Sierra Club joins fight to preserve Patrick Eagan Park Posted 12/27/01 by Erin Johnson Staff Writer Lending more than just the weight of its name, the North Star Chapter of the Sierra Club has joined the list of those opposed to developing a golf course in Patrick Eagan Park. The chapter, located in Minneapolis, voted this month to add the park to its list of the 10 most endangered sites in the metro area. ìWeíve been watching the situation with alarm,î said Sharon Stephens, chair of the chapterís Legal and Sprawl and Land Use Committees. ìWe are willing to offer our resources.î The 105-acre park is currently being studied as a potential site for a championship golf course. Members of the Golf Course Exploratory Committee, appointed by the city, have been researching the feasibility of a golf course and are expected to present their findings to the City Council in February. Stephens said the issue came to the chapterís attention through the Save Patrick Eagan Park Organization, a local activist group. She said it appears that Eagan Mayor Pat Awada is set on the notion that a golf course is the only option for the park. ìThe mayor seems to be pushing this ahead and not listening to her constituents,î she said. ìIt seems that the city has made a foregone conclusion without asking the constituents what they want to have happen with that land.î Awada said there is no foregone conclusion, that the parkís future has never been determined in the park system plans. ìThe idea that I or anyone is trying to turn Patrick Eagan Park into a golf course or define it as such is ludicrous,î Awada said. ìNo one has ever said that thatís the only option for Patrick Eagan Park. It may be that that comes back as the recommendation, but if the council wanted to build a golf course on any land ... the council would have done that last summer.î The addition of the Sierra Club to the debate is a positive part of the process, Awada said. ìThe whole idea behind it is that this would be an issue debated in the community,î she said. ìThe Sierra Club being involved is a welcome thing.î The Sierra Club has fought similar battles against golf course developments in the past. It is currently working on preventing a golf course from being built in the Spirit Mountain Northern Hardwood Forest, located in the Spirit Mountain Recreation Area in Duluth. The Duluth City Council voted recently to deny work permits for the project. Like Duluth, Stephens said, Eagan is ìsimilarly fortunate to have a beautiful, pristine area in a city thatís running out of land.î Stephens said the chapter is concerned that the process of exploring the golf course in Eagan is not as fair and balanced as it should be. It also seems to be moving too fast, she said. ìThereís no way this can be done by April,î she said, referring to the end of the moratorium period for the land being considered. ìWe want to make sure everybody fully understands the process that must be gone through.î Because portions of the land being studied were bought with a Land and Water Conservation Fund (LAWCON) grant, the land use must be converted before it can be developed into a golf course. A LAWCON grant is a federal program administered by states to be used for outdoor recreation purposes. While the grant helped acquire only 29 acres of the park for the city, LAWCON rules apply to all of the park property, according to Parks and Recreation Department Director Ken Vraa. ìBecause federal money was used, there is a very specific and detailed process to go through before a conversion can happen,î Stephens said. Wayne Sames, manager of the Department of Natural Resources local grants program, said that it can take a year or more to go through the whole process of converting land use. It can take less time, he said, but the Patrick Eagan Park situation is ìlikely to be complicated.î ìJust because of the magnitude of it, the amount of land involved. Youíre dealing with a relatively unusual change in the use of the land,î he said. Stephens said the grant specified the use of the land as recreational, but she doesnít believe that translates into a golf course. To get a conversion, she said, the land would have to be for public use and prices would have to be competitive with other area golf courses. ìThe golf course cannot be what I think the mayor is hoping for it to be,î she said. ìIt has to be a truly recreational opportunity for the public.î The city needs to listen to its citizens, she said. ìI want to say to the mayor, ëYou need to slow down and take into consideration the desires and wishes of the residents. Because if you do, youíll find there are many more who want to keep it as is than use it to hit golf balls,í î she said. Awada countered that this process has been openly debated in the community. ìThe council set up a task force to debate this issue ó if itís feasible and desirable, and if so where it would be located,î she said. ìThat has not been determined and is currently being debated by 65 members of the community. And theyíre looking at three different options.î Awada said that while the park is being studied, two neighboring parcels of private land, the Anderson and McCarthy properties, are also being studied. Both private properties are currently zoned for housing development. The task force is looking mostly at the private land, she said, but is also exploring options using all, some or none of the park land. ìIn a perfect world, the golf course would have been developed and built a decade ago when Eagan had more land and not built on park land,î she said. ìBut itís the last piece of land big enough ó unless we buy part of Inver Grove Heights.î Awada said most council members believe and many residents have told her that a golf course would be a positive thing for the city. ìA golf course is preserving land from development, traditionally. Itís preserving open space,î she said. The Minnesota River Valley Audubon Chapter, a local chapter of the National Audubon Society, disagrees. The group has also taken a stand against the development of Patrick Eagan Park. In a recent letter to Awada, Chapter President Douglas Mayo wrote, ìConstruction of this golf course and the resulting destruction of habitat in Patrick Eagan Park are completely contrary to the principles of the National Audubon Society. Thus, the Minnesota River Valley Audubon Chapter opposes developing a golf course in Patrick Eagan Park and the resulting destruction of this important natural area.î Stephens also said that environmental destruction is inevitable if a golf course is approved. ìThere is going to be harm to the environment if this goes forward,î she said. ìYou cannot make fairways without destroying trees.î ©Thisweek Newspapers