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08.25.2025 CC MinutesCHANHASSEN CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MINUTES AUGUST 25, 2025 Mayor Ryan called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. The meeting was opened with the Pledge of Allegiance. COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: Mayor Ryan, Councilmember McDonald, Councilmember Schubert, and Councilmember von Oven. COUNCIL MEMBERS ABSENT: Councilmember Kimber. STAFF PRESENT: Laurie Hokkanen, City Manager; Charlie Howley, Public Works Director/City Engineer; Kelly Grinnell, Finance Director. PUBLIC PRESENT: Balakrishna Chintaginjala, 8982 SW Village Loop Allison Kelly, 6361 Melody Lane Judy Harder, 541 West 78th Street A youth from Chanhassen PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS: None. CONSENT AGENDA: Councilmember McDonald moved, Councilmember von Oven seconded that the City Council approve the following consent agenda items 1 through 13 pursuant to the City Manager’s recommendations: 1. Approve City Council Minutes dated August 11, 2025 2. Approve City Council Work Session Minutes dated August 11, 2025 3. Receive Planning Commission Minutes dated June 3, 2025 4. Approve Claims Paid dated August 25, 2025 5. Approve Temporary On-Sale Liquor License for The Grief Club of Minnesota Healing Hearts Soiree Events on September 18, 2025 6. Approve Temporary Modification of the Licensed Premises to serve Beer in the Hackamore Brewing Company Parking Lot Area 7. Approve Temporary On-Sale Liquor License for St. Hubert Catholic Church for September 24-27, 2025 City Council Minutes – August 25, 2025 2 8. Approve Civic Campus Playground Purchase with Flagship Recreation 9. Approve an Encroachment Agreement between the City of Chanhassen and the property owner at 2630 Forest Avenue 10. Award Construction Contract for the 2025 Trail and Parking Lot Improvement Project 11. Approve First Amendment to Development Contract, Avienda Townhomes 12. Approve Second Amendment to Avienda Declaration of Reciprocal Easements and Operating Agreement 13. Resolution 2025-57: Authorize execution of an Aquatic Invasive Species Watercraft Inspection Agreement with Carver County All voted in favor, and the motion carried unanimously with a vote of 4 to 0. VISITOR PRESENTATIONS. 1. Balakrishna Chintaginjala Citizen Action Request Balakrishna Chintaginjala, 8982 SW Village Loop, provided an overview of how AI drones could empower local agriculture. He discussed the benefits that Chanhassen could experience if it were an early adopter of AI drones. 2. Allison Kelly Citizen Action Request Allison Kelly, 6361 Melody Lane, explained the catastrophic damage done to their home because of a water main break. She discussed the different losses their family experienced. She said the home is uninhabitable, and her family had to move to a six-month apartment lease. She asked what the city would do to assist her family, since the water main break was not their fault. Judy Harder, 541 West 78th Street, requested that the city save the huge cottonwood trees in the Santa Vera Planned Unit Development. She summarized the natural benefits of the trees. A youth from Chanhassen read a story about trees. She stated that if the trees were cut down, the neighborhood would be deprived of beauty, and animals would lose their habitat. FIRE DEPARTMENT/LAW ENFORCEMENT UPDATE. None. PUBLIC HEARINGS. City Council Minutes – August 25, 2025 3 1. Resolution 2025:58 and 2025:59: Hold Public Hearing & Adopt Resolution Approving Property Tax Abatements, Adopt Resolution Providing for Issuance and Sale of $10.205M GO Tax Abatement and CIP Bonds, Series 2025B Kelly Grinnell, Finance Director, noted that the representative from Ehlers Inc. was here to discuss the bonds. Nick Anhut, Ehlers, Inc., discussed the previous funds received from General Obligation Capital Improvement Bonds to construct the new City Hall/Senior Center building. He stated that some parts of the project do not fit within the statute for Capital Improvement funds, so they need to consider additional funds. He recommended that the city issue tax abatement bonds for the park amenities portion of the project and General Obligation Capital Improvement Plan funds for the remaining expenses of the City Hall portion of the project. He discussed the terms for tax abatements. He summarized the different implications of borrowing money and reviewed the next steps. Mayor Ryan opened the public hearing. There were no public comments. Mayor Ryan closed the public hearing. Mayor Ryan asked if this was a part of the Civic Campus levy that they had discussed over the last couple of years. Ms. Grinnell confirmed this information. Councilmember Schubert moved, Councilmember von Oven seconded that the Chanhassen City Council adopt the resolution approving property tax abatements and adopt the resolution providing for the issuance and sale of $10.205M General Obligation Tax Abatement and Capital Improvement Plan Bonds, Series 2025B. All voted in favor, and the motion carried unanimously with a vote of 4 to 0. 2. Resolution 2025-60: Approving Public Right of Way and Drainage and Utility Easement Vacations necessary for the Avienda Apartments Plat Charlie Howley, Public Works Director/City Engineer, reviewed the right-of-way vacation for the existing Avienda Parkway and discussed the need to refine it. He discussed the vacation of the drainage and utility easements and noted that new drainage and utility easements would be assigned for Lot 1, Block 1, as appropriate. Mayor Ryan opened the public hearing. There were no public comments. Mayor Ryan closed the public hearing. Councilmember von Oven, Councilmember Schubert seconded that the Chanhassen City Council approve the vacation of a portion of existing Avienda Parkway public right of way City Council Minutes – August 25, 2025 4 and existing public drainage and utility easement necessary in support of the Avienda Apartments plat. voted in favor, and the motion carried unanimously with a vote of 4 to 0. GENERAL BUSINESS. 