailers) are considered incidental to the operation of the farm business. Therefore, farms as defined by the Zoning Ordinance are not subject to the limitations regarding residential parking. Parking of semi tractors and/or semi-trailers has never been allowed upon residentially zoned property under the Zoning Ordinance. The following factors were considered: Street Designs (weight capacity, seasonal weight limits, circulation - not supported by the Engineer or Streets Department), Emissions Odors, Vehicle Classifications, Process to review and permit, Zoning Districts, Ownership, Lot Requirements, Setbacks, Access, Driveway Width, Surface, Vehicle Dimensions and Noise. Surrounding communities such as Dayton, Elk River and Ramsey do allow off-street parking with conditions. The Council reviewed the City Engineer’s three diagrams illustrating a semi-truck parking off of a 24’ wide street going off the pavement and the semi at intersections; the maneuver to back into a lot and interior corner. The residential areas are not designed for this class of vehicle. Staff prepared a proposed Ordinance for the A1, A2, R1, R2 and R3 Zoning Districts. This would require an administrative permit for Class 6, 8-9 Standards, vehicles need to be 2014 or newer, vehicle owned by property owner, lot requirements minimum 1.01 acres, minimum lot width 200, surfaced driveway, driveway width approved by City Engineer and requiring idling limits. Even with these standards there are 400 homes that would qualify. The Planning Commission was concerned about the quantity of Page 3 of 4 potential permits. Following the January 4th public hearing the commission further discussed at their February 1st meeting, voting 7-0 against recommending an amendment to the zoning ordinance. Five of the seven Planning Commission members live within the zoning districts of the proposed amendment. Council has the option to adopt the Ordinance as prepared, direct the Planning Commission to reconsider their recommendation, or take no action. CM Darkenwald noted the Planning Commission held the public hearing in January and again discussed at their February meeting, they tried to make this work. Felt it would impact the neighborhoods. Mayor Stockamp was concerned about amending the zoning ordinance for one resident. After working through the options, this created more issues. She added a prior resident used to bring his cab home and ultimately had to remove from their property and find an appropriate location to park. CM Dahl saw the pictures and asked if the resident could still park his simi-truck without the trailer. The answer was no. CM Moores spoke with Planner Licht, she wanted to make this work. So many other factors to consider, but thought this impacted negatively on other residents. Felt it was best to leave the ordinance as is. Planner Licht noted the property owner was very helpful with information provided for the Planning Commission to review. The Code enforcement file from October 2020 was closed. If new complaints were made the process would start over. Staff does not go looking for issues, based on complaints received. This whole process started with someone filing a complaint with the City. Zoning is to protect enjoyment of your property. B. Consider Adoption of Ordinance 2021-04 The City Council will take no action. 5. Engineering: 5.1 Street Maintenance and Street Micro-Surfacing Projects: A. Presentation by City Planner Wagner. Engineer Wagner presented information on the 2021 Street Maintenance Project and the 2021 Micro- Surfacing Project. The Street Maintenance Project (SMP) includes seal coating, fog sealing, traffic control and striping of various streets throughout the City according to the current street maintenance scheduling and capital improvement Plan (CIP). B. Approve Plans and Specifications and Order Advertisement for Bids – Street Maintenance. C. Approve Plans and Specifications and Order Advertisement for Bids – Street Micro-Surfacing. The Pavement Management Program which is part of the CIP for the City has a budget for the 2021 projects in the amount of $573,926. With the plans completed, the total estimated project costs for the SMP are $173,386.35 and for the Micro-Surfacing Project is $392,153.33 for a total cost of $566,019.68. The bid opening would be March 2nd and brought to City Council for consideration of approval at the March 8th meeting. Both projects are scheduled to start after July 15, 2021 to allow the City Public Works Department to perform the patching necessary as well as having the contracted crack filling completed.