Is a piece of land a park because a city says so, or because residents make it one?
For Rob Erickson and his Edina neighbors, a three-sided plot of open land near their homes seemed like wasted space. Empty but for a couple of struggling trees and some grass, it screamed for improvement.
Now "Triangle Park," as Erickson calls it, has 15 donated trees and a raised garden bed built by neighbors who filled it with flowers. The land north of W. 70th Street and between Limerick and Hillside lanes is a popular sledding spot in winter, a place for kite-flying in the spring and a make-shift putting green for golfers in summer.
Erickson thinks the lot, just under an acre in size, should be designated a city park, with a sign and maybe a park bench, to prevent it from being sold and developed.
Edina Park and Recreation Director John Keprios praised the neighborhood's efforts but says there are three city parks within half a mile of the site, including Lewis Park, which has 18 acres of ball fields, tennis courts and other amenities.
"If it was the only open space within half a mile, it might make sense," Keprios said. "In my view, this would be duplication of services."
The city has allowed residents to improve the space over the past two years, even parking a city-owned water truck there for a while to help soak the trees residents planted.
Such cooperation appears to be unusual among metro-area cities.
Officials in Bloomington, Golden Valley and St. Louis Park said they don't remember getting formal requests to plant on or improve upon city-owned, nonpark properties. St. Louis Park and Bloomington said they would probably consider such requests on a case-by-case basis, with St. Louis Park asking parks and recreation to look at the situation.
In Minnetonka, city spokesperson Jacque Larson said people aren't allowed to build or plant on city property. "It's city property and it's something we have to preserve for all our residents," she said.
Edina has a history of being open to resident-driven projects to improve public spaces, allowing tree plantings near Hwy. 100 and in Pamela Park. Those projects, too, were driven by residents who organized tree acquisition and planting.
Keprios said his department placed a park bench near a storm pond that is outside a park when residents said they wanted a place to sit and watch birds. But Keprios said none of the many small city lots around the city has earned a park designation.
Erickson has been careful to coordinate the neighborhood's efforts with the city, talking first to City Council member Joni Bennett and later with Keprios. He had a supportive petition from neighbors.
Bennett suggested Erickson talk with Michael Schroeder, a landscape architect on the city's Planning Commission. Schroeder visited the site and helped Erickson decide where to plant the first 10 trees (criteria included not interfering with kite flying or sledding). A friend of Erickson's agreed to donate five large clumps of river birch, two red oaks, two crab apples and a maple.
The city sent equipment to unload the trees. Despite an early snow, about 25 neighbors responded to an e-mail asking for help in planting them.
This fall an Eagle Scout chose the "park" as a project and got five more donated crab apple trees. The city approved the neighborhood's request to add a triangle-shaped flower bed, warning that if it was not kept up, it would be removed.
"Phase III could include some bushes and maybe a park bench," Erickson said. "Maybe that could include formal designation as a park."
City Council member Bennett has been supportive of neighbors' efforts to improve the so-called park, noting that Erickson has asked the city's permission for all activities.
"Nothing that Rob and his neighbors are doing removes that land from public benefit," she said. "It's is clear to the neighborhood that it is city land. It's like a town square for the neighborhood."
Erickson said he thought of asking for a park designation after people delivering trees for one of the plantings looked around and asked why they were planting trees on a site that seemed ideal for a couple of homes. Erickson said he also wondered if officials might be looking for parking linked to Nine Mile Creek Regional Trail, which will be about a block away.
Keprios said the city already has 1,500 acres of parkland and said he worried that making the spot a city park would set a precedent for other odd plots of land that the city owns. Development is highly unlikely, he said. The city's comprehensive plan says Edina will not sell any city-owned land unless a property exchange is determined to be in its best interest.
Bennett was noncommittal on the park idea.
"I see a lot of public good in what they've done," she said. "I would want to have a more organized look at it, what the costs and benefits would be and what the neighbors think."
Mary Jane Smetanka • 612-673-7380
