Below is a quick review of last Tuesday's Council meeting concerning the development proposal from Millerville.

I was the first speaker from the audience. I went over the points in my safety memo (as circulated last week) concerning the park road becoming a public entrance. It appeared well received, but the road will be made public.

Mr. Miller was then invited to the podium. The discussion centered on "if not this, then what"? The "this" was Mr. Miller's proposal to construct 16 town homes on the property (plat visible on our Web site under "Local Updates"). The proposal required a zoning change approval from the City Council --- from "single family residential" to "planned development." Council Member Mike Maguire tried to figure out the "when what??" from Mr. Miller. He asked about Mr. Miller's previous 8 single family home plan (visible on our Web site under "Local Updates"). Mr. Miller basically said this would not be the plan chosen if the zoning plan was not approved. Instead, he pulled out a plan with 14 homes. It's hard to remember all the details, but the 14-home plat appeared to be some sort of scare tactic. Mike asked him to reduce the number of homes if it was a planned development. He refused, saying that he actually could proposal putting in 24 town homes on the property, and that 16 was thus already a reduction.

The Council asked a lot about other details. For example, what trees would be saved, what view would be left, fence discussions. They seemed very excited that a planned development would allow them to have more control and say in the aesthetics of the development.

Council Member Peggy Carlson was extremely rude. She played with her hair, caused interruptions, and gave the "oh please" kind of looks when individuals like Mike Maguire raised questions about reducing the size of the proposed development. Mayor Geagan was very polite and really listened to everyone. Council Member Mike Maguire was a trooper! He kept asking for more information and supportive evidence throughout. Finally the Council decided to grant Mr. Miller what he wanted (by a vote of 5-0, no less). Mr. Miller did indicate he would grant a conservation easement on the front of the property facing Diffley and along the border with the Art Park. He also agreed to put in a fence for Tony. Apparently this is the "benefit to the community" that city code requires in order to permit Council to change the zoning to this type of "planned development."

There are also two articles on the City Council's deliberation (from the Pioneer Press and Eagan ThisWeek) available on our Web site, under "Recent News".

Susan Gauer

Friends of the Eagan Core Greenway

www.EaganCoreGreenway.org