Plat approved for Whitetail Estates near golf course

Harry Harrison hopes people can start building in his new development, Whitetail Estates, by next spring.

"I'm hoping that I can start selling lots by May 1 and maybe one or two homes can be built," Harrison said at a Nov. 13 Wadena City Council meeting. "I'll never live long enough to see all those lots have buildings on them. They maybe never will."

The Wadena City Council approved a preliminary plat for the development, which will be located south of the golf course, at its Nov. 13 meeting. The council followed the recommendation by the planning commission to accept the preliminary plat.

The next steps are to work on the final plat and a developers agreement to decide who will pay for the cost of roads, infrastructure and other aspects of the development. A committee of Councilman Pete Phillips, Mayor Wayne Wolden, City Administrator Brad Swenson and Planning and Zoning Director Byron Larson will meet with Harrison to work on the developers agreement. This will be done before the final plat is completed.

According to the development proposal:

• The proposed development will have 23 residential lots between 44,000 square feet and 48,000 square feet.

• All lots have at least 75 feet of frontage at the building set back line, as required by city code.

• All lots meet the minimum size for water and septic systems. The area will not be served with municipal sewer or water.

• One lot of 44,000 square feet has been set aside for community space, such as a park, near the center of the development.

• The proposed access will be from the north and use Driver Road, across the golf course.

• The 2,400 feet of streets will be a rural section design, without curb and gutter, and with 26 foot gravel roadways. This is similar to the roads in the golf course development to the north.

• Street names are Deer Lane and Pine Edge Trail.

Harrison told the council he would like the city to pay for the completion of the main road from where it stops to the new development, or about 1,000 feet. He said he would take care of the interior roads. These details will be discussed and agreed upon in the developer's agreement.
Wolden asked Harrison what the plans are for the development and what kind of interest he has gotten.

Harrison said he hasn't gauged interest in the development yet.

"This is something that I did as a whim three years ago," he said. "I haven't had any big hurry."

There is great potential for the city to have 23 lots, he added.

"Ten years from now, there could be 10 to 15 homes of value $200,000 to $300,000," he said.

The city has a great opportunity to bring new people to town, Harrison said.

"The people that [the lots] should appeal to are going to be people who are retiring and they want to come to a town that has great medical facilities and Wadena has it," he said. "And they want to live on a golf course that's a good golf course with low rates and we have that."

He hopes the development could stop some people from moving to Otter Tail County or Brainerd, he said.

Harrison wondered what the timetable was for moving ahead. Larson said a developer's agreement and covenants need to be approved before the final plat but surveying could begin.

Swenson said he thought a request for approval of the final plat could be on a city council agenda in January or February.