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Home My WebLink About7A - Lords & Beach St. Access . .' STAFF AGENDA REPORT DATE: 7A LAN I LEICHTY, WATER RESOURCES COORDINATOR CONDUCT PUBLIC INFORMATIONAL MEETING TO CONSIDER CONTINUATION OF PROPOSED WINTER ACCESSES: LORDS STREET AND BEACH STREET NOVEMBER 21, 1994 AGENDA: PREPARED BY: SUBJECT: INTRODUCTION: The purpose for this public informational hearing is to determine if the City of Prior Lake and the public in general want to continue to classify .the Lords Street and the Shady Beach Trail areas as winter accesses as recommended in the Lake Access Study. We have notified neighbors within 1000 feet of each area and posted a notice in the November 12 and 19th issues of the Prior Lake American. BACKGROUND: When the Lake Access Study was accepted by the Council at its regular meeting on October 17, 1994, it recommended continued classification of Lords Street and Shady Beach Trail areas as Winter Accesses (see attached location maps). Of the nineteen access sites identified in the Lake Access Study these two have been the most controversial in the past. Mr. and Mrs. David Hunt, who recently acquired the Lords Street site, knowing that it has been historically used as a winter access have stated that they are in the process of torrensing the property to acquire clear title to this land. The attorney's office indicates that the torrensing office at Scott County has no record of such a request. Neither has the City been contacted as an interested party to submit its position on such a proposal. This access has been historically used to gain access to the lake in the winter. The Shady Beach Trail Access is operated by the Sportsman's Club and the City of Prior Lake. The neighbors living adjacent to this site have periodically expressed concern about the hours of operation. The Sportsman's Club has an access easement and the City has a roadway easement on this property. The definition for a "Winter Access" in the Lake Access Study is as follows: WINTER ACCESS: IntendeJ to be used by the public to provide motor vehicle access to the lake during the winter. Access would be open during the period from November 1 through March 1 and would be closed 4629 Dakota St. S.E., Prior Lake, Minnesota 55372-1714 / Ph. (612) 447-4230 / Fax (612) 447-4245 AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER ..OT N ~ r LEGENO (..(ItGINT' VEQUATiON COY. 3111'081 ):::=:( CITY LIIIM"S ~ ...II.ItOAO +--+ COUIITY STAT( AlO NIGH......" _!!.=- '::OUNTT Itcu,O ~ :)tenON \",'NfS _ _ :ifCTION HUMlllt 3' "OWNS"'~ eo .......1 I.'N(5 __ :UI..\lI"T t:--<J inUM ~ 0"(" "'ATl" ,. w. 't(fF' ()lII ItOCI(S W1T_ " OF' SU.~ " _"'''/IIII,.(TI:''IO .1t'A' 1.2::Ja ICltlS :...TTO"AI. ...ItA- ... ACIICS I.INeTM QlJ SHOltIL'Ml> 1..5 ..~ _E"'TN tw 15"'AMOS' SMOlt(LllII'- I.' MII.I!S I.... l.egTTOM OF' _TP GAUGE 0" ,,_t:. "LING :JNOIIt ,,"OG[ OYIII \....t. "".$.f..' ," HI.OW 0.00 .(&01'" ,.W. z. lOT TOM OJI' ....TI. G&UG1 0" 0.... aT :M."NII. TO lAY ON lAST SIO( M" LAG. "'.S.l.' '-, It(ADlfiIG 'UTLlffl OM.II 'ItOM I'." AClIIlAL ~TOS . "".211-1904.1" . .....sn.u. 0 ..0 o>zo I "0 0 I S~I I" "DT - DNR PUBLIC ACCESS - WINTER ACCESS tIS I 36 I ACCESS LOCATIONS CITY OF SAVAGE I 0 I I I I I MARKLEY LAKE r 70-Z0 ~ 25 r30 ~~' t ~ t ,? ~ t ~ f E t E t )I c 6 'I 1\. l \\, \' ~ I Ii I i I I DEWITTE AVE from 11 pm to 6 am daily. "Motor vehicle" means any self-propelled vehicle licensed for highway operation, including snowmobiles, which is being used for off-road recreational purposes. DISCUSSION: At the October 17, 1994 council meeting the Council asked the Lake Advisory Committee (LAC) to further investigate the snowmobile regulations at the winter accesses. The LAC, at its October 19, 1994 meeting, recommended to prohibit snowmobile access at the Shady Beach Trail Access and the Terrace Circle - South Access due to their close proximity to neighboring homes. LORDS STREET ACCESS - Many issues have been raised about this access as to whether or not the City should retain this as a public winter access. A list of advantages and disadvantages are shown below: ADVANTAGES: 1) Allows easy access to the deepest part of Prior Lake. This area is actively used by ice fisherman. 2) Located between the other winter accesses geographically. Closure of this access will coerce people to cross long areas of ice which increases the risk of people breaking through the ice, which poses a safety problem. 