As I wrote in Unorganized Territory last week, I don’t share the despair that many are feeling over the possible establishment of a Dollar General store in Grand Marais. While I’m not exactly thrilled that this is the business that wants to set up shop in Grand Marais, I think Grand Marais will survive. I don’t think the arrival of a Dollar General will be the death knell for “America’s Coolest Small Town.”
I agree Dollar General doesn’t really “fit” our little Northwoods community. Franchises better suited to Cook County would be businesses like an REI outlet, a Steger Mukluks store, or Wild Birds Unlimited.
I wonder how a Bass Pro Shop or Gander Mountain would be received. An L.L. Bean Store? How about Duluth Trading Company? People need to think about what it is they would like to see in Grand Marais.
City Councilor and Cook County/Grand Marais Economic Development Authority (EDA) Board Member Anton Moody summed things up well in a recent EDA meeting when he said we need to figure out what we are for, not against.
When the Grand Marais city council voted to establish a moratorium on large-scale construction on property zoned commercial/ industrial, they promised that this would set in motion “a thoughtful and careful review of the zoning regulations” and said they would “make adjustments as needed.”
A lot of groundwork has been laid. There have been a number of planning efforts over the years, such as the Downtown Revitalization Plan in 1984; the City Comprehensive Plan in 1985; and the Grand Marais Planning Framework by the University of Minnesota in 1999. These plans are sitting on a shelf someplace.
I remember the most recent “Downtown Visioning” process that began in June 2006. I remember listening to Ruurd Schoolderman of the Community Growth Institute (CGI) as he conducted group exercises and led hikes around town. Citizens looked at various buildings and recorded what we liked—and didn’t like—about them. Schoolderman asked us to decide which buildings best represented the community of Grand Marais.
I remember standing on the street outside of The Beaver House, agreeing with others that the giant walleye on the roof is part of Grand Marais’ charm. However, the group also agreed that one Beaver House was enough.
Schoolderman and his team collected information like that from conversations and through surveys. He presented the information at a city council meeting in February 2007, proposing guidelines for a Downtown Visioning plan. The guidelines proposed certain criteria to be followed for three major areas—the downtown core area, the Highway 61 corridor and the mixed-use area in the western portion of the city. The study included recommendations as to the height, shape, size, design and use of new structures.
Schoolderman and his colleagues suggested that the city establish a design review board, however there were people who didn’t want a “cookie cutter” feel to the city. The eclectic building styles in Grand Marais—like that one-of-a-kind Beaver House—are what make Grand Marais unique, the public said at that time.
I hope the city can find the Downtown Visioning study and dust it off, along with the others. It could be a good starting point for discussion. Perhaps the idea of a Design Review Board could be revisited.
The township of Tofte has had a design review board for several decades and it has served them well. An excellent example of how a municipal entity and a business can work together was when the Grand Marais State Bank was considering constructing its Tofte branch in March 2004.
The bank’s architect, the late Russell Zenk and bank manager Joe Stasney met with Tofte’s design review board. They willingly shared their blueprints, shingle and brick styles, siding colors, and lighting options. After a bit of discussion, the design review board gave the bank building its full endorsement. The result is a bank with an appropriate look for the lakeside town of Tofte.
This could be done in Grand Marais and it could prevent the angst currently taking place. Businesses could be asked—in an ordinance via a design review board—to consider the aesthetics of the area. As is done in Tofte, the city could have a list of suggested colors, siding styles, and so forth. A Grand Marais design review board could ask that businesses have limited subdued signage. It could require wood and stone exteriors or cedar shakes. There could be enough options and flexibility that not all the businesses would be identical—but they would be complementary.
A business whose design is set in stone by a corporation and can’t modify its plan to fit Grand Marais’ ordinance and design review would not be granted a building permit. It seems simple, but I know it isn’t. But having guidelines in place before another business comes to town is a necessary step. After years of planning, it’s time to get it done.
Planning is bringing the future
into the present so that you can do
something about it now.
Alan Lakein
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