2018.03.20 Work Session Packet (2nd)
4141 Douglas Drive North • Crystal, Minnesota 55422-1696
Tel: (763) 531-1000 • Fax: (763) 531-1188 • www.crystalmn.gov
Posted: March 16, 2018
City Council
Second Work Session Agenda
March 20, 2018
Following the EDA meeting
Conference Room A
Pursuant to due call and notice given in the manner prescribed by Section 3.01 of the City Charter,
the second work session of the Crystal City Council was held at ______ p.m. on March 20, 2018 in
Conference Room A, 4141 Douglas Dr. N., Crystal, Minnesota.
I. Attendance
Council Members Staff
____ LaRoche ____ Therres
____ Parsons ____ Gilchrist
____ Adams ____ Olson
____ Budziszewski ____ Ray
____ Dahl ____ Sutter
____ Deshler ____ Leslin
____ Kolb ____ Serres
II. Agenda
The purpose of the work session is to discuss the following agenda items:
1. Comprehensive Plan update.
2. Municipal State Aid designation changes.
3. Winnetka pond project – goose management and native buffer planting.
4. Constituent issues update.
5. City manager monthly update.
6. New business.*
7. Announcements.*
III. Adjournment
The work session adjourned at ______ p.m.
Auxiliary aids are available upon request to individuals with disabilities by calling the City Clerk at (763) 531-
1145 at least 96 hours in advance. TTY users may call Minnesota Relay at 711 or 1-800-627-3529.
2040 COMPREHENSIVE PLAN UPDATE
PAGE 1 OF 3
_______________________________________________________________
FROM: Dan Olson, City Planner
____________________________________________________________________
TO: Anne Norris (for March 20 City Council Meeting)
DATE: March 15, 2018
RE: Update of 2040 Comprehensive Plan
A. BACKGROUND
The Planning Commission has been reviewing proposed chapters of the 2040
Comprehensive Plan, which is due to the Metropolitan Council by December 31, 2018.
The purpose of this report is to provide the City Council an update on the plan completion
process.
Summary of Significant Changes
The plan update is being done in-house by staff to reflect current information and to
reduce the size of the current plan as much as possible.
The following chapters would be deleted and any relevant information included with other
chapters:
E: Revised Met Council Forecasts – There are no proposed revisions to the 2040
forecasts
H: Redevelopment – This chapter would be merged with land use (chapter F)
The following chapters would be updated to reflect current information without significant
policy changes:
C: Baseline (demographic information)
D: Metropolitan Council Forecasts
I: Roadway jurisdiction
J: Roadway functional classification
L: Public transit
M: Aviation
O: Water resources
COUNCIL STAFF REPORT
Update of 2040 Comprehensive Plan
2040 COMPREHENSIVE PLAN UPDATE
PAGE 2 OF 3
The following chapters would incorporate the following amendments, in addition to
updating current information:
B: Planning Area Designation. This chapter incorporates land use polices for the
“urban” land use designation, which was attributed to Crystal by the Metropolitan
Council. The urban designation is primarily for inner-ring suburbs and is described
as those communities that:
“developed primarily during the economic prosperity between the end of
World War II and the economic recession of 1973-1975. These cities,
adjacent to the Urban Center communities, experienced rapid development
to house the growing families of the baby boom era. With considerable
growth and development along highways, the Urban communities exhibit the
transition toward the development stage dominated by the influence of the
automobile”.
The Planning Commission will be reviewing the land use policies for the urban
designation proposed by the Met Council to see if those policies are appropriate f or
Crystal. The Commission will then make a recommendation to the City Council on
which policies to include in the Comprehensive Plan .
F: Land Use. Staff is proposing to incorporate the redevelopment policies in chapter
H with this chapter. The number of proposed redevelopment areas would be
reduced from 23 to 4 to focus redevelopment in those areas where it is likely to
occur:
Area A: The area near the proposed LRT station at Bass Lake Road and
Highway 81 excluding the low density residential neighborhoods.
