Loading...
8. SR 12-11-1995ry of lk� River ITEM 8. MEMORANDUM TO: FROM: DATE: SUBJECT: Mayor and City Council Steven B. Ach, City Plannerllo( � December 11, 1995 Comprehensive Plan I. Urban Service Boundary At the last meeting to discuss the Comprehensive Plan, a considerable amount of discussion centered on expanding the urban service area. Understandably, residents and business owners alike were all concerned about the cost of utilities and how individual property owners would be impacted by an expanded urban service area. Unfortunately, the exact costs associated with extending trunk utility has not been determined at this time. • Preliminary analysis has indicated the costs associated with extending utilities could be supported by the affected properties; however, this will need to be further researched and confirmed prior to a project taking place. If it is determined at the time of a project that the utilities cannot be extended in a cost effective manner, the likelihood of the project taking place at that time will most likely be diminished. At the last Council meeting it appeared as though several residents were under the impression that if their property was included in the urban service area, they would be immediately affected and assessed for some future utility project. Until there is a project, property owners will not be affected by an expanded urban service area. Furthermore, generally those residents directly benefiting from a utility extension will be assessed, not the entire urban service area. At Monday night's meeting, I will present to the City Council some scenarios explaining how utilities could be extended throughout this eastern area over time. Once again, it should be emphasized that the urban service area is projected to accommodate growth for many years. Historically, the rate at which utilities have been extended is a direct result of requests from developers. Generally speaking, if the property owners are not petitioning to have utilities extended, the Council has had no reason to proceed with a project. • (There has been and will continue to be exceptions to this scenario.) It is 13065 Orono Parkway • P.O. Box 490 • Elk River, MN 55330 • (612) 441 -7420 • Fax: (612) 441 -7425 Comprehensive Plan Page 2 December 11, 1995 • envisioned that the County Road 12 and 13 corridors would develop over time at the request of landowners (developers). This pattern of growth will be very similar to the western area of the City as well as the Meadowvale Heights, Nord and Brady property. II. Why Should There Be An Expanded Urban Service Area? First of all, if the City Council does not envision there ever being the need to expand the City's urban limits, the boundary does not have to be changed. If the urban service boundary is not adjusted to accommodate long term growth at an urban density, the result will be a large "belt" around the City's urban core of 2 to 2 -1/2 acre lots. Again, if this is the pattern of growth the City Council desires, there is no need to expand the urban district. However, as presented to the Steering Committee and Planning Commission, there are some downsides to this low density pattern of development. It has been documented in several studies and various articles that this pattern of growth is "inefficient" and burdensome on the City' ability to provide services and utilities in a cost effective manner. This is not to suggest that the entire City of Elk River needs to develop at an urban density. What I would encourage the Council to consider is trying to achieve a land use and density mix that will benefit the City as a whole along all lines of concern including • property taxes, commercial opportunities, providing employment opportunities and maintaining the sense of community within the City, etc. If the urban service area is not expanded, commercial and industrial areas could still be developed; however, based on requirements set forth in the State Building and Fire Codes, there will be restrictions on the type and size of businesses that can be developed. For example, it may not be economically feasible for an industrial or commercial company to construct a large facility which is required to be sprinkled. The cost involved to provide an on -site system to meet the sprinkling demands may be too costly or unacceptable to the City's fire chief. Therefore, the benefit of providing city water and sewer for commercial and industrial development allows a maximum use of the property, does not restrict the size or type of use, and provides greater environmental protection for businesses that may misuse their septic systems by disposing of materials improperly. Another benefit to identifying the ultimate service area at this time is to inform current and new residents of the City's plans to manage growth. Elk River will continue to have growth pressures applied by residential, commercial and industrial developers. The challenge before the City Council is to manage this inevitable growth in a cost effective manner while maintaining the characteristics unique to Elk River. With these pressures and constantly changing conditions, it is important a long range plan be adopted so the City can plan for development and not react. s:council:complan Comprehensive Plan December 11, 1995 Page 3 • III. What Are the Costs Associated With Development? Attached to this memo are summaries from reports along with articles that discuss the costs and revenues associated with development. The following sources of information are included for the Council's review: • Executive Summary - A summary of a report by Resource Management Consultants, Inc., entitled: "Development in Wright County - The Revenue /Cost Relationship "; • Article by Lee Ronning of the Land Stewardship Project - "Farm Land's Top Yield Isn't Residential Taxes "; • Excerpt from a report by the Environmental Quality Board, entitled: "A Question of Balance and Managing Growth in the Environment "; • Excerpt from a book by Randall Arendt, entitled: " Rural By Design "; • An Executive Summary along with Impact Analysis for each zoning district from a study done by the City of Lakeville, entitled: "Growth Management Strategies for the City of Lakeville ". • In summarizing these articles, the following points should be highlighted: • The costs of growth for low density development are higher than growth at a higher density. • Quote: "It is fiscally sound to concentrate growth around areas with existing infrastructure and discourage growth on large lots and farming areas." • Relatively high density development close to existing urban infrastructure provides less expense locally and to the state over the long term. Residential projects that consume large amounts of land often costs communities more than they give back in property taxes. • The small clusters of one and two acre residential lots interspersed with agricultural areas have contributed to uncontrolled development and imposes a significant financial and environmental problem for Otsego. • Large lot residential zoning, often enacted by communities that would like to preserve open space such as wood land and farm land is to a large part responsible for the high levels of land consumption experienced by communities. s:council:Complan Comprehensive Plan December 11, 1995 Page 4 • • Studies have shown that the net public cost resulting from low density or "sprawl" development are considerably greater than those resulting from higher density or "cluster" development for the same number of dwelling units. Put simply, it costs more to run school buses and emergency vehicles, to repair roads, and to collect garbage when homes are spread out over more miles of roads than when houses are located more closely together as in a typical 19th century town. • For every $1.00 of revenue collected from: - residential land, $1.25 is spent on services; - industrial and commercial land, $.19 is spent on services. • The net public costs were approximately three times higher ($2,200.00 per unit) where the density was one unit per 5 acres than where the density was 4.5 units per acre ($700.00 per unit). • Lower valued homes tend to have a negative fiscal impact. • Higher valued homes tend to have a positive fiscal impact. • The higher the density of housing the more return; however, there are • diminishing returns, after a certain point, in market value and density. • Twin homes, quads, townhomes and high value homes provide the best fiscal investments in housing. • Scattered development puts an enormous strain on the City's operating capital budgets and negatively impacts commercial areas trying to establish service areas. If the City Council is interested in reading any of these reports in their entirety, I'll be happy to provide the Council a complete copy of those reports. IV. What Type of Development Guidelines Will There Be For Property Within The Urban Service Area? One of the fundamental elements of the Comprehensive Plan is to manage growth in an orderly manner and to encourage growth from the central city outward. In order to allow this growth to occur along with the extension of utilities, certain growth control policies will have to be adopted for property within the urban service area to allow the efficient extension of utilities. Although no specific guidelines have been adopted at this time, future ordinances will have to address the minimum lot size which property can be subdivided without water and sewer. For example, it may be determined that the minimum lot size prior to receiving water and sewer will be 10 acres. Generally speaking, the larger the lot sizes, the greater the flexibility s:council:Complan Comprehensive Plan December 11, 1995 Page 5 property owners will have to subdivide their land when water and sewer is available. This in turn creates a greater efficiency for the property owner to help offset the costs of city water and sewer. Furthermore, the larger the lot sizes, the easier it becomes to extend utilities in an orderly fashion without involving numerous landowners who may not be interested in receiving utilities at that time. Several residents at the last Comprehensive Plan meeting expressed concern about not being able to do "anything" with their property until sewer and water is made available. Within the areas that are designated for residential development, property owners will be able to subdivide their land to the minimum lot size, whichever that may be, and utilize their property as a residential use and other uses associated with that particular zoning designation. On the other hand, the commercial and industrial districts are not as clearly defined and will need further discussion to formulate some reasonable guidelines. V. Can Overlay Plats Be Utilized In Subdivisions Prior To Sewer And Water? The general concept behind overlay plats is to allow the subdivision of land into slightly larger lots which can then be re- subdivided in the future when water and sewer is made available. I believe this particular concept works much better in rural areas that are envisioned to stay rural where the minimum lot size may be larger today than it will be 10 or 15 years down the road. Some of the problems associated with this concept within future urban districts include the following: The parties (Council, developers, staff) who were originally involved in establishing the overlay district are often not a part of the actual implementation when sewer and water is finally made available. This leaves confusion for future councils and staff and a lot of flexibility for debate on the intent of the overlay plat. As overlay plats develop with numerous homes and property owners that have invested in well and septic systems, there is the likelihood that even though there is an overlay plat that allows further subdivision, the property owners may flat out have no interest in utilities. This simply sets up a scenario where, although it has been planned to serve an area, the property owners enjoy their slightly larger lot and do not have any interest in the sewer and water. • The use of overlay plats within the future urban service district may become more predominant than one or two isolated cases. Therefore, further straining the efficient extension of public utilities, and possibly s:council: Complan Comprehensive Plan December 11, 1995 Page 6 working counter - productively to manage and slow growth from the central core of the City. VI. Restricted Areas For Development