The Hennepin County Regional Railroad Authority (HCRRA) published the Southwest Transitway Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on October 11, 2012. HCRRA, which served as the project sponsor and Responsible Governmental Unit during preparation of the Draft EIS, hosted three public hearings in November 2012 to receive comments on the document. The purpose of these hearings was to provide an opportunity for the public to comment on the content of the Draft EIS document; no action was taken at the hearings.
SWLRT Jan. 2014 community meetings: display boards
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9.3 MB
SWLRT Jan. 2014 community meetings: introductory letter from Sue Haigh
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218 kB
SWLRT proposed freight and water evaluation metrics (Jan. 2014)
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95 kB
SWLRT community meeting table questions (Minneapolis, Jan. 4, 2014)
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109 kB
SWLRT community meeting table questions (St. Louis Park, Jan. 9, 2014)
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92 kB
SWLRT community meeting comment cards (Minneapolis, Jan. 7, 2014)
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254 kB
SWLRT community meeting comment cards (St. Louis Park, Jan. 9, 2014)
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198 kB
SWLRT community meeting evaluation (Minneapolis, Jan. 7, 2014)
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480 kB
SWLRT community meeting evaluation (St. Louis Park, Jan. 9, 2014)
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482 kB
SWLRT community meeting table discussion transcript (Jan. 7, 2014)
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147 kB
SWLRT community meeting discussion transcript (St. Louis Park, Jan. 9, 2014)
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231 kB
SWLRT responses to community meeting questions (Minneapolis, Jan. 7, 2014)
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192 kB
SWLRT responses to community meeting questions (St. Louis Park, Jan. 9, 2014)
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178 kB
SWLRT categorized community meeting comments (Minneapolis, Jan. 7, 2014)
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381 kB
SWLRT categorized community meeting comments (St. Louis Park, Jan. 9, 2014)
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SWLRT Hennepin County route selection handout
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582 kB
In February 2014, the Metropolitan Council hosted public community meetings focused on the independent consultants' draft reports on freight rail location alternatives, water resources and landscaping/greenscaping in the Kenilworth area.
Municipal Consent Hearings (2014)
Municipal consent is process of local review and approval by communities affected by a transit project, and is required under Minnesota law (Minn. Stat. 473.3994). During municipal consent, the public is also invited to review preliminary design plans and provide comments directly to local governments or to the Metropolitan Council. The Southwest LRT Project received municipal consent approval twice: once in 2014, and again in 2015 for a revised project scope including design changes in several areas along the LRT route.
The Metropolitan Council released preliminary design plans for the Southwest LRT Project on April 22, 2014. The Metropolitan Council and the Hennepin County Regional Railroad Authority (HCRRA) held a joint public hearing on May 29, 2014. Minnetonka, Hopkins, Eden Prairie, and St. Louis Park held public hearings on municipal consent for Southwest LRT in May and June 2014.
The Metropolitan Council approved revisions to the project scope and budget affecting the Minneapolis portion of the Southwest LRT Project on July 9, 2014. The Metropolitan Council, Hennepin County Board of Commissioners and Hennepin County Regional Railroad Authority (HCRRA) held a joint hearing on August 13, 2014 to consider revised preliminary design plans. Minneapolis held a public hearing on municipal consent for the revised plans on August 19, 2014. The Hennepin County Board of Commissioners granted municipal consent for the Southwest LRT Project at a special board meeting on August 29, 2014.
Station Design
The Southwest LRT Project developed several different station architecture concepts to fit into different settings. These open houses provided an opportunity for community residents to learn about station design and give feedback to project staff. A brief presentation on station design was given at the beginning of each open house.
Open houses were held on the following dates:
- Minneapolis: April 2 and April 8, 2015
- St. Louis Park: April 8, 2015
- Eden Prairie: April 9, 2015
- Hopkins and Minnetonka: April 14, 2015
Kenilworth Landscape Design
Plans for landscape design in the Kenilworth area of Minneapolis were created with input from the community and guidance from the Kenilworth Landscape Design Committee.
