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HomeMy WebLinkAbout7B - Park Dedication AGENDA NUMBER: PREPARED BY: SUBJECT: DATE: INTRODUCTION: BACKGROUND: 7 (a> BILL MANGAN, DIRECTOR OF PARKS AND RECREATION CONSIDER APPROVAL OF AMENDMENT TO PARK' DEDICATION ORDINANCE AND RESPONSE TO WETLAND REQUIREMENTS FEBRUARY 21, 1995 This item is on the agenda at the request of the City Council as a directive to staff to review Ordinance 94-01 to determine the impact it may have on the Park Dedication requirement for new subdivisions. The specific concern is that the existing dedication policy is yeilding too much marginal/inactive land (ponds, steep slopes, and marshes) and not enough dry, stable land for active park purposes. Staff was directed to research other communities policies for regarding park dedication requirements. Ordinance 94-01, Section 6-6-8, Park Dedication, delineates the credit allowed for slopes and soils. At the direction of the City Council at the January 17 meeting, staff has surveyed other communities to gather information as to what other communities do in regard to wetland, slope, and marsh areas for park dedication. Staff contacted the following cities: Lakeville Savage Eden Prairie Burnsville Shakopee Apple Valley The results of the survey are shown in the graph below. In all but one case, wetlands receive no credit. Steep slopes are preserved through Conservation easements (if wooded) or a negotiated credit (similar to Prior Lake). Marshes receive credit through negotiation and nOlmally when combined with dry upland. 16200 Eagle Creek Ave., Prior Lake, Minnesota 55372-1714 / Ph. (612) 447-4230 / Fax (612) 447-4245 AN EQUAL OPPORTIJNrry EMPLOYER T r CITY Lakeville 10% Savage 10% Shakopee 10% Bumsville 5-10% Eden Prairie 10% Apple Valley 10% Prior Lake 10% DISCUSSION: PARK DEDICATION SURVEY WETLANDS SLOPES MARSHES PARK ACR. (MINI -NEI) No Credit Full Credit Credit l-5A & Negot. Negotiated 1O-15A Negotiated Full credit Credit 3-5A Negotiated 5-l0A No Credit Negotiated Credit >3A Negotiated <5A No Credit Full Credit Credit 5A & Negot. Negotiated lOA No Credit Full Credit Credit >5A & Negot. Negotiated >15A No Credit Credit Credit 3-5A Negotiated 5-10A No Credit 0-10%-100% 25% 3-5A 10-20%-50% 5-l0A <20%-25% During the survey, staff discovered that none of the other cities have provisions for percentages such as what Prior Lake uses. In some instances, other cities staff felt somewhat arbitrary in their negotiations with developers and two cities, Lakeville and Apple Valley wanted staff to send them our current percentages so that they could review them. Lakeville, Eden Prairie, and Savage allow full credit for wooded slopes in order to preserve the site as "wooded parkland". The developer would get full credit and then the city would have to turn around and have to purchase open space. In one example in Lakeville, the City of Lakeville accepted a wooded area as park dedication and then purchased open space at $30,000/acre from the developer to create a mini-park. Staff will have available for review at the meeting the preliminary plats of !<nob Hill, Cardinal Ridge, and Westbury Ponds to illustrate how this ordinance was applied to the new subdivisions to determine parkland dedication. T 'Y_"H' ISSUES: ALTERNATIVES: RECOMMENDATION: ACTION REQUIRED: REVIEWED BY: AGNIS The purpose of the Park Dedication Ordinance is to implement the Comprehensive Plan. It does that in two ways. First, it preserves high/dry land or provides funds so that such land can be acquired by the City for open space purposes. Secondly, it provides the City with leverage to preserve marshes and slopes in accordance with the Comprehensive Plan. Whether or not enough stable upland is preserved is a subjective matter. Our current policy has allowed the City to construct neighborhood parks which contain tot lots, playfields, and play equipment. If larger parks are desired, then a lesser credit for slopes and marshes could be considered. The key is to continue to provide motivation to developers to preserve slopes and marshes rather than eliminate them in the grading process. Recent court rulings regarding Park Dedication have held that land exactions must be reasonably related to the development. Based upon the graph, our 10% dedication requirement appears to be consistent with other communities and, consequently, that much more defensable. The City Council may elect to revise the sliding scale so that the marshes and steep slopes receive some credit but less than 25%. There are three alternatives for the City Council to consider: I. A motion that Subdivision Ordinance 6-6-8 not be changed. 