[Winona Online Democracy] Again Jan Turek raises thoughtful questions. I certainly don't have all the answers and am not as close to the situation as most of the rest of you. I think Jan raises a very important question when she talks about what is "city" and what is "country". Reasonable people will disagree over what is the appropriate density to develop, but I would challenge one statement in Jan's last post - "if you build a city in the country, then you no longer have the country". I think the opposite is true. Building at higher density in a part of the country leaves more open space for a longer time than allowing sparse development over a larger area. An example:
* 100 acres of beautiful pasture land nestled in the bluffs - this is clearly "the country". A: 40 new homes on 2.5 acres each creates a neighborhood on the entire 100 acres - not quite "city" density, but the "country" is gone - no more pasture, no more cows and horses. I think this density would be roughly similar to Springbrook out in Pleasant Valley (I don't want to pick on Springbrook). B: 40 new homes on 1/4-acre lots takes up 10 acres, leaving 90 acres of pasture for everyone, including the cows and horses, to enjoy, at least for a few more years. Which example is city, which is country? Which leaves more of the environment intact? Is two acres of mowed lawn "country"? Jan asks about my connection to the city and to development in the area. I am a planning consultant, not a developer. I have worked for developers, mostly in the Twin Cities area, but also for dozens of cities and counties in Minnesota (Burnsville, Roseville, Vadnais Heights, Orono, St. Cloud, Sauk Rapids, Little Falls, Alexandria, Mower County, Isanti County, Hennepin County, and many others). Our firm (Dahlgren, Shardlow, and Uban, or DSU) worked for the City of Winona several years ago in the annexation case involving Winona Township. My partner John Shardlow did most of that work and testified for the City. Mr. Shardlow was approached by a potential developer very recently about assisting with some land development in the Winona area, but as of now we do not have any professional connection to proposed developments in the area, although we may soon. That contact came about after this thread of comments on annexation came up on WOD, but not as a result of it. Phil Carlson, Minneapolis _______________________________________________ This message was posted to Winona Online Democracy All messages must be signed by the senders actual name. No commercial solicitations are allowed on this list. To manage your subscription or view the message archives, please visit http://mapnp.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/winona Any problems or suggestions can be directed to mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] If you want help on how to contact elected officials, go to the Contact page at http://www.winonaonlinedemocracy.org
