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HomeMy WebLinkAbout7.c. Drainage & Utility Easement G:\MEETINGS\UTILITY COMMISSION\UC Items and Packets\2019\20190617\7.c. Drainage & Utility Easement.docx E X E C U T I V E S U M M A R Y Utility Commission Meeting: June 17, 2019 AGENDA ITEM: Private Obstructions within City Easements Policy AGENDA SECTION: New Business PREPARED BY: Brian Erickson, PE, Director of Public Works / City Engineer Stephanie Smith, PE, Assistant City Engineer AGENDA NO. 7.c. ATTACHMENTS: Draft Private Obstructions Within City Easements Policy APPROVED BY: BLE RECOMMENDED ACTIONS: Recommend City Council adopt the policy regarding Private Obstructions within City Easements. BACKGROUND: An easement is an interest area of restricted use over land owned by another; it entitles the grantee to the use of the land in a manner and to the extent of the stated purposes of the easement. The underlying owner has a right to use the land on which the easement exists in a manner that does not interfere with the easement rights. The City owns a considerable number of stormwater pond easements and utility and drainage easements. These easement rights have arisen in one of the following three ways: a.) by dedication on a plat; b.) by specific grant of a recorded easement; or c.) by prescriptive easement. Obstructions in the drainage and utility easements area take many forms. The placement of fences, barriers and structures that interfere with drainage flow are perhaps the most recognizable obstructions. Improper grading by a landowner can also be an obstruction. Trees and vegetation near outlets and inlets can interfere with the design parameters of the drainage system. Improper placement of trees and vegetation can hinder access and affect the structural integrity of embankments. Sediment can reduce the efficiency of the ponds for water quality treatment and reduces the storage capacity of the ponds. The accumulation of excessive vegetation in the vicinity of inlets and outlets can, under certain circumstances, obstruct the free flow of water. Adopting this policy would put Rosemount in concurrence with our neighboring communities. This policy document is based on the policy of Inver Grove Heights. Eagan is considering adopting a similar policy. Lakeville and Apple Valley’s ordinances prohibit many obstructions within easements. PURPOSE: 2 The purpose of this policy is to provide guidelines, standards and directives to the City's Public Works Department to determine when obstructions to the City's stormwater and drainage and utility easements should be removed. The City has a significant investment in its stormwater and drainage and utility easements. This infrastructure was designed according to generally-accepted engineering standards. The ponds and drainage areas must be maintained according to the design parameters for stormwater quality treatment and flood control. The ponds and drainage areas must also be protected and maintained in order to preserve the City's investment and in order to comply with Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) Permit requirements and with National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) requirements. It is the City's intent to develop, implement and follow a policy aimed at keeping ponds and drainage areas in a condition that allows them to function in a manner for which they were designed or constructed. The decision to remove an obstruction should be a result of a policy. POLICY: If the Public Works Department determines that an obstruction exists within the easement area and that removal of the obstruction is reasonable and necessary to use, operate, access or maintain the easement area for stormwater ponds or drainage and utility purposes, then the Public Works Department is authorized and directed to remove the obstruction in the following manner: 1. Record Obstruction and Why It Must Be Removed. 2. 30-Day Notice to Landowner. (In an instance where an emergency exists, the Department is not required to send notice to the landowner and is not required to give the landowner an opportunity to remove the obstruction.) 3. Removal of Obstruction without Replacement. 4. Restoration by Seeding. The City, and in particular its Public Works Department, has a limited number of qualified employees to inspect, maintain, remove obstructions, and repair stormwater ponds and drainage structures. This means that the City, by and through its Public Works Director, must prioritize stormwater pond and drainage easement inspection, maintenance and repair activities. SUMMARY: Staff requested the Utility Commission recommend the City Council adopt the Private Obstructions within City Easements Policy. G:\MEETINGS\UTILITY COMMISSION\UC Items and Packets\2019\20190617\7.c. Drainage & Utility Easement - Attach 1.docx CITY OF ROSEMOUNT POLICY TITLE: DRAFT - PRIVATE OBSTRUCTIONS WITHIN CITY EASEMENTS EFFECTIVE DATE: JULY XX, 2019 POLICY NUMBER: P – 10 PROPOSED BY: PUBLIC WORKS DATE APPROVED BY COUNCIL: JULY XX, 2019 BACKGROUND An easement is an area of restricted use over land owned by another; it entitles the grantee to the use and enjoyment of the land in a manner and to the extent of the stated purposes of the easement. The holder of the easement has a right to use and maintain the easement area to the full and beneficial extent that the easement purposes allow. The underlying fee owner has a right to use the land on which the easement exists in a manner that does not interfere, restrict or otherwise