3C - Ordinance Amendment Establishing Criteria for Park Dedication

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STAFF REPORT Item: Park Dedication Ordinance Agenda Item:3(c) Background: The Planning Commission recommended that the City Council adopt the park dedication ordinance amendments in June of this year. The Council had followed the Planning Commission's recommendation, with the direction that the City Attorney review the amendments. The City Attorney provided the Council with comments regarding the amendments, and the Council remanded the Ordinance back to the Planning Commission to review those comments and address as needed. The City Attorney's comments are as follows(Staffs comments are in italics): 1. The role of the Planning Commission would be to view the proposed plat/subdivision and make recommendations to the City Council regarding Park Dedication therefore the language in the ordinance should be revised to reflect that the Planning Commission makes a recommendation to the City Council regarding Park Dedication. This is consistent with the Planning Commission's role with respect to plats and is required by statute. This recommendation has been reflected in changes in the Ordinance as shown below. 2. The Park Dedication fee must be based upon the fair market value of the land no later than at the time of final plat approval. Since the statute requires that the fair market value be utilized as a base for determining the Park Dedication fee that must be incorporated in the Park Dedication fee analysis. The per resident fee that is stated in Section 9.1o,Subdivision 2(b)is derived from the estimated market value of land in the City, as developed by Crow Wing County, at the beginning of the calendar year. The park dedication policy that the Planning Commission recommended for adoption further stipulates the details of calculating this value and when it should be updated. 3. Park Dedication also must be based upon the buildable land as opposed to all land within the subdivision/plat and that the City must provide a definition of buildable land. This should be reflected in the ordinance. 4. The Park Dedication statute requires that the City adopt a capital improvement budget and have a Park and Open Space Plan or have a Parks, Trails, and Open Space component in the Comprehensive Plan. The City will want to check to make sure the Comprehensive Plan includes this requirement. The City of Pequot Lakes Comprehensive Plan adopted in August 2004 contains the Recreation Action Plan and the Natural Resources Action Plan, which detail the City's goals for parks, trails, and open space. 5. Park Dedication funds may only be used for acquisition and development or improvement of parks and may not be used for ongoing operation or maintenance of parks. This requirement is contained in statute. It is not necessary to include this in the Ordinance however the City should be aware of this limitation on the use of Park Dedication funds. This limitation on the use of park dedication fees has been discussed with the Park Board, so that they are aware, as well as early on in the Planning Commission's discussion relating to the park dedication amendments. City of Pequot Lakes Staff Report 3_1 September 20,2007