Neighbors in Savage may push ahead with a lawsuit opposing a subdivision now that the City Council has decided that a full-scale environmental review of the proposed Dan Patch Trail project is not needed.
In a unanimous decision Monday night, the City Council said that enough study of the development's potential effects has already been done, making a full-blown analysis unnecessary.
But the council will require the developer to complete biological and archaeological site surveys before the project receives any further city permits.
Some criticism of the project, which would ultimately include more than 200 homes, centers on the nearby Savage Fen, a delicate wetland south of Hwy. 13 where scientists have found more than 200 plant species.
Neighbors organized as the Woods & Wetlands Alliance have fought the subdivision, arguing, among other things, that effects such as runoff could harm the fen. The group filed suit last fall to force further review of the project.
The city and developer have since looked at possible environmental consequences of the project.
They have gathered public input as well as opinions from a consulting firm and agencies such as the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
Now the question is whether they've done enough, said Alexandra Klass, a University of Minnesota law professor representing the neighbors. Alliance members plan to talk in the next week about how to proceed, said Klass, who added that, for now, the lawsuit is "alive and well."
