01-18-2022 Planning Commission Minutes

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO PLANNING COMMISSION Tuesday,January 18,2022 6:00 o'clock p.m. My siblings, Governor Mark Dayton, Lucy Dayton,Ann Dayton, and myself are the children of Bruce Dayton. I have consulted with all of them today and am writing on behalf of the four of us. We are dismayed to hear that the property our father gave to the City of Orono in 1978 called Summit Park is in danger of being developed. It is particularly disconcerting to think that the 72-hour notice of the hearing over this development is being rushed over a holiday weekend as if to slip it by public notice and discussion. In quite a different spirit, Bruce Dayton spent many decades preserving the simple bucolic beauty of the east side of Long Lake.I am a man of 72 and from my earliest days accompanied my father on walks and rides along East Long Lake Road(then a dirt road), he would tell me of his vision to preserve the end of the lake in all its natural simplicity. He felt it was so special that there were no houses or structures at that end of the lake and thus it was in unusually well-preserved condition for a lake so close to Minneapolis. He had the vision of keeping it that way for future generations. My father proceeded to go calling over many years on all of his neighbors, many of whom were his friends, who owned land along East Long Lake Road, to persuade them of the benefit to the people of Orono of preserving this end of the lake in perpetuity. With some of these neighbors it took years to get them to agree to put easements on the parks of their land along the lake so they would not be developed with structures. I went with my father on some of the meetings with these neighbors. In the case of the Kohls family, he convinced them to contribute their house and property to the creation of Spring Hill Conference Center, a public spirit adventure of its own. But his actual underlying motive with the creation of Spring Hill was to preserve the Kohls land along East Long Lake and prevent its development. Finally Bruce Dayton had the opportunity to purchase the Valerius Resort on the side of Summit Park. This resort had a bit of a shady reputation and Dad was relieved to be able to rid the neighborhood of it. He took great joy in removing the buildings on this last key property to create a continuous stretch of open space along East Long Lake Road and the shore of the lake. Dad loved the fact that East Long Lake was now preserved in a natural and serene state for use by the general public. When he gave the land for Summit Park to the City of Orono he was particularly pleased that the spot would be used by all the public of Orono for a simple swimming hole and picnic area. He felt that these uses were in keeping with the natural beauty and quiet of East Long Lake which he had worked carefully and long to preserve. We feel that Bruce Dayton would never have chosen to have this park developed for use by any particular group other than the general public.Also, he would have objected strongly to any structure on this land, given that his whole vision was to remove and prevent all buildings of any kind along that end of the lake. The proposed development before you is out of keeping with the philanthropic intention of his gift for maximum conservation of natural beauty and general public use. Dad was a devoted citizen of Orono and trusted the City of Orono to protect the best interests of its local general public better than anyone. He was very pleased to have made a gift directly to Orono as he loved the corner of the world where he lived and wanted to keep it a quiet, beautiful place everyone would enjoy. We respectfully ask that you not approve this development as it is out of keeping with the intention of our father's very generous and far- sighted original gift. Sincerely yours, Brandt Dayton Ms. Winston stated she had been a neighbor of the Dayton's for almost 80 years and knew them well. She totally agrees with what Brandt has to say and is glad to read his letter. Tom Bergstrom, 1509 Long Lake Boulevard,begged and pleaded with the Long Lake Rowing Club (LLRC)on Friday,Monday,and today to table this matter to connect with the public. Instead,they stole him,as a father,for the entire weekend to understand what is 520 pages of information to then have them at the last minute adhere to tabling the issue.He read a speech saying: I am here today because I stand up for a park that can't speak for itself. I stand up for a public which hadn't been informed or given time to properly understand these 20+exhibits and more than 500 pages Page 3 of 11