At Monday night's meeting, a brief presentation will be made, highlighting the wetland, woodland and floodplain areas that are scattered throughout the eastern area of Elk River. These natural areas may create some challenges for extending water and sewer; however, will also act as natural amenities for residential development. There are maps available in the Comprehensive Plan that highlight these restricted areas. I will be providing some colored maps at Monday night's meeting to facilitate in the discussion on this issue. VII. Cluster Development Attached is some information on cluster development. Cluster development is a subdivision technique the City should consider because of the benefits it has to offer. The illustrations included as part of the attached information gives a straightforward explanation to the idea behind "clustering". If the Council has any further questions on this concept, I will be happy to answer them at Monday night's meeting. • It should be made clear the Council will not be asked Monday night to adopt a specific clustering concept. The Comprehensive Plan suggests "exploring the clustering concept" and determine through an ordinance amendment the specific elements involved to allow clustering development. This ordinance amendment will be brought before the Planning Commission and City Council at a later date. VIII. Land Use Plan Monday night, the City Council will be asked to adopt the Comprehensive Land Use Plan which sets forth the long range land use of property throughout the City. As discussed later in this memo under "Necessary Actions ", at a later meeting rezonings will have to be brought forward to the City Council so that the land use plan and zoning map are consistent with each other. As a follow -up at the last Council meeting, Mr. Hetland made it known that his property at 165th and Highway 10 had the land use changed to Light Industrial. Staff has researched this and Mr. Hetland is correct that land use has been changed; therefore, the land use plan map will be changed accordingly to reflect this previously approved land use plan amendment. IX. Necessary Actions is Once the Comprehensive Plan is adopted, there will be several "necessary actions" that need to take place to implement the Comprehensive Plan. s:council:Complan is Comprehensive Plan December 11, 1995 Page 7 These necessary actions are listed at the end of each section of the Plan (i.e., residential, commercial, industrial, utilities). Some of the immediate actions the Council can expect to discuss in the next two to three months include: • Hold a public hearing on the Park and Recreation Plan • Hold a public hearing on the Transportation Plan • Hold a public hearing to consider rezonings to comply with the Comprehensive Land Use Plan • Review development standards for properties within the urban service district (i.e., lot size, interim uses). • Consider "cluster" development ordinance • Initiate a focus study on the downtown area • Study the commercial corridor between 193rd and 197th. Implementation of the Comprehensive Plan will be an ongoing effort. As mentioned at the beginning of this process, the Plan is not static. It will have to be amended occasionally as the times and conditions change within the City. In closing, if the City Council has any questions prior to Monday night's meeting, please feel free to contact me at 441 -4902. s:council: complan D • EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Py This study assesses the revenues and costs connected with growth at different densities in various sections of Wright County, Minnesota. In particular, the cost /revenue relationship of growth near existing infrastructure such as water, sewers, storm sewers and paved roads is compared with growth in rural areas that lack established infrastructure. Three residential development scenarios were chosen for the study : 1) a relatively high- density* development of 50 units of rental apartments, condominiums and single fam- ily homes in the City of Buffalo. The units oc- cupy a little over five acres. • 2) a subdivision of 50 units of single family wo three and four bedroom homes, each on one acre, in the Township of Otsego. The units occupy 50 acres. 3) 50 units of two, three and four bedroom homes, each on seven and one -half acres, in -the Township of Silver Creek. The units occupy 375 acres. The units for the Buffalo City scenario are connected to city water and sewers. The Townships of Otsego and Silver Creek contain no established infrastructure; therefore, the units use wells and septic systems. * "relatively high density" in this case does not approach the density of highrise development found in major metro- politan areas. Rather it includes a mixture of detached houses on 1/4 acre lots, semi- detached townhouses and small apartment buildings. These densities are compatible with the character of many small cities and towns in Min - nesota. i • In each case, the residential county, city, township and school district costs are compared with local revenues col- lected to support these costs. The findings of this study illustrate: 1) the costs of growth for low density development in the Townships of Otsego and Silver Creek are extremely high when county, city, township and school district costs and revenues are considered. The average per unit revenue /cost deficit for Otsego is $485.85. For Silver Creek, the per unit deficit is $499.22. 2) the costs of growth are much lower for a relatively high density subdivision in the City of Buffalo with established infrastructure. The average per unit revenue /cost deficit is $114.62. 3) the differences will be even more marked in the near future. Otsego and Silver Creek face sub - stantially higher capital costs within the next • two to three years (sewage treatment, water and added schools for Otsego and added schools and roads for Silver Creek). Buffalo City's infra - structure will be adequate for the next decade. 4) besides proving the least .cost effective, the Silver Creek scenario used up more -land and con- tributed to the decimation of farmland. Higher density development in the City of Buffalo pre- served land without threatening existing farmland or forestland. • In sum, higher density development close to existing ,urban infrastructure proved less expensive than low density development in areas with no established infrastructure. The differences are exacerbated in the near term zince the Town- ships of Otsego and Silver Creek face sharply higher capital investment within the next two to three years. On the other ii • hand, Buffalo's capital costs can be expected to remain • stable for the next ten years. This study underlines the fact that it is fiscally sound to concentrate growth around areas with existing infrastruc- ture and to discourage growth on large lots in farming areas. State support of farmland preservation is a fiscally practi- cal method to achieve these goals. It enables farmers to re- sist selling their land for large tract development. As a second step, it encourages less expensive settlement around existing infrastructure. Over the long term, farmland pres- ervation protects an invaluable resource and it helps to pro- tect farming counties from the onslaught of unplanned growth. iii • • SUMMARY It is apparent that relatively high density development close to existing urban infrastructure proves less expensive locally and to the state over the long term. Although three bedroom homes have somewhat higher costs in Buffalo than in Otsego and Silver Creek, it must be remembered that the capital costs of infrastructure are al- ready figured into the Buffalo city budget. We have also figured capital costs for school construction into the Buf- falo budget. New additions to the school will be financed by bond issues that have already been issued. In addition, state contribution to the City of Buffalo budget will double next year because of the city's growth. Therefore, long term, local costs for the City of Buffalo budget can be expected to decrease or at least remain steady. Otsego, on the other hand, must still face the costs of establishing infrastructure and over the next five years will face new school costs as well. Silver Creek's added school costs within two to three years will take the township's av- erage per unit cost even higher in relation to Buffalo than it is now. The new costs will also mean that two and three bedroom homes in that township will become a much larger fis- cal burden than if the homes were built in the City of Buf- falo. 42 • As more and more homes are added in Silver Creek, some roads will be added. Upkeep of these roads will cost $4,400 a year, and added school bus routes will cost $2.19 a mile. In studying the effects of growth in three communities -- in the City of Buffalo at a relatively high density, close to infrastructure; in Otsego, on one acre near an established population center; and in Silver Creek,on 7 1/2 acres in a rural area, it became apparent that the revenue /cost rela- tionship is healthiest in Buffalo. In addition to current figures, over the long term, both Otsego and Silver Creek can be expected to have sharply higher local costs, while Buffalo's can be expected to remain relatively steady, at . least over the next decade. Of major importance as well, is the fact that when houses are put on 7 1/2 acre lots, as is true in Silver • Creek, 375 acres of land are used for a 50 unit development. Five acres are used Buffalo for 50 units when housing is de- veloped close to infrastructure and at higher density. It is especially important to Minnesota right now to find the least expensive way to provide service's. Minnesotans now pay more in property taxes than they do in income taxes. The pressure on the state to increase state aids for property tax relief grows yearly. Already these aids cost $3 billion a 43 • year and comprise 65 percent of the state budget.* In 1990 -91, state aid to localities will rise over six percent. The most logical way to assure that these costs do not • continue their steep ascent is to make sure that growth progresses at a rate that is affordable both to the state and to the locality. This study underlines the fact that it is fiscally sound to concentrate growth around areas with existing infrastruc- ture and to discourage growth on large lots in farming areas. State support of farmland preservation is a fiscally practi- cal method to achieve these goals. It enables farmers to re- sist selling their land for large tract development and as a second step encourages less expensive settlement around ex- isting infrastructure. Over the long term, it preserves an invaluable resource and it helps to protect farming counties from the onslaught of unplanned growth. *these figures are included in a 1/20/89 column in the Min - neapolis Star Tribune by Minnesota Governor Rudy Perpich. 44 • on N R TTY- SA NL tM �f l sE coE, y D� �f. CCE(09 Si0 Tlf�' ()NE DvT A SALE W i4a I? SPECIAL c Revenues per square foot. an important measure, store was a respccmble 5221. By contrast, the department stores of May Department Store CO.. St. Louis, tion- recorded sales per foot of 5179 (though its Lord & d Taylor division stood at S212). Dillard Department ,ly go Stores Inc., Little Rock. generated sales per foot of $142. the And one could probably credit the sale - bonanza ran And with blunting the penetration of Nordstrom une Inc. th tWashington. g D C market in the lat retailer 980s, to a st lit- it romped all over local, established chains there. last l W9 Dayton's has done a credible job detending its turf. Still. Nordstrom Inc. has won over a lot of local customers. Nationally, it recorded sales per square foot of 5381 in 1993. Importantly, it has accom- Forum FannIand's top isnIt residential taxes By Lee Ronning Arguments for saving fertile farmland from being destroyed by urban sprawl often centbr on the environmental and social impacts of rampant development patterns. But for better or worse. it's the financial bottom line that carries real weight with decision - makers. As a result, the envhonmental and social havoc by specific land uses. On average, farmland adds twice as mine t to loc tax bases as It eman k loin serTvuesices according to the study. Using data gathered from the Minnesota Department of Revenue. Office of State Auditor and the Minnesota Department of Education, the anal sis found that in those three communities, or every Z in taz revenue generated y residcn- tta eve opment, on average S 1.04 was spent to provt a ser- vices such as sewers an s_trcots. Arco ing to a study conducted in Wright County by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, the fur- ther away from exist- ing infrastructure development is locat- ed, the more costly it is to provide services. We conducted the &rce- community study A providing the kind of bottom -line information lready been well -docu- mented in other states. we hope this data will help city officials bet- ter evaluate the impact of land use. decisions on municipal and school district finances. The three communities studied were chosen because they represent cities undergoing various stages of development within 25 miles of the Minneapolis -St. Paul downtown area. Independence is growing FORUM to page 9 That wasstt ie conclusion of a study recently conducted by the Land Stewardship Project and the American Farmland Trust in three metro -area communities: Farmington, Lake Elmo and Independence. Entitled, Farmland and the Tact Bill: The Cost of Communih= Services in Three Minnesota Cities, the study traces the flow of rev - enues and expenditures generated Stuart A Chamblin 111288.2135 an a . Editor. Kevin Maler 288 -2102 Middspeed projects cdKW- AM Nes 2118 -2108 Sud repotw, Svc m Euity 2&1104 ,ldwteinG Marle� Mad�t �°��, Aetot Volume 12, Number 37 February 17. 