06-10-2019 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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CMP Part 4A. Transportation Plan LAKE ACCESS. PRESER VA TION AND MANAGEMENT Orono's lakes provide a significant recreational resource for all Orono residents. This value was long ago realized by City leaders. In order to provide lake access for the general public, as well as to provide for fire department access to the lake as a water source, a number of lake access corridors were created as the shore land developed. These typically are platted, dedicated right-of-ways leading from the local road system to the shoreline, and are commonly from 16' to Win width. These right-of-ways (often referred to as "fire lanes" or "lake access roads") vary considerably in their proximity to traffic, parking availability, proximity to housing, lakeshore conditions, and other factors that effect their recreational value. Some of these corridors have been maintained by the City for local swimming beaches or as winter snowmobile and ice -fishing accesses. Certain accesses have docks for fishing, and some have ramp areas suitable for launching a small boat. However, most do not have designated parking available, and are primarily intended to serve the neighborhood rather than the general public. A number of these access corridors have steep topography, shallow water depths, undesirable lake bottom conditions, and/or dense vegetation and experience little or no usage. Of the City lake accesses shown in Table 4A-9, half of those located outside of Big Island are either undeveloped or closed to public use. In addition to Orono's relatively small public lake access corridors, other governmental agencies own and operate significantly larger lake access properties in Orono. These include the DNR Maxwell Bay Access, Hennepin County's North Arm Access and Hennepin County's Noerenberg Gardens Memorial Park. These three large facilities benefit from Metro Transit bus service on their County Road 51 frontage, and are used regularly by visitors from the greater metropolitan area and beyond. The Noerenberg Gardens lack the docks and ramps supplied at the nearby Maxwell Bay and North Arm locations, however the Noerenberg shoreline in Maxwell Bay is a popular place for boaters to anchor and swim. Even more popular destinations for Lake Minnetonka boaters are the Hennepin County beach at Cruiser's Cove on Big Island, and Orono's Big Island Park, which has dockage and hiking areas. Orono also owns and operates Summit Park on Long Lake. Orono offers public lake access through five commercial marinas within its boundaries. Its private recreational facilities with lake shore are Camp Teko on North Arm Bay and the Minnetonka Power Squadron on Big Island. City of Orono Community Management Plan 2020-2040 Part 4A, Page 16