Planning Commission - Regular Meeting

Welcome to Agenda Edina, a program summarizing the actions taken at City Hall that affect you most. I'm your host, Dorothea Marty. The Edina City Council has approved updates to the City's Park Ordinance aimed at helping keep parks safe, welcoming, and available for their intended use. The changes come after several incidents involving large, unplanned gatherings in city parks, including the July shooting at Yancey Park and unauthorized commercial gatherings at Arneson Acres Park. The ordinance is part of the city's broader response focused on enforcement, engagement and policy. After extensive discussion, the Council decided not to require permits for gatherings of 25 or more people in city parks. Instead, the approved ordinance focuses on providing clearer rules and additional enforcement tools.

There are several reasons that 25 people might gather in a park. There has never been an intent to stop something from happening in our parks that our residents are doing when they're using the parks in a responsible way that they're intended for. And so with this particular one, we did not... want anyone to feel like, well, if you have 25 people or more, then you have to have a formal permit and go through the advance reservation process.

The ordinance gives people with valid reservations priority use of park buildings, picnic shelters, athletic fields, and other reservable spaces. prohibits commercial for-profit entertainment and assemblies in city parks unless authorized, restricts amplified sound and music in the formal garden area of Arneson Acres Park, clarifies the city's authority to issue, deny, or revoke permits, and, when necessary, temporarily close parks in the interest of public safety. Violations of the ordinance are classified as petty misdemeanors.

Now that we've received city council guidance on changes to the city code and park ordinance in particular, we look forward to implementing those changes, working with the park users, our park staff, and ensuring that the conditions within our park are met for all so that they can have a reasonable, safe, and enjoyable experience when they visit Edina Parks.

One of Edina's largest recreational investments has moved another step forward. The City Council recently approved the guaranteed maximum price for the renovation and expansion of Braemar Arena. The City Council approved a $33.2 million guaranteed maximum price for the Braemar Arena renovation and expansion project, a major milestone in transforming one of Edina's busiest recreational facilities. The project is part of the Braemar Park Master Plan and is funded through the city's local option sales tax approved by voters.

This is really critical because it really locks in our scope for our project and allows the construction company to move ahead after a long period of planning for this project.

When complete, the project will add a fourth indoor ice sheet by enclosing the current vacuumed rink while modernizing the existing arena complex to better serve athletes, families, and visitors. Improvements include upgraded locker rooms, improved spectator seating, expanded gathering spaces, new restrooms, enhanced accessibility features, modern refrigeration and HVAC systems, and energy-efficient building systems designed to achieve LEED certification. Construction has been carefully phased to allow Raymar Arena to remain open throughout much of the project, with the most disruptive work scheduled during the facility's off-peak seasons. The project did hit a hurdle last month when permafrost was discovered under the east rink, setting that portion of the project behind by several weeks. Work on the entire project is expected to be substantially complete by the end of 2027. The Vernon Avenue and Highway 100 interchange project included replacing a railroad bridge that was first constructed almost 100 years ago. However, the project also provided many other needed updates, including creating safer connections for pedestrians and cyclists, improved traffic flow, and modernized utilities beneath the roadway. Now that construction is complete, Edina TV takes a closer look at what's new.

We're standing at the High 100 Vernon Avenue Interchange project and we're excited. It's open for business and when we look at how this project got developed it was really with the Grandview Guiding Principles back 20 plus years ago. We got traffic flowing, it's been a few months now. The project really exemplified our budget pillars of strong foundation, livable city, better together, and reliable services. I'd like to take you on a little walk to show you some of those features that are now complete with this project. So we're standing at what I believe is one of the most important features of the project. There was just a small narrow sidewalk only on the north side of the bridge. Now we have big wide sidewalks on both sides of this bridge to really provide that connectivity between the neighborhoods and some of the commercial properties. The push buttons adjacent to me here, which also have countdown timers and audible notifications. We also have ADA compliant ped ramps. We also added new, more aesthetically pleasing railings along this bridge compared to the old chain link fence that was rusting and needed replacement. Another one of the features that we're standing next to here is an underground stormwater treatment facility. Stormwater enters it, it's filtered, the sediments are captured before the water ends up in Minnehaha Creek just north of the site. We also planted trees in the median for both stormwater management and aesthetic reasons. The neighborhood has been asking for years for a noise wall to really reduce that sound from the highway, and we were able to provide that with this project. It was really important to future-proof this project. Behind me, you can see one left turn lane that's striped on the bridge for Southbound 100. You'll also notice there's space to add a second left turn lane for any future needs. Another one of the project benefits was removing the redundant on and off ramps of Highway 100. It created extra space between Grange Road and the off ramp, And it also reduced those potential merge and conflict situations down on the highway. I'm super excited. This is a long-term piece of infrastructure that's going to be here for generations. And I think we did a very good job of designing it, listening to the community, and getting it built.

The new bridge over Highway 100 carries nearly 150,000 vehicles each week, while also providing safer, more accessible routes for people walking and biking through the Grandview District. If you'd like to experience the improvements for yourself, join Mayor Jim Hovland for his monthly Walk with the Mayor at 9 a.m. Saturday, September 19th. Meet on the front steps of City Hall for a walk through the area and a chance to learn more about the project. The walk lasts about an hour and is open to everyone. National Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated September 15th through October 15th. This year's theme is Unidos Somos Mas, which means Together We Are More. This month, celebrate the unity, resilience, and collective cultural and economic contributions of our Hispanic communities. Thanks for watching. I'm your host, Dorothea Marty.