Gail You could contact Roseville council member Amy Ihlan, address above.
Dave On Sun, 12 Dec 2004, Gail wrote: > I missed this article, Dave. Can you suggest actions those of us who don't > live in Roseville might take? Every threat like this affects us all. > Gail O'Hare > St. Paul > ----- Original Message ----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Sunday, December 12, 2004 12:00 PM > Subject: Stpaul Digest, Vol 12, Issue 19 > > > > 1. Roseville lake/development (David Shove) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Sat, 11 Dec 2004 16:50:49 -0600 (CST) > From: David Shove <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: [StPaul] Roseville lake/development > To: St Paul Issues <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Message-ID: > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > Date: Sat, 11 Dec 2004 07:19:30 -0600 > From: Amy Ihlan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: Twin Lakes Group <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: Fw: Star Tribune Article > > Dear Twin Lakes Group, > > For your information -- here is an editorial I wrote on Langton Lake, > which ran in Wednesday's Star Tribune North section. > > Amy > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Amy Ihlan > Sent: Saturday, December 11, 2004 6:59 AM > Subject: Star Tribune Article > > This article from startribune.com has been sent to you by Amy Ihlan. > > Plan threatens rare and valuable nature > > Roseville's Langton Lake Park is a beautiful spot of surprising peace and > quiet only a stone's throw from Interstate Hwy. 35W. Walking through the > park on a recent evening, I heard an owl hoot in the snowy dusk from > somewhere near the path. Henry David Thoreau wrote of the hooting of owls > at Walden Pond: "It is a sound admirably suited to swamps and twilight > woods which no day illustrates, suggesting a vast and undeveloped nature > which men have not recognized." > > To borrow Thoreau's words, Langton Lake Park is a rare example of > "undeveloped nature" rapidly disappearing in our urban environment. A > stroll around the lake is a genuine walk in the woods, even though the > south end of the park is bordered by trucking yards and loading docks, now > visible through the bare winter trees. > > Sadly, the park's remarkable tranquility and seclusion is threatened by a > proposed redevelopment including a big-box retail and shopping center just > south of the lake. A new parkway drawing retail traffic directly off I-35W > will skirt the edge of the narrow wooded buffer that currently protects > the park. New three- and four-story condos will overlook the shore of > Langton Lake. > > If the developers' plans become reality, Langton Lake Park will never be > the same again. Originally donated as a wildlife refuge, the park provides > home and shelter to more than 150 species of birds and animals. The only > recorded sighting of a yellow-throated warbler in Minnesota was in the > park's woods, and bald eagles have recently been seen near the lake. > > As a unique natural space and wildlife sanctuary, Langton Lake Park is a > precious community asset. It is not only valuable for people and wildlife > but also immeasurably valuable in itself -- an irreplaceable piece of > undeveloped nature in a first-ring suburb. It would be a very great shame > to sacrifice such a priceless natural resource for more big retail sprawl > and all of the giant asphalt parking lots, traffic congestion and air, > noise and light pollution that go with it. > > The future of Langton Lake Park is only one of many environmental issues > the Roseville City Council must deal with in considering the developers' > proposal. TCE, a known carcinogen, has been discovered in area > groundwater. Further testing is needed to determine the source and extent > of the contamination, to evaluate any possible public health risks and > develop strategies for cleanup. And unsupportable levels of traffic > generated by the retail center will pose serious problems for nearby > neighborhoods. > > Roseville's city government has a moral obligation to protect our > neighborhood and natural environments. This is a golden opportunity for > exercising some vision and common-sense planning. Roseville already has 82 > square feet of retail per resident, more than four times the Twin Cities > metro-area average. The last thing Roseville needs is another new shopping > center -- not to mention that the developers are asking for more than $40 > million in public subsidies to build it. > > The city needs to face the fact that the costs and adverse environmental > effects of a big-box retail center can't be justified. A sustainable > redevelopment plan with less environmental impact -- on traffic in > neighborhoods, on wildlife habitats and on the quiet beauty of Langton > Lake Park -- is what's needed in the Twin Lakes area. > > The Twin Lakes redevelopment will be a clear test of Roseville's > commitment to careful environmental stewardship, neighborhood quality of > life and community values. The city should not miss this chance to > preserve Langton Lake Park and make it an even more valuable public asset. > Instead of allowing developers to turn the park and lake into "amenities" > for their new shopping center, why not insist on a plan that adds parkland > and greenspace to protect the park's fragile wildlife habitats? Otherwise, > a precious piece of natural space will be lost forever. > > Amy Ihlan is a Roseville City Council member. She is teaching > environmental ethics as a visiting professor in the philosophy department > at Macalester College this semester. > > > --fwd David Shove > Roseville > > > ------------------------------ > > _____________________________________________ > NEW ADDRESS FOR LIST: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > To subscribe, modify subscription, or get your password - visit: > http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/stpaul > > Archive Address: > http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/private/stpaul/ > _____________________________________________ > For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html > For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract > > End of Stpaul Digest, Vol 12, Issue 19 > ************************************** > _____________________________________________ > To Join: St. Paul Issues Forum Rules Discussion > Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > ____________________________________________ > NEW ADDRESS FOR LIST: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > To subscribe, modify subscription, or get your password - visit: > http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/stpaul > > Archive Address: > http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/private/stpaul/ > _____________________________________________ To Join: St. Paul Issues Forum Rules Discussion Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ____________________________________________ NEW ADDRESS FOR LIST: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, modify subscription, or get your password - visit: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/stpaul Archive Address: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/private/stpaul/
