4 October 2023
Not long ago, Gary Todd drew up a citizen’s petition demanding an environmental assessment of St. Paul’s hotly-debated Summit Avenue Regional Trail, with special focus on how trees along the proposed 4.5-mile trail route would be impacted by construction.
The Minnesota Environmental Quality Board designated the city as the responsible governmental unit to review Todd’s petition request. In response, Nicolle Goodman, director of St. Paul Planning and Economic Development, recently informed the state board in a four-page letter that the city had done enough analysis, and would not complete a formal Environmental Assessment Worksheet.
The letter, dated Sept. 26, noted that the city can minimize potential tree impacts based on its history of tree management, as well as the tree management policies already listed in the Summit Avenue Regional Trail Plan.
Goodman also noted that while state law might potentially trigger an environmental assessment of certain types of projects, no such project yet exists on Summit Avenue as the trail has yet to be funded.
“Without a funding source, the (Summit Avenue Regional Trail) is not ‘substantially certain to be undertaken,’” wrote Goodman, quoting state statute. “On this basis alone, the EAW petition could be denied as there is no ‘project’ to evaluate the potential for significant environmental effects … Minnesota law defines ‘project’ as “a definite, site-specific action that contemplates on-the-ground environmental changes.”
In mid-August, the Metropolitan Council, the seven-country metro’s regional planning agency, delayed a vote on the project’s long-range plan in light of the EAW petition. Met Council officials received a project update this week.
Bike trail opponents believe upwards of 900 trees could die as a result of construction. City officials have estimated about 220 trees could be impacted.
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