Some Wayzata residents are calling for a public referendum on the city's plans to revamp its lakefront on Lake Minnetonka, saying the plans don't fit its small-town character and could cost too much.
At a standing-room-only meeting Tuesday, several supporters said that lakefront improvements long have been needed and urged that the project move forward.
But some critics questioned the cost — an estimated $19 million if all potential projects are built, plus annual operating expenses — and called for a referendum. Others just want the project scaled back.
More than 160 people signed a petition seeking a public vote, urging that the lakefront design and budget be revised and that development not block access to the lake.
"It doesn't quite feel like the Wayzata I want to live in. … Let's do something that fits with our town," resident Gretchen Piper, who helped organize the petition, told the council.
Earlier this year planners unveiled designs of the plan, dubbed the "Lake Effect." It includes bike lanes, docks, an expanded city beach with swimming and diving piers, a lake walk, an eco park and pedestrian crossings over the rail tracks currently cutting off downtown from the lake.
The city of 4,200 residents first launched the 10-year concept plan in 2014. Its aim is to make Wayzata a year-round destination, and the lakefront more pedestrian- and bike-friendly.
"This is really about the future of this town. … I hear the residents say they don't want to pay for it but we want it to be for us," resident Dan Gustafson said at the meeting.
