Minutes - Council - 02/11/1997 - Laserfiche WebLink

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issue was initially placed on the Council's consent agenda because it was perceived as non- controversial. On it's face, it seems to reserve power to municipalities and staff felt it was a positive thing. Councilmember Haas Steffen suggested that if the AMC is going to back this up, Wright and Stearns Counties will be interested in doing this. You will be fighting something bigger and knowledge is the best fight. If you cannot kill it, you want to be able to bend it. Motion carried. Voting Yes: Mayor Gamec, Councilmembers Haas Steffen, Beyer, Beahen and Zimmerman. Voting No: None. Case 97: Discuss Proposed Charter Amendment Brought Forward by Terry Hendriksen Review: During citizen input, the Council was presented with a draft proposed Charter amendment which stated some development standards for placing high density residential development next to an existing lower density neighborhood. Mr. Hendriksen asked Council to declare a development moratorium to allow time to study impacts to existing neighborhoods or to implement this proposed Charter amendment. Mayor Gamec suggested that this has been brought up before by Commissions and the City Council. He noted an area this is happening in and stated that he has not had a lot of discussion with the people in that particular area. Councilmember Beyer stated that this kind of fits in with what we were talking about last Wednesday at the joint meeting - a vision for the future and upgrading the comprehensive plan. Councilmember Haas Steffen stated she is willing to take the heat. She added that she is disappointed that the new Council has only had three meetings and Mr. Hendriksen is asking this to be dealt with. She is not interested in seeing Ramsey look like North Minneapolis 20 to 30 years from now. She has been reviewing the comprehensive plan and added that she is not prepared to put a moratorium on developing without having a public heating. It's unfortunate that the residents did not make this noise at the time this particular area was brought into the MUSA and, therefore, could be developed for private homes. The owner sold that property in good faith and she was not sure Council could legally place a moratorium on this development right now. Council would have to look at lawsuits. She fek this doesn't reflect what happened in the Haubrich area. That was developed, this is not. The two are not synonymous. She supported looking at different land planning - cluster homes, rustic areas, etc. She reiterated she is not prepared to vote tonight to place a moratorium on development. Mayor Gamec stated that Council is reacring to a touchy issue. He did not know of anyone who was "thrilled" about the development and expressed concern about a neighborhood feud. This is a good opportunity to work with these people and come up with some good ideas. He added that he cannot support this proposed amendment without more study. Terry Hendriksen stated that a moratorium would allow for time to study these issues. He felt there were irregularities in the last MUSA extension. He stated it was approved before it was brought to City Council. People did not comment at that time because the initial submission occurred months before. The first approach to City Council on that matter were the four issues facing Fox Knoll - two have been taken care of. It's unfair for this type of neighborhood to suffer this type of density. The second issue is traffic impact. These two issues were present in the Haubrich addition and were not addressed. They remain unresolved. Mayor Gamec stated that the City has some alternatives, however, the County and the State also dictate what the City can do. He felt that this Council is receptive and that they have learned from City Council/February 11, 1997 Page 11 of 14