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Council Communication

Title:	Purchase of Liberty Street Open Space Property
Dept:	Legal Department
Date:	October 1, 2002
Submitted By:	Paul Nolte
Reviewed By: ........................	Greg Scoles, City Administrator

Synopsis:	Purchase of slightly less than two acres of property at the end of Liberty Street (map attached) for $279,500, of which one acre plus will be open space property and the remainder will be conveyed to an adjoining neighbor. The neighbor will provide a trail easement through his property to the open space portion and pay approximately 60% of the purchase price.
Recommendation:	Approve the purchase of the Liberty Street property and authorize the Mayor and staff to execute all documents necessary for the purchase, the division of the property, the conveyance of a portion to the neighbor and to accept the trail easement through the neighboring property.
Fiscal Impact:	The purchase will require approximately $115,000 to be charged from open space funds. The balance of the purchase price will be paid by the neighbor of the property cooperating in the purchase.
Background:	The Ashland Parks and Recreation Commission recommends purchase of the property as noted and explained in the attached memos.

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MEMORANDUM
TO : Honorable Mayor and City Councillors
FROM : John McLaughlin, Planning Director, Kenneth J. Mickelsen, Director, Paul Nolte, City Attorney
DATE : September 10, 2002

SUBJECT : Liberty Street Property
The Ashland Parks and Recreation Commission is recommending purchase of the Liberty Street property to the Council.

BRIEF SUMMARY
The property consists of approximately 2 acres that contains one building site of approximately 3/4acre. The city would retain the remaining portion of the property.

This purchase would involve a partnership between public and private sectors. Staff has been working with a neighbor who is adjacent to the proposed property for purchase. The neighbor controls the access that would allow public access to the property at the end of Liberty Street and is willing to contribute over half the dollar amount required to purchase the property. In return, the neighbor would own the building site and would provide a trail easement on his property.

One of the special features of this property is that it may contain a portion of the T.I.D. ditch and, by having a trail easement off Liberty Street, would provide a trail to the ditch that is now connected to other city owned property along this segment of the ditch. The T.I.D. ditch is located outside of the building site and would be included in the portion of the property that would be owned by the city.

The end of Liberty Street is now a popular access point for the public to enter the forest interface but it is only because the current property owner is willing to allow the public to use his property for access. However, at any time, the property owner or a future owner could deny public access to his property which would create a situation similar to others that exist in several areas of the city. Under the current proposal for purchase of the Liberty Street property, this segment of the ditch would be in public ownership and the city would be obtaining a trail easement at the upper end of Liberty that would assure public access in the future.

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MEMORANDUM
TO : Honorable Mayor and City Councillors
FROM : Kenneth J. Mickelsen, Director
DATE : September 10, 2002

SUBJECT : Recommendation to purchase property under Open Space Program
The Ashland Parks and Recreation Commission is recommending that the City Council approve the acquisition of property under Article XIX of the City Charter. The property is included in the short term list of the newly updated Park, Trails, and Open Space Program that has been approved by both the Commission and the Council.

The property is located on Liberty Street and consists of approximately 2 acres that would provide trail access off Liberty Street. Parks and City staff have been working jointly on the acquisition of this property. Planning Director John McLaughlin will attend the Council meeting to give a presentation related to how this property will provide trail easements and to answer questions.

If you have general questions, you may want to contact Commission Chair Rick Landt. If you have specific questions you would like answered prior to the meeting, you can contact John McLaughlin.

Purchase of this property has the support of the Ashland Woodlands Trail Association.

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Click on the link below to view a PDF file of the Liberty Street Property map:

Liberty_Street_Property.pdf (433.8KB)

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