Regarding #8: I strongly oppose the construction of pickleball courts. The value of this park lies in all of its trees and in the lake. It provides an opportunity to immerse in nature, even though it is surrounded by suburban development. The construction of the courts would doubtless displace trees which are decades old. The noise of whacking pickleballs would carry throughout the entire park (and nearby neighborhoods), permanently destroying the ambience of the park we enjoy today. Please do not ruin this park. Place these courts elsewhere.

I strongly oppose putting pickleball courts and/or any additional parking at Alimagnet Park. I'd like to see Burnsville, Apple Valley and the private property owners around the lake work together to reduce impervious surfaces and harmful runoff and increase native plantings to improve water quality and natural habitat in the park. Existing tennis courts can be reconfigured to allow for both tennis and pickleball.

#8 I support adding new pickleball courts. This park already is a recreational destination.

Isn't the majority of the shoreline along the lake homeowners property ? That appears to be more of an environmental impact to the health of the lake than the areas of the park already in recreational use. Where is the environmental impact study or any kind of actual proof that pickleball courts would be detrimental to the health of the lake?

Opposition to building pickleball courts and a new parking lot in Alimagnet Park should concern all Burnsville property owners. In 2025 the Burnsville portion of your property taxes will be increasing 7.06%. This follows an increase of 7.63% in 2024, and proposed increases of over 7% per year for the foreseeable future. With property assessed values increasing at an even higher rate, escalating property taxes should be a concern of all Burnsville residents.

Burnsville property taxes are growing at this unprecedented rate because the City has determined that essential City services are currently underfunded. If the police and fire, public works, and other essential City services are underfunded, I then ask why is the City proposing to spend over $1.3 million on pickleball courts and a parking lot, and not spending this tax money on much needed essential services?

Burnsville doesn't have nice outdoor PB courts so we always have to go to AV and use theirs; there are never enough outdoor courts it seems during the spring-fall playing season. It appears these will be at least several hundred feet from the nearest house so noise shouldn't be an issue.

How will this impact the health of the lake? That needs to be the #1 priority. The health of the lake impacts the health of all of us who live in the surrounding are

#8-Pickleball courts: Request both environmental and noise studies on how this new addition to the park could affect the surrounding area, both for wildlife and nearby neighborhoods. If the project moves forward, request the city uses natural and creative means to reduce/eliminate the adverse effects to the area.

#10 Additional Parking: Not needed...the existing parking is sufficient for majority of the year and only during ball games are the parking lots full. Given the strict rules the city has regarding impervious surfaces for residential and commercial properties, the city should follow its own standards of reducing additional hard surfaces, especially in an environmental susceptible area.

Lastly, does the city really need to spend taxpayers money to build additional pickleball courts? It seems the money could be better spent in other ways and let the private sector build additional courts to meet demand.

I fully support recreational endeavors and public access to them. However, we need to also be sure we are not doing harm to our environment in our quest to add these fun, enriching spaces.

Lake Alimagnet has been struggling. Struggling for a long time. Alimagnet Park is a great space, however adding more impermeable surfaces so near the lake is just going to be an even bigger setback for any minimal progress our Lake has seen.

One of the main issues that Alimagnet faces is algae blooms. More impermeable surfaces near water are known to increase algae blooms. Thus, the limited treatments that have been done and/or proposed will become obsolete and even more inadequate than they had the potential to be without the added pickleball courts and parking (#8 & #10).

I hope that the alternate solutions being proposed are accepted and we find plenty of pickleball courts in spaces that don't affect our lakes and water!

Thank you for your time!

Referencing items #8 and #10, I can see no justification for adding more impervious surface to the Lake Alimagnet shoreline. The City of Burnsville and the Vermillion River Watershed District have spent millions of dollars on projects that were designed to improve Lake water quality, and this project seems to be totally counterproductive to those efforts. This project makes absolutely no sense to me, especially when considering that there are many other locations and options throughout Burnsville for developing pickleball courts.

As I travel about the Twin Cities Metro area, I have noticed that many other cities have, or are in the process of, converting many of their under used tennis courts into pickle ball courts. Perhaps a study of tennis court use would shed some light on whether this is an option for Burnsville. It certainly would be less expensive than spending a million dollars on new pickle ball courts.

number 8. Strong opposition to pickle ball courts.

I strongly disagree with the pickle ball courts. I live along frontier lane and don’t want unneeded extra traffic to the park.

We as a society seem to want more green space and natural woods when given an opportunity and now the city of Burnsville is going against what most people envision for a park and plan to build more concrete resulting in more foot traffic and disregard for parks.

