Some residents along Upper Prior Lake have enjoyed lake access through a city-owned property, but expanding demand has them looking to the city to formalize the arrangement.

The Prior Lake city council hosted members of the community at its March 11 work session to discuss the future of the plat called “Outlot A.”

Located on the southern shore of the lake, just east of Charlie’s on Prior, the small parcel of land is owned by the city since it contains a stormwater drainage channel. The shoreline has a total of 19 homeowners with deeded access to the lake, and those homeowners are looking to expand the number of boat slips.

The original plats date back to 1949, and in the years since then, there has been much discussion about the rights to moor boats and store equipment at Outlet A. Since the language varies from deed to deed, the increase in the number of boat slips has grown without a formal association or permits.

Technically restricted to five slips, the space has grown to nine slips. In 2023, a larger dock was built and there are now as many as 12 boats moored.

Community Development Director Casey McCabe has been meeting with owners and invited them to attend the workshop to see his presentation. While the city can facilitate much of the process, some use of the shoreline requires Scott County and Department of Natural Resources approval.

The process will continue with further discussion at the March 25 city council meeting.

Other business

Additionally, a few other items of city business previously reported by the News Compass were tended to by the council during its meeting following the work session:

• The council allotted time for a public hearing on a proposed policy for the use of drones by the police department. Although no members of the public participated, the council did review state-mandated usage procedures and approved the policy.

The council also selected an option for replacing the county’s training center for emergency responders with a price tag estimated to be $34.6 million. The members of the Scott County Association for Leadership and Efficiency will be meeting in April to discuss and record all the member votes for the future of the Regional Training Facility.