Area B: A narrow tract of land near the intersection of 52 nd Avenue and
Douglas Drive that is currently the location for legally non-conforming
commercial uses.
Area C: The area around the intersection of 42 nd Avenue and Douglas Drive
Area D: The area on Douglas Drive between 36th and 32nd Avenues.
The Commission has reviewed updates to the existing land use map and table and
will be reviewing the proposed updates to the 2040 land use map and table.
G: Housing. Staff will add a summary of the housing gap a nalysis, which will be
reviewed by the City Council and Planning Commission at their joint meeting on
April 19, 2018.
K: Non-motorized transportation. Staff will update the city’s proposed sidewalk plan
and consider adding trails identified in the park master planning process.
N: Parks and Open Space. This chapter has been updated to reflect a summary of
the “Park and Recreation System Master Plan” adopted by the City Council in
2017.
2040 COMPREHENSIVE PLAN UPDATE
PAGE 3 OF 3
Next steps
The following is the timeline for completing the comprehensive plan update:
April 9, 2018: Planning Commission holds a meeting to receive public input
May 1, 2018: City Council meeting to review public comments and to
authorize submittal of the plan to adjacent jurisdictions
May 4, 2018: The proposed plan will be submitted to adjacent jurisdictions
for their review. At the same time, the plan will be submitted to
the Metropolitan Council for a preliminary review.
November 5, 2018: City Council meeting to review comments from adjacent
jurisdictions and Metropolitan Council. This meeting may be
held earlier if the city receives all the comments before the six
month deadline passes.
November 19, 2018: Planning Commission holds public hearing for additional public
input
December 4, 2018: City Council meeting to authorize submittal of the final plan to
the Metropolitan Council
B. REQUESTED ACTION
This agenda item is being presented so the Council may be aware of the progress being
made to update the city’s comprehensive plan, and provide direction on any proposed
amendments to the plan.
Memorandum
DATE: March 20, 2018
TO: City Council
FROM: Mark Ray, PE, Director of Public Works
SUBJECT: Changes in Municipal State Aid designations
Summary
As previously discussed, with the closure of Welcome Avenue between 46th Avenue and 47th Avenue
the State Aid designation will need to be revoked from that one block of Welcome Avenue. 46th
Avenue between Welcome Ave and Xenia Ave will need to be designated, as well as Xenia Ave
between 46th and 47th.
Under State Aid rules, Cities are allowed to designate up to 20% of the City’s street mileage as
Municipal State Aid routes. These routes are then eligible for funding that comes from State gas tax
distributions. The amount each City gets is derived from a complex formula, but one of the factors is
vehicle traffic. It is to a City’s benefit to have the higher volume roads be designated as State Aid
routes, this also makes sense practically because State Aid routes must be built to State Aid standards
which are higher than normal City streets.
Other factors
Over the past year staff have also been going through all of the State Aid segment lengths and
performing an audit of sorts to make sure everything is accurate. Through this process some additional
corrections in length have been identified. No Council approval is needed as there is no changes in
designations, just updates. The important take away is that the miles of designated State Aid mileage
changed a bit because of these corrections.
Street removals
In additional to the removal of Welcome Avenue between 46th Avenue and 47th Avenue, staff have also
looked into the shortening of the 29th Avenue cul-de-sac on the south side of Bassett Creek Park. This
change was identified though the Park Master Plan process. The street would be terminated
approximately 10-15’ past (east) of the only existing driveway on this segment of road. Staff has met
with the only property owner that fronts 29th Ave and they are strongly in favor of this removal.
The other important note with the street removals is that since the MSA designation is based on 20%
of the total mileage, reducing street mileage will reduce MSA mileage. That said, it is still in the City’s
best interest to reduce unneeded streets as it still reduces our overall long-term liability.
Current State Aid status
Existing street miles 88.09 MSA borders count as half mileage. All other full mileage.