3) Would provide a safer travel route to desired fishing spots by the fishermen. 4) Two areas are notorious for having open water late in winter. One is adjacent to Beach Street and the other is between Frost Point and Reeds Island. The area adjacent to Beach Street has been open in February. One person has drowned and several have fallen through the ice at Frost Point. 5) Ice fishing is the best from ice freeze over to January 1 when the ice condition is the most unsafe. Many people walk out to this area and/or push houses out prior to the time they can safely drive on the ice. Closure of this access will tempt individuals to drive across the ice prior to it being safe from other winter accesses. 6) This' is the only opportunity the City will have to continue classification of Lords Street as a winter access. DISADVANTAGES: 1) Permits winter traffic in a residential neighborhood. Closure would reduce the traffic volumes and traffic complaints in the area. At the same time it would increase traffic volumes at the other winter access points. 2) Enforcement of access closure from 11 pm to 6 am would be difficult. Control would need to be by self-enforcement as with Beach Trail. The Sportsman's Club would be responsible for distributing fliers on restrictions of the access and encouraging people to adhere to the posted hours which limit access. Not all winter ice users belong to the Sportsman's Club. OTHER ISSUES: 1) If the City decides to protect its vested rights concerning this access, it will cost in the range of $5,000 to $10,000 in legal fees. 2) The ownership of this property will likely change hands sometime in the future. If this owner is ever to relocate this may not be such a controversial issue. 3) If the access is recommended to be kept open, the Sportsman's Club should be encouraged to continue to assist the City in o T' '~'-_".....,' _".. _....0 , picking up trash and monitoring this access. 4) Fewer ice houses would probably be located around Martinson Island. 5) Closure would enhance safety for pedestrians and neighborhood noise. 6) Last year at one of the final meetings between neighbors and Sportsman we outlined safeguards which would be used if the area were to continue to be an access. A letter reflecting the conclusions of the meeting is attached. ISSUES: SHADY BEACH TRAIL ACCESS - The Sportsman's Club already has an easement over this access. If Council decides to vacate this access, it would in effect be vacating the City's interest in the roadway easement, but it would not effect the Sportsman's Club or neighboring property owners who may have legal access rights. The only proposed change to this access recommended by the LAC was that snowmobiles be prohibited due to the close proximity of the access to the neighboring homes. The Lake Access Study recommendations were intended to provide the City with a "strategic plan" through which reasonable access would be provided around the lake. The study philosophy is that the City needs to provide reasonable access for non-lake shore dwellers while respecting the rights of lake shore owners. The LAC believes that the report does that and that winter access through these two sites is part of the overall strategy to accomplish this objective. The City Council may elect vacate its interest in one or both sites. In the case of Beach Trail access a public hearing would be required to vacate the street easement. There may be utility easements which the City wishes to retain. Considering the Sportsman's Club private easement over the Beach Trail site, such a vacation would accomplish little except that the City would no longer provide any sort of maintenance. Neither would we show this as a "public" access on our future lake maps. If the council does not wish to continue the use of the Lords Street area as a winter access, it should direct the staff to discontinue any maintenance efforts and to remove existing signage and replace with signage that clarifies it is not an access. Discontinuance of the long standing use and maintenance of this access would eventually eliminate any City claims to a prescriptive easement over the property. . If the council elects to continue Lords Street as an access the staff would continue its maintenance of the area and would work with the property owner and users to implement safe guards similar to those outlined in the attached letter. If the home owner persists in blocking use of the access, court action would eventually be necessary to establish whether a prescriptive easement exists. The attorney believes that this process would cost somewhere between $5,000 and $10,000. While the facts appear to support the City's position, there is no guarantee that the courts will find for the City. TO <...,.......