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Memo to the Planning Commission/P 99-12 November 23, 1999 Page 3 • parks are identified for this part of the City. The Master Plan only identifies neighborhood parks in the urbanized portions of the City. At the October meeting of the Park and Recreation Commission, staff outlined three options related to park dedication in cluster plats as follows: 1. Accept the 12.06 acres of wooded open space as dedicated park to satisfy dedication requirements. According to the Subdivision Ordinance, only 5.7 acres of land (10%) would be required to satisfy park dedication, or; 2. Require park dedication fees based upon the number of lots that could be created with a conventional standard subdivision layout (+/- 21 lots rather than 31; a $13,000 bonus,or; 3. Waive park dedication fees if the developer guarantees public use of private trails and open space by language in the conservation easement document. The Commission asked Phil Hals, Director of Streets and Parks, his opinion on the matter. Based on his experiences with the private recreational open space in the Ridgewood Subdivision, Phil endorsed the City Park concept. With Phil Hals' endorsement, the Commission recommended accepting Outlot A as City Park to satisfy the park dedication requirements. Outlot A consists of 12.06 acres of oak and pine forest with a healthy diversity of understory vegetation. The wooded parkland gently slopes towards the center and contains only dry land. As part of the development drainage, some road runoff will • be channeled into the park through two drainage pipes (See attached Howard R. Green Memorandum). It is the developer's intent to keep the runoff to a minimum so not to change the character of the Park or damage the existing trees located there. As proposed, there will be both private and public trails in the development. The public trails include a trail through the meadow from Elk Lake Road to the proposed park, a trail that loops around the proposed park, and a trail from the proposed park to future plats west and south. The private trail crosses the meadow past the NURP pond and community gardens. To differentiate between the private and public trails, the trails should be constructed out of different materials and signs should be provided. As proposed, the public trail crosses Lot 1, Block 5. This trail will need to be moved out of the lot and into the public right-of-way. A separate easement should be granted to the City that will guarantee public use of the trail. The Master Park and Recreation Plan identifies a future trail corridor along Elk Lake Road. If the future trail is extended north, it will likely be on the east side of Elk Lake Road and trail users will have to cross Elk Lake Road to get to Windsor Park. Preserved Open Space Both Outlot A and B, 32.46 acres, will be permanently protected by conservation • easements. As proposed, a homeowners association will hold the conservation easement for the 20.4 acre meadow and the City will hold the conservation \\elkriver\sys\shrdoc\planning\stevewen\pcmmo\p99-12.doc