On a superficial level, the question being asked of Northfielders Monday is, how much difference would large trees make in how visitors and residents perceived the stretch of Hwy. 3 from St. Olaf Avenue south.

But that’s only the surface, said Dave Van Wylen, a member of the Northfield Roundtable, a group of volunteers exploring ideas about urban planning, including “greening.”

“Greening is not just about planting trees,” he said. “It’s a much bigger concept than that. It’s about how to make an area feel more comfortable and more secure.”

The roundtable and Northfield in Bloom, a volunteer group promoting beautification in the city, will be asking for resident comments about the concept of “greening the commons” at an open meeting to be held from 7-9 p.m., Monday, Aug. 22, at the Northfield Community Resource Center.

It’s the third community comment session hosted by the roundtable, which formed in 2009 “to think about broad concepts in urban planning and gather community input about what could be in Northfield,” said Van Wylen. “We’re not about what should be, just what could be.”

The group’s members and former members include business owners, such as Blake Abdella, Brett Reese, Rick Estenson and Dave Neuger, as well as community activists such as Library Board member Margit Johnson and Northfield Councilor Suzie Nakasian. The group has been advised by noted landscape architect and urban planner Bill Johnson, who also worked with community volunteers in Holland, MI, as they revitalized their downtown 20 years ago. Van Wylen’s father participated in the Holland group, and it’s that family connection that brought Bill Johnson to Northfield.

The roundtable’s goal is to help Northfield take advantage of its many community assets, including the presence of the Cannon River. 

In earlier meetings, the group realized that the river, Hwy. 3 and the railroad tracks form a “commons” running north-south through the city. This commons is crossed by several east-west connector streets, such as Second and Fifth streets. Johnson asked the group to think about what could be done to enhance the appearance and the perceptions of Northfield evoked by the commons. One concept that came from those discussions was the idea of “greening.”

That’s where Northfield in Bloom came in, said Pat Allen, chair of the group.

“Our mission is beautification of the whole community,” said Allen of the group formed in 2008, which is responsible for many of the plantings in downtown and other areas of the city. Expanding Northfield’s “urban forest” has been an idea Northfield in Bloom has wanted to pursue and was looking for partners who could work with Northfield in Bloom.

The goal of the meeting on Monday, said Allen, is to “bring people together with some passion for this concept of greening the commons, and we’ll figure out how we can move forward.”

Among the ideas that have been discussed are increasing the number of large trees planted along the highway, creating a transit hub using the old depot near the “Q-block,” and enhancing the appearance of the corners of Second Street/Hwy. 19 and Hwy. 3 and Fifth Street and Hwy. 3. But no idea is set in stone, and all ideas are welcome.

“There are people all around the community who are excited about this—on the council, on city staff or just plain citizens like me who are interested in the process,” said Allen.

IF YOU GO
WHAT: "Greening the Commons" meeting
WHEN: 7-9 p.m., Monday, Aug. 22
WHERE: Northfield Community Resource Center
WHO: Open to the public