River’s Edge development: Finding better options

Please note: This article focuses on a former development proposed for St. Paul Park. There is also a River'sEdge proposal (one word) proposed for downtown St. Paul in 2019. Check our river corridor land use and development blog for updates. 
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[Photo: View of Crystal Cove from the Mississippi River]
View of Crystal Cove, a natural area threatened by the proposed Rivers Edge Development.

Rivers Edge, a development proposal by D. R. Horton to urbanize land along the Mississippi in south Washington County, has raised concerns among citizens and at FMR about the potential impacts to sensitive natural areas on the property. The proposal is for an urban residential development in St. Paul Park and Grey Cloud Island Township with 2,400 housing units and 83,000 square feet of commercial buildings around a pristine backwater bay that has been identified as a priority for conservation by the National Park Service, the Minnesota DNR and others. In part due to poor market conditions, the Rivers Edge project has been idle for over two years.. FMR has been actively engaged in working to protect the scenic values of the area proposed for development through enforcement of existing laws and by developing alternative development propsals that seek to minimize negative impacts to the riverfront areas.

Proposed development contravenes existing protections

In order to implement a development like Rivers Edge, a fairly long list of local plans and ordinances would need to be amended. Included on this list are the Citys and Townships recently completed Critical Area Plans, which are designed to help communities plan for development while protecting sensitive areas along the Mississippi River. Established in 1973, the critical area laws recognize the Mississippi River corridor in the seven-county metro region as a natural resource of statewide and national significance, and they provide special protections to preserve the rivers ecological, aesthetic and cultural values. Now that the 300 acres are part of Saint Paul Park, the Citys 2008 comprehensive plan update will need to include a critical area plan amendment for the annexed land. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is responsible for enforcing critical area laws and standards, including the approval of any amendments. (Read more about the Critical Areas Laws.)

A Natural Treasure worth Protecting

[Photo: Blufftop view of Crystal Cove.]
A view from the blufftops at Crystal Cove.

The jewel of the property is a small backwater bay on the Mississippi, known locally as Crystal Cove, that offers quality floodplain forest and bluff habitat to a variety of species. Proposed buildings on the bluffs along the cove, as well as a public access area and boat launch in the floodplain, would disturb native vegetation and wildlife in the area. Although some of the forested areas are degraded by invasive species and past agricultural activities, the bluffs contain significant pockets of oak savanna — one of the rarest native plant communities in Minnesota.

Some of the other concerns raised include impacts to nearby eagle nest sites, water quality degradation, increased traffic, and degradation of the scenic value of the river.

Protection efforts are underway

In order to address the potential environmental impacts to the river corridor by this development, FMR and concerned citizens are approaching the issue on several fronts:

Friends of the Bay citizens group forms

We are working with a citizen group called Friends of the Bay (FOB) to help ensure that citizens have a voice on this issue and to provide them with some technical expertise. FOB maintained a web site for some time, started a lawn sign campaign, distributed hundreds of flyers, organized a community forum that was attended by nearly 100 people, and received great media coverage in the local newspaper.

Concerned organizations comment formally on proposal

We submitted extensive comments on the Alternative Urban Areawide Review that was released in late May of 2003. Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy and Sierra Clubs Northstar Chapter also submitted strongly worded comments. FMR and the other groups criticized the development proposal for its inadequate identification of the significance of sensitive natural areas, its failure to adhere to state Mississippi River critical area law protections, and its misuse of state environmental review procedures aimed at deliberately downplaying serious negative impacts, among other things.

Keeping government accountable

[Photo: View of area inland from proposed development.]

A view of the Rivers Edge property from the east (looking towards the river) shows that there is ample land for urban development which would not negatively impact the natural treasures surrounding Crystal Cove.

Challenging an illegal settlement agreement

In February 2004, the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy issued a legal challenge to the November 2002 settlement agreement on which much of the proposal at that time relied. In a letter to the City of St. Paul Park and Grey Cloud Island Township, MCEA told officials that a November 2002 Settlement Agreement (767 KB PDF) between the local governments, the landowner and developer D.R. Horton settling a contested annexation case is illegal. MCEA argued that the agreement, which lays the foundation for the proposed Rivers Edge development project, went too far in signing away the rights and responsibilities of the City and Township to oversee land use planning in a reasoned manner subject to meaningful public participation.

In October 2004, the settlement agreement expired unrenewed, but the annexation process continued and was completed in 2006.

Reminding DNR of its role

In April of 2004, Friends of the Mississippi River and the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy commended a decision released March 31, 2004, by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources in which the DNR formally objected to the adequacy of an alternative urban areawide review (AUAR) performed for Saint Paul Park and Grey Cloud Island Township for the proposed Rivers Edge development. Completing environmental review is the first step in the planning process for the proposed development.

