A Grand Marais developer and landowner has withdrawn his request to build a multifamily residential development on the upper side of Highway 61 at the western end of town.
Speaking to the city’s planning commission Aug. 4, Richard DeWitt said he was only making the request for a conditional use permit because he was asked to do so by the Cook County- Grand Marais Economic Development Authority (EDA), which is working to bring affordable housing to the community. DeWitt’s proposal called for eight single-family cottages to be built on his 2.166-acre property at 1821 W. Highway 61, former site of Sunset Cabins.
The property measures 100 feet wide by 942 feet deep, and runs perpendicular to the highway. It is dual-zoned, with the first 250 feet off the highway zoned commercialindustrial, and the remaining two-thirds zoned R-1 (residential). City Administrator Mike Roth said the city’s ordinance allows multiple dwelling units in R-1 zones with a conditional use permit.
DeWitt said the rental-only cottage-style units would have two or three bedrooms and be sized so as to be rentable to low- to moderate-income families at $600 per month.
Thecottages would be clustered close together with only 10-foot side yard setbacks, 20 feet between cottages on the same side of the drive, and 36 feet between cottages across the drive. The owner has already extended city water and sewer services to the residential portion of the property adequate to connect the proposed development and provide a fire hydrant, said Roth.
DeWitt said it was necessary to cluster the units on the residential portion of the narrow property in order to make the project feasible by decreasing the amount of infrastructure that would be needed if the dwellings were more evenly spaced over the entire length of the tract.
DeWitt was unfazed by the numerous objections offered by the approximately 15 neighbors who spoke during the public comment portion of the meeting. Their comments included concern over the small size of the parcel and the lack of space between units; the narrow width of the street; increased traffic and noise; inconsistency with the city’s land-use plan; presence of wetlands and the effect on stormwater runoff; decrease of property values; the belief that $600 monthly rental was not “affordable” in Grand Marais; the plan was a good one, but in another area; and change of the neighborhood’s character.
Planning commissioners Tim Kennedy, Jim Shinners and Craig Schulte also each expressed similar concerns about the proposal and said they couldn’t support it. Shinners then advised DeWitt to withdraw his application, rather than have it forwarded to city council with a unanimous vote of the planning commission against it.
DeWitt reiterated that he only did what he was asked to do, thanked those in attendance for their comments, said he was “not their enemy,” and said he would consider another plan for the property keeping within the parameters of the ordinance. DeWitt then withdrew his request, saying he already spent $200 on the application plus the expense of the drawings and design, and he didn’t want to waste any more of the city staff’s time.
“I don’t need any special rules,” DeWitt said.
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