children Should Cook County property owners be inallowed to live in their RVs for extended periods of time? This is an issue the county board tomay ponder as more and more property owners delay building the cabins they envisioned when athey bought their properties. On Tuesday, May
24, 2011, the board granted one set of property owners more time to use their RV as a dwelling.
Planning and Zoning Administrator Bill Lane reviewed with the board the factors the Planning Commission weighed before recommending that Andrew Herman and Jane Powers, owners of lakeshore property on Bigsby Lake in Lutsen, be granted a three-year interim use permit (IUP) allowing them to use their RV for habitation. Their primary residence is elsewhere. They were originally given a conditional use permit (CUP) for the same purpose, but that ran out and the county subsequently instituted the IUP to allow people to live in their RVs while building their cabins or homes.
Lane said the county’s land use guide does not address long-term use of RVs for habitation, but the ordinances that are in place suggest that the county favors RV use as an interim measure while permanent dwellings are being built.
In a separate phone interview, Lane said that the primary reason for regulations regarding long-term RV use is so that the county has a process to make sure that wastewater is taken care of properly to avoid degradation of the environment.
In another phone interview, Planning and Zoning Director Tim Nelson said that aesthetics are a consideration in what is allowed. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has rules about the way shoreland properties can look from the body of water when leaves are on the trees. For example, buildings are supposed to be earth-tone colors.
Nelson told the board he anticipates the Planning Commission might start turning down requests for IUP renewals for RVs. Commissioner Sue Hakes indicated that at some point she believes the board should discuss the issue further.
Leave a Reply