1n 2.2 Acres, Villages on the Pond
CITY OF
CHANHASSEN
J City Center Drive, PO Box 147
JJanhassen, Minnesota 55317
Phone 612.937.1900
General Fax 612.937.5739
'ngineering Fax 612.937.9152
ublic Safety Fax 612.934.2524
Xfeb www.ci.chanhassen.mn.us
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MEMORANDUM
TO:
Mayor and City Council
FROM:
Don Ashworth, City Manager
DATE:
April 8, 1998
SUBJ:
2.2 Acres, Villages on the Ponds
A tentative settlement has beeb'reached with 8t. Hubert's regarding our purchase
of approximately ten acres in the Villages on the Pond plat. It is recommended
that the city council approve disbursement of $60,000 to 8t. Hubert's in
consideration ofthem conveying to the city the 2.2 acre parcel as well as
surrounding wetlands (approximately an additional 6-8 acres).
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IJe City of Chanhassen. A growing community with clean lakes, quality schools, a charming downtown, thriving businesses, and beautiftl parks, A great place to live, work, and play.
CAMPBELL KNUTSON
Professional Association
Attorneys at Law
Thomas J. Campbell
Roger N. Knutson
Thomas M. Scott
Elliott B. Knetsch
Suesan Lea Pace
(612) 452-5000
Fax (612) 452-5550
. . .
Joel J. Jamnik
Andrea McDowell Poehler
Matthew K. Brokl *
John F. Kelly
Matthew J. Foli
Marguerite M. McCarron
George T. Stephenson
* Abo ["ensed in \'('isconsin
Author's Direct Dial: 234-6215
:-
.~ICUMr.."'"
Of Cou",el:
Gary G. Fuchs
April 10, 1998
CHANHASSEN CITY COUNCIL
Nancy K. Mancino, Mayor
Mike Mason, Council member
Steven Berquist, Councilmember
Mark Engel, Councilmember
Mark Senn, Councilmember
RE: 2.2 Acres, VILLAGES ON THE POND
Dear Mayor and Councilmembers:
Item "N" on the consent agenda concerns acquisition of 2.2 acres in Villages on the
Pond. I concur with Don's recommendation. Enclosed is Don's prior confidential memo on
the subject. The memo was discussed in advance with me and I concur that we could not
successfully require it dedicated to the City.
Very truly yours,
RNK:srn
Enclosure
SON
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cc: Don Ashworth
Suite 317 · Eagandale Office Center · 1380 Corporate Center Curve . Eagan, MN 55121
FROM CITY OF CHRNHR55EN
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04.01.1998 15:58
P. 2
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TO;: : Mayor and City Council
CONFIDENTIAL
FROM:
DArtt:
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Don Ashworth. City Manager
Aprill, 1998
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SUBa':
2.2 Acres. Villages on the Pond
(Not~~ Slnc~ litigation has been threatened as means by wblch tbls Issue
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ca.n ~e rdolt.ed, the City Attorney has advlsedj tbat this memorandum be
rc\'lc)fed by:hll office and forwarded to the el council using hts
attot"ey/elJ~nt privilege.. Accordingly, the d council .hould consider this
men)fr8n~utn as confidentla!.)
BAC~GRO~ND
AlthoUgh thete are 8 number of defenses as to wb the city can and should
contijtl e to rdquire that the 2.2 aCres be considere as a conservation easement,
there toe a~soltwo major hurdles that would have tr be crossed ifthis would
proce ' into Utigation. i.e: .
· ~~tlarid klt.nlloll Permit' Thote is 110 quo lioo Ih.t Ih. cily CO""cU..led
to ~~ehide;a condition in the wetland alteration pormit that requires a
co~servati~n easement over the 2.2 acre parcell The fallacy is that there is
not~ing in:state statute that gives the city COUll it the authority to inscrlthBt
tY~e ofcohdition. Specifically. the law speaks to methods by which
miUgalfon;can occur. standards, and replacem t requirements. There is
no~hil1g in :the statute that basically says you ca alter a wetland if you give us
a ppt of g~ld. piece of land, or first born; and - .
· Pt1>> A~ro.cment: Without question, the wet! d issue was extensively
dis~ussed .t the Planning Commission and that' their agreement to the wetland
d~s'tructjo~ was solely based on being able to c nserve the 2.2 acre parcel.
Unfortut1afcly. when those recommendations g t to the city council, the
cou:ncil spd,cifically deleted them.
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OPPOliTUNITY FOR SOLUTION
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In revid~ing tl~e entire file, I discovered B phenorn
occur h):deveI9pments. i.e. it is my belief that St.
chBrges'lwice. ;Byerly's/TargetrrCF rep~esent mor
on that does not typically
b~rt'8 paid stonn water
typical developments. In
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FROM CITY OF CHRNHRSSEN
04.01.1998 1~5::59
P. 3
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M!' , or I8n~ City Council
AP 1111~ J~98
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cac~ of thore cases,. they paid a storm water clse. and the city used those monies
to b~y a ']aIJe pondmg area on the Eck8nk8r p erty and paid for the construction
oft'Jtllt Nu8,.P pond. In this case, S1. Hubert's p id approximate]y $62,000 in
storm waitet charges and built a NURP pond on their property. The existing pond
wil1:accom~odate all of the development in the Villages plat with the exception
oftJ1~ resid,ntial area which will pay its own fe s. Additionally, the eventual
locaHon for[the pond currently on St. Hubert's p operty is in the low area by the
brids~ whicfl is currently] 01. When 101 gets routed, it will go through the::
pon4 :buiIt b~ St. Hubert's and the:: state will be r sponsible for relocating that
pond ~11 the iower area. All of'these facts, again, lead me to the conclusion that St.
Hub~h's ha~ paid twice.
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ST.ItVDEAT~SIWARDS POSITIONS
1110 #ards a~c contractually obligated to convey he 2.2 acre parcel to Sf.
Hubdtt's. T~ey do not see that they are a part of ny negotiations with the city.
81. H~bert's ~as 8 budgetary problem and feel th1 receiving no monetary payment
from ~~e city, for a piece of high and dry land is u reasonable. Some
comp_nSalion is beller than nothing. Accordingl ,thoy have agreed that they will
deed lba 2.2 .era parcal plus tha approximata six ~cras or surrounding watlands to
the cifY if lh~y could be reimbursed the approximrte $60,000 in stonn water fe::es
that t~"y h.av~ paid. To them, money is money a d it really doesn't make a whole
lot of~ifl'ereqce how it got to them.
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MANAeJtRis RECOMMENDATION
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1 would recoJ'(llucnd that the city council approve he disbursement of $60,000 to
St. Hu~erl 's i6 consideration of them conveying t the city the 2.2 acre parcel liS
well a~:suriou~lding wetlands (approximately an a ditional 6-8 acres). I am
recOrht1tcndin~ B flat $60,000 amount as ,I do not lJeJieve it would be in our best
int~res't: to tie he repayment directly to a reimburs;m"nt of st~rm water charges
($61,9 8). At hough ByerlY'lrrargetffCF may te resent typJcal developments
where ~a.. ar~ paid and pond. ara bullt off-.lle. th fa .vary wall may ba in.tances
where ~i is logical that the city accept the charges s well as requires the
constru~tioi1 of a pond on site. I would rather be i a position to look at that
future ~nstahc~ without having this decision being een 8S a precedent.
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