Forest Lake parks commission recommends land dedication for Chestnut Creek, not cash in lieu

The Forest Lake Parks and Recreation Commission on Sept. 17 voted to recommend that the City Council accept land dedication for the Chestnut Creek preliminary plat instead of cash in lieu of land dedication.

The recommendation followed a staff presentation by Abby Whitman, Forest Lake's community development director, who explained the city's subdivision rules and the history of Chestnut Creek's approvals. Whitman told the commission that Minnesota Statutes §462.358 allows cities to require parkland dedication or cash in lieu at subdivision and that the city's subdivision code (chapter 152) and the comprehensive plan guide how those requirements are applied.

Chestnut Creek was approved in 2016 as a planned unit development (PUD) covering roughly 108–114 acres and to allow about 220 homes across two phases, Whitman said. The current preliminary plat before the commission covers the remaining phase 2—about 58 acres with roughly 119 lots as…