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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08/12/68OF THE .I-LA~TINC_~ pMNi~IIING COMMI$$IOI~I MEMBEi~$ PRESENT: Fluegel~ Siebrecht~ Bauer~ Nelson~ Karpen, Soleim~ Truax, Peterseno GUESTS: Davidson~ Gu~derrnan, Matula, 'Richards, Eidem, Mr. & Mrs. We~dler, Mrs. Schumacher, Mrs. Miller, Charlton, Taylor~ etco The first order of business was a motion by Nelson, seconded by Truax~ that the Leonard Bauer Plat be recommended to the Council for acceptance, including the street layout, but with the exception that all Outlots to be platted in the future in detail according to the zoning code° Ayes, all; with Bauer abstaining, Next, it w~s moved by Nelson, seconded by Truax that a committee be formed to study the Vermillion River Flood Plan Area with the possibility of recommending that this area be made into a Regional Park. This committee should have a report for the Commission at the next regular meeting, which will be September 4, 1968o It was recommended that this committee work with the County Planning Commission Director as well as requesting help frorn the Recreation Committee of the Hastings Chamber of Commerce. Committee: Nelson (Chairman), Siebrecht, Truax, Ayes, all. It was agreed that a recommendation on the Vermillion River interceptor sewer crossing proposal be tabled until the Vermillion Park committee makes its report° Next, it was moved by Nelson, seconded by Soleim~ that the Conzemins proposed plat be required to be included as a par~ of an accepted storm drainage area, preferab!¥ the proposed gravel pit ponding basin, as a condition for Council acceptance of the final plato It was then moved by Truax, seconded by $iebrecht that the above motion be tabled until a report from the City Engineer on this drainage problem is received and the final plat study in relation to the Engineer's Report° Ayes, all, Regarding the Commission budget request from the Council Finance Committee, it was decided that a committee of Truax and Soleim be impowered to study the Commission's financial commitments for the next year and forward this decision to the Council Finance Committee without further approval from the Commission° The very informativ~ letter i:i'om John Go McKane regarding the l.ake l~ebecca Park P:cojr;ct ~11 be forwarded to the Citizens A'Jx4sox-y Group~ Recreations. 1 Co~niZtee~ which is in the fomative s~age a~ pre~en~. It was felt by the Co~'nisslon ~ha~ a Citizens Recreational! Co~nit~ee wo~d be better ~b!e to accelerate ~he plans and s~udies necessary for ~ project of th~s magaitude~ The Corm--aissio~'~ appreciated the Mrs° Matt Lelfeld letter regarding the area parking lots and recommended that it be ser~t to the l:Iastings Chamber of Commerce for further action~ The John Go McKane lei:for recommending the book "Challenge to America" was referred to the Hastings Librarlr Board wit[h the recoxxmaendaticn tha~ the book be purchased and pl;-'-ced ~n the Library for general use° It was then moved by Nelson, seconded by Fluegel~ that the Wendler to C-2 rezoning po'litton be recommended for Council approval, The meeting was then turned over to Mr o Thomas Hodne who presented to the Commission a preliminary draft of a "l~roposed Land Subdivision Ordir~nce for the City o~ Hastings, M~nesotao .After discuss~g each individu~ proposal of the draft, i~ was decided tMt the Cornmission ~ould ~tudy ibis draft in more 6.etail before the ne~ regular meeling~ There will be a special commission meeting during the last week of this monlh~ hopefull¥~ with the e~tire Council in attenclance, to try to reach a corem.on understanding on the recommendations or changes in the draft,, Walter Pe'~.ers~n~ Chairman Hastings Iolanning Commission N1 EHNAL CORRESPLIh~u~,~ FROM Mr. H. S. Wick, Operating Superintendent Mr. Don Irvine, District Superintendent o^ z June 20; 1968 LO¢^T,ON Faribauit LOCATION Hastings Dear Don: Regarding your letter about a committee working on a project to beautify the riverfront in Hastings, and that this project would encompass our substation, I am sure that our substation and warehouse, as they appear at present, are quite compatible ~rith their surroundings and present no distraction from an esthetic standpoint. We have always had this view in mind, and have expended time and effort to keep them neat, clean, and in good repair. These substation sites were selected to be as near to load centers as possible, and were based on sound engineering principles. If, in