1.A Ramsey County Rice Creek Trailhead Concept and TCAAP North-South Trail Connection Concept

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corridor would allow for a more natural looking trail corridor. For reference, each 100 feet of trail corridor along the eastern edge of TCAAP from Highway 96 to the Wildlife Corridor includes approximately 16 acres of land. A benefit to receiving a dedicated trail corridor through special legislation is that it would not impact the City's park dedication requirement. Additionally, a wider, dedicated corridor provides an opportunity for a natural trail corridor that would be an amenity to the redevelopment and the community. Special Legislation for a Land Transfer As noted, the City and County would explore options for a special legislation land transfer to separate the designated trail corridor from the rest of the TCAAP property. It may be easier to receive a special land transfer if the corridor is defined because there would be a specific request. However, even with a dedicated trail corridor, the City would still expect any redevelopment to include sidewalk connections, which can be required separate from the park dedication requirement. Depending on the location of the trail corridor, there may be contaminated land within the corridor that would require remediation. If the trail has a regional designation, it would become eligible for funds from the Metropolitan Council. The County and City could also seek an appropriation to complete the remediation with the transfer. Before the County or possibly the City takes ownership, the remediation issues would need to be addressed. A dedicated trail corridor would help ensure that the City receives the north -south trail connection without impacting the park dedication requirement. If a defined trail corridor is selected, the City may still want some flexibility to be able to modify or move the corridor in the future if a better corridor is identified as part of a future redevelopment. Council Direction Requested Regarding the regional trailhead concept on AHATS and the Primer Tracer area, is the Council prepared to discuss a letter of support for the County to pursue this project? What additional information is needed? Discussing trail concepts within a future redevelopment on TCAAP is part of the overall land use discussion. It is likely that the City would require some type of a sidewalk or trail connections within any redevelopment. However, the dedicated north -south trail corridor concept could be an opportunity to obtain a special land transfer for an uninterrupted trail corridor from County Road 96 to the Wildlife Corridor and Rice Creek North Regional Trail. If the City Council is interested in pursuing a special land transfer for a dedicated corridor, a letter of support for the concept could be prepared for Council approval. Greg Mack has stated that a letter of support City ofArden Hills P: I4dminlCounciMgendas & Packet Information 1200911-30-09 TCAAP WorksessionPacket lnformationl IA 113009 - CC Memo -RC Trailhead and Rice Creek Trail. doc Page 4 of 5