Star Tribune Thu, 24 Jan 2008 05:10:34 GMT
Andover zoning change goes off course
The city's only golf course faces an uncertain future after a plan for a housing development is shot down. The Andover planning commission has denied a zoning change that opponents said threatened the future of the city's only golf course, the nine-hole Woodland Creek Golf Course. The course's owners had requested the change because they want to develop housing on 10 acres of the 70-acre course. They say the business isn't making it financially and it's time to look at other options. The type of potential housing hadn't been detailed, but opponents -- more than 70 of whom packed a Tuesday planning commission meeting -- described a worst-case scenario of a large, multi-unit building. ... Preserving open space is a city priority: Voters approved a $2 million open-space referendum in 2006. Some residents wondered if the city should buy the land, but it's already zoned as open space. City manager Jim Dickinson said the city wasn't interested when the owners approached Andover last fall to gauge interest in purchasing it. "It's within a wetland already. Why do we need to buy it to preserve open space?" he said. "... And we really don't have that much desire to operate a golf course. If the private sector can't make it go, that's not necessarily going to mean a government entity is going to make it go."
[[keywords: LandUse;Metro;]]
No comments:
Post a Comment