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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009-12-04 FCG Packet AGENDA CITY OF MAPLEWOOD FISH CREEK GREENWAY AD-HOC COMMISSION Friday, December 4, 2009 1 :00-3:00 p.m. Maplewood City Hall 1830 County Road BEast 1. Call to Order 2. Approval of Agenda 3. Approval of Minutes 4. Continue discussion on trails 5. Revisit acquisition priorities 6. Survey results to date 7. Report for council a. Vision statement b. Report outline c. Additional information needed from commissioners 8. Visitor Presentations 9. Adjourn MINUTES CITY OF MAPLEWOOD FISH CREEK GREENWAY AD-HOC COMMISSION Friday, November 13, 2009 Maplewood City Hall - Council Chambers 1830 County Road BEast 1. Meeting commenced: 1 :00 p.m. 2. Commissioners Present: Cliff Aichinger, Ramsey-Washington Metro WD Ron Cockriel, Friends of Maplewood Nature Ginny Gaynor, City of Maplewood John Moriarty, Ramsey County Parks Carolyn Peterson, Parks Ginny Yingling, Environment and NR 3. Ex-Officio Members Present: Jim Von Haden, National Park Service Marybeth Block, DNR Metro Greenways 4. Invited Guests Present: DuWayne Konewko, Maplewood Communtiy Development and Parks Director Peter Fischer, Maplewood Parks Commission Chair AI Singer, Dakota County Land Conservation Manager Betsy Leach, St Paul District 1 Council Cy Kosel, St. Paul Natural Resources Manager Bob Klatt, Woodbury Parks and Recreation Director Arnie Stefferud, Metropolitan Council Susan OVerson, Park Planner National Park Serve and Trails and Open Space Partnership 5. Action Items: a. Motion toapPIP)(@agenda with addition of grant update. Motion m~ge by Commission Cockriel, seconded by Commissioner Gaynor, approved 6 to O. b. Motion to approve 10/23/09 Commission meeting minutes. Motion made by Commissioner Aichinger, seconded by Commissioner Moriarty, approved 6 to O. 6. Discussion items: a. Dakota County Open Space Program. AI Singer presented overview of the Dakota County Open Space program and made some suggestions to the Commission. Their program protects farmland and open space. Much of the protection is accomplished by conservation easements on private lands. Mr. Singer made suggestions for commission. i. Be strategic about acquisition. Know what you are protecting and why. Be specific about criteria for eligibility. ii. Think long-term. iii. Articulate the public benefits of funding used on private lands. iv. The important question is not "who owns what" but "who does what". v. Leverage funding. Dakota county has spent $19 million dollars of referendum money but leveraged that to $89 million. vi. Recipe for success: 1. Good plan 2. Participation of many people 3. Good science 4. Matching funds 5. Flexibility b. Trails Discussion. i. Commissioner Moriarty along part of the creek. If part of adjacent to Henry Lane, were Lane. ii. Susan Overson discussed the goals of the There is grant money available for trails that Ms. Overson encouraged the city to Partnership. iii. Participants discussed existing bike trails in the area and plans for future trails. Most people agreed that a bike trail through the natural areas was not appropriate and city and regional comp plans provided for bike trail connections. c. Grant update. Commissioner Yingling provided an update on the Legacy grant she and Commissioner Cockriel asked staff to submit hiking trail north creek, trail could connect to Henry Service in MNRAA. transportation features. Trails and Open Space 7. Follow-up Items: a. Commissioners Yingling and Gaynor: Meet and begin drafting the commissioner report. 8. Adjourn: Approximately 3:10 p.m. Fish Creek Natural Area Greenway Resident Questionnaire Tallied November 30, 2009 QUESTIONNAIRES ARE STill BEING ACCEPTED This tally is for results received before November 30, 2009. Most of these were in response to a mailing sent to 220 residences in south Maplewood. Additional publicity scheduled for December 1, 2009 and will likely generate additional responses. On-line respondents: 23 Hard copy respondents: 22 TOTAL: 45 1. Are you a Maplewood resident? --12..- yes ---2- no 2. How far do you live from Fish Creek or from the Ramsey County Fish Creek open space? --.12..- property is adjacent -1L less than Y, mile --12..- y, mile - 2 miles --..l.- more than 2 miles 3. How often do you visit Fish Creek or the Ramsey County Fish Creek open space? --1L daily or weekly --.12..- a few times per month ~ a few times per year -l rarely -L never not sure where it is 4. If you use the Ramsey County Fish Creek open space, what activities do you do there? Check all that apply. --1!L walking/hiking ~ bird watching --.1..- cross-country skiing --.1..- snowshoeing ~ mountain biking -lather, please describe: berry picking, paint ball, photography --.