jeopardize the easement rights. The grant of an easement over land does not preclude the grantor from using the land in a manner not unreasonably interfering with the special use for which the easement was acquired. The use of land by the easement holder and the fee owner both have to be reasonable with the recognition that the easement holder has a special and superior right with which the underlying landowner cannot interfere. The City owns a considerable number of stormwater pond easements and utility and drainage easements. These easement rights have arisen in one of the following three ways: a.) by dedication on a plat; b.) by specific grant of a recorded easement; or c.) by prescriptive easement. PURPOSE The purpose of this policy is to provide guidelines, standards and directives to the City's Public Works Department to determine when obstructions to the City's stormwater and drainage and utility easements should be removed. The City has a significant investment in its stormwater and drainage and utility easements. This infrastructure was designed according to generally-accepted engineering standards. The ponds and drainage areas must be maintained according to the design parameters for stormwater quality treatment and flood control. The ponds and drainage areas must also be protected and maintained in order to preserve the City's investment and in order to G:\MEETINGS\UTILITY COMMISSION\UC Items and Packets\2019\20190617\7.c. Drainage & Utility Easement - Attach 1.docx comply with Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) Permit requirements and with National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) requirements. It is the City's intent to develop, implement and follow a policy aimed at keeping ponds and drainage areas in a condition that allows them to function in a manner for which they were designed or constructed. Creation of a policy is a planning-level balancing process that takes into account the factors of economics, social effects, political concerns and the need to maintain the easements. The decision to remove an obstruction should be a result of a policy. The Public Works Department has asked the Council to set forth guidelines to assist in making this policy decision. PERTINENT CODE AND STATUTE MN Statute 505.01 Subd. 3 Definitions (b) “Drainage easement” means an easement for the purpose of controlling, preserving, and providing for the flow or storage of water. (j) “Utility easement” means an easement conveyed, granted, or dedicated to the public for utility purposes. Rosemount City Code 10-1-9 H. Retaining Walls: Retaining walls shall not be allowed in any city drainage, ponding or utility easement. 11-5-2 C.1. Permitted Yard Encroachments e. Fences And Walls: (1) Easements: All fences located in recorded easements are the sole risk of the property owner; and the cost of any removal, relocation, or placement of said structures caused by any activity permitted in said easements is the sole responsibility of the property owner. f. Picnic Shelters, Gazebos, Recreation Equipment, Etc “…No recreational play equipment may be stored, or installed in the right of way, any easement, public or private street, cul -de- sac, alley, path or sidewalk.” RECOMMENDED CODE ADDITIONS 11-5-2 C.1. Permitted Yard Encroachments g. Landscaping: All landscaping located in recorded easements is the sole risk of the property owner; and the cost of any removal or relocation caused by any activity permitted in said easements is the sole responsibility of the property owner. OBSTRUCTIONS Obstructions in the ponds and drainage areas take many forms. The placement of fences, barriers and structures that interfere with drainage flow are perhaps the most recognizable obstructi ons. Improper grading by a landowner can also be an obstruction. Trees and vegetation near outlets and inlets can interfere with the design parameters of the drainage system. Improper placement of trees and vegetation can hinder access and affect the structural integrity of embankments. Sediment can reduce the efficiency of the ponds for water quality treatment. Sediment also reduces the storage capacity of the ponds. The accumulation of excessive vegetation in the vicinity of inlets and outlets can, under certain circumstances, obstruct the free flow of water. G:\MEETINGS\UTILITY COMMISSION\UC Items and Packets\2019\20190617\7.c. Drainage & Utility Easement - Attach 1.docx REMOVAL OF OBSTRUCTIONS Policy Regarding Removal of Obstructions. An obstruction is any circumstance, condition, tree, vegetative material, landscaping material, fill, stockpile, yard ornament, boulder, structure, barrier, fence, retaining wall, or other object that does any of the following: a.) interferes with or presents a substantial risk of interference with the intended purpose of the easement; b.) hinders or presents a substantial risk of hindering the efficient or effective function of the easement; c.) creates an inconsistency with the design parameters of the easement or presents a substantial risk of creating an inconsistency with the design parameters of the easement; d.) reduces or presents a substantial risk of reducing the capacity of the stormwater pond or drainage area; e.) hinders or presents a substantial risk of hindering the flow of stormwater to and from ponds in a controlled manner; or f.) hinders or presents a substantial risk of hindering accessibility to ponds and drainage areas. Obstructions interfere with proper maintenance. The policy of the City is to provide adequate maintenance. If the Public Works Department determines that an obstruction exists within the easement area and that removal of the obstruction is reasonable and necessary to use, operate, access or maintain the easement area for stormwater ponds or drainage and utility purposes, then the Public Works Department is authorized and directed to remove the obstruction in the following manner: a.) Record of Why Obstruction Must Be Removed. The Department shall keep a written record to document why the obstruction is being removed. Where practicable, the Department shall also attempt to photograph the condition of the obstruction prior to removal. b.) Notice to Landowner.