A special meeting was held the evening of March 30th to review and discuss the proposed Waterfront Plan for Agate Bay. The Agate Bay land was previously owned by the state and is about to be newly acquired by the city of Two Harbors. The Waterfront Plan, put together by the shared efforts of the city’s Waterfront Task Force and Duval Companies, covers how the land will be used under the city’s ownership. This includes the guiding goals and principles of the land’s usage, site planning, and new developments in the area, street improvements, and how it will all be implemented.
Kjersti Duval and Aubrey Rekstad of Duval Companies briefly went over recent updates to the Plan, which included a note about the portion of land no longer being considered for commercial development. There was a debate over wording, as parties wanted to ensure the intentions of their plan for the land going forward while acknowledging that those intentions had changed from previous iterations.
Regarding hesitance over details in the plan, Mayor Conner confirmed that “any plan that you approve, there will be changes”, and that the Council should see it more as that “whatever we decide on here is a foundation” for the future of the project. Although approving the plan would not lock down any details at the moment, Duval noted that the Council would likely want to confirm some details of their plan before securing certain funds, as those funding sources could have more stringent rules about how the land being funded is used.
Although the Council seemed generally positive towards the plan at this point, they made the call to table the Plan until the next public meeting on April 13th to give more time to review the plan and ensure the public is fully on board with the proposal. The Council also briefly voted on a second topic, unanimously authorizing pump upgrades at the Hahn Booster Station using a proposal from InControl, which has historically worked with the City on water and wastewater system projects.
The Agate Bay land is currently in the process of being transferred from the DNR (Minnesota’s Department of Natural Resources), with the City Council voting to approve the transfer during their meeting on March 23rd. There had previously been some debate over the future of the land, as one of the DNR’s stipulations for its transfer by the city includes disallowing its use for commercial properties. The Council had some disagreement over the challenge this presented, as they had hoped to set aside a small portion of the land for commercial use in order to help fund the upkeep of the rest, which is currently planned to be a park for public use. During the meeting on March 9th, the Council postponed its decision on the transfer in order to gather more information on the proposed agreement from state officials. Now, having made the unanimous decision to go ahead with the transfer, the Council must decide the particulars of how the newly entrusted land will be best utilized by Two Harbors.
The plan’s noted focuses for the 20+ acre park, chosen by the local community, include acknowledgement of the city’s past as well as its future, an activity focal point, and supporting the ecological health of the waterfront. There is the possibility of large features such as an outdoor amphitheatre, but it should be noted that these are only ideas being currently considered and by no means guaranteed to be built. If the plan is approved, nothing would be set in stone – the Council and Duval clarified that at this early stage of the process, details are almost certain to shift with time and new knowledge. “This is the concept, this is what we’re looking at, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t going to be changes along the way,” explained Councilor Glaser. Rather than being caught up on any small details, the plan should be seen as more of a guidepost, generally showing where the project intends to go and, down the road, being a reminder and reference for what was originally intended for the area.
The Two Harbors City Council meeting to reconsider the Waterfront Plan will be held at City Hall on April 13th, 5:30 pm. If the plan is approved by the Council, an online PDF of the Waterfront Plan will be made accessible to the public.
