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. per car using them. In the case of both Summit Beach and Lowry Woods,the Council is going out of its way to go against the expressly-stated intent of the original land owners who donated land to Orono's care and preservation. They are bending over backwards to negate the basic contract of these properties, to violate the trust inherent in those land donations without any clear or apparent universal benefit to the citizens of Orono.That is not meeting a fiduciary responsibility. It is not preserving the environment. It is not to use the land in a manner intended in the donation. It only benefits a private organization with relatively small membership that often do not even live here. In the 2020 letters noting the for and against in the City's materials,of the 99 people who had registered themselves only 5 people were for this development who were also residents or Orono or Long Lake and also not members. 5%had no vested interest and still wanted this development to continue. In looking at LLRC's website it says they have benefitted up to 400 people. If one took only 7,000 residents of Orono not counting Long Lake, understanding that roughly half of all the people that benefit from the LLRC's business are actually residents,it means this company only benefits about 3.5%of the residents of Orono.This is also an issue that does not need such a fix.The LLRC can easily continue where they are in the commercial part of the lake,can secure and cover their equipment if they are so worried,and can house their equipment for the winter somewhere that is not on public property. There is no real problem needing a solution,no clear benefit to the majority of citizens,but there are clearly identifiable problems for the environment,for precedent,and for land-use originally intended by the land owners for something else.Human behavior just does not take those factors and give away the land for no good reason.That prompts the serious question of just what exactly is the Council gaining in exchange for these land giveaways because it is clearly not the general public of Orono that is gaining enough benefit to make this a clear or rational decision. Barbara Schmidt,50 Landmark Drive,read a letter: Dear Planning Commission, I am known as the "tree lady."I am the taxpayer that has been busy out trying to keep a local sports team off my private property and out of Bederwood, Big Woods, and the Lowry Woods Nature Conservation Area. Sound familiar? That is because it is nearly the same scenario as tonight. Someone in our City government hands over a piece of public property for development without including the neighbors or constituents in the process. Sound familiar? Orono public land is being taken for private gain. It is either being given away to become a personal asset or for private development, neither of which give all constituents access or benefit. In fact in most cases the constituents lose access to Lake Minnetonka and natural areas without any meaningful chance to be heard at all. Out of the hundreds of people I've met and the thousands of people I've heard on social media, no one wants Summit Beach to go to a single niche private activity. Not one person wants to lose this natural area as it is today to become a private club house.As our very own Mayor Dennis Walsh has said,preserving and maintaining Orono's open space is a priority that we cannot afford not to protect and keep maintained because once you lose it you never go back. When asked what are the most pressing issues for Orono, Councilmember Richard Crosby said: residential building growth while preserving open spaces and a historic feel for Orono. From Councilmember Victoria Seals:when looking at development in Orono, I, along with the City Council should look to the community and make sure our decisions not only fall in line with the laws in place but also with what the greater public wants. So now our City Council has taken a 180 degree turn and supports a private, niche sports team to dominate a favorite public beach. Summit Beach land value is somewhere worth between$2-2.5 million dollars on a conservative day. Where is the financial benefit for the public to give away their land? What does the average person gain?Please vote to table this for further input, table it so the environmental assessment can be done, table it because you work for us, the Page 6 of 11