Agenda - Council - 10/14/2025 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Motion carried. Voting Yes: Chair Ealain; Commissioners Bennett, Arts, Anderson, Barten, and Olson. Voting No: None. Absent: None. Abstained: Commissioner Sis. 5. COMMISSION BUSINESS 5.01: Resident Request to Remove Neighborhood Trail Connection Parks & Assistant Public Works Director Riverblood provided background information, details of the request, and a summary of the discussion that occurred at the last meeting. He noted that the issue had been tabled to allow Commissioners to visit the site and for additional background/research to be completed. Commissioner Bennett asked for clarification on the location of the trail within the easement. Parks & Assistant Public Works Director Riverblood replied that the trail is fully within the easement and the easement fully lies within one property. Jeff Lammert, 7494 159th Avenue, stated that his property line actually falls four feet past the trail onto what they had previously believed to be the neighbor's property. Commissioner Bennett commented that it is an unfortunate placement for the trail, but he believes the trail should remain in place. He did not believe it would be advantageous to remove the trail. Commissioner Sis stated that after reviewing the minutes from the previous meeting and the information in the case, he would agree that the trail should remain. He asked if the City would consider making an offer to purchase the strip of land where the easement is, so the boundary would lie on the other side of the trail. Parks & Assistant Public Works Director Riverblood stated that while that could be done, there would not be a purpose for the City to purchase the land, as the only use for the land is the trail, and that is accommodated by the easement. Commissioner Bennett stated that perhaps in the future, if the trail were aged and deteriorated to the point where it is no longer viable, it could then be determined whether the trail should be replaced or removed. Councilmember Buscher asked if there had been consideration of the resident placing a fence on the inside of the trail, as it could be considered abandonment of the remainder of his property. Commissioner Sis stated that perhaps there could be a memorandum of understanding with the City that the placement of the fence would not be considered abandonment of the remainder of the property. Parks & Assistant Public Works Director Riverblood commented that he is not aware of any action related to the placement of fencing that would trigger abandonment of property. He stated that the property lines and easement were identified in the original plat for the development. Park and Recreation Commission/ August 14, 2025 Page 2 of 5