HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021 08-25 Ramsey County asks develpers for proposals for Maplewood sites, upsetting environmental groups STARTRIBUNE8/27/2021 Ramsey County asks developers for proposals for Maplewood sites, upsetting environmental groups - StarTribune.com
EAST METRO
Ramsey County asks developers for
proposals for Maplewood sites, upsetting
environmental groups
Ramsey County pressed to slow down on plans to develop
Maplewood sites.
By Shannon Prather (https://www.startribune.com/shannon-prather/6370507/) Star Tribune
AUGUST 25, 2021 — 5:08PM
Ramsey County has asked developers for ideas how to remake a golf course and a vacant
parcel in Maplewood, a move that has frustrated the suburb's mayor and environmental
groups who say county leaders should wait for the results of a pending natural resources
survey.
The county has issued two requests
fhtt s://www.ramse countymeansbusiness.com/business/featured-
projects p/item/2130/maplewood-properties?sort=name) for developers to submit 25-
page plans outlining their suggestions for the county -owned sites by Oct. 4, calling it "a
prime development opportunity." According to a timeline attached to the requests, the
county wants to interview developers in November and negotiate a sale of the properties
by the end of the year.
The properties are the 88-acre Ponds at Battle Creek golf course that will permanently
close Sept. 12, and a 77-acre lot bordering the county workhouse and Battle Creek
Regional Park. The latter site has become a nesting ground for grassland birds, including
the Henslow's sparrow, which is on the state's endangered species list.
"I think it very clearly signals they are planning to develop the property," said Colleen
O'Connor Toberman, river corridor program director with Friends of the Mississippi
River. "It feels likes they have made a decision without having all the information."
Her group and others, including the St. Paul Audubon Society and the Legacy of Nature
Alliance are lobbying to save the vacant site used by grassland birds from
redevelopment.
The county hired an outside firm, Midwest Natural Resources, to complete natural
resource studies at both properties.
That report will be presented to county leaders sometime this year. However, avian
biologists completing the survey have posted preliminary reports on eBird, an online
bird observation database, and identified more than three dozen birds species on the
vacant parcel, including the Henslow's sparrow.
RENEE J}}ONES SCHNEIDER - STAR TRIBUNE
a9�M]ApSii3Apt �Battle Creek golf
course in Maplewood on-I�ursday, April 1,
RUMsey County is asking developers
to submit 25-page plans outlining
their ideas for the county -owned sites
by Oct. 4 calling it "a prime
https://www.startribune.com/ramsey-county-asks-developers-for-proposals-for-maplewood-sites-upsetting-environmental-groups/60009O972/ 1/3
8/27/2021 Ramsey County asks developers for proposals for Maplewood sites, upsetting environmental groups - StarTribune.com
Jean Krueger, the county property management director, said issuing the requests for
developer interest is a typical step in a development process and does not obligate the
county to do anything more than review their options.
"It's testing the waters with the development and business community and seeing what
interest there is in the sites," Krueger said.
Krueger said timing is critical if there's a potential buyer interested in running the golf
course as a private operation because the county will be reducing maintenance of the
course once it closes. County leaders have also expressed interest in mixed -use
developments and affordable housing.
Krueger said the county is interested in "divesting" from the properties but will have
some influence about what ultimately goes there.
Despitepleas(fps://www.startribune.com/audubon-socitly rges-ramsey-county
save grassland-eyed-for-development/600079014/) from the St. Paul Audubon Society
and the Friends of the Mississippi River to preserve the vacant lot for threatened
grassland birds, Krueger said the county is not considering it for parkland.
Maplewood Mayor Marylee Abrams said the county's decision to reach out to
developers was premature.
"The timing didn't seem to make a whole lot of sense to me," Abrams said. "These are
two beautiful pieces of land in Maplewood. The ecology report is an important piece of
the puzzle. That report isn't even in."
Abrams, who has said she would like to see Ponds at Battle Creek remain a golf course,
said she worries county leaders haven't thoroughly considered feedback from residents.
And she said nothing can happen to either property until the city agrees to rezone it. "We
are the zoning authority," she said.
Krueger said the natural resources study and community engagement will be taken into
consideration but doesn't preclude some development.
The county has also faced opposition about redevelopment of the golf course.
Golf enthusiasts have lobbied to keep it open, and the nonprofit Friends of the Parks and
Trails of St. Paul and Ramsey County has argued
i fps://www.startribune.com/maplewood-golf-course-is-ramsey-county-s-latest-
redevelopment-fight/600046015/?refresh=true)the course should be preserved under a
1994 county charter amendment that requires parkland lost to development be replaced.
County leaders say the golf course, built on county corrections property in 2001, is
exempt from the 1994 amendment.
Shannon Prather • 651-925-5037
Shannon Prather covers Ramsey County for the Star Tribune. Previously, she covered philanthropy
and nonprofits. Prather has two decades of experience reporting for newspapers in Minnesota,
California, Idaho, Wisconsin and North Dakota. She has covered a variety of topics including the legal
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