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Parks, Trails & Recreation Committee – October 22, 2024 Page 6 Council Liaison Rousseau said there is a New Brighton trail space in the southern part of the city. An individual planted some trees to create a natural barrier but planted too far over. This discussion is around what do you do if you want to improve your space but it’s in a right of way area. What if it’s buckthorn? What guidelines would the PTRC recommend for residents to do in those situations. Committee Member Jacobson said if people are improving land that is outside their property lines, they do that at their own risk. She wondered if a neighborhood has residents that have a varying opinion on where property ends. It can become emotional to try to mitigate one violation but all of the others have a more acceptable encroachment onto City land, such as a fence. This needs to be addressed on a larger scale. Council Liaison Rousseau said that has been her concern. You can’t build policy for just one resident. You need to apply them to the entire city. Council either needs to crack down on every resident who has an encroachment or start to build in an exception list. Committee Member Rogers said there a lot of volunteers who have been volunteering for a long time and they have planted a whole lot of plantings with little to no regulation on City property. But then you have residents who are planting as an improvement to their own yards. She isn’t sure if PTRC has the authority to allow varying rules at varying places. Council Liaison Rousseau used the example that if the property butts up against Valentine Park, that’s a space that the City doesn’t maintain. Then invasive species from the park creep onto the private property. The resident will want to clean up the source or it will just come back. Committee Member Rogers said the City won’t clean up the invasive species but if volunteers choose to remove them, they need to plant certain things in their place. If a resident cleans up and plants something, the City can come in and say they don’t like the planting they chose. She doesn’t know if residents would think to ask the City. There doesn’t seem to be any rules. She thinks those rules need to come from the Council level, not the PTRC. Recreation Supervisor Johnson said easements are hard to regulate because the City can hold residents liable. Committee Member Jacobson said Arden Hills is very hands-off on any planting in the right of way. Council Liaison Rousseau said we are a complaint-based city. So unless someone complains about it, nothing will be done. Committee Member Jacobson said Arden Hills is all over the map on how they manage City property. She thinks the City is erratic about they manage City land. Committee Member Dietz said there are no repercussions. He said he has been personally involved with an encroachment issue and the City says they don’t want to get involved. He said