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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1997-11-10 OPH Ltr to Property Owners Re Annexation Questions NOV -10 - 1997 04:57 410 CITY OF OPH P.04/07 i DATA: November 10, 1997 TO: Property Owners in Proposed Baytown Annexation Area FROM: City Council of Oak Park Heights RE: Questions about annexation 1) Can property taxes be phased in over a period of tune? property Taxes - Taxes are about the same in Oak Park Heights as in Lake Elmo. In 1996 the tax rate was 125.92 in Lake Elmo and it was 124.50 in Oak Park Heights. You will have to decide which city's services are best for you. The City of Oak Park Heights can offer the option of sewer and water service, which Lake Elmo cannot. Property Tax Phasing -The City Council has indicated its willingness to consider phasing in taxes over a period of years if it is part of an orderly annexation agreement. An orderly annexation agreement must be agreed to prior to the Municipal Board hearing on November 24, 1997. The City Council has publicly indicated its willingness to support the same tax phasing language as that contained in the Baytown -Lake Elmo agreement. 2) Who pays for curbs, gutters, sidewalks, streetlights, and storm sewers? • - - -- - .!_ •• ., . - The City's current policy is not to reconstruct streets until they are beginning to fail. The typical life of a street ranges from 20 -30 years. When streets are reconstructed, curb and gutter are required. City policy is that the benefitting landowners pay 25% of the cost for curb and gutter and 50% of the cost for streets. The City pays 100% of the cost for the replacement of sanitary sewer, water, and storm sewers. When it's a new development, the developer pays for 100% of the cost for everything. Street assessments can be paid over the period of the bond issue, usually ten years. streetlights - If a developer puts in a sidewalk, they would be expected to pay 100% of the cost. The City has never put a sidewalk in where property owners did not ask for it. If the City wants to put in a sidewalk, the City will pay 1001 of the cost. Street Maintenance - According to the City Engineer's report, the streets in the proposed annexation area do not have to be reconstructed as part of the utility installation. There will be some patching of the streets done at 100% City cost. The city pays 100% of the cost of street maintenance, including patching and sealcoating. 3) What is the actual cost for water /sewer hookup and who will pay NOU -10 -1997 04:57 CITY OF OPH P.05/O7 • • 2 for this? Actual Coss - The actual cost will not be known until the project is bid. In March 1997, the estimated costs for lateral sewer and water line installation were $55.00 /front foot. These assessments are paid at the time of installation. Any discussions those property owners have had with David Screaton about him paying some or all of the costs are between the property owners and David Screaton. City AreaConnect.ionCharges - In addition to the lateral assessments, sewer area charges are $2,310 per acre and water area charges are $4,010 per acre for commercial/ industrial land and $3,110 per acre for residential land plus $475 per dwelling unit. Payment of these area charges are usually deferred until the owner hooks up to City sewer and water. This charge reflects the costs to the City to construct the entire water and sewer system and run large pipes out to your area. These charges have been established by the City Council for the entire City. All benefitting property owners pay these charges. You will not be paying any different charges than those paid by Menard's Rainbow, any other developer, or any other homeowner. Metropolitan Council Charges, - In addition to City trunk charges, you would also have to pay a Sewer Availability Charge (SAC), based on the type of usage and building square footage, and a Water Availability Charge (WAC) to the Metropolitan Council. These rates are established by the Met Council and the City has no control over them. Costs to Run Utilities to your Building - When the City installs utilities, it places stubs to a property line. Running the utilities from the property line to the building is the responsibility and cost to the building owner. 4) What is the Time Frame for Hooking up to Water and Sewer? Time Frame for Hookup - Current City policy, as reflected in previous annexation, is that existing building owners are not required by the City to hookup to City sewer and water until their septic or well fails or until they request it. There are no state or federal laws which require earlier hookups. 5) After Annexation, will Building Owners be Required to Update Their Buildings to Current City Codes Every Time They Change Tenants or Modify Their Buildings? Will Existing Building Owners be Required to Bring Their Buildings up to City Code When They Hookup to Water and Sewer? NOU -10 -1997 04:57 . CITY OF OPH P.06/07 . 3 City Code - The City of Oak Park Heights and the City of Lake Elmo have both adopted the 1994 building code, so their standards would be the same. Remodeling Buildings. - If you change tenants and do not remodel your building, you do not have to do any updates. When remodeling areas of buildings, you are only required to bring the remodeled area into compliance with current codes. If you build an addition to your building, you are not required to bring the entire building up to current code. looking Up to ptilities - City policy is that hooking up to utilities will not force you to bring your buildings up to the current code standards. • 6) Does the City Have Minimum Requirements for Sprinkling Buildings and Would it Require Building Owners to Retrofit Their Buildings with Sprinkler Systems? When remodeling an area of a commercial building, you are not required to sprinkle the remodeled area. When putting on an addition to a commercial building, you must sprinkle the entire building. When constructing a new commercial building, you must sprinkle the entire building. 7) If the Kern Center Businesses Become Part of Oak Park Heights, What Effect Will This Have on Their Existing Business Practices, Such as Hours of Operation? What Types of New Businesses Will be Allowed to Locate in Kern Center? Business Practices - Covenants are between the land seller and land buyer, and the City cannot override these covenants. We do not restrict the hours a business operates. For example, Wal -Mart has a 24 -hour operation. We do have restrictions based on noise, so that construction and other noisy activities are limited to the hours of 7:00 A.M. to 10:00 P.M., Monday through Saturday. New Businesses - The Kern Center area is described in the City's Comprehensive Plan as Commercial. All land that is annexed comes into the City zoned as 0 -Open Space. The land would have to be rezoned to B -2 General Business. B -2 allows most types of commercial businesses. The main restriction is that outside trash storage must be screened. Existing businesses would be grandfathered in terms of zoning requirements. NOV -10 -1997 04 :58 CITY OF OPH P.07/07 411 110 4 New developments are typically not rezoned until they have negotiated a development agreement with the City. 8) Could Property Owners Continue Using Their Own Garbage Contractors Rather Than Being Forced to Use the City's Contractor? Your garbage hauler will be United Waste Systems, but the City will set the garbage rate for businesses at the same rate you are currently paying. Homeowner rates are: Senior Rate: 36 gallon container or a regular trash bag per week $12.75 /Quarter Others: 36 gallon -- $13.50 /Quarter 64 gallon -- $16.35 /Quarter 96 gallon -- $20.85 /Quarter 9) If Kern Center Becomes Part of Oak Park Heights, Will Existing Standards Change? Would Requirements for Open Space Remain the Same? Would Any Further Subdivision of Existing Lots Be Allowed? Could Existing Businesses Be Constituted as a Review Board to Approve Any Changes in the Kern Center Area? . •. - .. - - As noted earlier, once we receive copies of your existing covenants, we will compare them to the standards of our zoning code. 5uhdivision of Existing Lots - City zoning code requires a minimum of one acre per building in commercial areas. Under these standards, a parcel of two or more acres could be subdivided into parcels which meet the one acre minimum. Review Board - As all City representatives noted in our meeting with you, we would be happy to work with any kind of review board in the annexation area. The City is considering creating a Planning Commission and your proposed review board could be part of that. The City Council must by law respect covenant restrictions. 10) What May Be the Terms of an Orderly Annexation Agreement? The agreement can provide for incremental phasing in of urban property tax rates over a period of years and creation of a rural taxing district, neither of which can be done without an orderly annexation agreement TOTAL P.07