1. Santa Vera Phase II Planned Unit Development Amendment and Site Plan Review (Planning Case 25-07) Eric Maass, Community Development Director, summarized the location of the Santa Vera Phase II project and discussed the prior concepts that the City Council reviewed. He explained the zoning amendment for the exterior building materials, mechanical screening, and the minimum parking setback for parking stalls. He reviewed the site plan, including the architectural renderings, landscaping, screening, building height, parking spaces, and stalls. Charlie Howley, Public Works Director/City Engineer, explained that the traffic study confirmed the street network is within capacity thresholds. He stated that the current plan was to split the traffic via Laredo and Santa Vera Drive. He said that there was a condition to review site lines. He noted that the sanitary and water main services could serve the development. He discussed the grading and drainage proposed conditions. Mr. Maass reviewed the nine items that are measuring items for site plans and noted that the proposed site plan adheres to the requirements. He stated that the Planning Commission recommended the approval of the site plan. Councilmember von Oven asked what it meant for a wetland to be incidental. Mr. Howley answered that an incidental wetland is often classified because of the size limitations, how it was created, and whether it serves a function. Mayor Ryan asked about screening the air conditioner. Mr. Maass said that the AC units would have a mixture of perennials and bushes to screen them from adjacent views, and they were near the retaining wall, which would help screen, but the landscaping was appropriate regardless of whether the wall was there or not. Mayor Ryan asked about the purpose of the screening. Mr. Maass responded that it was to benefit the apartments and neighboring viewpoints. Mayor Ryan suggested including additional areas they could use landscaping for beautification, not just for screening. She asked about the material of the retaining wall. Mr. Maass answered that they had not gotten to those details, but he thought it would be a brick wall. Mayor Ryan asked about the height of the retaining wall. Mr. Maass responded that they were still refining the grading plan, but they were hoping to get more to a five or six-foot wall because of the costs. He said it would be only visible to the occupants of a specific building. City Council Minutes – August 25, 2025 5 Mayor Ryan asked about the sidewalk and asked if it was going through existing trees. Mr. Maass answered that they were existing trees. Mayor Ryan said they were cutting down trees for the sidewalk. She said losing all the trees on Santa Vera would be a big loss. Mr. Maass responded that they looked at different ways to align the sidewalk. He said there was a planned removal of buckthorn for sight line issues. He said they were trying to minimize the loss of trees. Mayor Ryan said she would be supportive of the sidewalk if it meandered through the trees. Mr. Maass said some of the trees were ash trees, so they would try to meander towards the ash trees rather than the maple trees. Mayor Ryan asked if there were any images they could look at for a better perspective regarding saving the cottonwood trees and removing buckthorns. She asked where the trees would be kept. Mr. Maass answered that in the northeast section of the site, the existing trees were proposed to be maintained. He noted the trees that were planned to be removed. He said they took a hard look at the purpose of tree removals. He said they consider grading, stormwater management, and underground utilities when they think about tree removal. Mayor Ryan said that often, there is a give-and-take relationship in development. She asked that they continue to go beyond what is required when planning the landscaping to ensure a variety of trees and different heights, since it will impact neighboring residents. She said she received an email about the traffic movement and access, and whether the internal traffic should be internal. Mr. Howley said that there was a large stand of trees that were saved and were not a part of the project. He said it was twenty percent of the entire southern perimeter of trees. He stated that there was a sizeable grove of trees that would remain. He commented that one-way traffic does not make sense because there is a low volume of traffic, and the internal drives would not be connected. Mayor Ryan said that the original planned unit development was from the late 90s. She said that they had a lot of iterations, but asked if there was an average-sized unit that would have shifted from 1998 to today. Mr. Maass suggested that she ask that question of the developer. Councilmember von Oven asked if the trees in the buffer yard were a part of the 35 trees to be saved. Mr. Maass answered that those trees were in addition to the 35 trees. Ryan Sailer, Headwaters Development, stated their goal was to build something high-quality that they would maintain for a long time. He reviewed the site plan for 621 Santa Vera Drive. He reviewed the mix of units in the different phases and commented that larger units were still desired. He stated that the units appeal to empty nesters and young families who want to get into a good school district. City Council Minutes – August 25, 2025 6 Mayor Ryan stated that she thought that people would like the larger units. Mr. Sailer stated that more people are working from home and want additional space. Mayor Ryan voiced appreciation of the product and his work with the City Council. Councilmember von Oven moved, Councilmember McDonald seconded that the Chanhassen City Council approve the requested site plan and amendment to the Saratoga 3rd Addition Planned Unit Development Zoning Ordinance for the construction of two apartment buildings at 621 Santa Vera Drive, subject to the conditions of approval, and adopts the attached Findings of Fact and Decision. All voted in favor, and the motion carried unanimously with a vote of 4 to 0. COUNCIL PRESENTATIONS. Councilmember Schubert thanked the city staff for the wonderful community day. ADMINISTRATIVE PRESENTATIONS. Laurie Hokkanen, City Manager, noted that they had a special City Council meeting on September 4th to discuss the Community Center. CORRESPONDENCE DISCUSSION. 1. Quarterly Financial Report CLOSED SESSION 1. Pending Litigation Councilmember Schubert moved, Councilmember McDonald seconded that the Chanhassen City Council move into closed session as permitted by Section 13D.05, subdivision 3, to discuss pending or threatened litigation related to property damage related to a water main break at 6361 Melody Lane. All voted in favor, and the motion carried unanimously with a vote of 4 to 0. Councilmember Schubert was absent for the closed session. City Council Minutes – August 25, 2025 7 Councilmember McDonald moved, Councilmember von Oven seconded to adjourn the meeting. All voted in favor, and the motion carried unanimously with a vote of 3 to 0. The City Council meeting was adjourned at 9:00 p.m. Submitted by Laurie Hokkanen City Manager Prepared by Jenny Potter City Clerk