PRSR SPECIAL MTG NOTICE 04-06-1994 .(.1 A.(
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FROM: PATRICK KLAERS,
CITY ADMINISTRATOR
DATE: MARCH 31, 1994
SUBJECT: SPECIAL MEETING
A special meeting of the Park and Recreation Commission has been called by
Chair Anderson for 7:00 p.m., Wednesday, April 6, 1994. The sole purpose of
this meeting is to evaluate a revised Park Dedication proposal that is
associated with the Country Ridge plat. As you may know, Chair Dave
Anderson offered some comments to the City Council when the Country
Ridge preliminary plat was before them. The comments from Dave related to
the environmental value of the approximately 7 acre oak tree area in the
• north part of this plat (directly south of the proposed Orono Parkway, which
runs along the southern boundary of the County Fairground property).
The Commission has reviewed this plat a number of times as it relates to the
proposed trail. The developers control approximately 160 acres of property
that was formerly owned by the Lakoduk family. Approximately 120 acres of
this property is planned for residential development. During a concept
review of the entire residential development area, some park land was
designated along Joplin Avenue south of County Road 30. The remaining
park dedication requirements were going to be fulfilled through cash
payments.
A meeting has been held with the developers, and a revised proposal has
been presented. This revised plat proposal calls for the northern boundary of
the plat to be very close to the southern boundary of this tree area. The
developers are also proposing to dedicate approximately 7 acres of this tree
area as "park land" in order to meet their park dedication requirements for
the entire 120 acres of residential land. As a City and a Park and Recreation
Commission, I believe we must also insist on a 3 acre park south of C.R. 30 in
order to have the developer meet our park dedication requirements for the
120 acres. Approximately 10 acres of park land for 120 acres of residential
• property is slightly less than our general rule of 10%. The developer would
still have a road coming through this tree area to access the plat, and the
P.O. Box 490 • 13065 Orono Parkway • Elk River, MN 55330 • (612) 441-7420 • Fax: (612) 441-7425
Park and Recreation
Special Meeting
Continued
•
developer would still be obligated to pay approximately 20% of the cost of
Orono Parkway. Essentially, in order to save the trees, the developer has
offered this property to the City in order to meet their park dedication
requirements.
The issue before the Park and Recreation Commission is whether or not this
park dedication proposal meets with its goals and objectives for park land in
this part of the community. The developer believes that the only way to
realistically save most of the trees in this area is to simply not develop in this
7 acre area. The developer believes that if they try to create lots among the
trees that, unfortunately, most of the trees will be lost.
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