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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006-12-21 MinutesMINUTES OF THE Edina Transportation Commission Thursday, December 21, 2006 Edina City Hall 4801 West 50th Street Community Room MEMBERS PRESENT: Les Wanninger, Warren Plante, Marie Thorpe, Jean White, Marc Usem, Geof Workinger, Joni Kelly Bennett, Dean Dovolis MEMBERS ABSENT: STAFF PRESENT: Wayne Houle, Jack Sullivan, Sharon Allison I. Call to Order The meeting was called to order by chair Wanninger. II. Public Comment No public comment. III. New Business a. Room Change / Broadcasting Commission Meetings (Jennifer Bennerotte – Communications & Marketing Director) Laura Fulton, filling in for Bennerotte, explained that the Council decided to make several changes to its meeting procedures and have directed advisory boards and commissions to follow the same procedures. The new procedures include broadcasting of all commission meetings and new format for hosting public hearings. Fulton also discussed dais set-up and tips for cable television. As a result of the new procedures the ETC will begin meeting in the Council Chambers January 2007. b. Meeting Time After a brief discussion, Plante motioned for the ETC to continue meeting 6-8 p.m. Motion seconded by Dovolis. All ayes. Motion carried. Wanninger noted that a student member has been nominated and Bennett noted that according to the ETC ordinance the student member is a non-voting member. IV. Old Business a. West 70th Street Corridor Study – Update (Commissioner Wanninger) Wanninger discussed the project schedule and process. A consensus was reached to hold three public hearing meetings on January 18 & 23 and February 22, 7-9 p.m. in the Council Chambers. Each meeting is for residents within a designated area. The areas are: residents on West 70th; residents north of West 70th; and residents south of West 70th, respectively. One letter will be sent notifying the entire impacted area of all three meetings but attendees at each meeting should be residents within the designated meeting area. The letter will include the means that will be used to remind and share information with residents of all three public 2 hearings as well as other meetings. The means are posting on the meeting notice board at City Hall, the Liquor Store at 50th and France, and Centennial Lakes Park Centrum, 7449 France Avenue; the city’s website; and the Hennepin County libraries at Grandview and Southdale. After the public hearings, consolidating and summarizing the public’s input on issues and suggestions on solution alternatives will complete Phase 1 of the study process. In Phase 2, the ETC will consider alternative solutions with the Study Advisory Committee (SAC) which will include residents (west of Hwy. 100 as well), the business community, school district, City of Richfield, Mn/DOT, Hennepin County and SRF. A draft report will be formulated and shared with the public for feedback. Public input will be evaluated and alternative solutions refined to develop implementation strategy followed by a final draft, a public hearing, evaluation, refinement and a final report to the Council. V. Approval of Minutes a. Regular Meeting of November 16, 2006 The following correction was made to the minutes regarding the votes on the York Place Traffic Impact Study: 3 ayes, 2 nayes (Bennett, Plante) and 1 recused (Dovolis). The minutes were approved with the correction. 6 ayes, 2 abstained (White and Thorpe). VI. Planning Commission Update (Commissioner Workinger) Workinger said they had one lot sub-division and a presentation by Dovolis for York Place. He said the York Place proposal was tabled; however, some Planning Commission (PC) members felt it had a lot to offer but would require variances. They thought it was too high and a redesign proposal may be coming. Dovolis said changes are being made – 12 stories instead of 14, parking stays the same and 24 instead of 12 affordable units. Dovolis said the tenant is Best Buy and they may be at the next PC meeting. Workinger said his understanding is that the proposal will be brought back to the PC for consideration, followed by the Zoning Board of Appeals who will review the variance requests. Workinger said a judge recently ruled against the Cypress project because the variances were not approved in accordance to MN statutes because they were not approved by the Zoning Board of Appeals. Workinger said in cities all over, the PC and Council approves variances so this ruling will probably complicate things for a while. VII. Open Discussion a. Traffic Impact Study (Houle) Houle said the traffic study Finding of Fact that they’ve been using to evaluate traffic studies is difficult for proponents to use and he recommended that they develop a Traffic Impact Study Criteria outlining specific things that proponents must include such as turning movements, etc. The new criteria could be posted to the web so that it is readily accessible. Houle said he has had preliminary discussions with consultants with experience developing such criteria for other cities and he would like to prepare a draft by the February meeting. Wanninger asked that parking, particularly in commercial zones be included, as well as the area that will be realistically impacted. Dovolis asked that alternative methods of transportation be given equal emphasis to traffic, especially in areas where they want to create more pedestrian movements. Wanninger said he’s heard complaints that they are not given sufficient time to review traffic studies and he’s had discussions with the Mayor regarding the timeline. He said more time is needed by both the ETC’s consultant and the ETC to review traffic studies and the consultant should attend the meeting when proponent’s traffic consultant is presenting a traffic study. Houle said some cities automatically grant an extension to allow enough time for review. 3 b. Transportation Comp Plan Update (Houle) Houle said proposals were received from four consulting firms and one will be selected in January to develop the Comp Plan. A new section in the Comp Plan will be a Bikeway Plan connecting all the municipalities and regions. A modeling for the Greater Southdale to the southeast is also included. The goal is to get the modeling started in the spring or early summer and have it completed by July/August. c. Other Items Houle said the University of Minnesota is doing a study on France Avenue from Old Shakopee Road to the Crosstown gathering traffic signals data and the county has hired a firm to look at the timing of signals on France Avenue. Houle said the two studies will be valuable to the modeling. Commissioner White reported that the SW Transitway PAC forwarded to Hennepin County Regional Rail Authority to retain three alternative routes for the Southwest Light Rail Transit that is proposed. A public hearing is scheduled for January 16. Houle said a study on Boards and Commissions by the League of Women Voters will be presented to the City Council at the second meeting in January. New employee, Jack Sullivan, was introduced to the Commission. As the Assistant City Engineer, Sullivan will be the support staff for the ETC. Bennett tendered her resignation from the ETC effective December 31. Bennett said she has enjoyed working with the Commission and they did a good job building something from the ground up. And while it has not been a perfect process, they learned a lot and built something substantive. She was thanked for her work on the Commission and received well wishes as she moves on to the City Council. Plante said the letter to the editor of the Sun Newspaper by Wanninger was well done. Workinger asked about the next steps for the NE Edina Traffic Study implementation. Houle said the implementation will not be done in one year. He said it is laid out in the Capital Improvements Plan over a 3-year period. He said SRF was hired to start working on the plans for 50th Street and 44th Avenue and the ring-roads will be milled and overlayed, the curb issue on 50th will be fixed during the mill and overlay, plans are being developed for Interlachen and Vernon and the Country Club area is scheduled for 2008. Houle said he will do an update report to be presented in February. VIII. Adjournment Meeting adjourned. The next meeting is scheduled for January 18, 2007, 7-9 p.m., in the Council Chambers. This regular ETC meeting will be a public hearing for the West 70th Street Corridor Traffic Study.