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Phillips’ plans to modify dams upstream from his proposed subdivision again took center stage at Monday’s public hearing on the final plat for the development.
The Planning Commission unanimously approved the first-phase plat, which also requires City Council approval before construction can begin.
Some nearby residents remain opposed to the development, which is slated to add 88 homes to a valley surrounding an unnamed tributary to Pleasant Valley Creek. The first-phase plat includes 14 housing lots.
Phillips intends to lower the holding capacity of three upstream dams to avoid oversight from the Minnesota DNR — a proposal that has drawn public criticism.
During the August 2007 flood, the dams stopped damage that would have otherwise occurred in the valley, said Carol Jefferson, a former WSU ecologist who also lives near the proposed site.
“This, from an environmental point of view, is a very iffy development,” Jefferson said.
Residents also asked if Phillips will restore storage capacity in the dam reservoirs that was lost to years of sediment buildup. The dams were built in 1968, said Kurt Leuthold, an engineering consultant to Phillips.
Leuthold said there is no such plan because the sediment buildup hasn’t affected the dams’ ability to store water during a flood.
Winona will begin monitoring conditions in the unnamed tributary that bisects the development, city officials said Monday night. The city plans to establish a permanent monitoring station there to collect data on water temperature, rainfall and turbidity, said public works director Keith Nelson.
Contact Mark Sommerhauser at (507) 453-3514 or msommerhauser@winonadailynews.com
