Agenda - Council - 11/09/2021 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Public Hearing, as is required per the attached resolution. Potential Cartway Routes In general, there are challenges to accessing the Subject Property, regardless of which route is ultimately chosen. The entirety of the Subject Property appears to be wetland and there is wetland on all abutting lands as well. Furthermore, the entirety of the Subject Property is within the General Floodplain District, which also extends beyond the boundaries into abutting lands. Construction of any sort of cartway improvements, which would be the petitioner's responsibility, may be restricted and, if allowed, would likely be very expensive due to construction within wetlands and 2:1 wetland mitigation requirements. The petitioner has requested a route from the proposed new public street in the plat known as Williams Woods (the "Plat") to access the northeast quadrant of the Subject Property. Since approval of the Williams Woods Preliminary Plat was not contingent upon inclusion of an access to the Subject Property, this cannot be made a condition of approval of that Final Plat. Thus, the petitioner's requested route, which would be through upland and wetland area, would appear to have greater negative impacts than two other alternative routes. Staff investigated two alternate cartway routes through two nearby public parks to provide cartway access the Subject Property. The first alternate route is through Caroline Acres Park, which is an undeveloped park that accesses 178th Lane near the northeast corner of the Subject Property. This route appears to result in the longest route and the greatest impact to wetlands. Also, there is only forty (40) feet of frontage along 178th Lane so if a thirty-three (33) foot wide cartway were to be established, future access to this park would be severely restricted. The second alternate route is through Shawn Acres Park, which is an undeveloped park that accesses Chameleon Street near the southwest corner of the Subject Property. Of the three routes considered, this route would result in the least impact to private properties, and would have less impacts to wetlands than the Caroline Acres Park route. Designating this as the official cartway route therefore appears to be in the public's best interest. Staff has had several conversations with the petitioners during which it was confirmed that they fully understand Minnesota's cartway statutes 435.37 and 164.07, including their financial obligations and other responsibilities associated with their petition. The petitioner initially informed Staff that they wanted access to the northeast comer of their property because this area has the greatest elevation differential between the ground and groundwater making it the most likely location for future improvements. But more recently the petitioner informed Staff that they do not have a strong preference for a cartway route and acknowledged that a cartway through Shawn Acres Park to the southwest corner of their property would work just fine to provide access to their landlocked parcel. The petitioner is not able to attend the Council meeting. Wetland Impact Considerations If the property owner applied to add fill within these Wetland Conservation Act (WCA) jurisdiction wetlands, they would first need to go through the sequencing process. This process requires a purpose and need and if there is no buildable area for a home then a permit likely would not be granted. If purpose and need could be shown, and if WCA impacts were unavoidable, wetland impacts would need to be minimized and then replaced. Mitigation would be required at a 2:1 ratio so for every square foot impacted, 2 square feet would need to be purchased. Cartway rules do not negate DNR rules which prohibit filling into public waters, such as for a road. Access improvements for a cartway would not likely be deemed to provide any public purpose and would therefore likely be considered ineligible for a permit. Further, this area is within a General Floodplain District which raises additional complications for structures like a boardwalk where there must be floodway and flood fringe determinations to further evaluate the implications. Any wetland impact considerations would need to be further vetted with the regulating agencies.