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Item No: 4 Meeting Date: Oct 3, 2016 Type of Business: Work Session City of Mounds View Staff Report To: Honorable Mayor and City Council From: James Ericson, City Administrator Item Title/Subject: Review Non-Compliant Curb Cuts Widened During Street Improvement Projects Introduction: After the City created the Street and Utility Improvement Program, the Council also created a Private Improvement Program whereby residents within project areas could pay to have certain additional work done within the right of way at their own expense. Originally, these improvements included replacement of the sanitary sewer from the main to the property line, installation of new services from the main to the property line, replacing a non- conforming or second curb cut, and, widening an existing curb cut. Discussion: Many residents took advantage of the Private Improvement Program (PIP) to replace sanitary services and to address non-conforming curb cuts. Many others (almost 100) opted to widen a curb cut on the condition that the driveway be widened within a year to match the new, wider curb cut. The original PIP Agreement included the following language, which each property owner acknowledged and agreed to when they signed the agreement: “Owner agrees to improve the driveway to match the curb cut within one year of the date that construction of the curb cut is completed. Owner understands and agrees that if Owner does not improve the driveway within this time period, the City has the right to remove the Improvements and Owner will be responsible for paying the cost of removal.” After the City had constructed five projects, it became clear that following up on the one- year requirement for the wider curb cuts would prove challenging, as many property owners had yet to make the requisite improvement to their driveways. As a result, the PIP Agreement was revised for the Area G project to require a $300 deposit as well as a permit in hand for the wider driveway before the City would agree to widen the curb cut. The new language is as follows: “Owner agrees to pay a $300 deposit and improve the driveway to match the curb cut within one year of the date that construction of the curb cut is completed. Owner understands and agrees that if Owner does not improve the driveway within this time period, the $300 deposit will be forfeited and the City will remove the Improvements. The Owner will also be responsible for paying all additional costs of removal over the $300 deposit.” The new language has helped to minimize the number of driveways that are not widened to match the curb cut after the project concludes.