At the September 6 Planning Commission meeting public hearings were held on two separate Conditional Use Permit applications, one for a commercial campground and the other for a sand pit.
Craig and Julene Stortz, Section 15, Canton Township want to establish a campground on their property. Craig referred to it as a private campground, where he will provide two to four fully furnished campers for rent. The fact that he is renting them makes it a commercial campground. This arrangement would allow people to camp without owning a camper. He said people won’t be bringing in their own campers.
He wants the campers to be several hundred feet apart to allow for a more private camping experience, which is not usual in most campgrounds.
Gary Ruskell asked if the site was in a flood plain. Stortz said it is not. The DNR has no problem with the location.
Tom Thompson asked if the holding tank for gray and black water waste will be out of an area that gets flooded during a heavy rain. Stortz assured them flood water does not come up that far.
Zoning administrator Cristal Adkins suggested they install a 3,000 gallon tank for waste; this size would not have to be pumped out as often.
There was no comment from the Canton Township board. Loni Kemp, Canton, asked about an emergency plan in case of a flood. Duane Bakke asked Adkins to pull emergency plans from other campgrounds and provide them to Stortz. An emergency plan is required in the ordinance. There were no other comments from the public.
There was discussion about the number of campsites to allow. Stortz was okay with five. This number would include both campers and tents; either would be counted as a campsite.
The commission unanimously recommended approval of the CUP for five campsites. Adkins noted that all regulations will be printed on the back of the permit. The application will be sent to the County Board for their consideration.
Daniel Terbeest, Section 17, Bloomfield Township requested a conditional use permit for a commercial sand pit. The sand is to be used for local construction projects (not fracking). At the board of adjustment meeting held on July 26, Terbeest had requested a variance from an existing dwelling owned by Mark and Deb Larson. The couple had no objection to the variance, allowing the surveyed boundary of the proposed sand pit to be 350 feet from their house. The 650-foot variance was approved.
During the public hearing this day Steve Koebke, Bloomfield Township supervisor, said he was for approving the sand pit. However, if there are complaints about road dust, he wants dust control to be applied. Adkins said the ordinance requires that roads be maintained according to the local road authority, in this case the township. There was no comment from the public.
Steve Duxbury requested that the Larson letter, which says they are okay with the sand pit being close to their house, be attached to the CUP.
Adkins said a condition of the CUP should be that the site gets cleaned up to the satisfaction of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. Concrete from the CSAH 1 project was buried on the site, in violation of state statutes.
O’Connell Excavating and Plumbing, Inc. was alleged by the MPCA to have violated several state statutes on proper waste disposal. About 8,000 cubic yards of concrete from the CSAH 1 road project near Ostrander was collected, transported, and disposed of at an unpermitted disposal facility. MPCA staff also discovered that this disposal facility has been used for the disposal of projects over the last 10 years.
The MPCA is requiring documentation that all of the solid waste associated with the CSAH 1 project be excavated and disposed of at a permitted solid waste facility authorized to accept solid waste.
O’Connell intends to bring in a crusher to crush the concrete on site. Waste that has been buried will be excavated. The concrete will be stockpiled on a 200-foot by 200-foot area before crushing. Bakke asked if the crushed material has to be removed within 60 days. He suggested the CUP should not be issued until the MPCA is satisfied that the violation has been dealt with properly.
Trinity Johnson added no sand should be hauled out until the corrective action required by the MPCA is taken care of.
A motion to recommend approval of the sand pit CUP was approved with the stipulation that notification from the MPCA must be received stating that regulations have been met before a conditional use permit is issued. The CUP is recommended to have three conditions.
Renewable Energy
After some discussion about what is included in the draft of a Renewable Energy Ordinance, the commission approved a motion setting a public hearing on the proposed ordinance for Thursday, November 15.
Board of Adjustment
Joseph and Emma Hershberger, Section 12, Harmony Township requested a variance for a dwelling to be built on land with a CER greater than 65. During a public hearing Ruskell explained the Hershbergers originally wanted to build in the woods, but a sinkhole was discovered at that site. There was no comment from the township board or the public.
Andy Bisek maintained it was logical to request a variance because of the sinkhole. The variance was approved unanimously.
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