I already see many irresponsible dog owners not leashing their dogs, leaving toys, not picking up dog waste, or leaving the blue waste bags on the trail. So any introduction for new park users will only degrade the park.

Apple Valley already built homes on the old golf course which would’ve been another perfect opportunity for green space in our areas but instead they destroyed the land with buildings.

DO NOT BUILD THE PICKELBALL COURTS. Why can’t you wait for the Burnsville mall to be turned into something else and build them there which is already concrete.

Items 8 and 10. I am not opposed to Burnsville providing pickleball opportunities. I am opposed to this plan for pickleball. I am a 16 year Burnsville resident that has spent a significant amount of my own money and time restoring my property to its native state with native plants, runoff management, etc. I have made great progress in watching the ecosystem recover on my property: the return of bluebirds, dragon flies, hawks, etc. My efforts are a net positive for the environment and the City. I help restoring the environment in Burnsville parks as a Natural Resources Volunteer cutting buckthorn every fall. The City's plan for pickleball at Alimagnet is a net loss to the environment with more noise, lighting, hardscape, CO2 emissions from concrete production, CO2 emissions from snowplowing, etc. all for the purpose of providing a seasonal recreational activity. At best, outdoor pickleball can be used seasonally on weather cooperating days. The City should put this plan on hold and consider other options with less environment impact and providing the opportunity to play pickleball year-round even in inclement weather. Burnsville has empty warehouse and strip mall space that can be re-purposed to play pickleball year-round. This means no additional hardscape creating runoff, no incremental CO2 production from concrete/blacktop, etc. Indoor pickleball could be run by the City like golf courses and waterparks are run by other cities, or the City could partner with private business to run the pickleball operation. If the City is concerned about lower income residents not being able to afford to pay for indoor pickleball, the $1 million dollars the City is proposing to put into items 8 and 10 would pay for a lot of residents to play a lot of pickleball at an indoor facility and play year-round. It's time for the City of Burnsville to show leadership in better minimizing environmental damage from city parks & city operations. The environmental damage caused by the City in items 8 and 10 impacts all of us. Expect better.

To kayak on Lake Alimagnet spying a great blue heron near the shore is so calming. We need to keep our green spaces and try to help restore the lake, not further endanger it. As a teacher who helps students understand the beauty of nature but also the fragility, we need to rethink the plans for more hardscape near an already precarious ecosystem. Pickleball is a great sport, however, Burnsville has many other options to provide more courts.

I strongly oppose the construction of pickleball courts and a parking lot in Alimagnet Park due to the significant water health implications it will have on Alimagnet Lake. Currently, the lake's water quality is already facing challenges, being on the states impaired water list since 2002. Meaningful efforts are being made to improve the health of the lake, but these efforts are negated if we simultaneously approve plans that directly harm it. Adding impervious surfaces, would increase stormwater runoff, which carries additional pollutants like fertilizers, oil, and sediment directly into the lake, exacerbating the current problems the lake is experiencing. I would like to remind the community leaders that Alimagnet Lake is truly the jewel that makes Alimagnet Park so special and is the reason so many people in the community return to visit again and again. Preserving the natural state of the park and lake should be a priority to protect local wildlife, and water quality, and is paramount to keeping the park a place that our community can continue to enjoy. I would love to see pickleball courts be added to our community as well, but the location needs to more thoughtfully considered to ensure that unnecessary harm is not done.

This plan is very disappointing to me, I grew up on Lake Alimagnet and have volunteered on restoring the woods that surround the park. For Burnsville not to consider other options is negligent and to not consider the environmental impact of ardscape around an already impaired lake. Burnsville’s money would be better spent on an indoor option that can be used 12 months of the year. Building something outside in a state that has a short summer is frivolous and a poor use of taxpayer money.

Burnsville is in need of additional outdoor pickleball courts. Red Oak Park courts are really nice but are usually very crowded. I support the courts at Alignment. Have outdoor lights on a timer so they’re only in use when courts are being used. 18 parking spots are a nice to have (handicap), but not needed with the ball diamond lot so close by. Pickleball is a multi-generational sport and it’s great to see people of all ages outdoors, engaging and getting physical activity

Lake Alimagnet needs our help. We would be doing the lake, the ecosystem ,our comfort, our state, our watershed, the wildlife a great disservice if we ignore this opportunity to help and instead potentially do more harm to a struggling lake.

Adding additional impervious surfaces in the form of the #8 Pickleball Courts and #10 Parking Lot so close to the lake, which has been impaired for over 20 years, will just make it even harder to bring it back within EPA and MN standards.

