www.northoaksnews.com
VOLUME 35
City briefs
•
NUMBER 4
Our city is growing up Read what the Mayor has to say, on page 4.
The Planning Commission public hearing had 30 people talk about a rental ordinance proposal, see more on page 15.
Staff Writer
will speak April 4 about the new Kowalski's store. Community announcements, see more on page 9.
Several more residents write their thoughts about the future of the gatehouse. Read all the letters to the editor, see more on page 5.
Read about resident Steve Yoch and his new book about George Washington, see more on page 11.
Start the North Oaks News
April Meetings • Agendas available online •
CITY OF NORTH OAKS 100 Village Center Drive Suite 230 651-792-7750 www.cityofnorthoaks.com
Resident refuses to move brush pile By Sara Marie Moore
Kris Kowalski Christiansen
If your neighbors aren’t receiving the North Oaks News, ask them to call the circulation department at Press Publications, 651-4071234, to start and stop the paper. Newspapers cannot be forwarded, so delivery is stopped if they are returned to the publisher. Don’t forget that each edition is available online if you are away from home at www.presspubs.com/ north_oaks
PRESORTED STANDARD U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT NO. 9
•
CIRCLE PINES, MN
APRIL 2016
NORTH OAKS NEWS 4779 Bloom Avenue White Bear Lake, MN 55110
News
CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED
North Oaks
— By Carol Beatty
Preview spring flowers at Garden Club workshop By North Oaks Garden Club members Calling all gardeners. As the days get warmer and longer, it’s time to start planning our outdoor spaces.
Whether you are new to gardening or an experienced gardener, the North Oaks Garden Club can help you achieve your gardening goals. The Garden Club will discuss new gardening trends and give
a preview of their plant sale at the Container Workshop Tues., April 19 at 6:30 p.m. in the West Rec Center Community, Room, 14 West Pleasant Lake Road.
See Garden Club – Page 3
NORTH OAKS — John Harris could be fined $100 if he doesn't remove a small oak wood brush pile from his yard — or move it to his garage. But Harris, an 82-year-old retired attorney, doesn't plan to budge his small gathering of branches located 40 feet up his driveway until the city changes its mind about a threatened citation. The 48-year resident of North Oaks wants to use the wood pile as a learning experience for the community — and encourage reconsideration of a 59-year-old requirement in city code. His wood pile came to be after a storm on Nov. 22 with straightline winds and about 3 inches of rain. The storm knocked down an oak tree and branches from two other oak trees. His driveway was blocked, so he called in Hugo's Tree Care to clear it the next day. “Two days later my nephew and his fiancee came with a chainsaw and axes and they spent about six hours cleaning up the mess,” said Harris. They took away two large trailer loads of wood and piled more wood by the driveway for easy access to the trailer upon their return. Then John received a letter
See Resident – Page 10
City Council meeting: 7 p.m. Thursday, April 14
Natural Resources Commission meeting: 7 p.m. Thursday,April 21
Planning Commission meeting: 7 p.m. Thursday, March 31
NORTH OAKS HOME OWNERS’ ASSOCIATION (NOHOA) 100 Village Center Drive Suite 240 651-792-7765 www.nohoa.org
NOHOA Board meeting: 7 p.m. Thursday, April 7
Architectural Supervisory Committee meeting: Meet in the NOHOA office 6:30 p.m. Mondays, April 4 and 18 All other meetings held in the Community Meeting Room 100 Village Center Drive, Suite 150
Rental housing and the future of North Oaks By Katy Ross In 2015, the City received a record number of complaints from residents about homes or yards that were in disrepair. This generated some letters and some discussion. Letters were sent from the City to homeowners notifying them of the concerns about their home or yard, asking them to repair or clean up their property. The discussion centered on what the City could do to more forcefully encourage homeowners to care for their property, if they chose not to follow through on the City’s requests. Unfortunately, the City of North Oaks does not have ordinances that govern how
homeowners must take care of their property. Some homeowners took care of the issues that were cited in the letters they received. Others chose not to do anything. Recently, the City began discussing how to deal with this situation. It is not unusual for residents to contact the City when their neighbors are not taking care of their property. The City decided that it needed something to respond to issues when individual properties needed some help. The Mayor met with the Planning Commission and asked the Commissioners to look into developing a housing maintenance code. A
steering committee was established and discussions continued and research began. From that research, the steering committee discovered that there are approximately forty homes being rented in North Oaks. After numerous discussions, it was decided that a rental ordinance was needed. The steering committee’s goal was to follow the basic premise of the Countryman Deed, which essentially says that lots in North Oaks are intended for single family residences. The proposed rental ordinance says that only one family can occupy a house. The lease must be a minimum of one year, and a homeowner may only rent one home.
In February, the Planning Commission felt that the initial draft of the rental ordinance was done and decided to hold a public hearing in order to get feedback from the community. The Community Meeting Room was full and the Commissioners listened to feedback. The public hearing was not closed, and will continue at the March 31 meeting if residents have additional feedback. The feedback that the Commissioners received was helpful. People gave the Planning Commissioners things to think about and the rental ordinance has been revised substantially based
See Rental Housing – Page 14