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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1980-01-09 Commission Study Report • BAYPORT - BAYTOWN - OAK PARK HEIGHTS STUDY CO_MMISSIOi1 January 9, 1980 • Bayport - Baytown - Oak Park Heights Study Commission I. INTRODUCTION This report is in response to a decision by the City Councils of Oak Park Heights, Bayport, and Baytown Township to form a Study Commission to provide assistance and information regarding the feasibility of adjusting municipal boundaries in the Oak Park Heights, Bayport, and Baytown area. The scope of the study includes brief analysis of the existing land use in the area as well as other factors as such as local service provisions, environmental concerns, fiscal trends and boundary considerations for each boundary within the study area. This preliminary analysis should lead to a discussion of al- ternative boundary adjustments for the study area in the three communities involved. Based upon the discussion contained in the statement, preliminary recommendations for boundary adjustments and other alternatives, within this study area, is indicated on the final pages of tnis report. These recommendations are not considered as final con- clusions or recommendations for the study area but merely are to be regarded as preliminary suggestions upon which further study and investigation can take place if the communities in- volved desire to do so. II. LONG -RANGE GROWTH PROJECTIONS The Cities of Stillwater, Bayport and Oak Park Heights are considered a Freestanding Growth Center in the Metropolitan Development Framework Plan as is set forth by the Metropolitan Council. Freestanding Growth Centers have been designated by the Metropolitan Council so that metropolitan investments can be concentrated in a limited number of city centers that can potentially absorb the major portion of rural growth. It is suggested by the Metropolitan Council that Freestanding Growth Centers should inventory their community facilities and assess their potentials and desires for growth. Growth should be planned and managed to revitalize and rehabilitate older sections of the city, or cities involved, to allow the orderly and economic extension of urban services, to prevent the con- tamination of groundwater by random development on unsuitable soils, and to preserve commercial agricultural activities on land not immediately needed for urbanization. It is the further recommendation of the Metropolitan Council that peripheral land • should be annexed in a staged and orderly manner consistant with the city's ability to provide municipal services. Employment and retail opportunities should be encouraged in order to maintain community identity and minimize dependence on the Twin City area. Nonfarm rural area development must be controlled to make orderly development possible. POPULATION AND HOUSING CHARACTERISTICS Oak Park Heights Bayport Baytown House Population House Population House Population 1978 774 2,090 689 2,970 241 890 1979 838 2,130 686 2,890 240 880 1980 880 2,600 720 3,000 270 900 1990 1,200 3,600 780 2,900 370 1,200 2000 1,400 3,900 830 2,900 450 1,300 Oak Park Heights Bayport Baytown Change in Population 1978 -2000 1,810 -70 420 Change in Households 1978 -2000 626 141 209 III. MMETROPOLITAN SYSTEM /ANALYSIS A. TRANSPORTATION TH 36 and TH 212 provide the major access east and west through the central part of the area under study and provide the major access to and from St. Paul. TH 96 in the northern portion of the area and US 12 in the southern portion of the area also provide an east -west access. The proposed freeway I -94 on the existing US 12 will provide better access in the east -west direction in the southern portion of the study area through West Lakeland. TH 95, which runs adjacent to the St. Croix River, provides the major access north and south through the eastern part of the area. County Road 15 and portions of TH 212 provide for major accessrorth and south in the western portion of the study area. Major at grade access points from the major east /west road of the TH 36/212 are at CR 15, CR 66, CR 67, and TH 95. -2- S . • Currently there are no future improvements planned for this facility through 1990. Public transit exists for the study area within the Cities of Stillwater and Bayport to the City of St. Paul. There is no present plan to provide any metropolitan transit service to Baytown Township. The City of Oak Park Heights has limited service along TH 212. B. AIRPORTS Lake Elmo Airport is located in sections 18 and 19 of Baytown and West Lakeland Townships. The airport is com- prised of approximately 640 acres and is classified as a minor facility in the general aviation classification of the regional airports system. The airport is owned by the Metropolitan Airports Commission and is operated for public use to operators of small single and light twin - engine propeller aircrafts. (Airport Impact Analysis on Services and Location, see Appendix A.) C. PARKS AND OPEN SPACE There currently exists both in the Cities of Bayport and Oak Park Heights dedicated park and playground areas.cal- culated to serve present and anticipated future population of the respective Cities. The Regional Recreation Open Space System Plan map indicates that part of the Regional Trail system will be located in the Cities of Oak Park Heights and Bayport as well as Baytown Township (see attached map). D. WASTE MANAGEMENT The figures provided within this analysis on waste manage- ment were provided by the Metropolitan Council and may be subject to correction upon review of the various City's officials and professional assistance