twoBreeze

PPCC Meeting, Thursday, Oct 16, Social at 6:30pm; Meeting at 7pm

Park point woods for sale

Agenda items:

1.County Land Sale of large green spaces near 17th on the Bay- Gay Hooper. Residents are concerned about this “land grab” of property that was promised for conservation. Concerns about more development on Park Point have been raised.

Please see this important supporting documentation from several agencies.

Timeline:

  • October 21st, Commissioners are discussing all the tax forfeited land. The public can attend, but it is in Eveleth. 
  • November 4, they will vote whether to send the land to public auction, County Courthouse, 9:30 am.
  • February- Auction
  • Gay Hooper will give you a tour of these large parcels of land. 218-722-2357

What can you do to voice your opinion?

Contact your County Commissioners

Contact your legislators:

Erik Simonson

Roger Reinert

2. Update on Street End Study Group- Judy Dwyer & Bill Long

Special Meeting at 6:30 pm on Thursday, Regular Meeting 7pm

Hi Neighbors,

As requested by the membership in July, a group of community volunteers has put together a short presentation and a questionnaire on Street Ends for Thursday’s special meeting. Everyone is invited. The City Council has requested that Park Point community members meet and collect info re. street ends on Park Point. Please contact Councilor Gardner with any questions on the recently passed resolution.

The special meeting starts at 6:30pm at Lafayette. The September Breeze contains details from the community club members who are presenting on Thursday- Lyn Pegg, Judy Dwyer, Bill Long and John Sargent.

Regular meeting agenda:

Old business:

Updates from members on County Land sale.

New Business Items: Grant opportunity.

Opportunity for the PPCC

Here is an FYI re. Lafayette event on Saturday:

Park Point is hosting the annual meeting of Save Lake Superior Association to present the latest findings on climate change impacts to forests and waters of the Lake Superior watershed; and SLSA will begin a new tradition by honoring outstanding achievement.

Professors John Pastor and Liz Minor of UMD will present their latest findings at 9 AM Saturday Sept 20, 2014, at 3100 Minnesota Ave., Lafayette Square.  All are invited to attend and be informed as to what may be done to help protect Lake Superior.

Single in the Sunrise taken this morning.

photo 3

Sept Ember Trees

To view the new Breeze, or to check out vintage Breeze, click on ‘TheBreeze’ on the top menu bar.

 

Here’s the latest Breeze:

County Land Sale on Park Point- some answers and more questions

 

HI, The PPCC Exec. Board met last month and sent off a  list of questions to the county and city based on neighborhood conversations and concerns. We also cc’d Representatives Simon and Reinert re. recent legislation:

02/07/14 REVISOR CKM/TB 14-4491
4.1 Sec. 4. SALE OF NONCOMPLIANT TAX-FORFEITED LAND ON
4.2 MINNESOTA POINT, DULUTH.
4.3 Notwithstanding Minnesota Statutes, section 282.01, subdivision 7a, tax-forfeited
4.4 land located on Minnesota Point in Duluth, which cannot be improved because of
4.5 noncompliance with local ordinances regarding minimum area, shape, frontage, or access,
4.6 may, at the discretion of the St. Louis County auditor, be offered and sold by the county
4.7 auditor to any single, specific adjoining or adjacent landowner without notifying or
4.8 offering to sell to all adjoining or adjacent landowners.
4.9 Sec. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.
4.10 Sections 1 to 4 are effective the day following final enactment.

Here are the questions and the answers that I have received so far from county, city. 

Please contact County Commissioner Frank Jewell with questions and concerns.

Our executive board has fielded questions re. property adjacent to the Duluth Rowing Club, north side parcel. It is 010-3110-01950 and includes 12 lots -377 thru 399; borders the rowing club.

This property is  listed in the property tax look-up as county owned tax forfeited but it is not listed on the city council document.

In 2013, these parcels were already approved for sale by all the required parties.

What exactly is the status of that property? I have heard conflicting reports that the land will become City Park or DEDA property and not sold, offered  to the rowing club, sold at auction to interested parties across the street. Would you be willing to clear this up?

This parcel will be split into individual lots and offered to adjacent owners, with the exception of the three lots to the south.  Those three lots will require County Board approval for sale to DEDA.  Subsequently, DEDA could convey those parcels to the Rowing Club.

