Gamesmanship

Star Tribune Tue, 27 Nov 2007 22:37:43 CST
Developer beats neighbors' call for environment study

The developer of a proposed housing project near a wetlands in Savage hopes the study will clear him to start building next spring. The developer of a subdivision proposed for a site near sensitive wetlands in Savage has commissioned an environmental assessment, cutting straight to the chase himself rather than waiting for the outcome of a lawsuit filed by neighbors who demanded one. ... A firm called Red Angus is proposing a development called Dan Patch Trail, a short distance from the renowned Savage Fen, an environmentally delicate area. The project is to include 211 single family houses and three 48-unit apartment buildings on 108 acres, south of Hwy. 13, straddling the Savage/Burnsville border. Neighbors say they fear environmental damage. City officials have said they suspect that neighbors are more worried about losing a patch of woods and open space they've long enjoyed. Under the law the two cities are responsible for seeing that the assessment is done well. But in actual practice, developers tend to be the ones to commission and pay for them.

[[keywords: LandUse;Metro;]]