Lake Superior Basin Update
Working on Environmental Issues Builds
a New Sense of Community
By Adrienne Falcón
The goal of the Save Lighthouse Point Campaign is to
preserve Lighthouse Point as a natural and public space for
residents and visitors, now and for future generations.
Lighthouse Point is located between Agate Bay and Burlington
Bay in Two Harbors, Minnesota on the North Shore of
Lake Superior. The area has been used by the community as a
natural park and walking trail for years. It is also the site of one
of the community’s most valuable historic, cultural, tourism,
and ecological assets. But the Community did not come
together in its appreciation of the Point until the past
few years.
In December 2002, a developer bought extensive property in
Two Harbors, including the majority of the Lighthouse Point.
The developer has proposed to build up to 75 condominiums
on a grassy portion of the point by the lake shore and has left
open the possibility of additional hotel and restaurants on the
forested ridge of the Point.
The Save Lighthouse Point Campaign is the most recent
in-carnation of a three year effort to protect Lighthouse Point
in Two Harbors on the shore of Lake Superior. Volunteer
community members have been urging the city to buy the land
and not to grant the developer the rezone he has requested.
As you can perhaps imagine, over time, the group size has
increased and decreased.
This summer the group again increased and brought together
a wide range of people, politically conservative and liberal, of
all ages, who share the simple fact that they want to preserve
the point. Among the
group members are
active participants in
Re p u b l i c a n a n d
Democratic causes,
college students, and
retired citizens who have
been active in Two
Harbors civic life for over
50 years. New friendships
have been formed. These
new bonds can last not
only beyond the battle
over Lighthouse Point to
other environmental
issues in the community,
but also to sharing
people’s lives across
different worlds. While
saving Lighthouse Point
remains critical to the group, involved members appreciate
what coming together has brought them in different arenas of
their lives.
This summer, the group received emergency support from
GLAHNF through the Minnesota Environmental Partnership to
engage the legal services of Jane Reyer to plead their case to
the city. They also gathered 250 signatures, enough to require
the City to hold a referendum on a proposed waterfront
amendment plan, which the City then decided that they did
not need to hold. Even so, the group persisted and in August of
this year, the group had a major victory when the city denied
the developer his rezone request and conditional use permit.
The group knows that they have to keep working on
permanently protecting Lighthouse Point by continuing to
advocate for its protection and helping the City to raise the
funds to purchase the Point. There are also potential legal
battles ahead with the developer.
A few weeks ago, almost forty people came together for a hike
around the Point and a picnic to celebrate the recent denial of
the rezone and conditional use permit, as well as the sense of
community and new friendships that people have built
through their efforts. It has been an exciting group to be a part
of because it has brought together a variety of unlikely allies,
crossing typical political boundaries, as people have come
together to conserve what they see as the jewel of their
community.
For more information, you can see the group’s website,
www.savelighthousepoint.org.
Disclaimer:
The interpretations and conclusions presented in this newsletter represent the opinions of the individual authors. They in no way represent the views of the Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council, the C.S. Mott Foundation, subscribers, donors, or any organization mentioned in this publication.
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