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Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes March 12, 2025 --------- Page 3 of 8 Commissioner Niziolek asked what the square footage is of the area outside the bluff drop to the road and then from the north to the south. Chair Anderson said about 50,000 square feet or just over an acre. Commissioner Stewart asked if the developer has given up on the idea of an HOA and dock. Mr. Shelby said he does not know as those have not been part of their discussions so far. Chair Anderson said the trail is important but so is the river connection, the space for the upland amenities and the floodplain forest in the lowland. Commissioner Niziolek asked about the width of the space adjacent to the trail on the north connecting to the floodplain. There was conversation about a lot going back and he wants to know how wide that space will be for the trail. Mr. Stremcha said it would be a minimum of 30 feet for a trail to be in a space between the lots. Chair Anderson said that is like what they have in other neighborhood connections. The GNT is a minimum of 100ft but that is different. Commissioner Niziolek said the trail is 80 feet from the backyard of homes along the Great Northern Trail and he does not think the trail is in this new development will be that same distance. Commissioner Niziolek said he is focusing on this because that will be the major connection link to the rest of the community. He said that to access this park, outsiders would have to access the park by that trail. He said it is important to design that access point well. He also said there would have to be roadside parking for the people of larger Elk River to access the trail. Chair Anderson said the trail to the cul-de-sac would provide that roadside parking. Commissioner Niziolek said that based on conversations in meetings over the past couple of years, parking in the cul- de-sacs does not seem to be a welcomed activity within the city of Elk River, and this is a much denser neighborhood than the others. Chair Anderson said that when the commission has previously been asked, they have always favored roadside parking over parking lots. Commissioner Niziolek said that he would like onsite parking but designated alongside a road not in a cul-de-sac. He said that along the commercial area would be better. He wants it made designated and clear that there will be roadside parking, so the community does not get upset when it starts happening. Mr. Stremcha said roadside parking would be better alongside the orange trail by the grey square area on the map. He pointed out that driving with a car would bring people through the main corridor directly to the park, not the area to the north. If they would be coming in from a trail access point once the MRT is complete, they would not be coming in with a car. Commissioner Niziolek asked if the major interchange would be on the northern side of the development. Mr. Stremcha said yes but it would still direct traffic onto the frontage road which would travel south and disperse into the development. Commissioner Loidolt said that he believes they shot down a perfectly good park that could host an 18- hole disc golf course because of on street parking. He said it was simply because there was not parking. He thinks we are going to penalize the people being in this neighborhood by having on street parking and not a parking lot. There will be garbage in the yards and loitering that will be an inconvenience to the house owners. He feels if they want to make this a destination park for the greater Elk River residents, they need the parking lot.