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what would happen going forward, in terms of dates to take down past and present on the property: A 2018 workshop was held for council and staff to look at potential uses for the property.

• November 2020 approval of a Mississippi River strategy report.

• February 2021 – hiring of ISG for site planning by the city

• May 10 – Parks and Recreation Commission

• May 19 – council workshop closed to public but in open session

• August 9 – Parks Commissioner toured property with Mayor Bailey and Council member Olsen touring the site

• September 13 – Parks Commission review most current concept

• September 22 – October 6 – online opportunity for public engagement on the housing development plan

• October 7 – public open house to review plan and take comment

• November 8 – Parks Commission will review public feedback, then review process before coming before Council “We want all of you to be respectful, I’m sure you will,” Mayor Myron Bailey then said before opening up the public comment section. “You were respectful to me coming in.”

The Mississippi Dunes property is currently zoned R-1 or “rural residential,” meaning within the city’s zoning code that a single lot on the Dunes property cannot currently be smaller than three acres, and that only one principal residence can exist on that three acres. With that note made, it was on into public comment. First up was Dick Poulta of Grey Cloud Township.

“I got a little different perspective than you guys here,” Poulta told the Council. “I’ve lived down there since 1966, I actually used to border the old Mississippi Dunes property,” he said.

Around 30 years ago there was a proposal to put a state park on Lower Grey Cloud, with state representative Bill Morisee stating at the time that the state parks were allocated money for parks acquisition.

“He said, ‘we don’t recruit state parks or go looking for them, we like to be invited by the municipalities and then work with them,” Poulta shared. “Back then Mayor Denzer and Councilman Walcott, they shot it down,” Poulta said, reportedly to have high-dollar housing in the area. Having a county-level park didn’t make sense from a broader taxpayer perspective, though, Poulta said. Why not try the state park option given council talk of a park of some type down Grey Cloud way in the future? Following on Poulta was Grey Cloud Trail resident Marilyn Witzel.

“My husband Dennis and I have been residents of Grey Cloud for 40 years,” she said. “When we moved here in 1980 there were no houses south of 90th Street.” With an approval for housing on the Sandkamp property, housing would now be much nearer.

“Don’t like it but we can accept it, because change does happen,” she said of the recent Sandkamp housing approval. The Witzels could not accept high-density housing at Mississippi Dunes she said. A previous plan from May did include medium and high-density housing before getting tabled by the Parks Recreation, and Natural Resources Commission pending further Council direction. But even without high-density there were issues. To raise.

“Apparently not just the Dunes, but the acreage back of us, which is west of the Dunes,” Witzel said of developments now and into the future. “We’ve had surveyors on our land, and tagged trees. What is going on?,” she asked the Council. “What is your plan?” Not all were happy with residents’ choice to use their First Amendment right of peaceable assembly pursuant to the U.S. Constitution. Council member Justin Olsen, who opposed medium to high density housing when a previous master plan came to Council attention, had a message for Grey Cloud Trail residents September 1: Stop. The. Show.

“I used to go fishing there as a kid,” Olsen said of the Dunes property. “I have a lot of friends who still do. Then it became a golf course and now it will become something else. But the assertions being repeatedly put forth, are false,” he told those in attendance, asking when the last time was that rally participants had reached out to city staff.

As to Olsen’s comments and the Mayor’s, Indirrieden said that assurances City staff could be contacted directly contradicted previous attempts by rally participants to contact the same prior to the September 1 rally. At the end of the day, though, the environmental impact still looms large in resident concerns on Grey Cloud Trail South.

“One of the surveyors said they GPS everything so that if there’s a problem later we can sue,” Indirrieden shared of those who had been on her property without consent towards mid-August. “Well that’s great. I don’t want to sue. I want my trees.” That wasn’t the only environmental concern though.

“This is literally our groundwater,” Indirrieden said as just one of a long list of environmental concerns related to the development. Along with the environment in and around Grey Cloud was a perceived imbalance of rights as well.

“The City seems to be all about the developer and property owner’s rights for the Dunes, but doesn’t care one bit about ours,” Indirrieden said via email after the September 1 council meeting. “We just really want to make the point that we don’t feel heard,” she said as the reason for the rally. In order for trust to be restored then, it seems the City of Cottage Grove has some delicate diplomacy and to make out on Grey Cloud Trial South In the meantime, currently inventoried evidence of potential trespass on land owned by Grey Cloud Trail residents, as shown on the tree tags and provided to Journal staff, is as follows: 7870 HIB 12 7888 OK6 19 7889 OKR 10 7890 IRN 6 7892 HIB 6 7893 IRN 7 7896 OKR 14 7897 IRN 6 7898 OKB 20 7900 IRN 8 7901 IRN 16 7899 HIB 6 8471 HIB 6 7767 ??? 11 77654 HIB 10 7966 ASH 10 7767 ASH 9 7768 ASH 8 Whereas initial inquiries into the matter show a possible tree inventory being made (tree number, species code, diameter), we’d love to hear additional leads. Forward these to the Cottage Grove police, and watch the neighborhood! In the meantime, we heard back from Mr. Gustafson regarding comment on the Martinez claim and possible trespass by surveyors under contract by him.

“No further comments at this time, thank you,” the unsigned email response from Gustafson’s email address communicated Saturday following a phone voicemail by paper staff. “Have a wonderful day.”

A close up of a tree tag on Carla Indirrieden’s property.Photo submitted by Carla Indirrieden.