Vote favors controversial golf course development
Eagan will discuss changing its plan to allow a developer to pursue plans to build housing on the Carriage Hills golf course.
Emily Johns, Star Tribune
Published January 3, 2006
A proposed development on the site of Eagan's Carriage Hills Golf Club is one step closer to reality, and many Eagan residents are upset about it.
On Jan. 17, the Eagan City Council will discuss recommendations from the city's planning commission that the city's comprehensive plan be changed so developer Terry Wensmann can further pursue developing the site of the now-closed 18-hole course.
The planning commission voted 4-3 on Dec. 27 to recommend the golf course be changed from a "park" under the city's comprehensive plan -- a road map of city land use -- to a "special area." The commission also voted to recommend the council approve the developer's draft of what he will do with the area.
The 480-unit development could include single-family homes, detached and row townhouses, and senior housing and condominiums. The proposal also includes a nine-hole golf course.
Wensmann has stayed quiet on the subject, speaking only at government meetings and turning down interview requests from news organizations. But some Eagan residents and members of the Carriage Hills Coalition, a community group advocating against the development, have been vocal.
"Green spaces are very special, and once they're gone, they're gone forever," said Mike Haugen, a spokesman for the Carriage Hills Coalition who addressed the city's Advisory Planning Commission at the Dec. 27 meeting. "We all built or bought homes in the area based on Carriage Hills remaining a golf course. We feel betrayed by this."
The Carriage Hills development is more controversial than most because it has already been denied by the Eagan City Council. But the developer sued the city and won.
When the city appealed, the two sides settled. They agreed to return the proposal to the city, and if the local government approves the plan, the lawsuit goes away.
But if the council says no, or any city decisions in the future hamper the project, the city could still end up in court.
"The idea that someone with a lot of money just has to sue the city to change its planning makes me mad," said Dan Bailey, a member of the Carriage Hills Coalition who lives next to the proposed site.
Another issue of contention with residents is that Wensmann is proposing a nine-hole golf course. Current Carriage Hills owner Ray Rahn has said the 18-hole course is not economically viable and he needs to sell it. If that's the case, residents ask, why would a nine-hole course be any better?
Golf course architect Garrett Gill, hired by Wensmann to design the nine-hole course, said the new par-3 course could work because it's a challenge for experienced players and it's approachable for younger players and seniors. But Gill said an 18-hole course in the same spot could also be viable.
Despite resident concerns, city planner Mike Ridley said the development process is far from over. Many levels of approval still need to be obtained.
"A lot of steps need to be taken before this development is for sure," he said.
Emily Johns • 612-673-7460