serving the Cities of Oak Park Heights and Bayport. The Stillwater Wastewater Treatment Plant, located in the City of Oak Park Heights about .2 mile southeast of the intersection of Highways 95 and 212, serves the Cities of Oak Park Heights and Stillwater and part of Stillwater Town- ship. The plant has a design capacity of 3.0 million gallons per day (MGD) average flow, however, a recent evaluation of the plant by the Metropolitan Waste Control Commission (MWCC) recommends that average annual flow be limited to 2.45 MGD to meet existing NPDES permit limitations. Current flow to the plant is 2.22 MGD as of 1978 (see Figure 4). -3- • • The Bayport Wastewater Treatment plant is located in the City of Bayport about .1 mile east of TH 95 and south of Third Avenue. The plant is designed to treat an average daily flow of .65 MGD. In 1978 the plant treated an average daily flow of .47 MGD. It appears that this facility has the capacity to meet the needs of its service area through the mid- 1980s. Studies regarding the plant for expansion or other alternatives for services are in- cluded in the MSCC 201 Facility Planning Program (see Figure 4). Both the Cities of Oak Park Heights and Bayport have enough capacity in their local systems to provide service to an- ticipated demand through the year 1990. Total average daily flow for the City of Oak Park Heights is planned to be .38 MGD for 1990; the total average daily flow for the City of Bayport is anticipated to be .63 MGD. The sewered population of Oak Park Heights and Bayport in 1990 is assumed to be 3,600 and 2,900 respectively. It is antici- pated that both the Bayport and Stillwater plants will be expanded in the mid to late 1980s and at that time the plant capacities will provide enough capacity to handle anticipated growth beyond the borders of both Oak Park Heights and Bayport. This can occur even if flow from the Bayport plant is eventually diverted to the Stillwater plant during the mid to late 1980s. If the Bayport plant is phased out, capacity of the Stillwater plant could easily be expanded to handle anticipated demand beyond the cities' boundaries in Baytown or Stillwater Townships. Baytown Township should anticipate that any extensions for sewer service into the areas along TH 212 -36, the new state prison and other adjacent areas to the City of Oak Park Heights must be serviced, if at all, through the City of Oak Park Heights sewer system. Service generally would be pro- vided along a trunk sewer line along TH 212 (see Figure 4). Costs for such service and assessments would be included in the Comprehensive Sewer Plan for the community in which service is provided. In other words, boundary adjustments in which one or more communities are formed, would indicate areas of service and assessments to those areas in whicn tie community would provide service. IV. GOVERNMENTAL STRUCTURE A. FACTORS FOR CONSIDERATIOJ 1. Environmental Analysis Major watersheds and natural drainage areas should be considered in adjusting municipal boundaries. This is -4- • • primarily due to the planning and construction of sani- tary and stormwater sewer systems in order to take advantage of gravity flow. This type of planning utilitizes resources efficiently, avoids major pollution problems and protects valuable resources due to avoidance of upstream runoff on downstream portions of an area. The planning and construction of sanitary and stormwater sewer systems will require further analysis with regard to the major watersheds before final recommendation can be made as to the possible alteration of municipal boundaries. There are several watersheds in the area that eventually drain into the St. Croix River (see Figure 1). One major watershed that primarily covers the study area includes a large portion of the City of Stillwater, most of Baytown Township (with the exception of the southwest corner of the township where Lake Elmo airport is located), all of Oak Park Heights and Bayport and a substantial portion of West Lakeland Township (see Figure 1). The topography of the study area shows a_ distinct bluff line running in a north -south direction through the area near and adjacent to the St. Croix River (see Figure 1). In the City of Bayport, all of the development has taken place below the bluff line since the prison -owned property is on top. In Oak Park Heights, much of the area below the bluff line is owned by NSP. Generally, the area on top of the bluff and to the west in Baytown consists of gravelly flat land or gently rolling hills. This area consists of scattered homes, hobby farms and a few commer- cial agricultural farms. A large eastern portion of Baytown Uownship is owned by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and is indicated in Figure 2. The DNR owned land amounts to approximately 630 acres in the communities. The study area generally consists of well to excessively well drained sandy, silty and loamy soils underlain by sandy and /or gravelly material. Seasonal high water table is generally below 6 feet, soil strength is fair to good, permeability varies widely and slopes range from 0 to 12 percent. Soils in this area are generally suitable for most kinds of community development, however, there are some areas that are severely limited for community develop- ment with onsite sewage absorption systems due to slow soil permeability. These areas are depicted in Figure 3. Environmentally - sensitive areas within the study are those areas along the St. Croix River shoreland. The Lower St. Croix Master Plan established a state riverway zone along the St. Ctoix and communities need to adopt ordinances to portect these shorelands. The bluff areas are also desig- nated as areas that should be protected from both scenic -5- • • and environmental disruption. These areas should be addressed in the comprehensive plans of a community. 