HomeMy WebLinkAbout9B attachment
Division of Lands & Minerals
1200 Warner Road
St. Paul, MN 55106
nd
January 2 , 2013
Mr . Dan Rogness
Community and Economic Development Director
City of Prior Lake
4646 Dakota Street SE
Prior Lake, MN 55372
RE: Proposal for Vacat ion of portion of Eleventh Street
Spring Lake , Section 4 Township 11 4 Range 2 2
Dear Mr . Rogness :
Thank you for seeking input from the Department of Natural Resources regarding
the proposal to vacate a portion of Eleventh Street in the original plat of Spring Lake
Townsite . Your letter was forwarded to me to review and provide comments as
required by M.S. 4 12 . 851 .
The y the proposed vacation as
applying to Eleventh Street . O n one map in t he packet of materials provided, t he
proposed street v acation was shown as the right - of - way identified as Eleventh
Street . The maps indicate that the Eleventh Street right - of - way is 60 feet of
shoreline which abuts Spring Lake . Spring Lake is a designated public water of the
state of Min nesota.
City of Prior Lake staff provided additional verbal information indicating that the road
vacatio n proposal was the result of a request by adjacent property owner s, and that
the city has determined that the right - of - way is not needed for public use .
The DNR has reviewed the proposed vacation of Eleventh Street abutting the public
waters of Spring Lake in the City of Prior Lake, and we oppose the proposed action
for the following reasons:
The information provided by the city does not directly address the standard
established in M.S. 412.851 for vacation of city streets on public waters that
No vacation shall be made unless it appears in the interest of the public to
do so That is, there needs to be an actual public interest reason to vacate
the road, not that the street can be vacated if it is deemed by the road
authority to not currently be serving a public use. In this way, the long - term
interests of the public can be better served .
The unvacated right - of - way provides present and potential future access to
public waters, even if it is not so currently used as such . We do not advocate
in an undeveloped public state, it could serve for walk in canoe, kaya k, shore
fishing access, and undeveloped shoreline habitat.
Information provided by the city notes the nearby existence of other
recreational lands, but the mere presence of other nearby recreational
facilities in no way cancels the long - term public benef its of th is stretch of
public shoreline. We cannot anticipate what needs may exist for public
access on Spring Lake in 100 years, but once this valuable land leaves
public ownership, it is likely gone for good.
These DNR comments do not in any way preclude the City of Prior Lake from
proceeding with the proposed street vacation.
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the proposed vacation in the City of
Prior Lake . If you have any questions, please contact Trina Zieman at 651 - 259 -
5792 or by email at trina.zieman@state.mn.us . I n addition, I would appreciate if
you would please send the results of the action, once this issue has been
decided.
Sincerely,
Keith Parker
Central Region Director
cc: Trina Zieman, Division of Lands and Minerals
Jennifer Narveson, Division of Lands and Minerals
Paul Purman, Division of Parks and Trails