DEEPHAVEN BOAT COMMITTEE
Wednesday,
March 8, 2006
Minutes
Vice-Chairman
Pete Onstad called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m.
Pete Onstad, Darel Gustafson, Ed Towey, Marc Anderson, Larry Parkhurst, Oliver Arrett, Council Liaison Keith Kask, City Administrator Dana Young
The Committee approved the February 8 & 15, 2006 minutes on a motion by Marc Anderson, seconded by Oliver Arrett. Motion carried 6-0.
Dana Young presented a letter from Dick Kreutter regarding the proposed Comprehensive Dock Plan.
Candidates that had been scheduled to interview for a vacant position on the Boat Committee were not in attendance.
Pete
Onstad asked Keith Kask to comment on the Council’s reaction to the Boat
Committee’s presentation of the Comprehensive Dock Plan on February 21st. Keith Kask stated that the Committee, as he
understood it, had been asked to review alternatives that would make better use
of marina resources. He stated that the
proposed dock plan changes the configuration of the docks and that the plan
probably does not meet all of the Council’s expectations. He stated that it would be presumptuous to
think that the plan is going to address a 50-year tradition of docks, slides
and buoys. He added that he believes
that the plan is pretty complete with the exception of the slides.
Darel
Gustafson stated that he felt the plan falls short of what he would consider as
comprehensive even though it does address each bay. He stated that slides and the waiting list
have not been addressed in a meaningful fashion.
Ed
Towey stated that he was unable to attend the presentation before the City
Council and asked what he had missed?
Pete Onstad stated that overall the plan was well received by the
Council although the Committee didn’t do their homework on the number of slips
and slides. Marc Anderson stated that
the presentation was hurt by the Committee’s lack of knowledge on the number of
BSU’s proposed by the plan. Oliver
Arrett stated that at the conclusion of the presentation the Council clearly
wanted the Committee to go see what the LMCD would approve.
Larry
Parkhurst stated that he had several comments regarding the presentation. He stated that the Council liked the plan
regarding the removal of the shorespace, felt that dual ownership of spaces had
to change, the BSU count should not increase, the plan should be developed
within the historical setbacks, the fees charged are too low, the Council
appeared less enamored with the roller slides than the Committee, and
recommended that the Committee run the plan by the LMCD.
Ed
Towey asked what is the Committee supposed to do now? Oliver Arrett stated that the Committee has
been asked by the Council to present the plan to the LMCD. Keith Kask stated that the Council would like
the Committee to use LMCD Representative David Gross as a sounding board. Larry Parkhurst reminded the Committee that
the purpose of presenting the plan to the Council was not necessarily to obtain
approval of the plan but to simply obtain feedback and nothing else. Ed Towey stated that it is going to be
difficult to get feedback from the LMCD staff. He stated that they only provide you with the
rules and regulations pertaining to your plan and nothing else. Further discussion was held on the three
areas of the plan that would require variances from the LMCD – the north side
setback in St. Louis Bay, the length of any docks in excess of 100’ in Carson’s
Bay & the angle of the side lot line along Randy Boyd’s property.
Marc
Anderson presented a plan that proposed to maximize the dockage space in both
St. Louis Bay and Carson’s Bay. A copy
of the plan is attached. The plan
proposes to eliminate all slides in Carson’s Bay in exchange for an additional
44 dock slips. The plan proposes to
eliminate shorespace in St. Louis Bay and reduce 26 slides in exchange for
another 20 dock slips. The Committee discussed
Marc Anderson’s plan at length and an alternate plan submitted by Larry
Parkhurst, which also maximized dock space using Wayzata’s and Excelsior’s dock
plans as a model. Larry Parkhurst’s plan
is also attached.
Pete
Onstad stated that the Committee should establish a specific action plan for
the next 30 days to ensure that progress on the Comprehensive Plan continues to
move forward. Further discussion was
held on the need to ensure the accuracy of the dimensions and setbacks to more
fully and accurately examine the impact of Marc Anderson’s proposed plan. The Committee recommended that Dana Young
obtain the CAD file on the docks from the City Engineer so that the Committee
can explore the different options themselves.
It was suggested that several options could be developed and taken to
the LMCD for their input.
Dana
Young stated that there have been problems with the buoys over the last few
summers resulting in several instances where sailboats have broken free from
their moorings. He stated that some of
these occurrences have been due to failures in the owner’s rope and others
appear to have been due to failures in the City’s cable line.
Ed
Towey also noted that the anchors that the City are using are also inadequate
and aren’t strong enough to prevent boats from drifting on their moorings. He stated that he would provide some
recommendations from the Practical Sailor magazine on the appropriate chain and
anchor to use.
Dana Young stated that there are two issues that need to be discussed regarding slide widths. The first issue concerns the current boats on the slides that appear to be pushing the limits of the 5’4” width requirement or are actually exceeding the width. He stated that City Staff, at the direction of the Boat Committee, has moved boats around on different slides in the attempt to more comfortably fit wider boats with smaller boats. However, he stated that this strategy is becoming less successful due to the generally wider boats and the loss of canoes on the slides. He asked the Committee how aggressive should City Staff be in enforcing the 5’4” width requirement in light of the fact that wider boats might be permitted some time in the near future? The Committee stated that all new boats that have received a permit following the adoption of the width requirement on slides must be in compliance with the ordinance.
Dana Young stated that the second slide width issue concerns several requests that the City has received from new permit holders seeking permission to store boats with a width in excess of 5’4”. He stated that these residents have heard the discussion that larger boats might be permitted on slides in the future and they would like to know if they would be able to obtain permission to store a wider boat on the slide now. The Committee stated that they have no idea when or if larger boats would be permitted on roller slides and recommended that all permit holders with slides be required to adhere to the 5’4” width requirement.
Dana Young stated that there had been some friction last year at the Shorespace docks due to inaccurately placed docks and that several Shorespace renters have requested that the City verify the location of each dock before they are installed. Pete Onstad stated that he believes it would be very beneficial if the City would reinstall the second location pin to enable the shorespace docks to be constructed at a proper perpendicular angle from the shore.
Dana
Young stated that he had received a request from a resident who had just been
granted a dock slip on Carson’s Bay to install an awning. Ed Towey stated that awnings have never been
permitted on the docks.
Motion to adjourn by Mark Anderson, seconded by Ed Towey. Motion carried 6-0. The meeting adjourned at 9:00 p.m. The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Boat Committee will be held on Wednesday, April 12, 2006.