Holman Field Floodwall

Photo © Regents of the University of Minnesota. Used with the permission of Metropolitan Design Center.

In 2006, Friends of the Mississippi River engaged the community to weigh in on a proposed floodwall at Saint Pauls Holman Field airport. The Metropolitan Airports Commission proposed the dike despite the lack of a significant benefit for its construction and the negative impacts it would have on flood management and public access.

Flawed public input process yields unsatisfactory design

A special design team assigned to address community concerns regarding the proposed flood control dike around Saint Pauls downtown airport yielded little in the way of substantive changes to the proposal that had been rejected by Mayor Chris Coleman in April, 2006. A decorative facade on the wall, two short gaps which would accommodate a temporary wall during floods and a walking trail along a short portion of the inside of the dike were the changes recommended by the team. A small marina which would be built at city expense was also suggested. Mayor Coleman has signaled his intention to support the plan with the proposed changes.

Were just really disappointed both with the process and the with the results said Friends of the Mississippi Rivers executive director, Whitney Clark who participated in the process as a member of a small focus group that reviewed and commented on the design teams ideas. While some of the ideas of the team are good, none of the fundamental problems with the project have been meaningfully addressed he said.

The design team of about 20 professionals which was made up of personnel from the project proposer, the Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC), City staff, the Saint Paul Riverfront Corporation and two individuals representing river protection met for two days to brainstorm ideas that could resolve community concerns. A smaller focus group representing neighborhoods, environmental groups, building trades and the Chamber of Commerce were invited to review and comment on the design teams ideas at the end of each day.

Unfortunately, this process wasnt a credible attempt to explore real solutions said Clark, the design team appears not to have seriously considered many of the solutions that had the most potential to balance the desire for flood control with the communitys concerns about scenic character and protecting the river. Neighborhood representatives, park and trail advocates and environmental representatives left the meeting with the feeling of having been taken advantage of.

As it turns out, the design team did not include in its recommendations the following issues that were raised by members of the community and the focus group:

• The possibility of changing the alignment of the proposed floodwall to minimize hydrologic impacts and reduce the need for massive excavation of the river bed.
• Lowering the height of the wall by employing flash boards that could be added to increase height during floods while maintaining a shorter profile to preserve views the majority of the time.
• Replacing the proposed fixed wall, which would tower more that 20 feet above the water level, with a de-mountable wall that could be set in place during floods.
• Adding a hiking/biking trail along the perimeter of the airport on the river side of the dike to allow for public access and leverage the value of this city-owned riverfront land for citizens.
• Permanently retiring the development rights on the airport so that if the airport ever closes redevelopment of the floodplain to other uses could not be considered.

Despite objections to the flawed process, the design teams revised plan was approved by the Saint Paul City Council in fall 2006. The issue is not completely resolved, however: A lawsuit is pending, and since work on floodwall began, MAC has received citations for improper permits related to the work.