Laserfiche WebLink
CMP Part 4A. Transportation Plan <br />'This court requires no proof that Lake Minnetonka is a priceless heritage of the people of Minnesota, to be preserved <br />and passed onto posterity. Judicial notice will be taken of the fact that it is one of the most precious jewels in the <br />string of Ten Thousand Lakes of which Minnesota is so justly proud... Because of its wide expanse and proximity to <br />our metropolitan areas, it is much frequented and used for boating, fishing, picnicking and bathing -perhaps more <br />than any other lake in the state. Its shore line of nearly 100 miles is dotted with permanent homes and summer <br />cottages, not only at its waters edge, but extending far back from the shore. But the use of the lake is not confined to <br />dwellers on its shore or nearby. During the summer season especially, it is the meccafor thousands upon thousands of <br />urbanites, not so fortunate as to possess a lake home, who - young and old alike - seek its shores and watersfor diverse <br />recreationalpurposes. To those who do not indulge inactive recreation, it affords the opportunity of communing with <br />nature at its best. With the increase in the permanent lake population, however, the extent oflakeshore available to the <br />public generally and the means of public access to the lake have diminished and therefore become increasingly <br />valuable from year to year... we must not forget that the public includes persons other than those in the immediate <br />vicinity. The general public has a true concern in the recreational facilities offered by the lakes which nature has so <br />freely given us in this state. Theirgenerous sharing by all will makefor a healthier and happierpeeple. The manynot <br />fortunate enough to be able to acquire the advantages of ownership a flake shoreproperties should not be deprived of <br />these benefits. This we would do if we permitted streets leading to the lakeshore to be vacated... <br />'The loss to the public of 150 feet of shoreline out of a total of approximately 100 miles may to the Baldwins seem <br />inconsequential or even infinitesimal and nothing to be disturbed about. But, ofthis 100 miles ofprecious shoreline, <br />only a small fraction has been reserved for the public, and if the courts should create a precedent by permitting a <br />single inroad, however small, upon the public's share of the shoreline, other inroads will inevitably follow, until the <br />aggregate becomes areal threat to the public's free access to the lake. To avoid any possibility of such a result, the <br />courts should with equal vigor repulse the first, the second, and every other assault upon the public domain. " <br />Less than I% of Orono's lake shoreline has been dedicated as public access corridors. <br />Nearly all the rest is privately owned, and not available to the public for lake access <br />purposes, save for the DNR Maxwell Bay Access, Hennepin County's North Arm <br />Access and the City's Summit Park on Long Lake. Hennepin County's Noerenberg <br />Gardens Memorial Park, while abutting Lake Minnetonka, has deed restrictions that <br />disallow use for docking or launching boats. With shoreland abutting a dozen separate <br />bays in Lake Minnetonka, Orono has a commitment to maintaining access via the <br />dedicated access corridors. Orono's lake accesses are enumerated in Table 4A-8. <br />Lake Access Policies <br />It is the City's intent to permanently retain for public use all existing lake access <br />corridors and fire lanes, regardless of the current level of use or maintenance. To this <br />end, the City will follow these policies: <br />1. Requests for vacation of dedicated lake access right-of-ways will be denied in all <br />cases except where equal or better lake access will be granted nearby in return. <br />2. The City will identify and take necessary action to preserve the public's right to <br />use of any such accesses which exist but which may not have been formally <br />dedicated. <br />3. The City will endeavor to work with property owners adjacent to lake access <br />corridors to ensure that both the rights of the public and the rights of the private <br />landowner are upheld. <br />City of Orono Community Management Plan 2008-2030 Page 4A-32 <br />