There are also huge benefits to having green space in urban areas. If we start cutting into our exclusively green spaces like this we will accelerate heat issues. The prairie restoration attached to the entrance of Alimagnet Park is even slightly affected by heat due to the ample road surfaces surrounding it. (Per online gis data)

We can be climate smart and support Burnsville, a relatively poor city compared to others in Dakota county by thinking long term with our environmental urban planning.

"Climate change affects everyone, but in cities, low income communities often face the starkest threats. On average, those neighborhoods have fewer parks and green spaces to absorb stormwater, provide cooling shade, and protect homes and businesses from flooding" -- according to the Trust for Public Land

The last point that I believe needs to be addressed is the fact that pickleball is not a silent activity. Pickleball averages 70 decibels but can peak at 85. While professional baseball games may be louder, the amateur baseball games played at Alimagnet are quieter than that... But what isn't considered is how significantly sound travels over water. I'm on the opposite side of the lake (not even on the water) and if there are ball games going on, we know generally what's going on because everything travels over the water. The pickleball courts will be significantly closer to many homes in the Echo Park neighborhood and quite a bit louder as well. Honestly though, I'm less concerned about the people than I am the wildlife. Wildlife can be much more sensitive to sound than we are. In the five years I've lived in this area I've seen so many beautiful creatures pass through. I fear that if we don't take care of the health of our lake and protect the natural sounds and maintain the environment, tree coverage, resources, etc that they need to survive, we will lose out on the little piece of wildlife and nature that still calls Alimagnet home.

I support local sport courts and activities. We just need to be sure we add them in a responsible way that means we will still have these locations in 20,50... 100 years for people to enjoy the lakes, land, trees, and wildlife. If we don't address these concerns now and just add all the courts and parking lots and sport domes we will have a severely suffering lake that won't support a beautiful park for long.

Please consider one of the other proposed locations for the #8 pickleball courts and #10 parking lot. Alimagnet is not equipped to handle something so drastic at this time if ever. We need to protect our parks and lakes. Alimagnet deserves that, not impermeable pickleball courts.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

This news about new pickleball courts makes me so so sad. It doesn't make sense to me. Alimagnet Park has enough going on and I don't think this will be good for the health of the lake, birds and other animals in the park, not to mention the noise of the whack whack whack of the ball hitting the paddles. Also it seems like in Minnesota these courts should be indoors. Please please rethink this idea. This is in regards to #8 and #10

Regarding and referencing the #8 Pickleball Courts and #10 Parking Lot, I want to say I don't want any more impervious surfaces around our lake. Our lake, Lake Alimagnet hasn’t met EPA and Minnesota Pollution Control Agency water quality standards (let alone county and city goals) since they put Alimagnet on the “impaired waters” list in 2002. Adding more flat and impervious surfaces will not help the lake recover and keeps the local environment depressed. If anything, this should be a green space and natural grassland with a walking path and benches or something similar.

First off, I am so glad that the city is putting an emphasis on our parks and making them a valued resource to the community. Thank you for valuing these spaces.

That being said, I would much rather see the money/effort put into something more environmentally friendly to the lake than pickleball courts or more parking lots. A restored prairie walking path (either through the existing restored prairie and/or by turning the unused area into more prairie space) would provide an opportunity to educate the public on the importance of restored spaces, insects/animals/flowers in these spaces, and help make the space a friendly space to native plants/animals. Additionally, it would help with filtration/runoff to the lake, which would only be worsened by more paved surfaces. It would also provide a source of recreation, sightseeing, and exercise to people of all ages/abilities. Every time we go to the park we remark on how much this would bring to all involved, and I would strongly encourage the committee and community to consider this opportunity with these funds/efforts!

I support and appreciate the effort the city has taken to upgrade our parks and listening to everyone’s input at the same time. Being a pickleball fan we definitely need more court options in our community! Thanks

I am opposed to items 8 and 10. The City of Burnsville wants to sink $1million into this initially + ongoing maintenance costs to provide outdoor pickleball. So that means pickleball that can only be used seasonally in good weather. If the city really feels the need to compete with pickleball courts being built by private industry, then the City of Burnsville should look at indoor pickleball. The money goes so much further when the courts can be used year-round on any day. The City could show leadership by partnering with the private sector to get this done by re-using existing empty space in malls or warehouse space in the City. Re-use of existing space creates no incremental runoff, no incremental CO2 emissions from building these outdoor courts / plowing the additional parking. I have not seen any plan from the City to offset the initial and ongoing CO2 emissions from this proposed development. Sad to see our tax dollars contributing to climate change.