2. Fiscal Analysis The following information provides a brief comparison of the assessed valuations, mill rates and bonded in- debtedness of the three communities within the general study area. No attempt is made herein to make a final determination on the affect of assessed valuations, mill rates and bonded indebtedness in the event of boundary adjustment as set forth within the recommendations at the end of this report, as the same will require further analysis as to the fiscal effects of boundary adjustment. This information should be viewed very carefully when determining potential tax revenues and levels of service that will be considered. As shown in Table 1, the Cities of Oak Park Heights and Bayport have considerably more property tax base than Baytown Township due in part to the commercial and industrial development within the two cities. Commerical development along TH 36/212 in Baytown Township has contributed to an increase in their tax base, especially during the early to mid 1970s. However, the additional commercial and industrial development has created a demand for more services such as municipal water and sewer which have fiscal implications. Analysis of such services to the tax base will be provided in part in the boundary analysis section of this report and will also be in need of further examination and analysis by the communities. -6- • d. Municipal State Aid One possible benefit to the three communities in the event of boundary adjustment, by annexation or possible consolidation, could be the eligibility from Municipal State Aids. Upon the population of any municipality reaching 5,000 it would qualify the municipality for Municipal State Aid Street funds. The Metropolitan Council combined projected 1980 popu- lation for Bayport, Baytown and Oak Park Heights is 6,500. The combined populations of Oak Park Heights and Baytown projected in year 1990 by the Metropolitan Council,in and cf themselves, also approaches 5,000. However, current development ongoing within the City of Oak Park Heights and potential developments in the southwestern sections of the City, may substantially increase the population within the City of Oak Park Heights past the Metropolitan Council's population projection for the 1980s. A municipality's apportionment, for Municipal State Aids, islased upon a formula of 50 percent of the population and 50 percent money needs. Minnesota Statutes Chapter 162.13 subdivision 1(2) directs that each city having a population of 5,000 or more shall receive of such amount the percentage that its populationlears to the total population of all such cities. Each city over 5,000 receives a percent- age of the total allocation based on the size of its population in relation to the total population of all cities qualifying for State Aid funds. The City of Mendota Heights has a population of 6,565, which is very close to the 6,500 projected for Baytown, Bayport and Oak Park Heights. Mendota Heights' popula- tion apportionment was $41,550 in 1979. The money needs apportionment is calculated by taking total mileage of state aid qualifying streets within a municipality and subtracting county and trunk highway state aid roads. The remaining figure is then multi- plied by 20 percent which gives miles eligible to desig- nate. It is then up to (ach municipality to determine what its capital improvements needs will be for the designated miles of eligible streets. Each municipality will have to discuss these needs with the Minnesota -7- Department of Transportation's District State Aids Engineer and obtain his concurrence with their pro- posed cost estimates. Each municipality's needs apportionment will vary depending on the level of its capital improvements needs for road construction. Of a municipality's total allocation, 25 percent or $1,500 per mile of improved Municipal State Aid Streets, whichever is the least, may be used by the municipality as an allotment for maintenance of Municipal State Aid Streets. The rest of the total allocation should be used for approved capital improvements. In the event the three communities decide to consolidate, they should contact the State Department of Transportation, District 9, State Aids Engineer for further details in partici- pating in the Municipal State Aids allocation. Any consideration of a Municipal State Aid Grant, insofar as it affects a possible boundary adjustment and /or consolidation, may be minimized due to the increased capital expense and road maintenance costs that a City of population of 5,000, or more, would incur. e. Urban Rural Taxing Districts The Urban Rural Taxing District can be used for the purpose of protecting areas that are rural in character and arerot planned to be developed for commercial industrial or urban residential purposes. A City may adopt an ordinance which divides its area into an urban service taxing district and a rural service taxing dis- trict, for reasons that rural areas are not benefited to the same degree as other lands with municipal ser- vices. Rural land is taxed at a lower rate then urban land because it may not yet be receiving the full bene- fit of urban services. 