Parks Packet 11.17.21 - Laserfiche WebLink

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The Comprehensive Plan includes three large -acre community parks that have yet to be developed/improved: Irish Avenue Park, Clearwater Creek Preserve and the Bernin property. An additional community park is identified in the northwest corner of Hugo where land would need to be acquired in addition to development of a park. Park dedication fees collected may also be used to purchase land for and construct community parks. In summary, to serve the projected 2040 population, 12-36 neighborhood parks and 4 community parks are guided to be constructed. Arcand Park can be used as an example for a neighborhood park with a development cost of $800,000 and Lions Park for a community park with a construction cost of $8 M. This could be used to estimate that future park development, not including purchasing land, would cost $41.6 M to $60.8 M. At the current park dedication rate, $30 M to $76.5 M would be collected in park dedication to meet that need. 6. PARK DEDICATION HISTORY: City Council minutes from 1985 through 1987 indicate that the park dedication fee was $100 per unit at that time. In 1988, the park land dedication fee was $175 per single family residential lot and $75 per dwelling unit over 2 (multi -family). In 1994, the fee was increased to $500 per single family and $225 per multi -family unit. In 2002, $1,700 was charged per residential unit and $1,800 per acre of commercial and industrial. The required land dedication went from 7% to 10% in 2003. In 2005, significant changes were made to the policy with the help of the Park Dedication Fund Subcommittee and the fee was set at $2,400 per residential unit and per acre of commercial. In 2010, changes were made to the Park Dedication Policy, but not the fee. The policy was changed to include a sliding scale of land to be dedicated based on density of a development. This allows the overall dedication to be in balance with the increased need for parks created by the additional residents. The requirement for commercial and industrial dedication was removed. Staff did not find approvals where commercial and industrial developments were charged park dedication while that requirement was in effect between 2002 and 2010. An appeal process was also added to the policy, in keeping with state statutes. 7. PARK DEDICATION POLICY REVIEW: After their review in September 2021, the Parks Commission did not recommend changes to the Park Dedication Ordinance and agreed that it continues to serve the City of Hugo well and is in keeping with Minnesota Statute 462.358: • Funds collected are used only for purchasing park land or construction of new park amenities through the use of the Special Park Fund. These funds are not used for maintenance or operation. -4- Park Dedication Fee November 15, 2021