Eagan City Council Accepts Settlement Agreement in Carriage Hills Lawsuit
Joanna Foote, City of Eagan
Published November 30, 2005
In a unanimous vote at its November 29 Special City Council meeting, the Eagan City Council accepted a Contingent Settlement Agreement in the Wensmann vs. City of Eagan lawsuit involving the property at Carriage Hills Golf Course which could allow for residential development and a 9-hole golf course.
The Contingent Settlement Agreement means that the City will consider a Special Area Plan (SAP), submitted by Wensmann Homes, for the Carriage Hills Property which calls for approximately 480 owner occupied, mixed residential units and an executive 9-hole golf course proposed to be run privately, but open to the public. The Special Area Plan will need to be considered by the Eagan Planning Commission and the City Council in accord with the City’s regular Comprehensive Guide Plan standards and procedures prior to its approval or denial. If the SAP is approved by the City Council and a change is made to the City’s Comprehensive Guide Plan, the lawsuit and the appeal would be dismissed. If the City does not approve the SAP, the appeal of the Lawsuit would continue and the matter decided by the Minnesota Court of Appeals likely sometime during the summer of 2006.
The agreement comes more than a year after Wensmann Homes applied for and was denied a change to the City’s Comprehensive Guide plan to allow development of mixed residential housing on the Carriage Hills property. Following the denial by the Advisory Planning Commission and the Eagan City Council, Wensmann homes and Rahn Family, LP sued the City of Eagan in District Court in an attempt to have the court direct the Comprehensive Guide Plan change.
In April, 2005 District Judge Patricia Sutherland ruled against the City of Eagan and ordered the City to amend its Comprehensive Guide Plan to allow for the development, that did not include a golf course. In May, the City appealed the decision.
Mayor Pat Geagan stated “I recognize that the past year has been hard on residents who feel they have been impacted by this lawsuit and settlement. It can be a very frustrating process for all parties. The City Council has certainly weighed the risks of a settlement versus continuing with the appeal process and has determined that it is in the best interest of the 65,000 residents of Eagan that we accept this settlement agreement and consider this new plan for the Carriage Hills property.”
The SAP from Wensman Homes is expected to be reviewed by the City’s Advisory Planning Commission at its December 27 meeting.