1 995 Director of Advertising Sales; Mark Neulahr 288 -2123 Senor Account hwei C lot i ka- Accow &=Wver Jolene K 8dt Nta&- Haupt nldacl HeAk�.I d Johnson, ovia Aare Business Mvitwout A=aunt Enuthe: fturten Tubbs Ad•adyer Cowd'uutor Ross Pouet 288.2136 FORUM irom page 8 ?slowly, while Lake Elino is•experi- -encing moderate growth and Farmington is being developed rapidly. Perhaps the must ironic finding of this study is that sprawling resi- deniiafrr ee effo ments can- resu 1 in less funding for schools. In Minnesota, state aid is used to hold down property taxes. Because this aid is usually distributed based on population or school enrollment, it increases the share of education funding attributable to the residen- tial sector. Minnesota's school aid is dependent on the total property val- uation of a school district. as well as being a function of enrollment, thus school districts receive less slate aid per student as growth occurs and properly tax bases expand. Normally, the expanded tax base source to ser- :found. This analysis points out that Minnesota's tax structure makes it very difficull to determine who is 'paying the true costs of sprawling residential development and who is benefrlting from it. And it notes that farmland protec- tion may be financially beneficial not only because of its contribution to the tax base, but also because it holds down property tax valuation. Lower property tax valuation leads to more state aid, which reduces the share of local government costs paid for by local residents and property owners. The lax revenue as compared to Cost of services ratios this anal sis moorts are simi at to those found in revenue from Fes men[ was lost wl delivering public services — from . marls, sewers and parking lots to education and public safety — was considered. A study released Iasi year by Utah Slate University's economics department found that for every $1 in revenue collected by residential r art tax revenue in One o t fat states counties, I. 7 in services was being provided. ese studies come at a It= when sprawling growth is destroy- ing Minnesota's farmland at an alarming rate. The 20 -county growth corridor from St. Cloud to the Twin Cities to Rochester is the fastest-'growing metropolitan area from the northern plains to the east - em seaboard. The seven - county Twin Cities metropolitan area has lost 235 square miles of agricultural Enid to urbanization since 1970. Since 1980, most of that growth has occurred in second -ring suburbs. The Twin Cities area is the third least dense y populalod metropolitan region in tie country, but one of the fastest growing geographically. The amount o metro -area an evoted to urban land uses has increased by 42 percent since 1970, almost dou- ble the 22 percent population growth rate during this same period. These trends are accelerated by an all too common attitude that farmland is property that is "vacant' or "wasted;' until i( sprouts subdivi- sions. But ag acres fuel a powerful econbmic engine in the region. Despite rapid urbanization in these counties, metro-area agricultural activity produced more than 5500 million worth of farm output and generated 7,000 jobs in 1990. Nationally, 56 percent of agricultur- al production comes from counties on the edge of cities. Farmland and the Tux Bill con- cludes (hat Minnesota and metro- area communities should continue ti support existing farmland proteclion programs such as Ntetropolitan Agricultural Preserves and Green Acres. For ecotionric and environ- mental reasons, the study recom- mends exploring other techniques Ic retain this valuable resource base, such as purchase of conservation easements. The statistics reported in this study will justify such measures. Perhaps even more importantly, they will help put to rest The fallacy dial the most valuable crop farnilam can produce is residential taxes. Lee Running is program director of the Land Stewardship Project in Marine Oi St Croix. • Otsego: Unplanned Growth • The, experience of Otsego illustrates the effects of poorly managed growth. A township until 1990, the city is struggling with the financial and environmental problems resulting from unplanned residential growth. Before passage of the Wright County comprehensive plan in 1978,.Otsego Town- ship was developed in a shotgun manner, with small clusters of one and two acre residential lots interspersed within agricultural areas. Uncontrolled development. poses significant financial an environment pro ems for Otsego. Rapid urban- zatlon resulted in serious flooding a.nd drainage problems requumg the township to issue more than $450,000 in bonds to remedy these troubles. Sewage treatment remains a paramount concern of local officials. The permeable soil conditions,. relatively high housing densities and proximity of wells to on -site sewage systems in northeast Otsego heighten the threat of ground -water contami- nation. However, payments for a municipal sewage treatment system would equal nearly a third of the city's annual budget. Sewage treatment alone would require about a 50 percent increase in township taxes, on top of a one -time utility assess- ment. Assessments would be high, given the relatively large road frontages of the one- and two -acre lots. • Otsego shows what can happen when growth occurs without planning or an attempt to preserve farmland. The costs are often felt decades later. Even when good planning is applied, it can be too late to check the environmental problems and prevent the high costs of remedial action. is `Ru,eA-t- CHAPTER 17 /r The Economics of Preserving Open Space ELIZABETH BRABEC OVERVIEW U44 THE REAL COSTS OF ibic Within the American economy, open land is com- monly seen as an unused and wasted resource, one that will reach its full potential only if it is de- veloped and put to a "productive" use. This atti- tude is often accompanied by strong opposition to open space preservation and clustering efforts. But, as communities become increasingly devel- oped, as traffic grows heavier, and as open lands steadily dwindle away, the intrinsic values of such natural areas become more apparent to larger numbers of people. This chapter cites a growing body of evidence that open space preservation and concurrent resource conservation are both economically and socially beneficial for many communities. For example, studies have shown that clustered developments with significant open space preservation areas tend to increase local property values. Among the most common issues involving the value of open space are: • requirements for clustering development and retaining a significant percentage of open space; • requirements for public parkland setasides within PUDs and subdivision developments; • municipal budgets for the acquisition of parkland and natural areas; and • the acquisition, development, and protection of greenways through a community. SPRAWLING DEVELOPMENT Across the country, when people are asked where they would prefer to live, work, shop, and recre- ate, they invariably select communities or neigh- borhoods that have an abundance of trees, open spaces, and uncluttered pedestrian ways. These preferences translate into clear economic terms: if a community is to succeed in attracting new resi- dents and businesses, it must be concerned about its appearance, physical character, livability, and "feel." Residents should be concerned not only about the number, type, and density of new subdivi- sions, but also about the effects those developments will produce on their townscape, the surrounding rural landscape, and their local "sense of place." Although new subdivisions can be designed to pre- serve a variety of open spaces, these advantages are generally not realized, and communities typi- cally receive very conventional "cookie- cutter" lay- outs of just more houselots and more streets. After several decades of metho 'caliewing and approving scores o such subdivisions, communi- ties area le to see the negative effects and higher costs of s raw development and the con- comitant loss o o en space. These costs may be grouped into two types, those felt by the commu- nity a-s a whole, and those accruing to the local gov- ernment (often termed "fiscal impacts "). 280 THE COSTS OF ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION The economic impacts of development, both pos- itive and negative, extend much farther than is commonly appreciated. For many years research- ers have been concerned about the land, air, and water pollution effects of low - density develop- ment. Our present land- consumptive system of development increases air and water pollution with both ecological and economic consequences. While it is difficult to quantify the total economic impact of the loss of open lands (because the effects form an interconnected network affecting industries as diverse as farming, fishing, and tourism), those losses can be substantial. Land Consumption Very few communities have escaped the effects of strip development and large -lot subdivisions. It sometimes seems to occur overnight: where there was a farm field yesterday, today stands a Burger King, a 7- Eleven, or a Wal -Mart. The pace has been sometimes fast and sometimes slow, but relentless, to the point where it is often accepted as inevitable. Large -lot residential zoning, often enacted by communities that would like to preserve open space such as woo an and farmland, is to a large Fart—responsible for the hi h levels of land con - sump ion experience by those communities. In Maryland, where half of the new construction oc- curs on agricultural parcels, 73,700 acres of farm- land were converted to developed uses between 1985 and 1990 (Greer, 1991). A similar acreage of woodland was also taken for suburban expansion. By the year 2020, it is estimated that an additional 700,000 acres of open land in the state will be covered with development. What this means for local woodland wildlife habitats and for the lo- cal farming economy are that both are seriously threatened. In many suburbanizing areas agricul- ture has ceased to be viable because large, con- tiguous tracts of farmland are no longer available, and support services have become nonexistent (these issues are discussed in greater detail in Chapter 18). The Economics of Preserving Open Space 281 Water Pollution Conversion of land to development affects local water supplies through the pollution of rivers, streams, bays, and groundwater. As land is devel- oped, the area of impervious surface increases, thereby reducing the volume of water infiltrating into the soil. Consequently, more water flows off - site and into rivers and streams. This runoff, com- monly called non -point source pollution, carries with it sediment and such pollutants as fertilizers, pesticides, and motor oil. Apart from the substances normally recognized as pollutants, soil erosion can cause serious water quality degradation. One study by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources in the Gunpow- der Falls Basin, a watershed of the Chesapeake Bay, shows that forestland produces about 50 tons