Eden Prairie residents and city officials gathered for a public hearing to discuss the proposed Marshall Gardens Development at 9905 Dell Road, a project that seeks to bring 50 new residential units to the community. The development, a collaborative effort by Wooddale Builders, Johnson Ryland Builders, and McDonald Construction, presented plans for 22 single-family homes and 28 villa-style residences, prompting extensive discussion on topics ranging from lot dimensions and requested waivers to potential impacts on property values and neighborhood character.

The hearing commenced with a staff report from Jeremy, who outlined the project's details, including requested waivers for aspects like lot width and garage sizes, and addressed pre-existing neighborhood concerns. Jeremy provided important context for the commission, emphasizing the need to evaluate the current proposal on its own merits. "So, it's important from a commission standpoint that you're not evaluating this project based on what you liked about the other project, but what is in front of you today because everything reverted back to the original rural zoning and kind of the configuration that the property is now," Jeremy stated, referring to a previous, larger Marshall Gardens project that featured 115 units.

Representing the development team, Steve Schweers, owner of Wooddale Builders, introduced the project, highlighting his company's experience in Eden Prairie. He also underscored proactive efforts to engage with current residents. "So, we're excited about it. I think that we had a great neighborhood meeting too with the neighbors and I am meeting with them in a week or so on a Sunday afternoon to talk about tree removal and screening and so forth and so on. So I've dealt with issues like this in the past and we will definitely address this in this particular case," Schweers commented, signaling a commitment to mitigating concerns.

Paul Ryland, from Johnson Ryland Builders, elaborated on the villa product, explaining the target market for these homes are often 'empty nesters' or older, fully retired individuals, a demographic seeking main-level living and lower maintenance. David Remick, representing McDonald Construction, spoke about the single-family home designs, emphasizing features like basements and modern amenities attractive to similar clienteles. Dan Schmidt, the civil engineer for the project, confirmed that essential utilities like sanitary sewer and water services are readily accessible via Dell Road and Canopy, describing the engineering portion as 'pretty straightforward.'