We have also had questions about the sale, use and monitoring of shoreline property that will be sold.

If adjacent owners are not interested or can’t afford,  will property be available to the public for sale?

Yes, for those parcels that are non-conforming, the adjacent owners will first be offered.  If they do not purchase, the parcels will then go to another method of sale.

Will there be a “reserve” price that must be met to sell the land? If so, how will that “reserve”be calculated? If the reserve is not met, what will happen to the property?

All parcels will be appraised.  Upon County Board approval, the minimum bid, or value (what you may be referring to as “reserve”) is the beginning price at auction, for those parcels that are conforming.   If the parcel has been to auction and not purchased, it will go on our Available Lands List.  This is where all of our unsold properties go after auction.

What type of structures may be built on the shoreline properties?  Ie fences, sheds, fire-pits? Can the lots be used for boat storage?

 All questions regarding zoning, should be directed to the City of Duluth Building Safety office.

Which city office will be responsible for monitoring/enforcing any applicable rules and regulations?

The City of Duluth is the zoning authority, and they will administer applicable ordinances.  As to “any” rules and regulations, there could be other entities involved, such as the DNR and Corps of Engineers.  It all depends on what rules and regulations you are speaking of.

The parcels behind Marcia Hales on 38th Street are in a Preservation zone in the Future Land Use and were not approved for sale.  The water lots South of 36th Street can only be used as “Accessory” to a primary use across Minnesota Avenue from those sites.  These are zoned R-1. (Hamre)

50-20: Use Specific Standards

3-31

Accessory Boat Dock, Residential

This use shall comply with the following standards:

1. Dockage of boats owned and primarily used by a resident of the property is a permitted accessory use to the primary residential use and shall not be limited in number;

2. If there is a residential structure on the property and the property has frontage on an improved street, the owner of the residential structure may rent out boat dockage to a maximum of two boats owned by others. If the property does not have frontage on an improved street, the owner of the residential structure may not rent dockage space to others. Boat dockage use on a property that is not residentially developed is permitted as a principal use provided that the use is limited to one boat for each lot or group of contiguous lots in the same ownership, and the boat is owned and primarily used by the owner of the property;

3. For each new rental boat dock space created or made legal after April 14, 1974, one off street parking space shall be provided in addition to all other off street parking spaces required by other legal uses of the property, such spaces to be constructed in accordance with Section 50-24;

4. At the request of the building official, the owner of property shall provide boat registration or other documentary evidence to prove compliance with these standards;

5. No buildings other than residential or residential accessory structures, no winter storage of boats other than those owned by a resident of the property in question, no repair facilities, fuel sales, food or refreshment sales, rentals of boats, boat or parts sales or displays or other commercial uses shall be permitted.

 What about minimum prices for the  non-conforming water lots? One neighbor currently leases bay side dock lot and wants to know what minimum bid will be on the land on the bay. 

The minimum prices for the non-conforming water lots will be set by the St. Louis County Board.  No prices/value/minimum bids are available for any of the parcels on Park Point, at this time.

When is the auction for the Park Point land for sale and how do you register to bid?

The special sale will be November 18, 2014 at 10:00 am, at the Depot in Duluth.  This sale will include other properties and is not limited to Park Point parcels.  As for registration, we are required to notify adjacent property owners of parcels to be sold at public auction.  We will send out a sale booklet to each of them.  There is a pre-registration form included in that booklet.  There will be a registration table on the day of the sale, as well, for anyone wanting to register the day of the sale.  (Registration doesn’t take very long.)   In addition, there is also be a form on our website: http://www.stlouiscountymn.gov/LANDPROPERTY/TaxForfeitFeeLands/TaxForfeitedLandSales.aspx

Dawn,

 Please keep me in the loop with whatever response you receive from the city. I am curious as well.
 Thank you.
Representative Erik Simonson
Room 429 State Office Building
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Saint Paul, Minnesota 55155
651-296-4246 
Follow me via e-mail updates at: http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/members/join.asp?id=15417
Hi Dawn:It looks like Karen from St. Louis County responded to your questions in some depth.  The county is the primary contact for tax-forfeited parcels.  The state has title, but turns all other aspects of sale and management over the counties.

