Agenda - Public Works Committee - 04/20/2004

Home

P.W. CASE: REQUEST FOR MAINTENANCE OF PRIVATE sTREET By: Brian E. Olson, Principal City Engineer Background: At the October 8th' 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 Pdver Hills. On October 17, 2002, Staff met with the residents of the townhouse association on site. The concerns that were expressed at that meeting include: They are paying property taxes for other streets that are 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 is a copy of the aerial information for the private street in question and an illustration of the 60 foot Right of Way (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 to be 32 feet wide and those that are not 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 code requires a 25 foot front-yard setback for the principal building. In talking with the Community Development Department, they do not remember any variance that has been granted to the front yard setback. The existing setback for this particular street, ifa 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 residents 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 homeowners 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 Brooklyn Park that the towri.house association has an obligation to contribute to the general tax levy for street maintenance due to the requirement for the City to maintain the other streets that serve their development.