Property’s fate still up to county

By Leah Shaffer

A reuse study done by the city of Eden Prairie will recommend that that Goodrich-Ramus dairy barn remain in place, according to the city’s preservation planner, John Gertz.

The barn along Pioneer Trail had been slated to be torn down to make way for a storm water pond. The land had been purchased by Hennepin County last year through eminent domain for the expanded Pioneer Trail. But, earlier this year, the Minnesota Department of Transportation called for a reuse study to be conducted.

The barn’s fate is still up to the county, a point made clear during Tuesday’s Eden Prairie City Council meeting. There, City Manager Scott Neal confirmed with council members the city’s philosophy toward the barn and the road project.

Neal noted his position has been that he’s had a strong mandate from the City Council to make this road project happen.

“We have a mandate from the council to enable the Pioneer Trail project.”He noted that, if the barn can be preserved, that’s fine, as long as that does not make the road project go off track.Neal said the city recently learned that the county has been able to come up with a design that would preserve the barn in place. He said that’s important to know. He also wanted the council to know that his official position is that the county owns the barn and the city has not expressed an interested in owning the barn.Mayor Phil Young and Council Members Brad Aho and Jon Duckstad concurred with that position.Obstacles

According to Gertz, the reuse report is still being finalized and will be sent to Hennepin County, MnDOT and the State Historic Preservation Office. The recommendation is that the barn remain in place (which would mean a smaller stormwater pond). The change would leave little room for the barn to be used as anything but a storage facility. Though the city conducted the reuse study, it was paid for by the county.

The county purchased the land last year. Chris Sagsveen, senior project manager for the Pioneer Trail work, explained why the county needed the land in the first place.

The possible locations for stormwater ponds are limited. To the north, there’s airport property, which can’t be used. Land to the east is within a runway protection zone, noted Sagsveen. He added that the Metropolitan Airports Commission and FAA would not allow a stormwater pond there because it could attract wildlife.

To the west is Staring Lake Park, and a piece of land that includes a ravine, he said. He said that option is not cost effective because the pond would have to be held up by retaining walls and it would impact parkland, which would have to be replaced elsewhere.

“It’s just not in the cards to go anywhere else,” he said.

The county purchased about three acres of property that included the barn after conducting a study that determined the barn was not historic, according to Sagsveen.

However, earlier this year, MnDOT and the State Historic Preservation Office determined that the barn could qualify as historic, which put a crimp in plans to go forward with Pioneer Trail expansion. The county is on deadline to finish up the planning for the project by this fall, lest they lose federal funding.

As of last week, Sagsveen had not received the reuse report, but he said if the city does direct them to keep the barn in place, “we’ll have to redo permits, for a slightly reduced pond size.”