Cliff Buchan
News Editor

The city of Forest Lake has reached a settlement agreement with the owners of Forestland Nursery who sued the city last year over a zoning dispute.

City Administrator Chip Robinson said the two parties in the lawsuit have approved a settlement agreement that will pay the ownership group of Forestland Nursery $1.05 million and allow the group to lease the business for $500 a year for five years.

The agreement was finalized on Oct. 10.

The zoning dispute developed over new rules tied to the city-owned airport to the west of the Forestland Nursery property at 20041 Forest Blvd. N. (US-61).

Under zoning rules established for the airport land when it was purchased by the former township and city, about half of the nursery property fell under new zoning.

In June of 2006, the nursery owners filed suit, contending the new zoning rules reduced the value of the business and created a hardship, Robinson said.

Robinson said the settlement agreement was accepted after the two sides prepared and submitted value appraisals for the property.

The agreement approves the city’s purchase of the 15.4 acres held by the Forestland Nursery business ownership group.

Some 7.4 acres of the site fell within the new more restrictive zoning rules, Robinson said.

The agreement

While Robinson said he was prevented from discussing specifics of the negotiations, he said the deal was a way to resolve issues and move forward.

“We solved both of the problems,” he said of the business value concerns and the city’s need to preserve airport zoning rules.

“At the same time we preserved the airport right-of-way,” he added.

The agreement was a sizeable settlement, Robinson said, but follows the city’s quest to acquire border properties to preserve the airport air space. One major commercial site, St. Croix Forge, remains on the docket, but is not in dispute, Robinson said.

He said the city will utilize reserves to cover the acquisition cost with those to repair from future sales of airport industrial park land. The city continues to market land for sale in the park that was acquired as part of the airport purchase in the late 1990s, Robinson said.

The additional up side, Robinson said, is the potential future sale of eight acres of the Forestland Nursery site.

“They felt it was a good investment for the city,” Robinson said of the Forest Lake City Council decision to accept the settlement agreement this month.

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