9.1. SR 05-16-2016 - Laserfiche WebLink

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MEMORANDUM Hoisington Koegler Group Inc. Q® ®® Creating Places that Enrich People's Lives TO: Elk River City Council and Staff FROM: Rita Trapp, AICP DATE: May 12, 2016 RE: Establishment of Park Dedication Rates and Fees The completion of the appraisal study has provided the fair market value information needed for the establishment of the park dedication rates and fees. City Staff, the City Attorney, and HKGi have collaborated on the following recommended approach in determining the park dedication rate and fee. This approach, based on the adopted Park and Recreation Master Plan and the appraisal study, should improve the defendability of the park dedication ordinance if it should be needed. As background, the establishment of park dedication rates and fees is regulated by Minnesota Statutes. Subdivisions 2b Dedication and 2c Nexus of Section 462.358 Official Controls: Subdivision Regulation; Dedication state that jurisdictions have the authority to require a reasonable portion of the buildable land in a development to be dedicated to the public. An essential nexus between the dedication imposed and its purpose must be established through an adopted park plan. While municipalities may accept a cash fee in lieu of donation and may use those fees for park improvements, statute does not state that the fee can be based on the cost of improvements a city would like to make. Instead, it states that the fee must be based on the fair market value of the land that otherwise would have been dedicated. In the past, the City has established a park dedication rate and cash fee based on the region's historical average, a comparison of other communities' rates, and what the marketplace would support. City Staff has advocated that the park dedication rate should be adjusted to meet the requirements identified in Minnesota Statutes. As cited above, a review of statutes indicates that a better method would be to establish the amount of parkland needed for the rate of dedication and the cash fee based on the estimated fair market of land by residential density class. A starting point for the development of a park dedication requirement is establishing the amount of parkland desired in the community. A historic industry standard that is commonly referenced is 10 acres per 1,000 people or 0.01 acres per person. A review of Elk River's existing park system shows that the City has developed at the higher rate of 0.04 acres per person. Future park development identified in the Park and Recreation Master Plan is estimated to be at the slightly lower rate of 0.03 acres per person. City Staff recommends use of the 0.03 acres per person rate as park dedication is supposed to be reflective of additional parkland demand created by new development. Hoisington Koegler Group Inc. 123 North Third Street, Suite 100 Minneapolis, Minnesota 55401 (612) 338-0800 Fax (612) 338-6838 www.hkgi.com