by Rich Larson
Progress on the Kraewood housing development has been stopped while the City Council considers a petition for an Environmental Assessment
Worksheet to be done on the 12-acre proposed construction site.
Two local developers, Rebound Partners and Schmidt Homes, along with The Stencil Group have proposed to build 24 new housing units and a 100-unit apartment building on the area that is best known as the former Paulson Tree Farm. The development has met with fierce resistance from area residents who are opposed to the development for a variety of reasons.
Some 600 people signed the petition and submitted it to the state Environmental Quality Board. The EQB then determined that the petition and the site, does not qualify for a mandatory EAW, but does merit a discretionary review. The state board then referred the petition to the Northfield City Council.
The council must now determine if building the development has potentially significant and irreversible environmental impact based on three criteria. The first is the Rusty Patched Bumble Bee which is an endangered species. A few Rusty Patched bees have been sighted in the area, leading to speculation that it might be a habitat for the bees. Secondly, there is concern that the development could damage wetlands in the area. And finally, there is concern that the increased traffic on Lincoln Parkway could have an environmental impact as well.
The council finds itself in what city attorney Chris Hood called a Quasi-Judicial role, meaning no member of the council can discuss the merits of the petition, pro or con, unless they are in session. City administrator Ben Martig said if the Council does grant the petition, it does not necessarily mean the development would be stopped. Rather the assessment would determine if a much more involved study were in order.
“Really the purpose of the EAW is to determine if an Environmental Impact Statement is necessary, which is very involved and time intensive, and a significant environmental review that would be the next stage that the EAW would determine whether or not that is needed. And then the council would have to act on that.”
By law, the council has thirty days to move on the petition, meaning they will vote on the EAW at their next regular meeting on October 5th.
Depot will be open for tours this weekend
The members of Save the Northfield Depot and the Heritage Preservation Commission have announced they will be giving tours of the Northfield Depot this weekend.
It has been a long process for the Depot, the Commission and the Save the Depot members to get to this point. In 2008, the city of Northfield was informed that the railroad company that owned the depot was going to demolish it for liability reasons. That was when a group of determined citizens, including Alice Thomas, joined together and founded Save the Northfield Depot. As an incorporated non-profit, the group was able to recruit volunteers and raise the money necessary to move the building one block to the north.
After re-setting it on a new foundation the task of renovating and restoring the depot began. Thomas said the key to the restoration was the original set of blueprints from 1888, which is not something that is very common for a project like this one. Windows were replaced, the chimney has been rebuilt to original specifications as has the Station Master’s Bay. And the interior walls and original maple floor have been restored to their original form before the building was renovated in 1944.
Thomas said part of the reason the restoration has taken so long is because the Northfield Depot is an unusual building for its time.
“The depot is a very handsome, attractive building, and it has an unusual amount of detail. The head of the Historic Preservation Commission was down here, and he said it was very unusual for a rural depot to have so much detail. Usually, such design would be located in the middle of a city.”
The tours will be given this Saturday, October 2nd, from 9am to 4pm and on Sunday, October 3, from 1-4pm. Because of necessary Covid protocols, registration for the tours will be required. Tours will be given every 30 minutes, and groups will be limited to ten people. Masks will be required for all who participate, regardless of vaccination status. Tours will be given free of charge.
For more information or to register for a tour, visit northfielddepot.org
Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with Alice Thomas can be heard here
Northfield Police Chief praises NCCC Law Enforcement program
The Northfield Police Department is in something of a growth mode at the moment. Just three weeks ago, Officer Jessica Bohlken was sworn in as the newest member of the Northfield Police Department, another hiring process closed on Wednesday, and the department has requested the creation of one more new patrol officer position in the coming 2022 budget.
Beyond that, the NPD has been very involved in the creation of the brand-new Law Enforcement Associate Degree program now being offered by the Northfield Community College Collaboration through Riverland Community College. Northfield Chief of Police Mark Elliott said he hopes one day that program will provide a steady stream of “homegrown talent” to join the local police force. Moreover, there is a desire for more diversity on the police force, and the new program has an emphasis on recruiting female students and students of color.
Minnesota requires that all law enforcement professionals have at least an associates law enforcement degree, and Elliott said that can be a barrier for a number of students of color, who work to help their families make ends meet. In Riverland Community College, which has a law enforcement program that is taught in Austin, the NCCC has found a partner willing to bring professors to Northfield to teach the necessary classes, so local students can still work and go to school at the same time.
The inaugural group of students has just begun classes. Elliott is very pleased to see the program in place and is hopeful this will encourage more young people to look into law enforcement careers.
For more information, visit northfieldccc.org.
Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with Northfield Police Chief Mark Elliot can be heard here
Rich Larson is the KYMN News Director. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net
