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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCouncil_Connection_020513Council meets with State Representative At a work session prior to its regular meeting, the Council met with Rep. Ron Erhardt. The Council met with Erhardt to discuss current and pro- posed legislative matters, including discussions about transportation funding, gun control, sales taxes, Sunday liquor sales, aviation noise issues and a proposal to allow city governments to allow their city employees to have health insurance bene- fits for their domestic part- ners. Council reviews sketch plan for Morningside homes The Council reviewed ideas for a housing redevelopment on the Edina-St. Louis Park border. Frank Sidell has three subdi- vision alternatives for the Morningside Neighborhood property located in between Littel Street and Morningside Road. Sidell presented the sketch plans to the Council. Sketch plan reviews allow applicants to obtain feed- back from the Planning Com- mission and City Council before they proceed with formal applications. The Council heard ideas for the subdivision, dubbed “Acres DuBois” in honor of Franklin DuBois Sidell, for 4412 Morningside Road and 4232 Oakdale Ave. Mem- bers provided feedback and encouraged Sidell to ad- vance the plans for the “Modified Original Proposal” to the Planning Commission for formal approval. Council continues talks of neighborhood boundaries The City is continuing work to determine boundaries for Edina’s neighborhoods. A Neighborhood Identifica- tion Steering Committee led the “Name Your Neighbor- hood” project to determine neighborhood names and boundaries. The group of residents also helped staff draft a policy for establishing and interacting with City- recognized neighborhood associations. Once approved, residents in each neighborhood would have the option to voluntari- ly form a City-recognized neighborhood association. Some goals of voluntary as- sociations are to foster com- munication between neigh- borhoods and the City, pro- mote community and civic engagement, and ensure neighborhood safety and security. Some Council Members ex- pressed concern that the policy would prohibit neigh- borhood boundary changes from being made for three years. Name changes can be requested within the first year of a neighborhood be- ing recognized, but would not be allowed after that period of time. A summary of the Feb. 5 Edina City Council meeting Feb. 8, 2013 Volume 15, Issue 3 Council Connection Upcoming meetings: Heritage Preservation Board, 7 p.m. Feb. 12 Park Board, 7 p.m. Feb. 12 Planning Commission, 7 p.m. Feb. 13 Energy & Environment Commission, 7 p.m. Feb. 14 City Council, 7 p.m. Feb. 19 City Contacts City Manager Scott Neal 952-826-0401 Assistant City Manager Karen Kurt 952-826-0415 City Clerk Debra Mangen 952-826-0408 Community Development Director Cary Teague 952-826-0460 Economic Development Manager Bill Neuendorf 952-826-0407 We’d like to hear from you … If you have any comments, call Communications & Technology Services Director Jennifer Bennerotte at 952-833- 9520. The text of this publication will be available online at www.EdinaMN.gov. PLEASE RECYCLE. www.EdinaMN.gov The City Council will contin- ue its discussion on the initi- ative at a work session in April. City to purchase downtown property The City Council, acting as the Housing and Redevelop- ment Authority, authorized the purchase of the building at 3930 W. 49 1/2 St. Edina Realty currently leas- es the two-story office build- ing, but plans to relocate to the nearby Pinehurst Build- ing. The City will pay $2.65 million dollars for the prop- erty. The City has studied parking in downtown Edina and found that additional public parking is needed to sup- port the continued success of the district. The study confirmed that the existing ramp on West 49 1/2 Street – known as the “North Ramp” – can be expanded. Acquiring the Edina Realty building could allow for a seamless expansion of the ramp. Construction of additional parking at the North Ramp could compensate for the temporary loss of spaces during a possible renovation of the Middle and South ramps. Edina Realty’s lease goes through May 31. The City will close on the property June 3 and will raze the building sometime later this year.