Brooklyn Park Event Center to Get Fence
The Brooklyn Park City Council approved Leopold’s Mississippi Gardens on West River Road putting up a fence if they choose to do so. Leopold’s wants to put up a fence for liability purposes; neighbors say it will ruin the view of the river.
Poet Robert Frost wrote “Good fences make good neighbors.” In Brooklyn Park, two neighbors are at odds over a fence
Leopold’s Mississippi Gardens has been operating a wedding and event center on West River Road for more than three years. Owners say more than 40 wedding ceremonies will be held this summer on land close to the river. In order to keep their guests from wandering on neighboring property, they would like to erect a fence.
“We don’t want people wandering,” said Jordan Leopold, one of the owners. “There is a liability risk.”
After neighbors expressed concerns about the fence obstructing their view of the Mississippi River, the Leopolds scaled the fence back to only six feet tall.
One neighbor said she purchased the nearby house just for the view of the river.
The city council voted to allow the fence on the property if the owners of Leopold’s want to erect it. A few members expressed that this was a tough decision that put a business against its neighbors.
“We do not need that building to become another vacant business,” said council member Lisa Jacobson. “We also want residents to be happy in their homes and not leave Brooklyn Park.”
“I’ll vote in favor of this,” said council member Mark Mata. “But if it was house to house, I would not be. I think there’s a separation from business to property and I think concessions were made.”
The business and neighbors plan to go to mediation to help resolve differences before building the fence.
