Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008-05-07 Parks Minutes MINUTES CITY OF MAPLEWOOD PARK COMMISSION SPECIAL MEETING Wednesday, May 7,2008 6:30 p.m. Council Chambers - Maplewood City Hall 1830 County Road BEast 1. Call to Order - 2. Roll Call- Four members present, no quorum. Meeting held as information meeting. Members Present: Commissioner Fischer, Commissioner Roman, Commissioner Sonnek and Commissioner Schmidt 3. Approval of Agenda 4. Approval of Minutes 5. Visitor Presentations - none. 6. Comprehensive Land Use Discussion - Jennifer Haskamp, consultant, explained her role is to update the Summary Chapter of the Parks, Trails and Open Space Plan for the Comprehensive Plan. Every ten years the Metropolitan Council requires an update of Comprehensive Plans. Ms. Haskamp has been working with Parks Plan Advisory Panel on several topics: Goals and Objectives; Trail System, and Land Use and Parks. On May 8 they will look at park needs in South Maplewood. 7. Objectives and Discussion Items o Land use classifications have been consolidated to group similar items together. o The land use plan includes two classifications for parks and open space. o Natural resources will have its own chapter in this edition of the Comprehensive Plan. o I n south Maplewood, most of the area will be low density residential. But the proposal calls for the Bailey Farm to be mixed use. o In the parks plan, all open space will be shown on the map, not just parkland. 8. South Maplewood Discussion o The Bailey property is proposed to be mixed use. It is 23 acres and as mixed use could accommodate about 573 units. o The density proposed for Rural Low Density Residential is .5-2.5 units per acre. To achieve 2.5 units per acre, a developer would have to incorporate green building and sustainable design into the development. o The rural residential area south of Carver is approximately 200 acres. o Protection measures are desired for both private and public land. o The Highwood neighborhood planning area for parks is focused on the area south of Carver. o Ramsey County owns a lot of open space in this area. The plan should include a policy statement that if the county sells its land, we may need more open space in this neighborhood. o A commissioner indicated that the ski jump area may present some opportunities for partnerships. o Pleasant View Park has tennis and basketball courts, winter skating area, picnic area, ballfields and natural areas. It is a multi-use park, approximately 14 acres in size. o There are about 67 acres of parkland in this neighborhood, including active and passive parks. o A question was raised: What parcel would you like to protect if you had to make a choice? Commissioners present agreed Fish Creek is the most important area to protect in south Maplewood. o A consultant is going to do an ecological evaluation of parcels in South Maplewood in late May and early June. 9. Discussion on Parks Needs in Other Neighborhoods o Vista Hills neighborhood has about 18 acres of parkland. There might be opportunity some day at the gun range property, which is used by police. o Battle Creek neighborhood is almost all county property. Battle Creek Park is 392 acres and includes a dog park. Afton Heights Park is 12 acres and Carver School partners with our recreation program. o Beaver Lake neighborhood has a lot of mobile homes. Geranium Park is 9 acres. Gethsemane Park is not owned by the city and there is proposed development for this site. If the city cannot work out an agreement for park facilities at Gethsemane, we will need to find other parkland in this area. The Park Plan will mark a search area for this. o Lions Park is 3 acres; Jim's Prairie is about 5 acres; and the Nature Center about 40 acres. Beaver Lake has county land. Beaver Lake School has ball fields. o Lions Park is run down. It's about 3 acres and has a tot lot and drainage problems. Storm water management will need to occur on part of the site. o The 3M complex includes a large wetland. This will have a special designation in the natural resources plan. o The Gladstone area parks encompass over 62 acres. The design process for Gladstone Savanna is on hold. Totlot facilities from Gloster Park will be incorporated into the Savanna. The Comprehensive Plan will classify Flicek as a neighborhood park. Commissioner Sonnek stated she would like to have a historical marker at Gladstone. o There is an open space parcel at Kennard and Frost. The plan should identify ownership of this parcel. o Sherwood Glen neighborhood has 20 acres owned by the city. Sherwood Park and Robinhood Park serve active park needs in this area. John Glenn fields are used by the city. o Maplewood Heights Park is 25 acres; Play Crest Park is 16 acres; Joy Park has 61 acres. Prairie Farm includes the Bruentrup Farm buildings. This area has a total of 125 acres, and is possibly "over-parked." o Hazelwood neighborhood has wetlands and open space. Parks include: Four Seasons Park Hazelwood Park (all major soccer fields are here), Harvest Park, Kohlman Creek Preserve, and county open space. There are 105 acres of parkland in this neighborhood. o The Kohlman Lake area has Sunset Ridge, Kohlman Park, Fischer's Corner Preserve, Spoon Lake Preserve. There are about 72 acres of parkland in this area - 21 active acres and 51 passive acres. There are good trail components in the area. o Parkside neighborhood is west of Highway 61 and north of Larpenteur. It has Maplecrest, Edgerton, Roselawn, Keller, and Kenwood Parks. The Edgerton School site has a total area of 22 acres and most of it is active. Roselawn is designated as a stormwater holding pond and is an area of opportunity. We need to determine whether Roselawn should be a park or an open space. The site needs signage to show it is public land. o A possible park site on Mississippi Street was looked at about a year ago. On the maps it is shown as open space. o Western Hills is about 6 acres and is an active park. This neighborhood is probably an area that is underserved. St. Paul Regional Water owns Sandy Lake. o There are a lot of natural areas in Maplewood and Ms. Haskamp will note these on the Parks map as Open Space. o Land near Hill Murray and St. Paul's monastery is currently being discussed by a group of partners. o A portion of Sterling Street west of Hill Murray is going to be vacated in 2008. There is wetland and open space in this area. o South of the Priory Preserve there are a lot of wetlands and green space that are owned by the city or the county. o The group discussed whether there should a playground at Sterling Oaks. o The area near Priory does not have much active parkland. o The Hillside neighborhood may not have enough active park area for the size and population it contains. o Hillside Park does not have parking. This could possibly be a neighborhood park. The trails are well connected in this area. The city needs signage in this area to designate where parks are. oMs. Haskamp will update the plan based on the comments provided at the meeting. o A draft of the chapter will be ready at the next meeting. 10. Comprehensive Plan Open House Dates - May 22nd at Maplewood Community Center. This will include an in-depth presentation. A third Open House may be scheduled. 11. Adjourn -(9:30p.m. Next meeting is May 21, 2008, at 6:00 pm.