3. Local Service Analysis a. Police Protection Police service is provided to the residents. of Bayport and Oak Park Heights through each community's respec- tive full -time police department. These departments provide 20 -hour service on a full -time basis with four - hour service during the early morning hours on an on- call basis. Baytown Township obtains police service for its residents through the County Sheriff's Depart- ment. The township utilizes the service the county provides to all the townships or communities that do -8- • . not have their own full -time police department. Generally, the service is that of routine patrol, response to calls, criminal investigation and utilization of the county jail for all offenders throughout the county. The departments of Bayport and Oak Park Heights consist of three and four full -time officers re- spectively in each community. In addition, each department has two patrol cars and 1979 budgets of $93,708 and $90,000 respectively. Differences in the budgets between the cities of Bayport and Oak Park Heights are in part the result of differing pay scales existing between the two police depart- ments of those respective cities. It could be anticipated that additional expense and administrative costs would be incurred in this area in the event there should ever be a consolidation occurring be- tween the cities of Bayport and Oak Park Heights. The major issue which all political jurisdictions must deal with is the provision of service to areas in which substantial growth has occurred. Generally, growth, whether by new subdivision construction or the filling in of platted subdivisions, has led to an increase in demand for services as density within an area increases. The response to this service de- mand has been handled through a variety of institutional arrangements. In many cases an increased demand for service leads to a contractual arrangement with the county sheriff to provide additional service at an hourly rate. What this arrangement primarily provides is the physical presence of a sheriff's patrol car within the community for a specified number of hours. This per community as to the number of hours of service, etc. Another arrangement is the establishment of a local police department. Generally, a local community hires one or two patrolmen to provide service from 12 to 16 hours per day, with the county sheriff picking up coverage for the remaining time of the 24 -hour day. As a community further develops, it becomes necessary to form afull -time department which consists of, at a minimum, five officers. This generally occurs within a five -year period from when a community first hires one or two officers to provide additional service. Finally, there are joint arrangements between two or more communities to provide service in which a depart- ment may be forced to provide protection for a number -9- • of communities. Thus, it can be said that in response to development within the area, a number of arrange- ments exist and are utilized to meet this service demand. In conclusion, it can be said that national and state studies have indicated that economy of scales are realized when consolidation of police protection occurs between one or more political jurisdictions. This is especially true with respect to purchasing equipment and providing 24 -hour protection to an area. It appears that necessary protection for 24- hours, seven days a week, requires at a minimum, five full -time officers. Cooperative agreements and possible merging of the two existing departments into one department may provide better service and recognize economics of scale through such things as capital equipment purchases, etc., if it is to be assumed that both departments are substanially equal in terms of equipment and services provided. It should be expected that initial adminis- trative expenses for any changeover or merging of the departments, if that is to be sought, may be high es- pecially since the two departments seem to vary as to rates of pay for their patrolmen, benefits, and equip- ment provided. b. Fire Protection The City of Bayport provides fire service on a contract- ual basis to the City of Oak Park Heights as well as the Townships of West Lakeland and Baytown. The con- tractual arrangement provides for payment per fire run as well as an hourly rate. Contracts have been made not only with the above mentioned communities but also with the state prison and the DNR for its property. The fire department is volunteer, located within the City of Bayport. Each year contracts are negotiated with each community for a flat fee which is in addition to any payment for a fire run. The flat fee is based on a percentage of assessed valuation and has been increased on an annual basis by approximately 10 per- cent. For 1979, the City of Oak Park Heights' contract is for $4,232 and Baytown Township's contract is for $1,338. Bayport's 1979 proposed budget for fire pro- tection is $31,500. In order to financially support a fire department, a community needs to have the necessary population base as well as the necessary community manpower to -10- • answer day alarms. Most rural communities do not have the necessary community manpower to provide a volunteer department, as most of these men work in a town or the Twin Cities. In the case of Bayport, the community does have the necessary manpower through its daytime employment base of Anderson Windows and the NSP plant to provide the necessary volunteers for the department. It could be assumed that any change in cpvernment structure for the study area would still include the present arrangement for providing fire protection to the area. It is anticipated that there would be no substantial change in the present fire protection arrangement with the City of Bayport between the three communities, regardless of any boundary alterations by annexation or otherwise for at least the next five years. Growth