2015.05.26 CC Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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May 26, 2015 Page 3 of 11 City Manager Lotter indicated Finance Director Davitt would be pi esenting this item to the Council. Finance Director Davitt stated in an effort to keep the Council informed on the City's fiscal conditions, a comparison of the 2015 revenues and expenditures for the period ending March 31, 2015 was provided to the Council. Staff reviewed these financial statements in detail with the Council and requested acceptance of the First Quarter 2015 Interim Financial Statements. Councilmember Jacobsen thanked staff for the thorough report. He asked if staff saw any anomalies in the financials for 2015. Finance Director Davitt indicated she had no concerns, and was pleased to report that building permit revenues were coming in higher than anticipated. Motion by Councilmember Bauman, seconded by Councilmember Jacobsen to accept the Fast Quarter 2015 Interim Financial Statements. 5 Ayes, 0 Nays - ]Motion Carried 2. Consideration of Ordinance 834, amending Article 1 of Chapter 6 of the City Code concerning the keeping of fowl and bees City Manager Lotter indicated Assistant Director of Community Assets and DevelopmentTlanning Director Gundlach would be presenting this item to the Council. Assistant Director of Community Assets and Developmentll'lanning Director Gundlach provided a brief history on this topic and stated proposed Ordinance 834 has been revised per the Council's direction at the May 12, 2015 meeting. The ordinance implements a full ban on the keeping of all fowl within the City. An exception for veterinarian clinics and hospitals has been included. The hive notification and water source requirements, per the Urban Farming Task Force recommendation, remains. Thus, the keeping of bees would still be permitted under proposed Ordinance 834. A fair amount of time was spent drafting the Legislative Findings in proposed Section 6 -200. The intent of this section was to capture key points in the Council's discussion and testimony from the public hearing as to why fowl are proposed to be prohibited.. It is suggested Council review this section to ensure the reasons for the ban are clearly articulated. Section 3 of proposed Ordinance 834 jimvides that owners of fowl and bees be permitted six months from the effective date of the ordinance to come into compliance with the new provisions. Beyond a six -month compliance period, no graridfathering is included Should proposed Ordinance 834 be adopted on May 26th the effective date will be June 5, 2015, the earliest publication date in the New Brighton area Sun Focus. Thus, New Brighton fowl and bee keepers will have until January 5, 2016 to comply with the new standards. Councilmember Strub indicated he has read the new version of Ordinance 834 and he does not agree with the potential health risks listed For that reason, he recommended the Council consider passing Ordinance 834 as presented on May 12, 2015. Motion by Councilmember Strub seconded by Councilmember Burg to Adopt Ordinance 834, as proposed on May 12, 2015. Councilmember Burg was disappointed with all of the false information that has been circulating the community regarding urban farming and the keeping of chickens. She reported there was no substantiated information available in the State of Minnesota or the country from small chicken farms. She found it offensive that the misinformation spread was creating fear in the community. She understood that one resident in the City has won blue ribbons at the State Fair for their small flock. She app vcialcd the nevig bun that have contacted her in the past two weeks voicing their support for chickens. She believed that home values would not be adversely impacted by urban farming. She supported certain control measures being in place for the keeping of chickens and bees. Councilmern1wr Jacobsen requested staff provide a visual of the May 12, 2015 copy of Ordinance 834. Assistant Director of Community Assets and Development/Plammiing Director Gundlach reviewed the May 12, 2015 version of Ordinance 834 with the Council. Councilmember Jacobsen suggested an amendment to the May 12� version of Ordinance 834 limiting the 2. Consideration of Ordinance 834, amending Article 1 of Chapter 6ofthe City Code conoaning the keeping of fowl and bees