Continued: Eagan golf course creates open question on open space

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The city of Eagan is urging residents to attend a second public meeting on how the former Carriage Hills golf course should be used if the city buys the land. The meeting is 6 p.m. Tuesday in the Eagan Room of City Hall, 3830 Pilot Knob Road.

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An arboretum with mazes. Frisbee golf, putt-putt or a nine-hole executive course. A fire station, wind turbines, a sports dome, a dog park.

The city of Eagan is asking residents this summer to weigh in on what should happen to the former Carriage Hills golf course if voters approve the land's purchase for public use in November. And to judge from the handwritten slips that covered a wall of the Eagan Community Center one night last week, the 35 people who showed up to a public meeting on the topic had no problem brainstorming.

"There's no shortage of creative ideas," said Mayor Mike Maguire.

One Carriage Hills neighbor suggested building a swimming pool for adults, to complement the city's kid-friendly Cascade Bay. Another, Frances Pekearo, pointed out that building a mausoleum with quiet grounds and a reflecting pool might give the city a low-maintenance way to use the land -- and generate some money selling crypts.

"It's kind of gross," she admitted. "Most people don't want to talk about it."

But gross doesn't matter -- it's all about getting a healthy discussion going, the city says.

After a four-year court battle with developer Wensmann Realty and the golf course's owner over plans to build homes on the 120-acre site, the city reached a contingent settlement this spring that puts the fate of Carriage Hills in the hands of voters. They will decide in a referendum whether the city will buy the land for $10 million, plus about $250,000 in bond fees and other expenses. If voters reject the proposal, Wensmann will move forward with plans to build up to 480 homes.

The City Council must approve the wording of the ballot question by Sept. 2, and the mayor, for one, wants to be very clear with voters about what the land would be used for.

"I'm not interested in vague visions, and simply acquiring the land and saying, 'Well, we have a bunch of options,'" said Maguire, who pointed out that the purchase would equal about a third of the city's annual budget.

The city has hired a consultant to collect input from the public, do what the mayor called "thumbnail feasibility reports" of the most popular ideas and report back in August. In October, the city will mail residents a fact sheet about plans for the land.

In previous debates over Carriage Hills, which is located south of Yankee Doodle Road, many residents have fought to keep the area as green space. But the city isn't coming into this decision with preconceived notions, partly because in the past, the most vocal green-space advocates have been neighbors of the property, and city leaders want to hear from the entire community, Maguire said.

Long-range plans show that the city has an adequate supply of most developed park features, such as tennis courts and baseball diamonds, said Juli Seydell Johnson, the city's director of parks and recreation. Two parks -- O'Leary Park and Mueller Farm Park -- fulfill, for most Carriage Hills neighbors, the city's guideline of having a park within three-quarters of a mile of every home.

And Eagan's amount of green space already compares favorably with that of other American cities, she said.

With Carriage Hills, she said, "It's more a question of, 'Does the public want more open space?'"

Maguire wouldn't say whether he thinks the city should buy the land. But, he said, "I think preserving green space is a true, good, beautiful and desirable goal for the city. I don't believe that any [single] parcel is the only way to do that."

Sarah Lemagie • 952-882-9016

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