Inver Grove Heights commissioners hear wetland-replacement plan for Veterans Memorial Greenway; no formal recommendation made

City Engineer Paul Markowitz and Dakota County greenway manager Tony Watska presented a wetland-replacement plan June 26 for phase 2 of the Veterans Memorial Greenway, covering an area north and east of Southern Lakes Park in Inver Grove Heights.

The project, part of a three-phase regional greenway, would place a boardwalk across a small pond and adjust trail alignments to meet Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) slope requirements. Markowitz said the affected wetland area was delineated as part of the permit application and that Dakota County and state regulators had been engaged during design. Watska told the commission, "This meeting is our only chance. We can't postpone it any longer," and asked the commission to review the wetland application so staff could take a recommendation to the city council at the next available session.

Commissioners discussed alignment alternatives, tree impacts and mitigation. Watska said the design team evaluated six or seven major alignment alternatives to avoid mature oak trees, coordinate with overhead utilities and achieve ADA-compliant slopes. He said the current alignment uses much of the existing trail corridor south of the lake to minimize public-water and wetland impacts.

On mitigation, Watska and Markowitz said the project team proposed purchasing roughly 0.6 wetland credits from a certified Dakota County wetland bank to replace lost wetland function. Watska said Dakota County procured and certified the bankland and that the county's bank is the planned source of mitigation credits for the project.

Commissioner Savage voiced concern about the tradeoff of moving wetlands to a bank, saying, "When you're taking away any wetlands, you're taking away a lot. Putting it somewhere else doesn't really make up for it." Other commissioners expressed support for the trail expansion and for recommending the wetland replacement plan to council. Commissioner Rees said, "I am okay with recommending it." Several commissioners noted they favored local wetland-bank credits in Dakota County rather than mitigation farther away.

The commission did not have a quorum at the June 26 meeting and therefore did not take a formal vote or issue an official recommendation on the wetland application. Staff and presenters acknowledged that, per city code, a formal recommendation may be required or may be deferred; Markowitz said staff would follow up with the city attorney about the commission's formal role. Watska said the project has a recommendation from the Dakota County Soil and Water Conservation District and that the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) had not raised major objections during earlier coordination.

Project background provided at the meeting noted phase 1 was built last year; phase 2 runs from the Eagan border at Highway 3 into Inver Grove Heights and connects to the phase-1 center segment. Phase 3 will extend east toward Highway 52 and ultimately toward the Mississippi River Greenway.

Commissioners asked for and received clarification on the wetland delineation process, the location of mitigation credits and the team's outreach to utilities and neighbors. Markowitz and Watska said construction is expected to be bid late this year or in early 2026. No construction schedule, budget totals or final permit approvals were specified at the meeting.