and expansion within the Bayport Fire Department to meet possible increases and demand for services throughout the communities of Oak Park Heights and Baytown Township as develop- ment occurs over the next several years could be met by the additional purchase by contract of other fire protection services for certain areas from neighboring fire departments or the possible creation of a fire protection district in the area to meet those antici- pated needs. Administrative costs and capital expenditures for providing that fire protection service may be lessened through cooperative agreements, the creation of fire protection district, or a possible consolidation be- tween the three communities. c. Road and Street Maintenance Road and street maintenance are generally provided by the municipality for incorporated areas. The City of Bayport provides its own public works department which has such services as snow removal, street lighting, street sweeping, tree planting, refuse collection, street repair maintenance and water and sewer operation. The City of Oak Park Heights also provides all of these services, however, it does so by the extensive use of contract. The Township of Baytown provides by contract only for snow plowing and road maintenance. Proposed 1979 budgets for these services vary for each community. Bayport proposes to spend $119,492 this year; the services it provides vary from the other two communities. The City of Oak Park Heights proposes to spend approximately $112,379 this year and its service -11- . • provisions are somewhat different from the other two communities. The Township of Baytown will spend approximately $12,000 this coming fiscal year, but will only provide services such as road maintenance (includes a road seal- coating project for the year) and snow plowing while the two incorporated munici- palities provide many more services already noted. As previously noted, road and street maintenance is much more costly and far ranging in the Cities of Bayport and Oak Park Heights than for Baytown Town- ship. However, it should be pointed out that as growth occurs the demand toward quality and expansion of services may be anticipated. In general, the effects of residential nonfarm growth upon road ser- vices in rural areas do not seem to be immediate. That is, much growth can be absorbed in the average unincorporated township before services alter appreci- ably. However as growth occurs, the amount of con- tracted services increases. Initial demands from urban dwellers involve a better quality of services; earlier snow plowing, more frequent grading, keeping the dust dcwn. In addition, the effect of growth causes not only an expansion of existing services, but a demand for new or additional services. The new or additional services include street sweeping, in- stallation of storm sewer systems, street lighting, traffic controls, signs, etc. Thus, as a rural area becomes densely populated, its service needs change from rural to urban oriented even when residents share rural values. Insofar as the City of Bayport maintains its own equipment to provide for its own road and street maintenance and public utilities services and due to the extensive use by the City of Oak Park Heights and Baytown Township of a contracting system which provides for those identical services, it would appear that there would be significant administrative problems and costs if there were to occur a merger between the City of Oak Park Heights and Bayport, with regard to the Public Works Department in those respective cities. It would be reasonable to expect that in order to provide for uniform public work ser- vice for the entire community, in the event of a consolidation, that the needs of the entire area would have to be either met by contract or that the additional necessary capital equipment and manpower would have to be purchased and employed to create a full time public -12- • works department, which would meet the needs of the area through use of its own equipment. Availability of state and federal funding used to defray the cost of providing such services may be minimal in view of the capital and administrative expense which would occur. 4. Land Use Implications Land use within the three communities ranges from commer- cial farming and large lot single- family residential development in Baytown Township to residential, commercial and industrial development in Oak Park Heights and Bayport. In addition, both Oak Park Heights and Bayport have a significant amount of land that is owned by the State Department of Corrections. The Development Framework chapter of the Metropolitan Development Guide indicates that the Cities of Stillwater, Bayport and Oak Park Heights comprise the Stillwater Area Freestanding Growth Center. As mentioned earlier, Free- standing Growth Centers have been designated so that metropolitan investments can be concentrated in a limited number of City Centers that can potentially absorb the major portion of rural growth. Freestanding Growth Centers have, on a reduced scale, the characteristics of the Metropolitan Area as a whole. That is, they have a downtown and older core, a developing fringe, and a surrounding rural area. Consequently, many of the policies that are discussed for the other planning areas are applicable to these communities on a smaller scale. Rehabilitation and revitalization of older core areas is one parallel, and the management of growth on the fringe is another. Orderly growth, the extension of sewers and roads, and protection of the environment are specific issues of concern that the Freestanding Growth Centers have in common with the