Grand Marais City Councilors held the second reading of Ordinance 2020-03 the Business Development Area (BDA) Purpose Statement at the council’s November 24 meeting.
Council voted unanimously to amend the Business Development Area Zone Purpose Statement for the Cedar Grove Business Park to reflect the services allowed in the park.
With more business owners inquiring about what can and can’t go into the business park, it seemed that now was the time to look back and see if changes needed to be made to the original document. Working together, the language in the purpose statement was updated by the City of Grand Marais and Cook County Economic Development Authority (EDA) to reflect the current usage in the Cedar Grove BDA.
Following the BDA ordinance passage, the council discussed Ordinance 2020-02, the proposed Residential Zoning Modifications.
Using feedback from citizens and the planning commission, the council carefully worked through some proposed changes.
Citing concerns that big projects might create impacts where they may not be appropriate, councilor Tim Kennedy motioned to make small apartment dwellings, large apartment dwellings, attached rowhouse or townhouse dwellings, and cottage courtyard developments subject to conditional use permits rather than be permitted in R-1 Residential, RCN Resort Commercial and MU Mixed Use zones. Kennedy’s motion was approved 4-0, with Mayor Jay Arrowsmith out of range on the call, so he could not vote on the resolution.
Next, Councilor Kelly Swearengen motioned to set R-1 Residential Zone side yard setbacks at 8 feet. Anton Moody seconded the motion, which was approved unanimously.
Council debated this move from a proposed five-foot side yard setback to ten feet, but in the end, it settled for eight feet because an eight-foot setback would allow a normal 24-foot wide structure, and a five-foot setback caused concern for access, separation and maintenance.
Councilor Moody motioned, seconded by Swearengen, to change Section 19.05 Subdivision 6, 2B to set the front yard setback at a minimum of 25 feet, which was approved unanimously.
Next council discussed the potential for a new building to block a neighbor’s views if it was allowed to be built closer than 25 feet to the street. Noting the setback language’s intent was to allow flexibility to build on smaller lots, council reasoned that a person could always ask for a variance for less than a 25-foot front setback.
Following Moody’s motion that was seconded by Schulte, council voted unanimously to set a minimum lot size connected to city sewer at 5,000 square feet.
Lots oriented to the avenues are generally 125 feet deep by 40 feet wide, which is a 5,000 square foot lot.
The amended proposed ordinance will be brought back to the next regularly scheduled council meeting. It will include a redline version, no redline version and a summary of the changes.
Council passed a motion to apply for a Highway 61 Phase 2 Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board (IRRRB) Infrastructure grant. The city is seeking $250,000 from the IRRRB to help with the costs of replacing water, sewer, electric, stormwater, and pedestrian infrastructure during the second phase of the Highway 61 reconstruction project slated to begin in late spring of 2021.
A short discussion was held about the salaries of the council. Councilor Tim Kennedy said it had been 18 years since the board had received a raise, and he discussed adding $100 per month to their $2,400 yearly pay.
Saying he never ran for mayor because of money, Mayor Jay noted that the time and effort he put into the job had changed his life and relationships. He believed the council should look into raising the pay. He also said he wouldn’t run for mayor again.
When it came time to vote to have the city administrator and the city’s attorney draft an ordinance with language calling for a $100 per month increase in wages, four councilors, Anton Moody, Tim Kennedy, Craig Schulte and Jay Arrowsmith- Decoux, voted in favor, with Councilor Kelly Swearengen voting against the proposal. Council will have a chance to go over the ordinance and vote on a hike in pay at an upcoming meeting.
During councilor updates, Swearengen asked that sometime in the next quarter, the city administrator’s job performance be reviewed. Mayor Jay agreed, and the topic will be put on the “to-do” list for the 2021 council.
Councilor Craig Schulte gave a brief update about the city Rec Park and golf course. Saying that despite the disruption caused by COVID-19, Schulte said the end of the year numbers for both were very good.
Councilor Tim Kennedy used his time to say goodbye to Hal Greenwood, who passed away. “He did a lot for this community and his service will be missed,” said Kennedy. Anton Moody seconded Tim’s kind words, and, with no further business, the meeting was adjourned.
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