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North House Folk School’s variance request to build a new 2,400 square foot classroom on the school’s lakefront property was denied 4-0 by the Grand Marais Planning Commission.
The variance request asked to use all 40-feet of the setback from Lake Superior.
Still, that 4-0 vote wasn’t reached easily. It came after a lengthy hearing from the public and representatives of the folk school.
The meeting was held on April 6, with about a dozen members of the public on hand to hear the proposal. And while the setback was an issue, a bigger issue for the public was that the Jack Scott and Dick Eckel commercial fish houses would have to be removed to make way for the classroom.
While the fish houses weren’t necessarily part of the decision for the planning commission, as Planning Commission Chair Michael Garry explained, the two issues were “conjoined.”
North House Folk School Executive Director Greg Wright was up first, and he laid out the case for building the new classroom.
Wright explained that classes at the school have tripled over the last ten years, with much of that new business coming in the winter. Wright said North House needs to add more classroom space to continue growing, telling the planning commission that half of the school’s income comes from holding classes.
The proposed building would be petitioned off to allow two 1,200-foot spaces for classes. That would allow a current classroom space located in the loft of the steel campus building to be retired. Wright said there is only room for five people and one instructor upstairs, which isn’t big enough to accommodate most classes.
The plan presented by Wright and Bruce Cornwall, an architect from LHB who has helped North House with design work, included the operational needs of North House and the three neighboring businesses: Fisherman’s Daughter Restaurant, Angry Trout Restaurant, and North Superior Fisheries. Factored in the plans was space for delivery trucks, emergency vehicles, and snow and garbage removal operations.
Wright noted that the recent Highway 61 reconstruction ended with the Minnesota Department of Transportation and the City of Grand Marais closing a main driveway that serviced the school. Under the new plan, a new service road would be built to allow enough space between Dockside and the new North House classroom for trucks to come in and out without turning around.
The proposed setback maintains the local character of current businesses, said Wright, with the campus and neighborhood staying in line with other structures. He added improvements would be made to stormwater management with a design to capture runoff before it reaches the lake. Solar panels would also be added to the classroom roof, aligning with Grand Marais’s carbon neutrality plan.
Additionally, North House has discussed with the DNR to figure out the best way to stabilize the shoreline with rock revetment for erosion control and ensure adequate pedestrian access.
Besides adding needed classroom space, Wright said the overall goal was to provide a downtown core that will be in harmony with the natural environment, provide an image that will be in character with historic Grand Marias, the north shore, and the Northwoods and supports and enhances local business, among other things.
And finally, Wright pointed to changes that have occurred along the shore. His examples included the building and additions of the Angry Trout Restaurant, as well as the campus fish house classroom that sits on the site of Tommy Eckel’s old fish house, which was destroyed by a runaway semi-truck.
“The working harbor character of the area integrates fishing boats, cement docks, sailboats, timbered docks and iconic buildings,” Wright said, noting many of those things would still be in place.
North House doesn’t want the fishermen to leave, Wright added.
The fishermen Wright was referring to are Eric Brisson, Tyler and Zach Smith who own and operate North Shore Fisheries, LLC. The three operate out of the marina, renting space from North House.
Letters of support for the plan outlined by Wright came from Dustin Hanson, owner of North Shore Waste, who pointed out, “Trash collection behind Fishermans’s Daughter/ North House Folk School/ Angry Trout is difficult due to space constraints. Any consideration for increasing drivable space to allow truck turnaround would be beneficial.”
A similar letter said much the same from Mike McMillan, who plows and removes snow for North House, Fisherman’s Daughter, and Angry Trout.
Barb LaVigne and George Wilkes, owners of the Angry Trout, sent a letter supporting the variance request, pointing out the improvements for garbage pick-up, snow removal, and more space for deliveries.
“North House’s plans also offer a safer and more inviting pedestrian access to the waterfront on the south side of the proposed building, giving this commercial harbor neighborhood a more welcoming feel,” LaVigne wrote.
The public speaks
Jerry Kohl, Grand Marais, asked where the Jack Scott Fishouse would be moved to?
Marja Erickson, president of the Cook County Historica Society, said the historical society would ask the Forest Service to allow the building to be moved to a site near the Coast Guard Station in the parking lot. “If the forest service turns that down, we have no other place to put the building,” Erickson said.
Eric Brisson and his partners use the smaller fish house slated to be torn down if the new classroom is built. He asked if there was a way to save it and the trio of fishermen could continue to use it.
Wright replied that a new building would probably have to be built. But just who would pay for the building, he couldn’t answer.
Joyce Heskari said if the Jack Scott Fishouse had to be moved, she hoped it would end up in a good place. When she was young, she talked about visiting the fish house with her father, who got his power saw fixed there.
Next, Heskari asked why North House didn’t build the new classroom across the street on the property it had purchased from Bruce Leng.
Wright replied the North House wasn’t trying to get rid of the fish house but find a good home for it. “We want to find a place where people can fall in love with it. I think it gets lost on the campus.” He added that the Leng property was a recent purchase, and options were being explored for how to use that property.
“Why put the building by the lake? Why put it there? Because everyone wants to be by the lake,” Wright said.
Gary Radloff said he was a “marina rat,” spending 40 years in the marina as a fisherman. Over that time, he visited with Dick and Tommy Eckel, and now he sees Erick and Tyler and Zach, but worried they wouldn’t be there much longer.
Radloff said people show up at the marina, and there isn’t any place to park. “Nothing is inviting down there. They look at the campus, stop, then walk away. It doesn’t look like a community space. That’s really the way I see it.”
Radloff also worried that everything was getting pushed out of the marina, and soon the three fishermen would get pushed out as well.
Anton Moody, a city councilor who also serves on the planning commission, said he was happy to hear from the public, stating their input meant a lot.
“I have thought a lot about this,” said planning commission board member Stacy Hawkins. “Quite a few years ago in this room, a wise gentleman told us to think seven generations ahead.” She said the fish houses were the community’s last remnants of commercial fishing. She also thanked the Historical society for wanting to help move the Scott Fish House and praised North House for being such a solid asset to the community. Still, she felt preserving history was more important than adding a classroom to the shoreline and removing the fish houses.
Ben Peters said the request to grant a 40-foot setback was too much for him, and he couldn’t answer why other planning commissions had granted variances along the shore.
At the end of the meeting, Greg Wright asked what amount of variance would be acceptable? He didn’t get an answer but was told to come back in the future with a new plan. City Administrator Mike Roth said North House could come to the city council meeting on April 13 and ask the council to okay the variance. The council doesn’t have to abide by the vote from the planning commission. However, North House decided not to attend the April 13 meeting and instead will go back to the drawing board to develop a new plan for a classroom. Wright said, “North House accepted the planning/ zoning commission’s decision about our first proposal.
“Our goal right now as follow up to the planning and zoning discussions is to reach out and gather comments from the community. Right now, we feel this is the most important priority. Our timeline for other next steps will emerge in the coming weeks, so there is no definite plan for when we will submit our next proposal.”
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