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established. If a property owner could build a bridge, he is still going "over a <br />navigable waterway" and the test is satisfied. The methods available for crossing <br />are irrelevant. If a waterway exists and is navigable, the cartway statute treats it <br />in the same manner as if it was land owned by others. The Otter Lake channel <br />acts as a barrier to access and satisfies this element of the cartway statute. <br />With both the acreage and access requirements met, the statute requires that a <br />cartway be established. <br />Public use or purpose <br />The HOA continues to argue that establishment of a cartway is a taking and that all takings must <br />be for a public use or purpose, pursuant to Minnesota Statutes Chapter 117. Because the Council <br />previously indicated that it intended to retain private ownership of the HOA road and does not <br />want to spend public funds on it, the HOA claims that the City is precluded from establishing the <br />public cartway. This argument does not accurately reflect the law. <br />While establishing a cartway is an exercise of eminent domain, it is not a taking under Chapter <br />117. The procedures and requirements contained within that eminent domain chapter do not <br />control the cartway process. Cartways are established under separate statutory authority. <br />Moreover, all cartways are for public use when initially established. Once constructed, the <br />landowner can consent to designating it a private driveway. Minn. Stat. § 435.37, subd. 1(e). <br />This was the hope and intent of the Council when the statement was made in March. If the HOA <br />will not provide such consent, then the cartway will have to remain public. That does not mean, <br />however, that it will be maintained by the City. The Council has indicated throughout this <br />process that it will not spend public funds to maintain the cartway and it is not required to do so. <br />Enormous Reaction/Small Problem <br />The HOA argues that establishing a cartway for Petitioner's limited use is overkill. The use of <br />the subject property however, is irrelevant. Petitioner made the decision as to the necessity for <br />the cartway when he submitted the petition. The City's role is to determine whether the statutory <br />requirements have been met to establish a cartway, and if so, then to determine the location of <br />the cartway and determine damages. The extent to which Petitioner uses the cartway is up to <br />him. <br />Cartway Location <br />Petitioner Johnson requests that the cartway be coextensive with the HOA' s existing driveway to <br />a point where the cartway turns to the northeast into the subject property. The driveway meets <br />the statutory requirement for a cartway that is two rods wide (see attached survey) without any <br />unused width. <br />The statute provides that an alternative route may be selected by the Council if the alternative is <br />deemed "less disruptive and damaging to the affected landowners and in the public's best <br />2 <br />