central cities and suburbs. The following Development Framework policy applies to Free- standing Growth Centers: Policy 17 a. Freestanding Growth Centers provide an alternative to large city living and accommodate growth which might otherwise occur as scattered rural nonfarm development. Therefore, Freestanding Growth Centers should receive metropolitan investment to assist in providing urban services adequate to accommodate the population and employemnt projected for them. b. Freestanding Growth Centers should accommodate their share of metropolitan growth as indicated by the - -13- r development framework. There should be effective development restrictions in the surrounding rural area to prevent development on unserviced lots out- side of the city's service boundaries. c. Adequate local services, such as schools, police and fire protection, public streets, water and drainage facilities, and parks and recreation, should be planned for the population and employment densities antici- pated. Areas of the community where local services are available should be developed first. New land should be opened for urbanization in a staged, contiguous man- ner through a coordinated program of public service extensions. Existing facilities, including schools, should be used to full capacity; cooperative arrange- ments between service districts should be made if necessary. Investment in all services, including schools, shall be consistent with local and metropolitan development plans. d. Community development should be compatible with features of the natural environment, including the soils, the hydrologic system, sand and gravel deposit sites and woodlands. e. Community development should provide a range of housing types for all income levels convenient to employment, public transportation, shopping and services. f. Plans for population growth should be accompanied by programs to expand employment opportunities in order to minimize commuting into the urban area. Business activities should be located in the downtown and in planned industrial parks. g. Density of development should be planned by local authorities to be consistent with the capacity of Metropolitan Sewer and Transportation Service; federal, state, and metropolitan environmental standards; and the continuation of agricultural activities on land not immediately programmed for urban expansion. h. Involuntary concentrations of low - income persons should be reduced by providing housing opportunities and associated social services for them. Currently the Metropolitan Council plan to establish a Freestanding Growth Center in this community does not exist, insofar as a significant portion of the population -14- 111 111 contained within the three community area is dependent for employment in the Metropolitan area. It does not appear that the concept of a Freestanding Growth Center existing in this community will be realized, if at all, for a significant period of time. - It is intended that Freestanding Growth Centers would absorb the majority of new growth in the rural area. For this reason a major concern of the Council is whether there is sufficient land to meet the expected growth demands of the Freestanding Growth Center. The Metro- politan Development Framework forecast for the area indicates a demand of 2.3 square miles of vacant develop- able land to meet the expected growth demands for this area to the year 1990. The amount of vacant developable land within Bayport, Oak Park Heights and Stillwater com- bined is approximately 1.5 square miles. Stillwater Township has an additional .9 square mile of severed developable land. It is felt that a portion of the unmet demand for developable land will be served by Baytown. The process of extending urban services into urbanizing portions of the rural area can be very costly to a commu- nity and force the premature abandonment of commercial farming due to the high cost of sewer assessments. For this reason the study commission should investigate the establishment of staged growth areas in order to promote the most efficient and cost effective extension of urban services. Baytown Township The township covers 10.7 square miles and has been pre- dominantly with a significant amount of land currently in agricultural productions. Most large lot residential development is located in the eastern portion of the township. The Lake Elmo Airport is located in the south- western corner of the township and accounts for one square mile of land. The eastern boundary of the township with Bayport is owned by the DNR and is currently being farmed. According to conversations with the DNR, the land is intended to remain under their jurisdiction and is planned to be used as a form of wilderness preserve. However, the Department of Natural Resources plans and intentions for the property currently owned by them to be used as a form of wilderness preserve,will be signifi- cantly affected by development occurring within the City of Oak Park Heights and Baytown Township and should be -15- . . reviewed and possibly altered within the next three to six years. Baytown Township also has scattered gravel mining operations and various commercial estab- lishments. Bayport The City covers 1.4 square miles and is bordered on the east by the St. Croix River and the west by a bluff line which runs the entire length of the city. Bayport is primarily a fully - developed community with a mix of single - family residential housing ana various commercial establishments. Anderson Window Company is located in the city and provides the community with employment opportunities and industrial tax base. In addition, the Minnesota