5.10. SR 10-30-1995 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Cass Property Page 4 October 30, 1995 ----------------------- The city has had soil borings and the soil analyzed for the future building • sites and every indication is that the six building sites are suitable for the construction of the home. The city has an appraisal and real estate opinion completed for this property. The city has a recommendation from the Park and Recreation Commission from its 4/19/95 meeting that supports this purchase. The city has had a wetlands analysis completed which shows that any wetlands impacted by this project can be mitigated on site. The city has had a phase one and phase two environmental audit completed for this property and it appears that there are no contaminants or environmental issues that would restrict the city's sue of this property. It should be noted that the city will request the residential lots to have deep wells constructed in order to minimize the nitrates that are in the soils from years and years of farming this area. The City Council should note the property that the city hopes to sell for real estate purposes is currently in the 2.5 acre residential zone of the city. This potentially could change with the adoption of the Comprehensive Plan update and with any zoning code or subdivision changes that may go along with the updated Comp Plan. Additionally, if this area is ultimately viewed as land that may be serviced by municipal sewer and water, this may change the scenario and the opinion of staff on the desirability of this transaction. If this project moves forward, the City Council ultimately would have to • approve a plat for this property that may include a service drive or common driveway easements in order to limit the access onto 165th. Additionally, the city may want to identify building location pads for the lots to be sold and/or the type of structures that could be constructed on the property. These are decisions for the future if this project moves forward. The same is true as to deciding whether or not the city should be the real estate agent selling these properties or if we should just contract this out to professionals in the industry and have them market and sell the sites for the city. There are many reasons for the city to move forward with this project including the need for recreation fields, the need for additional sludge land, and the need for the city to be creative financially so that it is not a burden on the taxpayers or any of our funds to pursue the development of recreation fields. Some reasons to not do this project include the concerns over the future zoning, lot size requirements, and sewer and water in this area. Also, there is a concern about the city getting into the real estate business, but it should be noted that this is not the primary purpose for this land acquisition, but simply a by-product that the city is going to take advantage of in order to recapture some of its expenditures. The City Council needs to make a preliminary decision as to whether or not we want to pursue this project. By authorizing the execution of the purchase • agreement, the city runs the risk of losing $5,000 if we do not finalize this