I just learned about this! This is SO heartbreaking! Lake Alimagnet used to be such a great lake. When I was a little girl we loved to swim in it whenever we could. We love the great blue herons, but now it's so dirty I wouldn’t dip a toe in it! Please do NOT add ANY more construction at Alimagnet Park! Please do the right thing for our city, state and world! Climate change isn’t going away! You can put pickleball courts anywhere. But you can't move Alimagnet Lake. I want my children to enjoy Lake Alimagnet like I did. But it will die off and they never will if the city of Burnsville doesn’t stop building around it and start cleaning it up!

I grew up on Alimagnet Lake. My grandpa loaned me a 12ft john boat when I was 11 years old, and ever since then I have been an avid fisherman. When I was a kid, my friends and I could catch pretty decent sized bass and pike. In more recent years, I have noticed that the size of these fish have gotten significantly smaller. Now I’m on the University of Minnesota Bass Fishing Team and I have my own bass boat. My parent still lives on the lake, and I store my boat there, but due to the extremely dense population of watermilfoil, it is nearly impossible to run even a top-of-the line trolling motor in water. I would love to be able to take my boat out on Alimagnet again, but due to the overall quality of the lake, I opt to trailer my boat elsewhere when I am in town. I have also done a fair amount of ice fishing on Alimagnet, and while there seems to be a decent population of bluegill and black crappie, the vast majority have been 4 to 6 inches.

I have not fished the lake in open water since 2022, but in the few years prior to that I noticed alarming number of carp in the lake, which is also hurting habitat conditions for native species.

Alimagnet Lake is also on the MN Impaired Waters Inventory list. The city of Bursnville needs to focus their attention and tax dollars on repairing and conserving wildlife populations in and around the lake, rather than on recreational development. The lake is in desperate need of repair.

Very opposed to the #8 and #10. Hardscape added to an already overloaded parking lot which is Alimagnet Park is only adding to the fragile lake and wetland area. The lake has been deemed impaired since 2002 and has gone through so many years of poor quality--massive algae growth to the point it is not navigable. To put pickleball courts here is just incomprehensible. Pickleball is a sport played only in good weather--3-4 months. The lake is used all year--ice fishing, snow shoeing, boating, kayaking, fishing--by all citizens-not just a select few. This is a natural feature! Put pickleball in the abandoned mall or in an empty warehouse. Make it a private venue which will PAY the city and not be a taxpayer cost.

I strongly oppose plans #8 and #10, which propose pickleball courts and additional parking, as they will harm the water quality of Lake Alimagnet. Having lived across the lake on Frontier Lane for over 20 years, I’ve witnessed a marked decline in the lake’s water quality. I frequently kayak on the lake and hike through the park, so I see firsthand the ongoing challenges to its ecosystem. Numerous reports from the city, county, and state have documented the lake's poor condition, highlighting the need for restoration. Adding more paved surfaces near the lake contradicts these established findings and recommendations. There are viable alternatives for creating pickleball courts—such as restriping tennis courts or double-purposing hockey rinks—which would preserve natural spaces near the lake. These options also typically offer existing parking, further reducing the need for new infrastructure near sensitive areas.

I am writing concerning the plans to build 8 pickleball courts and an accompanying parking lot at Alimagnet Park. This week I spent half a day helping clear Buckthorn from the Apple Valley side of the park in hopes of protecting what remains of our Oak Woodland. I fear adding 8 pickleball courts and an accompanying parking lot will only cause further erosion to the woodland and lake. I gather your survey of what Burnsville resident’s concerns about the park you received more than 200 write-in comments about Alimagnet’s Lake poor water quality. The run-off from the courts and parking lot will are only going to add the problem. How do you square that with the results of your survey?

I hope you will reconsider the location of these courts. Alimagnet is a treasure, and it should be protected for future generations to enjoy!

#8 - New Pickel ball courts

I have been a citizen of Burnsville for the past 26 years and a neighbor of Lake Alimagnet, although I don't live directly on the lake. I am strongly opposed to the planned pickleball courts and associated expanded parking spaces (#8 & #10). More impervious surfaces near a lake that continues to struggle to become healthy is contrary to Burnsville's stated priorities to improve the lakes quality and common sense. There are other options for pickleball locations within Burnsville, including multi-striping tennis courts and agmenting hockey rinks to provide surfaces for pickleball courts. These alternatives are much better uses of our tax dollars and allows us to be better stewards of our natural resources.

