Nothing is ever easy, or how it seems

Star Tribune Wed, 09 Apr 2008 03:38:13 GMT
Anoka County wetland sale turning into a quagmire

Neighbors in Savage may push ahead with a lawsuit opposing a subdivision now that the City Council has decided that a full-scale environmental review of the proposed Dan Patch Trail project is not needed. In a unanimous decision Monday night, the City Council said that enough study of the development's potential effects has already been done, making a full-blown analysis unnecessary. But the council will require the developer to complete biological and archaeological site surveys before the project receives any further city permits. Some criticism of the project, which would ultimately include more than 200 homes, centers on the nearby Savage Fen, a delicate wetland south of Hwy. 13 where scientists have found more than 200 plant species. Neighbors organized as the Woods & Wetlands Alliance have fought the subdivision, arguing, among other things, that effects such as runoff could harm the fen. The group filed suit last fall to force further review of the project. ... Commissioner Dennis Berg argued that laws restricting the use of land within 150 feet of the designated wetlands would keep neighbors from developing property they've owned for years. And those neighbors, many of them farmers, were not contacted about the proposed sale of Steinke's land, Sivarajah said. Steinke, who said he paid $17.56 in property taxes for the land in 2007, had accusing words of his own. He said the county and city have a vendetta against him after he led an anti-gambling group that took the owners of a proposed harness race track to court. The Steinke-led suit was dismissed in court and the Running Aces track opens Friday in Columbus. "Was it the track?" Steinke asked Tuesday. "Yes. That's it. "I was on the Rice Creek Watershed District board and when my reappointment came up in November, I was told there's no way I'd ever be appointed for anything again," Steinke said. "That should tell you all you need to know about this case." Accusations called off track The property has been owned by Steinke's family for three generations, but his recent attempts to sell it on the open market have drowned in the swamps that he says potential buyers tell him are "unsuitable for building."

[[keywords: LandUse;Legal;Metro;]]