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except for one or more of the following uses: <br />(1) City -owned public service structures that have been approved by the city council after the <br />required public hearings for public improvement projects, provided that... <br />(2) Reserved. <br />(3) Municipal buildings. <br />(4) Reserved. <br />(5) One family detached dwellings. <br />(6) Personal wireless service antennas and towers... <br />(7) Publicly owned parks and playgrounds <br />Since the North Arm Access is publicly owned, it would be allowed under paragraph (7) and be <br />subject to Orono's regulations governing parks and playgrounds. Neither commercial or industrial <br />uses are allowed in areas zoned LR-1C or in city parks or plav grounds without approval of the city. I <br />am not aware the City of Orono has ever given Hennepin County permission to use the North Arm <br />Access for commercial or industrial use. Therefore, as currently operated by Hennepin County <br />Environmental Services, it is in violation of local ordinance. Furthermore, Hennepin County <br />Environmental Services plans to illegally expand commercial and industrial uses at this site. <br />Hennepin County staff and consultants have publically said the North Arm site is being modified to <br />better accommodate commercial barges and shows an additional dock and storage area for <br />commercial/industrial uses on its proposed plan (see below). Hennepin County also posted on its <br />website that the County will be "Adding a vertical access point to separate commercial use at <br />launch" (https://www.hennepin.us/en/residents/conservation/north-arm). Tony Borough, <br />Hennepin County Environmental Services, told me he has reached out directly to the five major <br />barge operators in the Lake Minnetonka area for their input into the proposed expansion. This is in <br />total disregard to local rules which prohibits expanding the commercial/industrial use of the North <br />Arm access. Tony Borough also indicated to me he was advised by the Hennepin County Attorney's <br />office "as long as the County does not expand the use at the site, the uses are allowed." This implies <br />commercial or industrial use of the access is a legal nonconforming use. It is not - simply because <br />something is done illegally in the past; does not make it legal. Even if this was a legal nonconforming <br />use (which it is not), city code prohibits the county from expanding a nonconforming use. The <br />county clearly admits they intend to expand commercial use at this site. . <br />Use of the North Shore access by barges will increase in the very near future. One of the busiest <br />barge accesses on the lake (next to Minnetonka Marina) has been rezoned and is slated for <br />redevelopment. This will put more pressure on public accesses for barges. The new generation of <br />barges come in modules designed to hauled over land and assembled and disassembled at launch <br />sites. As the current fleet of barges on Lake Minnetonka are replaced, barge traffic will increase <br />significantly at public accesses. Hennepin County should be looking for a dedicated <br />commercial/industrial site on the lake. <br />As stated earlier, the North Arm Access is located in a Shore Land Overlay Zone. Article IX. Shore <br />Land Management, Division 1, Sec. 78-1211 defines commercial use and industrial use in a shore <br />land zone as follows: <br />Commercial use means the principal use of the land and/or buildings for the sale, lease, <br />173 <br />