Loading...
89-139 WHITE - C�TV CLERK PINK - FINANCE GITY OF SAINT PAUL Council GAN/ARY - D�PARTMENT � BLUE -+MAVOR � Flle NO. Council Resolution ' � � ✓'�r �� a Presented By u � ��� '/�`��� Referred To Committee: Date . Out of Committee By Date WHEREAS , C ndor Co�^poration, 2320 Lexington Rvenue South, Saint Paul , Mi nesota, made application to the Planning Com- mission of the City of Saint Paul for a Special Condition Use permit under t e provisions of Section 60.614(2) of the Saint Paul Legislative Code for the purpose of establishing a heliport on the property ocated �t 2102 University Avenue ; and WHEREAS , t e legal description for the property to serve as the locatio of the proposed heliport is set forth on the attached Exhibit A; and WHEREAS , f llowing a public hearing conducted by the Zoning Committee , with notice -to the afrec�ed property owners , the Planning Commis ion by its Resolu�ion No. 88-81 adopted November 4, 1988 , appro ed the application for the Special Condition Use permit to stablish a heliport at 2102 University Avenue by a vote of 9 t 7 witn one abstention; and WH�REAS , t e Zoning Committee had recommended denial based unon a 6-0 an one abstention decision on October 27 , 1988 , and based upon a 5-0 ��cision on September 29 , 1988 ; and VJHEREAS , t e staff upon review recommended approval of such recommendat ' on; and ,f WHEREAS , t e actions of the Planning Commission were based u�on tine followi g findings of fact made by said Commission: (1 ) HelipoY�ts require a Special Condition Use permit to locate in I-1 d�stricts and are a permitted use in I-2 districts . The City Counci has adopted a moratorium on building new heli- ports in an option which allows the Council to repeal the mora- torium in I-1 districts , provided specified steps and conditions are met. The moratorium could be repealed in I-1 districts COUNCIL MEMBERS Requested by Department of: Yeas Nays Dimond �� [n Favor Gosw;tz Rettman B s�neibe� _ Against Y Sonnen Wilson Form Approved by City Attorney Adopted by Council: Date Certified Vassed by Council Secret ry BY By � t#pproved by Mavor: Date Approved by Mayor for Submission to Council By � BY � ' - � . , -�/� / 9 . � after an appli�ation for a heliport permit has been reviewed by City staff, �, and appropriate conditions have been attached, and the appeal! has been approved by the Planning Commission or the City C�uncil , if appealed. The option also provides review procedurles for any other heliport applications in I-1 districts and rmaintains the moratorium in I-2 districts . The moratorium and '� option expire on October 9 , 1988 . Planning staff has requested and the Council has adopted an extension for one addition�l year. (2) The he�iport would be a private heliport. The owner controls who ca� use the heliport. The heliport would be used by Life Link IIIi and J. R. Copters . These companies ' helicopters are now based 'iat the St. Paul Downtown Airport. Life Link III is an emerigency medical service, a nonprofit corporation owned by a con�ortium with three hospitals : St. Paul Ramsey; Abbott-Northwest�rn; and the University of Minnesota. Life Link has two h�licopters , four ground ambulances and two air- planes . .T . R. �opters is a privately owned helicopter company. It owns four heli,copters . Two helicopters are especially equipped for radio and !� television to broadcast weather and traffic conditions . Thegr are leased to KSTP. The other two helicopters are available fo� charter service , such as flying news reporters to news sites olr transporting machinery parts out-state . The company employs �i12 people now. It is expected to employ 15 if it moves to th�e site in question. ( 3) The hel�port would have two takeoff and landing routes , one to the nortih and one to the south. Because prevailing winds are from ��the northwest , about 75% of the takeoffs and landings would bei to the north and 25% to the south. The Federal Aviation Adminis�ration has conducted an aeronautical study of the proposed �heliport and has no objection provided certain conditions are met� (4) In orderi to minimize noise levels in nearby residential areas , the appli�ant proposes three flight paths to and from tne airporc and � turn space over the heliport. Having three flight paths mir�imizes the noise effects on any one area. Having a turn �pace minimizes noise effects by keeping low speed turns at low altitudes away from residential areas . The flight paths are from the west, north, and southeast. West . This patY� would be approximately 1200 feet from the residentially zoned and used land along the south side of I-94 in Merriam Park �nd in South St. Anthony Park. The applicant � i 2. : � • � �c�-�3� . estimates that �the path would be used 40% to 50% of the time because 3/4 of ! the Life Links , all of the traffic helicopter flights , and h�lf the news helicopter flights would use this path. i North. This p�th would be approximately 1 , 700 feet from the residentially zOned and used land along Howell in District 11 and