In a four-page letter dated March 31, 2004, to Barry Sittlow, City Administrator for St. Paul Park, the DNR stated that it believes that the final AUAR and Mitigation Plan contains inaccurate and incomplete information relevant to the identification and mitigation of potentially significant environmental impacts.

Friends of the Mississippi River also praised the DNRs decision to object to the AUAR, and was pleased that the letter cited several specific concerns about impacts to the river and bluff habitat on the site. The proposed development is simply not consistent with existing laws designed to protect the river, said Irene Jones, Outreach Director for FMR. Instead of expecting the city and state to change laws in order to accommodate this development, the landowner and developer should change their plans in order to comply with the law.

After a month of negotiations, however, the DNR decided to withdraw their objection rather than take the issue to the Environmental Quality Board (EQB) for a ruling. FMR staff who have been working on the Rivers Edge issue expressed disappointment that the DNR did not maintain their objection. We were encouraged, however, by strong statements contained in letters sent by the DNR to the City of St. Paul Park and the EQB at the close of the objection period. In a letter to EQB Chair Robert Schroeder, dated May 4, 2004, DNR Commissioner Gene Merriam stated The DNR is unlikely to approve proposed amendments [to the critical area and shoreland ordinances] that are inconsistent with state laws and standards. A proposed Rivers Edge development plan will have to be consistent with all locally adopted and state-approved plans, ordinances, and permits. He also went on to say that the DNR believes the AUAR is being misapplied in this case, and that …the increasingly common use of the AUAR tool for conducting an environmental review of specific proposed projects is inappropriate and needs discussion and review by the EQB.

Assisting the local community in considering alternatives

On July 19th, 2005, FMR and the University of Minnesota Metropolitan Design Center presented a new set of three alternative designs for the community to consider. As proposed by D.R. Horton, Rivers Edge would include upwards of 1900 residences and a small commercial area on 450 acres that surround a small backwater bay in the state-protected Mississippi River Critical Area. By working with the design center, FMR sought to demonstrate that high density could be achieved on the site without encroaching upon the sensitive river environment. We also presented a lower density option with 1200 units that incorporated additional parks and open space among clusters of housing outside the critical area.

Approximately 70 local citizens, including seven elected officials, attended the presentation. Many residents expressed concerns about the impacts high density would have on the river corridor and local traffic. In a written feedback form, community members were enthusiastic about most of the designs and some were hopeful that the developer will consider the alternative ideas.

Download PDF versions of the designs and comments from participants:

Design Option 1 (4.2 MB PDF)

Design Option 2 (5.0 MB PDF)

Design Option 3 (4.3 MB PDF)

Community Feedback (81 KB PDF)

On January 12, 2006, a second design meeting was held in which two new landscape alternatives were presented. The new designs focus solely on the west half of the project, which lies within the state-protected Mississippi River Critical Area, and put a strong emphasis on the protection of a large, natural riverfront park. The meeting was very well attended by citizens and local elected officials. FMRs conservation director, Tom Lewanski, presented information on several other successful local efforts to protect open space and he detailed how those projects were funded and managed. Following Lewanskis talk, Metropolitan Design Center staff presented the new designs, which were very enthusiastically received.

Download PDF versions of the revised designs. Note: these PDFs have been reduced in quality so that they download and display faster. If you are interested in full-resolution versions, please contact us.

38-Unit Option (700 KB PDF)

150-Unit Option (1.1 MB PDF)

Drawing Attention to the Issues

A press release (8 KB PDF) released in June 2003 outlined FMRs concerns with the project and yielded attention from radio, TV and print media. Links are provided where the stories are still available.

  • KSTP-TV aired a short story on June 29th, 2003 on the issue.
  • Minnesota Public Radio featured the story in a July 28th report.
  • The Pioneer Press featured an article on August 10th, 2003.

Staying Engaged in Public Policy

FMR will be closely tracking the proposed amendments to the Citys and Townships Critical Area Plans and the Washington County Shoreland Ordinance, and encouraging local and state officials to enforce the laws that protect the rivers natural features and ecological functioning.

It is our goal to continue our work with citizens, the Minnesota DNR and other organizations, and to work directly with City staff and elected officials to take proactive steps for open space planning and move towards a development proposal for this site that will not have significant impacts to the river corridor.

Upcoming Events

Saturday, April 20, 2024 - 9:30am to 12:00pm
West River Parkway and 36th Street/44th Street, Minneapolis
Applications due Friday, May 3 by 5 p.m.
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Wednesday, May 8, 2024 - 1:00pm to 3:00pm
Hampton Woods Wildlife Management Area