MSA allowance 20% 17.62 20% of total street mileage
Existing MSA designated mileage 17.54 Based on Crystal proposed mileage corrections
Existing MSA balance 0.07 Available to designate MSA roads
Proposed changes (street removals) – overall picture
New total mileage 87.89 MSA borders count as half mileage. All other full mileage
MSA allowance 17.58 20% of total mileage
MSA amount 17.57 Based on Crystal corrections and proposed MSA changes
MSA balance 0.01
0.01 miles is 52.8 feet. This really means the City has used all our potential mileage.
Proposed changes in State Aid designations
Staff looked at a variety of options to try and fully allocate MSA mileage, while also trying to shift
mileage to higher-volume roads. The first three lines of the table below relate solely to the Welcome
Park project. The un-designation of 34th was identified because it is a lower volume of road and the
mileage it freed up allowed for 55th Avenue between W. Broadway and Sherburne Ave to be
designated. Not only is this segment of 55th higher volume than 34th Ave, but it also has a traffic signal
which is a factor taken into consideration.
Street Name Termini
Addition to
MSA Reduction from MSA
Welcome Avenue 46th Avenue to 47th Avenue -0.12
46th Avenue Welcome Ave to Xenia Ave 0.08 Xenia Avenue 46th Avenue to 47th Avenue 0.12 34th Avenue Brunswick Ave to Douglas Dr -0.13
55th Avenue
W. Broadway to Sherburne
Ave 0.07
Sums: 0.27 -0.25
Cost considerations
When State Aid funds are used on reconstructed roads, if any change is made within the next 25 years
there is a payback required. That said, in talking with State Aid staff this payback can be balanced out if
the City has a State Aid-eligible project that the City was not planning on using State Aid funds for.
The joint mill and overlay project on 36th Avenue is such a project. Because New Hope is using State Aid
funds for the project, Crystal had to go through all the State Aid approvals, even though we are using
local street maintenance funds for the project. We did not originally plan to go the State Aid route
because we basically have IOU’s from the State for all our previous street reconstruction projects for
the next 5+ years. This due to the City being annually allotted a specific amount, but our project costs
were in excess of that. In short, we can seek to “use” State Aid funds for the 36th Ave mill and overlay
project that will in-effect cancel out the payback for revoking the State Aid status from Welcome Ave
and 34th Ave.
Welcome Avenue
• PROJECT: 116-314-002 (awarded 2009)
• Project amount: $734,437
• Award Year: 2009 (Current Year 2018)
• 2018 – 2009 = 9 years of life completed
• REMAINING LIFE = 16 years
Project length = 0.65 miles. (0.12 miles to be deleted)
Prorate by life and length
(0.12 miles/ 0.65 miles) * (16 years/25 years) * $734,437 = $86,776 of payback
34th Avenue
• PROJECT: 116-333-002 (awarded 1998)
• Project amount: $432,939
• Award Year: 1998 (Current Year 2018)
• 2018 – 1998 = 20 years of life completed
• REMAINING LIFE = 5 years
Project length = 0.45 miles. (0.13 miles to be deleted)
Prorate by life and length
(0.13 miles / 0.45 miles) * (5 years/25 years) * $432,939 = $25,014 of payback
Attachments
• Proposed State Aid changes
• Proposed street removals
Recommended Action
No formal action is needed at this time. Staff is looking for direction from Council. If given the direction
to proceed as outlined, staff will work with the State Aid office to formally start the change process. A
resolution will be brought before the Council at a future meeting (anticipated to be in April).
Add .07 Miles
55th Ave.
Remove .12 Miles
Welcome Ave.
Add .08 Miles
46th Ave.
Add .12 Miles
Xenia Ave.
Remove .13 Miles
34th Ave.
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State Aid Additions/Removals·
00 . 2 5 0 . 50.125
Miles
Crystal Streets
Category:
LOCAL MSA
LOCAL
COUNTY
STATE HWY
RAIL LINE
Other Cities
Remove .12 Miles
Welcome Ave.
