Washington County Planners Present Conservation Wish List to Board of Commissioners: Planners Ask Board to Preserve 430 Acres
By Alex Friedrich, Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn.
Dec. 24–To preserve woods, wetlands and meadows throughout Washington County, planners have drawn up a list of sites to buy and protect over the next several years.
Highest on their list are seven properties totaling almost 430 acres and with an estimated market value of about $8.7 million. They are relatively untouched sites that could become part of the county’s parks or trails system — or just serve as natural, open spaces.
The county will buy the land with money from a $20 million open-space bond that voters approved in November 2006.
“I’m really pleased with what we’ve got,” said county planner Jane Harper after presenting a list of properties to the county’s Board of Commissioners this month. The list “is a very good representation of the kind of landscapes we’re after,” she said.
Since the bond was approved, county planners have found willing sellers and hope to work out the first deals over the next three years or so. After that, they will work on three more parcels totaling 100 acres. Another 80 or so acres are being considered, but planners say those deals need some work before the county can pursue them.
The county will either buy parcels outright or purchase conservation agreements that would generally prohibit development.
Two would-be sellers are Neil and Deb Krueger of Lake Elmo, who are trying to persuade the county to buy 45 acres of their land, at least part of which is a Christmas tree farm.
“We’d like to be
considered,” they told county commissioners. “We’d like to retain as much open space in Lake Elmo as possible.”
The preservation of green space is meeting with wide approval, but it may present some tax problems for small communities such as Denmark Township.
Town Board Chairwoman Kathy Higgins said her township has a small tax base, and only about one in four property owners pay the full tax rate. The rest pay no tax or a reduced tax because the land is public property or agricultural preserve.
Taking even more land off the tax rolls will force the remaining property owners to pay a larger share, she said.
“We’re not opposed to open space or green space,” she said. “But from a long-term public policy question: How can a township like this continue to pay for its own services?”
Township officials have asked the county to study how setting aside the land will affect the tax rolls of all townships, she said. And they asked that the county offer some sort of compensation to such townships to offset the tax losses.
Harper said the county is planning to hold a workshop in late January to discuss the township’s concerns.
Alex Friedrich can be reached at afriedrich@pioneerpress.com.
Wanted For Open Space
Linden property
Acres: 26
Estimated market value: $567,000
Location: Near Rice Lake in Hugo
Buying it would protect: Water quality, drinking water, wetlands
Attraction: Rice Lake is a popular duck-hunting spot.
McDonald property
Acres: 113
Estimated market value: $1.02 million
Location: At the headwaters of Silver Creek in Stillwater Township
Buying it would protect: Water quality, woods, shoreline
Attraction: Silver Creek is a major tributary of the St. Croix River.
Priory property
Acres: 10
Estimated market value: $270,000
Location: Along Minnesota 5 near Century Avenue
Buying it would protect: Woods, wetlands, potential parkland
Attraction: Links two major wetland areas and provides land for a city trail.
Steltzner property
Acres: 12
Estimated market value: $584,000
Location: Adjacent to Valley Creek in Afton
Buying it would protect: Water quality, drinking water and woods
Attraction: A high-quality fen and Valley Creek, which is a major tributary of the St. Croix River.
Rowe property
Acres: 83
Estimated market value: $1.31 million
Location: Next to St. Croix Bluffs Regional Park with 1,300 feet of frontage along the St. Croix River
Buying it would protect: Water quality, drinking water, woods, shoreline, potential parkland
Attraction: High-quality woodland area with a lot of river frontage.
Behrends property
Acres: 95
Estimated market value: $2.76 million
Location: Denmark Township, with 1,400 feet of St. Croix River frontage
Buying it would protect: Water quality, drinking water, woods, potential parkland, shoreline
Attraction: A link in a regional trail.
Leadholm property
Acres: 90
Estimated market value: $2.21 million
Location: Southeast corner of the county with half a mile of St. Croix River frontage
Buying it would protect: Water quality, drinking water, woods, potential parkland, shoreline
Attraction: A link in a regional trail.
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