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A ~ I 1111111 - Chapter ~ Community Facilities ~ .~~.~ __ . ~. LOng Lake Park The Long Lake Park site is a 109 acre area immediately east of Long Lake and west of the Minnesota Transfer Railway tracks. The land is primarily upland with well-drained, light, sandy soils. Most of the land has been farmed or adversely impacted in other ways by excavation, buildings, industrial use and most recently by vandalism and off-the-road vehicles. The primary objectives in development of this site will have to be restoration of the land and carefully designed and con- stru~ted facilities that will enhance the enjoyment of the natural environment. County and Regional Parks Ramsey County owns approximately $6 acres lacated be- tween the railroad tracks and Old Highway $. This site also has some of the same problems and development constraints as the Long Lake site. The ewa parcels are currently included in the Regional Park System and have been jointly planned as such. This planning has been done by Ramsey County under a joint powers agreement with the City. There has been considerable discussion regarding the possibility of the City operating the park as a city park.;; This option has not been precluded by the. City's action to date and, in fact, was the City's intiention when the site was origi- nally purchased. If the City were to choose this option, there would likely be considerably less intensive development than than for that of a regional park. A major area of contention regarding development in this park has been use of the lake and the lake share. The issue is one of attempting to balance the rights of homeowners an the lake with those of others desiring to use the lake for recre- ational purposes. This issue will be equally difficult to resolve regardless whether the park is developed as a regional or local facility. Some minimal development will occur in 19$2 with more extensive development likely to begin in 19$3. The City has, within an eight mile radius, over 5,000 acres of county and regional facilities. These parks are located. in Anoka, Hennepin and Ramsey Counties. These parks empha- size swimming, picnicking, trails, etc. rather than the athletic facilities and playgrounds typically found in municipal systems. Access to these parks is typically by automobile although the Rice Creek Regional trail will link some of them for biking, hiking and cross country skiers. u