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Orono and whether or not they had been vacated. Staff stated that they had not, which was a mistake. The rights-of-way for Xenia Street and Watson Street were vacated in 1973 and 1874. The vacation request was denied. Right -of -Way Vacation Requests On September 16, 2013, the City Council denied a request by Robert and June Schwappach to vacate Western Avenue and Park Lane right-of-way in the Westwood Subdivision which terminates at the lake. On January 17, 2006, the City Council denied a request by Ron Dargis to vacate the York Street right-of- way on the subject property. This right-of-way also terminates at the lake. On November 21, 2005, the City Council denied a request by Bill Houlton to vacate a portion of the Vernon Street right-of-way south of Main Street. This right-of-way provides access to the William H. Houlton Conservation Area. It has not been recent practice for the city to vacate public rights-of-way. The city has approved vacations in the past, as is evident by the Xenia and Watson Street vacations, but the city must identify a public benefit to vacating a right-of-way. In the recent cases mentioned above the Council determined there was no public benefit for vacating the rights-of-way. The York Avenue right-of-way could be used to provide access to Lake Orono for a number of potential activities, for example, lake/river maintenance, emergency access, or general public lake access. This is the only public access to the east lobe of the lake. State Statute and Vacations of Public Way Minnesota statute 412.851 outlines the process for vacating streets and public ways. The section states "No vacation shall be made unless it appears in the interest of the public to do so..." The section further notes that when the public way terminates at a public water the commissioner of natural resources must be notified of the request and evaluate the following: The public benefits of the proposed vacation. The present and potential use of the land for access to public waters. How the vacation would impact conservation of natural resources The city received comments from the DNR (attached) on December 17, 2015, with the following comments: ■ Access to the lake from the south or southeast does not appear to exist. ■ The site does not lend itself well for vehicular parking by users (as it functions now). ■ Consideration could be given to providing a narrow access to the lake, thereby retaining access to the lake for recreational or aesthetic uses. ■ There is a recreational resource value in keeping the road or retaining access to lake in public ownership to accommodate public access for canoe/kayak carry -in, winter access (for snowmobiles or other means), shore fishing opportunities, or just allowing the public a chance to view and enjoy the lake. ■ Based on the information provided and risking the loss of public access to Lake Orono on the south side of lake, the DNR opposes the York Street Vacation being considered. N:\Public Bodies\Agenda Packets\01-04-2016\Fina1\x7.1 sr Dargis EV.docx