~, d ..._,,,. "."*, ALTERNATIVES: RECOMMENDATION: ACTION REQUIRED: REVIEWED BY: AGLAS1.ENG The alternatives are as follows: 1. Accept the recommendations by the LAC to continue to classify the Lords Street Access and Shady Beach Trail Access as "Winter Accesses". 2. Accept the recommendations for one access and vacate the other. 3. Vacate the City's interest in both accesses. 4. Continue the hearing for a specific reason. Staff recommends alternative number 1. Motion and second to adopt the recommendations by the Lake Advisory Committee nd to direct the City Attorney and staff to initiate acti for th rocess of obtaining a legal easement on the L ds Str Acce 'T .( ~~ ~ .,. April 5, 1994 Mr. Walter Jobst 15110 Martinson Island Road Prior Lake, MN 55372 Subject: March 31, 1994 Lord's Street Access Tentative Agreement Dear Walter, At the March 31st meeting we agreed that I would prepare a letter which summarizes the substance of our Agreement, for the use of the Lord's Street Lake Access. Our discussion recognized that the City'S Lake Advisory Committee will be studying the issue of Lake Accesses to determine which should be considered as "long term" accesses and which should be closed or otherwise restricted. It is possible that the Lord's Street Access could be affected by this project. Assuming that the Lord's Street Access will continue to be used, the following conditions were agreed to: 1. The Access would be open for general public use from Thanksgiving each year through March 15th of the following year. The Access, however, would be closed daily from 11:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. just as is the case wi th Beach Street Access. Enforcement of the closed hours would be on a complaint basis. 2. No parking will be allowed on privately owned land or on the access. The private property owners will post the land and be responsible for no parking enforcement. Parking on the public right-of-way and street is the responsibility of the City. Permitted and prohibited parking will remain as is but will be better delineated with additional signage. 4629 Dakota St. S.E., Prior Lake, Minnesota 55372-1714 / Ph. (612) 447-4230 / Fax (612) 447-4245 AN EQUAL OPPOR11JNITY EMPLOYER T---O . - -.. 3 . The Ci ty permi ts public access only during the times set out in paragraph 1. Between March 16th and Thanksgiving of each year, access is at the discretion of the owner. 4. The Access drive is to remain "as is", that is, gravel rather than bituminous proposed by the sportsmen. 5. A gate is to be installed by private parties which would be opened Thanksgiving and closed on March 16th. 6. The Access is to remain 20' (twenty feet) wide, as it presently is. 8. The sportsman are to continue their annual spring clean up. The City will install a three-sided enclosure for the 55 gallon refuse cans to buffer them from the road. We agreed to meet again this August or September to discuss implementation of these conditions for use of the access. At that time, Access usage might be affected by the results of the Lake Advisory Committee study, assuming it has been completed by that date. Please contact me at 447-4230 if you have any questions. Fran yles City Manager FB:jd 11) Lords Street Access This access has been used historically in the past to gain access to the lake by fishermen in the winter. It has also been used an unspecified amount by boaters in the summer months. The street is posted IINo P.arking" and there is no street lighting. A gravel drive exists on the north side of the road which had a dead tree blocking the access at the time the picture was taken. A letter dated April 5, 1994 from City Manager Frank Boyles was written to Walter Jobst the neighborhood representative of the access at the time outlining a tentative agreement on the use of the access, which basically restricted it to winter usage. Since that time the property owner, David Hunt, stated that he is in the process of torrencing the property to acquire clear title. If the City decides to protect its' vested