04-24-1995 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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Request for Council Action continued page 2 April 21, 1995 Saga Hill Park Lane Grant Public Hearing The grant application must be submitted by May 1, 1995. This time line is a problem because, at thrs time, it is difficult to make a good determination regarding either of the main issues. Saga Hill Park Land _ ^ ^ ^ Neither the City’s advisory commissions nor the staff and Council have had an opportumty to focus the citv’s objectives regarding open space preservation, or to identify or priontize specific open space parcels in terms of whether they meet the city’s needs or objectives regarding open space preservation. In particular, this has not occurred in relation to the Saga mi open space parcels In order to make a decision to move ahead with the grant application. Council would need to make a decision regarding the use of the Saga Hill property for park land. The following information may assist the Council in its consideration of the park land issue. Map A shows the location of the Saga Hill property in relation to housing concentfations, ami in relation to the Highwood Nature Trail, a 12 acre public open space area. Map B shows the specific parcels to be acquired in relation to the parcel to be acquired by the City through tax forfeiture. The Saga Hill land has numerous natural features that make it a high quality piece of property whether for residential use or park land use. The land is currently used by the neighborh^ as open space and has trails for walking and cross country skiing. The land is within walking distance of a relatively large number of households. As indicated above, the city is in the process of acquiring a 9 acre open space parcel ^ough a tax forfeinire. Although this is a significant parcel, the additional 11 acres would significantly enhance the 9 acre parcel in terms of preserving additional natural features and providmg the potential to create or preserve the existing trail system. Tax Revenue Opportunity Cost , • • i i , 11 If the 11 acres were used for residential development, the development could mclude up to 11 homes Assuming a value for the homes of $400,000 the total market value of the area be $4,400,000. The total annual property tax revenue generated by this property would be $102,652. The city’s share of this revenue would be $12,496. Thrpropo!i?fr^ the Saga Hill neighborhood and the Minnesota Und Trust is a potentially very innovative and attractive way for the city to acquire park land. The attractiveness of this approach relies on the ability of the neighborhood and the Land Trust to raise the fumh requ^ to match the gram. If these groups are unsuccessful it could cause two problems. One, there would be pressure on the city to contribute funds toward the match. Two, if the city was not able to match the grant amount, the city would not be able to fulfill its obligations under the