02-05-2004 Council Work Session - Laserfiche WebLink

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#2549 220 Big Island - Dock Request Page 2 None of the road right-of-ways on Big Island have been improved by the Cit>’. These platted corridors exist today as undeveloped walking trails which on occasion are used for vehicular access. There is no pavement, no graded or improved road base, and some of these pathways wander outside the dedicated right-of-ways. Most right-of-way boundaiies are not visibly maikcd except by the occasional survey pin or marker. The general public walking on the island would not generally know whether they were strictly on public or private propert)'. However, utilities (electric, phone) are generally located within the right-of-ways on the Island. Inland properties need lake access. Lakeshore property owners with inaccessible shorelines may also need lake access. The primary summer accessability to the Island is by boat. Inland lot owners need a place to land a boat in the summer. It is not uiu’easonable to provide a location where inland lot owners can dock a boat for extended periods while they are on the Island. However, owners of lots abutting the lakeshore should not be burdened with providing this access to the inland owners. At the same time, it is not reasonable that inland lot owners should have the ability to hinder the public’s use of the right-of ways or access pioints. The private uses and public uses of the intended access points must be located and achieved in a manner that will avoid use conflicts. Zoning Code Section 10.31 Subd. 5 recognizes the special access needs for Big Island inland lots and establishes regulations for where and how the Island right-of-ways may be used. These regulations apply onlv to the RS District, hence any concern about setting a precedent for the ‘mainland' is alleviated. The table on the next page provides a brief analysis of the capabilities and problems associated with each of the dedicated roadways which might be used for inland owner access. LMCD Regulations Impact Use of Right-of-Ways for Docking On April 10 staff discussed the use of right-of-ways for docking w ith LMCD Executive Director Greg Nybeck and LMCD Attorney Charles LeFevere, yielding the following information; -Any ‘existing site’ qualifies for 2 w atercraft regardless of shoreline length if platted prior to 1970. -Therefore, the 90' site ("C" on Exhibit D) could have 2 watercraft and the 50' site could have 2 watercraft. Technically, each of the other access lanes could also have 2 watercraft, but the width becomes an issue for meeting required dock setbacks. -A potential option is to do a credit transfer: add the w idths of all City-owned accesses on Big Island and do a multiple dock situation at one site; this would allow a number of slips at the designated site equal to the total shoreline length divided by 50'. The upside is that this would allow' for transfer of access rights from unusable accesses to those that are usable. The downside is that 5 or more watercraft at one site would require a multiple dock license. - Per LMCD code. For sites 50' w'ide or wider: side setback for a 50' long dock = 10'. For sites narrower than 50': side setback may be reduced to 5' if adjacent dock use areas are not impacted. M i ■ 1