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Residents press Minnetonka Park Board over Big Willow master plan dog‑park, parking and trail proposals
Summary
Park staff and consultants presented a draft master plan for Big Willow Park, outlining trail, parking and habitat improvements and a proposed off‑leash dog park; residents raised environmental, safety and parking concerns and asked staff to study alternatives before the plan returns this summer.
Park Board members heard a detailed presentation Feb. 4 on the draft Big Willow Park master plan and fielded robust public comment focused on a proposed fenced, off‑leash dog area and on trail, parking and wetland protections.
Matt (parks staff) and consultant Eric Holtz presented the draft plan — posted on Minnetonka Matters — describing outreach results ("1,700 plus visitors" to the project page and "308 survey responses"), a four‑area framework for improvements and short‑, mid‑ and long‑term recommendations including new boardwalk loops through wetlands, regrading and an accessibility bridge, additional parking locations and the potential enlargement of a soccer field to regulation size.
The presenters emphasized the draft is an early planning document intended to gather feedback, not for adoption. "This is the first time that the park board is seeing this draft plan as a whole," Matt said, adding the next version will include planning‑level cost estimates and updated layouts.
Public commenters, many from the Burwell Drive neighborhood, urged the board and staff to reconsider siting a fenced dog park adjacent to Minihaha/Miniha Creek and near houses. "I live 100 feet from where the dog park is going in," resident Claudia Gunlock said. She and others argued a constant concentration of dogs and noise could deter wildlife that use the creek corridor and raised concerns about runoff and water‑quality risks.
Neighbors also flagged safety and parking problems if the enclosure were located close to Minnetonka Boulevard and suggested dogs sometimes escape fenced areas. A letter entered into the meeting record warned of "foreseeable safety risk" where an escape could put a dog into adjacent traffic.
Staff responded with technical and procedural constraints: the city ordinance allows elevated boardwalks in wetlands if water flow is maintained; boardwalks use helical piers and elevated spans to reduce soil disturbance; and the railroad trestle restricts raising an underpass, so creating a continuous, year‑round loop requires alternative boardwalk alignments or an additional bridge. "We can't change the elevation of the railroad bridge. We don't have authority over that corridor," Eric Holtz said when asked why the underpass floods in high water.
Board members pressed staff on tradeoffs: enlarging the soccer field would improve programming but require tree removal and retaining‑wall work; accessibility improvements will require design tradeoffs for snow removal and slope; and memorial seating and reservable picnic shelters could generate demand for nearby "four‑season" restrooms and expanded parking.
Staff repeatedly invited written comments on Minnetonka Matters and said the team will revise the plan and bring a new draft back this summer. For now, no formal action was taken: the plan remains an open draft, subject to further public input and refinement before any City Council consideration.
What happens next: staff said the next draft will add planning‑level cost ranges and may shift the proposed dog park location or remove it entirely depending on public feedback; the board indicated it wants additional environmental and safety analysis before any final recommendation.
