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Melanie Curtis From: Mike Gaffron Sent: Monday , October 26 , 2009 5 :23 PM To: Cc: Melanie Curtis ; Scott Oberaigner; Don Debaere ; Willie Gibbs Evelyn M. Turner Subject: RE : 340 Big Island -File #09-3433 Attachments: Excerpt from Big Island Plats of Morse Island Park & MIP Second .pdf Well. .. Our Comp Plan listing of lake access points for Big Island includes the south end of Meta-Comet Avenue as "Access Point F". Similarly, it includes the south end of Massasoit Avenue as "Access Point G". These were included on the list based on the Hennepin County plat maps showing that they both ran to the shore of Lake Minnetonka. However, neither of them actually touched the shore in the 1887 plat of Morse Island Park nor in the 1922 plat of Morse Island Park Second Addition (see attached plats), and based on recent surveys on file, they don't reach the lakeshore today. The stretch of road right-of-way between them was vacated in 2002, partly because that stretch didn't touch the lake at any point, it didn't provide access to the lake for anyone, and parts of at least two cabins were within it. The applicant has valid points. The right-of-way gives the public the ability to walk down Metacomet Avenue to within 30-40' of the shore; and the public probably has no clue that they are on private land when they walk to the shore . I assume there are also utilities in the right-of-way, as well as portions of the septic system serving applicant's house . The neighboring cabin's doorstep walks out onto his property, and the fact that that has become a weekly rental must be fairly annoying compared to the relative minimal use of that property in the past . In 2002 the Planning Commission wanted to condition the vacation of the connecting road on getting a strip to connect Metacomet to the shore, but the three benefiting owners didn't control the land needed to do so. A point can be made that the public and the other owners of land on the Island should be able to continue their use of the Metacomet right-of-way, if for no other reason than to view the lake, to picnic, etc. The opposite point can also be made, that such use is detrimental to the safety, security, and enjoyment of the abutting property owne rs in the neighborhood . I think that, given the public discussion that resulted in 2002 (read the minutes in interesting application. I do not strictly oppose it, but approval will remove some the Island that would remain at least 'possible ' if the vacation is denied . (BTW -3 names of roads in the plat of Morse Island Park are names of Wampanoag Indian chiefs in the ih century New England area : Massasoit, Metacomet, and Anawan) Your friendly neighborhood researcher, Mike Michael P. Gaffron Assistant City Administrator/ Long Term Strategy City of Orono (Street Address) 2750 Kelley Parkway (Mailing Address) P.O. Box 66, Crystal Bay, MN 55323 Phone: (952) 249-4600 Fax: (952) 249-4616 1 -t