Remove .08 Miles
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Planned 2018 Road Removals·
0 0.25 0.50.125
Miles
Crystal Streets
Category:
LOCAL MSA
LOCAL
COUNTY
STATE HWY
RAIL LINE
Other Cities
Memorandum
DATE: March 20, 2018
TO: City Council
FROM: Mark Ray, PE, Director of Public Works
SUBJECT: Winnekta Pond Project check in – goose management and buffer zone
Summary
In the winter of 2018-2019 the City will be dredging Winnetka Pond, which will be funded by the
Bassett Creek Watershed Management Commission. As part of this project there are some options for
goose management and constructing a native planting buffer area. Staff from Barr Engineering, the
consultant doing the design and construction observation work for the project, will be attending the
work session to provide a summary of these topics and answer questions.
Discussion
Goose management and the maintenance needed for the native buffer area are policy questions
because City resources are needed for these efforts. Goose management is currently done, and
proposed to continue to be done, by the police department’s animal control officer. The native buffer
area conversation is really complementary to the native prairie planting concept that has been
discussed for portions of City parks. Both of the native planting efforts have benefits to water quality,
storm water management, habitat improvement, and deters geese. But the native area plantings do
require specialized maintenance that would need to be contracted out. Barr will provide cost
information at the meeting.
Attachments
• Barr goose management memo
Council Action
Staff is looking for direction on the following items:
1) Confirmation on moving forward with goose management efforts in the City using the addling
method
2) Discussion on the native buffer zones and native prairie planting
a. Is the Council open to staff looking at other City parks for native prairie plantings?
i. A portion of Bassett Creek Park is the next top canidate quickly identified
b. To what extent would the Council like staff to look for options?
i. Everywhere feasible?
ii. Low programmed-use parks?
c. Looking at it from another angle, what is the cost the Council thinks the native plantings
are worth?
i. It is assumed that the staff and equipment time saved has $0 value because staff
will just be assigned to take on other park-related maintenance projects using
other equipment/parts/etc.
ii. That said, the potential time this frees up at Bassett Creek Park could be
considerable. Off the cuff, staff assume that they can reduce the time spent
mowing this park by 6 hours and 4 hours weedwhipping per week during the
peak growing season.
3) Discussion around maintenance costs of the native buffer
i. The watershed will pay for the construction cost on private property because of
the water quality benefits.
ii. Is the Council interested in funding this maintenance effort on public property?
iii. Maintenance costs are not paid by the watershed. While the buffer extends over
two different properties (one private and one public), but is functionally one
buffer, it makes sense that all the maintenance is done under one contract.
What type of arrangement would the Council be open to considering?
Barr Engineering Co. 4300 MarketPointe Drive, Suite 200, Minneapolis, MN 55435 952.832.2600 www.barr.com
Memorandum
To: Mark Ray and Mick Cyert
From: Meg Rattei, Patrick Brockamp and Karen Chandler
Subject: Winnetka Pond Goose Management
Date: March 14, 2018
Project: 23271622.00
Conflicts between Canadian geese and humans in the urban environment have increased as goose
populations have grown.1 Geese can be a nuisance due to their aggressive behavior and fecal droppings.
Canadian geese have been observed loafing adjacent to Winnetka Pond for a number of years. The geese
in and around Winnetka Pond are a nuisance to the Winnetka Village apartment residents and can fly to
nearby parks and become a nuisance to park visitors. To reduce the population of Canada geese in and
around Winnetka Pond, management of Canadian geese will likely be incorporated into the Winnetka
Pond dredging project. This memorandum includes background information, information about goose
management regulations, and goose management measures for Winnetka Pond.
