Council Gives Thumbs Up On Paul Hugo Farms Plan
How Will DnR's Land Acquisition Impact Landowners?
HUGO - The City of Hugo has a history of confl ict with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources over the Paul Hugo Farms Wildlife Management Area in which Rice Lake, a destination for many Twin Cities hunters, is located.
On Nov. 19, however, a step was taken toward a cooperative effort in developing a common vision for the area. The Hugo City Council approved a motion expressing preliminary support of a plan that would officially define the DNR's long-range plans for its WMA, and recognize the city's important role in mitigating potential land use confl icts as the area around the WMA develops.
"This plan is consistent with the overall plan of what residents of Hugo say they would like to have," said Council Member Chuck Haas, who cited the preservation of open spaces and a rural environment as two specifi c components of the DNR plan that residents would support.
Despite council's preliminary approval, city residents will have an opportunity to ratify Haas' opinion about the plan through participation in the city's ongoing Comprehensive Plan process.
"Formal city approval [of the DNR's plan] will come with Comprehensive Plan approval," said Community Development Director Bryan Bear. Bear also noted that city staff supports the plan, the development of which was part of the December 2006 Memorandum of Agreement with the DNR, the City of Hugo and the Rice Creek Watershed District (RCWD).
Without public support, however, the version of the plan that is outlined in the Comprehensive Plan might look quite different from what staff and the DNR are currently envisioning: landowners in attendance at the meeting expressed concerns about hunters firing too close to residences, and the limitations the plan could pose for future development options.
According to a presentation by DNR Planner Emmett Mullin and DNR Fish and Wildlife Manager Bob Welsh, the DNR's plan for Paul Hugo Farms, a 357-acre area about a mile-and-a-quarter east of downtown Hugo north of the city's Public Works building, is to provide continued habitat, hunting, fishing, and trapping opportunities.
"It's no surprise that the emphasis of [the plan] is aquatic habitat," said Welsh, citing the fact that over 80% of Paul Hugo Farms is classified as "mixed wetlands."
Welsh later added that the plan will "provide any number of recreational and ecological opportunities."
In addition to formalizing plans for the Paul Hugo Farms tract, which is already owned by the DNR and forms a rough rectangle around Rice Lake, the plan also establishes a more extensive "project boundary" extending from Oneka Lake Boulevard and 157th Street in the north to 137th Street in the south.
According to Mullin and Welsh's presentation, the DNR isn't necessarily interested in purchasing all of the properties within that boundary, but does hope that the city will use its zoning authority to help mitigate the effects that future development in that area might have on the Wildlife Management Area.
"To be successful we need the city's support - especially in the implementation [of the plan]," Mullin said.
As another part of the plan, the DNR has created a land acquisition plan in hopes of purchasing some of the properties within the partnership area from willing sellers.
In addition to the land located at the lake's outlet, the DNR wants to acquire property lying below elevation 922.0 in order to control lake water levels.
Numerous residents shared their concerns about the plan.
Landowner John Waller - who also serves as Washington County's representative on the Rice Creek Watershed District - expressed concern that designating properties as lying within the DNR's project boundary in the city's Comprehensive Plan will limit the ability of landowners to sell and develop their land as they wish.
Bear said that designating properties within that boundary wouldn't limit landowner's options more than any other rezoning.
"The Comprehensive Plan guides development in the city, and that's what we'd expect it to do in this case," he said. Council, however, expressed sympathy with Waller's position.
Council Member Frank Puleo noted that such concerns are part of the reason why the plan is still a work in progress.
While council's cautious preliminary approval of the DNR's management plan may be significant as a step in a new direction in the city's relationship with the DNR, it was also clear that the battles of the past haven't been totally resolved - Mayor Fran Miron abstained from discussion of the management plan, as he is currently involved in a personal lawsuit with the Rice Creek Watershed District over the placement of a weir structure on his property.
That lawsuit, he said before he left the council chambers, was only recently expanded by the RCWD to include the DNR.
The vote to support the plan was 4-0. Council made a point to state, however, that the vote in favor of the plan was preliminary and non-binding.
"We are in support of the plan without tying ourselves to specific land uses," said Council Member Becky Petryk, who served as acting mayor in Miron's absence.