If a District Court decision knocked them into the sand trap, another Carriage Hills court decision May 23 chipped Eagan back onto the green.

"We're very happy that the court decided as it did," said Rachel Thorpe Newman, neighbor of the Carriage Hills Golf Course and founding member of the Carriage Hills Coalition, a neighborhood organization dedicated to saving the golf course.

"It was a big decision for protecting open space and the city's comprehensive guide plan. That became almost as important an issue as protecting open space," she said.

The Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Eagan's land use decisions regarding the 120-acre golf course and reversed a Dakota County District Court decision from last year in favor of developer Wensmann Realty Inc. and golf course owner Ray Rahn.

The ruling means that Wensmann cannot now develop on the site without city approval to modify the current land use designation.

"Eagan is pleased and gratified by the court's ruling which affirmed that citizens and cities have the right to determine the content of their own Comprehensive Guide Plans," City Administrator Tom Hedges said.

"The owners of Carriage Hills knew it was zoned for recreation when they bought it, and did not have a reasonable expectation to sell it for another use without a Comprehensive Guide Plan Amendment."

The Court of Appeals found that Eagan's decision had been "rational and that the record does not support an unconstitutional taking."

That decision may not be the last step in the process though. Rahn and Wensmann are likely to appeal the decision to the Minnesota Supreme Court, attorney Christopher Penwell said.

"We were dismayed the court decided it this way," Penwell said. "This is a bad outcome for everybody involved. It leaves the land the course sits on as an unsightly piece of pasture that isn't being used."

The golf course, which is along the south side of Yankee Doodle Road east of Lexington Avenue, has been closed since last spring.

Penwell said Rahn has no plans to reopen the course and that his clients shouldn't have to lose money so that Eagan can preserve a public amenity.

Rahn bought the course in 1996 for $3.6 million after a failed attempt by Pulte Homes to develop the course as housing. Since then Rahn has been losing hundreds of thousands of dollars each year on the course, Penwell said.

Wensmann and Rahn sued the city in October 2004 after the council's August 2004 decision to not change the comprehensive guide plan for the parcel from park or recreation definition to low density definition to allow for 480 units of housing. The land is also zoned as park.

After the District Court decision against the city, Eagan first went ahead with an appeal before wavering in late 2005.

It briefly considered a revised development plan before various factors, including a Minnesota Supreme Court decision in favor of the city of Mendota Heights on a similar golf course development denial, led it to vote to continue with the appeal Jan. 17.

Because of the Supreme Court decision on Mendota Heights, the appellate court's review was limited in scope and unpublished, which means it does not set a precedent for other cases.

Newman said she hoped Rahn would give up the fight and work with the coalition to find a solution to the problem.

"They've said it's not viable as a golf course, but we have people that have done a lot of research that we are willing to share with them," Newman said. "We want to work with them to identify a redevelopment use that would fall within the city's guidelines."

Rahn bought the course in 1996 for $3.6 million after a failed attempt by Pulte Homes to develop the course as housing. Since then Rahn has been losing hundreds of thousands of dollars each year on the course, Penwell said.

Wensmann and Rahn sued the city in October 2004 after the council's August 2004 decision to not change the comprehensive guide plan for the parcel from park or recreation definition to low density definition to allow for 480 units of housing. The land is also zoned as park.

After the District Court decision against the city, Eagan first went ahead with an appeal before wavering in late 2005.

It briefly considered a revised development plan before various factors, including a Minnesota Supreme Court decision in favor of the city of Mendota Heights on a similar golf course development denial, led it to vote to continue with the appeal Jan. 17.

Because of the Supreme Court decision on Mendota Heights, the appellate court's review was limited in scope and unpublished, which means it does not set a precedent for other cases.

Newman said she hoped Rahn would give up the fight and work with the coalition to find a solution to the problem.

"They've said it's not viable as a golf course, but we have people that have done a lot of research that we are willing to share with them," Newman said. "We want to work with them to identify a redevelopment use that would fall within the city's guidelines."