HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-12-17 Work Session Meeting MinutesMINUTES
OF THE EDINA CITY COUNCIL
WORK SESSION
COMMUNITY ROOM, CITY HALL
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2024
5:15 P.M.
1.0 CALL TO ORDER
Mayor Hovland called the meeting to order at 5:17 p.m.
2.0 ROLL CALL
Answering rollcall were Members Agnew, Jackson, Pierce, Risser, and Mayor Hovland.
Absent: None
Staff in attendance: Scott Neal, City Manager; Ari Lenz, Assistant City Manager; Zoe Johnson, City
Management Fellow; Marisa Bayer, Sustainability Manager; Stephanie Hawkinson, Affordable Housing
Development Manager; Cary Teague, Community Development Director; Chad Millner, Engineering
Director; Jennifer Bennerotte, Communications Director; Perry Vetter, Parks & Recreation Director; Bill
Neuendorf, Economic Development Manager; Addison Lewis, Community Development Coordinator; Katie
Bisek, IT Specialist; and Sharon Allison, City Clerk.
Others in attendance: Planning Commission members
3.1 2025 LEGISLATIVE PLATFORMS — REVIEW OF RECEIVED COUNCIL FEEDBACK
Manager Neal gave an explanation of the need for staff, when they are speaking with legislators and lobbyists,
to hold positions consistent with what the Council actually wants.
City Management Fellow Johnson reviewed feedback the Council had been given related to the 2025
Legislative Platforms.
The Council asked questions of staff and discussed: Fred Richards/Braemar Arena projects and sales tax; the
importance of sticking with what the voters were told; sticking with the primary concentration related to
bonding of the potential interchange improvement on Highway 100; feelings that consideration of expanding
the local sales tax spending may be premature; importance of considering other revenue sources; things that
the residents have asked for related to how expenses are managed; discomfort with the City being the lead
for funding support for entrepreneurs and second-stage businesses instead of the Chamber of Commerce;
proposed TIF financing legislation for 70th and France/72nd and France depending on the timing; and possible
extension of the TIF to 10 years.
The Council reached consensus to direct staff to remove: expansion of local sales tax spending; funding
support for entrepreneurs and second-stage businesses; keeping the TIF Financing Legislation for 70th and
France/72nd and France, as proposed, in order to keep options open from the 2025 legislative platforms.
Manager Neal suggested that the Council table this item for the time being in order to move the discussion
onto the second agenda item because there were a lot of people present at the meeting for that topic.
3.2 ZONING SUBDIVISION ORDINANCE AUDIT REPORT
Community Development Coordinator Lewis explained the purpose of conducting the zoning subdivision
ordinance audit; reviewed guidance from the League of Minnesota Cities, and outlined the next steps in the
process.
Jeff Miller, HKGi, presented the audit report, key findings for zoning districts, supplemental regulations, key
development procedures, and zoning and subdivision code structure; and outlined details behind the
recommendations made by HKGi.
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Minutes approved by Edina City Council, January 7, 2025.
Minutes/Edina City Council Work Session/December 17, 2024
The Council asked questions of staff and discussed parcels that were not zoned residential, but functioned
as residential; PUD projects in the City; the possibility of accomplishing having the missing middle both
economically and architecturally; the overall desired outcomes for amendments to the zoning code; concerns
frequently heard related to the City's zoning code; the need for a balance and stipulations in the code so it
was not just left to be handled by variances; standards for determining non-conforming lots; when public
hearings would be held; the predominant recommendation from HKGi to better align the districts with the
2040 Comprehensive Plan; coming up with standards for expectations for single family residential based on
lot sizing; how long it would take to undertake a full overhaul rather than going with a phased approach; the
goal of finishing this before the next Comprehensive Plan; how the City can maintain better ordinance
'posture'; expected reluctance of neighborhoods to change their circumstances since 92% of the City's
property was within the R-I district; hesitancy about the map included in the Comprehensive Plan related
to the number of units per acre because some factors, such as the areas of town mass transit or sewer
capacity are not great, did not seem to be considered; creation of a specific zoning that would allow
townhomes, but not necessarily making it one particular area in the City; importance of having a conversation
of where the City should at least target having medium density housing; what these changes may do to the
City's ability to ask developers to include affordable housing and comply with the City's green building policy;
and the importance of defining to residents the net benefits of density.
Other discussion points included possible work session meetings in order to get both Planning Commission
and City Council feedback on possible changes to the Comprehensive Plan before it would formally be
presented for a decision.
At4
111/111
haro •llison, City Clerk
James B. Hovland, Mayor
4.0 ADJOURNMENT
Mayor Hovland adjourned the meeting at 6:50 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
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