2. A motion to direct staff to make revisions to the ordinance to clarify treatment of wetlands and revise the sliding scale if the majority of the Council desires; 3. Table this item until some date certain in the future. Staff would recommend that clarification of Subdivision Ordinance 6-6-8 would be appropriate to address the fact that wetlands receive no dedication credit. The majonty of the Council should determine if the sliding scale should be revised. A motion would be in order to reflect City Council discussion regarding the three aIte tives. T ,. DATE: INTRODUCTION: BACKGROUND: DISCUSSION: 7 (C) BILL MANGAN, DIRECTOR OF PARKS AND RECREATION REVIEW ORDINANCE 94-01, SETBACKS FOR WETLANDS, TO DETERMINE THE IMPACT ON PARK DEDICATION REQUIREMENTS. JANUARY 17, 1995 This item is on the agenda at the request of the City Council as a directive to staff to review Ordinance 94-01 to determine the impact it may have on the Park Dedication requirement for new subdivisions. The specific concern is that the existing dedication policy is yeilding too much marginal/inactive land (ponds, steep slopes, and marshes) and not enough dry, stable land for active park purposes. In the Subdivision Ordinance, section 6-6-4 (F), (see attachment), states that the subdivision grading plan indicates that there will be a minimum of a thirty (30) foot setback from the 100 year flood elevation of the wetland to the building pad. In some instances, this may pose a problem for parks and open space in those areas that will have development on them. However, each situation will have to be addressed as part of the park dedication review. In addition, Section 6-6-8, Park Dedication, delineates the credit allowed for slopes and soils. As far as the Wetland Setback portion, staff is comfortable with the new ordinance and can adapt to the regulations as part of the negotiations for the park dedication requirement. Regarding the Land Characteristics and Values assigned, this gets a bit more complicated. There are some lands located within Prior Lake, for example, that should be preserved forever. An example of this would be the Jeffers Ridge along County Road 21. Under current ordinance, a developer would be given a 25% credit for this ridge because it is greater than a 20% slope. This would allow the city to protect the amenity yet not use up the entire 10% allocation to protect the amenity. . The new wetland preservation guidelines will not allow filling of wetlands (or at the very least, make it very difficult), so at this point in time, there is no credit given for wetlands as open space because they have to remain as wetlands. Nor is credit given for open water or standing water as far as parkland dedication is concerned. The Council may wish to direct clarification of the park dedication ordinance on this point. 16200 Eagle Creek Ave., Prior Lake, Minnesota 55372-1714 / Ph. (612) 447-4230 / Fax (612) 447-4245 AN EQUAL OPPORTUNm EMPLOYER ALTERNATIVES: RECOMMENDATION: An example of how this ordinance was put to a good test was the Cardinal Ridge Preliminary Plat. With this plat, over 1/3 of the plat (50+ acres) was dedicated as open space for either parks or storm water management. The steep slopes and woodlands on the south end of the plat were preserved as steep slopes and credited accordingly. Without this ordinance, the city would have received less than one-half of the park land dedicated and would have had to purchase additional land for preservation. Of the total dedication, 35 acres can be used for active or passive open space pwposes for the development of playgrounds, tot lots, trails, and shelters. Similarily, Knob Hill will also provide for both active and passive recreation opportunities through the open space dedicated in this subdivision. With a 10% dedication requirement, the Knob Hill plat of 100 acres would have to dedicate 10 acres of stable, dry upland for park purposes. By using the formula in the dedication ordinance, staff was able to acquire almost 16 scres which includes dry upland as well as some areas of steep slopes that go to ponds and wetlands. This will allow the development of a neighborhood park and playfield, trails, shelter, and nature areas all within the subdivision. With the subdivision of Westbury Ponds, staff approached this parcel differently because of the huge DNR wetlands involved as well as the parcel being adjacent to school district property. By dedicating land next to the school, staff hopes to develop a Joint Powers Agreement with the school district for development of the site into youth community playfields. In addition, the large wetlands provide a perfect opportunity for passive open space and trails. Normally, under the 10% dedication, this subdivision would have to dedicate 6 acres for open space. Through the application of this dedication ordinance, there will be over 10 acres of open space (excluding the ponds and wetlands) that will be used for both active and passive recreation purposes. Staff will have available for review at the meeting the preliminary plats of Knob Hill, Cardinal Ridge, and Westbury Ponds to illustrate how this ordinance was applied to the new subdivisions to determine parkland dedication. There are three alternatives for the City Council to consider: 1. A motion that Subdivision Ordinance 6-6-8 not be changed. 2. A motion to direct staff to explore changes in Subdivision Ordinance 6-6-8; 3. Table this item until some date certain in the future. Staff would recommend that Subdivision Ordinance 6-6-8 be left in existing form with respect to dedication guidelines. Clarification would be appropriate to address the fact that wetlands receive no dedication credit. The current ordinance allows the city flexibility ACTION REQUIRED: REVIEWED BY: AGNI3 " ...""