Parks board recommends 100-foot Trail 43 easement to preserve corridor, avoid immediate maintenance costs

The Sandy Parks and Trails Advisory Board voted to recommend that the Planning Commission require an approximately 100-foot trail easement along the planned Trail 43 alignment as a condition of approval for a partition application affecting a 9.64-acre parcel.

City parks staff presented the land-use application and said the site contains a single home and is crossed by Tickle Creek and the master-plan alignment for Trail 43. Staff told the board the applicant met with Planning and Development Services on May 21 and that the Planning Commission hearing is scheduled for August 24. Staff said there are no ERUs currently allocated to the site, so staff could not compute a fee-in-lieu or precise parkland dedication amount at this time.

"It is the staff recommendation that a dedication of a trail easement be pursued," staff member Kiana said, explaining that an easement would preserve the corridor and align with the parks and trails master plan while minimizing immediate fiscal and maintenance obligations for the city.

Board member Ryan moved that the board "submit a memorandum to the Planning Commission recommending that a trail easement of approximately 100 feet from the top of the stream bank be required as a condition of approval for the partition application." The motion was seconded and carried by the board. The transcript records the final vote as carried with ayes; a full roll-call tally by name was not provided in the transcript.

Next steps, as discussed on the record, include staff preparing the memorandum to the Planning Commission and arranging for board signatures prior to the August hearing.