EXCELSIOR - Resident concerns and a looming deadline are among the issues city officials are trying to manage as they create a concept of how the east end of Excelsior should look as it eventually redevelops.
Traffic, density and building height are among the chief concerns to come out of the draft of the East Town Small Area Plan. The plan is meant to steer redevelopment in that part of Excelsior to bring it in line with the vision community members have for that area of town.
It's not meant to be a firmly adhered to roadmap, but rather a fluid document that sets expectations for developers, residents and city officials, Excelsior Planning Director Pat Smith said.
"Really, we're trying to provide guidance," Mayor Mark Gaylord said.
With residents, business owners and members of Excelsior's commissions and City Council taking issue with parts of the plan, city officials are now going back through it to make some changes. While that work is going on, the clock is ticking on a moratorium prohibiting new buildings and large expansions in that area of the city.
VISION
The impetus for creating the plan was the desire to sell the city-owned property at 810 Excelsior Blvd. to finance improvements at City Hall. When none of the redevelopment proposals for the site were met with excitement by city officials or residents, the council decided to take time to figure out how the property would best fit into the overall east town area before selling it.
Last December, the council enacted the nine-month moratorium, which runs until Sept. 5. The goal was to stop any redevelopment from taking place in the eastern part of the city that could end up being in direct opposition to the small area plan. Also that month, the council hired Hoisington Koegler Group Inc. (HKGi) to complete the plan.
The resulting document from HKGi shows the properties abutting Lake Minnetonka, including Maynard's Restaurant, the former Bayview Event Center and Tonka Bay Marina, as an entertainment district where outdoor dining, entertainment and boating and water sports are key activities.
Potential housing is shown near Maynard's, and to the east of the former Bayview is a possible site for retail or a boat museum. Between Maynard's and the former Bayview building, the plan also calls for views of Lake Minnetonka to be maintained for the public.
Directly across Excelsior Boulevard from the entertainment district, the plan shows a potential for multi-family housing with a parking structure that would serve both the residents of the building and the general public. Commercial and office space is also in that area of the plan, along with a possible site for a small hotel with an attached restaurant.
The far eastern portion of the plan, including the area of 810 Excelsior Blvd., is reserved for housing. Much of the proposed housing is shown as multi-family, with some possibility for single-family homes.
The Planning Commission reviewed the plan June 26 and held a public hearing about it. Afterward, commissions made a recommendation that the City Council refer the plan back to them for additional review rather than approving it.
After discussing the plan and hearing comments from people attending the July 17 City Council meeting, councilors agreed to send the plan back to the Planning Commission.
CONCERNS
One of the most repeated concerns from residents is that the plan is calling for too many additional housing units in that area of town. While nobody spoke against the prospect of having any residential areas in the plan, several people asked that particularly dense multi-housing developments, such as apartment buildings, be eliminated or limited in the plan.
Another major concern with the plan is that it shows that some four-story tall buildings could be allowed in the east side of town. Current zoning restricts building height in the area to 35 feet, which is typically three stories, Smith said.
The biggest concern for residents, commissioners and councilors was traffic. A traffic review, rather than a full study, was done when HKGi was putting together the plan.
That review took into account the land uses that are in the area now and compared them to what was being proposed in the plan in terms of the average number of car trips the different uses tend to create. The results showed that the uses in the plan wouldn't create much of a change in traffic.
That didn't make sense to a lot of people, and many asked that a more in-depth traffic review be undertaken for that part of the city. Smith said that any development that would take place in the east area would still require individual parking and traffic studies.
Business concerns were also expressed to the City Council and Planning Commission. Matt Duffy spoke to both boards as a representative of Maynard's. He said the restaurant's owners would object to anything they felt might restrict future use of the property, including being required to maintain a view of the lake for the public.
"While I understand people like their views of the lake - I really do - Maynard's is the one paying the property taxes on the property," Duffy said.
NEXT STEPS
Planning Commission members are reviewing the plan to see how they can alter it to be more in line with what many people in the community are requesting.
At the commission's Monday, July 24, meeting, members talked about their recommendations for lowering density and limiting building height to three stories or shorter. Commissioners also said they'd like to work with Maynard's representatives to address some of their concerns. The commission also set a special meeting for the following week to look into zoning in the east town area.
Changing the zoning would be a way to ensure that development that's counter to what people want to see in the east end of Excelsior doesn't take place once the moratorium ends. The process of changing zoning, however, takes time and it requires a public hearing.
The earliest that the City Council could again discuss the East Town Small Area Plan is at its Monday, Aug. 7, meeting.