&- I don't use the area 5. Do you think the city should purchase additional land in the Fish Creek greenway? -11- yes ~ no ~ not sure 6. Do you have any concerns about having more land in this area in public ownership? --11..- yes --E- no ~ not sure If yes, please explain: see last page 7. If funding is available for the city to purchase land in this area, what type of lands should have priority for acquisition? Please select your three top priorities from the list below. Number them with 1= highest priority, 2=second in priority, 3=third in priority. --1i- Purchase sections of creek that are in private ownership (with goal of having whole creek in public ownership, currently all but one section of the creek is on public land) -1L- Purchase land adjacent to creek to expand the creek buffer beyond the current 100' no-disturb area ~ Purchase land with highest ecological quality --11..- Purchase Mississippi River bluff land (there is one section of bluff land in private ownership) --1!L.- Purchase land with potential for public access for passive recreation (ex: hiking) ~ Purchase land adjacent to existing public lands or that connects existing public lands --12....- Purchase land with scenic views or scenic value ~ Don't purchase any 8. How would you like to see existing public land in this area used? Check all that apply. ~ Leave it as it is} no further amenities} no change in management activities Provide trails: --12....- Footpaths -1'-2' wide, not graded, not maintained --.2..- Narrow rustic trail- 4' wide, graded, maintained, soft surface trail (mowed, soil, woodchipped) ---.2.- Asphalt hiking/biking trail- 8'-10' wide --...!L.- Provide benches ---.2.- Provide parking --...!L.- Provide interpretive/educational signage --.12..-_ Restore and/or manage public lands to enhance ecological quality _ Other, please explain: 9. Do you own land that has some wildlife habitat (i.e. land that is not manicured lawn or gardens)? --1L- yes --ll- no 10. If the city were to provide programs and support, how likely would you be to participate in the following activities? Very likely Likely Not likely _~ 20 13 a. Attend an educational program on enhancing habitat b. Attend a program on conservation easements c. Attend a program on conservation subdivision (for those considering developing their land) d. Enhance habitat on your land e. Take advantage of technical support provided by city or other entity _1L- 17 16 _.1- 12 26 -~ 18 14 _.1.- 19 15 _2-- 16 19 _L- 22 14 _L- 12 23 _12- 14 13 _ll- 14 - --..L-_ _.1- --.&.-- 30 f. Take advantage of a cost-share program g. Partner with other neighbors interested in enhancing habitat on their land h. Participate in a land registry program (non-binding agreement to care for land) i. Plant native plants in your yard or gardens j. Remove buckthorn or other invasive species in your yard k. Allowa publicly accessible foot trail on your property-if part of larger trail system 116 Comments. Do you have any concerns about having more land in this area in pubic ownership? . Yes. More exposure to public exposes our homes to theft. . Yes. Main concern is that we take care of the land. . Yes. More traffic, busier. . Yes. We like our property the way it is-without more people. . Yes. It must stay out of the political rip rap. . Yes. Who would come up with the dollars, the property taxes used to pay the county-or would the tax dollars that were lost be divided among the remaining private property owners? . Yes. Maplewood should buy Schlomka property! . Yes. No developments, no parks. . Yes. Taxes to pay for it. Taxes lost because of it. . No. I would like to see the Fish Creek area preserved as an undeveloped park. . Yes. We need more green spaces in Maplewood. Maplewood is almost 100% urban and due to that we travel to other cities to hike. Fish Creek would also be an ideal area for a new elementary or high school, while still preserving the bluffs around it. . Yes. Please let us develop it the right way for our future generations. . Yes. More land for which you cannot adequately care. Concentrate on what you already own. I see buckthorn and other invasive species running wild on property you already own. Concentrate on that. Use public property to limit usage on private property. . Yes. The city should concentrate on lowering property taxes. Removing land from the tax rolls will not help. Other General Comments . The Fish Creek property is abused by operators of ATV's, dirt bikes and snowmobiles. Citizen vigilance along with the cooperation of the city has helped to some degree but the problem still exists. How about some signs and enforcement? . We want it to stay as is. No need to make a park. There is a nice park Y, mile away-Pleasant