2010-03-10 Handout @ Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

MEMORANDUM TO: Mayor and City Council FROM: Kurt B. Glaser, City Attorney DATE: March 10, 2010 RE: Requesting Authorization To Initiate Enforcement Of Trail Easement Agreement The City Attorney requests authority from the Council to enforce the development agreement and platting requirements related to the CenterVilla development. The developer and owner of that land failed to follow through on its development agreement and platting requirements. The most relevant issue is their failure to record a trail easement across the property. That trail easement is now necessary to complete the TrailLink project. The City Administrator, Engineer and Attorney have spent months in good faith negotiations with Will Lessard attempting to resolve this easement issue. Going as far back as 1999, Mr. Lessard personally negotiated the development of his property with the City Council. As part of that negotiation he agreed to give the City a trail easement across his property. He gave the City this easement in exchange for other development rights. His promise of a trail easement is clearly set out in meeting minutes. This trail easement appeared on the preliminary plat. But due to a statutory requirement a trail easement cannot be included in a final recorded plat; it must be recorded as a separate easement document. Mr. Lessard never recorded that trail easement, and his development project went forward. The lack of a recorded easement was discovered during recent planning for the TrailLink project. Staff asked Mr. Lessard to record his agreed upon trail easement. Over the past few months Mr. Lessard asked Staff to give him concessions to secure his agreement to record the missing trail easement documentation. These concessions were over and above the City's duties under the original development agreements. Staff proposed these concessions in order to avoid the cost of litigation. In the months since discovering the unrecorded easement Mr. Lessard acknowledged his original promise to give the City a trail easement across his property. However, negotiations have not been successful. Mr. Lessard's demands have changed or shifted during these months. At times he simply avoided speaking with Staff. To date, Mr. Lessard will not agree to record the trail easement even with the concessions he requested from the City. Mr. Lessard was asked to finalize this matter as of last Friday. It remains unresolved at this time. The City needs to acquire a trail easement over the CenterVilla (now Lakes Area Utility) property in order to extend the TrailLink project across that property. Project deadlines require the City to acquire this easement in a relatively short period of time. Since Mr. Lessard will not record the trail easement per his original agreement nor as a result of recent negotiation, the City Attorney recommends the initiation of litigation in order to best meet the TrailLink project deadlines for acquiring property.