Commission recommends Lockridge subdivision rezoning and plat after heated debate over trail behind lakeside homes

The Cottage Grove Planning Commission on Jan. 27 voted 4-3 to recommend that the City Council approve a rezoning (CZA2025-004) and preliminary plat (PP2025-004) for the Lockridge subdivision, a 55-acre development proposed by Pulte Homes of Minnesota that would rezone land from AG-2 (agriculture) to R-4 (transitional residential) and create 99 single-family lots and 84 townhome units.

Senior planner Samantha Purit told the commission the proposal complies with the city’s 2040 comprehensive plan’s “low-density residential” guidance by proposing 2.92 dwelling units per acre after excluding right-of-way and wetland area. Purit said the developer plans three stormwater ponds, a trail around Lake Robert that the comprehensive plan contemplates, and a new segment of Ravine Parkway to be built as part of the development. Staff noted the developer will construct the roadway section and the city will cost-share improvements beyond the standard section.

Haley Daley, with Pulte Homes, said market analysis supports a mix of townhomes and single-family homes for this site; Mark Rausch of Alliant Engineering described stormwater routing and confirmed a…