By Nancy Huddleston, editor 

What’s more important – a rare wooded area or making way for development?

That potentially explosive question was explored Monday night (June 11) by the Savage City Council in regard to SS-9, a wooded area that was preserved as part of the Prior Lake High School site development, but might be removed as Prior Lake Aggregates’ plans to develop its gravel pit into housing moves forward.

The Maple Basswood forest covers about 7 acres and is a hardwood forest that includes a mix of oak, maple, elm and ash trees. There are 1,000 estimated trees in the area and the natural community is rated as “exceptional” because it has not been disturbed. SS-9 was identified in a natural resources survey done in 2001 by the city and is only one of two of its kind in Savage and one of 105 in the seven-county metro area. It is the only natural area with an “exceptional” rating in the city.

When an Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW) was done of the high school site, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) expressed concern that SS-9 could be degraded or even eliminated. The Metropolitan Council also commented that any native forests on the high school site should be saved as much as possible, particularly the highest quality areas.

Natural Resources Specialist Jon Allen told the City Council that its conversation about removing SS-9 is “short sighted in terms of considering the loss of trees for the purpose of not having to construct a retaining wall and providing extra parking. You’re missing out on the importance of SS-9.

“In this case, the area has been identified as the most significant of all areas of Savage,” he continued. “You’re talking about an eco system that functions at a high level. It has biological diversity that we don’t find anywhere else.”

Mayor Tom Brennan acknowledged the rareness of SS-9, but said “no one can use it, feel it.”

The mayor went on to say SS-9 is like the Savage Fen Wetland Complex, noting it’s a resource that is not usable by the general public. “People want to see and use their natural resources,” he said.

Councilman Al McColl said another aspect of preserving SS-9 is the need to build a 70-foot retaining wall on school grounds, which, to him, poses a safety problem. “If I was still a high school kid, I’d want to try and climb it,” he said.

Councilwoman Janet Williams suggested that if SS-9 must be removed, then the tree replacement that would be required could be spread out all over the community and enjoyed for years to come by more residents. “That way we’d be putting trees where people could enjoy them,” she said.

Achieving balance

City Administrator Barry Stock said the discussion about SS-9 is all about balance.

“This is a tough decision because it includes the desire to preserve open space and natural resources; but, on the other side, equal weight could be given to safety, traffic needs and providing more athletic fields,” he said.

In fact, if he were to write out a list of “pros” and “cons” regarding SS-9, he guessed the lists would be even.

“So where’s the balance?” he asked. “People say they want open space, but they also want better transportation, to be safe and to have places where their kids can play ball. So it’s hard to look at preserving that area when you weigh in all the other things.”

The reason the City Council is discussing the topic is that Prior Lake Aggregates is getting ready to renew its mining permit. As part of that process this year, the company needs to set forth an end-use plan for the gravel pit site.

An AUAR (Alternative Urban Areawide Review) and mitigation plan for the gravel pit was completed last year and will be included in this year’s mining permit application. As part of the AUAR process, a lot of time was spent regarding the gravel pit’s proximity to the high school site and how development of the mining area into a residential area would be achieved.

There is a 70-foot drop between the gravel pit property and high school site. Preserving SS-9 would require building a high retaining wall and limit the options for constructing a road from the gravel pit site to the high school site.

Removal of SS-9 would involve cutting down the hillside, grading the area so that the school district could install two more ball fields and would provide a smoother grade transition between the sites. Furthermore, a road could be built through the area that would provide an alternative route to county roads 27 and 44.

What’s even trickier is that SS-9 is on school district property. According to representatives of Prior Lake Aggregates, they have had discussions with Prior Lake-Savage Area School District officials about SS-9.

Stock said the owner of the gravel pit is looking for direction from the city and school district about what to do in this area in regard to the overall end-use plan. “They would like to move forward to complete this part of their plan.”

At this week’s meeting, Prior Lake Aggregates Attorney Gerry Duffy said the significant grade difference in the area is what’s driving this discussion. “We need to make that area more usable,” he said.

Although the City Council made no decision on SS-9, when the mayor asked for consensus for moving forward with removal of the area, there were nods all around the table. Councilman Gene Abbott was absent from the meeting.

Stock said the next step is for Prior Lake Aggregates to continue discussions with District 719 and for the city to keep reviewing the options. “There are no easy answers here,” he stressed.

 Nancy Huddleston can be reached at editor@savagepacer.com. 

What do you think?

Should the city preserve SS-9 or allow it to be eliminated to make way for development. Go to www.savagepacer.com/node/3060 to sound off in the forum.