..T"-._......._-""..~. and has not been a problem for developers in the past. If this ordinance were to change to only allow stable, flat, upland parcels for parks and open space, it would end up costing the city money to purchase land that the Comprehensive Plan suggests should remain open space. A motion would be in order to reflect City Council discussion regarding the e alle[ves. t . 6~: LC>TS: (A) Location: All lots shall have frontage on a publicly dedicated street or a street that has received legal status except that lots in Planned Unit Developments may have frontage on a private road or street. Frontage on a street shall be measur~ at the setback line. (B) Size: The lot dimensions and areas shall comply with requirements specified in the Prior Lake Zoning C>rdlnance. (C) . Side Lot Unes: Side lot lines shall be approximately at right angles to straight street lines or radial to curved street lines. (D) Double Frontage Lots: Double frontage lots shall be avoided except where lots back on an arterial or collector street. (E) Comer Lots: Comer lots for residential use shall exceed the minimum width and area requirement for that district by twenty percent (20%). (F) Wetland or Detention Pond: Any lot abutting or including a wetland or detention pond within a Residential Zoning District, shall have one-hundred (100) percent of the minimum lot size requirement for the zoning district, as identified in the Prior Lake Zoning C>rdinance, outside of the 100-year flood elevation of the wetland or detention pond. 1. For all ResidentialZoning Districts, the subdivision grading plan shall indiicate a minimum setback of thirty (30) feet measured from the 100 year flood elevation of the wetland or detention pond to the building pad or house location. (C>rd. 94-01 ). (G) Lot Remnants: All remnants of lots below minimum size remaining after subdivision of a larger tract must be added to adjacent lots rather than allowed to remain as unusable parcels. (H) Butt Lots: Butt lots in residential districts shall be platted at least twenty percent (20%) wider than the minimum width for that district. 25 ~- . 6-6-8: (A) (B) (C) (D) (E) sL...",\\b-l. ,\\~W.~ ~tl,. \~~. (F) (G) -'....... (H) The own ing subdivided for residential, commercial, Industrial or other uses or as a Planned Unit Development shaD dedicate to the public or preserve for conservation purposes or for public use as parks, playgrounds, trails, wetlands or pubUc open space a reasonable portion of the subdivided land. The City has detennined the land dedication requirement to be equivalent to ten percent (10%) of the gross area of a subdlvislon. The composition of land required will be determined in accordance with the formula found in Section 6-6-8 (E), or as determined by the City to be in the pubUc Interest and reasonably necessary for such uses and needs as a result of approval of the subdivision. (Ord. 88-1) (Ord. 89-08) M. the City's option, the subdivider shall contribute an equivalent amount In cash, or cash and land, in lieu of all or a portion of the land which the City may require such owner to dedicate pursuant to paragraph (A) above. The cash amount shall be based on the fair market value of the land reasonably required to be dedicated, with said value being determined no later than at the time of final plat approval. Whenever the term -dedicate- is used in this section, it shall mean a dedication to the City of land or cash, or both, whichever the City, at its option, shall require. The dedication shall be made prior to the City's release of the final plat for filing. In Instances where cash is required in lieu of land, payments as required by this Ordinance shall be made prior to the City Manager releasing the final plat to the subdivider. (Ord. 87-10) . The City may detennine the location, configuration and value of the land to be dedicated. N 0 ~ l"ed.t The composition of land to be dedicated will be directly related to its physiographical character and in accordance with the following values: (Ord. 88-1) LAND CHARACTERISTICS ~ SWJs. VALUE % Dedication 0-10% 10-20% over 20% Dry upland Unstable Marshes 100% 50% 25% Where the owner provides in the subdivision for the public use neighborhood park amenities such as, but not limited to, tennis courts, ball fields, open space or other recreational facilities, the City may reduce the amount of land to be dedicated or the cash contribution in lieu of such dedication by an amount equivalent to the cost of the facilities provided. Prior to the dedication or preservation of such land for public use, or both, with the City's consent, the subdivider shall deliver to the City an opinion addressed to the City by an attorney, and in a form acceptable to the City, as to the condition of the title of such property, or In lieu of a title opinion, a title insurance policy from a title company acceptable to the City insuring the required public interest in the preservation or dedication therein. Immediately upon ftling of the final plat or other appropriate subdivision documents, the subdivider shall file for recording all easements, deeds or other conveyances of property 29 - - --'-"-'-~---r--'-'----~-"''''-''-''-''''''