I have been fishing Alimagnet since I was a little boy. My grandparents have lived on the lake for most of their lives and we have had some great memories spent together out on the water. In recent years, I have noticed a distinct increase in concerning ecological events like winter kill and uncontrolled algal blooms. As a geneticist at the UMN, I know the development around the lake is to blame. We need to take care of our freshwater lakes now more than ever. Water is one of the greatest resources and we need to treat it that way. “Like winds and sunsets, wild things were taken for granted. Now we must ask ourselves; is a ‘higher standard of living’ worth its cost in things natural wild and free.”-Aldo Leopold

As an 8 year resident of Lake Alimagnet, I know that this small lake and surrounding woods are a piece of paradise. #8 pickleball courts will absolutely be detrimental to all of the wildlife and endangered species that live in the woods and lake. The noise and light pollution alone will be horrendous to live with. There is already plenty of light pollution depending on where you live on the lake.
#10 is additional parking. Have you seen that part of the park with the current parking full? I walk over to the park almost every day at different times and have never seen that area full.
Please take care of this endangered lake before you pollute it or endanger it any more. We had the water doctor out to look at the severe blue green algae problem a few years ago. We couldn’t even breathe in our own backyards or street. Nothing was done. Nothing. We are always told by the Water Doctor that the lake is doing better but in fact it has remained on the endangered list ever since we have lived here. Alum has been used before and that is not what this lake needs. Please please: use your heads. Protect the one beautiful property-paradise-that is left in Burnsville. Move the pickleball courts to areas that already have them and the space such as Lac Lavon. Do not ruin our paradise and the wild animals and birds.

I’ve lived on Alimagnet Lake for 4 years. Since I moved in I’ve as much as I can think of to help our lake and surrounding environment. ‘I’ve planted 100 native plants in my backyard which edges the lake. We thought we’d be reimbursed at least part of our $1000 we put towards restoring our land. We made a rain garden and didn’t get reimbursed for that either. That’s another story for another time.

So we are serious about helping with time and money. My husband has helped with Buckthorn removal and I spent a week pulling garlic mustard. We expect the city of Burnsville to make the same commitment level of time and money to our critical situation.

Several years ago I was aghast because another multi unit development was approved. Yet another big set back away from needed to save our lake. We don’t have loons anymore because of a poor habitat and that is just one species our lake can’t sustain.

Many homes on the lake are valued close to $1 million and above. We are paying ALOT of taxes. My end of the lake is literally choked with weeds. I am aware of other lakes which are receiving more aid to restore their lake. Again we deserve more put towards conservation efforts.

I am requesting that the city stop plans to add yet another unwanted and damaging park feature such as #8 pickle ball courts. Please focus planing efforts to put together a multi year conservation program.

We have a lot going next to the fragile lakeshore ecosystem. We are not in favor of adding another recreation activity along with the existing softball, dog park and the large amount of existing parking spaces. This is plenty of activity and resources put towards something quite frivolous in light of our looming problems. In short please help our lake get off the poor quality rated lake list.

Our family moved to Burnsville and invest on property on the lake. But we can’t eat the fish we catch. We have trouble with weeds choking our motor. Sometimes the water is not even safe to swim in. These things are being ignored.

The city is helping push our property values down because people don’t want to move next to a dying lake.

I find this confusing. What is new and what is existing? In any case, as a person who has lived on Lake Alimagnet for over 40 years, this plan, frankly, gives me severe heartburn.

Particularly:

#8: Pickle Ball Courts.

NEED? Are these needed here? There was nothing about citizens asking for them in the several resident surveys done in recent years. But there is a group of folks who play Pickleball at Lac Lavon Park, who have specifically asked Burnsville to update the (worn out tennis) courts there and add Pickleball Courts there. Why wasn't this considered as an option? No one, to my knowledge, has insisted that Alimagnet be "the" park for pickleball.

NOISE: Pickleball is a "loud" sport. The constant pings are piercing, and players enjoying a game invariably laugh, shout and talk loudly --- from early a.m. to after dark. Waterbodies (like Alimagnet) carry noise. A pickleball court at Alimagnet Park would only ensure more disturbance to both the many humans who live in nearby neighborhoods and on the lake and the animals who rely on this very RARE of native habitats in our city and surrounding cities. We can nearly hear players' conversations on baseball weekends, but these are only a few a year. Not, as pickleball would likely be, every single night. How many animals would be scared away? And for what it’s worth: how many residents would be annoyed?

LIGHT POLLUTION: Similar is the issue of light pollution or light "noise." Again, on the occasional baseball tourney weekend, it's doable. But on nightly pickleball games?! Maybe the biggest problem with light pollution is the damage it does to migrating birds. In recent years, the Lake has drawn in nesting loons, eagles, pelicans, even swans never before seen on Lake Alimagnet (and likely near totally absent from most of the rest of Burnsville). Nightly lights (and noise) will erase this precious progress treasured by folks in our neighborhoods, setting us back!

