Agenda - Parks and Recreation Commission - 10/09/2014

Home

loud noises, night light or obnoxious odors. Other conversion impacts are more indirect, such as those that affect water quality and plant and animal life. In addition to adversely affecting the Regional Parks System's ability to deliver service, removal of lands for non - recreation open space uses also sets a bad precedent. Restrictive covenants: The Metropolitan Council requires that a restrictive covenant must be recorded on all land that has been acquired for the Regional Parks System using regional funds. The restrictive covenant ensures the parkland is used in perpetuity for regional parks system purposes and ensures that there is no sale, lease, mortgage of the parkland or other conveyance, restriction or encumbrance filed against the property unless the Council approves the action in writing and the Council's approval is recorded against the parkland. The only restrictive covenant amendments approved by the Council in which no land was exchanged were for small strips of land needed for public highway improvements. The land was needed to make roads safer and there was no alternative. These projects also improved access to the adjacent regional parks system unit. System Protection - Strategy 3: The Council will reimburse regional park implementing agencies for contamination cleanup under certain conditions. The Council will consider funding soil contamination cleanup (remediation) or capping abandoned wells that have contaminated their ground water aquifer on Regional Parks System land. For lands already under regional park implementing agency control: A regional park implementing agency may use its share of regional park capital improvement funds for financing soil contamination remediation or capping abandoned wells that have contaminated their ground -water aquifer on regional park land if the following conditions are met: • The land is already under ownership or control of a regional park implementing agency through a joint powers agreement or lease, and was acquired or was under the regional park implementing agency's control before Phase 1 environmental assessments were required. • The land is essential to make the regional park or trail function as intended according to a Council- approved master plan, and no reasonable alternative exists to relocate the park or trail facilities elsewhere. • The park or trail is essential in contributing to strengthening neighborhood livability consistent with Thrive MSP 2040. • The cost of cleanup is not eligible to receive federal or state soil contamination cleanup funds or abandoned well- capping funds from any other program, or funding has been denied. • The regional park implementing agency has an agreement with the party that will remediate /clean up the contamination or cap an abandoned well that absolves the regional park implementing agency from any future liability of pollution caused by the contaminated soil or contaminated groundwater.