Cook County News Herald

Lutsen Township to ask county for zoning change




At the Lutsen Town Board May 16 meeting Judy Motschenbacher asked the Lutsen Township supervisors to request that Cook County rezone a small part of Woodland Foothills from LR-2 to LR-1.

Woodland Foothills, located on the old Mink Ranch property, was privately developed so that affordable housing could be built there. The lots are small with 20 acres designated as open space.

In May 2004 the Lutsen Town Plat final draft plan created two new zone districts, LR-1 and LR-2.

Cook County changed the ordinance in 2005 at the request of the township.

Under the current plan, LR-2 lots must be at least 100 feet wide, with .75 acres that include water systems, with 25 front and side yard setbacks and 40 feet rear setbacks. LR-1 lots can have 10-foot setbacks on the sides.

Because of current zoning, five lots that don’t meet the current setbacks can’t be developed, said Motschenbacher.

“I believe the zoning was done in error and should be removed from the LR-2 zone,” she said.

The principal purpose of the Lutsen Town Center Single Family Residential (LR-1) District is to provide for residential uses at a higher density, generally adjacent to or near developed areas, major roadways, or other sources of services, Motschenbacher said.

“This was created so that people who live here could have affordable housing,” she said, adding that the lots can’t be used to build vacation rentals.

Building costs are kept down because houses share a common sewer and water system and other amenities. Currently, there is a new two-bedroom home that is stick built with energy efficient appliances that is priced at $149,900.

“The builder would also like to build a three-bedroom home, but current zoning won’t allow a garage on the site,” Motschenbacher said. “The homes built before 2005 used the LR-1 setback, which I believe was the intent of the zoning.”

Supervisors Andrew Beavers, Rae Piepho, and Christine Ordemann passed a motion supporting the request, and it will now be sent to the county’s planning commission. If the planning commission agrees with the request, a public hearing will be held. Following that, if there aren’t people protesting the matter, it will go before the county board for a vote. Motschenbacher said the earliest the land could be rezoned was early to mid-July.

In other business:

. David Somnis was low bidder for township mowing bids (pending proof of insurance). Somnis offered $75 for the town hall, $125 for the ball field and $150 for Grandview.

. Lutsen Park update: Spence Motschenbacher said that upon inspection, the township park, “looked very clean and nice.”

Motschenbacher was looking at the practicality and cost of installing a boat ramp or dock in the park. He felt the cost to install either would be prohibitively expensive, and probably not very practical because of damage that could be caused by Lake Superior’s sometime stormy weather.

Instead, said Motschenbacher, the township might look at installing concrete steps to the beach. As of now, “it ‘s hard to scramble over the rocks to get to the beach,” he said.

Beavers suggested looking at building a viewing deck near the lake.

Motschenbacher further stated that the wood on the town park pavilion needed to be treated. “The sun has beaten the heck out of it,” he added.

Beavers said he would look into addressing the concerns and suggestions brought up by Motschenbacher.

. Supervisor Christine Ordemann reported that the Downtown Lutsen Business Council is planning to create a Lutsen corridor that runs from the Superior National Golf Course entrance to the town hall, a distance of two miles. “We want to start with downtown Lutsen,” said Ordemann. Native plants will be used to build the corridor, said Ordemann.

The Business Council will meet next month and review proposals, and those will be brought before the township board for discussion. Ordemann said the goal was to start the corridor project in 2018.

. Supervisor Rae Piepho said progress was going well on the annexation of Deer Yard Lake properties. All of the owners were contacted, and no one voiced a negative response to make Deer Yard part of Lutsen Township. The cost to the landowners on Deer Yard will be $19.73 per $100,000 of value, said Piepho.

. Fire Chief Larry McNeally reported that four members of his crew attended Hazmat Operations level training on March 19, along with firefighters from Tofte. The firefighters were only called out once on May 13 to a grass fire in Tofte, but the call was cancelled when they were enroute to the fire, McNeally said.

. Emergency Medical Services (EMS) chief Matt Kartes said Lutsen EMS personnel responded to three calls last month.



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