ENVIRONMENT: Perhaps the most concerning issue of all is that there appears to be limited understanding about the impact of yet MORE hard surfaces on our lake, which holds the distinction as being the WORST in water quality in Burnsville already. A large pickleball platform and apparent additional parking lot are the last thing Lake Alimagnet needs. It hasn't been clean in years. There is ALWAYS a thick layer of algae all over the lake EVERY year, nearly all season long.

---Fishing, both shore and boat, is a big deal on Alimagnet. Especially because it is one of the few lakes in Burnsville, Apple Valley, Savage and Eagan, where it can be done. But fish kills continue, year after year. And growth of existing species is far from thriving. Plus sustaining lake health well enough to support species that might otherwise thrive in the lake is nearly impossible with the lake in the shape it's been, choked with algae, much of it already caused by runoff from hardscapes surrounding the lake.

When what the lake really needs restoration the last thing it needs is more runoff that needs to be mitigated. And the recent treatments by the Watershed group simply aren't enough, they never have been. Nor are the occasional other efforts Burnsville has announced will fix it over the years. They never do and it never gets any better. It's literally as bad today, in our "Sustainable City" as it has been for decades. Even with all the holding/stormwater ponds, the sand filter, all of the citizen efforts to keep the park picked up and the woods there healthy, still no discernible improvement. Some even said it was worse this past summer. It would be infuriating to see these installed when what the watershed needs is investments in its healing -- not more surfaces! Even if the proposed hardscapes are mitigated, that leaves us no better than the sad state of where the Lake is already at, health wise.

And, of course, we'd still have the issue of noise and light pollution and their effects not only on neighbors, but more worrisome: on local animals and migrating birds and waterfowl!

So, it would be infuriating to see our high lakeshore taxes go to ANYTHING that doesn't IMPROVE Lake Alimagnet, the native habitats and species of animals surrounding it and in the surrounding watershed. Particularly when we see all other lakes in Burnsville getting the kind of attention that Lake Alimagnet ALSO needs. And all but Alimagnet being vastly improved by far greater investments from the City than Alimagnet is getting.

Reconsider what you're setting up with plans like this. Think about our community's proud claim to being a Sustainable Community. This project would totally undermine that identity.

You can move the plans elsewhere if more pickleball courts are truly needed in Burnsville. Perhaps where they are actually sought: at Lac Lavon (where they wouldn't be literally "on top" of the lake Lac Lavon, s they would be at Alimagnet Park to Lake Alimagnet, and where they are farther from both neighbors and natural areas,

#10 is an 18 stall parking lot that is completely unnecessary and only adding hardscape to an already fully loaded park with parking spaces. Over 120 spaces are literally yards away from where the pickleball courts will be. No one has asked for this--why do it?

Re #8: I would love to see more ways to get teenagers outside and off screens. The skate park is so awesome that kids come from all over the metro to skate there. How about another unique project that sets Burnsville apart, like a BMX course?! That would draw a lot of teens, like the cycling course and trails in Eagan do. There are pickleball courts everywhere — and indoors at gym, too.

When I first moved into the Alimagnet area in 1973, Burnsville Parks and Recreation were proposing making an asphalt walkway through the park down to Lake Alimagnet. We were literally sitting on bulldozers to stop it. It wasn’t until we convinced some people from the city to walk with us in the park that they realized it was a bad idea. Concerned citizens along with Burnsville Department of Natural Resources has put in a lot of time, money and sweat to preserve the lake and Alimagnet park. I myself have volunteered 50 years as has many others. Rain gardens, grasses planted on shore line, monitoring water quality and many more efforts have been done. Building a pickleball area with a parking lot will just reverse a lot of the effort with increased runoff.

Has anyon thought out of the box to look into vacated commercial areas that already have parking lots. The YMCA has a large parking lot and field just as an example.

To the reference above--saw 3 eagles near Alimagnet recently, herons all summer, pelicans made a rare appearance last year, 6 deer this morning at the dog park entrance--no cars parked there--none. NO on additional parking at this park that is literally a sea of asphalt. $160,000 literally down the drain into an impaired lake. Taxpayers footing the bill. Call your city officials!

Ditto what I said to the plan above, (I can't discern what's new/different): As a person who has lived on Lake Alimagnet for over 40 years, this plan, frankly, gives me severe heartburn.

Particularly:

#8: Pickle Ball Courts.

NEED? Are these needed here? There was nothing about citizens asking for them in the several resident surveys done in recent years. But there is a group of folks who play Pickleball at Lac Lavon Park, who have specifically asked Burnsville to update the (worn out tennis) courts there and add Pickleball Courts there. Why wasn't this considered as an option? No one, to my knowledge, has insisted that Alimagnet be "the" park for pickleball.

