Long Range Planning Commission

BAXTER LONG RANGE PLANNING COMMISSION AGENDA Monday, August 22, 2022 at 6:00 PM “A Growing Community” Baxter City Hall, 13190 Memorywood Drive, Baxter, MN CALL TO ORDER The regular meeting of the Baxter Long Range Planning Commission was called to order at 6:00 pm by Chair Donnay ROLL CALL MEMBERS PRESENT: Chair Kevin Donnay, Commissioners Mark Cross, Mellissa Barrick, Rock Yliniemi MEMBERS ABSENT: Commissioners Cathy Clark, Lori Rubin and Council Liaison John Ward STAFF PRESENT: CD Director Josh Doty and Planner Matthew Gindele OTHERS: Jason Kocer, Braden Callenius, Mike Hammer, Quint Malikowski and Justin Barrick MINUTES: 1. Long Range Planning Commission meeting minutes from March 28, 2022 will be reviewed at the next meeting. COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS None OLD BUSINESS NEW BUSINESS 1. City Hunting Map Chair Donnay asked for the staff report. Planner Gindele stated the City of Baxter is requesting amendments to the City’s Hunting Map. Specifically, the City of Baxter has hunting regulations and a Hunting Map that indicates where certain types of hunting is allowed and where hunting is not allowed. As changes occur within the City, the Hunting Map should be re-evaluated to see if changes need to be made to the map. The City’s Hunting Map (in the packet) delineates every property in the City into one of four zones as follows:  No Hunting  Archery Only Zone  Shotgun & Archery Only Zone  Muzzleloader / Shotgun & Archery Zone The majority of the City is located in the No Hunting zone. Properties that are permitted for hunting are generally larger properties or properties that are in rural areas of the City. To help manage deer numbers within Baxter, the City has allowed larger properties adjacent to residential areas in the 8/22/2022 Long Range Planning Commission Agenda Page 2 Archery Only Zone. Shotgun and muzzleloader is allowed only when property for hunting is at least 500 feet from dwelling or occupied building. Quint Malikowski, 14232 Memorywood Dr. (Started speaking for the audience-could not be heard on the tape) was asked to approach the podium. He asked about an easement, staff will look into the easement. Planner Gindele continued his staff report and reviewed the following areas on a GIS map. Project Area One is located on the northwest side of Whitesand Lake on the west side of Memorywood Drive. The project area is outlined in blue in the image above and abuts the City- owned YMCA property; it is approximately 1.87 acres in size. The Police Chief received a request from the property owners to allow archery hunting on these properties and was provided a petition from adjacent property owners to approve the requested change. The property appears to be almost entirely wooded. Staff is supportive of adding this property to the Archery Only areas within the City of Baxter. Chair Donnay asked if the use has changed recently. CD Doty stated that the YMCA is in support of bow hunting on the east side. He stated the use really hasn’t changed, as it has always been kid orientated, the YMCA is now using the buildings in a summer program/daycare for children. Once school is in session, the camp will be closed. Commissioner Cross asked if they were continuing to do daycare this year. CD Director Doty indicated that they were doing more daycare during the peak of Covid. The YMCA is only planning on using that facility very little for the remaining of the year. He indicated that staff and the YMCA have talked very closely and are comfortable with the request. Mike Hammer 4907 Circle Pine Rd. approached the podium and asked if the south line can be moved to include the properties on Circle Pines Rd. Chief Exsted stated that the request wasn’t made. Typically, a signed petition from the neighbors would be handed to staff for consideration. Chief Exsted added that requesting that change tonight would put the Commission in a tough spot, as staff hasn’t reviewed the request. He added that it could be looked at next year. Commissioner Cross asked if there were any rules on distances for archery hunting from single family homes. The Chief stated he wasn’t aware of any strictly for archery. CD Director Doty stated for clarification that the city owns the land and YMCA is leasing the land, therefore the permission to hunt would come through the Police Department. (Person speaking from audience, unable to hear on tape) Chief Exsted stated when the first hunting map came out, staff didn’t go door to door as it wouldn’t have worked, as time has evolved such as the Memorywood residents’ area, people asked their neighbors if they were ok with hunting in their neighborhood. That is the route staff has stood by, as it works. Project Area Two is located adjacent to project area one and consists of all the