06-09-2014 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL Tuesday, May 27, 2014 7:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 9 of 23 PLANNING COMMISSION COMMENTS – BRUCE LEMKE, REPRESENTATIVE Lemke stated he had nothing to report but would be available for questions. PUBLIC COMMENTS None PLANNING DEPARTMENT REPORT 7. LONG LAKE SLOW NO WAKE REGULATIONS (PUBLIC HEARING) – ORDINANCE - TABLED Gaffron stated the memo included in the City Council’s packet from Long Lake discusses how the city experienced unusually high water levels in 2013. The high water levels became an issue for a number of lakeshore homeowners. As a result, the Long Lake Council and Staff discussed adoption of a “slow-no wake” ordinance to reduce the impact to the shoreline of wakes created by powerboats. In April of this year, Long Lake adopted an ordinance that would allow law enforcement to regulate the speed of watercraft on Long Lake and imposing a “slow-no wake” restriction during periods when the water level is in excess of 944.15. Regulation of watercraft speeds when the lake level is high to reduce the impact of watercraft wakes would help protect public and private shoreline from erosion. In later correspondence from Jack Gleason, MnDNR Hydrologist, it was learned that establishing the no-wake level at 944.15 feet would potentially result in the no-wake restriction being imposed all summer and he has suggested that an elevation of 945.0 feet would be more appropriate. Long Lake has revised their initial ordinance by adopting the 945.0 foot elevation and eliminating a requirement that the lake level be below 945.0 for three consecutive days in order to remove the no-wake restriction, finding that if the water level is below 945.0 feet, there was not a reason to wait an extra three days. Gaffron stated the attached draft ordinance is nearly identical in text to that adopted by Long Lake. The draft ordinance has been reviewed by the City Attorney and notice for a public hearing has been published. In addition, individual notices were mailed to all Orono lakeshore owners abutting Long Lake. Mayor McMillan opened the public hearing at 8:13 p.m. John Diavik, 1780 Martha Lane, Long Lake, stated he is in favor of a no-wake ordinance at the high water levels but that in his view the set elevation is too low. Diavik stated that became apparent to him when he was out on Memorial Day and the marker showed that they were still two to three inches over the elevation set by Long Lake. Diavik noted back in April the levels were clearly higher and that the water has decreased by approximately 12 inches, which is well below the tops of the riprap walls. Diavik stated he is not aware of any surrounding lakes that had a no-wake zone on Memorial Day other than Long Lake. Diavik indicated Long Lake originally set the elevation at 944.15, which was actually lower than the ordinary high water line. As a result, the local residents expressed their concern about that low elevation since other cities have set it above the high water level. Diavik stated the City needs to look at where that high water level normally is and also see where the ordinary high water level is in order to set a more appropriate elevation. Diavik stated the no wake zones should be reserved for those extreme cases and that he does not want it to hit those conditions multiple times per summer. Item #03 - CC Agenda - 06/09/2014 Approval of Council Minutes 05/27/2014 [Page 9 of 23]