of sediment per square mile per year. In contrast, land stripped for construction contributes 25,000 to 50,000 tons per year. This sediment enters the tributaries of the Chesapeake carrying nutrients and pollutants that are slowly killing the bay (Ebenreck, 1988). How is this pollution likely to affect the econ- omy? The Chesapeake Bay is an excellent example of the network of economic impacts related to open space preservation. The Office of Research within the Maryland Department of Economic and Employment Development estimated the value of Chesapeake Bay to the economies of Maryland and Virginia at $678 billion (in 1989 dollars). Of this amount, $31.6 billion is generated annually from commercial fisheries, activities for the ports, ship and boat building, ship repair, and tourism specific to the bay. Water pollution is seriously harming the commercial fisheries upon which the regional economy depends, for both the fishing and tourism industries. The report states that: Should water quality decline, marine vegetation continue to die, wetlands be destroyed, and water- fowl and animal habitats vanish, then that portion of total land values around the Bay will decline as well. Likewise, some — though not all —major water - related commercial economic activities are threat- ened by further deterioration of the Chesapeake 282 Rural by Design: Maintaining Small Town Character Bay.... Tourism —which includes recreational fish- ing, boating, waterfowl hunting, as well as sight- seeing —will also be adversely affected. If we permit what can be generally described as the "quality factor" to decline, we can expect the real economic value of the Chesapeake Bay to decline as well. Conversely, if we improve the quality of the Chesapeake Bay, we can expect that its economic value will rise. Air pollution reduces property values. Two studies from Chicago indicate that high levels of particulate contamination depress real - estate val- ues (Diamond, 1980; Smith, 1978). By looking at the premiums paid for homes in various locations, it was found that a reduction in air pollution par- ticulates of 10 ug /m3 was worth $3,000, and a pre- mium of $5,000 was paid for properties in the areas of lowest air pollution. Air Pollution FISCAL IMPACT ANALYSIS, The provision of greenways and greenbelts in com- OR HOW MUCH DOES SPRAWL munities function in two ways to reduce air pol- COST THE TAXPAYER? lution. Trees and other vegetation in greenspaces possess a large capacity for removing CO2, partic- ulates and other pollutants from the air. In addi- tion, when nearby development is clustered (as a means of creating the greenspace), and when it is designed in a mixed -use manner, the resulting compact development form provides the base for a concentration of services, thereby reducing the • number of vehicle trips per day. Sprawling development negatively impacts air quality because it forces residents to drive to jobs, schools, and services. Because many existing zon- ing codes separate residential, commercial, and industrial uses, it is no longer possible to walk to a corner store in most new neighborhoods. Thus, we have become totally dependent upon the pri- vate automobile as our primary mode of transpor- tation, even for our simplest everyday needs. Studies have shown that each suburban house- hold generates, on average, between 10 and 12 vehicle trips per day (Loudoun County Planning, 1990). Such numerous trips add substantially to air pollution, particularly in areas already experi- encing air quality problems. Under the federal Clean Air Act, states are required to meet federally mandated air quality standards. While significant reductions in air pollution have been achieved, it is clear that many areas of the United States (Cali- fornia, for example) will be unable to meet air quality standards without curtailing the presently unrestricted use of cars in some metropolitan areas (Air Review, 1986). r � L..J Apart from the effects of parkland and green - spaces on the value of surrounding property, a community can determine the effect of open space on the municipal coffers. This is done through a process called "fiscal impact analysis," which is a method of determining the costs of providing public services to a municipality. The public costs associated with development fall under five cat- egories (The Nature Conservancy, The Hidden Costs of Development): • educating children; • constructing and maintainin ublic facili- ties, such as water and sewage acilities, solid waste disposal, and parks; • providing public services, such as fire and .police protection, and health and welfare services; • constru cting and maintaining roads and Earking facilities; and • administering ocal government. . A number of studies have been undertaken to determine the effects of various types of develop- ment upon a municipality's cost outlays. These studies have shown that the net public costs re- sulting om low - density or "sprawl" develop - n, ent are considerably greater than those resulting from higher density or "cluster" development for the same number of dwelling units. Put simply, it costs more to run school buses and emergency ve- ic es, to repair roads, and to collect garbage when homes are spread out over more miles of roads than when Vouses are located more closely to- ret er, as in a typical nineteenth - century town. 23 1 In a study of the fiscal impacts of major land uses in Culpeper County, Virginia, it was found that "for every dollar of revenue collected from residential land, $1.25 is spent on county services; or every do lar collected from industrial /com- mercial land, 19 cents is spent on services; simi- larly, for every dollar collected from farm /forest/ open space, 19 cents is spent services." Farm/ torest /open space generates revenues of $1.9 mil- lion and expenditures of $350,000. Even with the deferral for current -use taxation, farm /forest/ open space land provides a net tax benefit to the county (Vance and Larson, 1988). In a study of development in DuPage County, Illinois, it was found that new growth, both resi- dential and nonresidential, resulted in higher taxes. While most citizens and planners feel that nonres- idential development will improve the tax base, when looking at the long -term and regional im- pacts, nonresidential development had more than three times the impact on raising taxes of residen- tial development. The study showed that commer- cial and industrial development placed burdens on public infrastructure and services that were not being paid for by the increased value of the land (Bergman, 1991). In its study of Loudoun County, Virginia, the American Farmland Trust (1986) found that net public costs were approximately three times higher ($2,200 per dwelling) where the ensity was one unit per five acres, than where the density was 4.5 units per acre ($700 per dwelling). The report states: Relatively low- density residential development (one to five or more acres per dwelling unit) gen- erates higher net public costs primarily because it requires inefficient expenditures for public school operating, instructional, and transportation ser- vices, and also because it creates potentially higher public liabilities for road maintenance and future provision of public water and sewer services. Low- density residential subdivisions, usually located in rural areas, remove relatively large amounts of land from agricultural uses while re- quiring public services (education, health and wel- fare, public safety, etc.), which are similar on a per The Economics of Preserving Open Space 283 dwelling or per capita basis to those required by high density subdivisions that convert far less land from existing agricultural or other economic uses. The Costs of Sprawl, a study commissioned by the Council on Environmental Quality in the De- partment of Housing and Urban Development and the Environmental Protection Agency, found that "better planning and higher density result in lower economic, environmental, natural resource. and, to some extent, personal and social costs for a given number of welling units. Increased den- sity is less expensive in terms of total costs and even more so in terms of that portion of total costs typically borne by the government" (Real Estate Research Corporation, 1974). A recent review and evaluation of the literature conducted by the Urban Land Institute concluded that "development spread out at low densities in- creases the costs of NbRic facilities" (Frank, 1989). The book loos at the range -of-costs induced by sprawling development and suggests that houses built in such sprawl may cost from 40 to 400 per- cent more to service than comparable homes in more compactly designed subdivisions. THE VALUE OF OPEN SPACE Open space preservation produces multiple eco- nomic benefits: those to the community as a whole, those to individual landowners, and those to de- velopers. In terms of community benefits, open space preservation can produce far - reaching ef- fects on the local economy in its effect on the local "quality of life." According to an annual survey of chief executive officers conducted by Cushman and Wakefield in 1989 (NPS, 1990), quality of life for employees was the third most important fac- tor in locating a business. According to a 1988 re- port of the Governors' Committee on the Environ- ment (NPS, 1990), the governors of five New England states officially recognized open space as a key element in the quality of life that brought rapid economic growth and a multi - billion dollar tourism industry to the region. Through these studies we can see that "quality of life" has a tangible, economic value that can be EXECUTIVE SUMMARY M A-.f L Ct `i Z_ In 1991, the State Legislature changed the tax laws which froze the City levy limits and decreased future property tax revenue. Lakeville needed to take action. On July 15, 1991, Lakeville's City Council passed an interim ordinance which temporarily prohibits approval of new residential plats and expansion or development of mobile (manufactured) home parks. This ordinance essentially provides the City with a time -out to develop a means of managing growth in a fiscally responsible manner. This fiscal impact study is the first action directed by the Council under the interim ordinance. The results of this study will be used as a base to develop impact fees. Fiscal impact analysis compares revenues and expenditures of various types of development to arrive at an overall net impact. There was little factual data on what residential developments actually contribute and cost the City's finances. In order to provide better fiscal impact data, a number of sites were selected to represent various housing types and market values. The revenues generated from property tax and intergovernmental aid are compared against expenditures on a per - erson, per -acre or per -unit basis, in order to arrive at a net fiscal impact. Additionally, we conducted a focus group with department heads to provide context and a broader perspective. Also, we analyzed current service standards and new tax laws in order to provide an information base for the next phase of the growth study. As probably expected, lower value homes tended to have a negative fiscal impact. The high value • homes had positive fiscal impacts. Senior housing, when not constructed with tax increment financing, produces a net positive fiscal impact. In general, the higher the density of housing the more the return, however, there are diminishing returns after a certain point in market value and density. Twinhomes, quads, townhomes and high value homes provide the best fiscal investment in housing. The scattered development puts an enormous strain on the City's operating and capital budgets and negatively impacts commercial areas trying to establish service areas. The 3600 ots that are in line for development will act to randomly fill in the northern part of the City. Future planning should be done in contiguous patterns. Increasingly, City efforts will need to focus on redevelopment as the City ages. Mobile homes and areas with aged housing stock, in particular, are major concerns of the Council and City staff. This study finds that these areas have a significant negative fiscal impact. Remedies include focusing on crime prevention and property maintenance. Overall, the moratorium and subsequent growth studies emphasize prudent City management. The City needs to be involved with other