Hiawatha Golf Course Property Master Plan Update: Draft Design will be shared April 9

Posted on 13 March, 2020

The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) will share a draft design that will guide the future of the Hiawatha Golf Course Property on Thursday, April 9, 2020. The draft design, called the Draft Preferred Design Alternative, will be published online on the Hiawatha Golf Course Property Master Plan project page.

The plan will not be presented in person as originally planned due to COVID-19 and recent recommendations issued by the Minnesota Department of Health. Instead, the Draft Preferred Design Alternative will be presented online and feedback on the draft design will also be taken online. The survey, presentation and draft design will be available throughout the spring.

More details on how the meeting is presented and where to view it will be sent out within the next few weeks. Below is the Hiawatha Golf Course Master Plan schedule and process moving forward.

Master Plan Schedule

Winter 2019-2020

  1. Develop Draft Preferred Design Alternative

Spring 2020

  1. Draft Preferred Design Alternative published and presented April 9
  2. Public feedback on Preferred Design Alternative accepted online
  3. Preferred Design Alternative finalized and included in Draft Master Plan

Summer 2020

  1. Draft Master Plan published for 45-day public comment period
  2. Draft Master Plan presented to Board of Commissioners (informal presentation, no vote)
  3. Public comments tabulated
  4. Master Plan finalized based on public comments
  5. Final Master Plan considered by Board of Commissioners
    1. Public Hearing and consideration in MPRB Planning Committee
    2. Master Plan passed out of Planning Committee considered by full Board of Commissioners

Fall 2020

  1. Master Plan approved by Board of Commissioners sent to the Met Council for review and approval
  2. Nokomis-Hiawatha Regional Park Master Plan is amended with Hiawatha Golf Course Property Master Plan

Below is a more detailed explanation of the schedule and process moving forward with the Hiawatha Golf Course Master Plan.

Master Plan Amendments

The Hiawatha Golf Course Property is part of Nokomis-Hiawatha Regional Park. Nokomis-Hiawatha Regional Park had its Master Plan approved in 2015, so this upcoming Master Plan for the golf course property will be amended into the overall Nokomis-Hiawatha Master Plan.

The Master Plan amendment process is fairly common – the Nokomis-Hiawatha Master Plan has already been amended once, in 2017, to include Urban Agriculture Areas and a plan for athletic fields at Lake Nokomis Park.

Comment Period

This summer the Draft Master Plan Amendment will be released for a minimum 45-day public comment period.

During the public comment period there will be an informational presentation of the Draft Master Plan Amendment to the Board of Commissioners, but no action will be taken by the Board. People will be able to view the draft plan and comment on it via email, postal mail or online survey.

Comment Themes

After the comment period closes, the design team will catalog all comments and place each into themes, respond to each theme, and rank each theme by its potential impact on the project.

Low impact themes have little impact on the project and are considered easily incorporated in the final plan by the design team prior to approval. Medium impact themes diverge from the intent of the project and are considered at odds with the plan. High impact themes completely diverge from the intent of the project and would require restarting the project if they were considered.

Board Approval Process

After the design team tabulates all comments and modifies the plan based on comments, the Final Master Plan Amendment will be created. All low, medium, and high impact themes will be provided to the commissioners and attached to a Board action. Medium impact themes will be summarized and brought before the Planning Committee to be considered for adoption into the final Master Plan Amendment.

A public hearing will be held before the Planning Committee of the Board of Commissioners and the Committee will consider the plan, forwarding its recommendation to the full Board of Commissioners. At the following meeting, typically two weeks later, the Full Board of Commissioners will consider the plan.

If a plurality of commissioners vote to approve, the plan is considered fully approved by the MPRB and then will be sent to the Metropolitan Council for its adoption and amendment into the Nokomis-Hiawatha Regional Park Master Plan.

Process Beyond the Master Plan Amendment

A good deal of time and community engagement is required between master plan approval and the start of construction on any changes to the Hiawatha Golf Course Property.

Master Plans detail the conceptual level of the design process. Schematic Design follows the Master Plan, in which major project elements, systems, and decisions are defined, and costs are reasonably estimated.

After Schematic Design comes Design Development, in which major project elements and systems are designed, the ability to construct and permit the project is fully demonstrated, and cost is further refined. Then Final Design and Construction Documents takes place. The design is complete and ready for construction, permits are obtained, issues are resolved and cost estimate is finalized.

Each step narrows focus until a final set of construction documents is created and approved by various regulatory agencies for construction. This process will take a few years to complete and the community will be engaged and informed throughout.

Additional Updates

Over the winter the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board published project updates about the following topics:

  1. CAC Priorities (posted Dec. 13, 2019)
  2. Groundwater Pumping (posted Dec. 20, 2019)
  3. Golf Course Layout (posted Feb. 14, 2020)
  4. Detailed Master Plan Process and Schedule (this update)
  5. Release of the Draft Preferred Design Alternative (scheduled April 9, 2020)