CCP 05-29-2001 - Laserfiche WebLink

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�� 4F ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL— APRIL 30, 2001 t 9 Mayor Probst stated that to his knowledge the city has never had buoys on the lake even though the ordinance requires them. He noted he is not interested in doing this. He added he thinks the aesthetic of the lake is improved, but safety is not enhanced. He stated he does not want the city to deal with this and is not in favor of going down this path. Mr. Lynch stated the Ramsey County Water Patrol has enforcement responsibility and it is not clear they have a responsibility for buoy placement. He noted the city would have to pay fee to put them in and pull them out. Mayor Probst stated that part of this ordinance sets the area for no wake zone, yet there are occasions when people get closer than 250 feet. Mr. Lynch states it is the same as enforcement anywhere in state, the act is already done and the police are trying to make a determination that a violation has occurred. Mr. Filla stated they have had three violations because it is so difficult to enforce. He noted it would be hard to determine the location of the buoy and the speed of the watercraft. Councilmember Rem stated it seems to make sense to do it since they do not stop striping lanes because of the difficulty in enforcement. She noted if people want to ignore them, at least they should establish where they are. She added they are also talking about this without talking about the costs. Councilmember Aplikowski stated the cost does not matter. She noted it is an ordinance and they either enforce it or take it off the books. Mayor Probst stated Lake Johanna has an unusual speed policy. He noted the moment they open any part of the ordinance they would lose all of it. He added that therefore the desire has been to leave the ordinance alone. Councilmember Larson stated that on one hand he could see it happen. He noted people are driving close to shore and eroding it. Yet, he added the difficulty is the uneven shoreline so it is hard to demarcate the 250 line. He stated the buoys just do not seem a very satisfactory way to do it. He noted he would like to see improvement of the signs. Councilmember Larson stated it does not say who is responsible. He stated the Lakeshore Association could also be responsible. He noted he does not know how other people on lake feel about it. He added there might be something the Lakeshore Association wants to do. He stated it could be left to individual property owners. He stated people are using swimming rafts to keep people from coming too close. Councilmember Rem asked about potential liability from a city ordinance they are not enforcing. Mr. Filla responded it is not a good idea to have a regulation that regulates speed and not enforce it. He stated the regulation sounds like it was adopted because of safety concerns. He noted a city council adopted this. He added he agrees with Councilmember Aplikowski in that if they do not want to enforce it they should get rid of it. He stated it might be more complicated than that.