municipalities, counties and school districts in order to coordinate growth in an environment of constrained resources. A Dakota County effort to conduct similar studies is highly encouraged, because many cities would benefit. Residential - Agricultural Area This agricultural area is located southeast of Dodd Road. It is primarily in agricultural production with a small scattering of single family homes. Zoning: R -A Average Property Taxes: $1,227 School District: Lakeville Avg. # Children per Unit: 1.33 Avg. Market Value: 573,108 Avg. # People per Unit: 3.61 Average Unit Age: 30 Years ANALYSIS: Residential - agricultural areas do not fiscally stress the City. The net fiscal impact of the sample area is minimally negative on a total and per acre basis. Police services are minimal. Sewer and water is not provided by the City and other service demands are limited, e.g., snow removal, police, fire, school, etc. RESIDENTIAL - AGRICULTURAL AREA Annual operating School Figures District Expenditures Revenues .. Overall Net Per Acre Impact 1. �tite'.' -;`�1" - FINDINGS: This preservation of agriculture is fiscally sound for the City and school district. Very little operational costs are incurred for maintaining productive agricultural land. The benefits of open space far outweigh the operational costs. Note: As of 1989 this area has a mixture of land classified as Green Acres and non -Green Acres under the Minnesota Agricultural Property Tax Law. • 17 Lake Villa Estates This new housing represents upper- income single family housing which is built in one of the most attractive areas of •the City and close to a man -made amenity, the golf course. These are executive homes of higher quality construction and well blended into the landscape on larger lots. Zoning: R -1 School District: Lakeville Avg. Market Value: $189,047 Average Unit Age: 3 Years ANALYSIS: Average Property Taxes: Avg. # Children per Unit: Avg. # People per Unit: $4,228 1.33 3.61 Lake Villa Estates turns an overall positive fiscal impact for the City. Police services are very minimal. It is mainly serviced by the I -35 and Hwy. 50 business area and the Burnsville Center area. The higher value of these homes compensates for the lower density. FINDINGS: This type of development consumes land area, but does not burden city finances. If possible, the City should make efforts to encourage developers to replicate the quality of landscaping. • 18 Woodridge Estates This area represents upper- income single - family housing, which is in a heavily wooded and hilly area with no man- •made amenities. It is located near the commercial area of I -35 and Hwy 50. These are executive homes of higher quality construction and well blended into the landscape on larger lots. Zoning: R -2 Average Property Taxes: $4,357 School District: Lakeville Avg. # Children per Unit: - 1.33 Avg. Market Value: S195,889 Avg. # People per Unit: 3.61 Average Unit Age: 5 Years ANALYSIS: Woodridge Estates turns an overall positive fiscal impact for the City. Police services are relatively high, primarily alarms. It is mainly serviced by the I -35 and Hwy. 50 business area and the Burnsville Center area. The higher value of these homes compensates for the lower density. WOODRIDGE ESTATES FINDINGS: This type of development consumes land area, but does not burden city finances, excepting police. Police calls for this area are primarilly for burglar alarms. L� 19 School Annual Operating City Figures P$317,085 istrict Expenditures $44,497 g Revenues 72,052 360,387 Net Impact 27,554 43,302 Overall Net 70,856 Per Acre Impact 475 747 Overall Net per 1,222 - _ .h .z Acre FINDINGS: This type of development consumes land area, but does not burden city finances, excepting police. Police calls for this area are primarilly for burglar alarms. L� 19 Donnay's Valley Park Addition Donnay's Valley Park Addition was built as a starter home area for moderate income residents. The houses are Wh7ch arily single story ramblers. The initial quality of the homes is somewhat better than the slab -on -grade housing was typical of housing construction in other communities during the 1960's and 1970's. It is rimaril P Y a middle -class neighborhood with relatively little non - homesteaded property. Zoning: R -2 School District: Rosemount Avg. Market Value: 573,424 Average Unit Age: 20 years ANALYSIS: Average Property Taxes: Avg. # Children per Unit: Avg. # People per Unit: 5806 1.33 3.61 Donnay's turns an overall negative fiscal impact for the City. Standard street and fire service is provided to this area. Police service is primarily for crimes against people, such as assaults or domestic calls. It is mainly serviced by the Apple Valley commercial area on Cedar avenue. Donnay's represents what current single - family housing may look like in twenty years. FINDINGS: Lack of upkeep appears to be a critical factor in the somewhat lower value of these homes. Their affordability is obtained through accelerated devaluation of the property. The City would do well, from a fiscal standpoint, to make efforts to ensure property maintenance of these areas to protect its tax base and minimize police services. Special Notes: Rosemount School District No. 196 has somewhat lower levies (1990 taxes, payable 1991) than the other districts which would make other areas similar to Donnay's have an even greater negative impact. • 20 Dodd Pointe Dodd Pointe is single family development. The housing is fairly well constructed and is primarily two story, Ohomesteaded property. The general condition of the housing could be described as being fairly solid but lacking in andscaping and general maintenance. Zoning: R -3 School District: Rosemount Avg. Market Value: S87,778 Average Unit Age: 4 -5 Years ANALYSIS: Average-Property Taxes: Avg. # Children per Unit: Avg. # People per Unit: $1,032 1.33 3.61 Dodd Pointe has an overall negative fiscal impact for the City. Standard street and fire service is provided to this area. It is mainly serviced by the Apple Valley commercial area on Cedar Avenue. It represents 'a moderate income housing development which may, in a relatively short period of time, become what Donnay's is today. FINDINGS: Property maintenance should be emphasized for this area. Additionally, this type of development can be an asset to the City, but it should be carefully watched. Special Notes: Rosemount School District No. 196 has somewhat lower levies than the other districts which would make other areas similar to Dodd Pointe have an even greater negative impact. is 21 Oak Shores 3rd Addition This area has primarily owner - occupied twinhomes. The houses are well constructed and designed to blend into the • landscape. The general condition of the housing could be described as very well maintained and attractive. Zoning: R -4 Average Property Taxes: $1,389 School District: Lakeville Avg. ## Children per Unit: .74 Avg. Market Value: 556,371 Avg. ## People per Unit: 2.38 Average Unit Age: 12 Years ANALYSIS: Oak Shores 3rd Addition positively impacts the City finances. Standard street and fire service is provided to this area. It is mainly serviced by the Apple Valley commercial area on Cedar Avenue. It represents a quality twinhomes housing development which will likely retain its value for some time to come. OAK SHORES 3RD ADDITION Overall Net per (496) Acre FINDINGS: This type of development conserves on land area and is of enduring quality. Although a negative fiscal impact, it is relatively small in comparison to the other areas. If possible, the City should make efforts to encourage developers to replicate the more positive aspects of this neighborhood. • 1I �s Annual Operating City School Figures District x1 Expenditures $9,235 $55,541 .y ¢ r Revenues 9,964 53,027 Net Impact 729 (2,514) Overall Net (1, 785) Per Acre Impact 202 (698) Overall Net per (496) Acre FINDINGS: This type of development conserves on land area and is of enduring quality. Although a negative fiscal impact, it is relatively small in comparison to the other areas. If possible, the City should make efforts to encourage developers to replicate the more positive aspects of this neighborhood. • 1I Oak Shores 7th Addition This area has quadra -plex housing built in the mid 1980's. The units are of moderate construction quality. The ,general condition of the housing could be described as fairly well maintained with sparse landscaping. Primarily young families live in this type of housing. Zoning: R -5 Average Property Taxes: $1,371 School District: Lakeville Avg. # Children per Unit: .63 Avg. Market Value: S38,167 Avg. # People per Unit: 2.33 Average Unit Age: 7 Years ANALYSIS: Oak Shores 7th Addition turns an overall positive fiscal impact for the City. It is mainly serviced by the Apple Valley commercial area on Cedar Avenue. It represents a moderate quality four -plex housing development which shows a good mix between density and market value. Also, this type of development offers affordable housing which is not deteriorated nor overly dense. OAK SHORES 7TH ADDITION �;` , "•' Annual Operating City School Figures District Expenditures $12,764 $66,755 Revenues 13,822 66,321 " Net Impact 1,057 (434) Overall Net 624 Per Acre Impact 352 (145) Overall Net per 208 w�M Acre FINDINGS: This type of development conserves on land area and provides affordable housing without major compromises on space or safety. If possible, the City should make efforts to encourage developers to replicate the more positive aspects of this neighborhood. • 23 South Fork Apartments This area has newly constructed apartment buildings through a tax increment financing project. It is located near •the commercial area of I -35 and Hwy. 50 and provides a critical customer base for that commercial area. These are nicely landscaped and maintained buildings. There are a large number of families living here while waiting or their homes to be built. g Zoning: R-7 Average Property Taxes: $1,109 School District: Lakeville Avg. # Children per Unit: .62 Avg. Market Value: 527,916 Avg. # People per Unit: 2.33 Average Unit Age: 4 Years ANALYSIS: South Fork Apartments Addition turns an overall negative fiscal impact for the City and the school district. It is mainly serviced by the I -35 and Hwy. 50 business area and the Burnsville Center area. When the tax increment financing is not calculated into the revenues, this addition has a significantly smaller negative impact (almost none) to the City. However, there is an overall negative impact to the school district. This TIF is approximately 20 years in duration. SOUTH FORK APARTMENTS (All Phases) * Reference Appendix C for fiscal impact without TIF FINDINGS: Despite high concentration, the tax increment financing burdens City finances. The City should keep in mind, however, that this area has contributed significantly to the success of the commercial area at Interstate 35 and Highway 50. The losses in South Fork should be compared to the positive fiscal impact of the commercial development. These areas fiscally balance each other. Tax increment financing generally should only be used for construction of municipal infrastructure, such as roads, senior centers, etc. Overall site quality is exemplary. is 24 Annual Operating City School " Figures District Expenditures $144,663 $742,144 Revenues 112,698 613,931 Net Impact (31, 965) (128, 213) Overall Net (160,178) op Per Acre Impact (924) (3,706) Overall Net per (4,629) Acre * Reference Appendix C for fiscal impact without TIF FINDINGS: Despite high concentration, the tax increment financing burdens City finances. The City should keep in mind, however, that this area has contributed significantly to the success of the commercial area at Interstate 35 and Highway 50. The losses in South Fork should be compared to the positive fiscal impact of the commercial development. These areas fiscally balance each other. Tax increment financing generally should only be used for construction of municipal infrastructure, such as roads, senior centers, etc. Overall site quality is exemplary. is 24 Lamplighter Apartments This apartment complex located in downtown Lakeville has well maintained buildings and open areas. These units •represent a high density rental development which is primarily serviced by the downtown commercial businesses. Zoning: R -7 Average Property Taxes: $971 School District: Lakeville Avg. ## Children per Unit: .62 Avg. Market Value: S27,227 Avg. ## People per Unit: 2.33 Average Unit Age: 14 Years ANALYSIS: Lamplighter Apartments sustain an overall negative fiscal impact for the City and the school district. This type of development fiscally stresses the operating budget of the City and school district by sheer numbers of residents. However, this population mass is beneficial to the downtown commercial area and industries in Air Lake Industrial Park. Providing snow removal and infrastructure is minimal on a per capita and per acre basis due to the high concentration of the population. However, operational costs of police, schools and other services required by the residents are a proportion of unit density. LAMPLIGHTER APARTMENTS FINDINGS: This density has a negative fiscal impact. The City should keep in mind, however, that this area may contribute to the success of future downtown commercial development and provide housing for lower income industrial and service- sector workers of Lakeville. The City should make efforts to encourage developers to concentrate on lower density rental development. 