2020.07.28 WS Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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Council Worksession July 28, 2020 5:00 pm Present: Mayor Valerie Johnson Councilmember Graeme Allen Councilmember Nasreen Fynewever Councilmember Paul Jacobsen Absent: Councilmember Emily Dunsworth Staff in Attendance: Devin Massopust, Ben Gozola Guests in Attendance: Discuss Zoning Code Update Massopust reported City staff has been working to update the Zoning Code. He explained staff had a presentation for the Council on these updates. Gozola provided the Council with a presentation on the proposed Zoning Code updates. He commented on the reasons why the City should go through this process, noting the code dates back to 1977. He discussed the aggressive project timeline and reviewed the guiding themes for the new Comprehensive Plan. He anticipated the new code would be approved and launched in February of 2021. He stated a steering committee could be created to assist with moving this project forward. He described how the work would get done through the assistance of skills he has learned from a consulting firm called Clarion. He commented on the importance of having an annotated outline as this would identify the overall organization of the code. He reported the City received a Ramsey County Corridor Revitalization Grant in the amount of $25,000. He stated HKGi would be assisting the City with this initiative. He discussed how the new Zoning Code would be formatted for ease of use and improved readability. He commented further on the process that would be followed and requested feedback from the Council. Councilmember Jacobsen stated he supported the City updating the current Zoning Code. He believed the updates would make it easier for businesses and residents to work with the City. He suggested an FAQ be considered as well. He asked if City would be expanding the number of zones it has. Gozola explained there were two or three districts that were currently have no properties in them. He indicated these zones could be eliminated through the proposed updates. Councilmember Jacobsen questioned how many people would be serving on the steering committee. Gozol a stated he wanted enough people on the steering committee to spur great conversation but not too many that the group was hard to manage. Councilmember Fynewever inquired if HKGi would be used to bring information to the City or if they would just be educating and disseminating information. Gozola stated the City was open as to how these funds would be utilized. He understood that consultants were expensive, and noted the City would be managing the grant funds closely to ensure the work does not go overbudget.