along L¢ng in south St. Anthony Park. The applicant estimates that tllie path would be 30% to 40% of the time. 1 Southeast. Thus path would be approximately 300 feet from the residentiall� zoned and used land to the north and south of I-94 and wo}�ld be the closest to the residential areas . However, I-94 isl now used by Life Link to go to the Minneapolis hospitals from �he base at St. Paul Downtown Airport and these would be elimin ted. The applicant estimates that this path would be used 15% to 25% of the time. The applicant proposes to require all �ihelicopters to make all turns after takeoffs and before land�ngs in the space below the turn area, shown on Map l . All turns would be made at altitudes below 300 feet above ground lev�l . The horizontal dimension of the turn space would be a radiµs of 1 , 200 feet from the touchdown area but no closer than !600 feet to the residentially zoned and used areas . ( 5) The appl ' cants state that the will never fl helico ters Y Y P over residentialj areas below 1 ,000 feet above ground level and over non-re idential areas below 500 feet above ground level except for akeoffs and landings. I (6) Accordir�g to the applicants ' projections , operations will not average Imore than 20 operations per day. (An operation is a takeoff or llanding) . 95% of the operations would be between 6 : 00 A.M. and 1� : 00 P.M. Life links emergency service has averaged one takepff and landing every three days during the nighttime hours bf 10: 00 P.M. to 6 : 00 A.M. 1�Iews helicoptPrs very rarely oper�te during nighttime hours and J . R. Copters never do. i ( 7) On April 19 , 1988 Twin Cities Testing conducting outdoor noise tests of h�licopter landings and takeoffs. A four-rotor blade Sikorsky H�licopter was used for the tests . Life Link has bought such ia helicopter. It would be the largest and most noisy used atlithe heliport. 3 . , . � . � ; ���,�9 . . ( 8) The Cit�y has hired Edwards and Kelcey as its consultants to evaluate th� heliport ' s Special Condition Use permit. The consultant has �roduced two technical memorandums : (1 ) A back- ground report bn heliport regulations , and (2) an evaluation on the proposed �eliport. (9) The cdnsultant performed a noise assessment altitude proposed helico ter operations at the site. His conclusions are : "Our an lysis indicates that the proposed heliport is compatible with local residential development. The estimated level of 20 ope�ations per day is well below the maximum number of operations fqr compatible use. Our analysis indicates that a minimum of 162 operations per day would be necessary before noise compatibil'Iity problems might occur. Thus , the proposed facility would jhave to have significant growth in operations before noise levlels would be , according to FAA criteria, incom- patible with loc�l residences . " The analysi� is a worse case analysis with as much margin for error as pqssible. Some assumptions to make it a worse case are : a. The noillse generated by a Sikorsky 5-76 helicopter, the noi lest proposed to use the heliport, was used for all �Calculations . b. All flig�t operations were assumed to go in one direction, 24 hoursja day in the assessment of each route. c . The smallest number of operations allowed was used to proj ct the maximum number of operations before incompat .bility with residential areas might occur (162 ope�ations) . (10) The co�sultant states that overall the proposed oper- ations ' profile 'and the proposed approach in departure routes anc� altitutes app�ar reascnable . �nd it goes on to make sugges±ed conditions for th permit dealing mainly with safety and minimiz- ing noise. ( 11 ) In th� previous Zoning Committee ' s staff report, considered at th�e public hearing on September 29 , 1988 , the Planning staff r�commended that a Special Condition Use permit be approved, pr vided that the conditions suggested by the consultant be att ched to the permit. 4. I . � - - � ���3� � � (12) On S�ptember 22, 1988 the Assistant City Attorney, Jerome Segal , #.ssued a legal opinion on the ability of the City to regula e the activities at heliports . This opinion was also discu�sed at the September 29, 1988 nublic hearing. In the opinion{ the attorney states the City "is pre-empted by the Constitu�tion and federal legislation from enacting local regulations per�aining to a number of helicopter operations at the helipor� , types of helicopters that may take off or land from there ,l flight paths to and from the heliports , altitude restrictions aro�nd heliports and noise levels around heliports . " The attorney al�so went on to say that "the owner/proprietor of the proposec� heliport could enter into an agreement with the City where �he owner would restrict the use of the heliport in such a manner� as would be consistent with the existing federal and state regul�tions governing such heliports . " Consequently, the City cannotlregulate such heliport activities by attaching conditions to th� Special Condition Use permit . (13) Cond�r Corporation has proposed a