NOISE: Pickleball is a "loud" sport. The constant pings are piercing, and players enjoying a game invariably laugh, shout and talk loudly --- from early a.m. to after dark. Waterbodies (like Alimagnet) carry noise. A pickleball court at Alimagnet Park would only ensure more disturbance to both the many humans who live in nearby neighborhoods and on the lake and the animals who rely on this very RARE of native habitats in our city and surrounding cities. We can nearly hear players' conversations on baseball weekends, but these are only a few a year. Not, as pickleball would likely be, every single night. How many animals would be scared away? And for what it’s worth: how many residents would be annoyed?

LIGHT POLLUTION: Similar is the issue of light pollution or light "noise." Again, on the occasional baseball tourney weekend, it's doable. But on nightly pickleball games?! Maybe the biggest problem with light pollution is the damage it does to migrating birds. In recent years, the Lake has drawn in nesting loons, eagles, pelicans, even swans never before seen on Lake Alimagnet (and likely near totally absent from most of the rest of Burnsville). Nightly lights (and noise) will erase this precious progress treasured by folks in our neighborhoods, setting us back!

ENVIRONMENT: Perhaps the most concerning issue of all is that there appears to be limited understanding about the impact of yet MORE hard surfaces on our lake, which holds the distinction as being the WORST in water quality in Burnsville already. A large pickleball platform and apparent additional parking lot are the last thing Lake Alimagnet needs. It hasn't been clean in years. There is ALWAYS a thick layer of algae all over the lake EVERY year, nearly all season long.

---Fishing, both shore and boat, is a big deal on Alimagnet. Especially because it is one of the few lakes in Burnsville, Apple Valley, Savage and Eagan, where it can be done. But fish kills continue, year after year. And growth of existing species is far from thriving. Plus sustaining lake health well enough to support species that might otherwise thrive in the lake is nearly impossible with the lake in the shape it's been, choked with algae, much of it already caused by runoff from hardscapes surrounding the lake.

When what the lake really needs restoration the last thing it needs is more runoff that needs to be mitigated. And the recent treatments by the Watershed group simply aren't enough, they never have been. Nor are the occasional other efforts Burnsville has announced will fix it over the years. They never do and it never gets any better. It's literally as bad today, in our "Sustainable City" as it has been for decades. Even with all the holding/stormwater ponds, the sand filter, all of the citizen efforts to keep the park picked up and the woods there healthy, still no discernible improvement. Some even said it was worse this past summer. It would be infuriating to see these installed when what the watershed needs is investments in its healing -- not more surfaces! Even if the proposed hardscapes are mitigated, that leaves us no better than the sad state of where the Lake is already at, health wise.

And, of course, we'd still have the issue of noise and light pollution and their effects not only on neighbors, but more worrisome: on local animals and migrating birds and waterfowl!

So, it would be infuriating to see our high lakeshore taxes go to ANYTHING that doesn't IMPROVE Lake Alimagnet, the native habitats and species of animals surrounding it and in the surrounding watershed. Particularly when we see all other lakes in Burnsville getting the kind of attention that Lake Alimagnet ALSO needs. And all but Alimagnet being vastly improved by far greater investments from the City than Alimagnet is getting.

Reconsider what you're setting up with plans like this. Think about our community's proud claim to being a Sustainable Community. This project would totally undermine that identity.

You can move the plans for this elsewhere if more pickleball courts are truly needed in Burnsville. Perhaps where they are actually sought: at Lac Lavon (where they wouldn't be literally "on top" of the lake Lac Lavon, s they would be at Alimagnet Park to Lake Alimagnet, and where they are farther from both neighbors and natural areas,

The trail system is fairly extensive already. Additional new trails (as shown on this map) don't seem necessary and add more disturbance to limited natural habitat.

There is no need for an additional parking lot next to the proposed pickleball courts. The players can walk 30 yards from the already empty existing parking lot to the courts.

#8. Pickle ball courts noise. Living on the Lake since township days 1966. It was 1969 when property was first acquired for Parkland development.

I have seen a lot. Overhead field lights kept on al nightlong. Bright enough not only lit up my bedroom but was nearly bright enough to read by.

I’ve also heard a lot. A lot of noise I don’t think people in general understand how their voices and activities are carried and amplified over water. Traveling all around the lake itself.

What? Like the ping of aluminum bats striking the ball. Enthusiastic parent cheering on their children participating in ball games, and soccer matches, the public address announcers calling out the players names. Dog walkers screaming at their dogs for fighting with one another both in the off leash area and running loose in the conservation areas. The barking dogs and screaming owners are getting more and more disrupting.

