Savage faces tough choice on trees' fate

A city whose very identity is tied to its natural resources is facing a cringe-worthy choice: Whether to wipe out an exceptional stand of woods or spend a fortune to save it.

A divided planning commission in Savage is recommending saving the money and losing the woods, but not before prolonged questioning as to whether all the options have been fairly considered.

Before last week's vote, city officials admitted that far from being in degraded condition, as earlier news reports had suggested, the seven-acre woods known as SS-9 is as high-quality as it was a decade ago -- perhaps even higher, according to a new assessment.

"Overall," said planning manager Bryan Tucker, quality is "at least similar, if not a shade better."

If planning commissioners confessed to struggling with the vote, City Council members may sweat it even more. Those up for election last time out expressed support for saving the patch of forest near Prior Lake High School.

The issue arises because Prior Lake Aggregates is moving closer to starting on an ambitious plan for eventual reuse of its mining site not far away: More than 1,000 new homes, most of them multi-family, and some stores near a busy county road.

The woods are on school district land, making it a joint city-school district matter.

At issue too, they say, is Scott County's oft-stated preference for multiple points of connectivity with surrounding neighborhoods, rather than leaving new developments as disconnected islands whose residents use busy county roads even for short trips.

In a community whose civic slogan is "naturally resourceful" -- a nod to its rare fenlands and other features -- no planning commissioner was an eager woods-destroyer. But two in particular spoke up with questions and voted against the idea, saying there have to be other options.

Said commissioner Bob Coughlen: "It seems like there's a lot of access to this development," as well as options that "are not being considered."

Resident Christopher Picard added: "If these were just normal trees, there would not be as big an objection, but they've been studied and are pretty much No. 1 in quality in this area, of any decent size. That's why I'm concerned."

School Superintendent Sue Ann Gruver responded, "We've looked at all the options and each one has issues. I've been working on this three full years, and it started two superintendents ago and has been on our plates ever since."

Added soccer fields and parking spaces for bigger events also are part of the plan, and athletics associations are pushing for that part of the package, saying fields are desperately needed. Dissenters say there's plenty of space in the area to create new fields at other spots.

City officials seemed to be striving to be evenhanded, acknowledging that these are valuable woods.

"They're unique in terms of quality," Tucker said, "better than a lot of places south of the river, even beyond the study area" in Savage itself, to which they were compared.

Officials pledged to ensure that any trees removed are compensated for elsewhere, even if it means holding money from developers in escrow to ensure that it happens no matter what occurs to the developers or the development itself. Cities in recent years have sometimes been left holding the bag on developer promises amid tumult in the real estate market.

There was disagreement over the effect of oak wilt on major trees on the site. A city consultant reported seeing no current problem with the disease after the removal of a number of trees, but school officials said they suspect it is still an active threat, potentially diminishing the importance of the site.

An earlier study had found 571 significant trees on the SS-9 site, but city officials say they -- as opposed to the school district -- have heard little if any citizen opposition to the roadway plans.