In an effort to continue broadening recreational opportunities, the City of Cottage Grove City Council at its most recent meeting approved a Mississippi River Access Strategy Report.

The city’s Strategic Plan “identified access to the Mississippi River as a key action area,” wrote Parks and Recreation Director Zac Dockter, in a memo to the City Council.

“Before recreational opportunities can be developed, studying land options is a valuable step,” wrote Dockter. “As such, staff has created the attached Mississippi River Access Strategy Report that will be a helpful tool in giving guidance to acquisition and usage opportunities. The report will align local leaders and staff to assure we are working cooperatively to achieve the goal of improving access to the Mississippi River at the right places and at the right time.”

He noted that the Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources Commission reviewed the strategy report and recommended council approval. The council unanimously approved the report as part of its unanimous consent agenda.

The report identified nine properties “as the most key sites for improving river access.”

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The properties were then “placed on a scoring matrix to rank the value and opportunity of each individual site.”

The scoring criteria was based on: Ability for the city to acquire. “Currently owned city property ranks the highest in score,” the strategy plan states.

Cost of the property.

Scenic views of the river.

Water access – “Based on the ability for people and/or boats to achieve water access. Both quantity of shoreline access and accessible site grades are taken into consideration.”

Readiness – “Timing of current and/or future land development that would offer the best means of acquiring and using the land for recreational purposes,” the report states.

Other things such as vehicles access, constructability, utilities, trail access and other items were also used to score the sites.

The nine properties are shown on the city graphic with this article. The top three were highlighted.

“Although all properties must remain on the City radar for potential acquisition and development, this report summarizes the top three scoring sites in terms of opportunities and challenges,” the strategy report states.

Top on the list is the Mississippi Dunes property.

Here is what the report states about why it was ranked first: “Because this site was a former golf course, it has readily available access to roads, utilities and is vast enough to provide many recreational opportunities. The vastness of the site, as well as its adjacency to the Grey Cloud Dunes Scientific and Natural Area (MN DNR Property), provides great potential for habitat preservation and education. Additionally, this property has significant access to the river and has the ability for future boat launch, picnicking, play, trail and other recreational opportunities. Although this property is privately owned, there has been expressed interest by multiple government and non-profit agencies to partner on protecting this property. Grant funding could be acquired for a significant percentage of both acquisition and development of the property.

“Because this property is privately- owned, the City must consider all future development options and work cooperatively with the landowner to find a long term sustainable solution that best meets the needs and desires of both parties.”

The report urges the city to keep an eye on the property.

“It is recommended the City stay keenly aware of all potential future uses for the property. The City must weigh the vision of all interested parties in its overall community planning processes and adjust as changes occur. At a minimum, the City should be firm in its resolve to acquire parkland, via the park dedication ordinance, of up to 10 percent of the overall property as part of any future housing or commercial development.”

Second in ranking is the Washington County property.

“Although the City is not able to acquire this property, there is opportunity to partner with Washington County on future development of the parkland. The County is not currently master planning the site and has suggested that process will not start until post 2030. It may be in the City’s interest to work with the County to get an earlier prioritization of the master plan so that the City may collaborate wit the County to get pieces of the master plan in place sooner than the County intended.”

The third-ranked site is the Aggregate Industry Marina Property.

“This site has perhaps the greatest development potential of all sites. With its adjacency to the main channel and ample flat land for construction of recreational facilities, it is a future park area with much merit,” the report states. “The most significant challenge with this property is readiness. Mining operations are still in place and although the mining permit is set to expire near 2025, it should not be presumed that there won’t be an extension of the permit.”

In addition, the landowner has said they will be seeking housing development on the site for a future use.

The end conclusion of the Mississippi River Access Strategy Report is that it needs to be reviewed regularly “for changes in opportunities and challenges. As long as the City elevates ‘Access to the Mississippi River’ as a directive within its Strategic Plan, this report can be a valuable tool in managing that vision,” the report concludes.