SWLRT Kenilworth landscape design: workshop presentation (June 13, 2015)
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2.1 MB
SWLRT Kenilworth landscape design: workshop boards (June 13, 2015)
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6.2 MB
SWLRT Kenilworth landscape design: design principles (June 13, 2015)
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195 kB
SWLRT Kenilworth landscape design: historic features (June 13, 2015)
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276 kB
SWLRT Kenilworth landscape design: bridge options (June 13, 2015)
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846 kB
SWLRT Kenilworth landscape design: workshop presentation (Aug. 8, 2015)
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12.6 MB
SWLRT Kenilworth landscape design: design concept overview (Aug. 8, 2015)
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1.2 MB
SWLRT Kenilworth landscape design: concept roll plots (Aug. 8, 2015)
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33 MB
SWLRT Kenilworth landscape design: bridge options (Aug. 8, 2015)
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2.1 MB
SWLRT Kenilworth landscape design: seating nodes and landscape typologies (Aug. 8, 2015)
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1.3 MB
SWLRT Kenilworth landscape design: draft 5-year vegetation plan (Oct. 26, 2015)
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22 MB
SWLRT Kenilworth landscape design: draft 15-year vegetation plan (Oct. 26, 2015)
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22 MB
SWLRT Kenilworth landscape design: draft 25-year vegetation plan (Oct. 26, 2015)
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22 MB
SWLRT Kenilworth landscape design: meeting announcement (Nov. 18, 2015)
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1.6 MB
SWLRT Kenilworth landscape design: presentation (Nov. 18, 2015)
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9.7 MB
SWLRT Kenilworth landscape design: meeting display boards (Nov. 18, 2015)
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12.1 MB
SWLRT Kenilworth landscape design: opening year design concept (Nov. 18, 2015)
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2.3 MB
SWLRT Kenilworth landscape design: 25-year design concept (Nov. 18, 2015)
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2.3 MB
Meeting materials from Kenilworth Landscape Design Committee meetings are listed below.
SWLRT KSALC Agenda (May 19, 2015)
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SWLRT KSALC Materials (May 19, 2015)
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2 MB
SWLRT KSALC Agenda (June 25, 2015)
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85 kB
SWLRT KSALC Materials (June 25, 2015)
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4 MB
SWLRT KSALC Agenda (July 16, 2015)
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89 kB
SWLRT KSALC Materials (July 16, 2015)
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6.3 MB
SWLRT KSALC Agenda (August 24, 2015)
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80 kB
SWLRT KSALC Presentation (August 24, 2015)
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2.7 MB
SWLRT KSALC Agenda (Oct. 26, 2015)
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85 kB
SWLRT KSALC Agenda (Jan. 20, 2016)
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89 kB
Supplemental Draft EIS Hearings
The Metropolitan Council published the Southwest LRT Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on May 22, 2015 and held three public hearings to receive comments on the document in June 2015. An open house was held in conjunction with each public hearing. The purpose of these hearings was to provide an opportunity for the public to comment on the content of the Supplemental Draft EIS document; no action was taken at the hearings.
Hearing Dates and Locations
- Hopkins Center for the Arts, June 16, 2015
- Eden Prairie City Center, June 17, 2015
- Dunwoody College of Technology (Minneapolis), June 18, 2015
Municipal Consent Hearings (2015)
Municipal consent is process of local review and approval by communities affected by a transit project, and is required under Minnesota law (Minn. Stat. 473.3994). During municipal consent, the public is also invited to review preliminary design plans and provide comments directly to local governments or to the Metropolitan Council. The Southwest LRT Project received municipal consent approval twice: once in 2014, and again in 2015 for a revised project scope including design changes in several areas along the LRT route.
In July 2015, the Metropolitan Council approved a revised scope for the Southwest LRT project, reducing the estimated cost of the project by approximately $250 million. The revised project scope included design changes in several areas along the proposed LRT route. In light of these changes, the Council released revised preliminary design plans on July 23, 2015 and sought municipal consent from Hennepin County and the five cities along the proposed LRT route.
The Metropolitan Council, Hennepin County Board of Commissioners and the Hennepin County Regional Railroad Authority (HCRRA) held a joint public hearing on the physical design component of the revised preliminary design plans on August 27, 2015. Cities along the proposed Southwest LRT route held public hearings in September 2015. The Council accepted public comments on the revised plans from July 23 through September 11, 2015. Comments were also accepted by Hennepin County and the cities along the alignment.