1.0 Background
The Canada goose is the most widespread and abundant North American goose. The bird has adapted
well to an urban environment. Predator densities are low, hunting is limited, the bird is unaffected by most
human activities, and there is an abundance of brood-rearing habitat and food sources. If unmanaged,
Canada goose populations increase over time. Canada goose nest success normally ranges from 60 to 80
percent and, on average, 4 goslings are hatched per successful nest.2 Complaints due to Canadian geese
have increased with the increasing populations.1 The primary complaint is an excess of goose fecal
droppings. Goose digestive systems are relatively inefficient and result in the production of approximately
3 to 4 pounds of fecal droppings per goose per day. The droppings are a nuisance to people and can
move nutrients derived from upland grass into adjacent water bodies.2
The City of New Hope began a goose management program in 2013 in response to complaints from
Northwood Park users of excess goose fecal droppings on park trails. The City of Crystal saw a need for
goose management due to excess goose fecal droppings within Bassett Creek Park Pond. Hence, the
animal control officer, a shared position between the Cities of New Hope and Crystal, began performing
annual goose management. The management approach selected by the City is addling of goose eggs to
1 Conover, M.R., and G.C. Chasko. 1985. Nuisance Canada Goose Problems in the Eastern United States.
Wildlife Society Bulletin 13:228-232
2 City of Eden Prairie. 2008. City of Eden Prairie Canada Goose Management Plan. 32pp.
To: Mark Ray and Mick Cyert
From: Meg Rattei, Patrick Brockamp and Karen Chandler
Subject: Winnetka Pond Goose Management
Date: March 14, 2018
Page: 2
P:\Mpls\23 MN\27\23271622 Winnetka Pond Dredging\WorkFiles\Goose Management\Goose Management memo.docx
prevent successful hatches and corresponding increases in the goose population. City staff locates goose
nests in spring during the reproductive season and dips the eggs in corn oil to prevent them from
hatching. This process is called egg addling. Addling occurs within fourteen days after the eggs are laid.
The shell remains intact so the adults continue to incubate the eggs in the nest. By the time the adult
birds realize the eggs won’t hatch, their breeding hormones have switched off and they won’t renest (lay
new eggs) that season. If the eggs were destroyed by smashing, the adults would most likely renest.3
Annually the City has located Canada goose nests and addled the eggs within the nests at Bassett Creek
Park Pond locations since 2014. To date, 190 eggs in the Bassett Creek Park Pond area have been addled.3
Winnetka Pond was included in the 2013 egg addling program. Six nests were located at Winnetka Pond
and the eggs within the nests addled.3 Because Winnetka Village expressed an interest in continuing the
program for Winnetka Pond, the City discontinued the inclusion of Winnetka Pond in its annual goose
management program. However, Winnetka Village staff did not continue the egg addling program.
Consequently, geese continued to thrive. In May of 2017, City of Crystal staff observed 15 geese on
Winnetka Pond.4 In February of 2018, Winnetka Village staff expressed an interest in the City including
Winnetka Pond in its egg addling program.
2.0 Regulations Covering Canada Geese
Canadian geese are protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 (16 USC 703-711). This act gives
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service the authority to set limits, make regulations, and issue permits to harvest
or take waterfowl, including eggs.5 Using their authority from this act, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
requires a permit to addle eggs from Canadian geese. In addition to the Federal permit, a state permit
from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is required to addle eggs from Canadian geese.6
Although the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources requires an approved goose management plan
to harvest live Canadian geese, a management plan is not required to addle their eggs.
3.0 Winnetka Pond Canada Goose Management
Successful management of Canadian geese depends on identifying the site characteristics most attractive
to the geese and then reducing those characteristics. Combining two or more management techniques
often improves results. Two techniques will likely be used to manage Canadian geese at Winnetka Pond.
Habitat modification would reduce the security of the pond and, hence, make it less attractive to geese.
