HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010-03-10 Handout @ MeetingMEMORANDUM
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.