25 Fairfield Terrace Senior Apartments Fairfield Terrace, a high density senior rental development, was built with tax increment financing. It is located in downtown Lakeville, adjacent to the central business district. The buildings and open areas are well designed and carefully maintained. Zoning: R -7 Average Property Taxes: S64 School District: Lakeville Avg. # Children per Unit: 0.0 Avg. Market Valuer 527,450 Avg. # People per Unit: 1.04 Average Unit Age: 6 Years ANALYSIS: Fairfield Terrace Senior Apartments have a negative fiscal impact for the City. However, without tax increment financing, these apartments would have a positive fiscal impact. For schools, Fairfield Terrace turns a positive fiscal impact, regardless of TIF. Police services are primarily medical. Downtown businesses serve the senior residents. Only the land was included in the TIF, which expires in 20 years. Future senior developments could utilize the in -place senior center. Operational costs of police and other services are lower than other high density apartments because the number of residents per unit is significantly lower in senior housing. xcicrcnce Appenaut c, for nsmi impact without TIF This type of development has the potential to be fiscally positive for the City and school district when not financed with TIF. The City should keep in mind that this area may contribute to the success of future downtown commercial development. The concentration of seniors may reduce the service area, thus reducing provision costs to the City. Demand for senior rental housing far exceeds supply.3 There may be added demand from residents of adjacent agricultural areas and the City of Lakeville as the population continues to age. The City should not only make efforts to encourage senior rental development, but also encourage innovative designs and differing densities to serve the diverse needs of seniors. • 'Erickson, Robert. Meeting July 22, 1991 26 FAIRFIELD TERRACE SENIOR HOUSING r Annual Operating City School AW, Figures District Expenditures $5,707 $0 Revenues 3,571 878 Net Impact (2,125) 878 Overall Net (1,257) Per Acre Impact (2,925) 1,203 Overall Net per (1,722) Wi •. :! Acre FINDINGS: xcicrcnce Appenaut c, for nsmi impact without TIF This type of development has the potential to be fiscally positive for the City and school district when not financed with TIF. The City should keep in mind that this area may contribute to the success of future downtown commercial development. The concentration of seniors may reduce the service area, thus reducing provision costs to the City. Demand for senior rental housing far exceeds supply.3 There may be added demand from residents of adjacent agricultural areas and the City of Lakeville as the population continues to age. The City should not only make efforts to encourage senior rental development, but also encourage innovative designs and differing densities to serve the diverse needs of seniors. • 'Erickson, Robert. Meeting July 22, 1991 26 Country View Mobile Home Park Country View is a typical mobile home park for the City of Lakeville. It provides low cost, owner - occupied housing for lower income residents. The homes vary in value from $3,000 to 525,000. The homes are primarily owner occupied. Zoning: R -M School District: Farmington Avg. Market Value: 521,772 Average Unit Age: Variable ANALYSIS: Average Property Taxes: Avg. # Children per Unit: Avg. # People per Unit: 5469* 1.07 2.83 Country View turns an overall negative fiscal impact for the City. Police service is primarily for crimes against people, such as assaults or domestic calls. It is mainly serviced by the Apple Valley commercial area on Cedar Avenue. It represents a typical mobile home park for the City. Though it may be in better condition than other parks in the area, it does represent what future parks would look like. FINDINGS: Safety is a major issue in these areas. The mobile homes provide housing affordability through lower quality construction and smaller lot sizes. The City would do well, from a fiscal standpoint, to make efforts to minimi�r police services through crime prevention programs possibly financed by the mobile home park owner. Special Notes: Mobile home parks are responsible for the construction and maintenance of their own roads. C, 27 Commercial and Industrial Areas The commercial area is located on I -35 and Highway 50. The industrial properties are in the Air Lake Industrial WPark located southeast of the City. Both areas are near full development and in somewhat stable financial ituations. Zoning: B-4 and I -2 School District: Lakeville Industrial Market Value/Acre: $178,010 Commercial Market Value/Acre: $330,233 ANALYSIS: Commercial and industrial development provides solid positive net fiscal impacts. Standard street and fire service is provided to this area. Police services are very minimal. This particular commercial area represents current suburban development. The commercial area includes Mills Fleet Farm, which is a'tax increment financed project. Industrial properties mainly contain light industry. FINDINGS: IINDUSTRIAL COMMERCIAL rating City School District City School District es rNetImpact $120,819 NA $88,583 NA 188,926 547,972 136,258 395,209 68,108 597,972 47,675 395,209 Over all Net 616,080 442,884 Per Acre Impact 626 5,037 11109 91191 Overall Net per Acre 5,663 10,300 Commercial and industrial developments are primary sources of revenue for the City and school districts. Excess revenues from commercial and industrial developments balance the costs of lower value residential developments. Residents provide labor and customers. The City should promote a proper mix of commercial/industrial with affordable residential development. • 28 Banks: Downtown and 135 One bank is in downtown Lakeville, the other is located at I -35 and Hwy. 50. • Zoning: B -4 School District: Lakeville Downtown Market Value: 5725,000 I -35 Market Value: $350,000 ANALYSIS: At the request of the Economic Development Commission, the downtown bank and the I -35 Bank are compared. They wanted to know how two fundamentally different commercial areas compare. The net fiscal impact of these sample areas is positive on a total and per acre basis. Police services are primarily for money escort and costs are nominally recovered through fees. r: FINDINGS: :DOWWNTOWN I35 Operatin1,284 School District City School District tures 3 rNetImpact NA $2,088 NA s 20,240 3,082 8,939 20,240 994 8,939 Net ,695 9,933 e Impact 26,116 1,247 11,216 Overall Net per 12,463 The downtown bank has twice the positive returns because its building value is considerably higher. Downtown development should be encouraged; as the desirability of the property increases, so will the market value and tax base. Also, residential developments should be encouraged which are serviced by Lakeville commercial properties in order to balance the costs of maintaining residential development. • 29 pmNwM=M= 1 0 • 7 1 ari -gym number of lots 148 road length 10.850 lin. ft. lot area 20.000 sq. ft. min. open space 30.3 acres FIGURE 7. A COMPARISON OF CONVENTIONAL (A) AND CLUSTER (B) SUBDIVISIONS l/ 0 vpcn aF— /n 3.6 acres , open space 4.4 acres _ Y C • • • • Reprinted by permission of Land Development. Copyright NAHB. 1201 15th Street, NW Washington, D.C. 20005 With each passing year, we Ameri- cans consume ever - increasing quantities of land for each new home, office, and store we build. In southeastern Pennsylvania, for exam- ple, the amount of land consumed for development increased by 32 percent between 1970 and 1990 while the pop- ulation decreased by 3 percent. During that same period, land consumption in metropolitan Chicago increased by 46 percent while the population increased by just 4 percent. The greater Seattle area gained 36 percent more residents but used up 87 percent more land to accommodate them. "If American policy makers had de- liberately set out to construct the most wasteful, inefficient and land -con- sumptive pattern of development pos- sible, they could have hardly been more success ul " write _sRAnUll Arendt in Rural by Design, a treatise on building real communities rather than sprawl. As former planning director of the Center for Rural Massachusetts and now at the Natural Lands Trust in Pennsylvania, Arendt has spent years lecturing on techniques to accommo- date development in rural areas with- out destroying the areas' character. Arendt has now put his ideas in book form to aid local planners —both lay and professional —in maintaining the special identity of their communities. Arendt emphasizes that sprawl is the direct result of conventional plan- . But if standards and enforce those BOOK REVIEW Coster the kind of development they want. For example, even something as seemingly unalterable as the design of a McDonald's restaurant can be changed if the municipality stands firm. Freeport, Maine, insisted that the local McDonald's retain a farmhouse for its proposed restaurant and display only a modest sign. As Arendt's photographs demonstrate, the fast -food giant not only complied with the town's wishes but also demonstrated some unusual creativity in the process. Arendt strongly recommends that municipalities conduct a build -out analysis to show exactly how their com- munity will look under current zoning regulations. Residents are usually amazed to fin tat, when fully imple- mented, their local zoning wipes out the scenic landscapes and open space they cherish a— nd replaces such features with waIF--to-wall sprawl. Only when the public is confronted with the inevitable results of conventional zoning can resi- dents be persuaded to plan more astute- ly for the future, Arendt suggests. Americans need to start building pedestrian- oriented towns again, the author says, a tradition that was ar ely aban oned after the 1920s. Arendt de- e prmcip es that guided com- munity design in the late 1800s and early 1900s and notes that such archi- tects as Andres Duany and Tony Ne- lessen are reviving these principles. "What people yearn for these days," he writes, "is not another wave of `real es- tate developments,' but rather the chance to live in a real human settle- ment with a sense o p ace and a sense of belonging." In addition to describ- ing t� he physical elements of a real town, Arendt includes model village design standards from counties in Vir- ginia and Maryland. He argues that municipalities should resurrect the the layout of streets and location of ublic sc paces_, In a chapter on affordable housing, Arendt notes that home prices have _ buildin¢ lots are much larger than ever I oerore. nunaing iess c2LL1UVdYa11c homes on smaller lots can significantly reduce housing costs, Arendt argues. "Attractive but modestly scaled homes built on relatively compact lots during the 1920s and 1930s can be found in every part of the country, providing numerous examples of how pleasant but affordable neighborhoods could be created again," he writes. "The impor- tance of requiring developers to ro- vide sidewalks and to plant deciduous street trees... cannot be overstated." Numerous photographs and drawings illustrate Arendt's points. The author also discusses the use of accessory dwellings as well as Vermont's unique program that links affordable housing with land conservation. In rethinking how we might guide growth, Arendt reaches back to the ideas of early 20th century planner Benton MacKaye, who foresaw the rise of roadside strip development. Arendt embraces