In a unanimous vote last week, the Sherburne County Board agreed to opt out of a new bill that would allow for the installation of small homes on family property.
The bill was intended as a short-term solution to give either elderly or disabled family members a place to live in a “pod” type home - less than 300 square feet.
Tuesday, Zoning Administrator Nancy Riddle told members of the board the bill would cause issues because the homes couldn’t be regulated under current county zoning.
“There were several issues. It doesn’t fully address things like how they’re going to hook up to septic systems,” said Riddle, “or in city situations where there’s sewer and water.”
The bill also allows the structures to be placed on a property regardless of the lot size, which could go against current city and county ordinances. But the bill supercedes any local zoning ordinances.
“This has some very strict timelines on how things have to be done quickly,” said Riddle. “It doesn’t really give us time to work with the landowner.”
The bill has a provision allowing jurisdictions to opt out if they choose. Riddle said since the law takes affect Sept. 1, it was in the best interest for the county to exercise that option.
“They haven’t addressed all the issues and they’re not giving us time to address them,” she said.
Administrator Steve Taylor said there have been lots of questions about the bill.
“There’s been a lot of emails back and forth between the cities and the county,” he said. “I guess the feeling is we’ll probably see another version of this again in the next session.”
Riddle said in the meantime, the zoning department would be working on the county ordinance to address the issue of granny pods.
Land Sale
The board approved a bid of $10,000 for the purchase of a parcel of land adjacent to the public works facility in Zimmerman. Assistant Administrator Dan Weber said the land was valued at $9,500. It was purchased by Terry & Linda Martineau the neighboring landowners.
Road Funding
The board approved an amendment to an agreement with MnDOT for funding for construction, grading and bituminous surfacing of Co. Rd. 4 between Hwy. 169 and the eastern county line.
“They found some additional money to allocate to the project,” said Assistant Engineer Dan Knapek.
Under the amended agreement, the county will be eligible for $634,00 in 2017 instead of $548,000 in 2018.
Road Bid
The board awarded the contract to reconstruct Co. Rd. 66 to Knife River Corp. at $775,808.55. Other bidders were Hardrives at $794,046.48 and RL Larson Excavating at $1,032,745.95.
Recorder Fees
The board approved a list of fees for the web-based RecordEASE program in the recorder’s office. The list includes a $30 monthly subscription fee to use the land records search program.
Other Business
In other action the board:
• Approved out-of-state travel expenses up to $1,281 Taylor to attend the ICMA Annual Conference In Kansas City, MO, Sept. 25-28;
• Accepted a $7,000 grant from the Initiative Foundation for the EDA to use in developing an economic development strategy project;
• Approved a quit claim deed and landowner affidavit allowing the transfer of a landlocked parcel in the Sand Dune State Forest to the DNR;
• Approved the purchase of a new forensic computer for the sheriff’s department at a cost of $17,995;
• Accepted an Emergency Management Performance Matching Grant in the amount of $44,324 for planning, conferences supplies and personnel services;
• Amended the multi-county HHS client transportation agreement to include Wright County. The agreement also includes Sherburne, Stearns, Anoka, Chisago, Dakota, Isanti, Ramsey and Washington counties;
• Approved a temporary on-sale liquor license for the Clear Lake Lions at Palmer Park Sept. 10 and for the Santiago Lions at Santiago Town Park Aug. 20;
• Approved travel expenses up to $700 for a social worker to attend a sex trafficking protocol training program Sept. 12-15 in Sarasota, FL;
• Approved a three-year collective bargaining agreement with Teamsters Local 320, Health & Human Services General Unit;
• Approved the final contract payment of $99,900.99 to Knife River for the Co. Rd. 15 reconstruction project;
• Approved the preliminary and final industrial plat of Evergreen Second Addition, consisting of two lots on 8.87 acres on Hwy. 24 in Clear Lake Twp.;
• Denied a request by Socore Energy to amend the Sherburne County Zoning Ordinance that would make solar farms exempt from changes in zoning.
