Agenda - Council - 01/28/1992 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Novemb~ri 25, 1988 To: ~av~ ih, ri ley From: ,~1 t k~ Auspos Re: [Letter to Anoka County on Snowmobiles At Ithei last council meeting the Council directed stnf£ t_o with An~ka~ount. y regarding a request that th~ county bo,~rd ~nact ]egis- lat~on C~on~,~rntng control of snowmobiles on county roads so as to h~ in lfn~ ~wl~ city ordinances nr to allow cities to r~gulare the opernr of sno~bl}~s on county roads. Be[or~ we proceed with such an action 1 woul. d ask that the C.unc first e~nmi~)e the issue to see if il: is necessary to do this and, il to what ~exl;e~t: should we control such operation. In [drip, lng around the city and tn mental examinations of my I have.~onC~uded that the majority of our county road mileage is o[ a [)l~ystt~al ~lnnl: as to be well adapted to the use of snowmobilos. Few residr~tic~ pti Lhe cotlnt, y ronds maintnin t. he ditch ar~a~ ~ts well ~s they d. their: yntds and tn many [nst:ances there Is very little mainte,~.n~e all. (t~tlnt~ lt.~d ff83 (Armstrong Blvd.) ts nearly der. id of ditc:h ~ance !~. ~r~ ff's 63, 64, 1.16, 57 and about hat[ of //56. 1 see few ~x- nmptes ~fr ~m~,ge in nny of these ditches ~nd that which 1 do s,~e is l it<c~- ly th~ desu~t of dirt bi~es since the paths ~re usually narrow nnd ru~ted. 1[ ~.see6, s to me to be overly restrictive to close off such a ~lmre o~ "trail. whys" when there Is ri.r, a~ t:him time, nn appreciable m. un~: ofz evidence of d~m,:,ge result[ng from the use of snowmobiles in th,', ~reas COrrehtly ~].lowed by statute, lc iS even more pnracloxicnl when conside~ I;h~t at the present time the city, by way of its Park (:ommi~;io~, is pur~i.g[~ctively the ncquisition o[ trni~ corridors by way of ease- men~s oqprlbat:e pr.petty or newly platted streets. Ina wary toni t:ra[l c~rri ors alrendy ~xist on these county roads and w,a sltould per- haps Co~siqar them as usable as part: o[ a c[tywide pla.. We~prt~e ourselves on being ~ Community comprised of a wide variety of petSOns:~ho possess an equally wide variety of interests While it ~ , can.not~be ~xpected that the city can construct recreational facilit, ie~ for any~spo~t which can be named ( I would not expect tha~ we build a Jar ala[ c:o~rt or a dog tr~ck for ~ few f~ns]) neither should we cake excessive o[r "knee-jerk" steps ~gainst any particular group on the basis of a fe~ coh~ptainCs.especially when there has been no evidence of lost:- The neb snowmobile ordinance we saw passed recently is ~l~is ci~:v's first ~Lem~t nt regulation of s.owmobiles other than by t_he adoptio~ of St~L~T 'stp~uLps ..... It may well b,~ that parl:s of th, s ordinnnce will [ound 1;0 be~ unworkable or insufficient. ~ Lhink it is a good first howeverS, and[we should try a season or Cwo of enforcemen~ before further resLricgiol~ are considered. The cost of enforcement will be the same, or ew~n~higber, if the ordinance is made more restrictive than what: we now hav~. ~s it is we may h~ve to ~cquire equipment ~nd devote mr~n hours for en.f~rce~nenc purposes if ~here ~re substantial violm~ions ~ncl our attempts t0[ "spread the word" are not enough. ~n~t:he[event I should be nccused of being one off those ctrertded mobile :~oveM~" 1 confess now that ] do own one which is brokon d-wn of the~ enst)n and is run up Nort:h (2 or 3 rim~ n x,~r,m:~xi'num~) 40% Lhe renlqind~r. The ol:her 1% tony he t:o Do to Tom Thumb or ut, le~s ~)' si~n ],as iL which is un] ikp[y since he is'tl~e rensnn il: i~ do'...~: i: ~oul~ alnn like the Gilt), l_oL;,1]y ;,n,] nt,l j~if;I- ftc3 Cil-v