Watten Ponds

Minnesota once had a forest called the Big Woods. It ran in a band about forty miles wide from Mankato to Monticello — more than two thousand square miles of elm, sugar maple, basswood and oak. About two percent of it is left in stands large enough to still be called forest. Less than a quarter of what remains is protected. The Minnesota DNR says hundreds of acres a year still go to subdivisions, roads and golf courses. There is a piece of it here in Shorewood, and a develope

City Staff has rolled back much of the Environmental Review. Ask the Council to do a proper review! Monday's Council Meeting: October 26, 7:00 PM, Shorewood City Hall. Trees Will Fall Soon The City Council approved an environmental review for the Watten Ponds developments. City Staff says that the review doesn't apply to 3 of the 4 properties that the developer controls, even though it's all the same woods. The developer has combined properties to build and City Staff w

A quiet rule in Shorewood lets large tree removals avoid elected oversight. This narrow amendment would close that loophole without creating a new veto or review standard. The rule almost nobody knows Want a variance — a few feet off a setback, a shed in the wrong place? Your project goes to the City Council. Elected officials look at it, trees included. Want to take down a hundred mature trees, on a project that happens not to need a subdivision or a variance? Or where the v

How developer bias captured Shorewood City Hall — and what it costs the people who live here.

How developer bias captured Shorewood City Hall — and what it costs the people who live here.

How developer bias captured Shorewood City Hall — and what it costs the people who live here.

How developer bias captured Shorewood City Hall — and what it costs the people who live here.

How developer bias captured Shorewood City Hall — and what it costs the people who live here.

This post is part of a 3 part series, see the other two posts here: Part 1, Watten Ponds Developer Sues - What Happens Next? Part 3, Why Sue Instead of Completing the Environmental Review? As we discussed in our first post (Watten Ponds Developer Sues - What Happens Next?), the Watten Ponds developer started a legal action against the City's decision to require an Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW) for the Watten Ponds development. We talk about what that means in the

Why is the Planning Department so focused on having this development approved, whose side are they on? And why? Most of us think the City should protect our interests - existing residents' interests - or at least balance us against the interests of wealthy developers. But does the city see it that way? Emails obtained by KSB through a public records demand show that no, it doesn't - the Planning Department focuses primarily on the interests of developers and disregards the