Edina residents object to winter sports 'theme park' at Braemar

Residents of the Braemar neighborhood of Edina are objecting to a proposed winter sports center that one opponent likened to "a theme park."

The city is developing plans for a $3 million project that could add Nordic ski trails, mountain bike trails, a tubing area and artificial snow-making at Braemar Golf Course.

But residents who live near the golf course are pushing back against the scope of the project. They don't object to adding winter sports at Braemar, said a leader of the neighborhood group. But the current proposal is too large, too expensive, too disruptive and is being pushed through too quickly, said Karen Hazel.

"No one is against refining this beautiful space," Hazel said. "We have no objection to enhancing Braemar. It's really the magnitude, the incredibly high price tag and the sense of it being ram-jammed without much detailed due diligence. It feels like creating a theme park in a residential neighborhood.

"Open a dialogue and we'll work together."

The city is continuing to develop a detailed feasibility study for the full proposal, said Ann Kattreh, Edina's parks and recreation director. Working with a design and engineering consultant, "we have continued to work on the original direction that we received from the City Council in May," Kattreh said.

Kattreh said the Braemar neighbors have been "incredibly intelligent and respectful" in offering comments on the proposal. She said the experience has given the city some ideas about new directions for Braemar, no matter the outcome of the current proposal.

City Council Member Ann Swenson has been a strong proponent of the winter sports center. With the golf course currently torn up for renovations, the timing is logical, she said. And the Nordic ski training area at the high school is being virtually wiped out by construction of school additions and a regional trail.

"We already have a huge parking lot [at Braemar], we have a building, we have some full-time people from the golf course that we could use," Swenson said. "So it made sense from the standpoint that we wouldn't have to build a bunch of facilities."

But Swenson said the recent dialogue has left her "uncertain" about the prospects for the winter sports center.

"I think this would be great for the city," she said. "Yes, it does have some drawbacks for the neighborhood. I get that. But I think if we don't do it, we'll have missed a unique opportunity."

The city's Park Board will hear a presentation about the project at its Aug. 8 meeting, but there will be no public comments taken at the meeting, and the Park Board has only an advisory role in the process.