gate Prison is presently located at the northern edge of the city. Oak Park Heights The City covers 1.9 square miles and is bordered by Stillwater on the north, St. Croix River on the east ana Baytown Township on the south and west. Residential development has taken place in the north central and northeastern portions of the city. A major shopping mall and commercial strip have developed along the Highway 36 (212) corridor and the logical extension of that commer- cial development shall be west and south along the Highway 36/212 corridor. Industrial development with the NSP generating plant is confined to the riverfront area. The majority of undeveloped land within the community is located in the southwest portion of the city and resi- dential development is expected to occur in that area. A large portion of this land has been set aside for park and the new state prison. In conclusion, realizing tine demand for city services along the 212/36 corridor in Baytown Township, it appears that the future growth in the area will put the pressure for the urbanization of those in other portions of Baytown Township. It appears that based on the location of the existing sewer system in the City of Oak Park Heights, that the logical areas for urban expansion will be in the northern portions of the township, all of which must pre- sumably be serviced by Oak Park Heights water and sewer lines before urban expansion occurs. -16- • B. BOUNDARY ANALYSIS 1. General Analysis In analyzing the study area boundaries for a proposed community or communities, it is generally considered that the proposed study area does not seem to create any land use control problems. 2. Northern Boundary It is proposed that the northern boundary of the proposed community or communities should follow TH 36 and TH 212. 3. Western Boundary The western boundary of the proposed community or com- munities should follow the present boundary of Baytown Twonship. The advantages of this recommendation are first, this proposed boundary would approximate the major watershed boundaries and second, this area would probably be among the last areas to be developed and serviced with urban services as growth is expanded west from the City of Oak Park Heights. This would minimize land use controls and allow the development to occur in a staged manner which would be the most economical means for planning and ser- .vicing such development. 4. Southern Boundary The southern boundary of the proposed community or com- munities should follow the present southern boundary of Baytown Township which approximately follows County Road 14. Generally, the area in this development of the study area is rural in nature and if, when development occurs, that portion of it existing in the southeastern portion of the township could be served through Bayport. Also, the area's land uses are compatible to the Lake Elmo Airport located in the southwest corner of the town- ship. Advantages for leaving the airport within the present study area have been listed in the attached appen- dix. Advantages include low service requirements, receipt of taxes from hangers and other structures, business access to state and national aviation system and compatible land uses in and around the airport with the proposed and existing uses of the airport. -17- V. CONCLUSIONS /RECOMMENDATIONS The report in itself is preliminary and in need of further study and investigation. At this point, further study, - in- formation and analysis is needed by the communities to deter- mine the more specific effects of boundary alteration, particularly in the areas of engineering and fiscal management. Based upon the preliminary analysis, completed to date, it would appear that two possible recommendations exist and should be explored further, they are as follows: 1. That a significant portion of Baytown Township,being all the township west of County Road 21 and south of Oak Park Heights, be annexed or merged into the City of Oak Park Heightsvith remaining portions of Baytown Township lying east of County Road 21 being annexed to the City of Bayport. 2. That a consolidation be considered between the three com- munities. The advantages of recommendation 1 are as follows: A) Municipal water and sewer services from the City of Oak Park Heights to tae areas within the township currently expressing a need for those services could be provided relatively soon with a comprehensive sewer plan drawn to control future development witnin the township. B) Oak Park Heights having completed its comprehensive plan could review township future development, create rural taxing districts, and preserve areas of the township in their present form from immediate development. C) Since both Oak Park Heights and the township provide the bulk of their road maintenance and services by contract, minimal administrative expense would be incurred in extending the more extensive municipal services into the township. Further, no capital expenses would be incurred. D) Oak Park Heights police service could be immediately ex- tended into the township by the municipality with minimal expense and no additional capital expenditures. E) With the use of urban rural taxing districts,to be creates and otherwise, the community would remain financially stable with an acceptable mill rate. F) Administrative expense necessitates by the annexation to Oak Park Heights would be minimal. -18- • G) The Oak Park Heights /Baytown Township community would probably reach 5,000 in population and be eligible for municipal state aids within five years. H) Bayport would be provided with room for additional growth to the south of its borders for