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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025-07-15 Work Session Meeting MinutesPage 1 MINUTES OF THE EDINA CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION COMMUNITY ROOM, CITY HALL TUESDAY, JULY 15, 2025 5:30 P.M. 1.0 CALL TO ORDER Mayor Hovland called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. 2.0 Roll Call Answering rollcall were Members Agnew, Jackson, Pierce, Risser and Mayor Hovland. Staff in attendance: Scott Neal, City Manager; Ari Lenz, Assistant City Manager; MJ Lamon, Community Engagement Manager; Zoe Johnson, City Management Fellow; Andrew Scipioni, Transportation Planner; Matthew Gabb, Sustainability Specialist; Chad Millner, Engineering Director; Jesse Meyer-Ruud, I.T. Support Supervisor; and Sharon Allison, City Clerk. 3.1 JOINT WORK SESSION ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT COMMISSION AND TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION: 2026-2027 COMMISSION WORK PLAN DEVELOPMENT City Manager Neal introduced the topic. Community Engagement Manager Lamon outlined changes to the process, shifting from annual to biennial work plans and restructuring joint meetings with Council to focus on work plan development. The updated timeline allows commissions to draft plans from June to August, staff recommendation in November, and Council review and approval by year-end. Lamon clarified expectations for all and scope of work of the two commissions. Transportation Commission (ETC) Chair Andy Lewis led the discussion on their list of work plan items that included event participation and community engagement to promote biking and walking; participation in the Safe and Equitable Mobility Action Plan (SEMAP) initiative; will soon review and provide input on City Code changes that is about to begin; bike and walk infrastructure development that a group is researching to bring new bike and pedestrian infrastructure to life; and, evaluating the current e-bike regulations to see what works and what could be improved, and helping the City develop a better, more informed policy. Council discussion included prioritizing pedestrian safety and acknowledged that sidewalk conditions vary, including widths and slope; lack of clarity on e-bike classes and enforcement challenges; sidewalks should be for pedestrians and not overregulated; support for e-bikes but need a better understanding of how to manage them effectively; and that approval of the e-bike ordinance was to allow the police to have an educational campaign in place before students got out of school for the summer. Lewis shared they are exploring traffic calming measures to improve safety and plan to present a range of options to staff for feedback on what’s feasible. Council supported this considering the City’s zero- death goal and, favoring 4-way stops even if not warranted, suggested reviewing the relevancy of current traffic standards. Lewis acknowledged this was an ongoing issue, noting residents’ petitions and lived experiences can conflict with existing traffic rules, frustrating residents and staff alike. The Council suggested the commission could be involved in several upcoming initiatives, including the quiet zone (railroad) study, planning for a citywide EV-charging system, and exploring a potential France Avenue underpass relative to air quality and vehicle and pedestrian movements. Lewis noted that they did a bike/pedestrian assessment of France Avenue that could help inform whether an overpass or Minutes/Edina City Council Work Session/July 15, 2025 Page 2 underpass would better align with the Southdale Guidelines. Commissioner Bildsten added that they saw a presentation on the underpass in June and enthusiastically supported further study. Energy & Environment Commission (EEC) Chair Cory Lukens led the discussion, sharing they’ve reached the halfway point of the Climate Action Plan (CAP), making significant progress despite the challenges ahead. While many items remain that will require city investment, they’re pleased with staff’s efforts and believe major goals can be achieved with Council support. He acknowledged the Council for the successful bag fee implementation, which faced initial resistance but is now showing meaningful environmental impact. Work on the tree ordinance was ongoing, with some changes expected to be brought forward later. Lukens highlighted several bold initiatives that he said may generate public attention or resistance. They included an anti-idling ordinance paired with an education campaign at school pick-up lines; a multifamily organics policy; researching strategies to increase population density and ridership to help meet CAP goals; a business license discount for food rescue and donation; revisiting organized trash hauling; awareness campaigns including Edina Schools connection/engagement, green business outreach, tree recognition, promoting no-salt, low salt practices, social media takeover to promote EEC actions and sustainability initiatives, other promotions at community events, and promote restaurants using locally grown foods. Other ideas were to create a tool library to reduce the need for every household to purchase infrequently used items like lawnmowers and support the ETC on things like EV charging but because the vast majority are charging at home, Lukens speculated there may not be a need for more City investments, and staff shared a new state law that requires new multi-dwelling to be EV-ready. Council’s feedback included making social media a low priority due to its fragmented reach and recommended focusing outreach efforts on EditionEdina, community events and promoting restaurants using locally grown foods; preferred that the tool library not be staff-managed and suggested a “how to” kit for neighborhood associations to run on their own or a subscription-based model, and noted that renting tools was already a common practice; involving the PTO to gauge interest on school line idling and using data to persuade; start small with pilot blocks for trash hauling, control the narrative, but that it may be a heavier lift than bag fees; engage with the Chamber of Commerce for business input; questioned the baseline data for the bag fee report and staff agreed the data wasn’t strong; and lastly raised the idea of expanding the tree program. 4.0 ADJOURNMENT Mayor Hovland adjourned the meeting at 6:43 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Sharon Allison, City Clerk Minutes approved by Edina City Council, July 15, 2025. James B. Hovland, Mayor Audio copy of the work session available. Sharon Allison (Aug 7, 2025 12:27:27 CDT)