city-owned YMCA property east of Oakwood Drive. Staff has held conversation with the YMCA about changing the project area from no hunting to archery only and came to an agreement reflected in this proposal. Staff is proposing the hunting map change to reflect this area as Archery Only and is supportive of making this change to the map. Project Area Three is located west of Whipple Lake and north of Upper Whipple/Moburg Lake and is approximately 20.6 acres. The property owner also owns the 26-acre tract to the west of the subject properties. The westerly most tract is open for shotgun and archery hunting but the two easterly tracts are designated as archery only. The property owner has requested to change the archery only designation on the subject properties to archery and shotgun. It is important to note that the city’s 8/22/2022 Long Range Planning Commission Agenda Page 3 hunting regulations prohibit any discharge of firearms or firearms hunting within five hundred feet (500') of a dwelling or occupied building. The image below takes into account the 500’ requirement to identify the area of the subject property that would be allowed to be hunted with a shotgun. Planner Gindele indicated on a site map the location of the allowed shotgun and not the whole lot. Staff is comfortable allowing shotgun and archery on the same parcel. Commissioner Cross asked how many deer have been taken from the Memorywood location. The Chief asked Justin Barrick, who indicated 12 deer in four years. Clint Malikowski, approached the podium and asked how the city property/YMCA property is going to be managed. Chief Exsted stated through issuing of a permit by the police. Mr. Malikowski, asked if there was a distance between persons hunting the land. Chief Exsted indicated they don’t have a deer management process. He added it would be looked into any complaints should one come in. Mr. Hammer was looking at property by the Camp Vanasek and is concerned about safety. Mike Hammer asked if there is going to be any one tracking the number of deer being taken from Camp Vanasek. Chief Exsted indicated that there is not enough staff in any department to keep track of numbers. Chief added that he is frustrated that the DNR, who is supposed to be managing is not doing the management. Mr. Hammer offered to volunteer to have his phone number or e-mail to help track those numbers. CD Director Doty stated that he is not an expert, however, there are deer abundance throughout Baxter, opening up this one area isn’t going to solve the problem, more deer will just filter back in to Camp Vanasek. Commissioner Cross asked if the Camp property has an easement for the trail, he sees a conflict with hunting and people walking all the time. Planner Gindele indicated the requested Project Area Four that came in this morning is located by White Sand Lake and showed the Commission a map of six additional parcels that the owner would like opened up for archery hunting. There was also a petition signed by numerous neighbors. Gindele explained that much of the land is large-tract and undeveloped wooded land but that a few of the parcels requesting to hunt on their property are smaller parcels roughly half acre in size that butt up against the undeveloped land and front on Cherrywood Drive to the east. There was one parcel across Cherrywood Drive requesting to be allowed to hunt as well. Gindele stated that staff had discussed the proposal prior to the meeting and was comfortable opening archery hunting on it except for the single residential lot on the east side of Cherrywood. Jason Kocer 14165 Cherrywood Dr. (unable to hear on tape) Mr. Krocer approached the podium and explained that he has spoken to the majority of the neighbors in the fourth area and they all agree there is a deer problem, even if they don’t hunt they were for allowing hunting in that area. Chief Exsted asked if it was Dave Schultz, it was and Mr. Krocer indicated he had his signature on the petition. Chief Exsted stated that he was not comfortable allowing hunting on the single residential lot on the opposite side of Cherrywood, as there was no buffer like there is on Memorywood Dr. and it is a corner lot. Staff was already thinking about making that larger area that could be archery only. He appreciated that the residents took it upon themselves to work on the deer population. Chair Donnay asked for clarification on the map which parcels are being requested, Planner Gindele outline the parcels on a map that staff was comfortable opening up archery hunting on. Chair Donnay asked Chief Exsted if he was comfortable with allowing hunting on the residential lots that abut Cherrywood Drive and not allowing hunting on the residential lots that abut Circle Pines Road to the south of project area one. The Chief explained that Mr. Hammer could go