Pickle Ball is an additional audio assault to the senses for residents surrounding the park.

Outdoor Pickle Ball nation wide are moving indoors. With facilities the size of tennis clubs or Lifetime Fitness Gyms.

If the city wants to place pickle ball in Alignment Park I hope they will place a dome over the court site to mitigate the noise.

I would rather see this kind of development go into the Burnsville shopping Mall!

Ditto what I said to the plan above, (I can't discern what's new/different): As a person who has lived on Lake Alimagnet for over 40 years, this plan, frankly, gives me severe heartburn.

Particularly:

#8: Pickle Ball Courts.

NEED? Are these needed here? There was nothing about citizens asking for them in the several resident surveys done in recent years. But there is a group of folks who play Pickleball at Lac Lavon Park, who have specifically asked Burnsville to update the (worn out tennis) courts there and add Pickleball Courts there. Why wasn't this considered as an option? No one, to my knowledge, has insisted that Alimagnet be "the" park for pickleball.

NOISE: Pickleball is a "loud" sport. The constant pings are piercing, and players enjoying a game invariably laugh, shout and talk loudly --- from early a.m. to after dark. Waterbodies (like Alimagnet) carry noise. A pickleball court at Alimagnet Park would only ensure more disturbance to both the many humans who live in nearby neighborhoods and on the lake and the animals who rely on this very RARE of native habitats in our city and surrounding cities. We can nearly hear players' conversations on baseball weekends, but these are only a few a year. Not, as pickleball would likely be, every single night. How many animals would be scared away? And for what it’s worth: how many residents would be annoyed?

LIGHT POLLUTION: Similar is the issue of light pollution or light "noise." Again, on the occasional baseball tourney weekend, it's doable. But on nightly pickleball games?! Maybe the biggest problem with light pollution is the damage it does to migrating birds. In recent years, the Lake has drawn in nesting loons, eagles, pelicans, even swans never before seen on Lake Alimagnet (and likely near totally absent from most of the rest of Burnsville). Nightly lights (and noise) will erase this precious progress treasured by folks in our neighborhoods, setting us back!

ENVIRONMENT: Perhaps the most concerning issue of all is that there appears to be limited understanding about the impact of yet MORE hard surfaces on our lake, which holds the distinction as being the WORST in water quality in Burnsville already. A large pickleball platform and apparent additional parking lot are the last thing Lake Alimagnet needs. It hasn't been clean in years. There is ALWAYS a thick layer of algae all over the lake EVERY year, nearly all season long.

---Fishing, both shore and boat, is a big deal on Alimagnet. Especially because it is one of the few lakes in Burnsville, Apple Valley, Savage and Eagan, where it can be done. But fish kills continue, year after year. And growth of existing species is far from thriving. Plus sustaining lake health well enough to support species that might otherwise thrive in the lake is nearly impossible with the lake in the shape it's been, choked with algae, much of it already caused by runoff from hardscapes surrounding the lake.

When what the lake really needs restoration the last thing it needs is more runoff that needs to be mitigated. And the recent treatments by the Watershed group simply aren't enough, they never have been. Nor are the occasional other efforts Burnsville has announced will fix it over the years. They never do and it never gets any better. It's literally as bad today, in our "Sustainable City" as it has been for decades. Even with all the holding/stormwater ponds, the sand filter, all of the citizen efforts to keep the park picked up and the woods there healthy, still no discernible improvement. Some even said it was worse this past summer. It would be infuriating to see these installed when what the watershed needs is investments in its healing -- not more surfaces! Even if the proposed hardscapes are mitigated, that leaves us no better than the sad state of where the Lake is already at, health wise.

And, of course, we'd still have the issue of noise and light pollution and their effects not only on neighbors, but more worrisome: on local animals and migrating birds and waterfowl!

So, it would be infuriating to see our high lakeshore taxes go to ANYTHING that doesn't IMPROVE Lake Alimagnet, the native habitats and species of animals surrounding it and in the surrounding watershed. Particularly when we see all other lakes in Burnsville getting the kind of attention that Lake Alimagnet ALSO needs. And all but Alimagnet being vastly improved by far greater investments from the City than Alimagnet is getting.

Reconsider what you're setting up with plans like this. Think about our community's proud claim to being a Sustainable Community. This project would totally undermine that identity.

You can move the plans for this elsewhere if more pickleball courts are truly needed in Burnsville. Perhaps where they are actually sought: at Lac Lavon (where they wouldn't be literally "on top" of the lake Lac Lavon, s they would be at Alimagnet Park to Lake Alimagnet, and where they are farther from both neighbors and natural areas,