the future, the load center would shift; then a new look could be taken for relocation. I do not fore- see such a shift in the immediate future for Hastings, but if one did occur, we would be willing to take a new look at the situation. If there are any improvements in the area other than relocation we would be willing to discuss them with you. Maybe a paint job on the older part of the warehouse would be an improvement. Maybe removing that little storage build- ing adjacent to the warehouse would be an improvement. Maybe our esthetic committee would consider adding some colored panels to the fence around the substation. ~L%ybe a paint job on the transformers and associated st'ation equipment would improve the appearance. These are some of the things that could be worked out to help you swing with the situation. These are my thoughts, Don, and I will discuss them with you further when next we meet. Sincerely, H. S. Wick Operating Superintendent HSW:MG CLERK MINUTES OF THE HASTINGS PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING HELD AUGUST 12, 1968 The Planning Commission reviewed the Leonard Bauer plat in relation to interceptor sewer assessment s. There was a decision of the Planning Commission that all parcels marked "Outlots" be changed to "Exceptions to the Plat" and that the developer would pay for only those lots that are actually being platted at this time, which are Lots and Blocks, 1, 2, and 3 of Bauer's Second Addition. The next item of business was the study of the interceptor sewer crossing of the Vermillion River west of the County Shops. It was suggested by Leigh Nelson that we study the possibility of putting the entire area west of the Vermillion River bridge, south of the Vermillion River to the south Corporate Limits in a greenway to preserve this area for no development in which case the sanitary sewer crossing would not be justified. A committee of Nelson, Siebrecht, and Truax was appointed to study this possibility. The next item was review of the Conzemius plat in regard to drainage, as a requirement of platting. This item was tabled until the engineer can review grades of the area to see if it would be economically feasible to drain this to the ponding basin in the Earl Bakken gravel pit area. Mr. Siebrecht irfformed the Commission that there will be a school board meeting on August 22, 1968 and suggested that some of the planning commission might attend this meeting. It was brought before the Planning Commission the possibility of reviewing the Willis Olson Trailer Park in relation to connection fees for sanitary sewer hookups. It is the feeling of the Planning Commission that this is a Council function and will be brought up at the meeting of August 19th at a regular Council Meeting. It was brought up by Councilman Soleim that the Planning Commission must have their budget in prior to August 15th. They have appointed a committee of Truax and Soleim who have the power to act in regard to drawing up their budget for 1969. The next item brought up before the Commission was a letter written by Mr. John McKane relative to the Lake Rebecca Park. (Copy of this letter should be attached to these minutes). Mr. Bill Wendler and Mr. l~on Tesdaht appeared before the Planning Commission with a petition to rezone from R-1 to C-2 the present Livingston Ford property. Planning Commission Minutes August 12, 1968 - Z - As a requirement of their lease to the National Farm Stores,Inc. , the manage- ment of that store must have all of the property under lease under one zoning jurisdiction. The Planning Commission recommended approval for rezoning this property. The Engineer brought it to the attention of the Planning Commission that any alteration of water flowing over this property would create increased problems in our storm drainage area at that point. If and when the conditions were changed, this property would be subjected to storm sewer assessment. Mr. Olson appeared relative to the Willis Olson Trailer Park in South Hastings. The Commission appointed a committee of Soleim and Karpen to meet with Mr. Olson on Tuesday, August 13~, at 5:00 P.M. in the City Hall. The Engineer will attend this meeting. Mr. Tom Hodne gave a complete report on his building and platting ordinance, a copy of which is attached to these minutes. The Planning Commission meeting ended at 10:30 P.M. John Davidson, City Engineer June iO, 1968 Mr. Walter Peterson President, City Planning Commission 1529 Tyler Street Hastings, Minnesota