04-10-2017 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Search

7898 Century Trl Lino Lakes, MN 55014 April 10, 2017 Mayor, Council, and Staff 600 Town Center Parkway Lino Lakes, MN 55014 Dear Mayor, City Council, and City Staff, My name is Robert Sibell and I have lived at 7898 Century Trail for 6 years. I have been on the Century Farm North Homeowners Association, Board of Directors for 3 years. I am representing the 49 homeowners in my association and there are 257 total homes within the entire Century Farm North development. We have lots of young families with small children that like to play outside, and older adults that like walking the neighborhood. There are two items I want to mention tonight and I will stay under the 8 minutes. Many of our residents have lived in Century Farm North since it began over a decade ago, waiting for the developer and city to complete their planned park and trail system in our development. It has been 14 long years since the development was approved with a park and trails. Sadly, it is now in its final and last phase of development and somehow the developer has gotten away without installing that park or trail that we were told would be constructed. To save you time, I compiled a handout which is a timeline and transcript of city meetings discussing and insisting this. We are asking the city to complete its plan or for the city to hold the developer accountable to complete its contractual promise of a park and trail system for Century Farm North. Our second concern is just about every other development of our size in Lino Lakes has not only a dedicated park, but as well as trail access to the Rice Creek Regional Park. Our development has no real safe bike, rollerblade, or pedestrian connection to the rest of Lino Lakes. We feel this whole area north of 35W has been neglected and not represented. Our entire community does not have a connection to the city's key amenities. I, like many of us, chose to purchase a home in this newer development because it's close to the freeways, has a great school district, fair taxes, but it has very few paths and no way for kids or pedestrians to access anything safely. The Regional Rice Creek Reserve, the library, YMCA, town hall, and marketplace are all unreachable by anything but automobile. The proposed linking trail would connect our community, Century Farm North, along with the adjacent development, Behm's Century Farm, to the city's trail system. It is just under a mile long and corresponds with the city's Comprehensive Plan and Future Trail Plan.