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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOctober 13, 2010 C I T Y o F 0 NDOVE 1685 CROSSTOWN BOULEVARD N.W. . ANDOVER, MINNESOTA 55304. (763) 755-5100 FAX (763) 755-8923 . WWW.CI.ANDOVER.MN.US Andover Open Space Advisory Commission Meeting Agenda October 13, 2010 Andover City Hall Council Chambers 4:00 p.m. 1. Call to Order 2. Site Visit - Martin's Meadows 3. Return to City Hall 4. Resident Forum 5. Approval of Minutes - September 8, 2010 0 6. Discuss Stewardship of Open Space Properties a. Martin's Meadows b. White Pine Wilderness 7. Discuss Property Owner Requests for Consideration a. 17315 Navajo StNW b. 15357 Prairie Road c.2452l61stAveNW d. Meadow Creek Site e. pm 13-32-24-23-0004 8. Other Business a. Joint Meeting with City Council b. Next meeting 9. Adjournment 0 II REGULAR ANDOVER OPEN SPACE ADVISORY COMMISSION MEETING 0 October 13,2010 MINUTES The Regular Meeting of the Andover Open Space Advisory Commission was called to order at 4:00 p.m., at the Andover City Hall, 1685 Crosstown Boulevard NW, Andover, Minnesota. Commissioners present: Gretchen Sabel, Jim Olson, Winslow Holasek, Bruce Peny, Jody Keppers and Kim Kovich Commissioners absent: Deric Deuschle (anived during site visit) Winslow Holasek (anived after site visit) Also present: City Planner, Courtney Bednarz SITE VISIT The Commission toured Martin's Meadows with Jeff and Hope Luedtke and discussed maintenance, signage and potential for issues with snowmobiles. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 0 September 8, 2010 Motion by Kovich, Second by Peny to approve the minutes. Motion canied with a 6-0 vote (Holasek). DISCUSS STEWARDSHIP OF OPEN SPACE PROPERTIES a. Martin's Meadows Chairman Deuschle stated that he had prepared some information for the management plan. He stated the primary issue that needed to be addressed was access to the site. He suggested that an area through the wetland be maintained as a trail and that potential to level a trail route through the wetland be explored. Commissioner Kovich stated that this would allow people standing at the entrance to see where they needed to go. Chairman Deuschle stated that erosion control along the slopes did not seem to be a significant Issue. Commissioner Keppers stated that a gully through the western part of the property has recently shown some signs of erosion and should be examined more closely. 0 Commissioner Sabel stated that there are already maintained trails through the property. She added that the road that crosses the property line between the open space and the Luedtke property is not well marked and people could easily wander onto the Luedtke property. She asked if a gate was needed. , 0 Regular Open Space Advisory Commission Meeting Minutes - October 13, 2010 Page 2 Mr. Bednarz suggested the propelty line be marked with signs close to the road. He added that the signs cUlTently along that line are too far into the wooded areas and not where people were likely to see them. Commissioners Keppers and Olson agreed that better signage needed to be posted closer to the road. Commissioner Olson stated that girl scouts had installed bird houses on the property and across the property line along the road. Commissioner Kovich stated that the city should focus on maintaining the existing trails and expand them in the future if necessary. He added that people would likely stay to the west side along the river as river access is more difficult on the east side and the slope is steeper. Mr. Bednarz stated that it would be nice to be able to have a trail connect through the east side so there is not a dead end. 0 Chairman Deuschle stated that it would need to meander up the slope on that side of the property. He added that there is a natural seep of groundwater that is a sensitive area. He stated that the area around it would easily be disturbed by foot traffic and trails should stay clear of this area. Chairman Deuschle stated that for vegetation management the goal should be to keep the prickly ash, buckthorn and honeysuckle under control. He stated that this is labor intensive work and control ofthe invasives, such as keeping them out of wooded areas, is more likely than complete eradication. Commissioner Kovich suggested they focus on invasive species near the existing trails first. Commissioner Sabel asked what the group's thoughts were about the cedar trees on the site. Chairman Deuschle stated they are also an invasive species in this type of environment and if not managed could overtake the native vegetation. Mr. Bednarz asked what the Commission would like to do to more formally establish a written plan for the site. Chairman Deuschle stated that the bullet points could be fleshed out in more detail and some numbers for costs could be provided in a table summarizing the management efforts. He stated that the plan should be updated periodically. 0 Mr. Olson added that he thought the Council would be looking for a formal prioritized plan before they would authorize spending money on management ofthe site. :, 0 Regular Open Space Advisory Commission Meeting Minutes - October 13, 2010 Page 3 Commissioner Keppers stated that the outline establishes basic priorities but should also comment on who is capable of doing the work, whether that is the city, volunteers, grants, etc. Chairman Deuschle stated that could all be part of a section of the plan for implementation. Commissioner Holasek stated that volunteers could help remove the buckthorn. Commissioner Kovich asked the Commission if they thought the entrance sign at the cul-de-sac of Navajo St NW should be moved to the entrance to the site and face west. The Commission agreed that the sign should be moved. DISCUSS STEWARDSHIP OF OPEN SPACE PROPERTIES b. White Pine Wilderness Commissioner Sabel stated that she and Mr. Keppel'S met with Larry Emmerich to discuss the history of the site and how the vegetation has evolved over the years. They discussed a number 0 of items including the owner's willingness to help manage the site, and the potential to relocate or sell some of the spruce trees that are planted too closely together. Commissioner Keppel'S stated that Mr. Emmerich was interested in exploring different storm water management techniques in the 2nd phase of the development to try to save as many trees as possible. Commissioner Sabel said she would send a draft of the information to the Commissioners and Mr. Emmerich. Chairman Deuschle stated that there are not many invasive species on the site so the management of the area would be more to maintain what is there and prevent invasives from coming in. He added that the poppel should be encouraged on the north side of the property and the reed canary could be eliminated in an afternoon with a backpack sprayer. Mr. Bednarz stated that he toured the property with parks maintenance staff and they indicated that it would not be difficult to continue to maintain the trail through the site. He added that some small tree removal and brush clearing would be necessary through the first stretch of woods and that this work could be done this winter to prepare for spring. Commissioner Sabel asked if a burn would be recommended. 