HomeMy WebLinkAbout09/02/2004 - letter re: dead trees .ck, 0 4i.
0 0
CITY of ORONO
A. Municipal Offices
�� G~ Street Address: Mailing Address:
�`9kESH0g 2750 Kelley Parkway P.O. Box 66
Orono, MN 55356 Crystal Bay, MN 55323-0066
September 2, 2004
James W. Lupient
750 Pennsylvania Avenue South
Golden Valley, MN 55426
Re: Dead Trees at"3580" Ivy Place, Orono (Lots 1-2-3, Casco Point Addition)
Hennepin County PINS 20-117-23 42 0001, 0002, 0003
Dear Mr. Lupient:
It has come to the attention of the City in the past month that your property referenced above has a
number of large dead trees either standing and causing a potential hazardous condition, or fallen and
partially within Lake Minnetonka. These massive cottonwood trees likely were girdled by activity of
the local beaver population, and we have sadly observed their slow demise over the past few years.
Besides being an unfortunate situation in terms of the loss of the wooded nature of this lakeshore, these
trees now constitute a public safety and welfare hazard and are now considered a public nuisance as
defined within Section 58-1 of the Orono Municipal Code (copy attached).
The City hopes that you understand and share in our position of urgency in this matter, and asks that
you remove the dead trees, both standing and fallen, as soon as possible. While City ordinances allow
for the City to remove the trees and certify the costs as a special assessment to your property, we
believe that you likely can have this work done at a lower cost than the City. Therefore, in order for
you to arrange for tree removal, no action will be taken for 30 days from the date of this letter. After
30 days, however, if tree removal has not been completed, the City will contract for the removal and
assess the costs to the properties.
Please contact me at 952-249-4600 if you have any questions or wish to discuss this matter. Also, if
your wish is that the City contract to remove the nuisance trees and either send you the bill or assess the
cost to your property as a special assessment, please let me know so that we can proceed in a timely
manner.
„-
Sincerely,Sincerely,
a ,-: -
Michael P. Gaffron
Planning Director
Telephone(952)249-4600 • Fax(952)249-4616
www.ci.orono.mn.us
ENVIRONMENT § 5S-2
ARTICLE I. IN GENERAL Sec. 58-2. Maintenance of drainage systems;
interference with drainage; per-
i Sec. 58-1. Maintenance of private property. i mit for drainage systems.
(a) It is the duty of the owner of every vacant 1 (a) Definitions. The following words,terms and
property and the owner and occupant of every phrases,when used in this section, shall have the
occupied property to maintain the property in a meanings ascribed to them in this subsection,
neat, clean and presentable manner free of any except where the context clearly indicates a dif-
I junk, debris, refuse, litter, dead trees, or noxious ferent meaning:
weeds, and to remove all other public health or
safety hazards from the property. Private drainage system means any storm sewer,
ditch, tile line, or other facility, together with all
(b) The owner or occupant of every lot or parcel app ,urtenancesconstructed by a private person or
shall regularly cut or otherwise maintain all
j grass and weeds on the property at a height of not existing on private property, for the purpose of
' more than six inches, except this provision shall collecting or conveying natural precipitation.
0 not apply to the following: Public drainage system means any storm sewer,
(1) Publicly owned parks, trails or nature ditch, tile line, or other facility, together with all
areas. ; appurtenances, constructed by the city from pub-
(2) Property actively being farmed or used for lic funds, whether or not the cost was specially
assessed, or maintained by the city from public
agricultural purposes in conformance with
chapter 78. funds, for the purpose of collecting or conveying
natural precipitation.
(3) Residential properties in excess of one
1 acre gross lot size when located in the (b) Maintenance. It is the responsibility of the
' RR-1A, RR-1B, LR-1A and RS rural resi- owner of any private drainage system, or the
dential zoning districts,provided that such owner of the land upon which it is constructed, to
properties or portions of properties shall ; maintain such system in good and workable con-
be maintained in conformance with this dition and not to alter its capacity, inlet location
, subsection upon notice from the city that or discharge location without a permit from the
lack of such maintenance has caused com- city.
plaints from abutting property owners (c) Obstructions. It is a misdemeanor for any
and is thereby creating a public nuisance. person to obstruct or place any obstruction in or
(4) Wetlands vegetation as defined in chapter upon any public or private drainage system.
78.
(d) Contract required. It is a misdemeanor for
(5) Grass, weeds or underbrush on any slope any person to construct, reconstruct, or in any
in excess of 100 percent (45 degrees). way alter or extend any public or private drainage
(c) Any violation of this section is declared to system unless such person is within the scope of a
be a nuisance and a public safety and welfare contract with the city or has a written permit
hazard, and upon seven days' written notice to from the city.
the owner, as shown by the records of the office of
the county auditor, of private premises on which (e) increase of volume, velocity. It is a misde-
such material is found or any conditions in viola- meanor for any person to increase the volume or
tion of this code section exist,the city may remove i velocity of surface water runoff leaving his prop-
such matter or correct any conditions in violation, erty, or to channel any surface water runoff so
and certify the cost of such removals or correc- that it is redirected outside of the normal,natural
tions as any other special assessment. watercourse as such surface water is discharged
1 (Code 1984, § 9.55; Ord. No. 191 2nd series, § 1, k from private property on to public streets, public
6-14-1999) iproperty, or on to neighboring private property,
State law reference—Minnesota Noxious Weed Law, without a permit from the city.
Minn.Stat.§ 18.75 et seq. (Code 1984, § 9.04)
4
CD58:3