future expansion and planning. The area proposed to be annexed to Bayport presently receives minimal services and would not signifi- cantly increase municipal services already provided and budgeted by Bayport. I) Bayport police service could easily be extended into the area with minimal expense, if any. J) No significant administrative or capital expenditures would be required of either Cities of Oak Park Height or Bayport. OTHER CONSIDERATIONS Fire service now provided by all three communities by the City of Bayport ,would experience no appreciable change. As development increases in the western portion of the township over the next several years and the demand increases for additional fire protection, those additional services could be easily provided for by the creation of a fire protection district with the possible creation of a second station in the area or additional services may be purchased from the Cities of Stillwater or Lake Elmo. Generally the tax ratesfor the City of Oak Park Heights would either decrease or stay the same as they would for the City of Bayport. Those areas of the townships annexed to the respective cities may experience a slight increase in tax rates but the affect of that increase could be significantly deterred by tine creation of rural taxing districts. There would be no substantial change in the community identity of either the Cities of Bayport or Oak Park Heights and both would be allowed to maintain their current identities. There would be no need to change the form of government in either community with the exception that the City of Oak Park Heights which would take the more substantial portion of the township could consider establishing a ward system to assure equal repre- sentation in city government. CONSOLIDATION The advantages and disadvantages of the second recommendation may be as follows: -19- • • 1. To the extent that it is desirable, unified planning through comprehensive development of the entire three community area could take place. 2. The three community area would be eligible for immediate municipal state aids, however, the amount of money that would be available to the community under the Municipal State Aid System is currently unknown. 3. Over the span of several years, there may be a possibility that a consolidated community would experience some cost savings in the areas of administration, capital expenditures, storage and maintenance, expenditures, and basic municipal services. The disadvantages that would flow from consolidation would be as follows: 1. Significant administrative expenses would be incurred within any consolidation as consolidation would require the sub- stantial liquidation of city staff and materials which would duplicate the city's needs: A) Both the Cities of Oak Park Heights and Bayport currently maintain full -time administrative staff at the respective City Halls and it would appear that administration of the newly formed community would not require the employment of all current staff. B) Insofar as both cities currently maintain a separate city hall, consolidation would administratively require that one of those city halls be discontinued in use and all records and files be transferred to the remaining city hall. C) With regard to police protection, it would appear that a police force of five members would be more than adequate to service the entire community and the current police forces of Oak Park Heights and Bayport combined presently have eight members. As such, it is possible tnat police layoffs may occur and several questions of employment, seniority, contractual rights may arise to create a signifi- cant expense for the City or consolidate community in that event. Further, there would have to be a selection of one police chief to head the department of the consolidated city which may in itself create some administrative diffi- culties. D) Public works and street maintenance,the needs of a con- solidated city with regard to employment of individuals, would also have to be reevaluated and possible layoffs could occur in this area as well. Further, insofar as -20- • the Cities of Oak Park Heights and Bayport provide municipal services through different means (ie Oak Park Heights provides most services through contract, whereas Bayport has its own equipment to service the city) it may be necessary in order to provide uniform service through- out the area, that additional capital expenditures be made to purchase equipment in sufficient number to service the entire area or that the Bayport equipment in large measure be liquidated in order to put the entire community on a contract basis in providing its services to its citizens. Again, contracts of employment, questions of seniority, and other employment matters would create significant administrative expense. 2. With the exception of the citizens of Bayport, the citizens of Oak Park Heights and Baytown would experience a significant increase in tax rates. For the citizens of Oak Park Heights, the increase in tax rates would hot be reflected by an in- crease in the quantity or quality of services as are currently provided by the City and, in fact, the quantity of services may in fact for the citizens of Oak Park Heights. The City of Oak Park Heights now provides free garbage pickup for all of its citizens together with an annual tree planting program whereby the City picks up 100 percent of the expense of replacing diseased elms with new shade trees. It is un- known as to whether programs of this nature could be maintained if a consolidation occurred between the three communities. 3. 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