6 PCSR 01-26-1993 - Laserfiche WebLink

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. . t • Well-meaning. development can end up suffocating By Mike Kaszuba But Welter's Way. wetland support- "It was a house that set against the an exception.The University of Staff Writer ers say,has instead become an ex- pond,but it was set back from the Minnesota targeted 48 wetland sites ample of how subdivisions across pond,"said Jim Ostenson,the in the Twin Cities from 1988 to The seven homes in Welter's Way the Twin Cities encircle and even- managing partner for Welter's Way 1991 and found 39 had been affect- Sixth Addition in Eden Prairie have tually choke wetlands. Sixth Addition."It was a real ed by development,erosion from been heralded by the city and the quirk." nearby development or highway developer as an example of how to The lots in Welter's Way that back construction,or had been convert- build a subdivision around a wet- up to the wetland divide it up like a The wetland was drastically altered ed to storm water ponds. land without destroying the pie,making the homeowners wet- in the 1970s as part of a storm- wetland. land owners as well. Homeowners sewer project tied to increasing "You can drive around the metro can put in lawns up to the water's nearby development.Once just a area and see all kinds of dead wet- The Peter Andrea Co.,the subdivi- edge because there are no setback grassy low spot.the wetland was lands,where storm water was sion's owner,says the homes were regulations in Eden Prairie. That dug out.That project created an dumped directly into them,"said built at least 100 feet from the edge means grass can be mowed to the open-water pond that Welter's Way Gary Oberts,a senior environmen- of the water-filled wetland.John water line and lawn fertilizers prob- Sixth was eventually built around, tal planner with the Metropolitan Shaw,the real-estate agent who ably will drain into the wetland. and in effect changed the wetland Council."In the long run,that's marketed some of the lots,says into a basin that primarily collects going to kill them off....There are they'll"be the most attractive sites One home in the subdivision that storm water. a lot of cities that misunderstand in that neighborhood."The homes complied with a voluntary 100-foot that whole concept." h sold for up to$800,000. setback began settling into the peat. Welter's Way doesn't appear to be 0