Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Parks And Recreation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council authorizes tree removals and pre‑construction work at Braemar Park for parking and seasonal pickleball practice
Summary
The council approved a $39,420 purchase request for time‑sensitive tree removal and grubbing at Braemar Park to allow a planned parking‑lot expansion and a seasonal pickleball practice facility; staff said the plan reduces impacts to 13 oaks and will return with a full parking construction request.
The Edina City Council voted March 17 to approve a time‑sensitive tree‑removal and grubbing package tied to a pre‑construction plan for the Braemar Golf Dome site. The work, awarded to Castle Rock Contracting and Tree Service for $39,420, is intended to clear selected trees this spring so the city may begin a parking‑lot expansion, stormwater improvements and install a seasonal pickleball practice surface after golf‑dome season.
Parks staff said the site currently averages roughly 745 daily visitors to the golf dome, with peak events sending 30–46 cars to the road shoulder beyond existing parking. The planned expansion would add about 50 permanent stalls, improve sight lines and create a trailhead connection to hiking and mountain‑bike trails. To minimize permanent hard surface and tree impacts, staff proposed a dual‑use area: asphalt parking that can receive tournament‑style seasonal matting for pickleball during the warm months and be returned to parking for the golf season.
Parks Director Perry Vetter and staff noted the proposal would result in the removal of 13 oak trees at the site edge; they said pushing courts farther north would have increased impacts to many more trees. Vetter described the pickleball surfacing as a removable, tournament‑style mat placed over asphalt each season. The April tree work was described as time sensitive because of known long‑eared bat habitat considerations; the parking construction itself would follow after the golf dome season, with a target start in June.
Council members debated the trade‑offs between preserving trees and adding recreational capacity and formal parking. Some members asked whether the city had suitable alternative locations on underused parts of the golf course; staff said those areas were studied but had playability or safety constraints adjacent to fairways. Councilmember Pierce framed the decision as a balancing test—accepting the limited tree removals to gain a recreational amenity and safer parking—before moving to approve the request. Councilmember Agnew seconded and the motion carried by those present.
Next steps: staff will proceed with the tree removal/grubbing package, continue restoration and replanting plans under the park forestry goals, and present the full parking‑lot construction package to the council later this year.
