Downtown Journal: Park Service Criticizes Delasalle Field Plan
Reporter Sarah McKenzie writes:
» The National Park Service has criticized the proposed DeLaSalle High School athletic complex for being inconsistent with federal guidelines designed to protect Nicollet Island's historic resources.
The Park Service argued that the high school doesn't need a riverfront location for its new complex, that it would be inconsistent with "quiet and passive" established uses on the island and that it would contrast with the 50-acre island's residential area.
The Nov. 23 letter sent to Senior Michael Orange also argues the high school's plan would go against park policy advocating for open space and the preservation of the riverfront.
"Resting at the tip of the St. Anthony Falls area is a National Register of Historic Places District," wrote JoAnn Kyral, superintendent for the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area, a National Park Service unit.
Kyral also criticized plans to vacate a portion of Grove Street. "Grove Street is one of the physical anchors that define the historic setting of Nicollet Island," she wrote.
The letter, submitted as a comment for the city's Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW), buoys opponents of the proposed facility like Barry Clegg, an island resident and member of a Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board committee reviewing the proposed design.
"I don't think at this point that any of those concerns have been addressed in the planned design, and many of them are incapable of being addressed in the planned design," Clegg said.
The Park Board approved the proposed layout of the athletic complex Oct. 19 and has been in a holding pattern since waiting for the completion of the EAW.
The 30-day comment period ended Nov. 23 and the planning staff members are expected to present the EAW to the city's Zoning and Planning Committee on Dec. 15, Orange said.
Before the Park Board can give final approval to the complex, they must wait for the city to sign off on the EAW. For the project to move forward, park officials need to sign off on a reciprocal-use agreement outlining terms of the 30-year deal between the Park Board and school.
Supporters of the athletic complex had hoped the Park Board would sign off on the proposed field by year's end, but that seems unlikely.
Park Board President Jon Olson said the ball is in the city's court. "It's not in our hands now," he said.
Those who back a new athletic complex say it's a matter of equal opportunity for student-athletes at the 106-year-old private high school.
While the school has a practice field, the football and soccer teams play games at suburban locations.
School leaders have proposed a football/soccer field with bleacher seats accommodating 750 spectators, new lighting, a press box and a sound system. «
Read original article here at the Downtown Journal website.