11/02/1987 Park Board Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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-3- Therefore, a city finds it very difficult to take a land dedication which is often worth less than half the value of the bare developable property. Instead a city often receives land which requires the expenditure of considerable funds to fill low areas, remove unstable soils or has steep undevelopable slopes. Example No. 2 is a multi-family residential development of 113 apartment units or. 7 .25 acres . it is apparent in this example that there is a much larger spread of park dedication cash amounts. Vadnais Heights is in the lower hail of the fourteen cities with a cash dedication equal to S 154 per unit . While initially this seems quite low, it should be stressed that the City may require an additional expenditure by the developer in the form of a small playlot. In nearly all the cities examined in this study, multi-family developments contribute less cash on a per unit basis than single family residences. While this is certainly not equitable, the Vadnais Heights approach of sometimes requiring an additional play area to be built provides some logic in requiring less cash payment on a unit basis (Some local governments have a similar requirement) . Example No. 3 is a commercial/industrial development consisting of a light manufacturing buildin g_of 24, 644 S.F. on 1.9 acres. Here is found the greatest disparity among cities in how cash dedication is handled. Two thirds of the cities require a percentage of the land in equivalent cash value on the order of 5 - 10 % . other cities have required a fee based upon a per acre or scruare footage of development . The former example seems to be logical in that it equates the value of the dedication with the value of a similar amount of land which could be taken. In other words, in the case of Vadnais Heights it would seem impossible to take a land dedication valued at $16, 553 when the required cash dedication is only $1,200 . Conversely, White Bear Township could take either land or cash as they would be equivalent. The requirement for any land or cash dedication for commercial/industrial landuse arises occasionally and should be discussed. First, it would seem that many cities have been requiring a substantial cash dedication for some time with no problems with respect to development (Roseville, Arden Hills) . Second, clearly a commercial or industrial enterprize has no direct need for parks in contrast to police, fire and public works needs, but indirectly its workers may choose to relocate to a city whoose n park system is adequate and well maintained. Therefore, the attractiveness of a city is dependent upon its ability to acquire the necessary park funds from a.0 its residents.