MacKaye's proposal to re- strict development along highways and to center it in towns surrounded by clearly defined open space. He notes that MacKaye's approach, which the Maine Planning Office unsuccessfully floated as recently as 1987, could be implemented through a transfer- of -de- velopment rights scheme that would free most highway frontage from de- velopment and place it in carefully se- lected nodes along the way. Most developers will li re with Arendt's contention that conven- tial street widths. Widths of 18 to 20 See OOK REVIEW, page 34 Land Development/Winter 1995 27 • L PA • • BOOK REVIEW Continued from page 27 feet make perfect sense for residential areas with i e traffic, Arendt says, and even enhance safety by encouraging motorists to slow down. For those determined to build iso- lated developments in rural areas, rendt provides a wide selection of c ustering techniques that retain as much open space as possible while pre- serving scenic views. Colored drawings with aerial views of alternative devel- opment patterns illustrate how the same amount of construction can vary widely in its impact on the landscape. Builders should find Arendt's chap- ters on open space design, including greenways and buffers, of particular in- terest. By encouraging the clustering of homes–through density bonuses, mu- nicipalities can e open land capes, ower t e cost ot building and amtaimng subdivisions, an Lenriance e value ot completed developments. Arendt cites a growing o y of evi- ence to note that housing clustered around-common open space or green - ways is cost -e ective to build and ap- preciates more rapidly in value than omes on conventional lots. The book is nothing if not thor- ough. It contains chapters on virtually every kind of commercial and residen- tial development —from in -fill con- struction to subdivisions in the most rural areas. Separate chapters offer case studies of 40 outstanding residential and commercial projects dating from 1914.to the present. The liberal use of photographs, drawings, and maps sup - ports the presentation. Methods for preserving farmland, scenic roads, and open space are de- scribed at length. Separate chapters by Dodson and Reid discuss creative ways to cluster development to ensure the preservation of rural areas. A down- town redevelopment plan for Edgar - town on Martha's Vineyard illustrates ways to accommodate new develop- ment without destrovinQ an historic 34 Land Development /Winter 1995 town's timeless character. A chapter by Brabec makes the eco- nomic case for preserving open space. Citing numerous studies that date from Frederick Law Olmsted in the 1850s to the present, Brabec argues that open space pays for itself in terms of reduced demand for government services, in- creased tourism, and an improved qual- ity of life. Yaro, executive director of the Regional Plan Association of New York, devotes a brief chapter to regional plan- ning initiatives, examining statewide ef- forts such as Oregon's plan and site - specific regulatory bodies such as the Cape Cod Commission. Rural by Design is far more read- able than most tomes on planning, and its credibility is underscored by myriad references to specific efforts across the country to conserve open space. It is accompanied by a lengthy bibliography. For people committed to designing better communities than we have seen in the last 50 years, Ru- ral by Design is a valuable reference work. IS Thomas Hylton, a Pennsylvania J ournalist, won a Pulitzer Prize for editorials advocating the preservation of farmland and open space in Chester County, Pennsylvania. Looking toward a rural future sign expert discusses ways farms & subdivisions can coexist development more attractive toy000 sq Pr and residential subdivi- s acre lots rather than sprawling two, three For these kinds of develop- Farrnlmd sions need not be mutually or four acre home sites. He said although of an area, told the crowd of more than exclusive. In fact, open fields, some people associate this kind of creeks and woodlots can add the kind of "cluster h ous_in�g" with overcrowding and monetary and cultural value to an area lack^ o� pnouvacy, if done right these kinds that large lawns never will, said the of developments can offer a ' eher keynote speaker at the Oct. 4 Landmark Juality of life than traditional projects. He Series lecture in St. Paul, Minn. showed slides of housing developments "I think there's something tremen- that had tossed out designs based on the dously wrong in our society when the grid system of planning along straight only thing we can get out of a subdivision lines, and instead identified natural areas is house lots and streets," Randall Arendt, present and built around them, using a nationally recognized expert on trees, fields and streams as boundaries. designing residential communities that Ian one Pennsylvania county. a devel- integrity of the area. Before progressive oper took a 300 -acre farm and only cleveioped lialt of it by building quarter -acre lots. He called the development "Farm View" and the homes soon outsold those on a neighboring ZP evelo�ment that was based sprawling one -acre lots. A Wisconsin ho—m--e—b-7rer has declined to construct homes on the banks of a river. Those properties would have sold for a great deal of money, but once the river front property was gone, only those lucky early buyers would have access to the waterway. Instead, he built the homes away from the river, leaving its banks accessible to everyone. In the end, that general A sketch in Arendr's book, Connecticut River Design accessibility made the overall Manual for Conservation and Development, development more attractive showing development that preserves open spaces. and valuable to home buyers, said Arendt. For these kinds of develop- preserve the rural and ecological inte;n y ments to become more common, several of an area, told the crowd of more than ngs must happen said a author of 300 people. The lecture was presented by more an pu lications, including the Land Stewardship Project's 1000 Rural by Design: Maintaining Small Friends of Minnesota. Town Character, ap;ii Designing Open Arendt, who is vice president of Space Subdivisio First of all, local Conservation Programs for the Pennsyl- units of government must set maximum vania -based Natural Lands Trust, said lot sizes so that developers are not increasingly developers across the tempted to fill space inefficiently. In a country are recognizing that people move metropolitan area, those lot sizes should into an area for more than "lawns too be one acre or less, in rural areas, aone- large to mow and too small to p ow home - per -40 -acre limit would be more Homeowners like to be next to farm desirable to maintain the farming S, woodlands an o en areas, a said. integrity of the area. Before progressive o provide those areas, deve opers zoning ordinances can be passed, most bLuld the homes in more compact however, communities must see what will spaces, opting, for example, for quarter- happen if inefficient growth continues. Arendt often does this by drawing up maps for communities based on current zoning laws and extrapolating into the future. These "coming attractions" maps help communities envision what will happen to their open spaces if they continue to allow sprawling development to occur. In addition, engineers, developers and landscape architects must work together as teams to create these developments. Local governments, housing associations and even private, nonprofit groups such as land trusts must work together to preserve and manage the open spaces and farmlands in the vicinity of these devel- opments. "You need a combination of creative and engineering skills," he said. "Engi- neers can't expect to practice landscape architecture." Finally, communities must be identi- fied that are willing to experiment with these kinds of developments so that models can be set up for others to look at and learn from, said Arendt. A model in the making At a LSP's 1000 Friends of Minnesota workshop following Arendt's talk, participants talked about the need for a model community in the Twin Cities area. Local developer Robert Engstrom presented information on a proposal he has brought before city officials in Lake Elmo, Minn., for just such a model project. If approved, the development would involve building homes on half of a 226 - acre farm and using conservation easements to preserve the other half permanently. Engstrom said he hopes to encourage the establishment of natural prairie and alternative farming enterprises such as community supported agriculture on the undeveloped part of the property. "I think timing is everything," said Engstrom. "There is a citizenry that wants a diversity of housing and wants to preserve the rural life - style." O • . • The Landmark Series is a public affairs fo- rum presented by Minnesota Landmarks, in as- sociation with the Saint Paul League of Women Voters. For information on obtaining a VHS tape of Arendt s talk, call (612) 292 -3285. The Arendt program was supported by: St. Paul Companies, Northwest Area Foundation, Saint Paul Pioneer Press, US West, Citizens League, Keystone Productions, Saint Paul Foun- dation, Minneapolis Foundation and Emma B. Howe Memorial Foundation. The Land Stewardship Letter 7 C 3B FRIDAY, DECEMBER 1, 1995 SUBURBS Lake Elmo says cluster housing will i p reserve area JIM BROEDE STAFF WRITER A year ago, Ma IF YOU GO rine on St. Croix Lake Elmo sent developers a residents will get message: Like it or to voice views on not, cluster the clustering and homes in yoyr new subdivisions on half tanning Issues the land and keep Issues at a public the remainder as meeting at 8:30: permanent open a.m. Saturday at space. . City Hall,.3800 It was the first Laverne Ave. N. time a community in Minnesota had ever imposed such a requirement. Now, Lake Elmo is expected to be- . come , the second to make clustering the rule. "There seems to be a consensus on our city council to head in the direction of mandatory cluster housing," Lake Elmo city administrator Mary Kueffner said. But the details, such as the minimum allowable size of a lot, must still be worked out." Officials in the city of 6,000 residents want to determine once and for all if cluster housing has widespread public support. "We think it does," Kueffner said, "be- cause people keep telling us that they- want Lake Elmo's rural character pre- served, and cluster housing will help us I! do that." Lake Elmo residents will have an op- portunity to voice views on clustering and other planning issues at a public • SAINT PAUL PIONEER PRESS meeting at 8:30 a.m. Saturday at City Hall, 3800 Laverne Ave. N. Washington County — where the cities of Lake Elmo and Marine on St. Croix are located — has promoted the cluster- ing on an optional basis in the county's nine, mostly rural townships. But county planners say incentives are - needed to make clustering more palat- able to developers. "I could see Lake Elmo offering incen- tives," Kueffner said. "Now we allow for six homes per 20 acres in.our residential estates zone. But we might tell develop- ers, `We'll allow eight or nine homes if you cluster and set aside half of your. land as permanent open` space. " The open space might take several dif- ferent forms. "It could be put in a land trust," Kueff- ner said. "But another option is to turn it over to a homeowners association for a shared -use purpose. For instance, owners ; of the homes on the developed half might_ . choose to pasture horses on the open: space half, and even build a stable." Kueffner also envisions imaginative_ developers - proposing clusters of varied sized lots in a single development. "We might have a mix, of lots of 3/4 - acre to 5 acres tucked around a wetland or other natural amenity," she said. "You might call it a `way to listen to the land.' " City Council Member Rita Conlin says she's committed to cluster housing. "Now we have to find a way to make it work," she said. "The major issue to re- solve is one of density. How many homes do we allow on the developed half of the property'" . Council Member Steve DeLapp wants assurances that the open space will re- main open forever. "I want the development rights surren- dered," he said, "and the property placed in a land trust." Mayor Wyn John added, "Clustering makes sense. The big question is whether we can make it work and persuade devel- opers to get behind ' it." Lake Elmo's planning commission