02/04/1991 Park Board Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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INVENTORY AND ANALYSIS Lino Lakes is a municipality incorporated in 1955 from the former Centerville Township. Covering an area of approximately 33.5 square miles, the city occupies the very southeast corner of Anoka'County. Landforms: There are two significant features in the Lino Lakes' landscape. First, as part of the Anoka Sand Plain (a glacial outwash plan formed by the--retreating-Keewatin' glacier) the topography is flat. Lying approximately 900 feet above sea level, the city has no area marked with hills or rapidly changing elevations. The greatest change in elevation probably is adjacent to the drained Cedar Lake. Here adjacent to the former shore, elevations changes of nearly 25 feet are found. A similar area is found on the north shore of Reshanau Lake but for all practical purposes the city is "flat as a pancake." The second significant topographical feature in Lino Lakes is the extensive lake and wetland area. The city has 2,863 acres of wetlands and 3105 acres of lakes, giving a total of almost six square miles of water. In terms of aesthetics its a good thing the water is in the city. Without the wetlands and the resulting wooded shorelands the city would look like the drier part of Sherburne County - no amenities what -so -ever. These amenities have not gone unnoticed. Anoka County condemned 2621 acres of land for a passive regional park in the early 19601s. In addition home buyers looking for high - amenity settings have located adjacent to Reshanau Lake and in the southeast corner of the city between Bald Eagle Lake and Otter Lake. On the negative side the wetlands make the extension of utilities and roadways difficult and expensive. In time maintenance cost will also be higher than the norm because of water problems, in particular the water will cause inflow and infiltration of water into the sewer system and break-up of asphalt roads. Vegetation: Historically the shallow lake beds have provided a smorgasbord of food for native Americans and for a large animal population. While there has been a considerable amount of sedimentation of the lake beds since European settlement, the local wildlife population remains high - aimost to the nuisance level in the case of deer. Away from the wet soils extensive stands of oak can be found especially red oak. Unfortunately oak wilt currently threatens these stands. Ironically the sandy soils on which the oaks thrive are of limited value for agriculture. This Page 5