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The Grand Marais City Council held a long meeting on May 12 but worked through quite a few issues during their session.
Zoning requests
Council approved a conditional use permit to modify the existing Bally House bed and breakfast into five small apartments for workforce housing.
The property is owned by Sandra Paddock and Thomas Kintop.
Councilor Michael Gary said he could see ‘No downside” to the request and, considering a shortage of workforce housing, the move to pass the request would benefit all, he added.
Councilors passed a resolution 4-0 in support, with Kelly Swearingen absent because she had to attend another event.
Council also approved a variance request from Susan Westerlind to build a deck twenty feet from the front line and seven feet from the sideline. At the public hearing held May 5 only one comment was offered, and it was in support of Westerlind adding the deck to her property.
Hamilton Habitat, who has been building affordable housing for the community, made a request to have 320’ of an existing parcel rezoned from C/1 Service Commercial Industrial to R-1 Residential to facilitate the development of affordable housing. The Planning Commission recommended amending the zoning map as it was proposed with the caveat that adjacent commercial property owners whose setbacks were modified by the proposal have a chance to weigh in on the change.
If granted, the rezoning would allow the Hamilton Habitat non-profit organization to build four to five homes on the property.
The proposal, however, ran into a snag when two of the three property owners asked for the change to zoning be denied. Luke Gulstrand and Ryan Mixdorf said they were in favor of the concept of building affordable housing on the land adjacent to their property, but the new zoning would hurt their ability to develop their land.
In a written comment Don Eliasen said he hadn’t been notified about the proposed change in zoning, with that information coming to him from one of his neighbors. Eliasen was opposed he said because the change would adversely affect his ability to develop or sell his property. Under the new rules, Eliasen claimed he would lose the use of 1,600 feet of land.
The third landowner, Maryl Skinner, wrote to say she was in support of the Hamilton Habitat housing proposal.
After discussing the matter at some length, council decided to toss the ball back to the Planning Commission to see if they could figure out a workable solution for everyone. As Mayor Jay Decoux said, affordable housing is a top concern for much of the community.
Go Dog North Shore representative Cathy Quinn came before the council through Zoom and discussed using city property to the west of the current horse park to make an off-leash dog park.
Quinn said she has been working on this topic since 2012.
The land in question is owned by the City of Grand Marais and is part of the Sawtooth Bluff Master Plan which calls for the city and county to join 640 acers to form a large regional park. Proposed activities in the park include camping, hiking, mountain biking, disc golf etc., with the intent of providing space and infrastructure for user groups.
Dave Mills, a Cook County Commissioner and member of the steering committee working to get a joint powers agreement with the city and county on the Sawtooth Bluff Master plan, attended the meeting via Zoom, and said Go Dog North was just the kind of user group the park was meant for, and he was in favor of the off-leash dog park being built there.
Again, after much discussion about the city’s role, Grand Marais Administrator Mike Roth interjected and said at this point in time Go Dog North was looking for support from the city, nothing more.
Quinn agreed, saying she needed a motion of support from the city so she could raise funds and seek grants. “Grantees need a commitment from the landowner; that’s what I need tonight,” she said.
With that, council voted 4-0 to support the proposed off-leash dog park on the site outlined by Go Dog North.
Councilor Anton Moody discussed his journey to find a good location for a new dog pound. But Moody said after looking at lots in the business park and city property at the new public works building on the hill, he was still trying to find the best place for a new dog pound.
Moody, who is also on the EDA, said the EDA would like to hear a proposal and get a drawing of the proposed dog pound so as a board it can have enough information to make an informed decision about the pound. There still might be lots in the EDA business park that would work for a dog pound, but Moody said the EDA would have to decide that.
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