Oct. 26, 2026 Shorewood Council Meeting 6 Minute Read

Relevant links are at the end of this article

Attending: Council–Labadie, DiGruttolo, Gorham, Sanschagrin, Maddy (via Zoom; left after the cannabis vote)

Staff–Nevinski, Griffiths, Budde, Morreim, Thone, Wilson, City Attorney Shepherd

Payments of interest:

• Hennepin County-Mill Street $289,031
• Payroll & Benefits $164,480
• Bolton & Menk $27,931
• Campbell Knutson Law $8,713
• SRF Hwy 7 $6,939

____________________

Matters From the Floor-Hearing from Residents

1. Kat Van De Ruijtenbeek, Maple View Court (Watten Ponds — ecosystem)

• Said the woods, wetlands and water flow work as one interconnected system, so a review of only one part “answers a different question” and may miss the impacts that matter.
• Called on the council to practice good governance and informed decision-making, and asked that the Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW) cover all four properties.

2. Janene Murtha, Maple View Court (Watten Ponds — transparency)

• Expressed “extreme disappointment in the lack of transparency and accountability by the city,” asking why the EAW question was decided behind closed doors.
• Said her family’s data request and emails to the council went unanswered, and Nevinski refused to put the issue on the agenda, citing a May 29 letter to Gravity’s attorney never made public. The developer was told the city’s position; neighbors were not.
• Told the council it represents residents, “not just the developer,” and “on this issue, I believe you have failed.”

3. David Vierthaler, Maple View Court (Watten Ponds — Big Woods remnant)

• Said his 2.7 acres abut the development and are part of a contiguous remnant of Minnesota’s Big Woods that supports many pollinators including the endangered rusty patched bumblebee.
• Said nature doesn’t recognize property lines, and asked the council to keep Resolution 26-15 as passed, with the EAW covering the northern properties.

4. Kyle Riley, Birch Bluff Road (Watten Ponds — sale of the property)

• A realtor of about 10 years, said the property had no listing sign and no notification, so neighbors never had a chance to bid, and the builder should not get special privileges after facing no competition.

5. Chris Joslin, Maple View Court (Watten Ponds — trees)

• Said “you’ve heard a number of times this evening” that trust and transparency don’t exist in city management.
• Noted only about 5% of Minnesota’s Big Woods remain, including oaks at Watten Ponds dating to before the Civil War: “You cannot plant your way back to 200 years of old oak forest.”
• Said residents’ warnings last year were dismissed, and with no hearing on the northern lots, the EAW is the only review.

6. Martha Quanbeck, Shady Hills Road (cannabis)

• Said the proposed store would be surrounded by Minnetonka High School, a daycare center and a transition program for vulnerable students. She added that the applicant seemed unprepared at the Planning Commission hearing to run a dispensary so close to a school.

7. Jeff Quanbeck, Shady Hills Road (cannabis)

• Noted most cannabis states let cities opt out, and suggested tabling the permit until the Legislature considers one.

8. Todd Murtha, Maple View Court (Watten Ponds — connected actions)

• Said staff advise and the council decides, yet the council hears only one side and has never been asked to decide whether the northern properties are “connected actions.” A discussion in the closed May meeting “is not a decision. It’s a cop-out.”
• Said litigation risk is not one of the three legal tests, so advice to decide on that basis is asking the council to act outside the law.
• Warned “trees from the Civil War will be mulch” before the council acts, and asked if this is the advice “these residents deserve to receive.”

9. Mary Benson, Maple View Court (Watten Ponds — wetlands)

• Said the city website’s map shows one wetland on the consolidated lots when there are three, calling it “a real lack of transparency.”

10. Ibrahim Isabelli, Maple View Court (Watten Ponds — neighbor)

• Said neighbors aren’t opposed to development or property rights, but reviewing only part of one undividable parcel “doesn’t make any sense.”

11. Michael Melnychuk, Birch Bluff Road (long-term financial plan)

• Said the city’s long term financial plan projects the levy rising 138% by 2036, to almost $20 million, driven by police and fire costs growing 12% a year, and urged the council to push back on partner agencies rather than act as “the collection agent.”
• Said his three-generation family is considering leaving, and asked staff to model levy increases at or below inflation.

12. Barry Brown, Burlwood Court (park dedication fees)

• Asked that the park fee item be pulled because the HKGI study and Oct. 6 Planning Commission minutes were missing, and said commissioners voted only on the study, not the rates.
• Said there is no plan to replace an estimated $650,000 in lost revenue except by raising taxes.

13. Duane Laurila, Eureka Road (Watten Ponds — utilities)

• Said Vern Watten, his father-in-law, considered the property undevelopable because of the ponds, and developer stakes were placed 5-6 feet into the Benson property. He observed that two councilmembers seem to listen and three don’t.

14. Greg Larson, Orchard Circle (Watten Ponds — segmentation)

• Said the city justified the EAW by citing imminent northern development that would destroy the area’s ecological function, yet now treats the two sides as independent, undermining its own reasoning.
• Warned that piecemeal review is “illegal segmentation” that exposes the city to legal challenge under Minnesota’s environmental laws. “We’re not asking. We’re demanding” a full assessment of the entire habitat, not one that takes open space “down by a thousand cuts.”

15. Emma Sheridan (cannabis)

• Raised concerns about mental health risks and police oversight capacity.

Other agenda items:

1. Cannabis Retail Interim Use Permit, Highway 7

• State law bars cities from banning cannabis retail (one store per 12,500 residents). The city controls only location, buffers, hours and signage, and the site is outside the 1,000-foot school buffer.
• Councilmembers said they must follow state law and urged opponents to contact legislators.

Approved 4-1, Sanschagrin dissenting.

2. Park Dedication Fee Reduction

• Griffiths proposed replacing the $7,500-per-unit fee, which he said has no documented basis, at $1,263 or lower.
• He called it urgent due to legal exposure but named no lawsuit, developer or case, and Shepherd identified no threat to Shorewood. Griffiths acknowledged no one has ever challenged the fee and no subdivision has been approved in almost two years.
• DiGruttolo asked why staff expects a lawsuit with no development coming. When Sanschagrin called the fee a “buy-in,” she pressed Griffiths: “Which is it?”
• Griffiths said the city has never budgeted park fees, yet DiGruttolo noted the long-term plan projects $75,000 (2027) and $15,000 (2028). Griffiths didn’t know where those figures came from.

The motion failed 2-2, DiGruttolo and Sanschagrin dissenting, Maddy absent.

3. Grant Lorenz Channel & Woodside Lane Drainage

• Clearing the channel may require tree removal in the city’s easement; a failing Woodside culvert is causing sinkholes. The cost is approximately $266,000 and $100,000, plus about $73,000 for engineering.

Approved 4-0.

4. Garage Variance, 5980 Glencoe Road

• A request to exceed the 2,000-square-foot accessory building cap was denied 3-1 Gorham dissenting.

5. Storm Pond Cleaning

• A $235,000 project will dredge the Strawberry Gardens and Smithtown/Kelsey ponds this fall.

Approved 4-0.

6. Mill & Overlay, and sewer cleaning

• After a councilmember objected that the 2027 street resurfacing project was running about $614,000 over budget, the council approved it with some streets bid as optional alternates, so the project can be scaled back to stay within budget. The council also awarded a $61,680.93 sewer cleaning contract to Hydro-Klean.

Both approved 4-0.

Sources:

City council meeting packet/background
Watch the meeting here
Basis for Watten Pond Speakers at Matters from the Floor
Griffiths memo re. Park Dedication Fees