private heliport use agreement wh�ch voluntarily restricts the use of the heliport as an inducement to the City to repeal the heliport moratorium on I-1 zoned la d and to approve its heliport Special Condition Use permit. Amlong other things , Condor proposes to restrict approaches to ancl departures from the heliport to three flight paths , restrict Iturns before landing and after takeoffs on a specific spac� over the heliport, restrict operations to 50 per day, restlrict training and maintenance activity, provide the City with an� annual report of the number and time of oper- ations , establisY� an inquiry response system for citizen com- plaints , and es�tablish an advisory committee to reconsider heliport activiti�s. and, WHEREAS , pur�suant to the provisions of the Zoning Code , Midway Coalition Iat 1558 West Minnehaha; St . Paul , Minnesota, Merriam Park Cor�munity Council located at 2000 St. Anthony Avenue , St. Paul ,l Minnesota, St. Anthony Park Community Council located at 890 C�romwell Avenue , St. Paul , Minnesota, and the Prospect Park an�i East Improvement Association located at 76 Clarence Avenue , IS.E . , Minneapolis , Minnesota, duly filed their appeal from thesel determinations made by the Planning Commission requesting that a public hearing be held before the City Council for the purpose lof considering actions taken by the Planning 5. I . � ; � � � ���%�� Commission; an�i WHEREAS , acting pursuant to Section 64. 205 through Section 64. 208 , and iapon notice to appellants , applicant and other affected prop�rty owners , public hearings were held by and before the C�ty Council wherein all interested parties were given an opport�unity to be heard; and WHEREAS , !pursuant to Section 64. 206 of the Saint Paul Legislative arld Zoning Code, the City Council ' s review of de- cisions of tYpe Planning Commission is to determine whether the Commissionj committed an error in fact, procedure or finding, and in such iases the Council may reverse or affirm wholly or partly or modify, the decision or determination appealed f rom; and WHEREAS , IIthe Council of the City of Saint Paul having heard the staltements made and having considered the appeal , the report of� the Planning staff, the minutes and findings of the Zonin� Committee and of the Planning Commission, it is hereby RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Saint Paul does hereby find an�i determine that the Planning Commission committed error in its Ifindings and conclusions and that the Council does thereforelnot concur in the findings and conclusions made by the Planning� Commission; and, be it FURTHER RIESOLVED, that said errors are specifically as follows : (1 ) In re ard to finding No. 12 of the findings and order of the Planni g Commission issued under their file 88-81 , the Commission err�d in assuming that the local government and the applicant , ICondor Corporation, could enter into an agreement regulating area$ governed by federal and state regulations . (2) That Ithe Commission erred in their finding No. 13 whereby Condor Corporation offered to enter into an agreement I i 6. I i Wv.tTE - C�TV CLERK '� P'��`�. - FINANCE CITY OF SAINT PAUL Council BI.UERV- MAVORTMENT I Flle NO. �� ��� - � , Council s lution �. �,�-, Presented By :_ � ' �7),Y'�_'�''�.k ��- � �� � i Referred To ' Committee: Date Out of Committee By Date � to restrict app oach to and departures from the heliport to three flight pa hs , restrict turns before landings and after takeoffs to a s ecific space over the heliport and to restrict operations to 50 per day and that such agreement could be enforced by the parties involved. Such a proposal would appear to be a misunderstandi g of the opinion issued by the Assistant City Attorney, Jerome Segal , on August 22, 1988. This , then, serves as error in co clusion on the part of the St. Paul Planning Commission; and, be it FURTHER RES�LVED , that the Council of the City of Saint Paul gran�ts the �ppeal of Midway Coalition, Merriam Park Community Council , St. An hony Park Community Council and Prospect Park and East River Rdad Improvement Association; and, be it I FINALLY RESbLVED, that the City Clerk shall mail a copy of this resolut�on to Midway Coalition at 1558 West Minnehaha, St. Paul , Minne ota, Pnerriam Park Community Council , 2000 St. Anthony Street , St. Paul , Minnesota, St. Anthony Park CorrLmunity Council , 890 Cr mwell Street , St. Paul , Minnesota and Prospect Park and East iver Road Improvement Association, 76 Clarence Avenue , S .E . , M�nneapolis , Minnesota, Condor Corporation, 2320 Lexington Avenuej South, St. Paul , Minnesota, the Zoning Admini- s-crator and the Slt. Paul Planning Commission. � i 7 . COUNCIL MEMBERS Requested by Department of: Yeas Nays Dimond r.ong [n Favor Goswitz Rettman � B sche;be� _ Against Y Soanen VV'�son ; JA� l ;1 19$9 Form pprov by i Att rney Adopted by Council: Date —� Certified Pas b uncil Se t By sy dlpproved b- Wavor• Dat �, JAN 3 01989 Approved by Mayor for Submission to Council By -�, BY �� �i-r' ` IJaJ `-1