07-19-2021 Planning Commission Minutes

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO PLANNING COMMISSION Monday,July 19,2021 6:00 o'clock p.m. Since sending out this letter,Mr.Erickson has received five endorsements of the street vacation and cul- de-sac.Mr.Erickson's general comment regarding the DNR is that he cannot work with this as the DNR is describing it,as it would negatively impact the value of the real estate and the value of their neighbor's real estate. Finally,what the DNR described as having no public value actually has no value to the DNR for access to a lake which is overgrown and has little or no water in it at this point.He stated he has been there for 18 years and the access does not get used for obvious reasons in looking at photographs.He noted the DNR's comment has no basis in fact;to be more specific,the letter talks about present and potential use.Mr. Erickson noted there is no present use. The letter says regarding potential uses: "as land-use patterns change..."As a Planning Commissioner and someone who participated before that in the Guide Plan Advisory Committee,they all get involved in land-use,making those decisions or giving advice.Land-use patterns do not just change by themselves and the Guide Plan is supposed to be good for 20-30 years although it gets reviewed every 10 years. The DNR's letter also stated fluctuation in lake levels, either seasonal or long-term,can be unpredictable. Mr.Erickson has also served on the Board of the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District(MCWD)and they work very hard at maintaining lake levels where they would like them to be.He copied a graphic from the MCWD where it shows how the control mechanism works at the Gray's Bay Dam;he noted the lowest the lake ever was,was in the 1930's during the drought and depression where it reached 922 feet above sea level.He noted on the graphic it shows the record high level is 931.1 feet above sea level which has been approached several times over the last 115 years but has never gone over that.He stated for planning purposes a projected regional flood of four- tenths of a foot higher than that;this would be virtually impossible to exceed because before getting to that point there is unrestricted flow into Minnehaha Creek,which leads over the falls and into the Mississippi River.The only way this could happen is if the Mississippi River raises itself 230 feet and it would then be at the 931 that Lake Minnetonka is at.He clarified at the 931 the MSP Airport would be 120 feet underwater. The DNR stated the access may be needed for emergency vehicles,to which Mr. Erickson responded if the airport is 100 feet underwater he thinks the emergency vehicles will be concentrating their efforts in South Minneapolis rather than Lake Minnetonka. He finds it hard to be convinced by a figment of someone's imagination. Chair Kirchner opened the public hearing at 6:26 p.m. Wade Kram, 340 Westlake Street,noted Westlake Street is a tiny little street. If they had the public access after the cul-de-sac were to come in and have people come for this supposed snowshoeing or snowmobile access and trample over everything that is already there,when right around the corner they have the Stubbs Bay Road with the beautiful park that has been renovated and all of the parking, it does not make any sense. Why would someone venture off into a neighborhood,park their vehicle on an already tiny street and impede things for service trucks.He said to put that potential traffic far outweighs, in the negative,the positive of some potential access someone may need 50-100 years down the road. He does not understand and from a safety standpoint,he has three little children,and with increased traffic, potential littering,and parking it does not make sense to him. Linda Thrasher, 356 Westlake Street stated Mr.Erickson has presented an unusual partnership as one does not see many private landowners offering to pay$100,000 for beautification of a cul-de-sac. She understands that he,too,will benefit but her advice would be to take advantage of a unique opportunity of which adding public access destroys the integrity of what Mr. Erickson is trying to do. The Erickson's have done a fabulous job with their current property and if their vision for that property is the same for the cul-de-sac, it is going to be gorgeous and will be natural—that is what Ms.Thrasher would like the DNR to see.Having a public access just does not make sense as they have been landowners in the area for 9 years and she has never seen anyone enter the lake for snowshoeing,snowmobiling,or walking. She Page 3 of 18