24 Hours of Progress
Good evening everyone… Wow… what a spirited 24 hours!
Another THANK YOU to the wonderful folks within our community and across the country who wrote letters, signed petitions, and donated to the effort to preserve Summit Beach Park. A special THANK YOU to those citizens who took the time to attend the Orono Planning Commission Meeting last night to voice their concerns.
The 527-page Proposal for development of a permanent structure at Summit Beach Park was made public on Friday, January 14, 2022 on the City of Orono website at ~10:55AM CT. Within 16 business hours, this petition mobilized +600 supporters, the “Friends of Summit Beach Park” website was created, and over 50 community members filed into Orono City Hall to help defend the legacy of Bruce Dayton’s generous donation of the undeveloped land that is Summit Beach Park.
At 6PM CT on Tuesday, January 18, the Planning Commission went into session… without the presence of the Proposal’s applicant, who elected to “table” the Proposal just hours before the meeting. Despite the applicant’s absence, the Planning Commission permitted the public to voice their opinions, all of whom voiced their desire to protect this donated public land.
Footage from this meeting can be found at either of these links:
We have seen an outpouring of public support since the completion of this meeting, mostly due to today’s news media coverage of the story. Those articles and videos can be found here:
- https://www.startribune.com/dayton-family-opposition-orono-summit-beach-development-long-lake-rowing-club/600137517/
- https://kstp.com/minnesota-news/debate-over-public-beach-in-orono-and-proposed-development/6364069/
- https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2022/01/19/dayton-family-orono-summit-beach-park/
While this Proposal has been tabled, it remains unclear whether the applicant will resubmit their Proposal for any development of Summit Beach Park. It is also unclear whether future applicants would have the opportunity to seek similar projects in the future.
We remain resolute in our call for Mayor Dennis Walsh, Orono City Council, the Planning Commission, and Orono City Staff to take measures to preserve the natural state of this public park land as the donors originally intended.
Thank you for your continued involvement and support. Please stay tuned for more updates regarding our efforts to protect Summit Beach Park for generations to come!!