and get a bunch of 8/22/2022 Long Range Planning Commission Agenda Page 4 signatures from his neighborhood, however that hasn’t taken place. Mr. Kocer came in with a petition and that does make a difference. CD Director Doty added that staff received some information regarding population and ticks from Justin Barrick. Commissioner Yliniemi asked if there could be a card or a line on the permit that could indicate they should call Mr. Hammer once a deer has been harvested. He was curious about the number of deer that are harvested. Noting it would take staff time to keep track. Chief Exsted stated that Duluth has a non-profit organization that is not affiliated with the city, however they do update the city regularly. He thought maybe a portal to something similar on our city website might work. Clint Malikowski approached the podium and asked if he takes a deer and doesn’t call Mr. Hammer, will he be in violation of any regulations. Chief Exsted stated that there is not going to be any ordinance changes, so there would not be any issues if the call wasn’t placed. He added that he wasn’t ready to commit tonight to this idea. The Chief indicated that the topic is the map tonight and that further discussion on the deer population might be better served at a Council work session. Planner Gindele stated that Staff is not proposing any changes to the hunting map at this time for the large acreage property in southwest Baxter that the City is now the owner of. Changes may be proposed in the future after a final Master Plan for this property is adopted by the City Council and potential outtake partners are known. Staff recommends that the Long Range Planning Commission review the Hunting Map Amendment options and recommend specific map amendments to the City Council. MOTION by Commissioner Yliniemi, second by Commissioner Barrick to approve the Hunting Map Amendment options, including the forth area as presented by staff. Discussion after the vote. Justin Barrick 4897 Oak St. approached the podium and stated that CD Director Doty had mentioned the documents that he had presented prior to the meeting starting. He showed the amount of deer ticks that he has found on himself and his children at his home. He would like to see the citizens that are passionate about this topic have the ability to create a deer advisory committee. He would also like to see the Commission give the Chief more flexibility to authorize properties to be hunted and not have to go through the commission for each change to the map once a year. When they hunt in Brainerd it doesn’t go through a commission, it is decided by the police chief. He stated that he hopes his correspondence will be considered. The Chief took the hunting group out of the chambers for further discussion. 2. Mississippi River Overlook Masterplan Chair Donnay asked for an update from staff. CD Director Doty stated this has been over a year in the works. He reviewed the history of Project Advisory Committee and the meetings that were held. The consults really walked the committee through the planning stage to get to this document. CD Director Doty informed the Commission of what the residents wanted for this area, most of them wanted it to stay quiet and natural and no one wanted motorized traffic in this area. He reviewed where the different types of land slopes verses water resources were located. 8/22/2022 Long Range Planning Commission Agenda Page 5 CD Director Doty stated there is also a community use plan to assist with recreational groups coming forward wanting to use the land for skiing, snow shoeing, biking, and hunting as part of the masterplan. Commissioner Yliniemi asked about the bike track, specifically what is a mountain bike terrain park is, as he had never heard of it. Commissioner Barrick stated it is also known as a pump track, similar to BMX bike tracks. CD Director Doty agreed, stating the tracks come in different levels of difficultly. Commissioner Barrick stated they have those types of tracks in Crosby and Cuyuna has one as well. CD Director Doty explained on a site map the 260 acre portion of the land that was funded by LCCMR and the water resources and how it flows into the Mississippi River. He spoke about the different trails that could be installed, educational and recreational could be used. He touched on maintenance, ADA accessibility and funding strategy. CD Director Doty reviewed the Mississippi River Overlook Masterplan with the Commission. He reviewed each chapter and explained the meaning of each one. CD Director Doty spoke of the west half of the area being considered by an “out take partner”. One of those potential partners could be the DNR for a Wildlife Management Area (WMA) as they have been interested in a WMA in southwest Baxter since about 2015. He explained that the city is