1999-12-01 Agenda Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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Park and Recreation Committee Report and Ideas from Wayne LeBlanc Dec 1, 1999 First, conbratulations on the City Council budget approval for Park and Rec! This repori is divided into 3 sections: 1. Trails letter to surrounding communities update. Z. Concerns sent to City Council 3. Followup on last months presentation. Trails Letter to Surroundin� Communities Uudate Apparently there was only one reply &om Arne Stefferud of the Metropolitan Council. Arne's letter referred to Rick ' Gelbmann who maintains a database of information. I called Rick and we could get electronic data, but need a license and I appropriate software. I asked about �et[ing a map, and be said he just needed a letter. So, I suggest the City send Rick Gelbmann, 230 East 5`� St, St Paul, MN 55101 a letter something like the below: I In a phone conversation with Wayne LeBlanc on Nov 30, you asked for a letter to be sent to obtain a map of plans in our area for trails. The City of Centerville is interested in a map showing existing trails and proposed or planned trails in the communities sunounding the City of Centerville. This would include Lino Lakes, White Bear Lake, Hugo, and township areas within a 7 mile or so radius of Centerville. Any other information you can provide would be welcome. Thank you... I also talked with Phylis Hanson and Johnathan Vlaming of the Met Council and got several leads on other people to call. When I outlined the rough plan to circle Centerville Lake and connect to the east, they suggested the City work with Anoka Co�n[y to get the trails in the master plan (they may have used another term). They said the suggested trails would fit very well and some are already in the master plan. They suggested Ron Cox at Anoka Parks as a good contact. , Concerns Sent to Ci� Council � In the handout, is a letter l discussed with City Council on Monday, Nov 22. They sent it to Park and Rec. My purpose was to make some of these issues more visible and I wasn't sure where the issues belonged (P&Z or what). Here are some suggestions on what to do with the issues (somewhat reworded): 1). Trail easement to narrow or trail easement being unknown by buyers. The cunent width of a trail easement is 6 feet on one side, 8 feet of trail, then 6 feet on the other side for a total of 20 feet. In my view, a Iot next to this would be quite undesirable. There is only 6 feet of "buffer: ' Codes in the city say buildings must be at least 10 feet from property lines. I suggest this needs to be wider. I'll not state a specific number. The other issue is people don't seem to know about easements. From Acorn Creek experience, it is clear that the existing system is not working. Developers are supposed to tell buyers where the easements are. Here aze some suggesuons: A). Ideally, infrastructure shoald be in place before � houses are sold. Roads are constructed before houses are sold. Trails could also be constructed before houses are so1d. This one ran perpendiculaz to the road and a trail on a property line perpendicular to the road, should not c;ause a developer a problem. (A sidewalk put in before construction is a problem.) So, here, require trails be put in before anything is sold. B). Require signs every 50 feet or so identifying easements. These would have to be' maintained by the developer. C). There needs to be a penalty or conseqnence for developers who don't follow the rules. A huge cash surety (to pay off people with a misunderstanding) or the ability to shut down the project quickly if something is not right. Most of this is probably a P&Z issue, but a recommendation from Park & Rec is the suggested process, I guess. 2). Abandonment of the Acorn Creek easement. I got the minutes of this transaction thanks to Aimee and it happened in 1995. The root of the problem is #1 above. Since this is a done deal and at least one nearby resident (Aimee) said it's okay as it is, I suggest no need to pursue it. However, something needs to be done to prevent the same thing in the future. The precedent I see, is that about the only trail ever planned for the City of Centerville was abandoned. This is not a very good record. 2