Dear Walt: It struck me again, as I viewed several score people fishing along the shoreline of Lake Rebecca -- fathers, sons, daughters- et al -- and catching crappies, occasional great northern pike of some size, that the day will come soon when this lake, now comparatively dormant, will hold the highest potential for recreational development in Hastings. i am ~mQuemtln~ ~ha~ you, ~here£ore, a~head ~f ~ur ~annin~ group, and as a favor to a concerned citizen, utilize your good office to make certain that Mr. Hodney and Associates have in their general recreational plan some broad concept for the total Rebecca recreational development, including: Both shorelines, the lake proper, the 12e-odd acres the Corps of Engineers deeded to Hastings for recreational use. As you k~ow, the Lake is now a winter-kill classification lake in the files of the Department of Conservation. The dredging for the nine-foot channel in the early 19~O's by the Omaha Division~of theCorps, in which effluent was dumped unceremoniously into the lake before ~his personal witness~was ill-timed. However, that is the wrong kind of water over the lake. These off-the-cuff observations: 1. The Department is now studying the possibility of long-range lake restoration and making available cigarette tax money for lake renovation. It strikes me that we have been approaching the ReBecca dream hind-end too; that is, that lake restoration and use of dredging fill for the Corps' area park project should come first. Portable dredges have been vastly i~proved. Selective dredging of the lake proper to develop holes, develop swimming areas, eliminate shallows and clear the outlet channel which, at present, seems prohibitive will, in a few short years, be · an "automatic answer" -- even at a cost of $50%OOO to $1OO,O00. 2. I am sure the Department of Conservation, once the lake has been restored to sport fisheries level, would consider erecting an outlet con~rol struature which would permit egres~ of water, but prevent ingress (or backup) during flood stage. (The 1965 flood barely breached the lock and dam access road.~ ). The fact that the 2nd Street and/or Nininger road side shoreline is undeveloped is a blessing. The old Sioux Indian Trail, the naming of the lake after Rebecca Allison in pioneer days, the entire south-shore with some do-it-yourself trail work utlizing state-park techniques could be a remarkable multiple-use trail -- jogging and nature study. Note: Some zoning now might be the wisest thing the city could do So prevent untoward and unnessary Development of this mmense city asset. The Trail bordering the east side of Lakeside Cemetery ~ould be developed into a beautiful lane, with a break of stone steps to pevent unwanted type usage. The lake proper should, in the view of our professional planners who have but superficially studied it, be zoned against use of all motors and limited to sail boats, row boats and canoes. I am sure you have noted that the entire south shoreline is riddled with natural springs, many of which could be improved and opened. 6. There may be potentia~ for county participation and/or recreational bond use to bring some of these things to pass. In summary: I merely plead for some form of action now, while there is time to prevent this latent and immense recreational asset from being spoiled by some form of unforseen development. The city has some ~mergency tools in the form of zoning for shoreline and/or shoreline acquisition where necessary, to prevent the loss of the Rebecca area. I am sure the Mr. Hodney sees that on both ends of the city we have immense opportunity for beautification and natural asset development. The Vermillion river ~terile canal proposal by the Corps also leaves me chill -- especially when, with a little imagination in development~ some landscaping, the maintaining of the beautiful High Falls with a tourist lookout, we can accomplish the dual purpose of flood control and parkway type d~velopment with trails, wayside, coniferous type shrubbery, and what have you. Some of the corps corrective actio~could be taken upstream, where the water problem originates, witCh, making Hastings pay the pena~y of what is again hind-end thinking. We do appreciate your very hard work on the Planning Commission. I know that there are thoughtful and eager citizens throughout our community who want to help make some of the practical dreams for a be~ter city become reality. Sincere, J~hn G. McKane 839 West 5th S~. Hastings, Minnesota