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Council weighs on-street parking at 8241 North Shore Trail after years of complaints; no final action taken
Summary
City staff presented two design options and cost estimates to address recurring parking and safety complaints at 8241 North Shore Trail; the landowner offered a 50/50 cost share and to handle winter maintenance, but the council took no final action.
Forest Lake city staff and council members discussed whether to add on-street parking adjacent to 8241 North Shore Trail to address recurring neighborhood complaints and public-safety concerns. Staff presented two designs and cost estimates, described code violations tied to recent changes on the boulevard and said the landowner is willing to work with the city.
Abby, a city planning staff member, told the council the property at 8241 North Shore Trail was expanded under a conditional use permit and variance approved in 2007 and that complaints about on-street parking have recurred since Pizza Pub began operations. Staff reported that the landowner laid aggregate material on the boulevard this spring, which triggered zoning and stormwater code violations and prompted enforcement notices.
Engineering drew two alternatives for council review: an improved version of the current angled parking providing 12 spaces at an estimated cost of about $31,000, and a parallel-parking layout that would provide fewer spaces (the staff'estimated cost was about $20,000). Abby said the angled configuration raises safety concerns because vehicles would back onto North Shore Trail; engineering and public safety staff expressed reservations about the angled design. The parallel option would position parked cars farther from the fog line and better accommodate drainage, staff said.
The landowner (represented at the meeting by David Swan and Aaron Raybar of Pizza Pub) told the council the owner is willing to split construction costs 50/50 and asked if the city's portion could be assessed onto the property tax bill over time. Aaron Raybar said the owner would perform winter maintenance (clearing the parking) if required.
Residents speaking at the open forum urged caution. Susan Young, a nearby resident, said providing city-funded parking "is not a good idea" and warned that paving the boulevard would encourage parking and increase speed on the newly improved roadway. Roxanne Kaylor (vendor at Arts in the Park) and other speakers raised related concerns.
Councilmembers were divided. Some members favored pursuing the parallel-parking change order as a modest step to reduce unsafe, informal parking while increasing enforcement of no-parking zones elsewhere. Others opposed adding parking on the right-of-way, saying it would reward longstanding nonconforming behavior and might not solve peak weekend congestion. Questions also addressed utilities under the boulevard, watershed thresholds, and how a maintenance agreement or recorded covenant would bind future property owners.
Staff recommended that if the council is favorably disposed, the city should pursue a change-order to the North Shore Trail roadway project while the road work is underway, develop a design, and bring back agreements and cost-share terms for formal approval. The council did not authorize a change order at the meeting; members asked staff for more information, enforcement plans and possible alternatives (off-site parking, employee parking agreements, or shuttle/valet options) before returning the issue for a formal decision.
