City of Oak Creek
Common Council Report
Meeting Date: September 2, 2003
Item No.:
15
Recommendation: That the Council adopt Resolution No. 10276-090203, which would authorize the negotiation for the acquisition of the property located at 1120 E. Oakwood Road as a part of the City’s Resource Protection Program.
Background: Several years ago the City created an Environmental Corridor Acquisition Program (n.k.a. Resource Protection Program), which would be an attempt to acquire properties that are impacted by wetlands or floodplain designations and regulations. This program is not meant to be adversarial with the owners, but would strictly involve voluntary sales. The normal process for a municipality to acquire privately-owned land does require the adoption of this type of resolution and relocation order. However it is not the City’s intent to use eminent domain to acquire these parcels even though there is a reference to it in the resolution. It is just part of the required language. If this resolution were adopted, staff would then be in a position to tender an offer to the owners based on the appraisal.
In February of last year the Council adopted Resolution No. 10070, a resolution of necessity for the acquisition of this property for open space purposes. Recently, the property owners contacted the City to inquire about the status of this project. I than requested documentation from the DNR regarding the status of our grant applications, since it was the intent at the time the initial resolution was adopted to apply for matching funding through the State’s Stewardship program. The DNR faxed me a copy of a letter from August of last year in which they state that no grant assistance was forthcoming for this land acquisition.
Given the fact that no grant money was forthcoming, as well as the fact that there have been significant personnel changes on the Common Council since the initial resolution was adopted, I felt it was appropriate to present this to the current Council in order that they might make a decision whether to pursue acquisition of this property
This property did not appear on the original list of properties to acquire. However the revised floodplain maps, as prepared under the stormwater master plan, have encompassed almost the entire property in the floodplain. As a result of this, the owners of this 3.6-acre property have asked if the City would be interested in acquiring their property, which lies adjacent to the north branch of Crayfish Creek.
Planning staff still feels that the acquisition of this property is an appropriate use of the funds under the Environmental Corridor Acquisition Program, and is seeking approval from the Council to proceed.
Fiscal Impact: The 5.36 acre property has a 2002 appraised value of $75,100. The assessed value is $107,600. If acquired as proposed, the City can expect to lose approximately $861 in annual tax revenue.
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Prepared by:
Doug Seymour, AICP Director of Community Development |
Respectfully submitted,
Robert L. Kufrin City Administrator |
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Fiscal Review by:
Beverly A. Buretta, CMC City Clerk
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File name: Document12
Print Date: 2/28/2003 4:42 PM
Revision No. 1