R Reinert

 

Coast Guard Station Visit

Dear Chief Pump,

Thank you for hosting us for an awesome evening on Superior Bay!

Thanks, also, to our Community Police Officers for coming down with their horses and checking in with us.

IMG_5853 Welcome! Touring the Alder Pam G. Community Patrol joins us What's for dinner? Julie Down we go Bruce and Chief Pump Deb and Julie Great tour! on the fantale Al enjoys the tour Chief Pump Judy LeAne

 

PPCC Meeting on Thursday night, Aug. 21, at Coast Guard Station

Thank you to Chief Pump for his offer to host on Thursday night.

Social begins at 6:30pm followed by tour and short business meeting. Two Community Police Officers and their horses are also planning to attend.

Agenda items for business meeting:

Motion to amend last month’s resolution re. street end presentation from

“PPCC to hold a special community club meeting

to discuss and gather information on legal issues on street ends. The group

will meet in the next month.”

to

” The Special Meeting(s) re street ends on Park Point will be

held during regular PPCC monthly meetings on:

September 18, 2014 & October 16, 2014

The purposes of the special meetings will be to inform ourselves about the

legalities regarding street ends and public access, and to listen to each

other’s perspectives.”

City Planning’s Letter to PPCC re. Street End Process

Other topics under Watch Committee will be Tax Forfeit County Land Sale on Park Point. Here is new legislation passed that will affect the sale of lots in our community.

HF2240 passed the legislature in June of this year.   

02/07/14 REVISOR CKM/TB 14-4491

4.1 Sec. 4. SALE OF NONCOMPLIANT TAX-FORFEITED LAND ON
4.2 MINNESOTA POINT, DULUTH.
4.3 Notwithstanding Minnesota Statutes, section 282.01, subdivision 7a, tax-forfeited
4.4 land located on Minnesota Point in Duluth, which cannot be improved because of
4.5 noncompliance with local ordinances regarding minimum area, shape, frontage, or access,
4.6 may, at the discretion of the St. Louis County auditor, be offered and sold by the county
4.7 auditor to any single, specific adjoining or adjacent landowner without notifying or
4.8 offering to sell to all adjoining or adjacent landowners.
4.9 Sec. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.
4.10 Sections 1 to 4 are effective the day following final enactment.
Sky Harbor  Update- The Duluth Airport Authority asked PPCC to comment on runway configuration choice. Here is the letter drafted by members of the Executive Board.

Hope to see you on Thursday!

 

A gust or breeze

20140812_August_Breeze_2014.pdf  **NEW**

We have a wonderful community! Thanks for a memorable NNO 2014.

IMG_5689

Many thanks to the volunteers who worked on Tuesday night’s Neighborhood Celebration! Special thanks to the cooks of the pulled pork, the volunteers from the Lafayette Community Edible Garden & PPCC and to all of our neighbors who came out to share great food and enjoy each other’s company.

What a beautiful Park Point evening! 

IMG_5725 IMG_5726 IMG_5706 IMG_5707 IMG_5711 IMG_5713 IMG_5714 IMG_5716 IMG_5717 IMG_5718 IMG_5684 IMG_5687 IMG_5688 IMG_5697 IMG_5698 IMG_5700 IMG_5701 IMG_5704 IMG_5705 IMG_5669 IMG_5671 IMG_5672 IMG_5673 IMG_5674 IMG_5675 IMG_5681 IMG_5682 IMG_5683

 

Neighbor Night Out Potluck on Tuesday Aug. 5th 6-8pm Lafayette

August 5th is coming up quickly!

A group of our neighbors has been planning & putting together a party with great food, music and a fun “Park Point living” activity.

Please join us for pulled pork sandwiches, coleslaw and lemonade supplied by the Community Club and planning team.

Please bring along your favorite side dish, salad,  dessert etc. to share.

Would you ponder the question “The best thing about living on Park Point is ………………” and at the party  share  your answer on a banner ? Thank you!

Singer & songwriter Jamie Ness of The Boomchucks will provide music. Here is a link to The Boomchucks on facebook.

Looking forward to seeing you on Tuesday!