* Prior to the Department removing the obstruction, the Department shall send notice to the landowner that the obstruction needs to be removed and the Department shall allow the landowner 30 days from the notice to remove the obstruction. The notice shall describe the obstruction and state the reason why the obstruction must be removed. In an instance where an emergency exists, the Department is not required to send notice to the landowner and is not required to give the landowner an opportunity to remove the obstruction. An emergency shall be an instance where there is imminent danger or threat of damage to a person or property if the obstruction is not immediately removed as determined by the reasonable judgment of the Director of Public Works or the Director's designees. c.) Removal of Obstruction. If the landowner has not removed the obstruction, the Department may proceed to do so. The City is not required to salvage or preserve the obstruction if the landowner has not removed the obstruction. d.) No Replacement of Obstruction. The City has no obligation to replace or compensate for the obstruction. G:\MEETINGS\UTILITY COMMISSION\UC Items and Packets\2019\20190617\7.c. Drainage & Utility Easement - Attach 1.docx e.) Restoration. If removal of the obstruction has disturbed the lawn area of the landowner's property, the Department shall restore the disturbed area by seeding the area. The landowner is expected to water the seeded area as necessary. The City is under no obligation to restore landscaping or gardens. * Notice to the landowner means a written notice sent by regular mail to the address of the landowner as shown on the tax records for the property. SPECIFIC CIRCUMSTANCES The following specific guidelines apply to the situations described below: a.) Dead Trees. If there are dead trees within, near or around the stormwater pond and if the Department has determined that the trees in this particular location do not constitute obstructions, the Department may leave the trees in their location without cutting them down. b.) Live Trees or Shrubs. Live trees or shrubs in the easement area that hinder or interfere with access to ponds or adversely affect the function of ponds shall be removed and not replaced. c.) Removal of Sediment. If sediment is removed from a stormwater pond, the sediment shall be hauled-off from the site and shall not be replaced in the easement area unless the sediment is used to restore the areas where erosion has occurred which resulted in the sediment. BUDGETARY AND OTHER RESOURCE LIMITATIONS The significant number of obstructions within the stormwater ponds and drainage and utility easements can pose challenges in terms of scheduling removal, allocating personnel resources and having sufficient funds to accomplish the removal. Other factors such as geography, hydrology, access, political considerations, the wishes of City residents, and the skills and available time of existing employees also must be considered when scheduling removal and allocating personnel resources and budgetary amounts. The City recognizes that the activities authorized under this policy will be ongoing from year to year and will be subject to the annual budget appropriations generally determined by the Council and subject to priorities as established by the City's Director of Public Works. The City has numerous stormwater retention and drainage facilities as shown on the City Easement Map, as amended from time to time. Future development and redevelopment often require adding new or modified existing drainage structures. The City, and in particular its Public Works Department, has a limited number of qualified employees to inspect, maintain, remove obstructions, and repair stormwater ponds and drainage structures. This means that the City, by and through its Public Works Director, must prioritize stormwater pond and drainage easement inspection, maintenance and repair activities. The Director of Public Works, taking into consideration budgetary and other resources limitations identified by the Director, will establish and amend from time to time, a schedule or plan for inspection and maintenance of stormwater ponds and other drainage facilities. The inspection and maintenance schedule or plan, as established by the Director, may be modified as circumstances and availability of resources require. The City may also rely primarily on landowner complaints or reports to obtain information about and to respond to the reported conditions. Inspections may include formal G:\MEETINGS\UTILITY COMMISSION\UC Items and Packets\2019\20190617\7.c. Drainage & Utility Easement - Attach 1.docx scheduled inspections required to obtain or retain applicable permits, "drive by" visual inspections, and other informal unscheduled inspections or maintenance performed while City employees are performing other job duties.