rec- ommended that the city impose a resi- dential development moratorium of up to six months while the city drafts new rules pertaining to cluster housing. Without a moratorium, commissioners said, some developers may rush in and try to get approval for new subdivisions. under the old rules. The city council is expected to vote on the moratorium proposal at a meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall. "We think it does (have public - support) because people keep telling us that they want Lake Elmo's rural character preserved, and cluster housing will help us do that." MARY KUEFFNER CITY ADMINISTRATOR � A,( Ylk Rio INIME OJIMION MEMORANDUM ver TO: Mayor and City Council FROM: Stephen Rohlf, Building and Zoning Administrator r" DATE: December 6, 1995 SUBJECT: Conservation Partners Grant Program to Study Lake Orono City Staff has been working with the Lake Orono Improvement Association for several months researching the problem of sedimentation into Lake Orono and exploring the possibility of dredging the lake. Staff has facilitated meetings for the Lake Orono Improvement Association that included representatives from the Department of Natural Resources, US Army Corp of Engineers, Soil and Water Conservation District, and Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. • The Lake Orono Improvement Association understands that their first step has to be to identify and quantify the sedimentation problem into the lake. To that end, city staff has cooperated with them in applying for a Conservation Partners Grant through the Department of Natural Resources to study sedimentation and other contaminants in the lake. This study would augment studies being conducted on the Elk River watershed by the Sherburne Soil and Water Conservation District in conjunction with the Elk River Watershed Association Joint Powers Board. Attached to this memo, is a copy of the grant application as proposed by city staff and the Lake Orono Improvement Association. The details of the study are contained in the grant application. The grant is a matching grant, so local funds have to be raised. The last page of the grant application is a breakdown of what agencies other than the DNR will be contributing to the study. Staff is proposing that the city's portion of the study be funded by the landfill surcharge monies the city collects. We feel the proposed study would be a legitimate expenditure for the landfill surcharge fund, according to State statute. Staff plans to carry on with this grant application unless directed • otherwise by the City Council. c12 -6/b stever 13065 6rono Parkway • P.O. Box 490 • Elk River, MN 55330 • (612) 441 -7420 • Fax: (612) 441 -7425 C, Research/Monitor Lake Orono Water Quality ITEM 1- APPLICATION SUMMARY Project Title: Research/Monitor Lake Orono Water Quality Location: County- Sherburne Section/Township /Range- 30- 33/33/26 Legislative District 19B Total Cost: $ 24,000 Grant Requested: $ 10,000 Sponsoring Private Organization Organization Name: Lake Orono Improvement Association Contact Person: Patrick Plant Title: President • Address: 13184 Island View Drive • City: Elk River State: MN Zip: 55330 Telephone: (612)441 -6339 Minnesota Tax Identification Number: N/A Federal Employer Identification Number: N/A Cooperating Local Government (if any) Government Name: City of Elk River 13065 Orono Pkwy Elk River, MN 55330 Contact Person: Stephen Rohlf, Building and Zoning Administrator Telephone: (612) 441 -4904 I1- 28sr/bz/stever • is ITEM 2- PROJECT NARRATIVE 1.0 INTRODUCTION Orono Lake (MDNR ID# 71 -13) is an approximately 300 acre lake located within the City of Elk River. Orono Lake is an impoundment of the Elk River and is located in the lower portion of the Elk River watershed. The Elk River has a watershed of approximately 387,840 acres of drainage. Lake Orono's immediate watershed is approximately 9,250 acres. The trophic status of Orono Lake is eutrophic/hypereutrophic based on the limited number of data points reported (MPCA, 1985). Concern has been expressed by the City of Elk River and the Lake Orono Improvement Association that runoff from the drainage area is resulting in the lake being filled in at an unacceptable rate creating shallow areas which have become a hazard to recreational use, degrades fish habitat, and adds to nuisance levels of algae during the open water periods. A request to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to remap Orono Lake to help determine the rate of sedimentation will be made in the near future. 2.0 PROJECT TASKS The goals of the proposed project are to ultimately dredge portions of Orono Lake to enhance the publics use of the water body, to identify the critical loading areas within the drainage area, and to identify methods to reduce loading to acceptable levels. Therefore, the tasks included in the proposed project are as follows: TASK I. Watershed Review - A comprehensive review of existing information on both Orono Lake and the Elk River drainage area above the lake, will be conducted. In addition to the review of the existing information, a review of suspected areas of concern will be conducted. Information obtained in this task will assist in identifying the critical areas which will require monitoring. 11- 28sr/bz/stever • TASK II. Monitoring Plan - A monitoring plan will be developed to evaluate loading to Orono Lake. Monitoring will be conducted 'over a period of one year. Components of the monitoring plan will include, but are not limited to, the following: • Inflow /Outflow Water Quality Monitoring • Inlet Bed Load Monitoring • In -Lake Sedimentation Rate Monitoring • Sediment Analysis • Analysis of Other Contaminates The plan for the inflow and outflow monitoring will include a monthly grab sample at an estimated five stations. The first monthly grab sample will be conducted just prior, during, and just after peak flow during spring run -off 1997, the suspected largest sedimentation loading period. In addition to the grab sampling, six storm event samples will be collected through the one year monitoring period. Parameters which will be included in the inflow and outflow monitoring include nutrients and suspended solids. • Inlet bed load monitoring stations will be located at major tributaries to Orono Lake. It is anticipated that a minimum of four bed load monitoring stations will be established. In -lake sediment rate monitoring stations will be established at five locations within the lake. Both the sediment rate and bed load monitoring stations will be inspected quarterly during the monitoring period. The sediment analysis will be conducted to determine disposal options for the anticipated dredging of Orono Lake. The resulting data from the monitoring plan will produce a nutrient budget for Orono Lake and document the necessary improvements to the drainage area so that the dredging of Orono Lake will not have to be an on -going activity. TASK III. Monitoring - Monitoring of the inflows, outflow, sediment loading, and in -lake monitoring, will be conducted over a period of one year as well as analysis of sediment. TASK IV. Mapping and Calculating Past Sediment Rate - Contour lines is will be digitized off the original lake map and new lake map from the DNR so that the volume of sediment deposited since 11- 28sr/bz/stever • the original map can be computed. Available United States Department of the Interior Geological Survey, sediment discharge data and typical erosion- sediment yield values will be used to back calculate a sedimentation rate. TASK V. Restoration Options - Once the monitoring data has been reviewed, restoration options will be identified to improve the quality of both the tributaries to Orono Lake and the lake itself. The restoration options will include a combination of best management practices (BMP's) and structural devices such as inlet sediment traps and wet detention ponds to reduce the loading of nutrients and sediments. Costs associated with the restoration options will be provided. Additionally, costs associated with the dredging and disposal of the spoils will be identified. TASK VI. Funding Assistance - Sources for funding of the selected restoration options will be identified. The proposed project is designed to augment investigations within the upper watershed of the Elk River by the Sherburne Soil and Water Conservation • District (SWCD). The proposed project and the activities of the SWCD will identify drainage areas which may have excessive nutrient and sediment loading. Additionally, the proposed project will identify potential projects which will reduce the loading of nutrient and sediments to Orono Lake. • The Lake Orono Improvement Association has met with representatives of the US Army Corp of Engineers, MPCA, DNR, Sherburne SWCD, Sherburne County Board, and the City of Elk River, regarding the project on 10/10/95. State Representative, Bruce Anderson, was in attendance. Another meeting with this same group to develop an action plan and discuss the permitting process for the total project is scheduled for 12/12/95. 11- 28sr/bz/stever • ITEM 3- COST BREAKDOWN Completion Date Activity Description Cost 4/96 Watershed Review Literature and physical review of watershed characteristics $ 800 4/96 Monitoring Plan Develop monitoring plan $ 300 4/97 Water quality Conduct water quality monitoring and sediment monitoring $16,500 9/97 Mapping and Digitize contour lines calculating past of original and new lake sedimentation map and use other existing rate information to calculate past sedimentation rate $ 4,000 is 7/97 Restoration Identification of projects Options to improve water quality $ 1,800 9/97 Funding Options Identification of potential funding sources for restoration options $ 600 Total $24,000 • 11- 28sr/k/stever • • ITEM 4- LOCAL MATCH Donor Name Description Amount SWCD Technical Support $ 1,500 City of Elk River Field Services/ Technical Support /Cash $ 5,500 Orono Lake Association Field Sampling Assistance $ 3,000 Sherburne County Technical Support /Cash $ 4,000 Total $14,000 11- 28sr/bz/stever • DECEMBER 7, 1995 WE DO NOT WANT AND WE DO NOT NEED CITY SEWER AND WATER SERVICES FOR OUR HOMES. r� /r C� 2 f r y 4 G a.► o f 7jA 9 At E h/ PC.—L-4— s %5'y 7 (2�� v:'l,'•'1 �,f DOZ t K I DEBORAH KAY KLECKNER �Ailtl /IgIIC- NpUESOTA v// to w►r�or oam�s ,a�.oe 0,L4 C J vn DECEMBER 7, 1995 WE DO NOT WANT AND WE DO NOT NEED CITY SEWER AND WATER SERVICES FOR OUR HOMES. X Pa---L' dq, Lo e S. Q, DEMM KAY KLE:CKNER w MM"JOLK-MMMA IV 19W COW1=0 OEM t -T �"")&evt T 2300 ,4c_, R E s 9 `gip ''1,� '��. i�G.a�y". =� �•tE'- c'` - ... - - '� : .11A. fey {, 14 W-1 r silebA S y�� y1� "+NI'lv�lY'kY- /, ice.•. +., �t� 1 i -.•_ _ -. . -... \s�._ . -. - ... � �. \,�� •.�h L !I .�f � ' _� � .ice_._ •q� Lys_ }■''_"j ,}`"�+s+'`� \•t� ! ' i 1 l � I i ! I •lift }� � - t � ' s � J • i � ="Cx As w G � D � �� III � �� SOUTHEAST DISTRICT.; ' } ® TREE MASSES . n: o'r. i = J-H MOM '77: rr' x v i Q o 0 of) Czs oo� f-7. ml ................... vp- qw- C) o IfON 0 0 .SOUTHEAST DISTRICT Li SHORELAND BOUNDARY/WETLAND AREA "'TN 61)PLAIN AREA r • 40 VA OUT � HEAST PLANNING AREA • /La..aJ _.._. ...___. ___ ..... . ........ ... ..... ... "Mil ..� }� 1 Isar. - ' ww r %F.0" 1a7r. 96AW Q77 Sul. ' 17eM I ' --- ' 176r. 1"r. -.r(P"1 - ._ ... .. {«••• -e `_. .. 1777M. 7 �•�• I :• w,rrr V� InM 17311. _'-_. .. _ 1�. — _. : 17311 it � 1),r. \\ \• ^�- __' -_.• __. �� ._ _- /)sT � 17300 { [' _ __.._�«_ — _ ._— _- -, .. __ 17711� Trm 17737 i Isar. \\ [ itNM Ia31« . WN `I` a�, t \ 1e,M w .. •t �. _ .._. -.__ ,exn f +e30 .. _ I62"0 Ie01H IMN Ac Af • p. • c iii NI 3sM 1' rr Ixn • $$ s ii 1 . t�Et dir+�t E�t�.+4- r-f•�t v �� Yr 137 n1 ..... _ .. .f- _.. ..... _ .... _ • � �: ! - - 13TM.. � � jt� - � � g � ileM •' {��� / , 1� r }dam l +�.,, i t ji � �� ... f 1331• K` a t ' 4 1W1}p�,•. 5Yr a. INK Aw •- .. .. I �. ��w)�� ;� {. �1 TM 1 ': �d+...11" i«i �� , «^. .+tt4i, >. Z •q �1 �f i� ' ,. ,_ ..f � *..racy, 3'�. ,!!S At �-- r ► •- . 11 ......... .............. ._ ..... - 1 -771I w .................. ..... � -_ - �►` " 3� =� -� y`t'`-- �.•`';: - - -. __. 1....%, .� __._. �� ... ....__�'° _ _ it _. •.. ' WASK z;- V 73- yi' f' r • C� � � —� 1tlM .. 1TlM 1 � \ •_ � • � 1171M M-15 4 srw.o. olss E� ,loM tt ` ��• � ' • �� uaM «•� C A R G 1 L L 1{rM ter. 1054 SPEC T., ,..M •i L. Me_ h{ tots? 1 !r Al iso- K FJAY JFA F •� sl ,f1M - 1 _�'�" was'•" ..� � Y 1 ,S♦M R —3_ XK Y 4t ZAN ,_ 1004 r �' t y� IMN � .i J. y • •xro�v: � .yam •,- :"�'.'vi �' .6�� w ,uw