HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-04-06 City Council Work Session MinutesMINUTES
OF THE EDINA CITY COUNCIL
WORK SESSION
VIRTUAL MEETING
TUESDAY, APRIL 6, 2021
5:30 P.M.
CALL TO ORDER
Mayor Hovland called the meeting to order at 5:33 p.m.
ROLL CALL
Answering roll call were Members Jackson, Pierce, Staunton, and Mayor Hovland. Member Anderson was absent.
Staff in attendance: Scott Neal, City Manager; Cary Teague, Community Development Director; Emily Bodeker,
Assistant City Planner; Ryan Browning, IT Director; Jennifer Bennerotte, Communications Director; Risi Karim,
City Management Fellow; Jennifer Garske, Executive Assistant; and Sharon Allison, City Clerk.
JOINT MEETING: PLANNING COMMISSION
Staff Liaison Teague provided an update on several initiatives, starting with Initiative 1) Review of Land Use
applications and stated that they have reviewed approximately 10 applications to date to be presented to Council
starting in May; Initiative 2) Planning Study for the Edina Business Park was expected to begin in June. Chair
Nemerov presented Initiative 3) Parking Ordinance Amendment and spoke about balancing parking needs, and
recommendations they were considering such as regular review of the parking ordinance, parking reduction if
located near transit or provided bicycle parking, and maximum parking. Paid parking was discussed but Manager
Neal said in the past, business owners at 50th & France were not in favor because customers would patronize
businesses where they did not have to pay for parking. Nemerov said parking is challenging because of winter,
inadequate transit, and multimodal systems. He said the next step is for the Planning Commission to hold a public
hearing on April 28. Teague spoke about Initiative 4) Review and recommend zoning ordinance changes for
basement requirements and said they were working on eliminating the requirement to have a basement and
allowing more flexibility because of the high-water table.
In attendance for the commission were Chair Ian Nemerov; Louis Miranda, Joann Olsen, Gerard Strauss, Rachel
Bartling, Sheila Berube, David Alkire, and Sophie Cullen.
JOINT MEETING: HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION
Chair Schilling reviewed their work plan, starting with Initiative 1) Review and decide on Certificates of
Appropriateness (COA) applications for changes to heritage landmark designated properties and said they’ve
processed four to date and three are pending; Initiative 2) Create a virtual walk/tour of the City’s Historic Landmark
properties to celebrate Preservation Month in May and said that they were working on a schools’ tour map that
could be extended as a bike tour to be completed by May; Initiative 3) Award the 2021 Heritage Preservation
Award in May during Preservation Month and that two applications were received by yesterday’s due date; Initiative
4) Educate owners and designate properties as Edina Heritage Landmarks - that they’ve researched historical
bungalows in Morningside, and developed outreach materials; and Initiative 5) Add properties to the Heritage
Preservation eligible landmark list - that they continue to identify historical properties and are finding important
history marker in later eras.
Regarding COAs, Schilling shared a concern that the commission have noticed within the past year of requests for
leniency for teardowns which goes against the plan of treatment. She noted a property in the Country Club area
where there appeared to be an active ‘demolition by neglect’ and she wanted the Council to be aware of this so
that they can be proactive. She said the commission and staff agreed the plan of treatment works but she is
concerned that developers could find a loophole in it. The Council shared concerns from a developer that elements
of the plan of treatment may be outdated and could cause a project to be cost prohibitive. Schilling agreed that the
Edina City Council Work Session Meeting, April 6, 2021
plan of treatment needs to be reviewed and updated; however, she believed it was flexible and that existing historical
property owners were able to implement it. Council recommended developing a ‘demolition by neglect’ ordinance
and Manager Neal said staff would work on the ordinance.
In attendance for the commission were Chair Annie Schilling; Vice Chair Sarah Nymo; Robert Cundy; Thomas
Everson; Rachel Pollock; and Michael Birdman.
ADJOURNMENT
Mayor Hovland adjourned the meeting at 6:40 p.m.
Respectfully submitted, ____________________________________________
Sharon Allison, City Clerk
Minutes approved by the Edina City Council, April 20, 2021.
___________________________________________
James B. Hovland, Mayor