rights concerning this access, it will cost approximately $10,000 in legal fees to obtain a prescriptive easement. Suggested Classification: Winter Access. The following is a list of issues and questions that were raised during the Lake Advisory Committees' discussion of this access that were dealt with in arriving with their recommendation. Classification: The only classifications that would fit this location are winter access, seasonal overlook or vacation. There is no parking available in this area and it is posted "No Parking'l. The issue to deal with is safety. Knowing that this access is used by ice fishermen and safety is an issue, for this reason the access should be recommended as a winter access. Restrictions: Posted hours of usage from November 1 through March 1. Closed daily from 11 pm to 6 am. Gate would be constructed which would be locked from March 2 through October 31. 36 T Pros:-Would allow easy access to the deepest part of the lake. The area close to the access is actively used by ice fisherman. -It is located between the other winter accesses geographically. Closure of this access will coerce people to cross long areas of ice which increases the risk of people breaking through the ice, which is a safety problem. -This access would provide a safer travel route to desired fishing spots by the fishermen. -Two areas are notorious for having open water late in winter. One is adjacent to Beach Street and the other is between Frost Point and Reeds Island. The area adjacent to Beach Street has been open in February. has been open in ,~ February. One person has drowned and several have fallen through the ice. -Ice fishing is the best from ice freeze over to January 1 when the ice condition is the most unsafe. Many people walk out to this area and/or push houses out prior to; the time one can safely drive on the ice. Closure of this access will tempt individuals to drive across the ice prior to it being safe. -This is probably the only oppurtunity the City will have to classify this as a winter access, if it so desires. Cons:-Would permit winter traffic in a residential neighborhood. Closure would reduce the traffic volumes and traffic complaints in the area, at the same time it would increase traffic volumes at the other winter access points. 37 -Enforcement of traffic from 11 pm to 6 am would be difficult. Enforcement staff would not be available to lock and open the gate on a daily basis. Control would need to be by self-enforcement. Sportsman's Club would be responsible for distributing fliers on restrictions of the access and encouraging people to adhere to the posted hours which limit access. -Fewer ice houses would probably be located around Martinson Island. -Closure would enhance safety for pedestrians. -Neighborhood noise would probably be reduced in the winter. Other Issues: *Would this help meet the long term lake access needs if this access is recommended? *The ownership of this property will likely change hands sometime in the future. *If the access is recommended to be kept open, the Sportsman's Club should be encouraged to continue picking up trash and monitoring this access along with trash barrels being placed near the gate. To encourage people using the access to abide by the posted hours which limit access. 38 T .,j al U) . ;.. .' ~., IJI :. :::;.---::: --- - SITE ~ - No. B4} . -4DQ 0 ~ _ 00 ~'" z. ",- '" -:r_ <:00 ....~- ~ :.e-. :>.c ag~'. .e:. c; :>- 0-' -:> .. 0&>'" .) .c r'.. z -- .,. r :", N 0'1 - U1 1 / r> 'Tl I I LORDS STREET ACCESS ACCESS 11 15} Shady Beach (Sportsman's Access) This access is operated by the Sportman's Club and the City of Prior Lake. The Sportman's Club has an easement on half of the trail. There is a gravel lane leading down to the lake. It's posted "Residential Neighborhood - Please Reduce Noise and Litter - Beach Lane Closed Daily From 11 PM - 6 AM Thank you - Prior Lake Sportsmen Club - City of Prior Lake". Posted "No Parking". There are no street lights. The area is delineated with wood posts and cable for the length of the lane. Suggested Classification: Winter Access, remain as is. 50 ..'.._0___._,....- l COUNTY ROAD 42.. ".-- .;. - - -1282.55 I /<lot'- 3 4 5 I 6 7 8 C. RAINS 2 1~354 2 7 '0 5n.l4 5'15'-4 / u,UI ~T. I >it' ,/ '" 1,3 ~"25 sqji 9fS; ( .; l. 8 9 I) II D. HANSON 160-123 8 OUTLOT A 7 4 LaVeN ~J~ wI LSON 160i;).; :E' ~I ~I ~ 3 K ANDERSON 126836 --- SHADY BEACH TRAIL.ACCESS ACCESS 15