Lakewood Board of Adjustment Meeting
Variance Public Hearing
June 28, 2006
Board of Adjustment Public Hearing on Thursday, June 28th, 2006 at 7 p.m. at the Lakewood Town Hall to hear a request for a variance from the Town’s Zoning Ordinance.
Call to Order: Chair of the Board of Adjustment, Steve Geving, called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. on June 28, 2006 at the Lakewood Town Hall.
Present: Board of Adjustment members Steve Geving, Len Johnson and Larry Peak. Also present: Zoning Administrator Brennan Mears, Recorder Shannon Ostazeski, applicant John Amundsen and general public (register attached).
The Pledge of Allegiance to the United States of America was recited by all present.
Minutes of Previous Meetings:
Variance Public Hearing May 25, 2006 Motion to approve by Johnson. Second by Peak. Minutes approved.
Variance Public Hearing January 24, 2006 Motion to approve by Peak. Second by Johnson. Minutes approved.
Zoning Administrator Report: Brennan Mears
Purpose of the hearing is to hear a request from John Amundsen of 5487 N. Tischer Rd, Duluth MN for a variance for a setback distance to construct a new home. The request is to reduce the setback distance from an unnamed stream from 100 ft. to 65 feet.
DNR classified the stream as public water tributary to a trout stream. It is a non-navigable stream that on the maps it starts and stops in his property. The stream is running now but most of the time it is not flowing.
Legal Description of Property: N 10 acres of E 30 Acres of NE ¼ of the NE ¼ of Section 17, T54N, R13W.
Amundsen: In 2000 when I pulled the permit I asked the DNR for a walk through and at that time it was not charted on their lists. I pulled a permit from them and three other different places. I then built a bridge. In March of this year when we went to get a building permit from Mears he checked with the DNR and it was then charted on their maps. It is not on my either of my neighbors land, it starts and stops on my property according to their maps. I have flown over it and you can’t see anything. Even in the springtime you can step over it and the other times of the year it dries up. If I build it in the other area I would have to take down some really nice trees.
Geving: Are you only asking for 65 feet?
Amundsen: Yes.
Geving: Since the applicant has bought his property the DNR has extended protection over the watershed.
Amundson: I didn’t want to put a culvert in there so that is why we put the bridge in.
Peak: Mr. Pelloquin (with the DNR) didn’t have a problem with the 65 feet?
Mears: No.
Johnson: I don’t see why he should cut down virgin timber to build a house.
Audience Comments:
Campbell: Not for or against. The permits that were approved when it was classified as a drainage ditch were they re-approved?
Amundson: Yes.
Hull: I think it should be perfectly ok.
Peak: Are you going to do this in an environmentally safe way?
Amundson: We wouldn’t put chemicals into the ground. Once we start construction we would put up the silt fences to prevent any erosion.
Mears: There is about 20 ft. from the edge of the bank to where the water runs. Once you are complete with construction where ever the center is that there is 40 feet where you put in a natural buffer.
Amundson: We just want to have a natural border.
Motion by Johnson to approve the variance. Seconded by Peak.
Geving: This does fall under the DNR protected waters and this is the correct procedure.
Unanimous vote to approve the motion. Motion approved.
Other business:
Johnson: I don’t agree with what the attorney ruled on the Pearson hearing. We will have people breaking the law. The lot was established already before the ordinance.
Geving: It is procedure and yes it was expensive.
Motion to adjourn by Johnson. Second by Peak. Meeting adjourned at 7:32 p.m.
Shannon Ostazeski
Planning & Zoning Recorder