Redefining Suburbia

"Marine-on-Saint-Croix, the oldest town on the Minnesota side of the river, is the sort of place that wears its charm like a pageant winner’s sash. A chunk of the downtown rates a listing on the National Register of Historic Places. Some of the venerable architecture reflects the Scandinavian heritage of the earliest European settlers. Residents prize the combination of small-town rural beauty and an easy commute to the Twin Cities, roughly a half hour away...The town’s planning commission planted its feet and squared off to fight against a sprawling, McMansion-studded eyesore that would ruin the character of the community. Then the commission members met landscape architect Shane Coen and discovered that he was not the enemy after all. "