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Residents urge pause on 7 Oaks until MnDOT traffic plan addresses Highway 7/Buck Lake Road safety
Summary
At a packed public hearing, multiple Watertown Township and Minnetrista residents presented a petition and testimony urging the planning commission to delay approvals or require enforceable traffic and safety measures (including possible roundabout) before approving development that could add hundreds of vehicle trips to Highway 7 and nearby gravel roads.
Dozens of neighbors and township officials told the Minnetrista Planning Commission that traffic and safety — not growth itself — are the central unresolved issues in the 7 Oaks proposal.
Tori Schmidt, who submitted a petition signed by 125 residents, asked the commission not to rezone the site "unless the city, county, MnDOT and the affected township roads have confirmed a plan to safely absorb that added traffic." Multiple speakers described Highway 7 near Buck Lake Road as having poor sight lines and 60‑mph speeds; they warned that limited access at Highway 7 could divert traffic onto Buck Lake Road and other gravel township roads not designed for subdivision traffic. Wayne Huban, clerk of Watertown Township, said the township would begin traffic counts this month to replace speculation with data.
Speakers called for a multi‑jurisdictional, enforceable access and circulation plan to be complete and publicly reviewed before rezoning or final approvals. Commissioners and staff responded that a developer‑funded traffic study (to be reviewed by SRF and MnDOT) is required and that MnDOT will have authority over final intersection design; however, residents stressed that study completion and enforceable commitments should precede construction. The commission added construction traffic management and reinforced traffic‑study-based safety conditions when it voted to recommend the rezoning and preliminary plat.
