Woodbury plans to acquire 30-acre property near La Lake

• Lone Lake Kennel

The Lone Lake Kennel parcel will provide direct access to La Lake. Submitted photo

Talk about it

Although the city expressed interest in buying acreage of open space from private land owners last year, the owners went ahead and sold the property on their own in December.

City officials had plans to discuss two open space acquisitions at last week’s workshop – the Neuburger parcel in the eastern portion of Woodbury, and the Lone Lake Kennel to the south.

But the 15-acre Neuburger property was sold in December, according to an email received by the City Council last week, for almost double the appraised value of the land at $500,000.

“They didn’t convey that to us,” Parks and Recreation Director Bob Klatt said. “They went off on their own.”

So that property is now off the market.

There is still one more parcel available though. It is larger and will provide easier access to La Lake from Bailey Road and the city’s trail system, as opposed to limited access off of Military Road.

The Woodbury City Council last week decided to move ahead and acquire the Lone Lake Kennel parcel, a 30-acre land appraised last year at $800,000, to add to the city’s existing open space.

The property was a foreclosure and has been on the city’s acquisition list in the Comprehensive Plan because of its key location adjacent to La Lake.

The location will provide direct connection to Bailey Road trails, as well as good access from the north, south and east shorelines, Klatt said.

“It really connects this property into the system a lot better,” he told the council at the Wednesday, Jan. 16 workshop.

The portion to the west is at the Woodbury-Newport boundary.

The upland portion of the parcel consists of open fields and the previous dog kennel, which is about 16 acres, while 13 acres of the parcel are within La Lake.

The dog kennel is no longer open or feasible, and will be taken down as part of the purchase agreement, Klatt said.

The acquisition will result in the city being owner of more than 50 percent of the shoreline along La Lake.

The city has received a letter of support from Washington County to fund up to 50 percent, however, an official vote by the board has not been taken yet.

The 30-acre parcel is the fourth around the lake that the city will acquire, adding to three others previously added to the open space.

Funding for the purchase comes from the city’s Park and Open Space Fund. The current balance contains about $700,000.

There are three transfers totaling about $500,000 proposed to be made to the fund as a reimbursement for open space land previously purchased. That money will be used for other purposes including a well, regional storm water pond and road right-of-way, according to a council memo.

As for the Neuburger parcel, new owners plan to join the 15 acres to their five acres to create a single 20-acre homestead lot.

“We do not want anyone else to develop or build anything on it,” new owner Edward Su wrote to the City Council. “We do not want a public space next to our house, as we feel this will compromise the safety of our children and the peacefulness of our home.”

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