Agenda - Public Works Committee - 11/19/2002

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P.W. CASE: REQUEST FOR MAINTENANCE OF PRIVATE STREET By: Brian E. Olson, Principal City Engineer Background: At the ~October 8t~' 2002 City Council meeting, Staff was directed to bring a Case to a future Public ~Works Committee to discuss the possibility of taking over the maintenance of the private street that serves as access for the townhomes of Rum River Hills. On October 17, 2002, Staff met with the residents of the townhouse association on site. ~he concerns that were expressed at that meeting include: · They are paying property taxes for other streets that arc maintained and want their street to be maintained as well · If the City is unable to take responsibility for their road, then they want the ability to be reimbursed for the portion of their taxes that are going towards maintenance activities · The street light for their development is at the intersection of Iodine Street and the private road. They are paying for the electricity costs for this light and also paying a priority light fee. Enclosed i~ a copy of the aerial information for the private street in question and an illustration of the ~0 foot ROW that we require with each new subdivision. The current width Of the street is 28 feet wide and there is a 36 foot radius on the cu-de-sac. City code requires all new public streets I:o be 32 feet wide and those that are continuous have a 50 foot radius cul-de-sac with a 65 foot radius ROW. '.. For the purposes of taking over the private street, current City requires a 25 foot setback for the principal building. In talking with the Community Development Department, they do not rememl~er any variance that were granted to that code. The setbacks for this particular s~eet, if a 60 foot ROW was acquired, would be 10 35 feet. The action of taking over maintenance responsibility of a private street that serves only the res/dents that it abuts could provide a "loophole" for future developers to avoid setback, criteria. Based on these reasons, Staff is recommending that the private street continue to be maintained by the hi~meowners association. That was the deal when this development, was approved. The City of Brooklyn Park has had numerous discussions and spent considerable Staff time for the issue of property owners that live on private streets requesting reimbursement for taxes that pay for street maintenance costs. They indicated in the attached letter that a typical townhouse contributes $61 annually for the maintenance of their streets. Staff agrees with the City of Brooklyl~ Park that the townhouse association has an obligation to contribute to the general tax levy forrstreet maintenance due to the requirement for the City to maintain the other streets that serve their development. P. 29