08-26-2024 CC Agenda Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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Forming a Lake Improvement District by Citizen Petition, September 2023 2 LID to ‘manage curlyleaf pondweed’, the LID could not pursue either restoration because it has not been authorized to do so. Finances As a special purpose type of government, LIDs have the ability to finance projects through various means - such as ad valorem taxes and assessments - but have no taxing authority of their own; taxes and fees are collected on their behalf by the parent government. There are also restrictions on what LIDs can spend money on, specifically: • funds must be spent on programs or projects that improve the lake; and • expenditures over a certain amount must be voted on and approved at the LID’s annual meeting. Boundary Like any type of government, the LID has boundaries established at its creation. All property within the boundary is considered part of the LID. The statutes and rules written to regulate LIDs were written under the expectation that the natural hydrologic boundaries (or lakeshed) of the lake would be the default boundary. Any boundary smaller than that requires review and approval from the DNR, with ultimate approval by the parent government. Ways to Form a LID LIDs can be formed by a city or county, or by private landowners directly via citizen petition to the city or county in which the lake is located. LIDs can also be formed by the Commissioner of the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), although this has never happened. Because the LID is a special purpose type of government, its creation must follow the processes laid out in Minnesota statute. Initiation and formation by city or county resolution is outlined in Minnesota Statutes 103B.515, and initiation by citizen petition is outlined in Minnesota Statutes 103B.521. This guidance focuses only on creating a LID by citizen petition. Forming a LID by Citizen Petition The first steps in forming a LID via citizen petition are preparatory, and consist of: 1. Understanding your lake and its problems. 2. Determining the programs, projects, and courses of actions that can be realistically undertaken to mitigate the problems identified in Step 1. 3. Spending time talking with, and listening to, your neighbors about how an LID could function to address the problems. 4. Establishing a regular relationship with the city or county that would with jurisdiction over the LID. These initial steps require a great deal of time and effort, but this investment will pay off later, so take your time on them. Since the entire point of establishing a LID is to improve the lake and mitigate its problems, you’ll need to have a deep understanding of what those problems are. Similarly, every lake is different, and a realistic 215