07-22-2019 Council Work Session Packet

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Joint Use Dock - Pirates Cove May 7, 2014 Page 2 Address Name Lot Description Status 865 Windjammer Lane Gillis Lot 1, Block 1, Pirates Cove Off -lake, existing home 860 North Arm Dr. Davisson Lot 2, Block 1, Pirates Cove Off -lake, existing home 875 Windjammer Lane Bro hammer Lot 3, Block 1, Pirates Cove Off -lake, existing home 835 Windjammer Lane Hanson Lot 4, Block 1, Pirates Cove Off -lake, existing home 850 Windjammer Lane Khan Lot 6, Block 1, Pirates Cove Riparian 860 Windjammer Lane Kelly Lot 7, Block 1, Pirates Cove Riparian The City began regulating joint use docks via licensing in July 1963. As noted above, the plat of Pirates Cove was approved by the City in 1965. The original plat layout for 23 lots proposed by the developer (Exhibit I) was denied based on the lots being less than 1 acre and having to be served by septic systems. That layout included two apparent outlots for lake access to inland lots. The final layout approved by the City (Exhibit I) included 18 lots and the lake access outlots were eliminated. There is only minimal information in City files regarding this subdivision, and meeting minutes in 1965 only documented the final actions, not the discussion. Staff has found no documentation as to whether lake access for the off -lake lots in Pirates Cove was discussed during the 1965 subdivision review process, or why the outlots were eliminated in the final approved layout. An easement (Doc. #892991) was granted on October 31, 1967 over Lots 6 and 7 in favor of Lot 3, being 10' either side of the line between Lots 6 and 7, plus 20' either side of the line near the lake, for "travel on foot, both ingress and egress, to Lake Minnetonka" and to "use that portion ... for storage of only one boat along the shore of Lake Minnetonka in such a manner which would not interfere with the use and enjoyment of the fee owners of Lots 6 and 7... ". The easement also indicated the owners of Lots 6 and 7 may grant the same right to the owners of Lots 1, 2, and 4. The shape of that easement matched the developer's originally proposed lake access outlot. As of this writing it is not clear if, how or when the 1967 easement may have been amended to include Lots 1, 2, and 4, but surveys on file for the construction of new homes on Lot 6 in 1968 and on Lot 7 in 1970 both show the easement for "Lake Access for Lots 1, 2, 3, and 4". The applicant's surveyor has indicated he will review the certificates of title at the County to determine what documents are of record. A second easement (Doc. #1007864) was granted over Lots 6 and 7 in favor of Lots 1 thru 4 in August 1971. This new easement slightly restricted the width of the easement near the lake in Lot 6, and contained additional language regarding liability and maintenance responsibilities. It is not clear as of this writing whether the initial 1967 easement was extinguished; if it was, the total shoreline width devoted to the use of all 4 off -lake lots is 30 feet. City airphotos from 1970, 1975, 1989 and 2009 appear to indicate there was a dock or dock system at the approximate location of the easements in these years, and that dock system appears to have undergone a number of layout changes during that time. See Exhibit J.