2022.03.08 CC Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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February 22, 2022 Page 4 of 6 City was looking to work with minority vendors or contractors. He appreciated the fact that the City was doing all it could to make this project all inclusive and that historically excluded communities can benefit from this project. Councilmember Allen stated the Council would need to continue to hold conversations on how to partner with local BIPOC vendors in the community. He indicated it would also benefit the Council to better understand who would be working on this project, the actual make up of the employees to ensure more folks are represented and benefitting from the work being done. He suggested the Council also further discuss the prevailing wage that would be paid by contractors. City Manager Massopust thanked the Council for their valuable feedback. Parks and Recreation Director Fink discussed the benefit of having Krause-Anderson work with Gordian on these projects, because they would be auditing the project. Chris Ahrens, Gordian, introduced himself to the Council and noted another benefit of using this process would be the reduction in change orders. Motion by Councilmember Abdulle, seconded by Councilmember Allen to Authorize the Director of Parks and Recreation to issue a letter of intent to work with Krause-Anderson (KA) for construction services utilizing the Sourcewell contract. A roll call vote was taken. 4 Ayes, 0 Nays-Motion Carried 2. Consider a Resolution Supporting Housing and Local Decision-Making Authority. City Manager Massopust stated it is no secret that housing industry groups and City officials don’t always see eye to eye when it comes to the on-going housing crunch throughout the state. Housing industry groups tend to attack city land use tools such as Zoning and Planned Unit Developments (PUDs) as key road blocks to increasing the affordable housing stock. Cities generally counter with data showing that labor costs, land costs, and material costs are the main drivers of the market failures we see today. While reasonable people can disagree within this debate and may support some provisions of proposed legislation, it is unquestionable that some bills currently up for debate would make land use decisions on behalf of this Council rather than allowing you to make your own decisions based on what’s best for New Brighton. One bill in particular would—state wide—mandate that duplexes become permitted uses in all areas zoned for single-family residential areas and within any new residential subdivision. The same bill would also prohibit Council from conditioning approval of a building permit, subdivision development, or PUD on the basis of the materials proposed to be used, building design, amenities, or other aesthetics considerations not specifically required by the State Building Code. Put another way with an example, under this legislation, Council could not have conditioned approval of the US Bank redevelopment on use of specific materials and amenities that made that building what it will be. In response to this brewing debate at the Capital, the League of Minnesota Cities is suggesting that all member Cities wishing to support both housing and local decision making approve a resolution to that effect. He reported staff has prepared a resolution following the template provided by the League, and it is now before the Council for consideration. Councilmember Allen stated this was something he could support. He explained there were many laws with potential State restrictions and he fully supported the Council adopting this Resolution. He supported New Brighton having more accountability locally and did not recommend one size fits all regulations being approved by the State. Mayor Niedfeldt-Thomas explained she also supported this Resolution being approved. She did not want to see proposed State regulations restricting the City’s growth opportunities. She believed the City needed to be able to maintain the decisions that were right for the community. 2. Consider a Resolution Supporting Housing and Local Decision-Making Authority.