0 Chairman Deuschle stated that wouldn't be needed right away due to the existence of mostly native wetland vegetation. The site needs to be monitored to make sure it stays that way. 0 Regular Open Space Advisory Commission Meeting Minutes - October 13, 2010 Page 4 DISCUSS PROPERTY OWNER REQUESTS FOR CONSIDERATION a.17315NavajoStNW Mr. Deuschle added that the property owner ofthis site and the property owner to the north at 17325 Navajo St NW had both contacted him to discuss the potential to preserve a portion of the properties along the river and noted they were both present at the meeting. He stated that the advantages of this site were the location along the river; the fact that they were adjacent to a high quality area that was initially identified for study and that had a field inventory completed. The disadvantages were that the area is already in the floodplain and is not likely to be further developed in the future. Mr. Bednarz asked the property owners what they envisioned for open space. Richard Wandersee, 17315 N avaj 0 St NW, stated that he was thinking about the rear portion of the lot along the river. In terms of size he asked what the minimum lot size would need to be. 0 Mr. Bednarz stated that residential properties that abut the river have a four acre minimum and properties that do not have a 2.5 acre minimum. He stated they would likely need to maintain 2.5 acres for the existing home and that the total property was about 3.8 acres in size. Robert Protivinski stated that he was similarly interested in selling a portion of the rear of the property. It was noted that the property is approximately 4 acres in size. Mr. Bednarz noted that the city is interested in improving access to the open space and asked the property owners if they would consider offering a first right of refusal to the city to purchase the entire property at some point in the future. Both property owners stated that they were not interested in doing that. Mr. Wandersee asked how the value ofthe land would be determined. Mr. Bednarz stated that the first step would be to look at the property tax information to see the value placed on the land portion of the property. If there is a general range of agreement an appraisal could be done to independently determine the value. Mr. Wandersee asked if the value per acre would be similar to the other open space property. Mr. Bednarz stated that it likely would not due to the fact that the other property had the potential to achieve several residential lots which would not be the case here. 0 Chairman Deuschle asked the property owners if they had received answers to their questions and ifthey thought this is something to explore further. Mr. Wandersee stated that they would review the value information, but was less enthusiastic about the idea. 0 Regular Open Space Advisory Commission Meeting Minutes - October 13, 2010 Page 5 The Commission thanked the property owners for their interest and for attending the meeting. b. 15357 Prairie Road Chairman Deuschle reviewed the property noting that it is mostly floodplain, has an existing home adjacent to Prairie Road and has limited access. Mr. Bednarz stated that the city owns a lot adjacent to the north side of the site but would still be through a wetland. The Commission determined that the site was not likely to be developed or otherwise change significantly if it was not purchased for open space. c. 2452 161 st Ave NW 0 Chairman Deuschle stated this site was reviewed previously and is on the list. Commissioner Kovich stated that access and location are positive features. Chairman Deuschle stated that the site would need serious restoration and that would be expenSIve. The Commission determined that the site should be kept on the short list of properties to be discussed with the City Council. d. Meadow Creek Site Mr. Bednarz stated this property was also previously reviewed by the Commission and a representative of the owner had contacted him with renewed interest and possibly a more favorable purchase price. Commissioner Sabel stated that the site is sUlTounded by farm land and acreage lots and the area is already wide open. She thought it would be alright for the site to be developed into rural lots. Commissioner Keppers stated that limited value as open space would need to be reflected in any offer to purchase the property. 0 Chairman Deuschle stated that sites with vegetation in place are cheaper and easier to work with than starting over. He also asked if interest in a site is generated by low cost if they are not really also saying that it is not as nice as other sites and purchasing it may result in missing out on better sites. 0 Regular Open Space Advisory Commission Meeting Minutes - October 13, 2010 Page 6 The Commission determined that the site should be kept on the short list of properties to be discussed with the City Council. e. PID 13-32-24-23-0004 Mr. Bednarz stated that he had been contacted by the property owner ofthis approximately 10 acre property. Mr. Deuschle noted that there is a wetland that divides the property, access to Crosstown Boulevard and potentially an easement through the property to the south to 16l st Ave NW. The Commission felt that the wetland divided the piece into two small spaces and that it was not large enough to provide the type of experience they are trying to create for open space properties. 0 OTHER BUSINESS a. Joint Meeting with City Council Mr. Bednarz asked the Commission if they would prefer meeting with the Council at the end of October or November. One ofthe reasons for the meeting is to discuss whether the Council is interested in purchasing one of the properties that is cUlTently available or if they would like to wait for one of the high quality study areas to become interested in open space. The Commission prefelTed November and indicated they could also provide an update on the management plans. Motion to Adjourn Peny, second by Kovich. Motion passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 8:45 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Courtrley Bednarz 0