The Sherburne County Board Tuesday amended the county’s zoning ordinance to require all existing violations be resolved before any type of permit will be issued.

 

Zoning Administrator Nancy Riddle said the county previously had language that prevented the issuance of a variance if there was an outstanding violation on a specific property.

 

“But this would cover all kinds of permits,” she said. “We would like violations corrected before any new permits are issued.”

 

Things like having junk cars or solid waste on a property would have to be corrected before the county would issue a building permit.

 

Commissioner Tim Dolan asked how the process would work.

 

“If someone walks in to file a permit, would we be able to tell them right then and there that a violation needs to be corrected before we issue a permit?”

 

 

But in some cases, there aren’t active violations that have already been cited on a property.

 

“Once they give us the application, we do a site inspection,” said Riddle. “If we didn’t know about it, that’s the point where we would find out.”

 

In those cases, said Riddle, conditions could be added to the permit, like cleaning up a property before the permit is issued. 

 

The new language under the Violations, Penalties and Enforcement section of the ordinance reads: No permit or other approval may be issued for any property on which there is a violation of any Sherburne County ordinance, unless the zoning administrator determines that the permit is necessary to resolve the violation.

 

The amendment goes into effect immediately.

 

In other zoning decisions, the board:

 

• Approved the final simple re-plat of O’Leary Addition, consisting of two lots with two existing residences on 4.99 acres at 21300 and 21307 205th St. in Big Lake Twp.;

 

• Approved a two-year extension of the preliminary residential standard plat of Baldwin Estates, consisting of eight lots on 27.50 acres on Co. Rd. 19 and 297th Ave. in Baldwin Twp.;

 

• Approved a conditional use permit for James Burns for a personal storage structure on .2 acres in the Lakeshore District of Sandy Lake on 284th Ave. NW in Baldwin Twp.;

 

• Modified an interim use permit for Knife River Corp. for a gravel mining operation on at 55th Ave. SE and 17th Street SE (Lewis and Janet Stark property)  in Haven Twp. to include 17 additional acres on the west edge of the site.