CC 05-16-1974 - Laserfiche WebLink

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. . , -. .',\ ., REPORT FROM WATER SURFACE CONTROL COMMITTEE The proposed ordinance (or rules for watercraft operation) On Johanna lake was. the result of a 6 month study by a sub- committee authorized by the Planning Commission of Arden Hills to assess the need for water surface control on the lakes with- in the Vi!lage. Wlth the changes made by the 1973 legislative session to the Water Safety Act, for the first, +ime it became possible for local units of government to establish ordinances to control the. u.s,e 01 watercrafT on waters within their terri- torial limits, provided thaT such ordinances are approved by the Commissioner of Natural Resources. Any water surface use ordlhances adopted by a local unit of gov,erninent afTer January 1, 1975 must be consisTent with the statewide rules and regulations to be formulated by the Commissioner of Natural Pesources. There- fore a very real incentive was provided to research and develop a plan for water s~rface control of the lakes within our munici- pal limits which would be specifically tailored to the needs and wiShes of the people of Arden Hills, while s+111 being mindful of our larger responsibilities to the total recreational needs of Ramsey County. the commiTtee consisted of the following 'peopfe: Chwmn:Shlrley ludlow, Larry McGough, Maurice Johnson, Robert Woodburn, Dick Frey, Tom Lynch, ,Bob & Nancy Car I son and C' eon Garl ey. Early in our deliberations TWO facts became evldent--I.Water surface use of the lakes could not be compleTely divorced from ecological considerations and 2. To provJde ourselves wIth a working knowledge of the needs and wishes of Arden HI lis re- sidents It would be necessary to send out Questionnaires on uses and abuses of the lakes. I I Three different Questionnaires were sent out upon which I shall report briefly. (The rei'urned Ques+lonnalres are on file aT the Village Office.) The first questionnaire went to riparian residents of lake Jo- hanna. Its primary purpose was an assessment of whether those who lived on the I~ke's shores fel+ a regUlaTory ordinance would be a good Idea---the answer---strongly affirmative. We also sought to get an Idea of what the residents consi~ered to be abuses of the lake. The same generai purpose was behind a Questionnaire sent to resIdents on lake Josephine. In this case the response was mixed. However, most residents felt regulations weren't necessary, and that abuses were not that numerous. Both of These responses were consistent with the evaluation in the Lakes in Ramsey County Report # 4 made by the University of Minnesota for the Department of Natural Resources. in that report Johanna was Identified as a " high problem !ake" and Josephine as " low probtem " level.