On November 22, the county board voted to amend the county zoning ordinance to conform to new state standards. They made a bold move to deviate from statutory language, however, by leaving out two little words.
The Cook County Planning Commission has spent several months coming up with a proposal for amending Article 9 of the zoning ordinance—on “non-nonconforming uses and substandard structures”— to align with changes in state law outlined in MN Statute 394.36, which deals with lots that do not conform to local subdivision ordinances.
The statute amends a previous requirement that had taken some lake cabin owners by surprise, leaving them unable to fulfill their dream of creating a retirement nest egg. These cabin owners purchased small lots—contiguous to their lakeside lots—that did not conform to local ordinances because of their size, planning to sell them eventually and use the proceeds for retirement. Once they owned those parcels, however, the law required that the lots they purchased be joined with the lots their cabins were on, leaving them unable to sell the lots separately from their own cabins.
The state statute now allows these parcels to remain separate even if they are under common ownership, but with certain conditions. One of those conditions requires the nonconforming lot to have a septic system that conforms to Minnesota Rules Chapter 7080 (the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s (MPCA’s) design standards for septic systems) but it also requires a Type I system, which is big enough to handle a family living on a property full-time.
A November 16 memo from Cook County Planning and Zoning Director Tim Nelson to the county board addresses the Planning Commission’s recommendations for amending its ordinance, saying that they had consulted with Jay Squires, an attorney associated with the Minnesota Counties Insurance Trust, and County Attorney Tim Scannell. They were recommending the language endorsed by the attorneys, but with one small change: taking out the word “Type I” from the sentence that calls for a suitable septic system on the nonconforming lot. The ordinance would still require that the system conform to Minnesota Rules Chapter 7080, which allows some flexibility regarding suitable septic systems.
The county will still oversee septics and waste on nonconforming lots. Nelson’s memo states, “Due to the difficult soils around the county and the tightness of workable space that exists in many nonconforming lots, I do support being able to allow for any kind of septic system that the current state rules provide for.”
Nelson told the board that other counties have passed ordinances that are less restrictive than state statutes. Septic standards are currently being debated at the state level, and numerous counties have taken issue with the proposed standards.
Nelson said the MPCA has threatened to halt block grants (nonspecific government grants that leave programming discretion to the recipient) to counties that refuse to make their ordinances conform to state standards, but they were told that they have no authority to halt these grants. He also said the state does not have anyone scrutinizing county ordinances for inconsistencies with state statute.
Commissioner Fritz Sobanja gave his opinion on the state adding new laws by saying, “The state’s purpose is to gain power over everything it can gain power over.”
The board voted 4 to 1 to adopt the ordinance amendment as recommended by the Planning Commission, with Commissioner Jim Johnson casting the sole nay vote.
According to Tim Nelson, “This is about as benign a deviation as we could possibly do.”
Leave a Reply