3 Mahan, T. 2017. Animal Control Officer/City of Crystal. Email to Meg Rattei on November 1, 2017.
4 Ray, M. 2017. Personal Communication to Bassett Creek Watershed Management Commission Engineer.
5 Smith, A. E., S. R. Craven, and P. D. Curtis. 1999. Managing Canada Geese in Urban Environments. Jack
Berryman Institute Publication 16, and Cornell University Cooperative Extension, Ithaca, N.Y.
6 Mahan, T. 2018. Animal Control Officer/City of Crystal. Personal Communication.
To: Mark Ray and Mick Cyert
From: Meg Rattei, Patrick Brockamp and Karen Chandler
Subject: Winnetka Pond Goose Management
Date: March 14, 2018
Page: 3
P:\Mpls\23 MN\27\23271622 Winnetka Pond Dredging\WorkFiles\Goose Management\Goose Management memo.docx
Egg addling would reduce the goose population by preventing eggs from hatching. Details of these
techniques are discussed in the following paragraphs.
3.1 Habitat Modification
Geese like to be able to see for long distances in order to spot predators. They feel most secure on an
open body of water adjacent to shoreline with low or mowed vegetation. Creating shoreline buffers that
are 20 to 30 feet wide with vegetation three or more feet high makes the area less attractive to geese.2
Shrubs or other vegetative barriers block favored pathways of geese and obstruct their line of sight,
making the area less attractive because of the potential for attack from predators.7 8 A vegetative buffer
that is a minimum of 30 feet wide will likely be planted along the northern, western, and a portion of the
southern shoreline of Winnetka Pond to reduce the attractiveness of the pond for geese and, hence,
reduce the numbers of geese loafing on the grassy area between the pond and Winnetka Village
apartments.
3.2 Egg Addling
The Animal Control Officer for the City of Crystal will likely include Winnetka Pond in its annual egg
addling program to reduce the Canadian goose population at the pond. The City would obtain the
required annual permits from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Minnesota Department of Natural
Resources for egg addling at Winnetka Pond. During spring, staff would locate all Canada goose nests at
Winnetka Pond. Within two weeks after eggs are laid, staff would dip each egg in 100 percent corn oil and
then return each egg to the nest. The egg addling would prevent the eggs from hatching and, hence,
reduce the Canadian goose population at Winnetka Pond.
7 Canover, M.R., and G.S. Kania. 1991. Characteristics of Feeding Sites Used by Urban-Suburban Flocks of
Canada Geese in Connecticut. Wildlife Society Bulletin 19:36-38.
8 Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Homeowners’ Guide to Goose Problems. 6 pp.
4141 Douglas Drive North • Crystal, Minnesota 55422-1696
Tel: (763) 531-1000 • Fax: (763) 531-1188 • www.crystalmn.gov
CITY MANAGER WORK PLAN
MONTHLY CHECK IN – MARCH 2018
Objectives:
- Strategic leadership for achievement of Council goals
o Thriving Business Climate
City Code update in process – UDC approved 1/2/18
2018 EDA project – Bass Lake Road streetscape project out for
bids
Fire suppression system financial assistance program approved
Open To Business available
o Create Strong Neighborhoods
Crystal Ball and Neighbors Helping Neighbors – 3/24
Code enforcement – on-going
Implementation of Master Parks System Plan – Welcome Park
improvements - planning underway
Home improvement loans/rebates available
Vacant EDA lots being sold for new single family homes
Continued discussion of ADU’s
o Fiscally sound and stable policies and procedures – see Financial
Management below
- Financial Management
o Long term financial planning:
2/5/18 work session – long term capital plans, financial update
o Updated financial policies in progress
o Council reviewing surplus property 3/8/18 as one time park
improvement funding
o Space needs study – PD and City Hall - underway
- Service delivery
o Monthly check in with Council
o Constituent Issues – prompt response and resolution – on-going
o Closed constituent issues – monthly report
- Media Relations
o Mayor’s State of the City – 3/21 CBA Meeting
o April work session – discuss Public Safety and critical incidents – how
information is shared, what information is shared
o Review and update media protocol – 2nd quarter