Minutes - Parks and Recreation Commission - 02/11/2021

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Commissioner Leistico aye Commissioner Loss aye Commissioner Sis aye Motion carried. 5.02: Consider Potential Expansion for Loral I Armstrong Delaney Central Park Parks & Assistant Public Works Superintendent Riverblood stated that the consensus of the Commission following the last discussion was to direct staff to ghost plat the property owned by the church that could include possible expansion of the park. He stated that staff sketched the area using R-1 zoning, as that is the current zoning for the property and recognized that there are many ways that land could be subdivided. He reviewed three possible scenarios and highlighted some of the differences between the sketches and the benefits that could be created for each scenario. He stated that the minimum land donation for park dedication of a residential development would be ten percent but could be higher in the case of higher density or under a PUD and therefore park dedication could provide the City with the land necessary to expand the park in the future. He reiterated that the Anoka Ramsey Athletic Association has stated that in the near term there is not a need for outdoor fields and instead desire additional indoor space for volleyball and basketball and that if changes are made to outdoor fields the association would request conversion of a field to artificial turf which would have less impacts by use and weather. Riverblood continued, that he recognized that the configuration of the church parcel is not fully known as this time, therefore the layout of a future development and land available for Park Dedication could obviously vary from the scenarios reviewed. He noted that there would be options that would present cost-savings and shared parking options for the park and church and the church seems open to continuing discussions and potentially bringing a land developer onboard to review options for synergy and more comprehensively review the development opportunity. He stated that the Planning Commission is holding a work session tonight and will discuss residential land use for that area in a similar planning activity for the site. He stated that there are five scenarios the Commission could consider related to possible purchase of land and/or expansion of the park which were included in the case. He stated that staff supports options three, four or five noting that option five would seem to be the most straightforward. He stated that this will go forward to the City Council as soon as March in order to secure more formal direction for the church as it looks towards the future. Chair Bennett stated that it seemed there was consensus that the City would not need the full amount of land, nor would that purchase seem logical in terms of expense. He stated that it would seem that looking for a land and/or land plus cash Park Dedication contribution when the parcel develops. Commissioner Leistico referenced the flex-use athletic fields stated that perhaps that language would be too specific for what may be needed in the future in terms of park needs. Parks & Assistant Public Works Superintendent Riverblood explained that flex-use is the largest size and that is why that was suggested as it would provide the most flexibility. He stated that this would not lock the City into any certain type of park/land use. Park and Recreation Commission/February 11, 2021 Page 3 of 6