looking at keeping the out take partner language general to so as not to specify a single out take partner in case that falls through. He explained Option A-is to keep the land west of Pike Creek all green, meaning it is intended for out take partners. The exception to this would be the approximate 20 along Mapleton Road that would be retained by the City for possible active recreational development. CD Director Doty stated that this masterplan is really a guide for future projects in the park and does not set in stone exactly what or where those improvements will be. CD Director Doty reviewed the vista viewing/overlook locations along the river and potential for benches along the way. He explained the reason for the possible Veteran’s State Trail location and why it is shown to wrap around a potential WMA before it heads back south to the power line corridor and into Sylvan Township. He added that Sylvan township has been involved throughout the planning process and is in support of the Veteran’s State Trail connection location to Sylvan Township. CD Director Doty stated that there is a right-of-way (ROW) corridor planned in a portion of the land. He explained the corridor needs to be protected at this time before the City considers any possible out take partners to protect the residents south of the park from being land locked and cut off from the rest of Baxter. If there is an out take partner, the City still wants the ability to build a road in the future if and when the time is right which is what the ROW corridor preserves. He stated there is no proposal to build this road at this time. CD Director Doty reviewed the powerline corridor and the costs of the three different phases that was in the packet. Chair Donnay noted the slopes getting to the parking lot proposed by the river. CD Director Doty agreed there are slopes present but noted the flat area after the hill. CD Director Doty explained how the acquisition of the 880 acres of land went through the Council process. 8/22/2022 Long Range Planning Commission Agenda Page 6 Commissioner Cross stated that the City should be careful when thinking about leasing the land. He added it might seem like a lot of acreage now, but in the future it may not be considered a lot of land and the City could regret giving too much away to out take partners. He noted that recreational needs have changed over time, such as fat tire biking currently being popular, that wasn’t around 20 years ago. He had concern over the idea of leasing land, what the lease would contain, and how the city would get that land back if it ever decided it needed to. CD Director Doty stated he was in favor the lease idea rather than deeding land to an out an out take partner as that would give them ownership which is a forever commitment. He would prefer a lease should there become an issue on the property, such as a noise complaint, then the lease can be evaluated or dissolved. Chair Donnay asked if the lease would be 10 years or longer. CD Director Doty stated that has not been decided, however the DNR is really wanting a urban WMA invitation in this area. He added that the DNR allows rifle hunting on all of their WMA land, currently the city has no rifle hunting throughout the city, the DNR might have to consider special regulations regarding hunting within the WMA. Commissioner Cross questioned if an active recreational area should be next to a WMA, if that is a good location. He stated that the need for fields is now, not down the line, and the north area may be needed for a sports center of some type. Commissioner Barrick reiterated what the Parks Commission discussed about creating one area for all of the soccer and baseball fields or complex in one location. Commissioner Barrick commented on Mapleton Rd., as an example, it is currently very rural now, but in 10-15 years it could be built-out more especially if city water and sewer are available. CD Director Doty stated the county has a 5-year plan to replace Mapleton Rd. and that could change the character of the road. Commissioner Barrick stated that the Parks Commission agreed with Option A with the information they were given, a potential out-take lease was unknown and access was questionable unless additional funding became available for Paris Road. She added that a lot of people would like to see a dog park and the location is very conducive to that type of use. Commissioner Cross reiterated wanting to keep a majority of the land. CD Director Doty added when they were looking at this study with the consultants, there wasn’t conversation regarding the park needs in 5, 10 or 20 years and what acreage will be needed in the future. Commissioner Cross and Commissioner Barrick agreed that there is not a lot of park land out there and the only way of getting additional park land is with