Residents press Lakeville council to preserve Warwick Trust land near Antlers Park; staff note multiple development proposals

Residents urged the Lakeville City Council to preserve a 25-acre parcel owned by the George Warwick Trust adjacent to Antlers Park rather than allow high-density residential development, while city staff said multiple offers and conceptual plans exist and that several parcels in the area are for sale.

Tina, a city planner, told the council the 25-acre parcel (outlined in blue on staff maps) is currently split between Office Park and C-3 general commercial guidance and that several of the ownership parcels in the area are on the market. “They have numerous proposals on these properties,” Tina said, noting no formal rezoning application had been filed and that staff had not performed traffic or environmental analyses.

Measure Group consultant Josh McKinney summarized development factors that make traditional commercial uses difficult on the site: limited access points, periodic railcar storage along County Road 50 that can block visibility, and the importance of the adjacent Antlers Park as an asset. Josh said the property could support lower-intensity, park‑oriented commercial (for example, a small medical or daycare destination) or residential development that steps down to the existing single-family neighborhood.

Several dozen residents spoke during a lengthy public-comment period. Adam Wade, who lives nearby and said he watches the site daily, urged the council to “preserve this land in some sort of way,” suggesting a community facility or expanded park to serve the whole city. Bob Erickson, who said he had worked with George Warwick for decades, described Warwick as “a very special person” and urged the council to consider options that honor the owner’s stewardship of tillable land.

Speakers raised practical concerns: park parking and crowding at Antlers Park in summer, school capacity and bus routing, traffic congestion at County Road 50 and Ipava Avenue, and the visual impacts of denser multifamily development. Some residents suggested neighborhood-scale retail that complements the park (cafes, rental/shop options), while others opposed changing commercial guidance because it is one of the city’s last commercially guided parcels near downtown.

Councilors and staff agreed more analysis is needed. Staff noted the property was subject to a prior restriction that expired in 2023 and that medium‑density guidance had been contemplated during the 2040 comprehensive-plan process. No rezoning decision was made; council members asked staff to flag the parcel as one likely to generate applications and to prepare any necessary technical studies if a developer submits a formal request.