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CMP Part 3B. Land Use Pian <br />provided by the City of Orono and the Hennepin County Sheriff. Fire protection <br />is provided by the Long Lake Fire Department although response time is <br />understandably poor due to the lack of roads or bridges connecting the island to <br />the mainland, and access to the island makes firefighting extremely difficult. <br />Other services such as street repair, snow removal, inspections, and regular <br />garbage removal are difficult, uneconomical and in some instances virtually <br />impossible to provide to residential property located on the island. <br />Access <br />There are no improved roads on Big Island. A limited system of roadways and <br />alleys was platted more than a century ago in the Morse Island Park and <br />Pleasantview subdivisions, which primarily created narrow lakeshore lots but also <br />resulted in a small number of inland lots not abutting the lakeshore and needing <br />access to the lake. These platted corridors exist today as walking trails which on <br />occasion are used for vehicular access. Since most lots do abut the shoreline, use <br />of the interior roadway system has been primarily by the owners of interior lots, <br />and by owners of lakeshore lots with shoreline slopes that prohibit direct lake <br />access. <br />Vehicular access is necessary for nearly all island properties on occasion, hence <br />the interior roadways are an important transportation element for Big Island. <br />Overuse of the road system by residents or the general public is of concern, since <br />the roads are not improved. Erosion and trespass are two main issues, because the <br />roadways are not marked and they often traverse steep slopes, especially where <br />lanes extend to the lakeshore. <br />In 1971 the City Council took action to prohibit motorized vehicle traffic on all <br />platted streets on Big Island. The reasons for this regulation included the lack of <br />ability of the City to provide adequate police to protect the public safety, the lack <br />of ability for Orono to maintain and and plow roads, and the lack of need of the <br />public to use motorized vehicles on the Island. Although signs prohibiting <br />vehicles on the Island were subsequently posted, the action to prohibit such <br />vehicles was never formally established via resolution and was never codified. <br />The ban has not been generally enforced. The need for controls on vehicular use <br />has become more apparent as Island properties re-develop. <br />Big Island Issues <br />By virtue of its unique geographic aspects, Big Island presents a number of issues <br />that the City must address on an ongoing basis: <br />1. Use and maintenance of interior road system; access to inland <br />properties; overuse by vehicles <br />2. Public use of interior road system, trespass on private property <br />City of Orono Community Management Plan 2008-2030 Page 3B-53