View. . Find ways to fund more land to acquire. Conservation easements for private and public lands. Keep land development in the area to a minimum. . We've really appreciated the city picking up buckthorn on our street, but we also know that pick ups can be expensive, so we've also appreciated being able to bring the buckthorn to the fire station on Landin Lane. . We attended the meeting at Maplewood City Hall on October 1 ", and we were very impressed with the Commission's caring concern about maintaining the beauty of Fish Creek and also maintaining that beauty for future generations. So, hats off to you all!!! . Protect, protect, protect-Too many things fall apart as time marches on-plan and protect for the long term. . Libby property would be a good choice [for acquisition]. . Regarding wildlife in the area-Last week we had turkeys and hawks on our deck railing; possum, raccoon, deer, ground hogs, and I think a weasel all within 50 feet of the house. Don't encourage any more wildlife. Breeding seems to take care of it. . Should acquire additional land, providing it doesn't increase taxes. . Leave it the way it is. . Funding is NOT available. We're short now! We can't afford what we're doing now. In my family budget, if you can't afford it you can't do it. I wish government could understand that!! . So little open space in metro area and this is one of the few areas locally we can enjoy nature that's undisturbed, not developed, not ruined! It's like being in the country while in the city. It's gorgeous the way it is. . As far as wildlife habitat on our land, we just own a small tree line, so not much of it could be used for anything. We do live half a block from Fish Creek Canyon and our children used it all the time when they were growing up here. We loved it! I still use it for an occasional walk, but the access has much overgrown brush and weeds, so it is hard to get down there from Dorland Road. . The Schlumpka property now owned (I believe) by the CoPar company should be purchased by the city in its entirety. Once developed its potential is gone forever. The land would be a jewel of the Maplewood park system and its citizens. . Fish Creek is a valuable resource to allow future generations to appreciate nature in a more natural state than most parks. I would like to see it remain in a primitive status. It would be good to see some of the invasive vegetation removed, as in buckthorn. . We need to make hiking and biking safer by providing sidewalks and trails to get off the streets. We need to connect to trails/parks as neighboring cities do. We need to connect to our neighboring city's park so we can safely get to their trails since ours suck. . We need a sidewalk that runs along with Highwood. My kids have to walk down that dangerous road to their bus stop daily and if there were a sidewalk, more residents would get out and more involved with their surroundings. . For land adjacent to Fish Creek area, support single-family dwellings on 2-acre plots only and not multiple-family dwellings (e.g. high rises, condos, etc.). . Do not over step your bounds. Be prepared to properly remunerate adjacent property owners if your policies limit their ability to utilize their property as they see fit. . Let's concentrate on lowering property taxes. . Keep new housing at low density, especially on the CoPar development property (1 house/2 acres). I'm concerned with rain runoff and additional traffic in the area, in addition to the rural feel of the neighborhoods south of Carver Avenue. These 3 points would definitely have an effect on the Fish Creek Area. OUTLINE FOR FISH CREEK COMMISSION FINAL REPORT GG sections to be written Fish Creek Natural Area Greenway - Vision Statement Fish Creek Natural Area Greenway - Report I. Executive Summary II. Introduction III. Protection IV. Recreation V. Partnerships VI. Funding VII. Recommendations Fish Creek Natural Area Greenway - Vision Statement -GY Fish Creek Natural Area Greenway - Report I. Executive Summary II. Introduction -GG 1. Purpose of Commission 2. Background and History 3. Process (members, schedule, tour, public meeting, survey, mailings, web, articles) 4. Existing Protection and Recreation III. Protection 1. Public Land and Private Land -GG 2. Strategies for Protection -GG a. Acquisition b. Conservation Development c. Conservation Easement d. Stewardship 3. Protection Priorities -GY a. Acquisition b. Other c. Recommendations IV. Recreation -GY 1. Opportunities 2. Priorities V. Partnerships -GG VI. Funding -GG 1. Grants 2. Donations 3. Referendum 4. Legislature and Congress VII. Recommendations VIII. Appendices 1. Survey Results -GG 2. Table of Grant Opportunities -GG 3. Vision statement from Natural Area Greenways Committee -GG