City Council Minutes 2006 02 07 - Laserfiche WebLink

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City Council Meeting Minutes February 7, 2006 Page 4 of 18 Management staff reviewed the rules and regulations of various open space agencies in the region and compared them with the City of Louisville Parks and Recreation code. The new regulations include prohibition of encroachments, firearms, and off-trail uses on open space. The administrative rules and regulations provide safety and protect wildlife. Pre-existing trees and shrubs will not be prohibited however the City will look at noxious trees such as Russian Olive and diseased or dangerous trees. Gardening and landscaping encroachments in the open space were never permitted under the old code and are not permitted under the new guidelines and fencing and gardening are not supported in the Louisville Home Rule Charter. The Land Management Department will work with the citizen's who have open space gardens Land Management Director Robson explained the Land Management Department receives directives on management of the City's open space through the Home Rule Charter, and the Open Space Advisory Board. The Charter prohibits licenses or permits for encroachments on open space land. Any change to that prohibition would require a vote of the residents. The new regulations would apply only to open space properties solely owned by the City of Louisville. The new code will allow the city to enforce some new rules that will prevent natural resource damage on public lands and be more effective in the management of open spaces. Open Space Coordinator Jeff Moline presented slides of various encroachments on the City's open space land. He acknowledged all fences are not on the property lines, but for the sake of the survey, he determined the fences are the boundary line between residential property and open space property. The results of the survey are as follows: . Out of 588 residential properties, there were 73 encroachment violations; some had more than one encroachment. . Approximately 12% of the open space neighbors have encroachments. . Of the 73 properties, 30 or 40% are gardens and planting beds. . 23 or 32% are landscaped improvements. . The remaining percentage is yard extensions. . Many of the slides taken are from the Dutch Creek Subdivision. Slides were also taken at the Leon Wurl Sanctuary at Harper Lake, the Warembourg Open Space property and Lake Park Open Space property. City Attorney Light explained all emails received with respect to Ordinance No. 1483 will be part of the record of the public hearing. Any member of the public wishing to forward written materials to the Council must present enough copies for each Council member and a copy for the public. He addressed the question as to whether the public comment from the January 17 City Council meeting will