Council approves Stony Point Third Addition plat, authorizes private road maintenance agreement

The Watertown City Council on July 21 approved a resolution platting the Stony Point Third Addition, formalizing approximately 26 acres and designating Stony Point Trail as a private road. The council also authorized the city manager to sign a private road maintenance agreement that will require private maintenance of the road and include a connected portion of Dora Avenue. Why it matters: The plat memorializes that Stony Point Trail is a private road providing perpetual ingress and egress connecting Prairie Hills Avenue to Dora Avenue, and it clarifies maintenance responsibility for the street segment. Because the road provides access to several lots, council approval was required rather than an administrative plat. Discussion details: Community Development Manager Brandy Hinton told the council the private road designation was a condition tied to building permits for the Point condos; the agreement includes the adjoining portion of Dora Avenue because that segment serves the Stony Point development and it would not make sense for the city to maintain it while adjacent private roadway users do not. Hinton said private road maintenance agreements typically come before council about twice a year and that private owners or homeowner associations bear the maintenance and snow-removal costs for these streets. Council members asked whether the city ever performs paving or maintenance on private streets; staff replied that the city does not maintain private roads and would only consider dedication and acceptance as public right-of-way at a future council action, which would require upgrades to city standards prior to acceptance. Action: Motion to approve the resolution and authorize the city manager to sign the private road maintenance agreement was made by Councilman Peters, seconded by Councilman Mormon. Roll-call votes recorded Hoyer, Pauline, Mormon, Peters, Shutti and Allen voting aye; the motion carried. Next steps: The private road maintenance agreement will be finalized and signed by the city manager; adjacent property owners or an HOA will be responsible for ongoing maintenance and any future paving or upgrades would require council approval for dedication. Attribution: Quotes and details are drawn from the July 21 council meeting presentation and staff comments and are attributed only to the named speakers in metadata.