Minutes - Council - 08/12/2003 - Laserfiche WebLink

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concern he has is that the initial development agreement proposal had the City paying for all of the roads, which took him back. Pete Keely, Ramsey Town Center, LLC, stated that preliminary plat is not necessarily a trigger to take down the land but it moves the process forward. The net affect is that delaying action delays the project an additional two weeks. What the Ramsey Town Center, LLC has been trying to do is create a set process and preliminary plat is a big step addressing the physical concerns and it triggers all of the subsequent sales. Councilmember Elvig inquired if preliminary plat approval would give Ramsey Town Center, LLC the ability to negotiate with sub developers, which would then be a big factor in order for them to come forward and sign a development agreement. Mr. Keely replied that that was possibly true. City Administrator Norman explained that staff has been holding off for three to four months on plans and specifications for Sunwood Drive based on the direction of the City Council that planning of the road cannot occur until Ramsey Town Center, LLC owns the road. The City is also at risk of losing grant money for the bus station because part of the preliminary plat approval creates land for the bus station. The other issue is the PACT Charter school. If they are not able to get a parcel of land they will have to begin negotiations with their current building. Councilmember Strommen inquired if the City will lose the Park and Ride grant without moving forward with preliminary plat approval. Assistant Director of Public Works Olson replied that granting preliminary plat approval does allow the City to start the design work for the site. Councilmember Strommen inquired if the City would be able to keep the Park and Ride grant if they were to wait on granting preliminary plat approval until they had a signed development agreement. Assistant Public Works Director Olson replied probably, but he was not sure about the impact it would have on the PACT Charter School. Councilmember Strommen stated that she felt like they were being faced with a "due or die" decision, which really biases their decision. Councilmember Zimmerman stated that he could meet anytime with the developer to resolve the issues in the development agreement. When the developer first came before the Council they were talking about no City participation and now they are talking about a lot of City participation. Mr. Jacobson stated that the development agreement and the discussions have been moving forward in good faith. He believed that from step one and the intent of the development agreement and zoning has been very forward and very much on point to accommodate what the City needs and yet make sure they can get in the ground this year. He felt that preliminary plat approval was a logical step to move the process forward. Mayor Gamec replied that some of the Councilmembers would like to have the development agreement completed so that they can tie it all together. Councilmember Elvig stated that in all fairness to the developer they did sit down with the developer at which time the developer presented a timeline they needed to stick to and this is in line with that time line. To him it was a setback to have an agreement before them saying that the City would pay for all the City streets, which now makes them nervous. Mayor Gamec inquired if the Council felt that the preliminary plat layout was acceptable. Councilmember Zimmerman replied that there is no report from the County pertaining to the County roads. Assistant Community Development Director Trudgeon explained that there are no written comments because they were included in the AUAR document and there will be no additional written comments. Councilmember Cook agreed that they were at the 11th hour, but it was not because of the developer, it is due to shortfalls in staffing, and a lack of a quorum with the Planning Commission. Staff is trying to stay on a schedule the developer gave them three months ago. It is the Ramsey Town Center, LLC that has given the City additional money to help with staffing needs and they still have had to delay the City Council/August 12, 2003 Page 24 of 30