development. Commissioner Barrick stated that what happens if properties on Mapleton Rd. gets subdivided and there are smaller lots that may need a park. Commissioner Cross added that Mapleton Rd. is not that far away from being a water/sewer area on the map. Commissioner Barrick added that the parking lot on the east side has been needed for sometime, CD Director Doty agreed. CD Director Doty added that the more amenities that are placed in one area will attract more people and currently the access is a residential dead end road with no parking. He also noted the improvements are very expensive. The other big issue is a private road that goes through this land and the residents on that road now have more traffic coming down that road due to the public City-owned land. They have noted that the road needs to be better maintained or a city road should be constructed. There is also no time frame for a public street to be constructed, and no way of keeping people that know Island Lake is down there from driving down the road, even if it’s marked “no trespassing”. CD Director Doty added that if there is any recreational activities that take place, there needs to be signage directing people to the parking area so people don’t go down the road. He noted that the road was never included in the RFP discussions. Commissioner Cross asked how many people live on that road, CD Director Doty stated there were roughly 10-20 structures on that road that are used on a daily basis. Commissioner Cross asked where the private road starts is on Mapleton. He stated if no improvements were made, then people would be trespassing to get to the park land if they used the private road, CD Director Doty indicated 8/22/2022 Long Range Planning Commission Agenda Page 7 that was correct. CD Director Doty stated the road is a challenge with people being attracted to using that road to get to Island Lake. It was asked if the road was a cart -way. CD Director Doty gave the history of the recent Hengle’s court case trying to get legal access to their property down the private road. Hengle’s was successful in getting a 16 foot wide easement. The lawsuit came up right before this study started. Chair Donnay noted that he has been back there and has never seen anyone there. CD Director Doty stated that spring and fall are times it is used the most, not so much in the summer due to ticks and flies. He added that since owning the property there have been many people that have come in and ask to hunt that land as they had in the past when it was private land. Chair Donnay asked if there is a need for a recommendation if this is still being worked on by the consultants. CD Director Doty indicated that he would like a recommendation for this to go to Council. He stated the commission would be recommending Option A. He noted this is a guiding plan and can be changed any time. MOTION by Commissioner Cross, second by Commissioner Yliniemi to approval the Mississippi River Overlook Masterplan as shown, with amenities, without a commitment to the out-take area until the City can determine the needs of the City in the long term as presented by staff. Discussion Commissioner Cross stated his reason for his motion was that at the Council level there was discussion about how the property is going to be maintained. As CD Director Doty stated, it’s raw land, there is nothing to maintain at this point. Commissioner Barrick stated she would like to see an asterisk on the potential out-take area. She noted the study took some time to put the master plan together. CD Director Doty explained the crass-hatched property as the DNR doesn’t like roads crossing through the center of a WMA. Commissioner Cross stated that his fear, and what has happened in the past, is that someone can go to the comprehensive plan, feasibility plans, parks plan and when items get brought to the Council level, the Council says each Commission approved the master plan and why are you deviating from the plan. Commissioner Yliniemi stated the Parks Commission has their recommendation going to council, this Commissions recommendation is going to differ from Parks. Chair Donnay agreed that each Commission is different and looks at different items of each plan. He noted that since the pandemic a lot of people are looking for things to do outside and giving up land too much recreational land when recreation is changing every year may not be suitable to the City’s needs. Motion carried unanimously. UPDATES None ADJOURN 8/22/2022 Long Range Planning Commission Agenda Page 8 MOTION by Commissioner Barrick, seconded by Commissioner Cross to adjourn the meeting at 7:05 p.m. Motion unanimously approved. Approved by: Submitted By: ___________________________ ______________________________ Kevin Donnay Shanna Newman Chair CD Administrative Assistant