The bluffs that frame Winona are more than scenic backdrop. They are the defining feature of our community — the reason visitors come, the reason residents stay, and the ecological foundation of the Mississippi River valley ecosystem we all depend upon.

Yet as development pressure increases along the bluff ridgelines in Winona County, our current zoning protections are proving inadequate. The recent proposal to build a 40-unit housing development on a blufftop overlooking Garvin Heights should alarm every resident who values what makes this place special.

We are not opposed to growth. Winona needs housing, and we welcome thoughtful development. But blufftop construction carries irreversible consequences: disrupted water drainage patterns, habitat fragmentation, and the permanent alteration of viewsheds that belong to the entire community.

We urge the County Board to adopt a comprehensive bluff overlay district that sets clear building setbacks, height limits, and impervious surface standards for ridgeline parcels. The bluffs are not renewable. Once they are developed, they are gone.